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- Title
The reception of the Parmenides before Proclus.
- Authors
Brisson, Luc
- Abstract
As far as the interpretation of the Parmenides is concerned, the commentary by Proclus, only a part of which remains, but whose substance can be reconstituted from Damascius, remains a monument that cannot be neglected. Through the intermediary of Marsilio Ficino, this interpretation was the only one known in Europe, practically until the 20th century; even today, any reading of the Parmenides must take a stance with regard to it. Here, I shall attempt to detach myself from this interpretation, and above all to keep my distance from the history of the exegesis of the Parmenides which, as part of an appropriative strategy, Proclus recounts at the beginning of the 6th book of his commentary (In Parmenidem VI) . My intention is to show that, at the beginning of the first half of the 3rd century CE, the dominant interpretation of this dialogue was an ontological one. It was then challenged by a different interpretation in which the One beyond being plays the primary role, taken up and developed by Plotinus, which was in turn defended and utilized by all Neoplatonists up to Proclus and Damascius. With this goal in view, I will discuss the interpretations of Longinus and Origen the Platonist, both of whom, like Plotinus, attended the School of Ammonius at Alexandria.
- Publication
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity, 2008, Vol 12, Issue 1, p99
- ISSN
0949-9571
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1515/ZAC.2008.008