‘The Life of Proclus’ or ‘Concerning Happiness’
by his student Marinus of Samaria
by his student Marinus of Samaria
[Translated by Kenneth S. GUTHRIE 1925
- pp 15 - 55]
(James’ Note: This extract from the
affectionate essay of Marinus about his teacher Proclus is very interesting and
philosophically informative, and I believe it clearly demonstrates that we can
learn a great deal from looking at the way some of these respected philosophers
lived their lives; almost as much perhaps as we can learn from reading their
books. This is something for readers walking a philosophical path to keep in
mind. Remember, ‘real’ philosophy is not just about how many books you read and
facts you learn; it is mainly about how you live your life practically. These
philosophers we are discussing did not just ‘talk the talk’; they also walked
the walk of the philosophy they were following. Proclus was one of the final
directors of Plato’s Academy in Athens. Below is an important extract of Marinus’
essay.)
1.Had I merely considered our
contemporary philosopher Proclus's high-mindedness and worth, the multitude of
documents and the oratorical achievements of the biographers of such a
man,----and besides, my own insufficiency in the practice of eloquence----I think
I should have been wise in quietly refraining from "jumping over the
ditch," as the vulgar say, by rushing into this perilous undertaking.
But, brushing aside these requirements,
I have reflected that even in the sacrifices the suppliants at the altars
present offerings not all of the same value. Some seek to show themselves
worthy of participating with the gods by offering whole bulls and goats, not to
mention the composition of hymns in prose or verse; while others, having
nothing similar to offer, present only cakes, a few grains of incense, or a
short invocation, and are none the less favourably heard. Moved by these
reflections, and besides fearing to "fail the gods," as says Plato's
Ibycus, but here rather to fail this great sage; also, by my attitude, to
assure myself the praises of the world; for all these reasons, I have
decided that it was for me an obligation to relate in writing some of the high
and numerous qualities which the philosopher exemplified in his life, and to
relate them in all their truth.
I indeed feared that it was not an act
of piety to remain silent, I alone among his friends, and to omit relating the
truth about him, within the limits of my ability, when the duty to speak is
particularly mine; and while even among men generally I might be misunderstood,
had I not undertaken this task they might believe that I refrained not from
modesty, but from laziness, or worse.
2. I shall not follow the example of
most writers by dividing up my subject mathematically into regularly successive
chapters; rather, as the most suitable foundation for this essay I shall adopt
the happiness enjoyed by this truly blessed man. For I believe that he has been
the happiest of all men whose happiness has for centuries been celebrated. Nor
am I speaking merely of the happiness which is allotted to sages, although that
also he enjoyed to the fullest extent; nor because he had all the physical
advantages which permit the enjoyment of life; nor of the happiness of Fortune
which most people prize, and with which Chance most unusually favoured Proclus,
in as he disposed of unusually large resources,----but I am referring to a
complete and perfect happiness, to which absolutely nothing was lacking, and
which combined both conditions of felicity.
3. If we may classify virtues as
physical, moral and political, then the purifying, theoretic and theurgical; not
to mention the higher superhuman ones----we may begin with the physical virtues
which are born with us. This blessed man possessed them all naturally since his
birth, which could be clearly seen in his exterior wrapper, which we carry as
the oyster does his shell.
First, he possessed an extreme delicacy
of the senses, which may be called 'corporeal wisdom,' especially of our
noblest senses, sight and hearing, which were given by the gods to man so that
he might devote himself to philosophy, and to enjoy the sweetness of
well-being. Our philosopher preserved them intact his life-long.
Secondly, his was a most robust
constitution, which resisted the extremes of heat and cold, and which remained
unaffected by irregularities, by his neglect of food, by excess of work by day
and night, when occupied in prayers, pouring over scientific books, writing,
conversing familiarly with his friends,----and all that so continuously as if each
was his only occupation. Such power might justly be called corporeal bravery.
The third bodily quality he possessed
is comparable to temperance, to which is properly related handsomeness. For as
the former consists in the harmony and mutual agreement of the faculties of the
soul, so the latter physical beauty may be discovered in a certain symmetry of
its organic members. His appearance was most agreeable, for not only did he
possess the beauty of just proportions, but from his soul exuded a
certain living light, or miraculous efflorescence which shone over his whole
body, and which is quite indescribable. He was so lovely that no painter was
able to catch his likeness, and that in all of his portraits that are in
circulation (however fine they be) there is still a lack of many features to
represent his personality adequately.
His fourth bodily virtue was health,
which is often compared to justice in the soul. These two are really quite
analogous, for justice is a soul-habit which hinders upsets of the soul-parts,
while health fosters order and mutual agreement between the disordered elements
of the body. That is just the definition given by the Asklepian healers [or
physicians].
So profoundly had this health been
rooted in Proclus ever since his birth, that he was able to tell how many times
he had been sick, which was twice or thrice during seventy-five completed
years. Indeed, so true is this that during his last sickness he did not
recognize his symptoms, so rarely had he felt them.
4. And although these were purely
bodily advantages, one might say that they were the premonitions of the
particular types into which we subdivide virtue. According to Plato, these are
the elements of a philosophic nature. The primary elements of the soul were
innate in him, and he had no need of learning them, and even so they were
highly developed in him. His was a great memory, an intelligence suited to all
kinds of studies; he was liberal, affable, loving, and fraternal to truth,
justice, courage and temperance. Never had he voluntarily told a lie; lies
he abhorred, and he cherished sincerity and veracity. What else could be
expected from a man who was to achieve the presence of True Being? Since youth,
he was impassioned for truth, for truth is the source of all goods, among gods
as among men. His profound scorn for sensuality, and his inclination to
temperance was well illustrated by his extreme ardour and overwhelming leaning
towards science, and all kinds of sciences, which do not even allow a first
start to the pleasures of gross and animal life, and, on the contrary have the
power to impress us with the pure and unmingled joys of the soul.
Love of gain was entirely alien to
Proclus, to the point that, from childhood, he neglected care of the fortune
left him by his parents, who were very rich, from passionate love for
philosophy. So he was entirely foreign to thievery and meannesses, his soul
being ever directed towards the universal and total in human and divine things.
From this arose a high-mindedness which impressed him with the nothingness of
human life, and released him from the usual fear of death. He felt no fear of
the things which seem so terrible to men generally, and his disposition was no
less than courageous.
This illustrates his youthful love of
justice: honourable and gentle, never moody, or difficult in daily intercourse,
never unjust; gracious, un-covetous, never taking advantage, as foreign to
arrogance as to timidity.
5. It is well to bring out for those
who never met him personally that his mind was open, his intelligence
fruitful, his knowledge thorough, his ideas, that he produced and published,
novel, and that he alone seemed never to have drunk of the potion of Lethe (or
Forgetfulness). His powerful memory never betrayed the least hesitation; he was
always self-possessed, and had no business other than science. His disposition
was opposed to rudeness and discourtesy; his taste was ever selective and the
best in everything, and his politeness and affability both in worldly
gatherings, religious banquets, and all acts of life, without in any way
detracting from his dignity, captivated his interlocutors, so that they always
left him in a better soul-disposition than when they had met him.
6. Such were the physical and mental
qualities which he received from his mother Marcella, legitimate wife of
Patricius. Both were Lycians, noble, and very virtuous. At birth he was
welcomed by the Constantinopolitan goddess Poliouchos [Athena], who as it were
assisted his mother in childbirth. She might have been considered the cause of
his life, because he was born in the town she protects and saves; and who, when
he reached childhood and youth, made him live well: for she appeared to him in
a dream inducing him to follow philosophy. That is how he began so close an
intimacy with the goddess, so that he sacrificed especially to her, and
practiced her precepts with the greatest enthusiasm. Shortly after his birth,
his parents removed him to their homeland, to Xanthus, a town dedicated to
Apollo, and which thus, by some divine chance, became his own homeland. For it
seemed no more than fitting that a man who was to become a prince of all
sciences should be raised and grow under the influence of the divine Leader of
the Muses. The excellent education he received there permitted him to acquire
the moral virtues, and to accustom himself to love what duty commands, and to
avoid the contrary.
7. That was the time when the
great favour of the gods that he had enjoyed since his birth became most
evident. One day he was suffering from a serious illness, and he had been given
up for lost when above his bed appeared a child, an exceedingly beautiful boy
who, even before he announced his name, was easily recognized as Telesphorus.1 As
he stood near, bending over the pillow, he announced his name and touched the
patient's head, curing him of his sickness, and then suddenly disappeared. This
divine miracle testified to the favour of the gods for the youth.
8. For a very short time he attended
a grammar school in Lycia, and then travelled to Egyptian Alexandria,
already deeply imbued with the moral qualities which charmed the teachers he
attended. The Isaurian sophist Leonas, the most celebrated among his fellow
philosophers, not only admitted him to his courses, but invited him to become
his house-guest, admitted him to intimacy with his wife and children, as if he
had been his own son. He introduced the youth to the magistrates who were
governing Egypt, who received him among their most intimate friends, charmed
with the youth's natural mental vivacity and his manners, distinction and
dignity. He frequented the school of the grammarian Orion, who was a descendant
of an ancient Egyptian priestly caste, and who was so learned in the practice
of his art that he himself composed works very useful to posterity.
Then he attended the lessons of Roman
teachers, and rapidly made great progress in their curriculum; for at the
beginning he proposed to follow the legal career of his father, who had thereby
made himself famous in the capital.
While he was still young, he took much
delight in rhetoric, for he had not yet become acquainted with philosophical
studies. In rhetoric he even became celebrated, capturing the admiration of his
fellow students and his teachers by his fine flow of language, by his facility
in assimilating this art, and by his appearing a teacher rather than a student
both by his proficiency and diplomacy.
9. He was still studying when Leonas
invited him to share his journey to Constantinople, which he had
undertaken as a favour to Theodorus, the Alexandrian governor, a man of great
distinction, liberality and friendliness to philosophy. The youth accompanied
his teacher with much pleasure, so as not to interrupt his studies. But, after
all, this was exceedingly providential, as it brought him back to the influence
of the goddess who had been the cause of his birth [Athena].
For on his arrival the goddess advised
him to devote himself up to philosophy, and to attend the Athenian
schools. So he said farewell to rhetoric, and to his other former studies, and
first returning to Alexandria, he attended only what philosophical courses
were there given. To begin his study of Aristotle's philosophy he attended the
instruction of the Younger Olympiodorus, whose reputation was very extensive.
For mathematics, he trusted himself to Heron, a very pious person, who
possessed and practiced the best methods of his art.
These teachers were so charmed with the
virtues of this youth that Olympiodorus, who had a daughter who was acquainted
with philosophy wished to betroth her to him; and Heron did not hesitate to
initiate him into all his ideas about religion, and to make him his continuous
companion.
Now it seems that Olympiodorus
possessed such a gift of speech, that he talked too rapidly and indistinctly,
and only a few of his auditors understood him. One day, at the close of the
lecture, Proclus repeated the whole lecture to his fellow students, word by
word, from memory. It had been very long, but Proclus missed nothing, as I have
been informed by one of the other auditors, Ulpian of Gaza, who had also
devoted his whole life to philosophy.
Proclus easily understood Aristotle's
treatises on logic, at the first reading, though they are difficult to
comprehend by beginners.
10. After having studied under the
teachers in Alexandria, and having profited by their lessons according
to their talent and science, it seemed to him, one day on reading an author
with his teacher, that the latter's explanation of the passage had failed to
represent the author's meaning. So he looked upon these schools with scorn, and
simultaneously remembering the divine vision that had visited him in
Constantinople, and the command which it had brought him, he embarked for
Athens, so to speak under the escort of [divine] oracles and all the gods and
good daimons who watch over the preservation of philosophy. For he was being
sent there by the gods of philosophy to preserve the school of Plato
in its truth and pureness. This was clearly demonstrated by the circumstances
of his arrival, and the really divine symbols which clearly prognosticated the
function which he was to inherit from his 'father',2 and
the election which was, one day, to call him to the direction and
administration of the School.
For at his landing in the Piraeus, and
as soon as his arrival was bruited about in Athens, Nicholaus, who was later to
become so famous as a sophist, and who at this time was pursuing his studies
here, came to the harbour to welcome him, and to offer him hospitality, as he
was acquainted with him personally, and was his co-national, from Lycia. So
Nicholaus led him to the town; but on the way, having arrived at the monument
to Socrates, Proclus felt himself tired of walking. Now he did not know, and
had never heard tell that there existed there a place sacred to Socrates.
Yet he begged Nicholaus to stop there a moment, so he might sit down to rest,
and asked him to fetch him a little water, from any place at all, for, said he,
"I am dying of thirst." Nicholaus, very anxious, had some brought
him, not from any chance place, but from the consecrated shrine itself, for the
spring of Socrates's Pillar was not far off. After Proclus had drunk, Nicholaus
suddenly saw in this a symbol, and told him that he was resting in a place
consecrated to Socrates, and that the water he had drunk, the first Attic water
he had tasted, was from this source. So Proclus rose, and before proceeding,
offered a prayer.
As he was arriving at the fortified
gate, at the entrance he met the porter, who was already preparing to insert
his keys in the lock, and he actually said to Proclus: "Really, if you had
not arrived, I should have closed!" Could there have been a clearer omen,
and one whose interpretation would need neither a Polles, nor a Melampus, nor
any other? 3
11. Although he was anxiously invited
by the teachers of eloquence, as if he had come for this very purpose, he
scorned the oratorical theories and methods. Chance led him to hear first
Syrianus, son of Philoxenus, at whose lecture was present Lachares, who was
profoundly versed in the doctrines of the philosophers, and at that time was an
assiduous auditor of the philosopher, although his art in sophistry excited as
much admiration as Homer's in poetry. It happened to be late dusk, and the
sun was setting during their conversation, and the moon, quitting her
conjunction with the sun, began to appear. So as to be able to adore the
goddess alone and leisurely, they tried to dismiss the youth who to them was a
stranger. But, after having taken but a few steps from the house Proclus; he
also seeing the moon leaving her celestial house----stopped in his tracks,
undid his shoes, and in plain sight of them adored the goddess. Struck by the
free and bold action of the youth, Lachares then said to Syrianus this
admirable expression of Plato's about geniuses: "Here is a man who will be
a great good, or its contrary!" Such are the presages, to mention only a
few of them, that the gods sent to our philosopher just as he arrived in Athens.
12. On taking him into his home,
Syrianus presented him to the great Plutarch, son of Nestorius. The latter, on
seeing this barely twenty-year-old youth, and on learning of his ardent desire
and determination to devote himself entirely to philosophy, was charmed with
him, to the point of urgently welcoming him to his lessons of philosophy,
although he was often hindered by his age, being already very old. With him
Proclus read Aristotle's De Anima,and Plato's Phaedo. After
thus proving the student's aptitude for the finer things, Plutarch loved him
more and more, continually called Proclus his child, and received him into his
house. The great master advised Proclus to record the text of their
conversations in writing, and to arouse his zeal, sought to excite his ambition
by saying to him that if he completed these notes people would say "It is
Proclus who is the author of these commentaries on Plato!"
As Plutarch saw Proclus very rigidly
abstaining from flesh food, he advised him not to push this abstinence too far,
so as to keep his body vigorous enough to carry on the labours and fatigues of
his spirit. He even asked the philosopher Syrianus to endorse this advice about
diet, but the latter retorted to the old man, as Proclus himself reported to
me, ''Let him learn what I want, by following this so rigid a diet; and
afterwards, if he insists on it, let him die!" Such was the solicitude
that Proclus aroused in his teachers!
After the arrival of Proclus, the old
man survived only two years; and, on dying, recommended him to his successor
Syrianus with the same instances as his own grandson Archiadas. So Syrianus
took Proclus into his own home, made him profit as much as possible from his
lessons, and made Proclus share in his philosophical way of life, because he
had found in him the disciple and successor he had long been seeking, someone,
namely, who was capable of understanding the sciences in both their
multiplicity and diversity, while simultaneously grasping the divine verities.
13. During this season of less than two
years, with his teacher, Proclus read all of Aristotle's treatises on logic,
ethics, politics, physics, and on the science which rises above all these, theology.
Solidly outfitted with these studies, which so to speak, are a kind of
preparatory initiation or lesser mysteries, Syrianus led Proclus to the Greater
Mysteries of Plato, proceeding in an orderly manner, and not, as says the
Oracle, ''jumping over the threshold." So Syrianus led Proclus to direct
and immediate vision of the really divine mysteries contained in this
philosopher, for when the eyes of the soul are no longer obscured as by a mist,
reason, freed from sensation, may cast firm glances into the distance.
By an intense and unresting labour by
day and night, he succeeded in recording in writing, along with his own
critical remarks, the doctrine which he heard discussed, and of which he
finally made a synoptic outline, making such progress that at the age of
twenty-eight years, he had composed many treatises, among others a Commentary
on the Timaeus, written with utmost elegance and science. Through
these prolonged and inspiring studies, to science he added virtue, increasing
the moral beauty of his nature.
14. Besides, he acquired political
virtues, which he derived from Aristotle's political writings, and Plato's Laws and Republic. He
was in this dilemma, that he could not mingle with politics, because his
thoughts took a higher flight; and yet he did not wish people to believe that
his knowledge was verbal only, and that he made no practical application
thereof. So he encouraged Archiadas to devote himself to them, instructing him,
explaining to him the political virtues and methods, acting like the coaches
who pace runners, exhorting him to direct the affairs of his whole town,
and at the same time to render services to individuals, in all kinds of
virtues, but especially in justice. And indeed he succeeded in arousing in
Archiadas a noble emulation, taught him liberality in financial matters, and
munificence, himself making benefactions to his friends, relatives, and fellow
citizens, in everything showing himself superior to the vanity of wealth.
Proclus did indeed make important
public benefactions, and at his death bequeathed his fortune to Xanthus
and Athens, after the decease of Archiadas. The latter indeed showed
himself, both by his own nature, and by his affection for Proclus, so sincere a
friend of religion that even our contemporaries, when they spoke of him, called
him by the venerable name, "the most pious Archiadas."
15. Nevertheless, sometimes he
undertook to give political advice. He would attend the public meetings where
they deliberated on the town interests, proposed resolutions of a great
practical wisdom, conferred with the magistrates on matters appertaining to
justice, and not only gave them counsel, but, with a philosopher's boldness
would partly constrain them to administer justice generally.
He watched over the honourable
character of those charged with public education, obliging them to practice
temperance in their public conduct; teaching them the virtues not only by
discourses, but also by the actions and occupations of his whole life; making
himself, so to speak, an exemplar of temperance.
He even displayed political courage in
a Herculean degree. For he managed to save his life in the midst of the
greatest perils, when he had to weather terrible tempests, when all the
unleashed typhoons were shaking his so well regulated life, without letting
himself be frightened or discouraged.
One day, indeed, when he found himself
the object of the suspicions and vexations of a sort of vultures that
surrounded him [i.e., certain Christians], obeying that [divine] Power which
starts revolutions in this world, he left Athens and made a journey to Asia,
where his residence became most profitable to him. For his guardian spirit (daimonion)
furnished him the occasion of this departure in order that he might not remain
ignorant of the ancient religious institutions which had been there preserved.
Indeed, among the Lydians, he succeeded in gaining a clear conception of these
doctrines, while they through long vicissitudes had come to neglect certain
liturgical operations, received from him a more complete doctrine, because the
philosopher more perfectly conceived what relates to the divinities. By doing
this and in thus ordering his conduct, he succeeded in achieving oblivion, even
better than the Pythagoreans observed the inviolate command of their master, to
"live unnoticed."
After no more than a year's sojourn in
Lydia he returned to Athens, guided by the providence of the deity friendly to
wisdom [Athena].
That is how was firmly established in
him the virtue of courage; first by nature, then by habit, then by science, and
then by that practical wisdom which reasons from cause to effect. In another
respect he showed that he knew how to put into practice his political art, by
writing to the magistrates of towns, and by his suggestions rendering service
to entire cities, as he did to the Athenians and the inhabitants of Andros,
and elsewhere.
16. As a result of these sentiments he favoured
the development of literary activity, assisting those who devoted themselves to
such occupations, claiming from the magistrates distribution of a living
pension, or other subventions suited to their deserts. But in such matters he
did not act without full information about the details, nor with any favouritism;
nay, he compelled those in whom he took so serious an interest to fulfil their
chosen avocations with zeal, questioning them, and examining all the minutiae
of their tasks, for he was an excellent judge in all things. If he found
someone who complied with his counsels only with negligence, he reprimanded
them severely, so that in fact he may have appeared very irascible, and also
very sensitive in respect to the consideration due him, because he was both
willing and able to make accurate and certain judgements in all matters.
Indeed, he did love honours, but this
love of reputation did not in him, as it does in others, degenerate into a
passion. He was ambitious of glory only for virtue and goodness, and it is possible
that without the energy inspired by this sentiment nothing great might be
accomplished in this world.
Yes, I will grant that he was
irascible; but he was simultaneously kind, for he was easily appeased, and in
the winking of an eyelash his anger would melt like wax. For at the very moment
that he was giving a reprimand his tender and sympathetic disposition led him
to put the culprit under obligations, and to direct towards them the kind
offices of the government.
17. It is fortunate that I should have
been led to mention his trait of sympathy, which swayed him more powerfully
than any other known man. Never having tasted the joys of family or of marriage,
that is, because he so elected it, having received many propositions very favourable
from the standpoint of birth and fortune----having, therefore, remained free
from these bonds, he showed such a solicitude for his pupils and friends, and
even for their wives and children, that he was looked upon as a common father
and as the author of their existence. If any one of his acquaintances fell
sick, he implored the gods on his behalf with ardent piety in sacrifices and
hymns; then he visited the patient with a zealous solicitude, convoked the
physicians and urged them without delay to apply their art, and himself
suggested some more efficacious remedy, and thus saved many sick people in most
dangerous crises.
As to his humanity towards his most
familiar servants, it appears from the last will of this perfect good man. Of
all the people he knew, the one he loved best was Archiadas, and after him,
those who belonged to his family, especially because he belonged to the family
of the philosopher Plutarch, and then because he had been his fellow student
and teacher; for of these two forms of friendship which are so rarely recorded
among the ancients, that which bound them seems to have been the most profound.
There was nothing that Archiadas desired that Proclus did not desire, and
reciprocally.
18. After having thus set forth the
principle kinds of our philosopher's political virtues, which are crowned by
friendship, and which are far inferior to the kinds of higher virtues, let us
now proceed to a different kind, the virtues purificatory. For while these have
the same function,----of purifying the soul and preparing it to attend freely
to human affairs so as to achieve assimilation to God, which is the most
perfect purpose of the soul----they do not all operate in the same manner, or
to the same extent, some more, some less. Even if there are certain political
purifications which give order and beauty to those who possess them, and make
them better, even during their sojourn here below, because they impose limits
and measure on irascible affections, and on sensual desires, and in general act
to suppress passions, and false opinions, the purificatory virtues are superior
to them, because they produce a separation that is complete, relieving us from
the leaden burdens of the world of generation, and removing the obstacles to
our flight from things here below.
These are virtues which our philosopher
practiced all through a life devoted to philosophy, by eloquent lessons
teaching their nature, how man acquires them, and especially by conforming his
life to them, and practicing the actions by which the soul succeeds in
separating itself, continually, by day or night, making use of the purificatory
practices which woo us from evil, of lustrations, and of all other processes of
purification, whether Orphic or Chaldean,4 such
as dipping himself into the sea without hesitation every month, and sometimes
even twice or thrice a month. He practiced this discipline, rude as it was, not
only in his prime, but even also when he approached his life's decline; and so
he observed, without ever failing, these austere habits of which he had, so to
speak, made himself a law.
19. As to the necessary pleasures of
food and drink, he made use of them with sobriety, for to him they were no more
than a solace from his fatigues. He especially preached abstinence from animal
food, but if a special ceremony compelled him to make use of it, he only tasted
it, out of consideration and respect. Every month he sanctified himself
according to the rites devoted to the Mother of the Gods [Cybele] by the
Romans, and before them by the Phrygians; he observed the holy days observed
among the Egyptians even more strictly than did they themselves; and especially
he fasted on certain days, quite openly. During the first day of th lunar
month he remained without food, without even having eaten the night before; and
he likewise celebrated the New Moon in great solemnity, and with much sanctity.
He regularly observed the great festivals of all peoples, so to speak, and the
religious ceremonies peculiar to each people or country.
Nor did he, like so many others, make
this the pretext of a distraction, or of a debauch of food, but on the contrary
they were occasions of prayer meetings that lasted all night, without sleep,
with songs, hymns and similar devotions. Of this we see the proof in the
composition of his hymns, which contain homage and praises not only of the gods
adored among the Greeks, but where you also see worship of the god Marnas of
Gaza, Asklepius Leontuchus of Ascalon, Thyandrites who is much worshipped among
the Arabs, the Isis who has a temple at Philae, and indeed all other
divinities. It was a phrase he much used, and that was very familiar to him,
that a philosopher should watch over the salvation of not only a city, nor over
the national customs of a few people, but that he should be the hierophant of
the whole world in common. Such were the holy and purificatory exercises he
practiced, in his austere manner of life.
That is how he avoided physical
sufferings; and if he was overwhelmed by them he bore them with gentleness, and
he dulled their keenness by not allowing his most perfect part to grow tender
about himself. He showed the strength of his soul |36 in the face of suffering in his
last illness. Even when beaten down by it, a prey to atrocious sufferings, he
was still trying to conjure the evil. He begged us in turn to read hymns,
during which readings the suffering seemed appeased, and replaced by a sort of
impassibility. What is still more surprising, he recalled all that he had heard
read, even though the weakness which had overcome him had made him apparently
lose the recognition of persons around him.
When we read the beginning of a hymn,
he would recite its middle and end, especially when they were Orphic verses;
for when we were near him we would recite some of them.
It was not only against physical
sufferings that he showed insensibility; but when external events would
unexpectedly strike him, seeming to be contrary to the usual course of events,
he would on the occurrence of such events say, "Well, such are the
habitual accidents of life!" This maxim has seemed to me worthy of
preservation, because it bears strong testimony to our philosopher's strength
of soul.
So far as possible, he repressed anger;
rather, he did not allow it to break out at all, or rather it was only the
sensitive part of the soul that was thereby affected; these involuntary
movements no more than touched the rational part, and that only lightly and
transitorily. As to sexual pleasures, I think that he admitted them only in the
imaginative degree, and that only very superficially.
21. So the soul of this blessed man
went on gathering itself, and concentrating itself, separating itself, so
to speak, from its body, during the very time when it seemed contained in him.
This soul possessed wisdom,----no longer only the political wisdom which
consists in good behaviour in the realm of contingent things, and which can
seem otherwise than they are----but thought in itself, pure thought, which
consists in returning unto one's self, and in refusing to unite with the body
to acquire conjectural knowledge. It possessed the temperance which consists in
not associating with the inferior element of our being, not even in limiting
oneself to setting boundaries to our passions, but desiring to be absolutely
exempt from all passion. It possessed the courage which for her consists in not
fearing separation from the body. Since in him reason and pure thought were the
rulers, the lower faculties no longer resisted purificative justice, and the
virtues imparted to his whole life a perfect beauty.
22. Provided with this sort of virtues,
without effort, and with a steady stride making constant progress in following
the order of the degrees of mystic initiation, he achieved greater and higher
[contemplative] virtues, as if led by the hand, first by his fortunate
disposition, then by an education founded upon a profound science. For he was
already purified from and raised above the world of generation and change,
scorning the "many who carry the narthex,"5 who
revel therein. He on the contrary intoxicated himself with love for the primary
beings. So he had himself achieved seeing directly the really beatific
visions from beyond, establishing his assured science not on apodictic and
discursive syllogisms, but on what he could contemplate with his eyes, on the
intuitions of intellectual activity, on the models contained within divine
reason. So he acquired this virtue whose true and proper name is not science,
but rather wisdom, sophia, or any other if possible more
reverend name.
Conforming all his actions to this
virtue, the philosopher had no trouble in understanding the whole Hellenic and
foreign mythology, even those revelations which had been obscured by mythical
fictions; and these he expounded for those who would or could attain their
elevation, giving to all of them profoundly religious interpretations, and
relating them all in a perfect harmony.
The writings of the most ancient
authors he studied thoroughly, and after having subjected them to criticism, he
gathered whatever thoughts he therein found to be useful and fruitful; but
whatever seemed to lack force or value he set aside, branding them ridiculous
puerilities. What however was contrary to true principles, he very
energetically discussed, submitting it to thorough-going criticism, in his
lectures treating each one of these theories with as much clearness as vigor,
and recording all his observations in books.
For without stint did he give himself
up to his love for work, daily teaching five periods, and sometimes more,
and writing much, about 700 lines. Nor did this labour hinder him from visiting
other philosophers, from giving purely oral evening lectures, from practicing
his devotions during the night, for which he denied himself sleep; and further,
from worshipping the sun at dawn, noon, and dusk.
23. He is the author of many hitherto
unknown theories, that were physical, intellectual, or still more divine. For
he was the first to assert the existence of a kind of souls that are capable of
simultaneously seeing several Ideas. He had very properly postulated their
existence as intermediate between the Mind (Nous) which
embraces all things together by a single intuition, and the souls whose
discursive thoughts pass, and who are unable to conceive more than a single
idea at one time.
If we wished, we might easily mention
other doctrines formulated by him,you need only undertake the reading of his
works----which I have at present abstained from doing, in the fear of drawing
out this essay too much, by commenting on these details. He who will undertake
this work will recognize the truth of all that we have attributed to him.
Still better would this have been
realized if one had seen him, if one had basked in his presence, if one had
heard him deliver his lectures, and had heard him pronounce such noble
discourses at his yearly celebrations of the birthdays of Socrates and Plato.
It was quite noticeable that he was borne along by a divine inspiration when he spoke,
when from this so wise a mouth flowed in waves the words, which flew like
flakes of snow. Then it seemed that his eyes filled with a shining splendour,
and all over his face spread rays of a divine illumination.
One day a very distinguished political
personage named Rufinus, who was entirely trustworthy and honourable, while
listening to one of his lectures, saw a halo surrounding his head. At the
close, Rufinus rose, and saluted him with respect, under oath testifying to the
divine manifestation of which he had been witness. It was this same Rufinus who
offered Proclus a large sum of money on his return from Asia, after his
political troubles. Proclus however refused this offering.
24. Let us however return to the
subject we had begun above. After having, however inadequately, related what
concerns his theoretic wisdom, we must now speak of that form of justice whose
dignity equals this sort of virtues. Not like those of which we have spoken
above does it consist of a plurality of parts, neither in the mutual agreement
of those parts, but in an absolutely proper action, which belongs only to the
thinking soul, and which therefore must be independently defined by itself.
That which is peculiar to this virtue is that its action absolutely conforms to
Mind (Nous) and to God; and this was the eminent characteristic of our
philosopher's intellectual activity. For he hardly rested from the fatigues of
his daily labours, and while he yielded his body to slumber, not even during these
moments did his thought refrain from activity. So, after having early shaken
off slumber, as a sort of psychic laziness, when his prayer-hour had not yet
arrived because the night was far from having elapsed, alone, in his bed, he
composed hymns, examined certain theories, and searched for ideas, which he
later committed to writing at the coming of day.
25. He possessed the temperance
which accompanies this noetic order of virtues, consisting of the soul's
internal conversion towards reason, and the moral disposition which allows
itself neither to be touched nor shaken by anything else. In all its
perfection, its accompanying courage was manifested by Proclus, who sought to
imitate this principle's state of ‘passionlessness’, which is imperturbable in
its real essence. In short, as says Plotinus, not of the worthy man's life whom
political virtue has rendered good and able to live, but, scorning this very
life, he exchanged it for another, the life of the gods; for Proclus wished to
resemble them, and not merely worthy individuals.
26. He already possessed and
practiced these virtues when he was still studying with the philosopher
Syrianus, and while reading the treatises of the ancient philosophers; from his
master's lips he had gathered the primary elements, and so to speak the germs
of the Orphic and Chaldean theology. But Proclus never had the time to explain
the Orphic poems.
Syrianus had indeed planned to explain
to him and to Syrian Domninus, either one of these works, the Orphic
writings or the [Chaldean] Oracles,6 and
had left the choice to them. But they did not agree in choosing the same work,
Domninus choosing the Orphic, Proclus the Chaldean. This disagreement hindered
Syrianus from doing anything, and then he soon died.
Therefore Proclus had received from him
only the first principles; but he studied the master's notes on the Orphics,
and also the very numerous works of Porphyry and Iamblichus on the Oracles and
other kindred Chaldean writings. Thus imbued with the divine Oracles, he
achieved the highest of the virtues which the divine Iamblichus has so
magnificently called the 'theurgic.' 7 So
Proclus combined the interpretations of his predecessors into a compendium that
cost him much labour, and which he subjected to the most searching criticism,
and he inserted therein the most characteristically Chaldean hypotheses, as
well as the best drawn from the preceding commentaries written on the Oracles
communicated by the divinities.
It was in regard to this work, which
took him more than five years, that, in a dream, he had a divine vision. It
seemed to him that the great Plutarch predicted to him that he would live a
number of years equal to the four-page folios he had composed on the Oracles.
Having counted them, he found that there were seventy of them. The eventual
close of his life proves that this dream was divine; for although, as we have
said above, he lived five years beyond seventy, in these he was very much
weakened. The too severe, nay, excessive austerity of his rule of life,
his frequent ablutions, and other similar ascetic habits, had exhausted this
constitution that nature had made so vigorous; so after his seventieth year he
began to decline so that he could no longer attend to all his duties. In this
condition he limited himself to praying, to composing hymns, to conversing with
his friends, all of which, however, still weakened him. Yet, remembering the
dream that he had, he would be surprised about it, and would jokingly say that
he had lived no more than seventy years.
In spite of this great state of
feebleness, Hegias induced him to take up his lectures again; from childhood
this youth showed manifest signs of his ancestral virtues, which proved that he
belonged to the family of the veritable golden chain, which began with Plato's
ancestor Solon; and with zeal did he study the writings of Plato and the other
theologians.
The old man confided to him his
manuscripts, and felt great joy at seeing what giant's steps he was taking in
the advancement of all the sciences. So enough about his Chaldean studies.
27. One day while reading with him the
Orphic writings, and hearing him, in his commentaries, quoting the
interpretations not only of Iamblichus and Syrianus, but also of many more
authorities who had explored the depths of theology, I begged the philosopher
not to leave this divine Orphic poetry without complete commentaries. He
answered me that he had often planned to undertake this, but that he had been hindered
by certain dreams of Syrianus who discouraged him therefrom with threats.
Thinking of no other expedient, I suggested that he at least paraphrase what he
approved of in his master's books. He was kind enough to yield, and wrote
certain notes at the beginning of these commentaries. That is how we possess a
compendium of all the writings relating to this same author and very extensive
notes and commentaries on the Orphics, although he did not consent to do this
work on all the Orphic Myths and Rhapsodies.
28. But since, as I said before, by his
studies on this subject, he had acquired a still greater and more perfect
virtue, namely the theurgic, passing beyond the theoretic step, he did not conform
his life exclusively to one of the two characteristics suitable to divine
beings, but to both: not only did he direct his thoughts upward to the divine,
but by a providential faculty which was not merely social, he cared for those
things which were lower.
He practiced the Chaldean
prayer-meetings and conferences, and even employed the art of moving the divine
tops.8 He
was a believer in these practices, in unpremeditated responses, and other such
divinations, which he had learned from Asklepigenia, daughter of Plutarch, to
whom exclusively her father had confided and taught the mystic rites preserved
by Nestorius, and the whole theurgic science.
Even before that, according to the
prescribed order, and purified by the Chaldean lustrations, the
philosopher had, as epoptic initiate, witnessed the apparitions of Hecate under
a luminous form, as he himself has mentioned in a special booklet.
He had the power of producing rains by
activating, at the right time, a particular rite, and was able to deliver Attica
from a terrible drought. He knew how to foresee earthquakes, he had
experimented with the divinatory power of the tripod, and had himself uttered
verses prophetic about his own destiny.
When 40 years old, he felt that in a
dream he had uttered the following verses: "Here broods an immortal splendour,
that is super-celestial, which has sprung from the consecrated spring, and
whence streams a fiery light!"
At the beginning of his 42nd year, he
so seemed to be shouting the following verses: "I am possessed by a spirit
which breathes into me the force of fire, which, enfolding and entrancing my
reason in a whirl of flame, flies toward the aether, and with its immortal
vibrations re-echoes in the starry vaults!"
Besides, in a dream he had clearly seen
that he belonged to the Hermetic Chain; and, on the authority of a dream, he
was convinced that his was the reincarnated soul of the Pythagorean Nicomachus.
29. If we wished to do so, we might
easily extend our observations on the theurgic labours of this blessed man.
From among thousands, I will mention but one, which is really miraculous. One
day Asklepigenia, daughter of Archiadas and Plutarche, and [now]
wife of our benefactor Theagenes, being still small, and being raised at her
parents', became ill with a sickness pronounced incurable by the physicians.
Archiadas was in despair, as the child was the family's only hope, and naturally
uttered distressful lamentations. Seeing her abandoned by the physicians, the
father, as in the gravest circumstances of life, turned to his last resort, and
ran to the philosopher's, as to the only person who could save her, and
urgently besought him to come and pray for his daughter. The latter, taking
with him the great Lydian Pericles, who also was a genuine philosopher, ran to
the temple of Asklepius to pray to God in favour of the patient, for Athens was
still fortunate enough to possess it, and it had not yet been sacked [by the
Christians].
While he was praying according to the
ancient rite, suddenly a change manifested in the little girl's condition, and
there occurred a sudden improvement, for the Saviour, being a divinity, swiftly
gave her back her health. On completing the religious ceremonies, Proclus
visited Asklepigenia, who had just been delivered from the sufferings that had
assailed her, and who now was in perfect health. He had indeed performed his
vows and offered his prayers in spite of everybody, so as to preclude any
possibility of malicious slander, and the whole household had taken part in
this act.
This indeed was one of Proclus's good
fortunes, that he lived in the house that suited him best, where had dwelt both
Syrianus, whom he called his father, and Plutarch, whom he called his
grandfather. It was in the vicinity of the Asklepius temple which Sophocles had
immortalized, and of the Dionysus temple near the theatre, and was in sight of
the Acropolis.
30. His choice of the philosophic
life amply proves how dear he was to the goddess friendly to wisdom [Athena].
However, the goddess testified to that herself when the statue of the goddess
which had been erected in the Parthenon had been removed by the [Christian]
people who move that which should not be moved. In a dream the philosopher
thought he saw coming to him a woman of great beauty, who announced to him that
he must as quickly prepare his house "because the Athenian Lady wishes to
dwell with you."
How high he stood in the esteem of
Asklepius has already been shown in the story I have related above, and we
were, in his last malady, thereof convinced by the god's appearance. For being
in a semi-waking condition, he saw a serpent9 creeping
around his head, and from this moment on he felt relieved from his suffering;
and he had the feeling that this apparition would cure him from his disease.
But he seemed to have been restrained by an ardent and even violent desire for
death, and I am indeed certain that he would have completely recovered his
health if he had been willing to receive the cares demanded by his condition.
31. Here is one more fact worthy
of being remembered, and that I cannot recall without tears. Now arthritis
is a disease which is frequently, and even habitually transmitted from parents
to children; and as his father had suffered therefrom, Proclus had always
feared that it would afflict him also; and in my opinion, his fears were not
entirely groundless, for, before the incident I am about to relate, he had felt
pains of this nature, when took place another and very surprising incident.
On the advice of certain persons he put
on the afflicted foot a bandage. While he was stretched out on his bed,
suddenly a sparrow halted in his flight and carried it away. This was a divine
sign that was really paeonic,10 and
of a nature that should have inspired him with confidence for the future; but
even in spite of this he did not any the less experience fears of being later
on visited by this malady.
Having therefore implored the divinity
on this subject, and having besought a clear guidance on this subject, while
sleeping he saw something that is so bold, apparently, that I have to appeal to
my courage to openly proclaim the truth of the matter. So he seemed to see
somebody who was returning from Epidaurus,11 who
bent over his legs, and without hesitation, showing a gesture of tender
affection, kissed his knees. From this day on, he lived his whole life long
without any anxiety about this subject, and he reached an extreme old age
without feeling even a twinge of this disorder.
32. The god of Adrotta [in Lydia]
most openly showed this holy man's affinities with him. For when Proclus
visited him, the god showed Proclus his favour by appearing to him. Because the
natives were not in agreement as to which god or gods resided in this place,
and were worshipped, Proclus was in doubt about it and desired enlightenment.
Resting on numerous testimonies, some supposed that it was a temple of
Asklepius; they said that voices really resounded there, that a table was
consecrated to that god, and that there had been received there oracular
responses relative to health; and that those who came for consultation were
cured of the most dangerous maladies, against all hope. Others, on the
contrary, thought it was the Dioscuri12 who
haunted that temple, for some persons thought that they had seen on the highway
leading to Adrotta two young men, of an extreme beauty, riding horses of great
speed, who said that they were going in all haste to the temple, so that, at
first glance it had been believed they were human beings; but soon after the
onlookers were convinced that it was a really divine manifestation, because
when they themselves arrived at the temple and asked questions, they were told
by the local officiating attendants that nothing had been seen there, the
horsemen having vanished into thin air.
Proclus was therefore uncertain, and
hardly knew what credit to give to the facts related. So he begged the local
divinities to reveal their true and proper character by some indubitable testimony.
In a dream then he saw a god coming to him and speaking clearly to him, thus:
"What, did you not hear Iamblichus
say who those two persons were when he praised the names of Machaon and
Podilarius [sons of Asklepius]?"
Thereupon the divinity gave this holy
man a testimony of his good will. Just as in the theatre orators pronounce
panegyrics of great men, the god stood up, and with a gesture of his hand, and
in a dramatic tone, with great force uttered these words (for I will repeat the
exact words uttered by the divinity): "Proclus is the glory of the
fatherland!" What greater proof of the gods' affection for this really
blessed man could be adduced? After having received such sympathetic
testimonies from the divinities, Proclus would burst into tears, every time he
would recall to us what he had seen, and the divine praise uttered about him.
33. But if I was to enumerate all the
facts of this kind, and to report the particular devotion which he held for
Pan, son of Hermes, the great favours he received, and the numerous times he
was, in Athens, saved by intervention of the divinity, and to relate in detail
the protections and the advantages he received from the Mother of the Gods, of
which he was particularly proud and happy, I would no doubt seem chattering
vainly, to those who may light on this book by chance, and some may even think
I am saying things little worthy of belief. For there were a considerable
number of episodes, that were of almost daily occurrence, when this goddess
[Cybele] spoke or acted in his favour; and their number and character are so
unusual that I myself do not have their exact and precise memory.
If anyone desires to know with what favour
he was attached to this goddess, let him read Proclus's book on the Mother of
the Gods, and it will be seen that with inspiration from on high he has been
able to expound the whole theology relative to the goddess, and to explain
philosophically all that the liturgical actions and the oral instructions
mythically teach us about the goddess, and Attis, so that they will no longer
be troubled by those seemingly absurd lamentations [for Attis] and all the
secret traditions related in her ceremonies.
34. After having rapidly and cursorily
exhibited the actions and fortunate results of his theurgic virtues, after
having shown that it was quite on the level with all his other virtues, and
that to a degree unheard of for several centuries, we must now come to a close.
For us, the beginning was not merely the beginning, nay, nor even as says the
proverb, the half of the whole, but it was the entirety. For we began by
happiness; happiness was the middle, and here we are brought back to happiness.
In this exposition we have demonstrated the goods which the gods and providence
in general procured for this worthy man; we have shown their disposition to
listen to him favourably, their appearances, their solicitude, and all their
assistances, all the favours which he was allotted by destiny, and Good
Fortune, fatherland, parents, strength, and natural beauty of body, teachers
and friends, and all the other advantages which, by their greatness and splendour,
are very superior to those seen among other men; all this we have brought out.
We have in addition enumerated those
superiorities which he owed to his own will, and which did not come to him from
an exterior or extraneous source; such as the moral greatness of his soul, the
resultant of all his virtues. In short, we have expounded that his soul's
activity in all the steps he took conformed to perfect virtue, and that during
a perfect life he was showered with all other human and divine benefits.
35. But in order that persons
interested in noble sciences may, by the position of the stars under which he
came into the world, conclude that the life which Fate allotted to him was not
disposed in the lowest, nor even in medium conditions, but rather in the
highest, we have arranged the table of the position of the heavens, such as it
was at the moment of his birth:
The Sun was in Aries, at 16 degrees 26
minutes
The Moon was in Gemini, at 17 degrees 29 minutes
Saturn in Taurus, at 24 degrees 23 minutes
Jupiter in Taurus, at 24 degrees 41 minutes
Mars in Sagittarius at 29 degrees 50 minutes
Venus in Pisces, at 23 degrees
Mercury in Aquarius at 4 degrees 42 minutes
The horoscope was taken in Aries at 8 degrees 19 minutes
The meridian in Capricorn at 4 degrees 42 minutes
The ascendant at 24 degrees 33 minutes
The preceding New Moon in Aquarius at 8 degrees 51 minutes
The Moon was in Gemini, at 17 degrees 29 minutes
Saturn in Taurus, at 24 degrees 23 minutes
Jupiter in Taurus, at 24 degrees 41 minutes
Mars in Sagittarius at 29 degrees 50 minutes
Venus in Pisces, at 23 degrees
Mercury in Aquarius at 4 degrees 42 minutes
The horoscope was taken in Aries at 8 degrees 19 minutes
The meridian in Capricorn at 4 degrees 42 minutes
The ascendant at 24 degrees 33 minutes
The preceding New Moon in Aquarius at 8 degrees 51 minutes
36. Proclus left this world in the
124th year from Julian's accession to the empire [361 CE] under the archonship
of the younger Nicagoras in Athens on the seventeenth day of the month
Munychion, or the seventeenth of April [485 Common Era]. His body received the
funerary honours usual among the Athenians, as he himself had requested; for
more than any other did this blessed man have the knowledge and practice of
funerary honours due the dead. Under no circumstances did he neglect to render
the customary homages, and on fixed yearly dates he went to visit the tombs of
the Attic heroes, those of the philosophers, of his friends, and acquaintances;
he performed the rites prescribed by religion, and not through some deputy, but
personally. After having fulfilled this pious duty towards each of them, he
went to the Academy, in a certain particular place, and by vows and prayers, he
invoked the souls of his ancestors, collectively and separately; and, in
another part of the building, in common with others, he made libations in honour
of all those who had practiced philosophy.
After all that, this holy person traced
out a third distinct space and offered a sacrifice to all the souls of the
dead.
His body, clothed and arranged as I
have said above, according to his own request, and carried by his friends, was
buried in the most easterly part of the suburbs, near Mount Lycabettus, where
rested the body of his teacher Syrianus. For it was Syrianus's own desire,
expressed to the pupil, in view of which Proclus had caused a double funerary
monument to be erected. But after Syrianus's death, Proclus wondered whether
this was not contrary to respect and proprieties; but in a dream he saw
Syrianus reproaching and threatening him for these questionings, and blamed him
for harbouring such thoughts. So [matters remained, and when Proclus died we]
engraved on [the vacant part of the double monument] an inscription in four
verses, which he himself had composed, as follows:
I,
Proclus am of Lycian origin;
Syrianus
here nourished me with his lessons, to succeed as teacher;
This
same tomb has received our bodies, May our two souls find the same abode!
37. A year before his death there were
celestial prodigies, such as a solar eclipse which caused nocturnal darkness
during daytime; the stars appeared, and it occurred at the moment when the sun
was in the eastern centre of Capricorn. The specialists who busy themselves
with describing the daily weather mention a second one which was to occur
exactly one year after his death.
These disorders to which the heavens
are subject are said to be signs of events which happen on earth; in any case
they suggested to us the disappearance and the eclipse of philosophy at that
time.
38. The facts about our philosopher
that I have just related are sufficient for me; but the field is open for
whoever may desire to write an honest story about his disciples and friends.
For many people came from different countries to attend his courses, some only
to hear him, others to become his rivals, and then were bound to him in
philosophical union. A writer more laborious than I will be able to make out
the general list of his works, for my only purpose has been to satisfy a duty
imposed by my conscience, and to satisfy my debt of pious homage toward this
divine person, and towards the Good Daimon to whom he had been allotted.
As to his writings, I will limit myself
to the statement that he always preferred his Commentary on the Timaeus, although
he had a great fondness for his Commentary on the Theatetus. He
would often say, "If I had the power, of all ancient books I would leave
in circulation only the Oracles and the Timaeus; all the
others, I would make them disappear from the eyes of our contemporaries, for
they can only harm those who undertake their reading without care and
attention!"
Proclus or Concerning Happiness has been completed with the help of
God.
Marinus
Notes
(Footnotes
are by Roger Pearse, based on notes by David R. Fideler.)
2. His
'father' could be either the god Apollo, or his mentor Syrianus who preceded
him in the Platonic succession.
4. The
'Chaldaean oracles' survive only in fragments. They were compiled during
the reign of Marcus Aurelius (147-180 AD) by a certain Julianus the Theurgist,
and consisted of Zoroastrian influenced oracles and sayings. Plotinus
does not refer to them, but later neo-Platonists revered them, including
Proclus.
5. The
reference is to Plato, Phaedo 69c-d,
"The narthex-carriers are many but the bacchantes (true initiates) are
few." In the mysteries of Dionysius, the initiates carried the thyrsus or Bacchic wand.
This was a wand or stalk (narthex)
wrapped in ivy and vine-leaves with a pine-cone at the top.
7. Theurgy
is the introduction of magic into philosophy as a means to advance the
soul. Iambilichus wrote extensively on the subject.
8. A
reference to the Chaldaean practice of Strophalomancy or the use of rotating tops for divination.
No comments:
Post a Comment