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Episode 122·neoplatonism

Radcliffe G. Edmonds III on the 'Mithrasliturgie'

Listen on SHWEP38 sources in collection · 38 translated

Primary Sources

Proclus in Politiam Platonis . Proklos eis Politeian tou Platonos

Proclus · 1050 · Greek · 338 pages

In this commentary, the last great Neoplatonist philosopher reconciles the poetic genius of Homer with the rigorous logic of Plato. Proclus argues that myths are not fabrications but deliberate veils for ineffable truths. He maintains that true music and rhythm serve as the structural foundation for

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Plotinus . Plotinos . Scilicet Plotini Enneades VI et Maximi Tyrii Dissertationes XI

Plotinus; Maximus of Tyre · 1350 · Greek · 412 pages

Plotinus strips away the distractions of the physical world to reveal the singular, transcendent source of all being. The text documents the final philosophical ascent of a man who viewed his own body as a temporary, secondary image. You will encounter arguments that collapse the boundaries between

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Philosophical and Literary Miscellany

· 1350 · Greek · 209 pages

Vat.gr.2181 is a multi-layered interrogation of the Greek soul, weaving together the technical precision of poetic metrics with the subversive chaos of Old Comedy. Through the works of Aristophanes and the reflections of Porphyry, the manuscript explores the corrupting influence of money on the poli

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Commentary on Plato's Timaeus

Proclus · 1360 · Greek · 1060 pages
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Commentary on Plato's Timaeus

Proclus · 1400 · Greek · 355 pages
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Commentary on Euclid's Elements

Proclus; Euclid · 1400 · Greek · 680 pages
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Proclus: Platonic Theology and Elements of Theology

Proclus · 1450 · Greek · 336 pages

This work defines the hierarchy of the universe through the eyes of one of antiquity's final great thinkers. Proclus argues that reality is not a random collection of objects but a systematic emanation from the One. He explains how human intellect can bridge the gap between mortal limitations and et

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Hieroclis Expositio versuum Pythagorae qui aurei dicuntur . Hermes Trismegistus . Adde etiam Hermes Trismegistus, Apuleio interprete

Hierocles; Hermes Trismegistus · 1450 · Greek · 256 pages

Hierocles provides a rigorous manual for navigating the soul's ascent from material distraction to intellectual clarity. He argues that human suffering is not a divine punishment but a result of our own misalignment with natural law. By practicing nightly self-examination, we can transform the body

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Commentaries on Plato's Alcibiades I and Homer's Iliad

Proclus · 1450 · Greek · 334 pages

This text serves as a manual for the soul to recover its own essence. Proclus rejects the idea that truth is a collection of facts gathered from the outside world. Instead, he insists that philosophy begins when a person realizes their own ignorance and turns away from the shifting opinions of the m

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Commentary on Plato's Alcibiades

Proclus · 1450 · Greek · 336 pages

This commentary provides a rigorous map of the soul's ascent from material obsession to intellectual unity. Proclus challenges the reader to move beyond common opinion by demonstrating that true wisdom requires internal, not external, investigation. He argues that our failures result from a lack of

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The Enneads of Plotinus

Plotinus (copied by John Skutariotes for Ficino) · 1460 · Greek · 363 pages

The 'Plotini Enneades' is the foundational pillar of Neoplatonism, presented here in a historic 1460 copy transcribed by the renowned scribe John Skutariotes. Plotinus offers a transformative perspective on reality, arguing that the material world is but a shadow of the 'Intelligible Realm' and that

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On the Mysteries of the Egyptians

Iamblichus; Proclus; Porphyry; trans. Marsilio Ficino · 1497 · Latin · 381 pages

This work defends traditional religious practice against the skepticism of philosophers like Porphyry. Iamblichus asserts that the gods are not swayed by human emotions, but rather that rituals align the human soul with a pre-existing divine order. He defines the universe as a singular, living organ

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Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Republic (Cambridge, St John's College, MS F.15)

Proclus · 1515 · Greek · 185 pages

This commentary is not merely an analysis of political theory. It is a guide to the Neoplatonic universe where justice serves as a structural harmony for both the city and the individual soul. Proclus argues that myths are not just stories, but symbolic veils designed to hide profound divine truths

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On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians

Iamblichus | Proclus | Porphyry · 1516 · Latin · 550 pages

Edited and translated by the Renaissance visionary Marsilio Ficino, 'Mysteries of Egypt' brings together the most influential voices of late antiquity—Iamblichus, Porphyry, and Proclus—alongside the mystical revelations of Hermes Trismegistus. The text argues that divine knowledge is not a product o

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Platonic Theology, Theological Treatises, and Homilies

Proclus; Blemmidas; Chrysostom · 1520 · Greek · 856 pages

This work brings together the cold, clear heights of Proclus’s Neoplatonic hierarchy and the warm, corrective moral vision of John Chrysostom. It refuses to separate the act of knowing God from the act of living for Him. The text argues that the soul is not a passive bystander in existence but a cha

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Corpus Hermeticum and Plotinus' Enneads (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.9)

Hermes Trismegistus; Plotinus · 1550 · Greek · 502 pages

This rare collection documents the struggle of the human soul to recognize its divine origin while trapped in the sensible world. It presents the Hermetic tradition as an intuitive, performative realization of truth, contrasted against the systematic, dialectical path of Plotinus. The text argues th

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Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements

Proclus · 1560 · Latin · 314 pages

This commentary moves beyond standard textbook explanations to position Euclid as a guide for metaphysical development. Proclus argues that mathematical forms are innate to the soul, acting as a mirror for higher intellectual archetypes. He challenges the reader to look past the visible drawing of a

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Enneads (1580 Greek-Latin, Ficino trans.)

Plotinus | Ficino, Marsilio (trans.) · 1580 · Latin · 850 pages
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The Enneads

Plotinus | Ficino, Marsilio (trans.) · 1580 · Greek · 860 pages

The Enneads represents the pinnacle of Neoplatonic thought, a monumental synthesis where logic meets mysticism. Through the lens of Marsilio Ficino’s Renaissance commentary, Plotinus’s work is presented as a 'philosophical bait' designed to lead the intellectual mind toward religious faith through p

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The Enneads

Plotinus · 1580 · Latin · 996 pages
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Elements of Theology and Physics

Proclus · 1618 · Greek · 152 pages

Proclus’s 'Elements of Theology and Physics' is a monumental achievement in late classical philosophy, offering a systematic 'More Geometrico' (mathematical style) approach to the nature of existence. By transforming metaphysical inquiry into a series of logical propositions and proofs, Proclus maps

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Life of Pythagoras and Sentences on the Intelligibles

Porphyry (ed. Lucas Holstenius) · 1630 · Latin · 219 pages

Porphyry’s 'Life of Pythagoras and Sentences on the Intelligibles' offers a rare window into the ancient quest for spiritual deification through intellect and discipline. By blending a hagiography of Pythagoras—complete with his rejection of the 'impure' Cylon and his cryptic dietary bans—with a rig

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Proclus (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.5.11)

Proclus · 1697 · Greek · 252 pages

This manuscript preserves the rigorous dialectic of one of antiquity’s final great minds. Proclus examines the One not as a physical object, but as the absolute origin and end of every existing thing. He challenges the reader to consider how a source can be responsible for all diversity without beco

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On Isis and Osiris

Plutarch · 1744 · Latin · 338 pages

In this treatise, Plutarch rescues Egyptian theology from the twin errors of superstition and skepticism. He argues that myths about dismemberment and divine struggle are not accounts of ancient kings, but symbolic representations of moral and metaphysical forces. By mapping these stories onto the b

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The Life of Proclus

Marinus of Neapolis · 1814 · Greek · 216 pages

This biography documents the transition of Proclus from a brilliant young student to the final great successor of the Athenian Academy. Marinus provides a map of the soul, scaling from basic civic virtues to the heights of theurgic practice and divine communication. He strips away the historical rum

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Platonic Theology (Thomas Taylor trans.)

Proclus | Taylor, Thomas (trans.) · 1816 · English · 517 pages

This work functions as a complete, scientific manual for navigating the hierarchy of the universe. Proclus rejects the idea that the divine is beyond our reach; instead, he provides a rigorous path for the human soul to return to its source. Readers will encounter a vision where stars are living bei

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Commentary on Plato's Timaeus

Proclus Diadochus · 1820 · Greek/Latin · 965 pages

This commentary serves as the definitive architecture of Neoplatonic thought, mapping the procession of all things from the One down to the physical realm. Proclus argues that the universe is not a product of blind chance but a living, ordered image sustained by divine providence. He treats the Tima

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Commentary on the Timaeus

Proclus (Thomas Taylor, trans.) · 1820 · English · 496 pages

Proclus offers a breathtakingly dense metaphysical defense of Plato’s cosmology, positioning the soul as the critical 'middle nature' bridging the eternal and the material. By weaving together Pythagorean mathematics, Orphic theology, and rigorous dialectic, he argues that the cosmos is not a random

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The Elements of Theology

Proclus Diadochus; ed. Friedrich Creuzer · 1822 · Greek-Latin · 432 pages

The Elements of Theology functions as a rigorous, axiomatic guide to the structure of reality. Proclus assumes that if a first cause exists, all subsequent levels of being must unfold with mathematical necessity. He maps the path from the singular source of all things down to individual souls and ma

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Select Works of Porphyry

Porphyry · 1823 · English · 299 pages

Select Works of Porphyry offers a rigorous and poetic manual for spiritual transcendence that remains strikingly relevant today. Porphyry presents a radical defense of 'ethical vegetarianism,' arguing that the slaughter of animals is historically and spiritually linked to human warfare and moral dec

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Plotini Opera Omnia cum Ficini commentariis

Plotinus; Marsilio Ficino (trans.) · 1835 · Latin · 544 pages

Plotini Opera Omnia represents the pinnacle of Neoplatonic thought, blending the original 3rd-century mystical insights of Plotinus with the intellectual fire of the Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino. This text serves as a rigorous bridge between the classical logic of Plato and the burgeoning

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Proclus: Commentary on Plato's Timaeus

Proclus Diadochus · 1847 · Greek · 883 pages
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Lives of the Sophists and Fragments of the Histories

Eunapius of Sardis · 1849 · Greek · 685 pages

Eunapius of Sardis provides a defiant look at the fourth century through the lives of men he considers divine. He presents philosophers not as mere academics but as wonder-workers and living libraries who bridged the gap between humanity and the gods. The text combines intimate biographical details

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Plutarch's Morals, Vol. 4 (includes Isis and Osiris)

Plutarch (trans. William W. Goodwin) · 1870 · English · 538 pages

In this compelling volume of 'Morals,' Plutarch investigates the enigmatic mechanics of the 'spirit of divination,' arguing that prophecy is as much a physical phenomenon as it is a divine one. By examining the transformative power of natural vapors and the 'dry' temperament of the soul, he suggests

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Three Short Works (including Life of Pythagoras)

Porphyry; August Nauck (ed.) · 1886 · Greek · 278 pages

This volume, meticulously edited by the legendary August Nauck, preserves the surviving fragments of Porphyry’s most personal and provocative works. At its core, the text challenges the foundations of ancient Greek religion, replacing blood-soaked sacrifices with a philosophy of internal purity and

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Commentary on Plato's Timaeus, Vol. I

Proclus (ed. Ernst Diehl) · 1903 · Greek · 347 pages

Proclus’s commentary on the Timaeus represents the pinnacle of Neoplatonic cosmology, offering a rigorous metaphysical map of the sensible world. He argues that the universe is not a chaotic assembly of matter, but a unified organism positioned between the eternal and the temporal through the 'middl

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Commentary on Plato's Timaeus, Volume II

Proclus (ed. Ernst Diehl) · 1904 · Greek · 543 pages

Ernst Diehl’s landmark edition of Proclus’ commentary is more than a philological triumph; it is a gateway to the ancient world’s most sophisticated interpretation of cosmic origins. By tracing the 'genealogy' of the text through the libraries of Renaissance cardinals and Byzantine scribes, Diehl re

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The Enneads of Plotinus Vol. I

Plotinus / Stephen McKenna · 1917 · English · 178 pages

The Enneads of Plotinus, translated with poetic intensity by Stephen McKenna, stands as the foundation of Neoplatonism and a bridge between classical Greek logic and Western mysticism. Plotinus offers a bold metaphysical hierarchy—The One, the Intellectual-Principle, and the Soul—arguing that our tr

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