The Secret Teachings of All Ages

The school of Academic philosophers founded by Plato (427–347 B.C.) was divided into three major periods: the Old, the Middle, and the New Academy. Among the members of the Old Academy were Speusippus, Xenocrates Original: "Zenocrates", Polemon Original: "Poleman", Crates, and Crantor. Arcesilaus established the Middle Academy, and Carneades founded the New Academy.

Plato’s primary teacher was Socrates. Plato traveled extensively and was initiated by the Egyptians into the deep mysteries of Hermetic philosophy. He also drew heavily from the teachings of the Pythagoreans. Cicero describes the three branches of Platonic philosophy as ethics, physics, and dialectics Dialectics refers to the art of logical discussion and the investigation of truth through reasoned argument..

Plato defined "good" as having a threefold nature:
1. Good in the soul, expressed through the virtues.
2. Good in the body, expressed through the balance and endurance of its parts.
3. Good in the external world, expressed through social status and friendship.

In the book On Platonic Definitions by Speusippus, that great Platonist defines God as: "A being who lives immortally through Himself alone, finding fulfillment in His own happiness—the eternal Essence and the source of His own goodness."

According to Plato, "the One" is the most accurate term for the Absolute, because the whole exists before its parts, and variety depends on unity, while unity does not depend on variety. Furthermore, "the One" exists before existence itself, because to "be" is simply a quality or condition of "the One."

Platonic philosophy is built upon the idea of three levels of existence:

• That which moves without being moved itself.
• That which moves itself.
• That which is moved by something else.

That which is immovable but causes motion comes before that which moves itself; likewise, that which moves itself comes before that which it moves. Something that has motion as part of its very nature cannot be separated from its power to move; therefore, it cannot be destroyed. This is the nature of immortal beings. On the other hand, something that receives its motion from an outside source can be separated from that source of life; therefore, it can be destroyed. This is the nature of mortal beings.

Superior to both mortals and immortals is the state that constantly causes motion while remaining still itself. Stability is inherent to this state; it is the "Divine Permanence" upon which everything is built. Because it is even more noble than self-motion, the "unmoved Mover" holds the highest rank of all.

The Platonic discipline was based on the theory that learning is actually "reminiscence"—the process of bringing into conscious awareness knowledge that the soul already acquired in a previous state of existence. At the entrance of the Academy was written the warning: "Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here."

After Plato's death, his disciples split into two groups. One group, the Academics, continued to meet in the Academy where he had once presided. The other group, the Peripatetics The name comes from the Greek word peripatētikos, meaning "given to walking about," because Aristotle often taught while walking., moved to the Lyceum under the leadership of Aristotle (384–322 B.C.). Plato recognized Aristotle as his greatest student and, according to Philoponus, referred to him as "the mind of the school." If Aristotle was absent from the lectures, Plato would say, "The intellect is not here."

Regarding the massive genius of Aristotle, Thomas Taylor writes in his introduction to The Metaphysics:

"When we consider that he was not only well acquainted with every science, as his works abundantly show, but that he wrote on almost every subject included in the circle of human knowledge—and did so with matchless accuracy and skill—we do not know which to admire most: the depth or the reach of his mind."