The six books of Proclus, the Platonic successor, on the theology of Plato (vol. 1 of 2): translated from the Greek, to which a seventh book is added, in order to supply the deficiency of another book on this subject, which was written by Proclus, but since lost, also, a translation from the Greek of Proclus' Elements of theology, to which are added a translation of the treatise of Proclus, On providence and fate, a translation of extracts from his treatise, entitled, Ten doubts concerning providence, and a translation of extracts from his treatise on the subsistence of evil; as preserved in the Bibliotheca Gr. of Fabricus

About this book

"The six books of Proclus, the Platonic successor, on the theology of Plato…." is a philosophical translation and commentary written in the early 19th century. It presents Proclus’s Neoplatonic theology and related treatises in English, framed by an extensive introduction that argues for a hierarchical, “scientific” pagan theology emanating from the ineffable One, with subordinate divine orders animating the cosmos. The volume targets readers of late Platonism and classical theology, and probes their intersections with Jewish and Christian traditions.

The opening of this volume lays out the translator’s case for a rigorously reasoned Greek theology: from Orpheus through Pythagoras to Plato and Proclus, the Ineffable One stands beyond being, from whom proceeds a chain of divine unities (the Gods) and, through them, all levels of reality. He defends this system against modern ridicule by appealing to the Septuagint, Paul, the Fathers, and the Schoolmen, arguing that Scripture itself implies many lesser gods/angels and ensouled heavens; he cites Synesius, Kepler, and Berkeley to support a world-soul and living stars, contrasting this with Newtonian force. He distinguishes genuine Hellenic piety from the deification of men, treats statues and animal cults as symbolic aids rather than literal gods (drawing on Sallustius, Maximus of Tyre, Plutarch, and Julian), and criticizes Catholic image- and saint-veneration as a corruption worse than paganism. The introduction closes by describing Proclus’s work as a “scientific” unfolding of divine processions, warning that it is accessible only to well-prepared readers, and praising Proclus’s style.