Platonic Epistles Research Articles

The Platonic Epistles and Fanaticism in the History of Philosophy: Meiners, Tiedemann, and Kant

The Platonic Epistles and Fanaticism in the History of Philosophy: Meiners, Tiedemann, and Kant

The Figure of Socrates in Numenius of Apamea: Theology, Platonism, and Pythagoreanism (fr. 24 des Places)

Numenius is one of the most important authors who, in the Imperial Age, deal with the figure of Socrates. Socrates is important in the Platon­ic tradition, in particular in the sceptical tradition, when the Socratic dubitative “spirit” of the first Platonic dialogues became important to justify the “suspension of judgement.” Numenius criticises the whole Academic tradition by saying that the Academics (particularly the sceptics) betrayed the original doctrine of Plato and formulated a new image of Socrates. For Numenius, Socrates plays a central role because Plato would have inherited his doctrine. What does Socrates’s doctrine consist in? According to Numenius, Socrates theorised a “doctrine of three Gods” (which can be likely found in the second Platonic epistle) which is strictly bound up with the main aspect of Plato’s thought. In fact, in Numenius’s view, Plato belongs to a genealogy which can be linked to Pythagoras himself. From this perspective, Numenius says that Socrates’s original thought is a theology which also belongs to the Pythagorean tradition and which Plato further developed. For Nume­nius, Socrates is not the philosopher of doubt, but a theologian who first theorised the existence of three levels of reality (Gods), which is also the kernel of Numenius’s metaphysical system. For this reason, Numenius puts Socrates within a theological genealogy that begins with Pythago­ras and continues with Socrates and Plato, and that the Academics and the Socratics failed to understand.

Politics as a Vocation—Praxis and Political Engagement

Were one to ask the typical, sophisticated American voter what it is that political scientists do, he or she might respond, “Why, they study politics!” Were one to ask the same of the somewhat more sophisticated congressional or campaign staffer, a likely response would be, “they study politics in the abstract,” accompanied by a faintly condescending smile. Lastly, were one to pose the question to the rather more sophisticated subject of this inquiry, the political science practitioner, among the range of amorphous, if not conflicting, responses one might expect would be the following: “We study the how and why of politics, the exercise of power, the underlying patterns and contexts of political and governmental behavior.” Truth, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder.The following contributions, from significant scholar/practitioners, are characterized by an abiding realism as to the hazards of crossing the line, of venturing beyond the tower, towards the enchanted forest of politics. They are marked by an awareness of the distinctiveness of the two life worlds, of knowledge and power, heirs to a reflective tradition traceable to the Platonic Epistles, Hume, Weber (above all), the Frankfurt School, and Foucault. They stand in a line of intellectual activism, from Plato's tutelage of Dionysius to the examples of Sartre, Camus, Malraux, or of Vargas Llosa and Havel in our day.

Politics as a Vocation—Praxis and Political Engagement

Were one to ask the typical, sophisticated American voter what it is that political scientists do, he or she might respond, “Why, they study politics!” Were one to ask the same of the somewhat more sophisticated congressional or campaign staffer, a likely response would be, “they study politics in the abstract,” accompanied by a faintly condescending smile. Lastly, were one to pose the question to the rather more sophisticated subject of this inquiry, the political science practitioner, among the range of amorphous, if not conflicting, responses one might expect would be the following: “We study the how and why of politics, the exercise of power, the underlying patterns and contexts of political and governmental behavior.” Truth, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. The following contributions, from significant scholar/practitioners, are characterized by an abiding realism as to the hazards of crossing the line, of venturing beyond the tower, towards the enchanted forest of politics. They are marked by an awareness of the distinctiveness of the two life worlds, of knowledge and power, heirs to a reflective tradition traceable to the Platonic Epistles, Hume, Weber (above all), the Frankfurt School, and Foucault. They stand in a line of intellectual activism, from Plato's tutelage of Dionysius to the examples of Sartre, Camus, Malraux, or of Vargas Llosa and Havel in our day.

The Authenticity of the Eighth Platonic Epistle Reconsidered

A vast amount of literature has been written on the authorship of the Platonic Epistles, especially of the very important and interesting Letters VII and VIII. During the last decennia the opinion that these two Letters were written by Plato himself prevailed, though it won by no means general acceptance. Recently, however, the late L. Edelstein in a thorough investigation*?) contested the genuineness of either. Two years later K. von Fritz 2) vigorously defended the Platonic authorship of Ep. VII, but threw serious doubt on the genuineness of Ep. VIII3). Because their arguments do not seem wholly convincing to me, I venture to reconsider the authorship of the Eighth Letter. As a rule the genuineness of Ep. VIII has been considered by reference to that of Ep. VII, and also in the studies of Edelstein and von Fritz comparison of the eighth with the seventh Epistles plays an important part in contesting the authenticity of Ep. VIII. However, it seems a sound procedure to reconsider first the Eighth Epistle as a document by itself, as G. Pasquali has done 4), and only after that to direct our attention to the relation of Ep. VIII to Ep. VII. Hitherto there seems no convincing stylistic evidence available for considering Ep. VIII spurious5). Though H. Thesleff in his recent investigation into the style of Plato's writings 6) on general ?) Plato's Seventh Letter (Philosophia Antiqua, 14, Leiden 1966). See for the 8th letter p. 145 ff. 2) Platon in Sizilien und das Problem der Philosophenherrschaft (Berlin 1968). See on this book my forthcoming article De wijsgeer en de praktische politiek, Ts. v. Gesch. 83 (1970). 3) Op. cit., no ff. 4) Le Lettere di Platone (2 Firenze 1967), 1 ff. 5) Cp. v. Fritz, op. cit., io about the analysis of the style of Ep. VII with the help of a computer. 6) Studies in the Style q/P/a/oj(Acta philosophica Fennica, 20, Helsinki 1967).

Neopythagoreanism and 'Plato's' second letter

T he discussion of the &pZaE of the world in Sextus Empiricus 10, 248-284 is very confused. Doctrines appear to be attributed now to the Pythagoreans, now to Plato. It seems probable that either Sextus or his source or both were unaware of the precise origin of many of the ideas they were dealing with. It is certain that in the last century B.C. and the early centuries A.D. there was a mass of writings in circulation which purported to be of early Pythagorean origin and which attempted to bring the Pythagoreans into close relationship with Plato. One can recall the treatise which has come down as the work of Ocellus Lucanus,l but which probably dates from the early first century B.C. According to a letter preserved by Diogenes Laertius (8.80) and attributed by him to Archytas, it was Archytas himself who found the writings of Ocellus Lucanus and sent them to Plato.2 The reply which Plato is supposed to have made to this letter is also preserved it is Epistle Twelve in our collection. It is of interest therefore to examine the credentials of this letter in more detail. On doing so, we find that our earliest knowledge of it comes from Diogenes' report of the grouping of Plato's writings in tetralogies by Thrasyllus. Thrasyllus' ninth tetralogy apparently included the thirteen supposedly Platonic Epistles (D.L.3.61). Diogenes mentions the grouping of the Platonic works by the grammarian Aristophanes and alludes to the letters in this connection, but he does not tell us how many there were. We cannot be sure therefore that our Epistle Twelve was in Aristophanes' collection. Indeed, if it is to be connected, as seems likely, with the appearance of the supposed writings of Ocellus Lucanus in the first century B.C., then Aristophanes could not have known it.

The Second Platonic Epistle

M R STANNARD is certainly right in his claim (Phronesis v [i 960] 53 sq.) that the reason given by the writer of' Ep. 1I for going to Syracuse, tvo pLOL TL'u that they are not inconsistent with passages adduced by Bury; and that Plato was not unconcerned about the -MX0Ooq. It might be added that Bury and Hackforth clearly took our passage to mean 'in order that the 7t0XOoq too might become cpt6ocpot' (Hackforth remarks that no such motive is mentioned in Ep. Vii, and contrasts Rep. 494A, tko6aoYpov... 7rX00q &8v and this one has often, it seems, been rejected on insufficient evidence. First, when was the letter written, if it is genuine? In view of the reference to the Olympic Games, either in 364B.C. or in 36O. But the letter begins -

Studies in the Platonic Epistles: With a Translation and Notes. Glenn R. MorrowPlato's Law of Slavery in its Relation to Greek Law. Glenn R. Morrow

<i>Studies in the Platonic Epistles: With a Translation and Notes</i>. Glenn R. Morrow<i>Plato's Law of Slavery in its Relation to Greek Law</i>. Glenn R. Morrow

Studies in the Platonic Epistles: With a Translation and Notes

Studies in the Platonic Epistles: With a Translation and Notes

Studies in the Platonic Epistles: with a Translation and Notes. By G. R. Morrow. Pp. 234. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1935. $3.

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Studies in the Platonic Epistles with a Translation and Notes

Studies in the Platonic Epistles with a Translation and Notes

VI.—NEW BOOKS

Journal Article VI.—NEW BOOKS Get access Studies in the Platonic Epistles, with a Translation and Notes. By GLENN R. MORROW. Urbana, III, University of Illinois Press, 1935. Pp. 234. $3. F. C. S. SCHILLER F. C. S. SCHILLER Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Mind, Volume XLV, Issue 177, January 1936, Pages 106–108, https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/XLV.177.106 Published: 01 January 1936

The Platonic Epistles, Translated, with Introduction and Notes

The Platonic Epistles, Translated, with Introduction and Notes

Plato and His Dialogues. By G. Lowes Dickinson. (London: G. Allen &amp; Unwin Ltd.1931. Pp. 228. Price 6s.) - Aristotle”s Psychology of Conduct. By A. K. Griffin, Ph.D. (London: Williams &amp; Norgate Ltd.1931. Pp. 186. Price 10s. 6d.) - The Platonic Epistles. Translated with Introduction and Notes by J. Harwood. (London: Cambridge University Press. 1932. Pp. xii + 244. Price

Plato and His Dialogues. By G. Lowes Dickinson. (London: G. Allen &amp; Unwin Ltd.1931. Pp. 228. Price 6s.) - Aristotle”s Psychology of Conduct. By A. K. Griffin, Ph.D. (London: Williams &amp; Norgate Ltd.1931. Pp. 186. Price 10s. 6d.) - The Platonic Epistles. Translated with Introduction and Notes by J. Harwood. (London: Cambridge University Press. 1932. Pp. xii + 244. Price 15s.) - Volume 7 Issue 28

The Platonic Epistles

Journal Article The Platonic Epistles Get access Notes and Queries, Volume CLXII, Issue mar12, 12 March 1932, Page 198, https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/CLXII.mar12.198a Published: 12 March 1932

The Seventh and Eighth Platonic Epistles

The recent paper of J. Harward (Classical Quarterly, XXII., pp. 143–154) on the seventh and eighth Platonic Epistles deserves an answer. He suggests that Plato's statement at the beginning of the seventh Epistle, that he had received a communication from the friends of Dion, is a literary fiction. Supposing then that this suggestion is correct, he maintains the view that Plato, having no knowledge of the death of Dion's son before his father's assassination in 354 B.C., refers to him as Hipparinus without qualification in the seventh Epistle (324a), and as Dion's son, giving no name, in the eighth Epistle (355e).

The Seventh and Eighth Platonic Epistles

It is now generally agreed that the 7th and 8th Platonic Epistles are genuine. There may still be a lingering doubt, here or there, about the philosophical digression in the 7th; but with this exception both letters may be said to have established their claim to be regarded as the work of Plato.

The Date of the Second Platonic Epistle

The Date of the Second Platonic Epistle

The Date of the Second Platonic Epistle

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Statistics of Style in the Seventh Platonic Epistle

Previous articleNext article FreeNotes and DiscussionsStatistics of Style in the Seventh Platonic EpistlePaul ShoreyPaul Shorey Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Classical Philology Volume 21, Number 3Jul., 1926 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/360794 Views: 2Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.