Ammonius

“ Concerning this man Ammonius so wonderful a thing as the following is said. Whenever a carnal thought entered his mind he never spared his body, but he would make a piece of iron hot on the fire and lay it upon his members, so that they might always be in a state of wounds. ”

“ There were some holy men among them who were young and middle aged, but who were celebrated for their excellent and good qualities. Among these were Ammonius, Eusebius, and Dioscorus. They were brothers, but on account of their height of stature were called the “Long Brothers.” [2]
It is said that Ammon attained the summit of philosophy, and consequently overcame the love of ease and pleasure. ”

“ These few extracts from Evagrius we thought it would be appropriate to insert here. There was another excellent man among the monks, named Ammonius, who had so little interest in secular matters, that when he went to Rome with Athanasius, he chose to investigate none of the magnificent works of that city, contenting himself with examining the Cathedral of Peter and Paul only. This same Ammonius on being urged to enter upon the episcopal office, cut off his own right ear, that by mutilation of his person he might disqualify himself for ordination. ”

“ Who sees not that unless the Sections of Ammonius and those of Eusebius can be proved to have corresponded throughout, the name of Ammonius has no business whatever to be introduced into such a discussion as the present? They must at least be told that in the entire absence of proof of any kind,— (and certainly nothing that Eusebius says warrants any such inference,226) —to reason from the one to the other as if they were identical, is what no sincere inquirer after Truth is permitted to do. ”

“ Why above all do Tischendorf, Tregelles, and the rest deliberately claim “Ammonius” for their ally on an occasion like the present; seeing that they must needs be perfectly well aware that they have no means whatever of knowing (except from the precarious evidence of Catenæ) what Ammonius thought about any single verse in any of the four Gospels? At every stage of this discussion, I am constrained to ask myself,—Do then the recent Editors of the Text of the New Testament really suppose that their statements will never be examined? ”

“ It was the aim and purpose of Ammonius to reconcile all sects, peoples, and nations under one common faith—a belief in one Supreme, Eternal, Unknown, and Unnamed Power, governing the universe by immutable and eternal laws. His object was to prove a primitive system of Theosophy, which, at the beginning, was essentially alike in all countries: to induce all men to lay aside their strifes and quarrels, and unite in purpose and thought as the children of one common mother ”

“ From all that we know of the teachings of Ammonius Saccas as reported to us by Plotinus and other Neo-Platonists, we cannot imagine him to have remained a Christian. The only solution of the difficulty then is to suppose Eusebius (whom Jerome follows) to have confounded him with a Christian of the same name who wrote the works which Eusebius mentions (see note 16) . Ammonius was an Alexandrian by birth and residence, and died in 243. His teaching was of a lofty and noble character, to judge from Plotinus’ descriptions, and as a teacher he was wonderfully fascinating. ”

“ That the founder of the Alexandrian school of philosophy (for such Ammonius Saccas was) should have been at the same time a Christian, though not impossible, seems hardly likely. Moreover, the Ammonius of Eusebius wrote books; whereas, according to both Longinus and Porphyry, Ammonius Saccas wrote none. Plotinus is said to have been most strongly impressed with his first hearing of Ammonius, and to have cried out, "This is the man I was looking for!" ”

“ Under Ammonius, a reputable teacher at Delphi, Plutarch was made acquainted with philosophy and mathematics, and so well established was his character, that he was appointed by his countrymen, while yet very young, to go to the Roman proconsul, in their name, upon an affair of the most important nature. This commission he executed with honour to himself, and with success for his country. He afterwards travelled in quest of knowledge, and after he had visited, like a philosopher and an historian, the territories of Egypt and Greece, he retired to Rome, where he opened a school. ”

“ Ammonius, professor of grammar at Alexandria, and priest of the Egyptian ape, fled to Constantinople with Helladius, and wrote a dictionary of words similar in sound but different in meaning, which has been often printed in Greek lexicons, as Aldus, 1497, Stephanus, and separately by Valckenaer, Lugd. Bat. 1739, 4to, 2 vols., and by others. Zenodotus wrote on the cries of animals, printed in Valckenaer’s Ammonius; with this may be compared the work of Vincentio Caralucci, Lexicon vocum quae a brutis animalibus emittuntur, Perusia, 1779, 12mo. ”

“ Dioscorus and Ammonius were accompanied hither by about eighty other monks. In the meantime, Theophilus sent messengers to Constantinople, to prefer complaints against them, and to oppose any petitions that they might lay before the emperor. On being informed of this fact, Ammonius and the monks embarked for Constantinople, and took Isidore with them; and they requested that their cause might be tried in the presence of the emperor and of the bishop; for they thought that, by reason of his boldness, John, who was careful to do right, would be able to help them in their rights. ”

“ The Ammonius referred to (xiii. 3) is supposed to be Ammonius Saccas (c. 175–242) , but it appears from the Venetian scholia to the Iliad that there was an earlier Ammonius (fl. c. 140 B.C.) , a pupil and successor of Aristarchus at Alexandria, who, judging from the context, is no doubt the writer in question. ”

“ Plutarch was born about the year 50 A.D., and, when Nero went on tour through Greece in 66 A.D., he was a student at Athens under Ammonius. [16] He recalls that among his fellow-students was a descendant of Themistocles, who bore his ancestor's name and still enjoyed the honours granted to him and his posterity at Magnesia. [17] Ammonius, whom he honoured and quoted throughout life, was a Platonist [18] much interested in Mathematics. [19] He was a serious and kindly teacher with a wide range of interests, not all speculative. Plutarch records a discussion of dancing by "the good Ammonius." ”

“ We can well imagine that the spectacle of the abstracted asceticism of Ammonius aroused the curiosity and veneration of the Roman Christians, and thus gave an impulse to the ascetic life in the West (see Jerome, cited below, p. 191) . ”

“ Whether banished or retained, to reason about the lost work of Ammonius from the Sections of Eusebius (as Tischendorf and the rest habitually do) is an offence against historical Truth which no one who values his critical reputation will probably hereafter venture to commit. ”

“ On the next evening, after the conclusion of their usual daily services, the ancient Am-nem-hat began the conversation which occupied their attention during that meeting by saying to Ammonius: "Thou didst observe that the future state of just and good men who died without any sufficient knowledge of Christianity to lead them to embrace that faith 'hath never been clearly revealed unto us.' Is it not true also that the future state of all men hath been left almost entirely unrevealed? ”

“ Ammonius, Plutarch’s teacher in the Platonic philosophy, comes out as a masterful person, and a past-master in the art of tactful arrangement of a debate. Theon (‘Our Comrade’, an appellation given to some half-dozen others) , to be distinguished from ‘Theon the Grammarian’, is a close and much trusted family friend. Very few Roman names appear, but Sossius Senecio, Mestrius Florus, and one or two others, must have been intimates. ”

“ The next Harmony was that of Ammonius of Alexandria, the teacher of Origen, the first work bearing this title (ἉΑρμονία) . It appeared about A.D. 220, but has been lost. Until recently it was supposed that the sections into which some early mss. divide the Gospels were those of Ammonius himself; but, while he did make such divisions, those bearing his name are to be attributed to Eusebius (see below) . Ammonius made Matthew the basis of his work, and by his arrangement destroyed the continuity of the separate narratives. Every Harmony based upon the order of Matthew must be a failure. ”

“ It is also said that this man possessed the power of foretelling events, and living in his cell he was so great a comforter to the brethren who lived in the desert that no other man could be compared with him. Now the blessed Evagrius, who was clothed with the spirit, and was skilled in examining thoughts, used to say, “I never saw any man who had attained more closely unto impassibility than Ammonius.” ”

“ Thus Ammonius found his work ready to his hand. His deep spiritual intuition, his extensive learning, and his familiarity with the Christian fathers, Pantænus, Clement and Athenagoras, and with the most erudite philosophers of the time, all fitted him for the labour he performed so thoroughly.... The results of his ministration are perceptible at the present day in every country of the Christian world; every prominent system of doctrine now bearing the marks of his plastic hand. Every ancient philosophy has had its votaries among the moderns ”

“ Gods! how he is honored and beloved by all, ("Odyssey," x. 38.)
chiefly, in my opinion, belongs to those men who have a pleasing and persuasive faculty in discourse.
Then said Ammonius to Herod: We have no reason to be angry with you for grasping all the Muses, since the goods that friends have are common, and Jove hath begotten a great many Muses, that every man may be plentifully supplied; for we do not all need skill in hunting, military arts, navigation, or any mechanical trades; but learning and instruction is necessary for every one that
Consumes the fruits of the spacious earth. ”

“ Thy Lord must have been full of human love and pity to make provision not only for his friends, but for those good and just men, also, who have ignorantly been his enemies."
"Yea, verily," answered Ammonius. "He loveth all men; his mercy endureth forever; his loving-kindness is stronger than height, or depth, or life, or death, or any other creature, as thou mayest assuredly know for thyself if thou wilt believe on him."
Then Am-nem-hat said: "There is much in this religion that taketh fast hold upon both the heart and the mind ”

“ The philosopher continued at Alexander’s court a year after his accession to the throne, and is said to have then repaired to Athens. Ammonius, the Eclectic, says that he followed his pupil in a part of his campaigns; and this seems very probable; for it is hardly possible that so many animals as the philosopher describes could have been sent to Athens, or that he could have given so accurate a description of them without having personally dissected and examined them. ”

“ At the end of a year's labor Ammonius would have felt no concern at all if he had found that he had not gained a single coin beyond the sum requisite to pay taxes, but he would have experienced a humiliating sense of shame and unworthiness if the occupant of so fine a farm had failed to have enough and to spare for every call of charity, for every reasonable claim upon his hospitality, or for liberal contribution to every work in which the Church was interested. ”

“ The care of Anastasius, however, surrounded it again with piles and buttresses; and this monument of wisdom and science, which deserved to last for ever, was for a little while longer saved from ruin. An epigram in the Anthology informs us that Ammonius was the name of the builder who performed this good work, and to him and to Neptune the grateful sailors then raised their hands in prayer and praise. ”

“ For I now perceive that the parables of Jesus--a species of literary composition unknown, perhaps impossible, to other men--which I supposed to refer to some spiritual, mystical doctrines, were in fact spoken concerning his Church, or kingdom, in this world."
"Assuredly so," replied Ammonius. "And thou hast done well to characterize the parable as 'a species of literary composition unknown and impossible to other men'; for no other man hath written a parable, nor do I suppose that any man ever will do so. For he spake as never man spake: he spake in parables ”

“ After vainly seeking rest for his truth-loving and aspiring spirit in other systems, he at last found in Ammonius the teacher and teaching which his intellectual and spiritual sympathies demanded. His great ambition was to visit the country of Buddha and of Zerdusht or Zoroaster, and, for that purpose, he joined the expedition of the Emperor Gordian against the Persians. The defeat and death of that prince frustrated his plans. He then settled at Rome, where he established his school, and he remained in Italy until his death in 270. ”

“ It is no unfitting circumstance in a priest of Apollo that his noblest utterances respecting the nature of [91] God should be contained in discourses connected more or less with the temples and traditions of the god. In the discussion, for instance, on the syllable “E” written over the narrow entrance of the Amphictyonic Temple at Delphi, Ammonius is represented as expressing views of the Divine Nature which are unsurpassed for sublimity in any other part of Plutarch’s writings, or even in Greek literature generally. ”

“ After he had sent his officers to quiet the tumult, and had dispersed the crowd, we began to inquire what was the reason that those that are within doors hear those that are without, but those that are without cannot hear those that are within as well. And Ammonius said, that Aristotle had given a reason for that already; for the sound of those within, being carried without into a large tract of air, grows weaker presently and is lost ”