Proclus: On the Theology of Plato: with The Elements of Theology [two volumes in one]

by Thomas Taylor

The present volume is a reprint of Thomas Taylor’s 1816 translation of Proclus’ "On the Theology of Plato", by far the most exhaustive and complete survey of the theological elements of Plato's teachings. In the original edition of this work, Taylor included additional materials, including Proclus’ "Elements of Theology", along with fragments from treatises on Providence, Fate and Evil. Of these, only the Elements of Theology have been included in the present volume, while the others await reprinting in a separate volume. The Elements of Theology and the Theology of Plato together allow the reader a greater possibility of grasping the overall scheme of Platonic theology. As Taylor notes in his Introduction, “the Elements of Theology . . . render[s] the treatise On the Theology of Plato more complete, and . . . assist[s] the reader who wishes to penetrate the depths of that most abstruse and sublime work; for the former elucidates, and is elucidated by the latter.” Students wishing for an introduction to the theology described in this volume are encouraged to also read Taylor’s General Introduction to the Philosophy and Writings of Plato along with his translations of the complete Works of Plato. “I rejoice in the opportunity which is afforded me of presenting the truly philosophic reader, in the present work, with a treasure of Grecian theology; of a theology, which was first mystically and symbolically promulgated by Orpheus, afterwards disseminated enigmatically through images by Pythagoras, and in the last place scientifically unfolded by Plato and his genuine disciples. The peculiarity indeed of this theology is that it is no less scientific than sublime; and that by a geometrical series of reasoning originating from the most self-evident truths, it develops all the deified progressions from the ineffable principle of things, and accurately exhibits to our view all the links of that golden chain of which deity is the one extreme, and body the other.”—Thomas Taylor, from the Introduction

Genres: Philosophy

630 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2017

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

[David Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inexpensive early translation 1816 of Proclus study of Plato's cosmology by Plotinus. A nice threefer. You will the detailed understanding of the cosmos and nature of man that followed Middle Platonism covered in my book Two Souls and a Body: What Every Educated Person Knew to Be True and How the Educated Christian Developed Christianity in Hellenistic Times, Creating the Ideas of Free Will and Modern Psychology. You will find out what every educated person knew to be true when the New Testament was written and Christianity was defined. You will discover what was accepted from Hellenistic culture, what was changed, and what was rejected to develop Christian theology. You will learn how the ideas of the person, equality, free-will, psychology, and salvation were taken from the Hellenism and made into Christian theology. You will know how to lead the truly Christian life according to the Early Church. On the cover John Chrysostom, doctor of the Catholic Church and chief theologian of the Orthodox Church looks back to Plato and Aristotle. Christ came in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4) when the best of Greek thought and Jewish revelation were joined.