Philo Judaeus, De Confusione Linguarum, ed. Paul Wendland, 5

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[5] πύργον δὲ ὁ νομοθέτης
ἀντὶ τούτων εἰσάγει πρὸς τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων κατασκευαζόμενον θελησάντων ὑπ’ ἀνοίας ἅμα καὶ μεγαλαυχίας οὐρανοῦ ψαῦσαι. πῶς γὰρ οὐ φρενοβλάβεια δεινή; καὶ γὰρ εἰ τὰ τῆς συμπάσης μέρη γῆς ἐποικοδομηθείη προκαταβληθέντι βραχεῖ θεμελίῳ καὶ ἀνεγερθείη τρόπον κίονος ἑνός, μυρίοις τῆς αἰθερίου σφαίρας ἀπολειφθήσεται διαστήμασι, καὶ
μάλιστα κατὰ τοὺς ζητητικοὺς τῶν φιλοσόφων, οἳ τοῦ παντὸς κέντρον ¹² εἶναι τὴν γῆν ἀνωμολόγησαν. 3 ἕτερος δέ τις συγγενὴς τούτῳ περὶ τῆς τῶν ζῴων ὁμοφωνίας πρὸς μυθοπλαστῶν ἀναγράφεται·

De Confusione Linguarum. Philo Judaeus. ed. Paul Wendland. Germany. 2014.

Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.

Current edition First1KGreek

De Confusione Linguarum (Greek) (Philo Judaeus. Opera quae supersunt, Volume 2. Wendland, Paul, editor. Berlin: Reimer, 1897.)

Translations (1)

On the Confusion of Languages First1KGreek (The works of Philo Judaeus, the contemporary of Josephus, volume 2. Yonge, C. D., translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854.) — 5 focus

[5] But instead of these mountains the lawgiver represents a tower as having been built by these men, who, out of ignorance and wicked ambition, were desirous to reach the heaven. Every alienation of mind, then, is grievous; for even if every portion of the whole earth could be built over, a slight foundation being first laid, and then if a superstructure could be raised in the fashion of a single pillar, it would still be an enormous distance removed from the heavenly sphere, and above all would it be so according to the tenets of those curious philosophers who have affirmed that the earth is the centre of the universe.

Notes on the current edition

De confusione linguarum

1.
1 αὑτῶν V
3 λεγόμενοι G ἡμῖν F
5 ἐπαρμένους F ὁ ἀλλὰ (vel ἀλλ ἢ) μόνον coni. Mang. μόνων HP χερσὶ] χρήσει F
8 Ἀλωειδῶν scripsi: ἀλλοειδῶν G1F, Ἀλλευαδῶν G2, Ἀλωαδῶν Η, Ἁλωαδῶν P
13 ὁμλύμπω (sic) H, Ὀλύμπω P ἀτὰρ HP (in P post ἁ ras.)
14 εἰνοσίφυλον H
16 κατασκευαζομένων G
17 μεγαλαυχίας scripsi (idem coni. Cohn): μεγαλουργίας codd. πῶς γὰρ οὐ Mang.: πᾶσα γὰρ οὑν codd.
21 ζητικοὺς G

2.
7 Origenes Contra Celsum IV
21 p. 515: ἐπεὶ δ’ ὀίεται Μωυσέα τὸν ἀναγράψαντα τὰ περὶ τοῦ πύργου καὶ τῆς τῶν διαλέκτων συγχύσεως παραφθείραντα τὰ περὶ τῶν Ἀλωαδῶν ἱστορούμενα τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ πύργου ἀναγεγραφέναι, λεκτέον . . . . ., Cyrillus Contra Julianum p. 134 sqq. (Juliani imperaloris librorum contra Chrislianos guae supersunt coll. C. J. Neumann p. 181 sqq.), cf. potissimum: ὁ μέν γὰρ Μωυσῆς αἰτίαν ἀποδέδωκε κομιδῇ μυθώδη τῆς περὶ τὰς διαλέκτους ἀνομοιότητος . . . . . εἶτα τούτοις ἀξιοῦτε πιστεύειν ἡμᾶς, ἀπιστεῖτε δέ ὑμεῖς τοῖς ὑφ’ Ομήρου λεγομένοις ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἀλωαδῶν, ὡς ἄρα τρία ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοις ὄρη θεῖναι διενοοῦντο, ἵν’ οὐρανὸς ἀμβατὸς εἴη“. φημὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ τοῦτο εἶναι πάρα· πλησίως ἐκείνῳ μυθῶδες. ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀποδεχόμενοι τὸ πρότερον ἀνθ’ ὅτου πρὸς θεῶν ἁ· δοκιμάζετε τὸν Ὁμήρου μῦθον; ἐκεῖνο γὰρ οἶμαι δεῖν σιωπᾶν πρὸς ἄνδρας ἀμαθεῖς, ὅτι . . . . πύργον οἰκοδομεῖν οὐ δυνήσονται πρός τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀφικνούμενον, κὰν ἐκπλινθεύσωσι τὴν γῆν πᾶσαν . . . . . . 13.
14 Hom. λ 315. 316.

Philo Judaeus De Confusione Linguarum 5

ed. Paul Wendland

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