The Essential Plotinus
The Essential Plotinus

Author: Plotinus

Publisher: Hackett Publishing

Published: 1964-01-01

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780915144099

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'The Essential Plotinus is a lifesaver. For many years my students in Greek and Roman Religion have depended on it to understand the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. The translation is crisp and clear, and the excerpts are just right for an introduction to Plotionus's many-layered view of the world and humankind's place in it' - F. E. Romer, University of Arizona

Plotinus-Arg Philosophers
Plotinus-Arg Philosophers

Author: Lloyd P. Gerson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1134687788

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First published in 1999. We are fortunate in possessing a fascinating document, The Life of Plotinus, written by the philosopher Porphyry, a pupil and associate of Plotinus for the last eight years of his life. The basic facts contained in this Life can be quickly recounted. Plotinus was likely a Greek born in Egypt in AD 205. It is possible, though, that he came from a Hellenized Egyptian or Roman family. In his 28th year, Plotinus discovered in himself a thirst for philosophy. This is a collection of his works- Ennead I contains treatises on what Porphyry calls “ethical matters”; Enneads II–III contain treatises on natural philosophy or cosmology, with some rationalizations for the inclusion of III. 4, 5, 7, and 8. Ennead IV concerns the soul; V Intellect or and VI being, numbers, and the One. The thematic unity of Enneads I, IV, and V is somewhat greater than the rest.

Three Books of Occult Philosophy
Three Books of Occult Philosophy

Author: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 1030

ISBN-13: 9780875428321

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"The Three Books of Occult Philosophy's vast store of magical lore has been so influential that occultists have been drawing upon it for the past five centuries. This classic work was first published in 1531, and translated into English in 1651, but it has never since been reprinted in its entirety. Now--for the first time in 500 years--editor Donald Tyson presents these writings as Agrippa intended them to appear: wholly complete and free from the hundreds of errors made in the original translation. The Three Books of Occult Philosophy is the most complete repository of pagan and Neo-platonic magic ever compiled. This book is packed with material you will not find elsewhere, including copious extracts on magic from obscure or lost works by Pythagoras, Pliny the Elder, Cicero, Ptolemy, Plato, Aristotle, and many other authorities. Donald Tyson's detailed annotations clarify difficult references and provide origins of quotations, even expanding upon them in many cases in order to make Agrippa's work more accessible to the modern reader. As well as providing extensive insight into the foundations of the Western Esoteric tradition, the Three Books of Occult Philosophy is the ultimate 'how-to' for magical workings. It describes how to work all manner of divinations and natural and ceremonial magic in such clear and useful detail that it is still the guide for modern techniques. And the extensive supplementary material--including biographical and geographical disctionaries and appendices--provides quick reference to many previously obscure matters in classical magic. The Three Books of Occult Philosophy is an essential reference tool for all students of the history of ideas and the occult tradition."--back cover.

PLOTINUS Ennead IV.8
PLOTINUS Ennead IV.8

Author: Barrie Fleet

Publisher: Parmenides Publishing

Published: 2012-06-06

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1930972784

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Plotinus was much exercised by Plato's doctrines of the soul. In this treatise, at chapter 1 line 27, he talks of "e;the divine Plato, who has said in many places in his works many noble things about the soul and its arrival here, so that we can hope for some clarity from him. So what does the philosopher say? It is clear that he does not always speak with sufficient consistency for us to make out his intentions with any ease."e; The issue in this treatise is one that has puzzled students of Plato from ancient to modern times-and is indeed a popular topic for undergraduate essays even today: Why should the philosopher, who has ascended through a long and painful process of dialectic to "e;assimilation to the divine,"e; ever descend back into the body? Plotinus himself is said by Porphyry to have attained such a state of other-worldly transcendence on at least four occasions during his lifetime, so this was a very real and personal issue for him. In this treatise we see him grappling with it.