Philo Judaeus, Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit, ed. Leopold Cohn, ed. Siegfried Reiter, 96

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[96] μηνύει δὲ ἡ πεμφθεῖσα ἐπιστολὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ·

„Κάλανος Ἀλεξάνδρῳ.

Φίλοι πείθουσί σε χεῖρας καὶ ἀνάγκην προσφέρειν Ἰνδῶν φιλοσόφοις οὐδ’ ἐν ὕπνοις ἑωρακότες ἡμέτερα ἔργα. σώματα μὲν γὰρ μετοίσεις
ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον, ψυχὰς δὲ οὐκ ἀναγκάσεις ποιεῖν ἃ μὴ βούλονται μᾶλλον ἢ πλίνθους καὶ ξύλα φωνὴν ἀφεῖναι. πῦρ μεγίστους τοῖς ζῶσι σώμασι πόνους καὶ φθορὰν ἐργάζεται· τούτου ὑπεράνω ἡμεῖς γινόμεθα, ζῶντες καιόμεθα. οὐκ ἔστι βασιλεὺς οὐδὲ ἄρχων, ὃς ἀναγκάσει ἡμᾶς ¹² ποιεῖν ἃ μὴ προαιρούμεθα. Ἑλλήνων δὲ φιλοσόφοις οὐκ ἐξομοιούμεθα, ὅσοι αὐτῶν εἰς πανήγυριν λόγους ἐμελέτησαν, ἀλλὰ λόγοις ἔργα παρ’ ἡμῖν ἀκόλουθα καὶ ἔργοις λόγοι· *** βραχεῖς ἄλλην ἔχουσι δύναμιν καὶ μακαριότητα καὶ ἐλευθερίαν περιποιοῦντες.“

Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit. Philo Judaeus. ed. Leopold Cohn, ed. Siegfried Reiter. Germany. 2014.

Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.

Current edition First1KGreek

Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit (Greek) (Philo Judaeus. Opera quae supersunt, Volume 6. Cohn, Leonard; Reiter, Siegfried, editors. Berlin: Reimer, 1915.)

Translations (1)

To Prove that every Man who is virtuous is also free First1KGreek (The works of Philo Judaeus, the contemporary of Josephus, volume 3. Yonge, C. D., translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855.) — 96 focus

[96] and this is proved by the letter which he sent to the king.

CALANUS TO ALEXANDER, GREETING

"Your friends are endeavouring to persuade you to apply force and compulsion to the philosophers of the Indians, though not even in their sleep have they beheld our actions; for you will be able indeed to transport our bodies from place to place, but you will not be able to compel our souls to do what they do not like, any more than you would be able to make bricks or timber utter words; we can cause the greatest troubles and the greatest destruction to living bodies; now we are superior to this power; we are burnt even while living, there is no king nor ruler who will ever succeed in compelling us to do what we do not choose to do; and we are in no respect like unto the philosophers of the Greeks, who study speeches to deliver to a public assembly; but our actions do always correspond to our words, and our speeches which are short have a power different from that of our actions, and secure for us freedom and happiness."

Notes on the current edition

Quod omnis probus liber sit

1.
1 ἀναγκάσειν M: ἀναγκαστὶ FGHP, ἀναγκασθι L, ἀναγκασθήσῃ AQT (v) ἔφη συνακολουθεῖν] ἔφησεν ἀκολουθεῖν M
2 οὖν M: ἕνεκα Q, ἕνεκεν ceteri (Turn.) εἰπεῖν HP ἄξιον] ἄξων AQT ἐπιδείξαις Α
4 παρρησίας codd. (Turn.): ἐλευθερίας Mang. ἐλευθερίας M: om. ceteri (v) ἀλλὰ γὰρ M: γὰρ om. ceteri (v)
5 γράμμασιν M: πράγμασιν ceteri (Turn.) τύπους] τούτους M
6 ἐστηλίτευσαν Α, ἐστήλωσεν QT ἀριδήλως M δ’ MA, δὲ καὶ F
8 πείθουσί σε M: σε om. ceteri (v)
9 ὕπνοις M: ὒ ὕπνω ceteri (v) ἑωρακόσιν AQT ἡμέτερα Α, ὑμέτερα QT μὲν γὰρ M: μὲν om. ceteri (v) οἴσεις AQT
10 δ’ MA οὐκ ἀναγκάσεις M (Clem. Alex.): οὐ δύνασαι ceteri (Turn.)
11 μᾶλλον ἢ M: ἢ μᾶλλον ceteri (Turn.) 11.
12 ζῶσι σώμασι GHP: ζῶσι om. MAQT, σώμασι om. F
12 post τούτου add. δ’ G γινώμεθα F
13 ζῶντες γὰρ (cf, Ambros.) οὐδὲ M: οὔτε ceteri (v)

2.
6 sqq. pergit Ambros. l. l. denique et epistolam scripsit. „Calanus Alexandro. (35.) Amici persuadent tibi manus et necessitatem inferre Indorum philosophis, ne in somnis quidem videntes nostra opera. corpora enim transferes de loco ad locum, animas non coges facere quod nolunt, non magis quam saxa et ligna vocem emittere. maximum ignis viventibus corporibus dolorem [inurit et] gignit (et) corruptionem: super hunc nos sumus, viventes enim exurimur. non est rex neque priuceps, qui extorqueat nobis facere quod non proposuimus. nec similes sumus Graeciae philosophorum, qui verba pro rebus meditati sunt ad opinionis celebritatem: nobis res sociae verbis et verba rebus: res celeres et sermones breves: in virtute nobis libertas beata est.“ Clem. Alex. Strom. IV
7 p. 586 P. Ἰνδῶν οἱ φιλόσοφοι Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Μακεδόνι· σώματα μὲν μετάξεις ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον, ψυχάς δ’ ἡμετέρας οὐκ ἀναγκάσεις ποιεῖν ἃ μὴ βουλόμεθα. πῦρ ἀνθρώποις μέγιστον κολαστήριον· τούτου ἡμεῖς καταφρονοῦμεν.“

Philo Judaeus Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit 96

ed. Leopold Cohn, ed. Siegfried Reiter

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Current edition First1KGreek

Notes on the current edition

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