Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides" by Princeton University Press

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Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides" by Princeton University Press Interesting work by key Neo-Platonist
Proclus was one of Plato's most devout followers, along with Plotinus. He was also one of the most brilliant. His commentary on Parmenides is a very long 'drawing out' of what Proclus considered to be the hidden meaning of Plato's dialogues; in effect, Plato was not just a philosopher but also a sage and divinely inspired figure who discovered the secret structure of the universe itself, visible and invisible. In commenting on this difficult metaphysical dialogue of Plato, in which Plato himself tried to reach an understanding of Parmenides' philosophy of Being, Proclus 'discovers' a vast metaphysical reality beyond the realm of the senses. The structures Proclus outlines are quite complex and best left to the introductory essay in the translation itself. Suffice to say there is a transcendant 'One' which the source of all Being, and which then radiates itself to lower objects called 'Henads' which in turn produce visible reality. Along the way there is also a mixture of magic and prayer to various Gods and daimons. Proclus was an important philosophical influence on Christian Neo-Platonists, such as Eckhart, Dionysius the Aeropagite and possibly Eriugena. Proclus was also an important influence in Renaissance Neo-Platonism and the influence of this philosopher continues today. The book is very long (about 900 pages) and Proclus's digressions are exceedingly long winded. His work is not easy to read and will probably put off all but the most determined student of philosophy.
Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides" by Princeton University Press Platonism and Neoplatonism
This book is a fundamental cornerstone in understanding the Socratic dialogs. Academia has split up Philosophy in such a way that it does not come into conflict with Institutional Christianity. The notion that exists today about Platonism and especailly the Socratic dialogs is that a philosopher in ancient Greece is a person that deals in ethics. This is absurd. Religion did not start with Christ, but Christ extends it. A philospher in ancient Greece is a person that is working to become in the likenss of God. This one and only God that only the Jews are supposed to know. This the greatest religious forgery ever that supports yhe Divide and Conquer, the results of which we live today with religious terrorism. Proclus with this work gives a solid ground to break the misunderstanding that caused millions of deaths by bestial people as the Roman Emperors were and their succesors in the Byzantium. Humans are made in the image and likeness of God, and modern science has managed to tell people that God made man in the image and likeness of a monkey. Biology got itself in the monkey business and humanity has to extricate itself from it.
Proclus' Commentary on Plato's "Parmenides" by Princeton University Press A great survey of the Neo-Platonic philosophy
This is one of the best books by Proclus Diadochus and we are also lucky to have this excellent translation by G.R. Morrow and J.M. Dillon. If anybody is interested in the Neo-Platonic philosophy, or in the ancient philosophy, he should not miss this book. Even if it is rather difficult for a beginner to read long discourses of Proclus on the most important topics of the philosophy, noone should leave this book without careful reading. If you have read the Elements of Theology by Proclus, then you are able to understand everything Proclus is telling us. This book thinks about the most difficult dialogue of Plato - about the Parmenides. In the beginning you are connected with the amazing world of Proclus' allegorical interpretation of Plato's dialogue. Then you can study the world of Ideas as seen by Proclus - you can learn about four problems concerning the Ideas, i.e. whether there are Ideas; what things have Ideas; what is the participation like; and finally where are the Ideas. Proclus shows you all the levels of the realms of the One (Hen) and the Mind (Nous) and you can enjoy also the Proclus' dialectics in the end of the Commentary. The author also tells us a lot of Ideas about the negative theology tells in the last book. The translation is as well of the best value.