(), a very distinguished
Greek philosopher of the third century of our era. His original name seems to have been
Dionysius; but, either because he entered into the relation of client to some Cassius
Longinus, or because his ancestors had received the Roman franchise, through the influence of
some Cassius Longinus, he bore the name of Dionysius Longinus, Cassius Longinus, or in the
complete form given at the head of this article. He was born about A. D.
213, and was killed in A. D. 273, at the age of sixty. His
native place is uncertain; some say that he was born at Palmyra, and others call him a Syrian
or a native of Emesa. The belief that he was of Syrian origin is only an inference from the
fact that his mother was a Syrian woman, and from an obscure passage in Vopiscus (Aurelian. 30), from which it may be inferred that he was conversant with the
Syriac language. But it is clear that these circumstances prove nothing, for he may have
learned the Syriac language either from his mother or during his subsequent residence at
Palmyra. There is more ground for believing that Longinus was born at Athens, for Suidas (s. v.Φρόντων) states that Phronto of Emesa, the uncle of
Longinus, taught rhetoric at Athens, and on his death in that place left behind him Longinus,
the son of his sister. It would seem that this Phronto took especial care of the education of
his nephew, and on his death-bed he instituted him as his heir. In the preface to his work
περὶ τέλους, which is preserved in Porphyrius's life of
Plotinus (p. 127), Longinus himself relates that from his early age he made many
journeys with his parents, that he visited many countries, and became acquainted with all the
men who at the time enjoyed a great reputation as philosophers, and among whom the most
illustrious are Ammonius Saccas, Origen, Plotinus, and Amelius. Of the first two Louginus was
a pupil for a long time, though they did not succeed in inspiring him with any love for that
kind of speculative philosophy of which they were the founders. Longinus in his study of
philosophy went to the fountain-head itself, and made himself thoroughly familiar with the
works of Plato; and that he was a genuine Platonist is evident from the character of his
works. or rather, fragments still extant, as well as from the commentaries he wrote on several
of Plato's dialogues; and the few fragments of these commentaries which have come down to us,
show that he had a clear and sound lead, and was free from the allegorical fancies in which
his contemporaries discovered the great wisdom of the ancients. His commentaries not only
explained the subject-matter discussed by Plato, but also his style and diction. This
circumstance drew upon him the contempt and ridicule of such men as Plotinus, who called him a
philologer, and would not admit his claims to be a philosopher. (Porphyr. Vit.
Plot. p. 116; Proclus, ad Plat. Tim. p. 27.)
After Longinus had derived all the advantages he could from Ammonius at Alexandria, and the
other philosophers whom he met in his travels, he returned to Athens, where he had been born
and bred. He there devoted himself with so much zeal to the instructions of his numerous
pupils, that he had scarcely any time left for the composition of any literary production. The
most distinguished among his pupils was Porphyrius, whose original name was Malchus, which
Longinus changed into Porphyrius, i. e. the king, or the man clad in purple. At Athens he
seems to have lectured on philosophy and criticism, as well as on rhetoric and grammar (Eunap.
Porphyr. init.; Porphyr. Vit. Plot. p. 131; Vopisc.
Aurelian. 30; Suid. s. v.Λογγῖνος), and the extent of his information was so
great, that Eunapius calls him "a living library" and "a walking museum ;" but his knowledge
was not a dead encumbrance to his mind, for the power for which he was most celebrated was his
critical skill (Phot. Bibl. Cod. 259; Sopat. Proleg. in
Aristid. p. 3; Suid. s. vr.Πορφύριος, Λογγῖνος), and this was indeed so great, that the expression κατὰ Λογγῖνον κρίνειν became synonymous with "to judge
correctly." (Hieronym. Epist. 95; Theophylact. Epist. 17.)
After having spent a considerable part of his life at Athens, and composed the best of his
works, he went to the East, either for the purpose of seeing his friends at Emesa or to settle
some of his family affairs. It seems to have been on that occasion that he became known to
queen Zenobia of Palmyra, who, being a woman of great talent, and fond of the arts and
literature, made him her teacher of Greek literature. As Longinus had no extensive library at
his command at Palmyra, he was obliged almost entirely to abandon his literary pursuits, but
another sphere of action was soon opened to him there; for when king Odenathus had died, and
Zenobia had undertaken the government of her empire, she availed herself most extensively of
the advice of Longinus, and it was he who, being an ardent lover of liberty, advised and
encouraged her to shake off the Roman yoke, and assert her dignity as an independent
sovereign. In consequence of this, Zenobia wrote a spirited letter to the Roman emperor
Aurelian. (Vopisc. Aurelian. 27.) In A. D. 273,
when Aurelian took and destroyed Palmyra, Longinus had to pay with his life for the advice
which he had given to Zenobia. (Vopisc. Aurelian. 30; Suid. s. v.Λογγῖνος.) This catastrophe must have been the more
painful to Longinus, since the queen, after having fallen into the hands of the Romans,
asserted her own innocence, and threw all the blame upon her advisers, and more especially
upon Longinus. But he bore his execution with a firmness and cheerfulness worthy of a
Socrates. (Zosimus, 1.56.)
Works
Longinus was unquestionably by far the greatest philosopher of the age, and stands forth so
distinct and solitary in that age of mystic and fanciful quibblers, that it is impossible not
to recognise in him a man of excellent sense, sound and independent judgment, and extensive
knowledge. He had thoroughly imbibed the spirit of Plato and Demosthenes, from whom he
derived not only that intellectual culture which distinguished him above all others, but also
an ardent love of liberty, and a great frankness both in expressing his own opinions and
exposing the faults and errors of others. (Porphyr. Vit. Plot. p.
126.)
Περὶ ὕψους
Longinus' work Περὶ ὕψους, a great part of which
is still extant, surpasses in oratorical power every thing that was ever written after the
time of the Greek orators, and he, like Cicero among the Romans, is the only Greek who not
only knew how to teach rhetoric, but was able by his own example to show what true oratory
is. Besides the Greek and Syriac languages, he was also familiar with the Latin, as we must
conclude from his comparison of Cicero with Demosthenes (Περὶ
ὕψ. § 12; comp. Suid. s. v.Αἰωνοάριος; Tzetz. Posthom. p.
75.) In his private life he seems to have been a man of a very amiable disposition; for
although his pupil Porphyrius left him, declaring that he would seek a better philosophy in
the school of Plotinus, still Longinus did not show him any ill-will on that account, but
continued to treat him as a friend, and invited him to come to Palmyra. (Porphyr. Vit. Plot. pp. 120, 124, 131.) He was, and remained throughout his life, a
pagan, though he was by no means hostile either to Judaism or Christianity.
Lost Works
Notwithstanding his manifold avocations, Longinus composed a great number of works, which
appear to have been held in the highest estimation, but nearly all of which have
unfortunately perished. All that has come down to us consists of a considerable part of his
work Περὶ ὕψους, or De
Sublimitate, and a number of fragments, which have been preserved as quotations in the
works of contemporary and later writers. There is scarcely any work in the range of ancient
literature which, independent of its excellence of style, contains so many exquisite remarks
upon oratory, poetry, and good taste in general. It is addressed to one Postumius
Terentianus, but contains many lacunae, which cannot be filled up, since all the MSS. extant
are only copies of the one which is preserved at Paris. The following is a list of his lost
works :--
1. Οἱ Φιλόλογοι
Οἱ Φιλόλογοι, a very extensive work, since a 21st
book of it is quoted. It seems to have contained information and critical remarks upon a
variety of subjects. (Auctor, Vit. Apollon. Rhod., Rulhnken, Dissertatio Philol. De Vit. et Script. Long. p. 28, &c.)
2. Περὶ τοῦ κατὰ Μειδίου
Περὶ τοῦ κατὰ Μειδίου, i. e. on the oration of
Demosthenes against Meidias. (Suid. s. v.Λογγῖνος; comp. Phot. Bibl. Cod.
265.)
3. Ἀπορήματα Ὁμηρικά
Ἀπορήματα Ὁμηρικά. (Suid. l.c.; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. Il. pp. 67, 106.)
4. Εἰ φιλόσοφος Ὅμηρος
Εἰ φιλόσοφος Ὅμηρος. (Suid. l.c.)
5. Προβλήματα Ὁμήρου καὶ λύσεις
Προβλήματα Ὁμήρου καὶ λύσεις, in two books.
(Suid. l.c.)
Ἀττικῶν λέξεων ἐκδόσεις, in the form of a
dictionary. (Phot. Lexic. s. v. Σέρφιο; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1919.)
9. Λέξεις Ἀντιμάχου καὶ Ἡρακλέωνος
Λέξεις Ἀντιμάχου καὶ Ἡρακλέωνος. (Suid. l.c.)
10. Περὶ ἐθνικῶν
Περὶ ἐθνικῶν. (Grammat. in Biblioth. Coislin. p. 597.)
11. Σχόλια εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἡφαιστίωνος
ἐγχειρίδιον
Σχόλια εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἡφαιστίωνος ἐγχειρίδιον,
are still extant in MSS., and have been transcribed by the scholiast commonly printed with
Hephaestion. (Schol. ad Hermog. p. 387.)
12. Περὶ συνθέσεως λόγων
Περὶ συνθέσεως λόγων. (Longin. περὶ ὕφ. § 39.)
13. Τέχνη π̔ητορική
Τέχνη π̔ητορική, or a manual of rhetoric. (Schol.
ad Hermog. p. 380.)
14. Εἰς τὴν ῥητορικὴν Ἑρμογένους
Εἰς τὴν ῥητορικὴν Ἑρμογένους, of which some
extracts are still extant in MS. at Vienna.
15. A commentary on the Prooemium of Plato's Timaeus.
(Proclus, in Tim. pp. 10, 11, 16, 20, 21, 29, 50, 63, 98.)
16. A commentary on Plato's Phaedon.
(Ruhnken, l.c. p. 18.)
17. Περὶ ἀρχῶν
Περὶ ἀρχῶν, i.e. on the principles of things.
(Porphyr. Vit. Plot. p. 116.)
18. Περὶ τέλους
Περὶ τέλους, i. e. De finibus
bonorum et malorum; the excellent introduction to it is preserved in Porphyrius's
life of Plotinus (p. 127).
19. Περὶ ὁρμῆς
Περὶ ὁρμῆς, or on natural instinct. (Porphyr. Vit. Plotin. p. 120.)
20. Εʼπιοστολὴ πρὸς τὸν Ἀμέλιον
Εʼπιοστολὴ πρὸς τὸν Ἀμέλιον, on the philosophy
of Plotinus. (Ruhnken, l.c. p. 43.)
21. Περὶ τῆς κατὰ Πλάτωνα
δικαιοσύνης
Περὶ τῆς κατὰ Πλάτωνα δικαιοσύνης, was
directed against Amelius. (Ruhnken, l.c. p. 43.)
22. Περὶ τῶν ἰδεῶν
Περὶ τῶν ἰδεῶν. Longinus wrote two works under
this title, one against Plotinus, and the other against Porphyrius. (Ruhnken, l.c. ; Syrian. ad Aristot. Metaphys.)
23. Περὶ φυχῆς
Περὶ φυχῆς, a fragment of it is quoted by
Eusebius. (Praep. Evang. 15.21; comp. Porphyr. apud Stob. Eclog. Phys. i. p. 109; Proclus, ad Plat. Polit. p.
415.)
24. Ὀδαίναθος
Ὀδαίναθος seems to have been the latest of the
works of Longinus, and to have been an elogy on Odenathus, the husband of Zenobia. (Liban.
Epist. 998.)
Editions
The first edition of the treatise περὶ ὕψους is that
of Fr. Robortello, Basel, 1554, 4to.The next important edition is that of F. Portus (Geneva, 1569, 8vo.), which
forms the basis of all subsequent editions until the time of Tollius. We may, however,
mention those of G. Langbaene (Oxford, 1636, 1638, and 1650, 8vo.) and T.
Fabri (Salmur. 1663, 8vo.). In 1694 there appeared the edition of Tollius, with
notes, and Latin translation (Traject. ad Rhen. 4to.): it was followed in the
editions of Hudson (Oxford, 1710, 1718, 1730, 8vo., and Edinburgh, 1733, 12mo.),
Pearce (London, 1724, 4to., 1732, 8vo., and often reprinted), and N.
Morus (Leipzig, 1769-73, 8vo.).A collection of all that is extant of Longinus was published by J. Toupius, with notes
and emendations by Ruhnken, of which three editions were printed at Oxford (1778, 1789, and
1806, 8vo.). The most recent editions are those of B. Weiske (Leipzig. 1809,
8vo.) and A. E. Egger, forming vol. i. of the Scriptorum Graec. Nova
Collectio (Paris, 1837, 16mo.).
Further Information
Compare Ruhnken, Dissertatio de Vita et Scriptis Longini, which
is printed in Toupius and other editions of Longinus; Spongberg, de Commentario) Dionysii Cassii Longini περὶ
ὕφους Expositio, Upsala, 1835, 4to.; Westermann, Gesch. der Griech. Beredtsamk. § 98, notes 1-9.