Proclus

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Proclus: Commentary on Plato's Timaeus
Proclus , and Harold Tarrant
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks)
Iamblichus: De Mysteriis (Writings from the Greco-Roman World, V. 4.) (Writings from the Greco-Roman World, V. 4.)

ASIN: 0521846595

Book Description

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offers the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant recent advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato's dialogue, while also presenting Proclus' own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the first in the edition, deals with what may be seen as the prefatory material of the Timaeus. In it Socrates gives a summary of the political arrangements favoured in the Republic, and Critias tells the story of how news of the defeat of Atlantis by ancient Athens had been brought back to Greece from Egypt by the poet and politician Solon.

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides"

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Interesting work by key Neo-Platonist
Platonism and Neoplatonism
A great survey of the Neo-Platonic philosophy

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides"
Proclus
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks)
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Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision

ASIN: 0691020892

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Interesting work by key Neo-Platonist.......2006-10-14

Proclus was one of Plato's most devout followers, along with Plotinus. He was also one of the most brilliant.

His commentary on Parmenides is a very long 'drawing out' of what Proclus considered to be the hidden meaning of Plato's dialogues; in effect, Plato was not just a philosopher but also a sage and divinely inspired figure who discovered the secret structure of the universe itself, visible and invisible.

In commenting on this difficult metaphysical dialogue of Plato, in which Plato himself tried to reach an understanding of Parmenides' philosophy of Being, Proclus 'discovers' a vast metaphysical reality beyond the realm of the senses. The structures Proclus outlines are quite complex and best left to the introductory essay in the translation itself. Suffice to say there is a transcendant 'One' which the source of all Being, and which then radiates itself to lower objects called 'Henads' which in turn produce visible reality. Along the way there is also a mixture of magic and prayer to various Gods and daimons.

Proclus was an important philosophical influence on Christian Neo-Platonists, such as Eckhart, Dionysius the Aeropagite and possibly Eriugena. Proclus was also an important influence in Renaissance Neo-Platonism and the influence of this philosopher continues today.

The book is very long (about 900 pages) and Proclus's digressions are exceedingly long winded. His work is not easy to read and will probably put off all but the most determined student of philosophy.

Platonism and Neoplatonism.......2005-08-02

This book is a fundamental cornerstone in understanding the Socratic dialogs. Academia has split up Philosophy in such a way that it does not come into conflict with Institutional Christianity. The notion that exists today about Platonism and especailly the Socratic dialogs is that a philosopher in ancient Greece is a person that deals in ethics. This is absurd. Religion did not start with Christ, but Christ extends it. A philospher in ancient Greece is a person that is working to become in the likenss of God. This one and only God that only the Jews are supposed to know. This the greatest religious forgery ever that supports yhe Divide and Conquer, the results of which we live today with religious terrorism. Proclus with this work gives a solid ground to break the misunderstanding that caused millions of deaths by bestial people as the Roman Emperors were and their succesors in the Byzantium. Humans are made in the image and likeness of God, and modern science has managed to tell people that God made man in the image and likeness of a monkey. Biology got itself in the monkey business and humanity has to extricate itself from it.

A great survey of the Neo-Platonic philosophy.......2000-11-23

This is one of the best books by Proclus Diadochus and we are also lucky to have this excellent translation by G.R. Morrow and J.M. Dillon. If anybody is interested in the Neo-Platonic philosophy, or in the ancient philosophy, he should not miss this book. Even if it is rather difficult for a beginner to read long discourses of Proclus on the most important topics of the philosophy, noone should leave this book without careful reading. If you have read the Elements of Theology by Proclus, then you are able to understand everything Proclus is telling us. This book thinks about the most difficult dialogue of Plato - about the Parmenides. In the beginning you are connected with the amazing world of Proclus' allegorical interpretation of Plato's dialogue. Then you can study the world of Ideas as seen by Proclus - you can learn about four problems concerning the Ideas, i.e. whether there are Ideas; what things have Ideas; what is the participation like; and finally where are the Ideas. Proclus shows you all the levels of the realms of the One (Hen) and the Mind (Nous) and you can enjoy also the Proclus' dialectics in the end of the Commentary. The author also tells us a lot of Ideas about the negative theology tells in the last book. The translation is as well of the best value.

Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius

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An excellent introduction to Neoplatonic textuality
Sara Rappe does it again.

Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius
Sara Rappe
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Return to the One: Plotinus's Guide to God-Realization
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ASIN: 0521651581

Book Description

Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century A.D. and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyze Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies.

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An excellent introduction to Neoplatonic textuality.......2004-05-25

This excellent book begins with an interrogation: why were the Neoplatonists so weary of discursive thinking while at the same time being the most exegetical philosophical school of all Antiquity? This question's vastness precludes any exhaustive treatment, but Rappe's study goes a long way in fleshing out the most important aspects of its ambitious and fascinating theme, namely the nature of Neoplatonic knowledge and the multiple (not to mention extremely varied) ways that lead to mystical experience in Neoplatonism (philosophical exegesis, mathematics, myth, theurgy, prayer and invocation, etc.). Rappe focuses on Plotinus, Proclus and Damascius - an audacious decision, since most scholars tend to isolate Plotinus from the later Neoplatonists, but a welcome one because Plotinus is at least as fascinated as the later Neoplatonists by the 'gap' between the text and what it can't express, if not even more so. A small caveat: the book would have benefitted from further proofreading done by a French speaker; the French quotes and titles are full of errors. Still, it remains a must-read study for students of Neoplatonism and religion.

Sara Rappe does it again........2000-12-19

The acclaimed philosopher Sara Rappe has written a very interesting collection of work. The central question - how is the thinking of Plato still applicable today. Extensive research gives as many answers as possible...perhaps not all the answers are necessary. Prof. Rappe's style is shaky at times, of Neoplatism is your thing, you will not be disappointed. A great way to get in touch with classical thinking

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That Aries the Ram was the Sign of the Jews
A Must for any Astrology/Metaphysical Library
The Bible amongst astrology litterature.

Tetrabiblos
Claudius Ptolemy
Manufacturer: Astrology Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Carmen Astrologicum
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Ptolemy's "Almagest"
Ancient Astrology Theory And Practice

ASIN: 1933303123

Book Description

Claudius Ptolemy (c.100 - c.178 AD), of Alexandria, was one of the greatest philosopher/scientists of the ancient world. Among his books are the Almagest, Geography, Optics, Planispherium and Tetrabiblos.

The earliest surviving version of Tetrabiblos is the paraphrase attributed to Proclus the Philosopher (412-485). Tetrabiblos (literally, "four books") was long thought to be a complete survey of Greek astrology. Recent research suggests this not to be the case, but Ptolemy's work remains the foundation of western astrology. In particular, his persuasive use of the Tropical Zodiac, rather than the Sidereal, changed western astrology forever.

Book 1 of Tetrabiblos defines various technical terms and supplies other information needed by the astrologer. Chapters 9, 10 and 11 detail the influence of fixed stars in various constellations.

Book 2 is the astrology of nations and their rulers. Books 3 & 4 are devoted to Natal Astrology. Book 3, chapter 2, explains Ptolemy's method of rectifying the Ascendant. Chapter 10 gives a method for determining life expectancy. Book 4 deals with fortunes of wealth & rank, as well as employment, marriage, children, death, etc.

Also included are extracts from Ptolemy's Almagest (a compendium of Greek astronomy), as well as "Ptolemy's Centiloquy," a list of aphorisms, the authorship of which is disputed. Many of the 100 deal with horary astrology. They have been studied by astrologers for centuries.

Translations: Gardner (1911) lists four English translations of Tetrabiblos. The first was by John Walley, 1701. The second was Walley's translation, edited by Sibley and Brown, 1786, which is said to be worthless. The third, by James Wilson (author of the famous Dictionary of Astrology), was published in 1820. The fourth (this one, by far the best), was by J.M. Ashmand, 1822. A fifth translation was made in 1940 by F.E. Robbins. Of these several translators, only Ashmand could claim to be both a Greek and Latin scholar as well as an experienced astrologer. We are honored to present Ashmand's translation to a new generation of students.

Every serious astrologer, from the 3rd century to the present, has studied the Tetrabiblos. With the current revival of traditional astrology, it remains essential reading.

Customer Reviews:

That Aries the Ram was the Sign of the Jews.......2005-02-11

Astrologers and astronomers searching for the Star of Bethlehem have long overlooked this primary source for an important piece of evidence: Aries the Ram ruled over Judea. This helped me reveal the Star that pointed the Magi to Judea where the King of the Jews was born on April 17, 6 BC - two years before King Herod died. My book, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi also made use of other astrological primary sources which showed that to understand the Magi's Star, we need to understand astrology as it practiced as Ptolemy described.

The Tetrabiblos belongs on every classical historian's bookshelf. It is a major primary source on astrology as it was praticed in Roman times.

A Must for any Astrology/Metaphysical Library.......2000-01-07

The wonderful thing about this translation of Ptolemy's seminal work in Astrology is the conscientious and painstaking work to adhere to the original text which appears on the opposing side of the english text translation. I am in a position to corroborate myself its accuracy. As a result however the English text is not an easy or flowing contemporary style. This is not a quick read, and probably should be used as reference. It covers a multitude of Astrological areas and can serve as a springboard to further inquiry. The book is a compact size, typeface and spacing pleasant and non-fatiguing.

The Bible amongst astrology litterature........1999-04-14

This book is the source for most astrology - the ancients as well as the moderns students - who have respect for the art. Claudius Ptolemy was born in Egypt and lived in the years 100-178 (ref. Tetrabiblos)and left the scripts which is presented here in the four books "Tetra Biblos".

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Proclus had deep geometric insight.......2007-01-10

I haven't read all of this book, only the parts relevant to Euclid's parallel postulate. Proclus had the idea for a proof of the latter, based on (A) Aristotle's Angle Unboundedness Axiom, and while that "proof" is flawed, it can be converted to a correct proof if a futher natural geometric hypothesis (S) is added. I will explain this in the forthcoming fourth edition of my text EUCLIDEAN and NON-EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRIES: DEVELOPMENT and HISTORY, where I name the result PROCLUS' THEOREM. It states that assuming Hilbert's axioms of incidence, betweenness and congruence, which fill most (but not all) of the gaps in Euclid, Euclid's Parallel Postulate is logically equivalent to the conjunction of (A) and (S).

Proclus was also many centuries ahead of his time in stating publicly that the angle of parallelism might not be a right angle - i.e., recognizing that non-Euclidean geometry might be possible, though he did not pursue that idea.

Good translation of Proclus.......2006-10-14

Proclus was the last major Neo-Platonic philosopher of importance before the Academy was closed by the Christian emperor Justinian in the 6th century. He wrote many works, including long commentaries on Plato's dialogues and a commentary on the Elements by Euclid.

This translation by Morrow, a leading Classicist, contains a good introductory essay on Proclus's philosophy of mathematics, along with other scholarly aids such as a biblography. While Proclus's ideas probably have little currency with either philosophers or mathematicians today, they are of interest to the student of Ancient philosophy and the historian of Philosophy.

Commentaries of Proclus on the Timæus of Plato, Part 1

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Commentaries of Proclus on the Timæus of Plato, Part 1
Thomas Taylor
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides"
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ASIN: 0766126625

Book Description

1820. Other volumes in this set include ISBN number(s): 0766126633. Volume one of a two volume set. (This description is for all volumes.) In five books; Containing a Treasury of Pythagoric and Platonic Physiology. This is the most prized book on esoteric sciences, Neoplatonism, root of hermetics, and Tibetan Buddhism. Highly quoted by Manly P. Hall, and Blavatsky. Very scarce and now ready to be in your private library! In two volumes.

The Philosophical And Mathematical Commentaries Of Proclus On The First Book Of Euclid's Elements V1

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The Philosophical And Mathematical Commentaries Of Proclus On The First Book Of Euclid's Elements V1
Diadochus Proclus
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1428648615

Book Description

In Two Volumes. To Which Are Added A History Of The Restoration Of Platonic Theology, By The Latter Platonists; And A Translation From The Greek Of Proclus's Theological Elements.

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not from the 20s
Tough Stuff For the Hard Core

Proclus the Neoplatonic Philosopher
Thomas Taylor
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Metamorphosis or Golden Ass of Apuleius

ASIN: 1564591239

Book Description

The Former Consisting of Ten Doubts Concerning Providence, and a Solution of those Doubts; and the Latter Containing a Development of the Nature of Evil.

Customer Reviews:

not from the 20s.......2004-08-05

The previous reviewer is mistaken about the date of this work. Taylor was an interesting figure in the history of English scholarship, he translated a large number of ancient works, including the complete works of Plato and Aristotle. He also had a great interest in the neo-platonic writers, such as Plotinus, and Proclus. (In a sense he was to the Romantics what Marsilio Ficino was to the writers of the Italian renaissance.) The Greek texts he worked from were often highly unsatisfactory, so his translations won't serve for modern scholarly work, but they're an interesting milestone in the "platonic" tradition of English thought, and Taylor himself had a deep personal understanding of the writers he worked on. His insights, implicit in his translations and explicit in his essays, are often of great interest to anyone seeking to understand these difficult ancient texts. Taylor's dates are 1758-1835. I remember reading once that he was a friend of William Blake's.

Tough Stuff For the Hard Core.......2001-06-29

The actual title of this volume is, "Two Treatises of Proclus the Neoplatonic Philosopher" which are, "Ten Doubts Concerning Providence and a Solution of those Doubts" and "On the Subsistence of Evil", translated by Thomas Taylor, presumably in the 1920's, but no original copyright for this reprint is given. The book itself reminds me of a workbook for school, since it is 8"x10.5", and the pages seem to be enlargements of a smaller old edition.I bought this as a companion for Pseudo-Dionysius, but at least as far as this edition goes, I'm in over my head. Not only is the translation done in an antique style, but the relatively sparse notes presume a knowledge of Latin and Greek, and are not geared to the general reader. Editorially, the reader is not given much help, in that the text is not subdivided except by occasional numbers, and no headings or other structural clues are given.All that being said, this difficult book let's me peek into a remote mind, struggling with concerns that are likewise remote from me, and wonder. It will definitely not be most readers' cup of tea, and it could be done better, but I'll keep it all the same.

The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks)

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A classical book of Neoplatonism

The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks)
Proclus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides"
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Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus

ASIN: 0198140975

Book Description

Proclus' Elements of Theology is a concise summa of the Neoplatonic system in its fully developed form; and for the student of late Greek thought second in importance only to the Enneads of Plotinus. Professor Dodds has provided a critical text based on a personal examination of some 40 manuscripts, together with an English translation and a philosophical and linguistic commentary. First published in 1933, this second edition includes an Appendix of Addenda et corrigenda and is still widely regarded and respected as the definitive edition of the text today.

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A classical book of Neoplatonism.......2006-10-29

A wonderful "geometrical" metaphysical work, which many consider, iby its form, a forerrunner of Spinoza's Ethic, this is the accurate blingual edition that should be used for serious academic work. A must have for those interested in Neoplatonism

On the Eternity of the World (de Aeternitate Mundi)

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On the Eternity of the World (de Aeternitate Mundi)
Proclus
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks)

ASIN: 0520225546

Book Description

In the fifth century A.D., Proclus served as head of the Academy in Athens that had been founded 900 years earlier by Plato. Proclus was the last great systematizer of Greek philosophy, and his work exerted a powerful influence in late antiquity, in the Arab world, and in the Renaissance. His treatise On the Eternity of the World formed the basis for virtually all later arguments for the eternity of the world and for the existence of God; consequently, it lies at the heart of neoplatonic philosophy and the controversy between pagans and Christians at the end of antiquity.
Proclus's eighteen Arguments were quoted within John Philoponus' polemic against him, written in the sixth century; but the opening pages of the sole extant manuscript, which contained the first Argument, have been lost. In this book, Helen Lang and A.D. Macro present the seventeen Arguments preserved by Philoponus and translate them as an independent work. The first Argument, which survives in Arabic, is also included and makes this the only complete edition of On the Eternity of the World since antiquity.
This bilingual edition comprises the seventeen Arguments (II-XVIII) in Greek and English, along with an introduction, synopses, and detailed notes which help readers with or without Greek to understand them philosophically and historically. Two appendices complete the volume: the Arabic text of the first Argument, also with English translation and notes, and the first modern edition of an important Latin translation from the Renaissance.
In a valuable introduction, Lang and Macro examine the complex history of these Arguments. Together with its excellent annotations, and English and Greek texts en face, the publication of Proclus's On the Eternity of the Worldmakes available an influential work by a major figure in the history of late Greek philosophy.

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