David the Armenian

DAVIDE ARMENO. – Christian Neoplatonic philosopher, born in Armenia (province of Hark), unknown, or almost unknown, in the West until the beginning of the nineteenth century. It appears that his scholarly activity took place toward the end of the fifth century and the beginning of the sixth.

He studied in Alexandria and Athens, and, having returned to his homeland, disseminated Greek philosophy there. B. St-Hilaire reviewed a substantial list of works by D., but modern criticism tends to reduce it considerably. The following writings in the Greek language appear to be attributable to D.: Introduction to the

Philosophy; Commentary on Porphyry’s εἰσχυγῆ (ed. A. Busse in Commentaria in Aristotelem Grucca, XVIII, part 2, Berlin 1904); Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories. These works also exist in the Armenian language, but with such considerable variants that it is improbable that they go back to D. The following works, preserved only in Armenian, are also commonly attributed to D.: Philosophical Distinctions (commented on in the 12th century by Patriarch Narsete); Grammar; Sermon on the Cross against the Nestorians (cf. Corianis Membre et Davidis philosophi opera, Venice 1833). It seems that only the Sermon is authentic.