Porphyry (philosopher)

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For other meanings of Porphyry, see Porphyry.

Porphyry (c.232–c. 304 C.E.) was a Neoplatonist philosopher. He was born Malchus ("king") in either Tyre or Batanaea in Syria, but his teacher in Athens, Cassius Longinus, gave him the name Porphyrius (clad in purple), a jesting allusion to the color of the imperial robes. Under Longinus he studied grammar and rhetoric. In 262 he went to Rome, attracted by the reputation of Plotinus, and for six years devoted himself to the study of Neoplatonism. Having injured his health by overwork, he went to live in Sicily for five years. On his return to Rome, he lectured on philosophy and endeavoured to render the obscure doctrines of Plotinus (who had died in the meantime) intelligible to the ordinary understanding. His most distinguished pupil was Iamblichus, who differed with Porphyry on the issue of theurgy. In his later years, he married Marcella, a widow with seven children and an enthusiastic student of philosophy. Little more is known of his life, and the date of his death is uncertain.

Porphyry is best known for his contributions to philosophy. Apart from writing the Aids to the Study of the Intelligibles, a basic summary of Neoplatonism, he is especially appreciated for his Introduction to Categories (Introductio in Praedicamenta), a commentary on Aristotle's Categories. The Introduction describes how qualities attributed to things may be classified, breaking down the philosophical concept of substance as a relationship genus/species.

As Porphyry's most influential contribution to philosophy, the Introduction to Categories incorporated Aristotle's logic into Neoplatonism, in particular the doctrine of the categories interpreted in terms of entities (in later philosophy, "universal"). Boethius' Isagoge, a Latin translation of the Introduction, became a standard medieval textbook in the schools and universities which set the stage for medieval philosophical-theological developments of logic and the problem of universals. In medieval textbooks, the all-important Arbor porphyriana ("Porphyrian Tree") illustrates his logical classification of substance. To this day, taxonomists benefit from Porphyry's Tree in classifying everything from plants to animals to insects to whales.

Porphyry is also known as a violent opponent of Christianity and defender of Paganism; of his Adversus Christianos (Against the Christians) in 15 books, only fragments remain. He famously said, "The Gods have proclaimed Christ to have been most pious, but the Christians are a confused and vicious sect." Counter-treatises were written by Eusebius of Caesarea, Apollinarius (or Apollinaris) of Laodicea, Methodius of Olympus, and Macarius of Magnesia, but all these are lost. Porphyry's identification of the Book of Daniel as the work of a writer in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, is given by Jerome. There is no proof of the assertion of Socrates, the ecclesiastical historian, and Augustine, that Porphyry was once a Christian.

Porphyry was also opposed to the theurgy of his disciple Iamblichus. Much of Iamblichus' mysteries is dedicated to the defense of mystic theurgic divine possession against the critiques of Porphyry.

Porphyry was, like Pythagoras, known as an advocate of vegetarianism on spiritual or ethical grounds. These two philosophers are perhaps the most famous vegetarians of classical antiquity. He wrote the De Abstinentia (On Abstinence) and also a De Non Necandis ad Epulandum Animantibus (roughly On the Impropriety of Killing Living Beings for Food) in support of abstinence from animal flesh, and is cited with approval in vegetarian literature up to the present day.

Porphyry also wrote widely on astrology, religion, philosophy, and musical theory; and produced a biography of his teacher, Plotinus. Another book of his on the life of Pythagoras, named Vita Pythagorae or Life of Pythagoras, is not to be confused with the book of the same name by Iamblichus.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Iamblichus: De mysteriis : Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon and Jackson P. Hershbell ISBN 90 04 12720 8


Works by Porphyry

  • Vita Plotini (Life of Plotinus)
  • Vita Pythagorae (Life of Pythagoras)
  • De abstinentia (On Abstinence)
  • De antro nympharum (On the Cave of the Nymphs)
  • Ad Marcellam (Letter to Marcellas)
  • Isagoge sive quinque voces (aka Introduction to Aristotle's Categories)
  • In Aristotelis categorias expositio per interrogationem et responsionem (Exposition on Aristotle's Categories by Question and Response)
  • Sententiae ad intelligibilia ducentes
  • In Platonis Timaeum commentaria (fragment) (Commentary on Plato's Timaeus)
  • Chronica (fragment)
  • De philosophia ex oraculis (On Philosophy from the Oracles)
  • Περι Αγαλματων (On Statues)
  • Epistula ad Anebonem (Letter to Anebo)
  • Quaestionum Homericarum
  • On the Harmonics of Ptolemy
  • Contra Christianos (fragment)
  • Historia philosophiae (fragment)
  • Introductio in tetrabiblum Ptolemaei
  • In Platonis Parmenidem commentaria (fragment)

(Source - Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Note that this list does not include other extant fragments.)

External links

ca:Porfiri cs:Porfyrios de:Porphyrios fr:Porphyre de Tyr it:Porfirio hu:Porphüriosz nl:Porphyrius pl:Porfiriusz (filozof) pt:Porfírio ru:Порфирий (философ) fi:Porfyrios

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