Book Description
Translated from the Greek by A.C Ionides. Limited edition of 350 hand numbered copies. Hardcover; smythe-sewn and archival in materials. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A classical book of Neoplatonism
A wonderful "geometrical" metaphysical work, which many consider, iby its form,a forerrunner of Spinoza's Ethic, this is the accurate blingual edition that should be used for serious academic work. A must have for those interested in Neoplatonism ... Read more

Book Description
Proclus' Commentary on Plato's dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offers the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant recent advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato's dialogue, while also presenting Proclus' own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the first in the edition, deals with what may be seen as the prefatory material of the Timaeus. In it Socrates gives a summary of the political arrangements favoured in the Republic, and Critias tells the story of how news of the defeat of Atlantis by ancient Athens had been brought back to Greece from Egypt by the poet and politician Solon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting work by key Neo-Platonist
Proclus was one of Plato's most devout followers, along with Plotinus.He was also one of the most brilliant.

His commentary on Parmenides is a very long 'drawing out' of what Proclus considered to be the hidden meaning of Plato's dialogues; in effect, Plato was not just a philosopher but also a sage and divinely inspired figure who discovered the secret structure of the universe itself, visible and invisible.

In commenting on this difficult metaphysical dialogue of Plato, in which Plato himself tried to reach an understanding of Parmenides' philosophy of Being, Proclus 'discovers' a vast metaphysical reality beyond the realm of the senses.The structures Proclus outlines are quite complex and best left to the introductory essay in the translation itself.Suffice to say there is a transcendant 'One' which the source of all Being, and which then radiates itself to lower objects called 'Henads' which in turn produce visible reality.Along the way there is also a mixture of magic and prayer to various Gods and daimons.

Proclus was an important philosophical influence on Christian Neo-Platonists, such as Eckhart, Dionysius the Aeropagite and possibly Eriugena.Proclus was also an important influence in Renaissance Neo-Platonism and the influence of this philosopher continues today.

The book is very long (about 900 pages) and Proclus's digressions are exceedingly long winded.His work is not easy to read and will probably put off all but the most determined student of philosophy.

Platonism and Neoplatonism
This book is a fundamental cornerstone in understanding the Socratic dialogs. Academia has split up Philosophy in such a way that it does not come into conflict with Institutional Christianity. The notion that exists today about Platonism and especailly the Socratic dialogs is that a philosopher in ancient Greece is a person that deals in ethics. This is absurd. Religion did not start with Christ, but Christ extends it. A philospher in ancient Greece is a person that is working to become in the likenss of God. This one and only God that only the Jews are supposed to know. This the greatest religious forgery ever that supports yhe Divide and Conquer, the results of which we live today with religious terrorism. Proclus with this work gives a solid ground to break the misunderstanding that caused millions of deaths by bestial people as the Roman Emperors were and their succesors in the Byzantium. Humans are made in the image and likeness of God, and modern science has managed to tell people that God made man in the image and likeness of a monkey. Biology got itself in the monkey business and humanity has to extricate itself from it.

A great survey of the Neo-Platonic philosophy
This is one of the best books by Proclus Diadochus and we are also lucky to have this excellent translation by G.R. Morrow and J.M. Dillon. If anybody is interested in the Neo-Platonic philosophy, or in the ancient philosophy, he should not miss this book. Even if it is rather difficult for a beginner to read long discourses of Proclus on the most important topics of the philosophy, noone should leave this book without careful reading. If you have read the Elements of Theology by Proclus, then you are able to understand everything Proclus is telling us. This book thinks about the most difficult dialogue of Plato - about the Parmenides. In the beginning you are connected with the amazing world of Proclus' allegorical interpretation of Plato's dialogue. Then you can study the world of Ideas as seen by Proclus - you can learn about four problems concerning the Ideas, i.e. whether there are Ideas; what things have Ideas; what is the participation like; and finally where are the Ideas. Proclus shows you all the levels of the realms of the One (Hen) and the Mind (Nous) and you can enjoy also the Proclus' dialectics in the end of the Commentary. The author also tells us a lot of Ideas about the negative theology tells in the last book. The translation is as well of the best value. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Proclus had deep geometric insight
I haven't read all of this book, only the parts relevant to Euclid's parallel postulate. Proclus had the idea for a proof of the latter, based on (A) Aristotle's Angle Unboundedness Axiom, and while that "proof" is flawed, it can be converted to a correct proof if a futher natural geometric hypothesis (S) is added. I will explain this in the forthcoming fourth edition of my text EUCLIDEAN and NON-EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRIES: DEVELOPMENT and HISTORY, where I name the result PROCLUS' THEOREM. It states that assuming Hilbert's axioms of incidence, betweenness and congruence, which fill most (but not all) of the gaps in Euclid, Euclid's Parallel Postulate is logically equivalent to the conjunction of (A) and (S).

Proclus was also many centuries ahead of his time in stating publicly that the angle of parallelism might not be a right angle - i.e., recognizing that non-Euclidean geometry might be possible, though he did not pursue that idea.

Good translation of Proclus
Proclus was the last major Neo-Platonic philosopher of importance before the Academy was closed by the Christian emperor Justinian in the 6th century.He wrote many works, including long commentaries on Plato's dialogues and a commentary on the Elements by Euclid.

This translation by Morrow, a leading Classicist, contains a good introductory essay on Proclus's philosophy of mathematics, along with other scholarly aids such as a biblography.While Proclus's ideas probably have little currency with either philosophers or mathematicians today, they are of interest to the student of Ancient philosophy and the historian of Philosophy. ... Read more

Book Description
In this survey of the ideas, life, and times of Proclus, Siorvanes explores all the interests of this leading philosophical figure of Late Antiquity-including religion, physics, astronomy, mathematics, and poetry. Siorvanes relates the ideas of Proclus to other major thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy and traces the remarkable impact of Proclus`s Neo-Platonism across cultures, religions, and centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Exciting, Enlightening Reading
Many thanks to Lucas Siorvanes for rescuing Proclus from scholarly obscurity, and making his life and thought so fascinating and accessible for a layperson like myself.

recommanded reading to any Proclus reader
I found Siorvanes's impressive synthesis on Proclus very useful - modern readers have essentially paid attention to Proclus the metaphysician, whereas in the Renaissance period his 'scientific' writings, such as his commentary on Euclid, his astronomical hypotyposis (a critical summary of Ptolemy's hypotheses) and his commentary on Plato's Timaeus, were held in high esteem and deeply influenced the course of modern science. In this respect, Siorvanes' detailed discussions of these texts in ch. 4 and 5 are rare, convincing and useful. Moreover, the book is very well written and insightful. My only caveat is on the numerous quotations that Siorvanes makes of Proclus' texts - an excellent thing in itself, but the context, to which they belong, is not always clearly mentioned. But in the face of the overall achievment this is only a detail.

A solid introduction to Proclus
The last ten years have been eventful for readers of Proclus: the French edition of the Platonic Theology has been completed, and in its wake numerous studies on that seminal work and on other aspects of Proclus' thought have appeared; after decades of neglect, Proclus has been rehabilitated as a mystic. This impressive book by L. Siorvanes was also published during that span, but it is mainly geared towards the scientific implications of his thought. It accomplishes a daunting task: introducing the reader to Proclean metaphysics and physics in a few hundred pages. All the levels of reality (and knowledge) are considered, and key notions such as similarity, participation and causation are judiciously explained, with numerous excerps taken from Proclus' writings. Siorvanes often uses everyday examples to elucidate some complex points. Still, his agenda is such that very little space is awarded to myth and theurgy; readers should be aware that these elements are central to Proclus' life and thought. In spite of this warning, the book is well worth reading by students of Neoplatonism. (There are many extant works by Proclus. Where should the newcomer start? The first step would be to read the Life of Proclus written by his disciple Marinus, and also Proclus' hymns. Where to go next? Here are a few suggestions: readers interested in the history of mathematics should look for Proclus' Commentary on Euclid's Elements; those intrigued by theurgy should read the short work 'On the hieratic art' - it can easily be found on the Internet; those into metaphysics and theology should turn to the Elements of Theology and the Platonic Theology; as for Proclus' commentaries on Plato's dialogues, the Commentary on the Alcibiades serves as an excellent introduction to his philosophical exegesis.)

The End of a School
This is the only general introduction to Proclus that I have found on this important systematic thinker of the late Athenian School of Neoplatonic Philosophy.

The title's inclusion of 'Science' is a theme carried throughthe work in an emphasis of Proclus' contribution and presentation ofNatural Philosophy: following one link on an internet search for 'Proclus'leads to the Mathematics Department in St Andrews University!

There aresome slight disappointments with the book connected with this.

Proclusand the late Athenian School contrast greatly with Plotinus' ideasregarding rational/irrational in Theology and there is no section dealingwith this specifically.

What there is on Theurgy - again an importanttheme in this branch of Neoplatonism - is rather sketchy.

Some ofProclus' most interesting works are not cited at all.De malorumsubsistentia, for instance, deals with the nature of evil and has someimportant discussions on why matter is not the cause of evil (quite adifferent message from the common 'received' view of Neoplatonism).

Thestyle is also quite difficult to read at times and contrasts with one ortwo excellent works displaying a revived interest in post-IamblicheanNeoplatonism.

Siorvanes has definitely 'got inside' Proclus but leavesthis reader with the taste of contemporary Philsophy: more to do withScience and less with Theology.This may be the author's outlook but I amnot certain Proclus would agree. ... Read more

Book Description
Volume one of a two volume set. (This description is for all volumes.) In five books; Containing a Treasury of Pythagoric and Platonic Physiology.This is the most prized book on esoteric sciences, Neoplatonism, root of hermetics, and Tibetan Buddhism.Highly quoted by Manly P. Hall, and Blavatsky.Very scarce and now ready to be in your private library!In two volumes. ... Read more

Product Description
This book examines Proclus' doctrine of evil in light of the tradition of exegesis of Plato's treatment of evil within the schools of ancient Platonism, from Middle Platonism to early Neoplatonism. ... Read more

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Book Description
The Former Consisting of Ten Doubts Concerning Providence, and a Solution of those Doubts; and the Latter Containing a Development of the Nature of Evil. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

not from the 20s
The previous reviewer is mistaken about the date of this work. Taylor was an interesting figure in the history of English scholarship, he translated a large number of ancient works, including the complete works of Plato and Aristotle. He also had a great interest in the neo-platonic writers, such as Plotinus, and Proclus. (In a sense he was to the Romantics what Marsilio Ficino was to the writers of the Italian renaissance.) The Greek texts he worked from were often highly unsatisfactory, so his translations won't serve for modern scholarly work, but they're an interesting milestone in the "platonic" tradition of English thought, and Taylor himself had a deep personal understanding of the writers he worked on. His insights, implicit in his translations and explicit in his essays, are often of great interest to anyone seeking to understand these difficult ancient texts. Taylor's dates are 1758-1835. I remember reading once that he was a friend of William Blake's.

Tough Stuff For the Hard Core
The actual title of this volume is, "Two Treatises of Proclus the Neoplatonic Philosopher" which are, "Ten Doubts Concerning Providence and a Solution of those Doubts" and "On the Subsistence of Evil",translated by Thomas Taylor, presumably in the 1920's, but no original copyright for this reprint is given. The book itself reminds me of a workbook for school, since it is 8"x10.5", and the pages seem to be enlargements of a smaller old edition.I bought this as a companion for Pseudo-Dionysius, but at least as far as this edition goes, I'm in over my head. Not only is the translation done in an antique style, but the relatively sparse notes presume a knowledge of Latin and Greek, and are not geared to the general reader. Editorially, the reader is not given much help, in that the text is not subdivided except by occasional numbers, and no headings or other structural clues are given.All that being said, this difficult book let's me peek into a remote mind, struggling with concerns that are likewise remote from me, and wonder. It will definitely not be most readers' cup of tea, and it could be done better, but I'll keep it all the same. ... Read more

Book Description
Claudius Ptolemy (c.100 - c.178 AD), of Alexandria, was one of the greatest philosopher/scientists of the ancient world.Among his books are the Almagest, Geography, Optics, Planispherium and Tetrabiblos.

The earliest surviving version of Tetrabiblos is the paraphrase attributed to Proclus the Philosopher (412-485).Tetrabiblos (literally, "four books") was long thought to be a complete survey of Greek astrology.Recent research suggests this not to be the case, but Ptolemy's work remains the foundation of western astrology.In particular, his persuasive use of the Tropical Zodiac, rather than the Sidereal, changed western astrology forever.

Book 1 of Tetrabiblos defines various technical terms and supplies other information needed by the astrologer.Chapters 9, 10 and 11 detail the influence of fixed stars in various constellations.

Book 2 is the astrology of nations and their rulers.Books 3 & 4 are devoted to Natal Astrology.Book 3, chapter 2, explains Ptolemy's method of rectifying the Ascendant.Chapter 10 gives a method for determining life expectancy.Book 4 deals with fortunes of wealth & rank, as well as employment, marriage, children, death, etc.

Also included are extracts from Ptolemy's Almagest (a compendium of Greek astronomy), as well as "Ptolemy's Centiloquy," a list of aphorisms, the authorship of which is disputed.Many of the 100 deal with horary astrology.They have been studied by astrologers for centuries.

Translations:Gardner (1911) lists four English translations of Tetrabiblos.The first was by John Walley, 1701.The second was Walley's translation, edited by Sibley and Brown, 1786, which is said to be worthless.The third, by James Wilson (author of the famous Dictionary of Astrology), was published in 1820.The fourth (this one, by far the best), was by J.M. Ashmand, 1822.A fifth translation was made in 1940 by F.E. Robbins.Of these several translators, only Ashmand could claim to be both a Greek and Latin scholar as well as an experienced astrologer.We are honored to present Ashmand's translation to a new generation of students.

Every serious astrologer, from the 3rd century to the present, has studied the Tetrabiblos.With the current revival of traditional astrology, it remains essential reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

That Aries the Ram was the Sign of the Jews
Astrologers and astronomers searching for the Star of Bethlehem have long overlooked this primary source for an important piece of evidence: Aries the Ram ruled over Judea. This helped me reveal the Star that pointed the Magi to Judea where the King of the Jews was born on April 17, 6 BC - two years before King Herod died. My book, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi also made use of other astrological primary sources which showed that to understand the Magi's Star, we need to understand astrology as it practiced as Ptolemy described.

The Tetrabiblos belongs on every classical historian's bookshelf. It is a major primary source on astrology as it was praticed in Roman times.

A Must for any Astrology/Metaphysical Library
The wonderful thing about this translation of Ptolemy's seminal work in Astrology is the conscientious and painstaking work to adhere to the original text which appears on the opposing side of the english texttranslation. I am in a position to corroborate myself its accuracy. As aresult however the English text is not an easy or flowing contemporarystyle. This is not a quick read, and probably should be used as reference.It covers a multitude of Astrological areas and can serve as a springboardto further inquiry. The book is a compact size, typeface and spacingpleasant and non-fatiguing.

The Bible amongst astrology litterature.
This book is the source for most astrology - the ancients as well as the moderns students - who have respect for the art.Claudius Ptolemy was born in Egypt and lived in the years 100-178 (ref. Tetrabiblos)and left thescripts which is presented here in the four books "TetraBiblos".

It is from this scripts astrologers through the times hasfound the descriptions of the strength of dignities and debillities of theplanets, the methodes of making predictions, subdivisions of the science ofnativities, bodily descriptions etc. ... Read more