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Rhetorical Argumentation in Philo of Alexandria, by Manuel Alexandre, Jr. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999. Pp. xx + 302. $34.95.
Alexandre declares that his purpose in this book is to show that ancient rhetorical theories of argumentation can help us understand the "structure and basic literary motivation" (p. xiii) of Philo's discourse. He believes this is the case not only with the speech-- like discourses but also with Philo's exegetical comments on scripture.
The book commences with a commendatory preface by Burton L. Mack, after which Alexandre offers a general introduction to the current status of Philonic studies. Part 1 of the book, comprising 80 pages, situates Philo in the context of rhetorical argumentation. In part 2 (150 pages) Alexandre sets out his analysis of the formal structure of De Vita Mosis and Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit and of five discourses embedded in treatises, for example, De Sacrificiis Abelis et Caini 21-44. In ch. 4 of part 2, he tracks the structure of complete arguments in such documents as Legum Allegoriae II and De Joespho, as well as the elaborate development of a theme in, e.g., De Migratione Abrahami. In ch. 5 he scrutinizes rhythmic and periodic structures in such discourses as Legatio ad Gaium 53-56. The work ends with observations on the philosophical character of Philo's rhetorical argumentation as a technique of argumentation and exposition. The book contains a thirty-three-page bibliography as well as indices on passages from Philo, ancient and modern authors, and Greek, Latin, and English rhetorical terms.
In the general introduction Alexandre does an excellent job in short order of depicting the present state of Philonic studies. Though he published a book in Portuguese, Argurnentaco Retorica em Flon de Alexandria, in 1990, he has brought this 1999 English...