name is sure to he handed down to future generations, We refer to the capture of Alexandria by Amru in AD. 039, and the pretended conflagration of the famous Al- exandrian library. It is in the first instance said that Philoponus adopted the Mohammedan religion on the city being taken by Amru, whence he may justly he called the- last of the pure Alexandrian grammarians. Upon this, so the story goes, he requested Amru to grant him the possession of the celebrated library of Alexan- dria. Having informed the absent caliph Omarol the philosopher's wishes. Amru received lor answer that if t he honks were in conformity with the Koran, tie y were useless, and if they did not agree with it, they were to he condemned, and ought in both cases to he destroyed. Thus the library was burned. Bul we now know that this story is most likely only an invention of Ahul- faraj, the great Arabic writer of the 13th century, who was. however, a Christian, and who. at any rait, was the first that ever mentioned such a thing as the burn- ing of the Alexandrian library. We consequently dis- miss the matter, referring the reader to the 51st chapter of Gibbon's Declim and FaU. It is extremely doubtful that Philoponus became a Mohammedan. His favorite authors were Plato and Aristotle, whence his tendency to heresy: and he was one of the first and principal pro- moters of the sect of the Trithcists. which was con- demned by the Council of Constantinople of 681. Start- ing with Monophysite principles, taking ipvoic. in a con- crete instead of an abstract sense, and identifying it
with i'Tri' nrarnr, Philoponus distinguished in Cod three
individuals, and so became involved in Tritheism. This view he Bought to justify by the Aristotelian categories of genus, species, and individuum. His followers were called Philoponiaci and Tritheistse. Philoponus, it may be remarked, was not the first promulgator of this error; bul (as appears from Assem. Bibl Orient, ii, 327 ; comp. Hefele, ii, 555) the Monophysite John Ascusnages, who as, nil. ti to Christ onh on* nature, bul to each person in the Godhead a separate nature, and on this account was banished by the emperor and excommunicated by the patriarch of Constantinople. The time of the death
of Philoponus is not known. flic following is a list of his works: |,„r ,/<• n)r Man/ff6b>£ KOO/lOyOviav fiT/'C tikCiv \6yoi -". (i'iiiii.i iiiuiii in Mosaicam Cosmogoniam, lib. viii, dedicated to Sergius, patriarch of Constanti- nople, "ho held that see from hin to 639, and perhaps till. Edit Gnece et Latine by Balthasai Corderius (Vienna, 1630, Ito). The editor was deficient in schol- arship, and LambecillS promised a heller edition, w hich,
HiLLOPONUS
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PHILOSOPHISTS
however, never appeared. Photius (Biblioth. cod. 75) compares the Cosmogonia with its author, and forms no good opinion of either : — Disputatio de Paschale, " ad calcem Cosmogonia;," by the same editor: — Kara Ilpo- kXov irepl aiSiorrjTOQ Kofffiov Xuatig, Xoyoi vq, Adversus Prodi de JEternitate Mundi Argumenta XVIII Solu- tiones, commonly called De sEtemitate Mundi. The end is mutilated. Edit. : the text by Victor Trincavellus (Venice, 1535, fol.) ; Latin versions, by Joannes Mahotius (Lyons, 1557, fol.), and by Casparus Marcellus (Venice, 1551, fol.) :— De quinque Dialectis Grcecce Linguae Liber. Edit. Grace, together with the writings of some other grammarians, and the Thesaurus of Varinus Camertes* (Venice, 1476, fol. ; 1504, fol. ; ad calcem Lexici Graco- Latini, Venice, 1524, fol. ; another, ibid. 1524, fol. ; Basle, 1532, fol. ; Paris, 1521, fol.) : — Svvayioyi) twv irpbc. Cia- (popov ai]paaiav cicapopmg Toi'ovfitvwv XeIeiov, Collec- tio Vocum quae pro diversu significatione Accentum di- versum accipiunt, in alphabetical order. It has often been published at the end of Greek dictionaries. The only separate edition is by Erasmus Schmid (Wittenb. 1615, 8vo), under the title of Cyrilli, vel, vt alii volunt, Joanni Philoponi Opusculum utilissimum de Differenliis Vocum Grcecarum, quod Tonum, Spiritum, Genus, etc., to which is added the editor's Dissertatio de Pronunci- atione Grcsca Antiqua. Schmid appended to the dic- tionary of Philoponus about, five times as much of his own, but he separated his additions from the text: — Commentarii in Aristotelem.xiz. (1) In Analytica Pri- ora. Edit.: the text, Venice, 1536, fol. ; Latin versions, bv Gulielmus Dorotheus (Venice, 1541, fol.), Lucillus Philaltheus ( ibid. 1544. 1548, 1553, 1555, fol.), Alexander Justinianus (ibid. 1560, fol.). (2) In A nalytica Posteriora. Edit. : Venice, 1504, fol., together with Anonymi Graci Commentarii on the same work (ibid. 1534, fol.), revised and with additions, together with Eustratii, episcopi Nica;ani (who lived about 1117) Commentarii on the same work. A Greek edition of 1534 is said to exist. Latin versions by Andreas Grateolus (Venice, 1542, fol. ; Paris, 1543, fol.) and by Martianus Rota (Venice, 1559, 1568, fol.). (3) In quatuor jjriores Libros Physicorum. Edit. : the text, cum Prafatione Victoris Trincavelli ad Casparum Contarenum Cardinalem (Venice, 1535, fol.) ; Latin version, by Gulielmus Dorotheus (ibid. 1539 and 1541, fol.); a better one by Baptista Kasarius (ibid. 1558, 1569, 1581, fol.). Philoponus speaks of his Scholia to the sixth book, whence we may infer that he com- mented upon the last four books also. (4) In Librum unicum Meteorum. The text ad calcem Olympiodori In Meteora (Venice, 1551, fol.) ; Latine, by Joannes Bap- tistus Camotius (ibid. 1551, 1567, fol.). (5) In Libros III de Anima. Edit. Grace, cum Trincavelli Epistola ad Nicolaum Rudolphum Cardinalem (Venice, 1553, fol.); Latine, by Gentianus Hervetus (Lyons, 1544, 1548 ; Venice, 1554, 1568) and by Matthreus a Bove (Ven- ice, 1544, 1581), all in folio. (6) In Libros V De Gene- ratione et Interitu. Grace, cum Prafatione Asalani (Venice, 1527, fol.), together with Alexander Aphrodi- seus's Meteorologia. (7) In Libros V De Generatione A nimalium, probably by Philoponus. Edit. Grace cum Petri Corcyrai Epistola Graeca ad Andream Matthseum Aquavivam (Venice, 1526, fol.); Latine, by the same, ibid, eodem anno. Black letter. (8) In Libros XIV Metaphysicorum. Latine by Franciscus Patricius (Fer- rara, 1583, fol.). The text was never published. Phi- loponus wrote many other works, some of which are lost, and others have never been published. Fabricius gives an " Index Scriptorum in Philop. De Mundi yEtemitate memoratorum," and an " Index Scriptorum in universis Philoponi ad Aristotelem Commentariis memoratorum,'' both of great length. See Fabricius, Bib!. Grcec x, 639, etc. ; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. i. — Smith, Diet, of Class. Biog- raphy, s. v. See Schaff, Church History, iii, 674, 767 ; Hilgenfeld, Patristik, p. 288 ; Ueberweg, History of Philosophy, i, 255, 259, 347-9, 402; Alzog, Kirchen- neschichte, i, 313 ; Stillingfleet, Works, vol. i ; Gieseler, Ecclesiastical History (see Index) ; llagenbach, History