Ocellus Lucanus, Firmicus Maternus, Select Theorems of Proclus (Thomas Taylor)

"Regarding the commentaries of mine that you wrote about, they are not yet finished. However, I have sent them to you as they are. As for our guardianship, we are in agreement, so there is no need for further urging in this matter."

In the preface to the Marquis d’Argens’ French translation of this tract, he says: "I have often thought it would be much more advantageous to read what some of the Greek authors have said about the philosophy of the ancients to gain knowledge of it, rather than consulting modern writers who, even if they write well, are generally too long-winded."

In 1762, the Marquis d’Argens published Ocellus Lucanus, and later Timaeus Locrus—writers who, according to Chalmers’ Biography, had been neglected by universal consent. However, to demonstrate the glaring absurdity and outrageous injustice of Chalmers' remarks regarding this tract by Ocellus, we must note that, independent of the approval of this work by those two great luminaries of philosophy, Plato and Aristotle, an enumeration of its various editions will suffice.

Very few moderns possess accurate knowledge of the philosophy of Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle. While they may be long-winded on the subject, they cannot write about it well. See this proved incontrovertibly in the third and fourth books of my Dissertation on the Philosophy of Aristotle.