Puppet imagery in Philo of Alexandria (Abr. 73)
EDN: KXTEMS
Abstract
The article deals with a passage from The Life of Abraham by Philo of Alexandria (Abr. 73), in which the author uses the metaphor of a puppeteer and puppets to describe both the relationship between the mind and the senses and the relationship between God and the world. It is common to see in this passage the image of automatic puppets, which the puppeteer sets in motion by loosening the strings and giving them freedom, and stops by tightening the strings. However, an analysis of parallel passages in which Philo describes the mechanism of sensation shows that for him, at the moment of sensation, the mind sets the senses in motion by ‘reaching out’ to them with its ‘forces’ rather than by letting them go free. Such a description corresponds to another puppet image — that of marionettes, which the puppeteer sets in motion by pulling the strings and stops by letting them go. Just such a metaphor must also be implied by the word neurospastein, used by Philo in relation to the work of the mind and sensations in Quaest. in Gen. 1, fr. 24. The image of a controlled puppet enables Philo to illustrate all three elements of sensation: the mind corresponds to the invisible puppeteer, the senses to the puppets led by him, and the forces of the mind channeled from it to the senses are the threads pulled by the puppeteer.
Supporting agencies: The research was supported by RSCF grant no. 24-18-01- 037, “Problems of Commenting on Classical Ancient Greek Texts” (2024–2026).
About the Author
B. M. Nikolsky
A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature ; Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Boris Mikhaylovich Nikolsky, Dr. Sci. (Philology), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Leading Research Fellow, Head of the Laboratory of Commenting on Classical Texts ; Senior Research Fellow, Department for the Study of Translated Literature
121069, Moscow, Povarskaya Str., 25A, Bld. 1
Republic of Armenia, 0009, Yerevan, Mashtots Ave., 53
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Review
For citations:
Nikolsky B.M. Puppet imagery in Philo of Alexandria (Abr. 73). Shagi / Steps. 2026;12(1):150-161. (In Russ.) EDN: KXTEMS
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