Porphyry (philosopher)

Porphyry of Tyre

Porphire Sophiste, in a French 16th-century engraving
Born	c. 234 AD Tyre, Roman Empire
Died	c. 305 AD Rome, Roman Empire
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Neoplatonism
Influenced by Plotinus, Middle Platonism, Plato, Aristotle
Influenced Boethius, Scholasticism and Arabic Aristotelianism (through Isagoge), later Neoplatonism

Porphyry of Tyre (/ˈpɔrfəri/; Greek: Πορφύριος, Porphyrios, AD c. 234 – c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre.^[2] He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics.^[3] His Isagoge, or Introduction, is an introduction to logic and philosophy,^[4] and in Latin translation it was the standard textbook on logic throughout the Middle Ages.^[5] In addition, through several of his works, most notably Philosophy from Oracles and Against the Christians, he was involved in a controversy with a number of early Christians,^[6] and his commentary on Euclid's Elements was used as a source by Pappus of Alexandria.^[7]

Biographical information

Porphyry's parents were Phoenician, and he was born in Tyre. His parents named him Malchus ("king")^[8] but his teacher in Athens, Cassius Longinus, gave him the name Porphyrius ("clad in purple"), possibly a reference to his Phoenician heritage, or a punning allusion to his name and the color of royal 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 practice of Neoplatonism, during which time he severely modified his diet. At one point he became suicidal.^[9] On the advice of Plotinus he went to live in Sicily for five years to recover his mental health. On returning to Rome, he lectured on philosophy and completed an edition of the writings of Plotinus (who had died in the meantime) together with a biography of his teacher. Iamblichus is mentioned in ancient Neoplatonic writings as his pupil, but this most likely means only that he was the dominant figure in the next generation of philosophers. The two men differed publicly 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.

Introduction (Isagoge)

Imaginary debate between Averroes (1126–1198 AD) and Porphyry (234–c. 305 AD). Monfredo de Monte Imperiali Liber de herbis, 14th century.^[1]

Porphyry is best known for his contributions to philosophy. Apart from writing the Aids to the Study of the Intelligibles (Sententiae Ad Intelligibilia Ducentes), a basic summary of Neoplatonism, he is especially appreciated for his Introduction to Categories (Introductio in Praedicamenta), a very short work often considered to be a commentary on Aristotle's Categories, hence the title.^[10] According to Barnes (2003), however, the correct title is simply Introduction (εἰσαγωγή,) (Isagoge), and the book is an introduction not to the Categories in particular, but to logic in general, comprising as it does the theories of predication, definition, and proof. The Introduction describes how qualities attributed to things may be classified, famously breaking down the philosophical concept of substance into the five components genus, species, difference, property, accident.

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 of being interpreted in terms of entities (in later philosophy, "universal"). Boethius' Isagoge, a Latin translation of Porphyry's "Introduction", became a standard medieval textbook in European 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, taxonomy benefits from concepts in Porphyry's Tree, in classifying living organisms: see cladistics.

The Introduction was translated into Arabic by Abd-Allāh Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ from a Syriac version. With the Arabicized name Isāghūjī (إيساغوجي) it long remained the standard introductory logic text in the Muslim world and influenced the study of theology, philosophy, grammar, and jurisprudence. Besides the adaptations and epitomes of this work, many independent works on logic by Muslim philosophers have been entitled Isāghūjī. Porphyry's discussion of accident sparked a long-running debate on the application of accident and essence.^[11]

Philosophy from Oracles (De Philosophia ex Oraculis Haurienda)

Porphyry is also known as an opponent of Christianity and defender of Paganism; his defense of traditional religion, Philosophy from Oracles, written before the persecutions of Christians under Diocletian and Galerius, set out the basis for them:

"How can these people be thought worthy of forbearance? They have not only turned away from those who from earliest time have been thought of as divine among all Greeks and barbarians... but by emperors, law-givers and philosophers— all of a given mind. But also, in choosing impieties and atheism, they have preferred their fellow creatures.^[12] And to what sort of penalties might they not be subjected who... are fugitives from the things of their Fathers?"^[13]

Whether or not Porphyry was the pagan philosopher opponent in Lactantius' Divine Institutes, written at the time of the persecutions, has long been discussed. A Christian version of Philosophy from Oracles has been attributed to Porphyry. The attribution was accepted by Eusebius and appealed to by apologists like Theodoret. Scholars have identified that epigrams from this work are scattered throughout the works of St. Augustine.^[14] Dr Nathaniel Lardner rejected the attribution in the 18th century.^[15]

Against the Christians (Adversus Christianos)

Of his Adversus Christianos (Against the Christians) in fifteen books, only fragments remain, as quotations adduced in order to be refuted.^[16][17] In it, he famously is quoted as having 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, Apollinaris of Laodicea, Methodius of Olympus, and Macarius of Magnesia.

Porphyry's identification of the Book of Daniel as the work of a writer in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BC), is given by Jerome. Augustine and the 5th-century ecclesiastical historian Socrates of Constantinople, assert that Porphyry was once a Christian.^[18] Porphyry acknowledged Jesus Christ only as an outstanding philosopher.

Other subjects

Porphyry was 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. French philosopher Pierre Hadot maintains that for Porphyry, spiritual exercises are an essential part of spiritual development.^[19]

Porphyry was, like Pythagoras, an advocate of vegetarianism on spiritual and ethical grounds. These two philosophers are perhaps the most famous vegetarians of classical antiquity. He wrote the De Abstinentia (On Abstinence), advocating against the consumption of animals, and he is cited with approval in vegetarian literature up to the present day.

Porphyry also wrote widely on astrology, religion, philosophy, and musical theory. He produced a History of Philosophy (Philosophos historia) with vitae of philosophers that included a life of his teacher, Plotinus. His life of Plato from book iv exists only in quotes by Cyril of Alexandria.^[20] His book Vita Pythagorae on the life of Pythagoras is not to be confused with the book of the same name by Iamblichus. His commentary on Ptolemy's Harmonics^[21] (Eis ta Harmonika Ptolemaiou hypomnēma) is an important source for the history of ancient harmonic theory.

Works by Porphyry

Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Αφορμαί προς τα νοητά

Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Περί του Πλωτίνου βίου και της τάξεως των βιβλιών αυτού

• Ad Gaurum ed. K. Kalbfleisch. Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akadamie der Wissenschaft. phil.-hist. kl. (1895): 33-62.
• Contra Christianos, ed., Adolf von Harnack, Porphyrius, "Gegen die Christen,"15 Bücher: Zeugnisse, Fragmente und Referate. Abhandlungen der königlich prüssischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: Jahrgang 1916: philosoph.-hist. Klasse: Nr. 1 (Berlin: 1916).
• Contra los Cristianos: Recopilación de Fragmentos, Traducción, Introducción y Notas E. A. Ramos Jurado, J. Ritoré Ponce, A. Carmona Vázquez, I. Rodríguez Moreno, J. Ortolá Salas, J. M. Zamora Calvo (Cádiz: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Cádiz 2006).
• Corpus dei Papiri Filosofici Greci e Latini III: Commentarii (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1995). <# 6 and #9 may or may not be by Porphyry>
• De abstinentia ab esu animalium Jean Bouffartigue, M. Patillon, and Alain-Philippe Segonds, edd., 3 vols., Budé (Paris, 1979–1995).
• De Philosophia ex oraculis haurienda G. Wolf, ed. (Berlin: 1956).
• Epistula ad Anebonem, A. R. Sodano ed. (Naples: L'arte Tipografia, 1958).
• Fragmenta Andrew Smith, ed. (Stvtgardiae et Lipsiae: B. G. Tevbneri, 1993).
• The Homeric Questions: a Bilingual Edition Lang Classical Studies 2, R. R. Schlunk, trans. (Frankfurt-am-Main: Lang, 1993).
• Isagoge, Stefan Weinstock, ed. in Catalogus Codicum astrologorum Graecorum, Franz Cumont, ed. (Brussels, 1940): V.4, 187-228. (This is an introduction to the Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy, not to be confused with the more famous Isagoge on logic.)
• Kommentar zur Harmonielehre des Ptolemaios Ingemar Duuring. ed. (Göteborg: Elanders, 1932).
• Opuscula selecta Augusts Nauck, ed. (Lipsiae: B. G. Tevbneri, 1886).
• Porphyrii in Platonis Timaeum commentarium fragmenta A. R. Sodano, ed. (Napoli: 1964).
• Porphyry, the Philosopher, to Marcella: Text and Translation with Introduction and Notes Kathleen O’bBien Wicker, trans., Text and Translations 28; Graeco-Roman Religion Series 10 (Atlanata: Schoalrs Press, 1987).
• Pros Markellan Griechiser Text, herausgegeben, übersetzt, eingeleitet und erklärt von W. Pötscher (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969).
• Sententiae Ad Intelligibilia Ducentes E. Lamberz, ed. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1975).
• Vie de Pythagore, Lettre à Marcella E. des Places, ed. and trans. (Paris: Les Belles Lettre, 1982).
• La Vie de Plotin Luc Brisson, ed. Historie de l'antiquité classique 6 & 16 (Paris: Libraire Philosophique J. Vrin: 1986-1992) 2 vols.
• Vita Plotini in Plotinus, Armstrong, ed. LCL (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968), 2-84.
• To Marcella text and translation with Introduction and Notes by Kathleen O'Biren Wicker (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987).

Translations

• Isagoge Mediaeval Sources in Translation 16, E. Warren, trans. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1975).
• Porphyry's Introduction. Translation of the 'Isagoge' with a Commentary by J. Barnes (Oxford, 2003).
• Porphyry. On Aristotle's Categories. Translated by Steven K. Strange (Ithaca, New York, 1992).
• The Organon or Logical Treatises of Aristotle with the Introduction of Porphyry Bohn's Classical Library 11-12, Octavius Freire Owen, trans. (London: G. Bell, 1908–1910), 2 vols.
• Five Texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals: Porphyry, Boethius, Abelard, Duns Scotus, Ockham Paul Vincent Spade, trans. (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994).
• Select Works of Porphyry. Translated by T. Taylor (Guildford, 1994). Contains Abstinence from Eating Animal Food, the Sententiae and the Cave of the Nymphs.
• Launching-Points to the Realm of Mind. Translation of the 'Sententiae' by K. Guthrie (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1988).
• Neoplatonic Saints: The Lives of Plotinus and Proclus Translated Texts for Historians 35 (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2000).
• On Abstinence from Killing Animals Gilliam Clark, trans. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000).
• The Cave of the Nymphs in the Odyssey A revised text with translation by Seminar Classics 609, State University of New York at Buffalo, Arethusa Monograph 1 (Buffalo: Dept. of Classics, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1969).
• On the Cave of the Nymphs Robert Lamberton, trans. (Barrytown, N. Y.: Station Hill Press, 1983).
• Porphyry Against the Christians, R. M. Berchman, trans., Ancient Mediterranean and Medieval Texts and Contexts 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2005).
• Porphyry’s Against the Christians: The Literary Remains R. Joseph Hoffmann, trans. (Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1994).
• The Homeric Questions edited and translated by R. Schlunk (New York, 1993).
• Porphyry's Letter to His Wife Marcella Concerning the Life of Philosophy and the Ascent to the Gods. Translated by Alice Zimmern (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1989).
• Porphyry the Philosopher, Introduction to the Tetrabiblos and Serapio of Alexandria, Astrological Definitions. Translated by James Herschel Holden (Tempe, Az.: A.F.A., Inc., 2009).

Notes

References

• Iamblichus: De mysteriis. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon and Jackson P. Hershbell (Society of Biblical Literature; 2003) ISBN 1-58983-058-X.
• Barker, A. (2003). "Porphyry," in S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth, eds., Oxford Classical Dictionary, revised 3rd edition, pp. 1226–1227.
• Barnes, J. (2003). Introduction to Introduction, by Porphyry. Clarendon Press.
• Beutler, R. (1894–1980). "Porphyrios (21)" in A. Pauly, G. Wissowa, W. Kroll, K. Witte, K. Mittelhaus and K. Ziegler, eds., Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, vol. 22.1.
• Bidez, J. (1913). Vie de Porphyre. Ghent.
• Clark, Gillian, "Translate into Greek: Porphyry of Tyre on the new barbarians," in R. Miles (ed), Constructing Identities in Late Antiquity (London: Routledge, 1999), 112-132; = in Eadem, Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XIV.
• Clark, Gillian, "Philosophic Lives and the philosophic life: Porphyry and Iamblichus," in T. Hägg and P. Rousseau (eds), Greek Biography and Panegyric in Late Antiquity (Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2000), 29–51; = in Eadem, Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XV.
• Clark, Gillian, "Fattening the soul: Christian asceticism and Porphyry On Abstinence," Studia Patristica, 35, 2001, 41-51; = in Eadem, Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XVI.
• Digeser, E. D. (1998). "Lactantius, Porphyry, and the Debate over Religious Toleration," The Journal of Roman Studies 88, pp. 129–146.
• Emilsson, E., "Porphyry". Retrieved April 19, 2009.
• Girgenti, G. (1987) Porfirio negli ultimi cinquant'anni: bibliografia sistematica e ragionata della letteratura primaria e secondaria riguardante il pensiero porfiriano e i suoi influssi storici Milan.
• O'Connor, J. and E. Robertson, "Porphyry Malchus". Retrieved April 14, 2009.
• Sarton, G. (1936). "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World," Osiris 2, pp. 406–463. (In JSTOR.)
• Smith, Andrew (1987) Porphyrian Studies since 1913, in W. Haase, (ed.) Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II.36.2, pp. 717–773.
• Smith, Andrew (1974) Porphyry's Place in the Neoplatonic Tradition. A Study in post-Plotinian Neoplatonism, The Hague, Nijhoff.
• Wilken, R. (1979). "Pagan Criticism of Christianity: Greek Religion and Christian Faith," in W. Schoedel and R. Wilken, eds., Early Christian Literature and the Classical Intellectual Tradition, pp. 117–134.
• Zuiddam, B. A. "Old Critics and Modern Theology," Dutch Reformed Theological Journal (South Africa), xxxvi, 1995, № 2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Porphyry (philosopher).

• Porphyry Malchus (mathematician) - entry in MacTutor History of Maths Archives.
• Porphyry entry by Eyjólfur Emilsson in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
• Περὶ τοῦ ἐν Ὀδύσσειᾳ τῶν Νυμφῶν Ἄντρου (The Cave of the Nymphs in the Odyssey), original Hellenic text.
• Εἰσαγωγὴ εἰς τὴν Ἀποτελεσματικὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου (Introduction to Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos), original Hellenic text.
• Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, Book I, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, Book II, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, Book III, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, Book IV, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, On the Cave of Nymphs, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, Auxiliaries to the Perception of Intelligible Natures, translated by Thomas Taylor.
• Porphyry, Isagoge, translated by Octavius Freire Owen.
• The Isagoge, or Introduction of Porphyry, translated by Thomas Taylor with an extensive preface by the translator.
• Porphyry, On the Life of Plotinus
• Porphyry, Comments on the Book of Daniel.
• Additional Texts, edited by Roger Pearse