Philo Judaeus, De Migratione Abrahami, ed. Paul Wendland, 157

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[157] προσπεσοῦσα γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνελπίστου ἡ εὐπαθειῶν ἀρίστη χαρὰ ψυχῇ μείζονα αὐτὴν ἢ
πρότερον ἦν ἐποίησεν, ὡς διὰ τὸν ὄγκον μηκέτι χωρεῖν τὸ σῶμα, θλιβόμενον δὲ καὶ πιεζόμενον ἀποστάζειν λιβάδας, ἃς καλεῖν ἔθος δάκρυα, περὶ ὧν ἐν ὕμνοις εἴρηται· „ψωμιεῖς ἡμᾶς ἄρτον δακρύων“ (Psalm. 79, 6) καὶ „ἐγένετο τὰ δάκρυά μοι ἄρτος ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός“ (Psalm. 41, 4). τροφὴ γάρ ἐστι διανοίας τὰ τοῦ ἐνδιαθέτου καὶ σπουδαίου
γέλωτος ἐμφανῆ δάκρυα, ἐπειδὰν ὁ θεῖος ἐντακεὶς ἵμερος τὸν τοῦ γενητοῦ θρῆνον ἆσμα εἰς τὸν ἀγένητον ὕμνου ποιήσῃ.

De Migratione Abrahami. Philo Judaeus. ed. Paul Wendland. Germany. 2014.

Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.

Current edition First1KGreek

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

Translations (1)

On the Migration of Abraham First1KGreek (The works of Philo Judaeus, the contemporary of Josephus, volume 2. Yonge, C. D., translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854.) — 157 focus

[157] For exceeding joy, the best of all feelings, falling on the soul when completely unexpected, makes it greater than it was before, so that the body can no longer contain it by reason of its bulk and magnitude; and so, being closely packed and pressed down, it distils drops which it is the fashion to call tears, concerning which it is said in the Psalms, "Thou shalt give me to eat bread steeped in tears;" ¹ and again, "My tears have been my bread day and night;" ² for the food of the mind are tears such as are visible, proceeding from laughter seated internally and excited by virtuous causes, when the divine desire instilled into our hearts changes the song which was merely the lament of the creature into the hymn of the uncreated God.

Philo Judaeus De Migratione Abrahami 157

ed. Paul Wendland

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