This is part 5 of a series presenting the instances of λογιζομαι in texts contemporary with the New Testament. Here are the links to previous posts:
Part 1 (LXX Apocrypha)
Part 2 (Greek Pseudepigrapha)
Part 3 (Apostolic Fathers)
Part 4 (Josephus)
This post will present the instances of λογιζομαι in the Greek texts of Philo. The Greek text used for this study is that of the Philo Concordance Database, available on Bibleworks. The English text employed is The Works of Philo Judaeus, trans. C.D. Yonge (4 vols).
Abbreviations of books used:
Leg: Allegorical Interpretation
Che: On Cherubim
Sac: On the Sacrifices of Abel and Cain
Pot: the Worse attacks the Better
Pos: On the Posterity and Exile of Cain
Gig: On the Giants
Imm: On the Unchangeableness
Agr: On Husbandry
Ebr: On Drunkenness
Lin: On the Confusion of Tongues
Mig: On the Migration of Abraham
Her: Who is Heir of Divine Things
Cng: On the Preliminary Studies
Fug: On Flight and Finding
Mut: On the Change of Names
Som: On Dreams
Abr: On Abraham
Ios: On Joseph
Mos: On Moses
Spe: On the Special Laws
Vir: On the Virtues
Prb: Every Goodman is Free
Gai: Embassy to Gaius
Hyp: Hypothetica
Qge: Questions and Answers on Genesis
(Leg. 2:26 PHE) Let us now consider another point, namely, how the mind goes to sleep: for when the outward sense is awakened and has become excited, when the sight beholds any works of painting or of sculpture beautifully wrought, is not the mind then without anything on which to exercise its functions, contemplating nothing which is a proper subject for the intellect? What more? When the faculty of hearing is attending to some melodious combination of sound, can the mind turn itself to the contemplation (λογιζομαι) of its proper objects? by no means. And it is much more destitute of occupation, when taste rises up and eagerly devotes itself to the pleasures of the belly;
(Leg. 2:61 PHE) But let us now more accurately examine the statement, "that the stripping of him naked took place in his house." When the soul, being changed, only conceives some evil thing and does not put it in execution, so as to accomplish it in deed, then the sin is only in the private domain and abode of the soul. But if, in addition to thinking (λογιζομαι) some wickedness it proceeds also to accomplish it and carry it into execution, then the wickedness is diffused over the parts beyond his house:
(Leg. 3:18 PHE) VI. But why now, as if Jacob had been ignorant that Laban was a Syrian, does Moses say, "And Jacob concealed himself from Laban the Syrian." This expression, however, has a reason in it which is not superfluous; for the name Syria, being interpreted, means high. Jacob, therefore, being an experienced man, that is to say, being mind, when he sees passion low and powerless, abides it, thinking (λογιζομαι) that he shall be able to subdue it by force: but when he beholds it high, and bearing its neck haughtily, and full of arrogance, then experienced mind flees first, and afterwards the other parts of his experience do also flee, namely reading, meditation, care, the recollection of what is honorable, temperance, the energy in pursuit of what is becoming; and so he crosses over the river of the objects affecting the outward senses, which wash over and threaten to submerge the soul by the impetuosity of the passions, and having crossed over he proceed towards the high and lofty reason of perfect virtue;
(Leg. 3:82 PHE) XXVI. But Melchisedek shall bring forward wine instead of water, and shall give your souls to drink, and shall cheer them with unmixed wine, in order that they may be wholly occupied with a divine intoxication, more sober than sobriety itself. For reason is a priest, having, as its inheritance the true God, and entertaining (λογιζομαι) lofty and sublime and magnificent ideas about him, "for he is the priest of the most high God." [Genesis 14:18.] Not that there is any other God who is not the most high; for God being one, is in the heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and there is no other besides him." [Deuteronomy 4:39.] But he sets in motion the notion of the Most High, from his conceiving of God not in a low and grovelling spirit, but in one of exceeding greatness, and exceeding sublimity, apart from any conceptions of matter.
(Leg. 3:99 PHE) and, as he would argue in the same manner respecting any city, or any ship, or anything whatever that is made, whether it be great or small, so likewise any one entering this world, as an exceedingly large house or large city, and seeing the heaven revolving round it in a circle and comprehending everything within it, and all the planets and fixed stars moving onwards in the same manner and on the same principles, all in regular order and in due harmony and in such a manner as is most advantageous for the whole created universe, and the earth stationed in the central situation, and the effusions of air and water affixed on the boundaries, and, moreover, all the animals, both mortal and immortal, and the different kinds of plants and fruits, he will surely consider (λογιζομαι) that undoubtedly all these things were not made without skill, but that God both was and is the creator of this whole universe. They, then, who draw their conclusions in this manner perceive God in his shadow, arriving at a due comprehension of the artist through his works.
(Leg. 3:227 PHE) I will scatter seed, I will plant; the plants shall grow, they shall bear fruit, which shall not only be useful for necessary enjoyment, but which shall also be abundant for superfluity; and then, on a sudden, fire, or a storm, or continued rains, have destroyed everything. But at times man has brought his labors to their due accomplishment, and yet he who formed all these plans("μὲν ἐτελεσιουργήθη ὁ δὲ ταῦτα λογισάμενος") has derived no advantage from their being accomplished, but has died before they were accomplished, and has in vain promised himself the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors.
(Cher. 1:73 PHE) For it is a sign of a mind which is as it were rejected from the sacred contest and wholly discarded, and of reasoning faculties wholly childish and deficient, to make a boast of the mind being contented, and of thinking one's mind one's own lord and benefactor, and to boast of being very sufficiently pleased with the outward senses, and of thinking them one's own property, and the greatest of all good things, and their offspring with them; the offspring of the mind being to comprehend, to reason (λογιζομαι), to discriminate, to will, to conjecture; and the offspring of the outward sense being to see, to hear, to taste, to smell, to touch, in short to feel.
(Sacr. 1:2 PHE) It happens then, that there are two opinions contrary to and at variance with one another; the one of which commits everything to the mind as the leader of all reasoning (λογιζομαι), or feeling, or moving, or being stationary; and the other, attributing to God all the consequent work of creation as his own. Now the symbol of the former of these is Cain, which name, being interpreted means, "possession," from his appearing to possess all things; and the symbol of the other is Abel; for this name, being interpreted, means "referring to God."
(Sacr. 1:49 PHE) XII. And yet no one would ever utter so great a boast in consequence of any power and sovereignty as these men do in respect of their being shepherds; to those indeed who are able to reason correctly (λογιζομαι), it is a more noble employment than that of a king, to be able to govern the body and the outward senses, and the belly, as one might govern a city or a country, and to restrain the pleasures which have their seat around the belly, and the other passions, and one's tongue, and, in short, all the different parts of one's composite nature, with vigor and exceeding power, and again to guide them in the right way with due gentleness; for it is necessary at one time to act like a charioteer who slackens the reins with which he holds the horses which are yoked to his chariot, and at other times one must draw them tight, and resist the haste of the steeds, that no precipitation and impetuous pursuit of outward objects may take place, and lead them into rebellion.
(Det. 1:84 PHE) On this account, Moses represents God as calling the blood the life of the flesh, though he is aware that the nature of the flesh has no participation in intellect, but that it does partake of life, as also does our whole body. And the soul of man he names the spirit, meaning by the term man, not the compound being, as I said before, but that Godlike creation by which we reason (λογιζομαι), the roots of which he stretched to heaven, and fastened it to the outermost rim of the circle of those bodies which we call the fixed stars.
(Det. 1:86 PHE) XXIV. Let us then no longer doubt, we who are the disciples of Moses, how man conceived an idea of God who is destitute of all figure, for he was taught the reason of this by the divine oracle, and afterwards he explained it to us. And he spoke as follows:-- "He said that the Creator made no soul in any body capable of seeing its Creator by its own intrinsic powers. But having considered (λογιζομαι) that the knowledge of the Creator and the proper understanding of the work of Creation, would be of great advantage to the creature (for such knowledge is the boundary of happiness and blessedness), he breathed into him from above something of his own divine nature. And his divine nature stamped her own impression in an invisible manner on the invisible soul, in order that even the earth might not be destitute of the image of God.
(Det. 1:127 PHE) This speech speaks, and discourses, and interprets both in your case and mine, and in that of all mankind, the things conceived (λογιζομαι) in the mind, and it moreover comes forward to meet the things which the mind conceives; for when the mind being excited towards any object connected with it receives an impetus, either because it has been moved internally by itself, or because it has received some remarkable impressions from external circumstances, it then becomes pregnant and labors to bring forth its conceptions. And, though it tries to deliver itself of them, it is unable to do so till sound, like a midwife, acting either through the medium of the tongue or of some other of the organs of speech, receives those conceptions and brings them to light.
(Post. 1:7 PHE) and if God has not a face (inasmuch as he is not bound by what may seem appropriate for created things), and if he does not exist in parts inasmuch as he surrounds all things and is not surrounded by any, it is impossible for anything to remove and depart from this world as from a city, as there is no portion of it left without. It now remains for us, considering (λογιζομαι) that none of these things are spoken of in terms of strict propriety, to turn to the allegorical system, which is dear to men versed in natural philosophy, taking the first principles of our argument from this source.
(Gig. 1:65 PHE) XV. But the sons of earth removing their minds from contemplation (λογιζομαι), and becoming deserters so as to fly to the lifeless and immovable nature of the flesh, "for they two became one flesh," [Genesis 2:24] as the lawgiver says, adulterated the excellent coinage, and abandoned the better rank which had been allotted to them as their own, and deserted to the worse rank, which was contrary to their original nature, Nimrod being the first to set the example of this desertion;
(Deus 1:56 PHE) But those who enter into agreements and alliances with the body, being unable to throw off the robes of the flesh, and to behold that nature, which alone of all natures has no need of anything, but is sufficient for itself, and simple, and unalloyed, and incapable of being compared with anything else, from the same notions of the cause of all things that they do of themselves; not considering (λογιζομαι) that in the case of a being who exists through a concurrence of many faculties, he has need of many parts in order to supply the necessities of each of those faculties. XII. But God, inasmuch as he is uncreated, and the Being who has brought all other things to creation, stood in need of none of those things which are usually added to creatures.
(Deus 1:130 PHE) but when it changes so as to assume one uniform white appearance, it displays an involuntary change; since the mind, entirely deprived of the power of reasoning (λογιζομαι), not having left in it one single seed to beget understanding, like a man in a mist or in deep darkness, sees nothing that ought to be done; but, like a blind man, falling without seeing his way before him into all kinds of error, endures continual falls and disasters one after another, in spite of all its efforts.
(Deus 1:163 PHE) In the case of those who live according to impulse, the right hand is temerity and the left hand cowardice. As regards those who are illiberal in the management of money, on the right hand stands stinginess, and on the left hand extravagant prodigality; and those men, who are very subtle in calculating (λογιζομαι), judge craftiness to be desirable and simplicity to be a thing to be shunned. Again, some persons incline towards superstition as being placed on the right hand, and flee from impiety as a thing to be avoided on the left.
(Agr. 1:156 PHE) and yet it is not inconsistent with reason, not only that all the property which belongs to these men who shun military service, but that even they themselves, too, may become the property of their enemies when they have obtained the mastery. So those, indeed, who die in defence of the general safety, even if they have not enjoyed as yet any advantage from those possessions which they previously had, meet with death in its most pleasant form, considering (λογιζομαι) that, by their saving the others, their property goes to those whom they desired to have for their successors.
(Agr. 1:168 PHE) And if any one is a friend of virtue, let him pray that all good things may be implanted in him, and may appear in his soul, like some symmetrical proportion conducing to beauty in a statue or a picture, considering (λογιζομαι) that there are innumerable persons watching at hand, to whom nature will give all these things instead of giving them to him, namely, facility of learning, improvement, and perfection; but it is better that he should shine out rather than they, guarding safely the graces which have been bestowed on him by God; and that he himself should not, by carrying forward destruction, afford an easy prey to his unsparing enemies.
(Ebr. 1:128 PHE) But Aaron is the priest, and the interpretation of his name is "mountainous;" reasoning occupying itself with sublime and lofty objects, not on account of the superabundant excess of the arrogance of empty pride, but by reason of the magnitude of its virtue, which, elevating the thoughts beyond even heaven, suffers it not to contemplate (λογιζομαι) anything that is lowly. And no one who is disposed in this manner will ever voluntarily touch unmixed wine or any other medicine of folly,
(Conf. 1:180 PHE) XXXVI. And this may be enough to say in this manner; and it is right that this point also should be considered (λογιζομαι), namely that God is the cause only of what is good but is absolutely the cause of no evil whatever, since he himself is the most ancient of all existing things, and the most perfect of all goods; and it is most natural and becoming that he should do what is most akin to his own nature, that is to say, that the best of all beings should be the cause of all the best things, but that the punishments appointed for the wicked are inflicted by the means of his subordinate ministers.
(Mig. 1:72 PHE) for many men think (λογιζομαι), indeed, most excellently, but are betrayed by a bad interpreter, namely, speech, because they have not thoroughly worked up the whole course of encyclical instruction. Others, again, have been exceedingly skillful in explaining their ideas, but very bad hands at forming intentions, as, for instance, those who are called sophists, for the mind of these sophists is destitute of all harmony and of all real learning; but their speeches, which are uttered by the organs of their voice, are full of music and beauty.
(Mig. 1:186 PHE) For you will perceive (λογιζομαι) that there is a mind in you and in the universe; and that your mind, having asserted its authority and power over all the things in you, has brought each of the parts into subjection to himself. In like manner also, the mind of the universe being invested with the supremacy, governs the world by independent law and justice, having a providential regard not only for those things which are of more importance, but also for those which appear to be somewhat obscure."
(Her. 1:44 PHE) Do thou, therefore, love the virtues, and embrace them with thy soul, and then you will be not at all desirous to kiss, which is but the false money of friendship;- "For have they not yet any part or inheritance in thy house? have they not been reckoned (λογιζομαι) as aliens before thee? and hast not thou sold them and devoured the money?" [Genesis xxxi. 14] so that you could neither at any subsequent time recover it, after having devoured the price of their safety and their ransom. Do you pretend, therefore, to wish to kiss, or else to wage endless war against all the judges? But Aaron will not kiss Moses, though he will love him with the genuine affection of his heart. "For," says the scripture, "he loved him, and they embraced one another." [Exodus xviii. 7.] While some Reformed apologists may latch onto the use of Gen 31:15 as evidence for the classical Reformed understanding of imputation, the text does not support such a view, nor does Philo lends support thereto. For an exegesis of this text, see this page.
(Her. 1:94 PHE) XIX. And it is well added in the scripture, "And it was counted (λογιζομαι) to him for righteousness:" for nothing is so righteous as to have an unalloyed and entire belief in the only God.
(Congr. 1:42 PHE) and the son of the concubine recollection is Machir, as the Hebrews call him; but the Greeks interpret the name to mean "of the father." For those who recollect a thing think that the mind is the father and cause of their recollecting, and do not consider (λογιζομαι) that this same endowment of the mind did also before contain "forgetfulness," though it never would have received it if it had had memory in its power.
(Fug. 1:15 PHE) In reference to which fact the powers devoted to practice and meditation, when they are set free, cry out, giving a full account of the causes of their hatred: "Have we not any longer a share and an inheritance in the house of our father? Are we not now accounted (λογιζομαι) aliens by him? For he has sold us, and he has eaten up and devoured our money. All the wealth and all the glory which God took from our father shall belong to us and to our children." [Genesis xxxi. 14.]
(Mut. 1:177 PHE) Do not fancy, my good friend, that that word, "he said" not with his mouth but "in his mind," [Genesis xvii. 20] has been added for no especial use; on the contrary, it is inserted with great accuracy and propriety. Why so? Because it seems by his saying, "Shall a child be born to him who is a hundred years old?" that he had a doubt about the birth of Isaac, in which he was previously stated to believe; as what was predicted a little before showed, speaking thus, "This child shall not be thy heir, but he who shall come out of thee;" and immediately afterward he says, "Abraham believed in the Lord, and it was counted (λογιζομαι) to him for righteousness."
(Somn. 1:158 PHE) But let no one who hears that he was firmly planted thus suppose that any thing at all assists God, so as to enable him to stand firmly, but let him rather consider (λογιζομαι) this fact that what is here indicated is equivalent to the assertion that the firmest position, and the bulwark, and the strength, and the steadiness of everything is the immoveable God, who stamps the character of immobility on whatever he pleases; for, in consequence of his supporting and consolidating things, those which he does combine remain firm and indestructible.
(Somn. 2:30 PHE) but he who is uninitiated in reaping boasts, so far as to say, "I thought that I was with the others binding up the sheaves which I had reaped." [Genesis xxxvii. 7.] And he does not consider (λογιζομαι) that this is the occupation of servants and of unskillful hands, as I have said a little while ago.
(Somn. 2:116 PHE) and he thinks that all things were created for his sake, and that it is necessary that everything, whether earth or heaven, or water or air, should bring him tribute; and he has gone to such an extravagant pitch of folly, that he is not able to reason (λογιζομαι) upon such matters as even a young child might understand, and to see that no artist ever makes the whole for the sake of the part, but rather makes the part for the sake of the whole. Now the part of the whole is the man, so that he is properly asserted to have been made for the sake of perfecting the world in which he is rightly classed.
(Somn. 2:169 PHE) XXV. It would therefore be naturally consistent to consider (λογιζομαι) next that the vine is the symbol of two things: of folly, and of mirth. And each of these two, though it is indicated by many circumstances, we will explain in a few words, to avoid prolixity.
(Somn. 2:219 PHE) You see now the preface of the lover of self who being easily moved, and changeable, and fickle, both in his body and soul, says, "I thought that I was standing," and did not consider (λογιζομαι) that unchangeableness and steadiness belong to God alone, and to him who is dear to God.
(Abr. 1:152 PHE) Again, if anger occupies us, the sight becomes more fierce and bloodshot; and when we are considering (λογιζομαι) or deliberating, the eyes are tranquil and motionless, and almost as intent as the mind itself; just as at moments of the relaxation and indifference of the mind, the eyes also are relaxed and indifferent;
(Ios. 1:139 PHE) Again, some persons setting sail in the summer (for that is the season for fair voyages) have been shipwrecked; while others, who have expected to be overwhelmed by reason of being forced to put to sea, have reached their harbor uninjured, without having even incurred any danger. As some merchants hasten forward as if to confessed gain, being ignorant of the losses which are awaiting them; while others who have anticipated (λογιζομαι) losses, have in effect met with great profits-
(Ios. 1:191 PHE) And their father, calculating (λογιζομαι) like a wise man that it was better to expose one son to the uncertain and doubtful danger of the future, than to encounter the certain loss of so large a family, which the whole house must endure if they continued to be overwhelmed by the present scarcity, that most incurable of diseases, says to them,
(Ios. 1:210 PHE) But what had happened to them was better than their most sanguine prayers, since, in addition to having no false accusations laid against them, they had also been admitted to the bread and salt of the governor, which among all men is a token of genuine friendship, and had also recovered their brother without his having received any injury, without having had recourse to the intercession and entreaty of any mediator, and were also taking back their youngest brother in safety to their father, having escaped all suspicion of being spies, and bearing with them an abundant quantity of food, and having good and well-founded hopes for the future ("δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος λογιζομένους"), for they thought that even if necessary food was repeatedly to fail them, they should never again themselves be in exceeding want as before, but might return joyfully to the governor of the country as to a friend and not a stranger.
(Mos. 2:34 PHE) So when they had won his approval, they immediately began to fulfill the objects for which that honorable embassy had been sent; and considering (λογιζομαι) among themselves how important the affair was, to translate laws which had been divinely given by direct inspiration, since they were not able either to take away anything, or to add anything, or to alter anything, but were bound to preserve the original form and character of the whole composition, they looked out for the most completely purified place of all the spots on the outside of the city. For the places within the walls, as being filled with all kinds of animals, were held in suspicion by them by reason of the diseases and deaths of some, and the accursed actions of those who were in health.
(Mos. 2:266 PHE) and the miraculous nature of the sign was shown, not merely in the fact of the food being double in quantity, nor in that of its remaining unimpaired, contrary to the usual customs, but in both these circumstances taking place on the sixth day, from the day on which this food first began to be supplied from heaven, from which day the most sacred number of seven begun to be counted (λογιζομαι), so that if any one reckons he will find that this heavenly food was given in exact correspondence with the arrangement instituted at the creation of the world. For God began to create the world on the first day of a week of six days: and he began to rain down the food which has just been mentioned on the same first day;
(Spec. 1:3 PHE) In consequence of which it would be most fitting for men to discard childish ridicule, and to investigate the real causes of the ordinance with more prudence and dignity, considering (λογιζομαι) the reasons why the custom has prevailed, and not being precipitate, so as without examination to condemn the folly of mighty nations, recollecting that it is not probable that so many myriads should be circumcised in every generation, mutilating the bodies of themselves and of their nearest relations, in a manner which is accompanied with severe pain, without adequate cause; but that there are many reasons which might encourage men to persevere and continue a custom which has been introduced by previous generations, and that these are from reasons of the greatest weight and importance.
(Spec. 1:128 PHE) Thirdly, one ought to take this also into consideration (λογιζομαι), that shares of the first fruits will not be neglected merely because they are distributed to the servants, through their fear of their masters; for this is sufficient to stop their mouths, preventing the arrogance of such persons from showing itself.
(Spec. 1:138 PHE) But nevertheless, he consecrates also their own first-born male children after the fashion of other first fruits, as a sort of thanks-offering for fertility, and a number of children both existing and hoped for, and wishing at the same time that their marriages should be not only free from all blame, but even very deserving of praise, the first fruit arising from which is consecrated to God; and keeping this in their minds (ὅπερ χρὴ λογιζομένους"), both husbands and wives ought to cling to modesty, and to attend to their household concerns, and to cherish unanimity, agreeing with one another, so that what is called a communion and partnership may be so in solid truth, not only in word, but likewise in deed.
(Spec. 1:279 PHE) Therefore, if you expect to be able to pass undetected, you are ignorant of the power of God, by which he at the same time sees everything and hears everything. And if you think that you will be discovered, you are most audacious in (when you ought rather to endeavor to conceal the wicked actions which you have committed) bringing forward to light specimens of all your iniquitous deeds, and giving yourself airs, and dividing the fruits of them with God, bringing him unholy first fruits. And have you not considered (λογιζομαι) this, that the law does not admit of lawlessness, nor does the light of the sun admit of darkness; but God is the archetypal model of all laws, and the sun, which can be appreciated only by the intellect, is the archetypal model of that which is visible to the senses, bringing forth from its invisible fountains visible light to afford to him who sees." V. Moreover, there are other commandments relating to the altar.
(Spec. 1:311 PHE) "Let then," says the law, "God alone be thy boast, and thy greater glory." [Deuteronomy 10:21.] And do not pride thyself either on thy wealth, or on thy glory, or on the beauty of thy person, or on thy strength, or on anything of the same kind as the objects at which foolish empty-headed persons are apt to be elated; considering (λογιζομαι) that, in the first place, these things have no connection at all with the nature of good, and secondly, that they are liable to rapid changes, fading away in a manner before they have time to flourish permanently.
(Spec. 1:334 PHE) therefore, the champions of the mind attribute to it the predominance in and supreme authority over all human affairs, and affirm that it is able to preserve all past things in its recollection, and to comprehend all present things with great vigor, and to divine the future by probable conjecture (λογιζομαι);
(Spec. 2:52 PHE) In considering (λογιζομαι) the melancholy and fearful condition of the human race, and how full it is of innumerable evils, which the covetousness of the soul begets, which the defects of the body produce, and which all the inequalities of the soul inflict upon us, and which the retaliations of those among whom we live, both doing and suffering innumerable evils, are continually causing us, he then wondered whether any one being tossed about in such a sea of troubles, some brought on deliberately and others unintentionally, and never being able to rest in peace nor to cast anchor in the safe haven of a life free from danger, could by any possibility really keep a feast, not one in name, but one which should really be so, enjoying himself and being happy in the contemplation of the world and all the things in it, and in obedience to nature, and in a perfect harmony between his words and his actions, between his actions and his words.
(Spec. 2:54 PHE) In reference to which fact, a certain pre-eminently virtuous mind among the people of old [Genesis xviii. 10], when all its passions were tranquil, smiled, being full of and completely penetrated with joy, and reasoning (λογιζομαι) with itself whether perhaps to rejoice was not a peculiar attribute of God, and whether it might not itself miss this joy by pursuing what are thought delights by men, was timorous, and denied the laughter of her soul until she was comforted.
(Spec. 2:139 PHE) In the third place, being a good referee of justice, it considered (λογιζομαι) in itself that the father had freely lavished provisions upon the sons of the beloved wife due to his affection for her, while he considered the sons of the hated wife to deserve nothing due to his hatred for their mother. Thus the former had inherited more than their equal share during his lifetime, while the latter were in danger even upon his death of being deprived of the whole patrimony. So then, in order to equalize the distribution to the sons of both wives, it set aside a double portion as the rightful inheritance of the eldest, the son of the wife who had been put away. This is enough regarding these things.
(Spec. 2:189 PHE) for then the voice of a trumpet sounded from heaven, which it is natural to suppose reached to the very extremities of the universe, so that so wondrous a sound attracted all who were present, making them consider (λογιζομαι), as it is probable, that such mighty events were signs betokening some great things to be accomplished.
(Spec. 3:92 PHE) III. But some persons who have slain others with swords, or spears, or darts, or clubs, or stones, or something of that kind, may possibly have done so without any previous design, and without having for some time before planned (λογιζομαι) this deed in their hearts, but may have been excited at the moment, yielding to passion more powerful than their reason, to commit the homicide; so that it is but half a crime, inasmuch as the mind was not for some long time before occupied by the pollution.
(Spec. 3:128 PHE) IX. Therefore the lawgiver enjoins that the man who has committed an unintentional murder should flee to some one of the cities which this tribe has received as its inheritance, in order to comfort him and to teach him not to despair of any sort of safety; but to make him, while safe through the privilege of the place, remember and consider (λογιζομαι) that not only on certain occasions is forgiveness allowed to those who have designedly slain any person, but that even great and pre-eminent honors and excessive happiness is bestowed on them. And if such honors can ever be allowed to those who have slain a man voluntarily, how much more must there be allowance made for those who have done so not with any design, so that, even if no honor be bestowed on them, they may at least not be condemned to be put to death in retaliation. By which injunctions the lawgiver intimates that every kind of homicide is not blameable, but only that which is combined with injustice; and that of other kinds some are even praiseworthy which are committed out of a desire and zeal for virtue; and that which is unintentional is not greatly to be blamed.
(Spec. 3:194 PHE) and again change so as to be gentle and soft when the anger is relaxed. Again, when the man is immersed in deep thought (λογιζομαι) and contemplation, the eyes seem fixed as if they in a manner joined in his gravity; but in the case of those who are of no great wisdom the sight wanders, because of their vacancy of intellect, and is restless, and in short the eyes sympathize with the affections of the soul, and are wont to change along with it in innumerable alternations, on account of the closeness of their connection with it; for it seems to me that there is no one visible thing which God has made so complete a representation of that which is invisible as the sight is of the mind.
(Spec. 4:103 PHE) One might very likely suppose it to be just that those beasts which feed upon human flesh should receive at the hands of men similar treatment to that which they inflict on men, but Moses has ordained that we should abstain from the enjoyment of all such things, and with a due consideration (λογιζομαι) of what is becoming to the gentle soul, he proposes a most gentle and most pleasant banquet; for though it is proper that those who inflict evils should suffer similar calamities themselves, yet it may not be becoming to those whom they ill treated to retaliate, lest without being aware of it they become brutalized by anger, which is a savage passion;
(Spec. 4:182 PHE) Let not any one then think that nobility of birth is a perfect good, and therefore neglect virtuous actions, considering (λογιζομαι) that that man deserves greater anger who, after he has been born of virtuous parents, brings disgrace on his parents by reason of the wickedness of his disposition and conduct; for if he has domestic examples of goodness which he may imitate, and yet never copies them, so as to correct his own life, and to render it healthy and virtuous, he deserves reproach.
(Spec. 4:194 PHE) On which account the law orders these merchants and dealers, and all other persons who have adopted this way of life, to take care to provide themselves with just balances, and measures, and weights, not practicing any wicked maneuvers to the injury of those who purchase of them, but to do and say everything with a free and guileless soul, considering (λογιζομαι) this, that unjust gains are injurious, but that that wealth which is acquired in accordance with justice a man cannot be deprived of;
(Virt. 1:83 PHE) And he enjoins his subjects not to hang back on that account, and to be more slow to contribute to the necessities of others, but rather with open hands and willing minds very cheerfully to give to those who have need, considering (λογιζομαι) that gratitude may in some degree be looked upon as interest repaid at a more favorable season for what was lent in an hour of necessity, being repaid by the voluntary inclination of the receiver of the kindness. And if a person be not willing wholly to give, still at all events let him lend, so as to give the temporary use of what is wanted freely and cheerfully, without expecting to receive anything beyond the principal.
(Virt. 1:137 PHE) But the law banishes to a distance from the sacred precincts all animals which are pregnant, not permitting them to be sacrificed until they have brought forth, looking on the animals which are still in the womb as equal to what has just been born ("τὰ κατὰ γαστρὸς ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς ἀποκυηθεῖσιν ἤδη λογισάμενος"); not because those which have never yet come to light are really looked upon as of equal importance with living creatures, but this ordinance is given to banish to a distance the rashness of those persons who are in the habit of confounding everything;
(Prob. 1:23 PHE) IV. But we must consider (λογιζομαι) that not only is the man who feels no anxiety to avoid death incapable of being made a slave, but the same privilege belongs to those who are indifferent to poverty, and want of reputation, and pain, and all those other things which the generality of men look upon as evils, being themselves but evil judges of things, since they pronounce a man a slave from a computation of what things he has need of, looking at the duties which he is compelled to perform, when they ought to look rather at his free and indomitable disposition;
(Hypoth. 6:9 PHE) Therefore, whether he spoke, being influenced by his own reason ("εἴτε οὖν λελογισμένος αὐτὸς εἴτε ἀκούων παρὰ δαίμονος ἔφρασε"), or because he was inspired by the Deity, they referred every word of his to God. And though many years have passed, I cannot tell the exact number, but more than two thousand, still they have never altered one word of what was written by him, but would rather endure to die ten thousand times than to do any thing in opposition to his laws and to the customs which he established.
(Legat. 1:85 PHE) for having acquired the idea that eternity was never-ending, and considering (λογιζομαι) that he was to live for ever, and that his brother was to be dead for ever, and that in conjunction with his own immortality he should likewise be enduring an undying sorrow on account of his brother, he conceived and carried out a most marvellous system of counter-balancing, mingling mortality with himself and immortality with his brother, and thus he modified inequality, which is the beginning of all injustice, by equality, which is the fountain of justice.
(Legat. 1:184 PHE) XXIX. Having these ideas in my mind ("αῦτα λογιζόμενος ἐσφάδᾳζον"), I resisted the sanguine hopes of the others, and had no rest in my mind day or night. But while I was thus giving way to despondency and lamenting over my ignorance of the future (for it was not safe to postpone matters), on a sudden another most grievous and unexpected calamity fell upon us, bringing danger not on one section of the Jews only, but on all the nation together.
(Legat. 1:318 PHE) But that great ruler; who was inferior to no one in philosophy, considered (λογιζομαι) within himself, that it is necessary in terrestrial things, that an especial holy place should be set apart for the invisible God, who will not permit any visible representation of himself to be made, by which to arrive at a participation in favorable hopes and the enjoyment of perfect blessings.
(Legat. 1:348 PHE) Truly you are suggesting fine hopes to the race of mankind; are you ignorant that you are opening the fountains of evils of every kind, making innovations, and committing acts of audacious impiety such as it is wicked to do and even to think (λογιζομαι) of?
(QG 1:21 PHE) Why does Moses say, "He brought the animals to Adam, that he might see what he would call them," when God can never entertain a doubt? [Genesis 2:19]. 21. It is in truth inconsistent with the nature of God to doubt; therefore it does not appear that he was in doubt on this occasion, but that since he had given intellect to man as being the first man born out of the earth and endowed with a great desire for virtue, by which he was made thoroughly wise as if he had been endowed with wisdom by nature, so as to consider (λογιζομαι) all things like the proper Ruler and Lord of all, God now caused him to be influenced to display the proper performance of his task, and saw what was really the most excellent point of his mind. Besides this, by this statement he evidently indicates the perfect free-will existing in us, refuting those who affirm that everything exists by a certain necessity. Or else because it belonged to man to employ the animals, therefore he also gave him authority to give them names.
(QG 2:34 PHE) What is the window of the ark, which the just man opens? [Genesis 8:6]. 34. The literal statement scarcely admits of any difficulty or doubt, inasmuch as it is plain; but with reference to the inner meaning we have this to say: each separate part of the senses has imitated the windows of the body, since it is through them as through windows that the comprehension of sensible objects enters into the intellect, and again it is through them that the intellect stretches forth as if escaping; but a portion of these windows, the senses, the more noble portion too, I say, is the sight; inasmuch as that above all the rest is akin to the soul, and it is intimately acquainted with light, the most beautiful of the essences, and it is the minister of sacred things; moreover that is the one which first laid open the road to philosophy. For beholding the regular motion of the sun, and of the moon, and the erratic course of the other planets, and the unerring circular motion of the whole heaven, and the order and harmony there existing beyond all calculation, as if it were the one real creator of the whole world, it by itself related to its one chief counsellor and director all that it saw: and then intellect, seeing those things with its acute eye, and by those things discerning superior demonstrative ideas, and the cause of all those things, immediately perceived that there was a God at the same moment that it arrived at the conception of generation and providence, because forsooth (λογιζομαι) it was plain that this visible nature was not created by itself: for it was impossible that such a harmony, and order, and reason, and most consistent analogy, and that a concord of such a character and extent, and that such true and perfect felicity should exist by its own power: but it was necessary that there must be some Creator and parent of it acting like a governor and director, who generated these things, and then having generated them preserves them safe and sound.
In a section of his intellectual biography of Philo of Alexandria, entitled “Philo’s Role as Pious and Suffering Ambassador,” Maren R. Niehoff wrote:
Philo as a narrator builds his leading role in the Jewish embassy by pointing to his experience and intellectual superiority. His exemplary maturity shows in the first meeting with Gaius, who greeted them in a friendly manner and conveyed the message that he himself would hear the case in due course. While the other ambassadors rejoice at the emperor’s positive response, Philo remains sceptical and is troubled by the following thoughts:
But as I believe to have a greater amount of good sense on account of my age and my good education, I was alarmed by the things that gave joy to them. Bestirring my own thinking power (logismos), I said: Why, when so many envoys have arrived from almost the whole earth, did he say that he would hear only us? What does he want? He cannot have remained ignorant of the act that we are Jews , for whom it would be a pleasure not to be disadvantaged . . . Thus thinking I was deeply disturbed and had no rest by day or night. Yet fainthearted I kept my sorrow secret, since it was not safe to express it, while another very heavy calamity suddenly and unexpectedly fell upon us—a calamity that brought danger not only to one part of the Jewish citizen-body, but collectively to the whole people. (Legat. 183-84) (Maren R. Niehoff, Philo of Alexandria: An Intellectual Biography [The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018], 34)
Commenting on this section from Philo’s Legatio ad Gaium (“On the Embassy to Gaius”), Niehoff writes:
This is one of the more personal passages in Philo’s entire oeuvre, when he shares with his readers the thoughts going through his mind. Stressing his own doubts regarding Gaius’s sincerity, Philo connects this scene from the initial stage of the embassy with the subsequent news about Gaius’s plan to erect his own statue in the Jerusalem Temple. Philo gives the impression that immediately after the meeting with Gaius, while he was still thinking about its meaning, the bad news about the Temple reached him. According to Philo’s own testimony, however, the Jewish ambassadors heard the news at a considerably later stage. In Embassy 185 he mentions the journeys they had in the meantime undertaken to follow Gaius, who was “spending some time round the bay [of Puteloli].” Philo thus had harmonized two events, namely, the initial meeting with Gaius in the early part of 39 CE and the subsequent announcement of his plans about the Jerusalem Temple which most probably dates to the summer of 40 CE. By fusing the two events Philo gives the impression that human diplomacy was doomed to failure from the beginning.
Philo explains his inner thoughts and shows how he relies on his education and logismos in order to judge external appearances more carefully than others. He prides himself in having the “good sense” to distrust Gaius rather than accept his gestures and benevolence. This disclosure of a personal reaction to an external stimulation reflects Stoic philosophy, which is concerned with the individual as embedded in society and reacting to the outside world. While Philo does not use distinctly Stoic terminology, except the rather general notion of logismos, his position is close to that of the Roman philosopher Seneca, who began to publish his first works at the time of Philo’s embassy. Seneca similarly treats the individual person with emphasis on his or her reaction to the outside world. Time and again he describes how he reacted to specific situations and other people by applying his rational judgment.
. . .
On another occasion, [Seneca] says, “I reflected and recovered and regained my strength” through studies. Like Philo, Seneca engages in an inner dialogue, urging himself “not to be yielding up my soul.” Both Seneca and Philo have integrated personal experiences into their discussion and project a narrative self of Stoic complexion in order to demonstrate the concrete truth of their positions. Seneca discloses his self in order to show that “everything depends on opinion; . . . a man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is.” Philo tells his readers how he relies on his logismos in order to confront the impression of Gaius’s friendly gestures, suggesting that from the beginning, this Roman emperor is “our mortal enemy” (Philo, Legat. 180). (Ibid., 34-35, 36 emphasis added. Comment in square bracket added for clarification)
Why is this significant? The verb, transliterated here as logisomos is λογιζομαι. Here we have overwhelming evidence from this passage in Philo, as well as (1) the rest of Philo’s works and (2) the other Greek literature contemporary with the New Testament is that λογιζομαι does not support the popular Reformed understanding of the verb, namely, that it means imputation (seeing in someone something that is not really there but must be imputed to them from an alien [external] source); instead, the verb refers to what someone is thinking of as a mental representation of the reality they are witnessing. That Philo, through his logismos, is able to know the true, intrinsic nature of Gaius, not his mere (deceptive) external presentation of himself.