For the Love of Wisdom: The Birth of Philosophy
The podcast is now entering a long phase when we will be discussing Greek philosophy. We will not be attempting a full, or even a very thorough, survey of all of Greek philosophy, but rather concentrating on those thinkers who played the most central role in later esoteric thought, and especially...
Primary Sources
Fragments of Empedocles and Parmenides from the Commentaries of Simplicius
In this groundbreaking 19th-century study, Amedeo Peyron performs a high-stakes rescue mission of ancient Greek thought. By comparing a newly discovered Turin manuscript against the standard Venice edition, Peyron exposes the latter as a fraudulent 'back-translation' from medieval Latin, effectively
Plutarch's Morals, Vol. 4 (includes Isis and Osiris)
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