THERAPEUT.E
341
THERAPEUT^
cratico-gnostic or Montanistic party. But he has not tried to state anj' plausible reason for his hypothesis, which, in fact, would be impossible ; anil he himself says that this point is outside of his object, and must be left to those critics who make this question their specialty. We ask, however, what reason could there have been for a Christian, even for a heretic, to father upon Philo such a book, for tlie sake of recommending monastic asceticism? We nowhere hear, except from Eusebius, whose erroneous view concerning the Thera- peut:e led him to the opinion, that Philo had such a good reputation within the Christian Church, and that Christians appealed to him for their views. And what is the more remarkable is the fact that in the whole treatise neither Christ nor the doctrines of Christianity are once mentioned. Where, then, is the Christian character of the Therapenta; ? As for the liuguistic character of the book fltpi [3iov ^nopijTiKov, it entirely agrees with Philo's mode of representation; and there is no interual nor external argument for denying Philo to be the author of the book. The Therapeuta3, as we shall see further on, were Jews.
IV". Character and Orif/iii of the Sect of the Thera- peutce. — From the manner in which Philo speaks of the Therapeutis, there can be no doubt that he himself was very much prepossessed regarding them, for the book YIepi /3ioi; "^eiopriTiKov is nothing but a panegyric on the sect. This fact alone would lead to the supposi- tion— which, in truth, is also supported by the whole character of the sect — that the Therapeutte cultivated and adhered to Jewish religious philosophy, which numbered Philo among its most zealous disciples. It is hardly conceivable, as (ifrcirer (Philo vnd die jihlisch- akxandiinische Theosophie, ii, 281 sq.) has indicated, that in a time like that in which Philo wrote, when the religious movement was at a high pitch, and when the most diverse religious parties existed side by side, a man wi|h such peculiar religious views should write such a panegyric on a sect unless it represented his own views.
Now there can be no doubt that the Therapeutaj rep- resented a Jewish sect. They based their investiga- tions and researches upon the writings of the Old Test, lu their iTEjtn'fi'a they had only the law and the proph- ets (voj-toL ical Xityia SrEcnrKT^ivra Cid TrpoiptjToJi'). Philo calls them Mwrxtwc yi'oipiiwi. and further says that they gave themselves to philosophical specula- tion, according to the holy doctrines of the prophet Moses (/carci rug rov Trpo'pi]rov Miixy'tuK; upiOTciTaQ v<p))y>)(THQ). The Therapeutae strictly observed the Jewish Sabbath, and had great reverence for the Tem- ple at Jerusalem and the Levitical priesthood. Their holy choruses are expressly said to be an imitation of those at the Red Sea. All these traits show that, on the one hand, the Therapeutie strictly adhered to the traditions and views of Judaism, while, on the other hand, they deviated in many particulars; hence they were characterized as a sect.
As to their name, Philo leaves ns to choose between two views. They are called Therapeutte either because they profess an art of medicine more excellent than that in general use in cities (thus Therapeut* would be equivalent to " physicians for the soul"), or because they have been instructed by nature and the sacred laws to serve the living God (^fpaTrsretv to "Oj/); thus Therapeutai would signify those who "serve God." The latter view is probably the more correct, since the Therapeutaj, as the true spiritual "worshippers of God," called themselves the contemplatives /car' t^ox>P', and this appellation accords more fidly with the whole tenor and character of the sect than the designation " physicians for the soul." Besides, Philo uses tKtrai and dapainvTai, yh'oc ^^paTrivriKuv, and yfi'oc iKtri- Ki'iv synonymously, in order to designate the worship of God in the sense of Alexandrian theosophy, in op- position to the faith and worship of God of the great mass. (Z>e Victinas offt-rentibus [Mangcy], ii, 258 :
iKtTCu Kai ^Epmrfvrai tov ovrwg ovtoq. De Monai'- chid, ii, 425 : drSpug iKiTov kcii (piXo^eiw Oeov jiopov dtfiuTrtviiv n^ioiJvToc. Vila Mosig, ii, 164 : to Bepa- TTevTiKov avrov [sc. rov 6£oiiJ ytvog. De Prnfurjis, i, 552 : TO yap Btpmrtvrticdv yfvog ava^r]fid tan Otou 'npix}i.iivoi> rijv i.ityd\i]v dpxitpioavt't]v avT(^ povti).')
From the (ireck derivation of Therapeuta;, we see that there existed a spiritual relationship between this sect and Jewish Alexandrian religious philosophy; and we are led to this assumption when we consider the ob- ject which formed the basis of their contemplative life. Its purpose was to lead to the knowledge of the Deity. To achieve this it was necessary to suppress the mate- rial man and elevate the spiritual. For this reason they lived in a very simple manner, restricting their wants to the smallest measure. Abstinence' and moderation they regarded as the foundation of all virtues, because by these man is brought nearer to the simple, which enables him to see the simple essence of the Deity, and to indulge in the blessed intuition of the same. There- fore the Therapeutic lived secluded from the outside world ; they denied themselves everything that could bring them in contact with others, thus living only to themselves and their contemplation. They denied themselves marriage, because they preferred to live to- gether with the divine wisdom ; and sought not after the mortal, but the immortal, fruits of a soul loved by God, and which the same only brings forth when she is impregnated by the spiritual rays of the heavenly Fa- ther. For this reason slavery was banished from their midst, because, in a community which was animated by such motives, men could not be tolerated who were de- graded below the dignity of men. If the entire aim of the Therapeutaj accords with the object and time of the Alexandrian religious philosophy, the relationship between the two shows itself more fully in the allegor- ical exegesis, which, distinguishing between spirit and letter, idea and symbol, endeavored to explain the writ- ings of the Old Test. According to Philo, the Thera- peutpe had the writings of the ancients, who, as the founders of this tendency, left behind them many me- morials of the allegorical system. The same sym- bolic character we also find in their holy feast. The historical relation with which it connected itself was the exode from Egypt and the going through the Red Sea, as the choruses sunc; at this feast were in imita- tion of those songs which Moses and Miriam sang. Now, according to the allegory of the Alexandrians and Philo, Egypt is the symbol of the sensual life in earthly lust and bodih' pleasure ; the song of Moses symbolizes the rapture which man feels after he has denied him- self every earthly thing and suppressed all sensual lust, and now, as a purely spiritual being, indulges in the intuition of the Deity. Thus the Therapeutae, like Philo and the Alexandrians, held the v.iew that, the body being the seat of sin, the flight from a corporeal into a purely spiritual existence ought to be the true and highest aim of life. And Philo himself expressly states that the TherapentiB went into the desert, be- cause they had entirely broken with their earthly life, and intended to lead another, as it were immortal and blessed existence. The Therapeutte thus represent a sect which earnestly strove after carrying out and practicing those principles and views to which the Jewish Alexandrian religious philosophy did homage. At what time, however, this sect, with its ceremonies, originated it is hard to tell, since Philo does not say anything more definite about it. The only indicatiou in the Wtpl jiiov ^tujprjriKov from which we may con- clude that the sect existed a long time before Philo, is the notice that the Therapeutre possessed writings of the ancients which the founders had left behind them as memorials of the allegorical system, and which the Therapeutre took as a kind of model. The founding of the sect probably took place at the time when the Jewish Alexandrian theosophy originated and devel- oped itself. We may trace it back to the beginning