The Theology of Plato

by Proclus, Thomas Taylor (Translator)

1816. Thomas Taylor was one of the outstanding translators of the philosophical writings of the Greeks and Romans, and also published several original works on philosophy and mathematics. Many of his important contributions in these fields have been long out-of-print and are extremely difficult to obtain, having been issued in very small editions. Most of Taylor's translations have an archaic elegance which preserves the spirit of the older authors in a manner not evident in more recent translations. Taylor also added notes and commentaries which give valuable insight into the essential meaning often obscure in the actual text. This is essentially a religious work by Proclus; - a near perfect attempt to express in a manner accessible to the reasoning mind, the universal order in, of, and around, all things. Taylor's is still the only translation available. See the many other works by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published January 1, 1816

About the author

Proclus Lycaeus (/ˈprɒkləs ˌlaɪˈsiːəs/; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485 AD), called the Successor (Greek Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, Próklos ho Diádokhos), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers (see Damascius). He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism. He stands near the end of the classical development of philosophy, and was very influential on Western medieval philosophy (Greek and Latin).

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous. Six books by Proclus describing in vivid detail the Platonic theology, followed by a seventh book of passages compiled by Thomas Taylor from Proclus, Damascius, Hermias, &c. that relate the encosmic Gods, daimons, and so on.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Introduction, Book I, Book II, Book III, Book VI (which was compiled by Taylor drawn from Proclus' other texts but also passages from other philosophers like Julian or Iamblichus), and especially the Additional Notes, were fantastic; but Book IV and V being 1/4+ of the book were quite repetitious (notwithstanding the repetitions of the other books).

I disagree with Proclus' Neoplatonic system. The 'Intelligible Gods', 'Intellective Gods', and 'Intelligible-Intellective God's do not really make ontological sense: If the Intelligible-Intellective Gods exist what's the actual point of the divergence of the Intelligible and Intellective Gods? To me the Intelligible-Intellective Gods (or even just a singular God in three aspects, I.e Intellect) should be a sufficient explanation; yes, there is a distinction between Intellection and being Intelligible, but this is a difference of knower and known: as Plotinus revelead, and even Aristotle ubderstood, the Knower and Known are one.

I wouldn't recommend this one over any other of Proclus' works, it's meticulous to a fault.
I'd describe it as a pile of rock with every 7th-10th page being gold, these nuggets of philosophical gold might make reading it all worth it, but don't haste towards this work before another (like his Commentary on the Timaeus) when these nuggets are present in all his works.

[Edward Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't actually the edition one wants (the one from the Prometheus Trust is) but this is the only one I could find on Goodreads. Taylor's translation, while archaic in style, is astonishing reliable and a good, literal rendering of the Greek that preserves Proclus's technical terminology with rigid consistency.