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DOUGLAS BURTON-CHRISTIE
The Pagan Philosopher's Quest for Holiness: Plotinus and his Circle
From Douglas Burton-Christie, The Word in the Desert, Oxford University Press 1993, pp. 49-54
Page 6
This conversational, dialogical style marks Plotinus's real genius as an interpreter of Plato. His interest in reading the ancient philosophical texts with his disciples stemmed from an attitude. He "didn't conceive of his courses of exegesis from the point of view of pure philological erudition. His goal was not only to clarify the text of Plato; he also wanted to raise up a valuable truth hic et nunc ... [T]he text upon which he commented was only a privileged help for reaching the truth."[38] The work of interpreting the text of Plato was of value primarily as a means of putting the philosophical problematic in perspective and of drawing the inquirer more deeply into the world of contemplation. It was an "existential" approach to philosophy, learned from Ammonius, in which philosophy was considered not as something which could be easily learned and passed on to another, but as an entire way of life with a spiritual and mystical character.[39] Plotinus's approach to the interpretation of Plato was fundamentally religious in character. Although some aspects of his hermeneutic can no doubt be attributed to his own personal and intellectual idiosyncrasies, he exemplified well the religious approach to philosophy characteristic of this age. It was an approach which aimed always at that "formation of self, to that paideia, which will teach us to live, not conforming to the human prejudices and social conventions but conforming to the nature of man which is none other than reason."[40] In teaching his disciples how to interpret the ancients with his characteristic "depth of penetration," Plotinus taught them much more than doctrine; he taught them how to discover the truth for themselves. By appropriating within himself the truth of the tradition, he became a conduit for the life-giving wellspring of the One, leading his disciples to make their own contact with the One and become transformed. The goal of such transformation was not complete withdrawal from others. Rather, as Plotinus himself exemplified, it was "being able to live at once within himself and for others."[41]
Cf. Plotinus,
The soul's movement
will be about its source,
Music leads to the absolute beauty
Plato, Books
can be your worst enemies |||
Plato
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