Protrepticus ( Ancient Greek : Προτρεπτικός ) or, "Exhortation to Philosophy" ( Ancient Greek : Φιλοσοφητέον ) is a lost philosophical work written by Aristotle in the mid-4th century BCE. The work was intended to encourage the reader to study philosophy . Although the Protrepticus was one of Aristotle's most famous works in antiquity, it did not survive except in fragments and ancient reports from later authors, particularly from Iamblichus , who appears to quote large extracts from it, without attribution, alongside extracts from extant works of Plato, in the second book of his work on Pythagoreanism .
18-516: Protrepticus (Ancient Greek: Προτρεπτικός ) may refer to: Protrepticus (Aristotle) , an exhortation to philosophy by Aristotle, which survives in fragmentary form Protrepticus , a work by the Roman writer Ennius Protrepticus , an exhortation to the study of the arts in general by Galen Protrepticus (Clement) , an exhortation to Christian conversion by Clement of Alexandria Protrepticus ,
36-611: A direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras . In addition to his philosophical contributions, his Protrepticus is important for the study of the sophists because it preserved about ten pages of an otherwise unknown sophist known as the Anonymus Iamblichi. According to the Suda and Iamblichus' biographer, Eunapius , Iamblichus
54-704: A separate soul, Iamblichus re-affirmed the soul's embodiment in matter and believed that matter was as divine as the rest of the cosmos. Iamblichus placed the Monad at the head of his system, from which emanates the Nous (intellect, or demiurge ) and the psyche . Plotinus represented the Nous as three stages: objective being, subjective life, and realized intellect. Iamblichus divided them into two spheres: intelligible (the objects of thought) and intellective (the domain of thought). Iamblichus and Proclus may have introduced
72-559: A specific end” used in a philosophical sense, a word hardly ever used except in specialized philosophical treatises. Large fragments of the Protrepticus are quoted by Iamblichus in the second book of his work On Pythagoreanism. A number of ancient reports on the Protrepticus survive in other works: Since the 19th century, when inquiry was initiated by Jakob Bernays (1863), several scholars have attempted to reconstruct
90-745: A third sphere between the two worlds, separating and uniting them. The identification of nous with the demiurge in the neoplatonic tradition was adopted and developed in Christian gnosticism . Augustine of Hippo follows Plotinus, identifying the nous with logos (the creative principle) as part of the Trinity . Iamblichus multiplied the number of divine entities according to universal mathematical theorems. He conceived of gods, angels, demons and heroes: twelve heavenly gods (whose number increases to 36 or 360), 72 other gods proceeding from them, 21 chiefs and 42 nature-gods. His divine realm extends from
108-609: A work by the Neoplatonist Iamblichus Protrepticus , one of the Idyllia of Ausonius See also [ edit ] Protrepsis and paraenesis , two closely related styles of exhortation The Hortensius follows the style of a protrepticus. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Protrepticus . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
126-460: Is itself a philosophical concern, this proves that one should do philosophy in order to investigate the answer. Alexander states that the work further investigates the nature of philosophical contemplation and argues that this is also the proper exercise of human beings. Aristotle's protrepticus is likely the origin of the English word Protreptics, which means, “turning or converting someone to
144-559: The Monad to material nature, where the soul descends into matter and becomes embodied in human form. These superhuman beings influence natural events and communicate knowledge about the future, and are accessible with prayers and offerings. Iamblichus posited that numbers are independent, occupying a middle realm between the limited and unlimited. He believed that nature was bound by fate , differing from divine things which are not subject to fate and turn evil and imperfection to good ends; evil
162-658: The Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians . He returned to Coele Syria around 304 to found a school in Apamea (near Antioch ), a city known for its neoplatonic philosophers. Iamblichus designed a curriculum for studying Plato and Aristotle , and wrote commentaries on the two which survive only in fragments. Pythagoras was his supreme authority, and he wrote the ten-volume Collection of Pythagorean Doctrines with extracts from several ancient philosophers; only
180-577: The Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians , also known as The Theurgia . Although stylistic and doctrinal differences exist between this book and Iamblichus' other works, it originated from his school at least. Iamblichus also completed a coherent polytheist theological system under the Egyptian pseudonym Abammon . Iamblichus was praised by his followers, and contemporaries credited him with miraculous powers. The Roman emperor Julian , not content with Eunapius' modest eulogy that Iamblichus
198-830: The first four volumes and fragments of the fifth survive. Iamblichus wrote the Exhortation to Philosophy in Apamea during the early fourth century. Considered a man of great culture and learning, he was renowned for his charity and self-denial and had a number of students. According to Johann Albert Fabricius , he died sometime before 333 during the reign of Constantine the Great . Iamblichus detailed Plotinus ' neoplatonic formal divisions, applied Pythagorean number symbolism more systematically, and (influenced by other Asian systems) interpreted neoplatonic concepts mythically. Unlike Plotinus, who broke from platonic tradition by positing
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#1732772581943216-491: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protrepticus&oldid=1254075554 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Protrepticus (Aristotle) Like many of Aristotle's lost works, Protrepticus
234-430: The work. Attempted reconstructions include: Iamblichus Iamblichus ( / aɪ ˈ æ m b l ɪ k ə s / eye- AM -blik-əs ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰάμβλιχος , translit. Iámblichos ; Arabic : يَمْلِكُ, romanized: Yamlīkū; Aramaic : 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 , romanized: Yamlīkū ; c. 245 – c. 325 ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher . He determined
252-523: Was allegedly modeled after the Protrepticus and as the Hortensius , like many of Cicero's extant philosophical works, was known to be written as a dialogue, the Protrepticus was probably one too. The main aim of the work was to convince its readers that they should do philosophy. According to Alexander of Aphrodisias , the argument put forth was that if someone denied that one should do philosophy, then, because whether or not one should do philosophy
270-607: Was born in Chalcis (later called Qinnašrīn ) in Coele , now in northwest Syria . Iamblichus was descended from the Emesene dynasty . He initially studied under Anatolius of Laodicea and later studied under Porphyry , a pupil of Plotinus (the founder of neoplatonism). Iamblichus disagreed with Porphyry about theurgy , reportedly responding to Porphyry's criticism of the practice in On
288-453: Was generated accidentally in the conflict between the finite and the infinite . Only a fraction of Iamblichus' books have survived; knowledge of his system is preserved in fragments of writings preserved by Stobaeus and others: notes by his successors (especially Proclus ), his five extant books and sections of his work on Pythagoreanism . In addition to these, Proclus attributed to him the On
306-528: Was inferior to Porphyry only in style, regarded him as second only to Plato and said that he would give all the gold in Lydia for one of his letters. During the 15th- and 16th-century revival of interest in his philosophy, Iamblichus' name was rarely mentioned without the epithet "divine" or "most divine". [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Sorley, William Ritchie (1911). " Iamblichus,
324-496: Was likely written as a Socratic dialogue , in a similar format to the works of Plato . There is good evidence that several of the nineteen works that stand at the head of Diogenes ' and Hesychius ' lists were dialogues; it may be inferred with high probability, though not with certainty, that the others were so too, but Stobaeus, pp. 59, 61 infra, and Athenaeus, p. 61 infra, confirm its genuineness. The Historia Augusta furthermore says that another lost work, Cicero 's Hortensius ,
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