Creation and literary re-creation
Subtitle: Ambrose's use of Philo in the hexaemeral letters
By: Paul M.C. Elliott
Series: Gorgias studies in early Christianity and patristics -- 72; Gorgias studies in early Christianity and patristics -- 72.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Piscataway, NJ, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 226
ISBN-13: 9781463240875
Copyright date: 2019
Subjects: Influence; Creation; History of doctrines; Criticism, interpretation; History; Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.); Bible; De opificio mundi (Philo, of Alexandria)
Description: "One of the distinctive characteristics of the writings of Ambrose of Milan is his frequent and lengthy borrowings from the works of Philo of Alexandria. He treated the 1st-century Jewish philosopher as an authoritative predecessor and made use of his works to a far greater extent than any other Church Father did. This study seeks to fill a lacuna in the current scholarship by investigating Ambrose's use of Philo in his collection of letters, focusing on a set of three letters concerning the topic of the Genesis creation account (Ep. 29, 31, & 34 [PL#43, 44, & 45]). In all three cases, Ambrose fielded questions on the Six Days of Creation (Hexaemeron) by drawing upon Philo's treatise De opificio mundi. Each of these letters is undeniably Philonic and yet uniquely Ambrosian. This study seeks to clarify why Ambrose found Philo to be particularly valuable in spite of his Jewishness and also to investigate how Ambrose interpreted, adapted, and ultimately re-created his source"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.