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Philo on MusicAuthor(s): Siegmund LevarieSource: The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Winter, 1991), pp. 124-130Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/763837 .

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Commentary

Philo on

Music

SIEGMUND

LEVARIE

hilo is

generally

recognized

as

one of

the most

influential

philosophers

of the

Graeco-Roman

era. Yet his

references

to

music-unlike

those of his

predecessors

Plato

and

Aristotle,

or

of

his successors

St.

Augustine

and

Boethius-have

remained

buried in

his

voluminous

writings.

There

is

some

justification

for this

neglect.

Philo was not

concerned with music

theory,

as

were

the

philosophers

mentioned

above.

Whatever he

says

about

music is

characteristic of

his

period

rather than

original.

As an

educated

Jew,

son of a

wealthy

Roman civil servant, living in the sophisticated Grecian

society

of

Alexandria at

the

time of

Christ,

he

explored

the

musical

traditions

transmitted

through

the Old

Testament and

Plato to his

contempo-

raries. He was

aware of

performance

practices

and

musical

thoughts

around

him

and used his

musical

knowledge

and

observations

for

frequent

and

telling

illuminations of

his

philosophic

treatises.

All

ancient

civilizations

seem to

have

placed

music at

the

source of

their

religious

and

cultural

experiences.

In

his

brilliant

interpretation

of

Indian

philosophy,

for

instance,

Antonio

de

Nicolas

writes:

It is

essential ... that we

get

ourselves

ready

to

move,

in one swift

jump,

from the

prosaic,

discursive,

lengthy

and

conceptual

ground

on

which

we

are

accustomed

to

stand,

into

the

moving,

shifting,

resounding,

evanescent,

vibrating

and

always

sounding

...

musical

world

on

which

the

Rg

Veda

stands. '

An

approach

of

this

kind

to

the

Bible

yields

meanings

with which

Philo

and his

generation

were well

famil-

iar. His

exegesis

of

the

Creation,

to

give

an

example,

abounds in

musical

analogies,

allegories,

and

metaphors,

of

which

the

following

is

a

good representative

(De

opificio

mundi

89-128).

Volume IX

*

Number

1

*

Winter

1991

The

Journal

of

Musicology

?

1991

by

the

Regents

of the

University

of

California

Meditations

through

he

Rg

Veda

(Stony

Brook,

New York:

Nicolas

Hays,

1976),

p.







PHILO ON MUSIC

God

invests the seventh

day

with

dignity

to

celebrate

the

comple-

tion of the whole world.

Philo doubts

whether

anyone

could ade-

quately celebrate the properties of the number 7, for they are beyond

all words. Yet the fact

that it is more wondrous than all that is said

about it

is no

reason

for

maintaining

silence. 2

The

number

7

is a

bringer

of

perfection.

It is

absolutely

harmonious

and

...

the

source

of

the

most beautiful musical

arrangement [diagrdmmatos]

which contains all the intervals

[harmonias]:

he

fourth, fifth,

and oc-

tave;

and the

arithmetic,

geometric,

and

harmonic

progressions

[ana-

logias]

as well. The mathematical table

is

formed

out of

the numbers

6, 8,

9,

12.

Now 8:6

is

as

4:3,

the interval

[harmonia]

of

the

fourth;

9:6

is as 3:2, the interval of the fifth; 12:6 is as 2:1, that of the octave.

Philo lists all these

qualities

and more related to the marvelous

nature

of

the

number

7

but

returns,

here

and

elsewhere,

to

stressing

its influence

by way

of

music,

one of the noblest

of

sciences.

The virtues

of

the

quantity

7

are

explained by

the beautiful

sounds of the musical world-the

opposite

of

the

approach

modern

physicists

would take. For

Philo,

numbers are

symbols

of

deeper

truths,

best

revealed

through

music.

He

asks,

why

are

there io com-

mandments?

io

high

holidays?

a fast on the loth

day

of the

period

of

125

Atonement? (De specialibus legibus II,

200).

Again he refers to the

musical

intervals

mentioned

above,

adding

that

lo

also contains the

ratio

of

9:8

[the

wholetone],

so that it sums

up

fully

and

perfectly

the

leading

truths of

musical

science,

and

for

this reason

[italics

mine]

io

has received its name of

the

all-perfect.

Such statements are not

startling

in

a world oriented

toward

sound and music rather

than

sight

and touch.

Philo

lived

in

a

period

of decisive

spiritual

change.

In

the Old

Testament,

God

is a voice.

He

creates

the world

by

saying,

Let there be.

He

speaks

to mortals but

does not show himself. In the New

Testament,

God becomes visible.

He

appears

on this earth.

Most of Philo's

metaphors

and

allegories

are

still acoustical.

For as

the

lyra

or

any

musical

instrument is

out of

tune

[ekmeles]

f

even one

tone and

nothing

more

be false

[apodos],

but

in

harmony

when a

single

plucking produces

consonant

sounds,

so

it

is

the same

way

with

the

instrument

of the

soul which is

dissonant

[asymphonon]

when stretched

too far

by

rashness toward

the

highest

pitch

or

when it

is

relaxed

beyond

measure

by

cowardice and

loos-

ened

toward

the lowest

(De

ebrietate

116).

2

The

English

text

throughout

this

essay

is

that

of the Loeb

Classical

Library

(12

volumes),

with modifications

based on

my

own translation

from

the

Greek. The mod-

ifications

affect

particularly,

but not

exclusively,

musical

terms

which

understandably

troubled

the

otherwise

superior

philologists.







THE

JOURNAL

OF

MUSICOLOGY

In

a

similar

spirit

he

writes about

the vast

multitude of

ills

which

are found

in

the individual

man,

especially

when the

combination of

voices within him is out of tune and unmusical (De confusionelin-

guarum

15).

The

unrhythmic,

unmeasured,

and

disproportionate

in

man can

be healed

through rhythm,

meter,

and

proportion by way

of

polished

music

(De

cherubim

105).

Music

will

charm

away

the un-

rhythmic

by

its

rhythm,

the

incongruous by

its

proportions,

the false

and

tuneless

by

its

melody,

and thus

reduce

discord to

concord

(De

congressuquaerendae

eruditionis

gratia

16).

Philo

takes

the

spiritual quality

of

music

for

granted,

and

only

a

society

which thinks of music

merely

as

entertainment will find

his

views esoteric. The ears hear, but the mind through the ears hears

better than the ears

(De

congressuquaerendae

ruditionis

gratia

143-44).

The relation of

the

metaphysical

truth of

music to

the

earthly

executor of

the art furnishes a

recurring

motive:

When a musician

or

scholar has

died,

the

music or

scholarship

that

has

abode in

individual

masters has indeed

perished

with

him,

but

the

original

pattern

of

these

remain

and

may

be

said to

live as

long

as

the

world

lasts;

and

by

conforming

to

these,

the men of this

generation

and

those of all

126

future

generations

in

perpetual

succession

will

attain

to

being

musi-

cians or scholars (Quod deterius

potiori

insidiari

potet

75).

And: For

states

are

better than the individuals who

embody

them,

as

music is

better than

the musician

...

and

every

art than

every

artist,

better

both in

everlastingness

and

in

power

and in

unerring

mastery

over its

subject

matter

(De

mutationenominum

122).

Philo's

musical

references

must not

be

understood

as

poetic

sen-

timentalities.

While not a

professional

musician,

he knew

the

basic

facts of

music

theory

and

practice.

He

quotes

the then

accepted

or-

ganization

of

musical

science into

rhythm,

meter,

melos;

into

chro-

matic,

enharmonic,

diatonic

species;

into the main

intervals of

fourth,

fifth,

octave;

and into

conjunct

and

disjunct

melodies

(De

agricultura

137).

Introducing

the

five senses as

understanding's

messengers

and

bodyguards

of

the

soul,

he

devotes a

specific

discourse to

sound

and the

particular

virtues of

structured tone:

Sound

altogether

does

not

elude our

discernment ...

We know

that one

tone is

high,

another

low;

one

fitting

a

melody

and

proportionate,

another

out of

tune and

most

unmusical;

one

louder and

another softer.

Tones

also

differ

in

countless

other

respects:

in

genera,

timbre,

intervals, conjunct

or dis-

junct systems,

and

consonances

...

In

articulate

sound,

moreover,

an

advantage

possessed

by

man

alone of all

living

creatures is

that

sound

is

sent

up

from

understanding;

that

in

the mouth

it

acquires

articu-

lation;

that

the

beat or

stroke of

the

tongue

imparts

articulation

and

speech

to

the

tension of

the

voice;

and

that

the

result is not

just

idle







PHILO

ON

MUSIC

sound and

unshapen

noise

because

it is

ruled

by

the

mind,

its

herald

and

interpreter

(De

somniis

I,

27-29).

Having praised the human voice as the chief and most perfect of

all instruments which sets a

pattern

made

ready

beforehand

for

the

instruments

that were to be fashioned

artificially,

Philo

turns to the

structure

of

the

ear

(De

posteritate

Caini

103

ff.,

probably

leaning

on

Cicero's similar

exposition

in De natura deorum

II,

159):

Nature

turned

[the

ear]

with

her

lathe,

and

made

it

spherical,

drawing

circles

within

circles,

lesser within

larger,

in

order that

the

sound that

ap-

proached

it

might

not

escape

and be

dispersed

outside of

it,

but that

the

thing

heard

might

be collected and enclosed

within

by

the

circles,

and being as it were poured through them, be conveyed into the

receptacles

of the mind.

We see here at

once a model for

the

theatres

seen

in

thriving

cities,

for

theatres are

constructed

in

exact

imitation

of the

shape

of

the

ear.

Along

the

same

lines,

Philo

explains

that the

windpipe

in the human

throat

is

structured

precisely

so

as

to

be able

to

sing

all

genera,

modes,

and

intervals,

by step

or

skip.

Instruments

are

merely

imitations

of

this natural model. But both voice

and in-

struments

must be controlled

by

our mind. For

just

as

an

instrument

put

into the

hands of an unmusical

person

is

tuneless,

but in

the

127

hands of a musician answers to the skill which he possesses and be-

comes

tuneful,

in

exactly

the same

way speech

or

sound set in

motion

by

a worthless

mind is

without

tune,

but when set

going

by

a

worthy

one

is

discovered

to be in

perfect

tune. Elsewhere he

comments: It

is

our business not

to

practice

music

unmusically

(Quod

deterius

potiori

insidiari

solet

17-18).

Metaphor

and

analogy provide

a

ready

link

to

musical

practices.

Tone

qualities

and behavior

set

a model for

human

qualities

and

behavior.

Musical

instruments

are

proportionally

marked

off

to

give

each tone its

fitting pitch

and

adapt

it so as to sound well

together

with

other

tones.

Similarly

man

should

apportion

his

actions

in

proper

sections

(De

sacrificiis

Abelis et

Caini

74).

The soul

must be set like

a

lyra musically,

not with

high

and low tones

but with the

knowledge

of

moral

opposites

. .

.

not

stretching

it

to

excessive

heights

nor

yet

re-

laxing

and

loosening

the

harmony

of

virtues and

things

naturally

beautiful,

but

keeping

it

ever

at a

proper

tension,

striking

it and

accompanying

it on a

stringed

instrument

in

tune

(Quod

Deus

immu-

tabilis

sit

24).

The

last,

incidental

phrase

creates a

concrete

image

of

a

perfor-

mance

practice:

instrumental

support

of a vocal

monody.

A

similar

situation is

described,

again incidentally,

in

Philo's

report

on his

le-

gation

to

Gaius

(De

legatione

ad

Gaium

42).

He found

the

emperor

so

fascinated

by

the music of kithara

and choral

singers

[that he]

occa-







THE

JOURNAL

OF

MUSICOLOGY

sionally sang

along.

A

comparable

scene on

a

more elevated

level

unfolds at

the

death

of

Moses.

While

he

sings

a

thanksgiving

hymn

to

God, with every kind of harmony and sweet consonance, angels

gather

around

him as

watchers,

observing

in

accordance with

their

own skill

whether

the

song

had

any

false

note

and

marveling

that

any

man

imprisoned

in a

corruptible

body

could

like

the

sun

and

moon

and the

most

sacred choir

of

the

other

stars

attune his

soul

to

harmony

with

God's

instrument,

the

heaven

and

the whole

universe

(De

virtutibus

72-75).

At an earlier

occasion,

Moses

had

functioned as

a choral

conduc-

tor.

After the defeat of

the

pursuing

Egyptians

at

the Red

Sea,

what

should Moses do but honor the Benefactor with hymns of thanksgiv-

ing?

He

divides the

nation

into

two

choirs,

one of

men,

the

other

of

women,

and himself

leads the

men

while he

appoints

his

sister to

lead

the women

that

they

might

sing

hymns

to the Father and

Creator

in

agreeable

tones,

with a

blending

of

tempers

and

melodies,

eager

to

render

to

each other

like for

like,

combining

into a

consonance

low

and

high;

for the tones of

the

men are

low,

high

of

the

women,

from

whom,

when

they

are

blended in

due

proportion,

results

the

most

128

pleasant

and

panharmonic

melos.

All

these

myriads

were

persuaded

by

Moses to

sing

with hearts

together

the same

hymn

. . . He himself

led

off

the

song;

his

hearers

massed

in

two choirs

sang

with him

(De

vita

Mosis

II,

256-57).

His

singing along

while

conducting

assumes

allegorical

significance.

Of

the

two

choirs,

male and

female,

standing

echoing

and

antiphonally,

. .

.

the male

choir

shall

have

Moses for

its

leader,

that is Mind

in

perfection,

and

the

female choir

shall

be

led

by

Miriam,

that

is Sense

Perception

made

pure

and

clean.

For

it is

right

to

make music with both

Mind

and

Sense

(De

agricultura

79-80).

Philo's

most valuable

report

on

musical

performance

practices

derives,

not from an

interpretation

of

biblical

passages,

but

from

personal

observation

of a

sect of

ascetics

living

near him

in

the

vicinity

of

Alexandria.

Known as

Therapeutae,

they

followed a

pre-Christian

monastic

discipline, already

ancient

at

the

time of Philo

and

Jesus.

Philo's

long

and detailed

description

of

their

practices

leads

up

to

the

musical

climax

of

one

of

their

festal

meetings.

After

preliminary

prayers

and

after the

president

has

made a

long speech,

lingering

over

it and

spinning

it

out with

repetitions,

. . .

universal

applause

arises

showing

a

general pleasure

in

the

prospect

of

what

is

still

to

follow.

Then

the

president

rises and

sings

a

hymn

composed

as

an

address to

God,

either a new

one

of

his

own

composition

or

an

old

one

by poets

of an

earlier

day

who

have

left

behind them

hymns

in

many

meters and

melodies

. . .

lyrics

suitable for

processions

or

in

libations

and

at

the

altars,

or for

the

chorus whilst

standing

or

dancing,

with







PHILO

ON

MUSIC

careful metrical

arrangements

to fit the various

turns and counter-

turns. After

him others take over

as

they

are

arranged

and in the

proper order while all the rest listen in complete silence except when

they

have to chant

the

closing

lines and

closing

sections

[ephymnia],

or

then

they

all,

men

and

women,

lift

up

their voices. When

everybody

has

finished

his

hymn,

young

men

bring

in the

supper

...

after which

they

hold the sacred

vigil

conducted

in

the

following way. They

rise all

up

together

and

standing

in

the middle

of the

refectory

they

first

form themselves

into

two

choirs,

one of

men and

one of

women,

the

leader

and

director chosen for each

being

the

most honoured

amongst

them

and also the most musical. Then

they sing hymns

to

God composed of many meters and melodies, sometimes chanting

together,

sometimes

antiphonally,

hands and

feet

keeping

time in

accompaniment,

and

rapt

with enthusiasm

they

execute

now

the

mu-

sic of the

processional,

now of

the

epodes

(stdsima)

and of

the

strophes

and

antistrophes

of

the dances.

Then

when

each choir

has done its

part

in the

feast,

having

drunk

as

in

the

Bacchic

rites of the

strong

wine of God's

love,

they

mix

and both

together

become a

single

choir

(De

vita

contemplativa

64

ff.).

The

description

of

the

final music

of

the

scene raises some

ques-

129

tions. In classical Greek drama, four centuries before Philo, the cho-

rus

was

governed

by

an

established

structure.

One half

of

the entire

group

made

a

poetical,

musical

statement,

the

strophe

or turn. The

other

half answered

with a

parallel

counterstatement,

the

antistrophe

or counterturn.

Then

they joined

for a

crowning

summation,

the

epode

or stand

(stasimon).

Did Philo list

the

closing

stasimonbefore

the

strophes

to

convey

a

sense

of

the

rapt

enthusiasm

of the feast? Or

did his

generation

no

longer pay

much

attention to

the

classical

choric

behavior?

Or did

Philo

merely

mix what he

remembered

of the for-

mal

arrangement

of a Greek drama with his clear view of the two

choirs

organized

by

Moses at

the

Red Sea?

Perhaps

the

Therapeutae

themselves

had

merged

the

two

traditions,

just

as Philo

throughout

his

work had tried

to reconcile Platonic

thought

and Old Testament

authority.

In

his

comprehensive

study

of

Philo,

Harry

Austryn

Wolfson

shows

that

the

philosopher

conceived of

three definite laws of nature:

the law of

opposites

which states

that all

things

in

the world are

divided

into

two

equal though opposite parts;

the

law of the

harmony

of

opposites

which

establishes

an

equilibrium;

and

the

law of

the

perpetuity

of the

species

which wills that nature should run a

course

that

brings

it back to its

starting point.3

Musicians sensitized

to

the

3

Philo: Foundations

of Religious Philosophy

Cambridge,

Massachusetts,

1947)

I,

pp.

332

ff.







THE

JOURNAL

OF

MUSICOLOGY

pervasive

forces of

polarity, harmony,

and

perpetuity readily

accept

these

laws as

basic,

yet

the

supportive

and

otherwise

persuasive

evi-

dence supplied by Wolfson completely ignores music. The character-

istic

examples given

in this

paper

confirm the

view

that Philo and

his

contemporaries,

unlike

later

generations,

still

recognized

music as

a

central

spiritual

force.

City

Universityof

New York

130

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