Select Works of Porphyry

INTRODUCTION.

age; and we owe the publication of the priceless and exceptionally deep works of that most extraordinary man to Porphyry. As I noted in my History of the Restoration of the Platonic Theology, it took a long time for Plotinus to write down his thoughts and share a record of his unique mind with the world. That light, which was meant to enlighten the philosophical world, had previously shone only in solitude or for a few close followers. It was through Porphyry alone that it finally emerged from its private sanctuary and shone in full perfection, spreading everywhere. According to Eunapius, Porphyry was "like a chain of Hermes original: "Mercurial chain." In Neoplatonism, this refers to a series of divine messengers or a flow of knowledge from the divine to the human realm. lowered for the benefit of mortals, explaining everything with accuracy and clarity through his vast learning."

Eunapius also tells us that when Porphyry first joined Plotinus, he left all his other teachers behind and devoted himself entirely to his friendship with that remarkable man. There, he filled his mind with knowledge original: "science," used here in the classical sense of structured, certain knowledge as if from an eternal and never-ending fountain. However, after becoming overwhelmed by the greatness of these teachings, he developed a dislike for the physical body and could no longer tolerate the chains of mortal life.