Perfection Perfected
The Stoic “Self-Eluding Sage” and Moral Progress in Hebrews
In: Novum TestamentumSearch for other papers by Timothy Luckritz Marquis in
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Hebrews evinces the linked exegetical aporiae of, on the one hand, tension between the asserted perfection of the believer and exhortations to further perfection and, on the other, a similar tension between Christ’s exalted, preexistent nature and claims about his need for further perfection during his earthly life. The paper proposes the Stoic figure of the “self-eluding sage” as a helpful contextual analogue for explaining the indicative-imperative problem in Hebrews. Originally a product of early epistemological debates among Hellenistic philosophical schools, the “self-eluding sage” (διαλεληθὼς σοφός) was deployed by Philo and Plutarch in Roman-era debates on the nature of moral progress. Terminological and structural similarities between discussions of the Stoic figure and discussions of progress in Hebrews (especially 5:14-6:3) help contextualize the speech’s concern for moral insight and improvement within a general Roman-era focus on moral progress toward filling communal roles.
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5
See Philo, Agr. 9; Congr. 19; Migr. Abr. 29; Som. 2.9; Omn. prob. lib. 160; and Epictetus, Disc. 2.15.39 (listed in Attridge, Hebrews, 159 n. 59, and Luke Timothy Johnson, Hebrews [NTL; Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox, 2006] 156).
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11
See Long and Sedley, Hellenistic Philosophers, 1.313, citing Origen, Princ. 3.1.2-3 (= svf 2.988). Ἕξις was also a concept among Platonists and Peripatetics; see Richard A. Wright, “Plutarch on Moral Progress,” in Passions and Moral Progress in Greco-Roman Thought, ed. John T. Fitzgerald (New York: Routledge, 2008) 140.
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12
Long and Sedley, Hellenistic Philosophers, 1.289; see also 1.285-86 and 372, citing Simplicius, On Aristotle’s Categories, 237.25-238.20 (= svf 2.393) and Stobaeus, 2.73.1-13 (= svf 3.111) and their discussions on 1.289 and 376. According to Stobaeus, the tenor of Stoic virtue makes all the sage’s other interests and abilities (or “pursuits,” such as love of music, etc.) stable with regard to tenor, as well. This may be the reason that Arius Didymus claims that solidity with regard to moral perfection also occurs with regard to other τέχναι (see Epitome of Stoic Ethics 11n, cited above).
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19
See the well-known passage in Cicero, Off. 2.35, in which Cicero attributes to Panaetius the practice of speaking ad opinionem communem, ut vulgis, and de opinione populari when separating the virtues. In general, Panaetius (and, following him, Cicero) focused on the social roles suited to a person’s “natural” character (πρόσωπον or persona); see Long and Sedley, Hellenistic Philosophers, 1.368, and Timothy Hill, Ambitiosa Mors: Suicide and Self in Roman Thought and Literature (New York: Routledge, 2004) 67-71.
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25
On this, see now Knut Backhaus, “How to Entertain Angels: Ethics in the Epistle to the Hebrews,” in Hebrews: Contemporary Methods, New Insights, ed. Gabriella Gelardini (Leiden: Brill, 2005) 149-176.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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Perfection Perfected
The Stoic “Self-Eluding Sage” and Moral Progress in Hebrews
In: Novum TestamentumSearch for other papers by Timothy Luckritz Marquis in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Hebrews evinces the linked exegetical aporiae of, on the one hand, tension between the asserted perfection of the believer and exhortations to further perfection and, on the other, a similar tension between Christ’s exalted, preexistent nature and claims about his need for further perfection during his earthly life. The paper proposes the Stoic figure of the “self-eluding sage” as a helpful contextual analogue for explaining the indicative-imperative problem in Hebrews. Originally a product of early epistemological debates among Hellenistic philosophical schools, the “self-eluding sage” (διαλεληθὼς σοφός) was deployed by Philo and Plutarch in Roman-era debates on the nature of moral progress. Terminological and structural similarities between discussions of the Stoic figure and discussions of progress in Hebrews (especially 5:14-6:3) help contextualize the speech’s concern for moral insight and improvement within a general Roman-era focus on moral progress toward filling communal roles.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 170 | 26 | 3 |
| Full Text Views | 176 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 54 | 7 | 1 |