Commentary on the Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans followed by Treatise on Providence.
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 21150 |
| Format | 13.5 x 21 |
| Détails | XVI + 320 pages, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2018 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | |
The Commentary on the Golden Verses and the Treatise on Providence are two interesting examples of the writings of the ancient Neoplatonists. The former belongs to the exegetical and protreptic literature and provides an explanation, often ingenious, of a short poem from a Pythagorean milieu: it makes it a tool for the moral as well as intellectual progress of the listener, identifying speculative sections on the gods, demons and the destiny of the soul as well as ethical precepts – on friendship, respect for parents, the use of food, etc. – intended to accustom the soul to purity and assimilate it to the gods. The second, known only from a summary and fragments, took the form of an independent monograph in seven books: the author sought to demonstrate the existence of providence or theodicy, its relationship to the dogma of reincarnation and its cooperation with human action, but also – against all expectations – the agreement on the subject between the sacred texts of Orpheus and the Chaldeans, as well as between Plato, Aristotle and their authentic philosophical tradition, as opposed to both the "renegades from the Academy and the Lyceum, and to openly atheistic philosophers such as the Epicureans.
The Commentary on the Golden Verses and the Treatise on Providence are two interesting examples of the writings of the ancient Neoplatonists. The former belongs to the exegetical and protreptic literature and provides an explanation, often ingenious, of a short poem from a Pythagorean milieu: it makes it a tool for the moral as well as intellectual progress of the listener, identifying speculative sections on the gods, demons and the destiny of the soul as well as ethical precepts – on friendship, respect for parents, the use of food, etc. – intended to accustom the soul to purity and assimilate it to the gods. The second, known only from a summary and fragments, took the form of an independent monograph in seven books: the author sought to demonstrate the existence of providence or theodicy, its relationship to the dogma of reincarnation and its cooperation with human action, but also – against all expectations – the agreement on the subject between the sacred texts of Orpheus and the Chaldeans, as well as between Plato, Aristotle and their authentic philosophical tradition, as opposed to both the "renegades from the Academy and the Lyceum, and to openly atheistic philosophers such as the Epicureans.