Iamblichus: Exhortation to Philosophy

by Iamblichus; Hutchinson, D. S.; Johnson, Monte Ransome; Griffin, Michael; Sorabji, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781472584168
• ISBN10: 1472584163
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-12-15
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

The Protrepticus of Iamblichus (about AD 250-before 325), priestly reformer of Neoplatonism and commentator on Aristotle, is an exhortation to philosophy. The work combines the influences of Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras, and is important both for revelations about these sources and for understanding Iamblichus' philosophy in its own right.

Whilst a significant portion draws on Aristotle's earlier Protrepticus by excerpting elements of his lost text, other sections look to Plato and to Pythagoras' Golden Verses and proverbs.

By studying how Iamblichus presents passages from Plato, the translators are able to distinguish the verbatim citations from Aristotle, thus uncovering fragments of an otherwise lost Aristotelian work. The nature of Iamblichus' enterprise is also demonstrated, which is to assemble excerpted portions from his chosen sources into intellectually satisfying parcels with headnotes expressing what the reader should think about them. It is therefore possible to understand more about how Iamblichus sees Aristotle and how he conceives of Aristotle's place in the Platonic tradition and in the wider world of classical Greek philosophy.

This English translation is the latest volume in the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle series and makes this philosophical work accessible to a modern readership. The translation is accompanied by an introduction, comprehensive commentary notes, bibliography, glossary of translated terms and a subject index.

Author Biography

Iamblichus, or Iamblichus Chalcidensis, c. 242–325 CE, was one of the most important Neoplatonic philosophers, whose works include De mysteriis, De vita pythagorica and Protrepticus.
D.S. Hutchinson, Professor of Philosophy and Fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada.
Monte Ransome Johnson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, USA.

Table of Contents

Conventions
Textual Emendations
Introduction
Translator's Note
Translation
Notes
Select Bibliography
English-Greek Glossary
Greek-English Index
Index of Names
Subject Index