Collection of the Chaldean Oracles

by Thomas Taylor

These Chaldean Oracles were originally collected by Thomas Taylor and published as: “Collection of the Chaldean Oracles,” in The Monthly Magazine and British Register, vol. III., 1797. They were later republished in Taylor's “Collectanea; or Collections consisting of Miscellanies inserted in the European and Monthly Magazines,” 1806, and again with the addition of “Part IV,” as: “Collection of the Chaldean Oracles,” in the Classical Journal, December, 1817; March & June, 1818. These have now been reprinted, with adjustments in formatting and the addition of an Appendix containing the Oracles given in a new sequence.

In the present volume, the formatting of the original has been changed in order to render the text more easily readable. The footnotes found in the originals have been collected and placed in order at the end of the Oracles, allowing for a more easily readable layout. Besides this change, and minor changes in formatting style, the text has not been altered, except in cases where certain Greek characters were in need of modernization.

"These remains of Chaldean theology are not only venerable for their antiquity, but inestimably valuable for the unequalled sublimity of the doctrines they contain. They will, doubtless, too, be held in the highest estimation by every liberal mind, when it is considered that some of them are the sources whence the sublime conceptions of Plato flowed ... It is clear that the following oracles, which are collected from the writings of the Platonists, are of Chaldean origin [and] it is likewise evident, that some of these oracles may, with great confidence, be ascribed to the Chaldean Zoroaster. Short notes are added, by way of comment, on the most obscure of these oracles, and the exposition of Psellus is prefixed as containing the best account of the Chaldaic dogmas that can, at present, be obtained."—Thomas Taylor, from the Introduction.

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database

Thomas Taylor was an English translator and Neoplatonist, the first to translate into English the complete works of Aristotle and of Plato, as well as the Orphic fragments. He published prolifically for over 50 years.

Reviews

[Mitch Dubeau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often referred to as the neoplatonic Bible, the Chaldean Oracles were foundational to certain aspects of mystical thought in antiquity. Neoplatonic philosophy would go on to inspire Christians, Gnostics, and later the Theurgist, Occult, and Neopagan movements. Unfortunately the whole was lost, leaving only fragments. That fact, plus the modern audience's own separation from the culture that wrote these texts mean that good commentary and introduction is necessary for most people to interact with this mystical philosophy. Unfortunately you won't find that here, with an introduction that can be summarized as "Christianity bad", a brief intro by Psellus that's kind of helpful, then the translation with the Greek text paired with it. The translation itself isn't bad, but it's not easy to read either. That being said if you're used to older translations of the biblical text you should be able to read it fine.

With all this to mind I would be hard pressed to recommend this translation to anyone, other than the fact that it's cheap. Maybe if you have a hard time falling asleep I may recommend the audiobook version, recorded by The Modern Hermetecist free on YouTube. His voice was incredibly soothing and his rendition was quite excellent in quality.

2/5, fair.