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An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, Science and Textual Engagement in Proclus' in Rem

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An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, Science and Textual Engagement in Proclus' in Rem An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, science and textual engagement in Proclus' In Rem. by David Blair Pass A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Anthony Long, Chair Professor G.R.F. Ferrari, Chair Professor Leslie Kurke Professor Kinch Hoekstra Spring 2013 Abstract An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, science and textual engagement in Proclus' In Rem. by David Blair Pass Doctor of Philosophy in Classics University of California, Berkeley Professor Anthony Long, Chair Professor G.R.F. Ferrari, Chair Proclus’ Commentary on Plato’s Republic is the only extant ancient Greek commentary on Plato’s Republic. Despite the fact that it includes discussions of most of the major parts of the book, it has received very little scholarly attention. This dissertation introduces the work in its entirety and tries to identify some of the most important contributions it can make to philosophical and philological scholarship on the Republic. I am particularly attentive to ways in which Proclus’ concerns—such as responding to Epicurean critiques of Platonic myth or defending Homer—may help us see Plato’s work in its cultural context. The first chapter focuses on introducing the work and answering basic questions about the place of the Republic in late antique Platonism, the extent of Proclus’ sources and what portions of the Republic Proclus discusses. I consider the form of the commentary, arranged as various essays, in comparison with Proclus’ other commentaries which proceed in a line by line manner. I respond to arguments that have claimed that the commentary is not a unified work by considering the form and extent of the essays relative to the content of the Republic. The second chapter argues that Proclus’ commentary is not trimming the Platonic tradition to fit into the religious orthodoxy of late antiquity but rather stressing arguments and interpretative approaches that became most influential in the Renaissance. I consider several examples such as Proclus’ interest in the Orphic and Pythagorean tradition, his emphasis on gender equality and the scientific aspects of his approach to natural philosophy. The third chapter considers some important aspects of Proclus’ hermeneutics. I consider how and why Proclus sometimes disagrees with Plato. In particular, I focus on some portions of the commentary that demonstrate Proclus’ approach to the dramatic aspects of the dialogues and discuss why Proclus’ defence of Homer includes some observations 1 about his Platonic hermeneutics. I consider also his responses to Aristotle’s idea of catharsis and his approach to Glaucon’s role in the Republic. The fourth chapter translates and discusses a particular portion of the sixth essay in which Proclus argues, contrary to the view Socrates expresses in the Republic, that Homer is a text which teaches the political virtue of sophrosune. I consider the historical origins of allegorizing interpretations and then distinguish between Proclus’ use of allegory and his use of other interpretative methodologies. I consider in particular Proclus’ defence of the idea of euphrosune and compare his approach with earlier philosophical discussions which responded to the same passage of Homer (Odyssey 9.6-10) and interrogated the passage along the lines suggested in the Republic. 2 Contents: Chapter 1: An Introduction to Proclus' In Rem. 1 Chapter 2: Notes on the Reception of Proclus' Commentary on the Republic 46 Chapter 3: Proclus' Hermeneutics-- Using Plato to Read Plato 91 Chapter 4: Euphrosune 113 i Chapter 1: An Introduction to Proclus' In Rem publicam: - Καίτοι καὶ εἰ μηδὲν αὐταῖς τούτων ἐγίνετο, αὐτή γε ἡ Ἀρετὴ καὶ ἡ ἐκ τῆς Ἀρετῆς ἡδονή τε καὶ δόξα ὅ τε ἄλυπος καὶ ἀδέσποτος βίος εὐδαίμονας ἤρκει ποιεῖν τοὺς κατ’ Ἀρετὴν ζῆν προελομένους καὶ δυνηθέντας. Sallustius, De Deis et Mundo, 21.2 - Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ἐνίοτε ὁ φιλόσοφος ἐφήπτετο πολιτικῶν βουλευμάτων, τοῖς κοινοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως συλλόγοις παραγιγνόμενος καὶ γνώμας ἐμφρόνως εἰσηγούμενος καὶ ἄρχουσιν ἐντυγχάνων ὑπὲρ δικαίων πραγμάτων, καὶ τούτους οὐ μόνον παρακαλῶν, τρόπον δέ τινα προσαναγκάζων τῇ φιλοσόφῳ παρρησίᾳ τὸ προσῆκον ἑκάστοις ἀπονέμειν. Marinus, Proclus or On Happiness, 15.1 There has been a recent upsurge of interest in the writings of late-antique Platonists in general and Proclus (412-485 AD) in particular from a variety of different perspectives. On the one hand, everyone recognizes the tremendous importance of the period from the standpoint of intellectual history,1 while on the other hand old prejudices have begun to dissipate so that philosophers are more likely to approach these unfamiliar texts with the sense that sometimes what seems strangest may be the most interesting.2 New editions of basic texts and/or translations like Proclus' Commentary on the Parmenides (new OCT by Carlos Steel 2007-2009), Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus (new translation by Harold Tarrant, Dirk Baltzly and David Runia 2007-), the Hymns of Proclus (Van Den Berg 2001), and the Life of Proclus by Marinus (Saffrey and Segonds 2001) have made much of the material far more accessible.3 Perhaps most influentially on the philosophical side, Richard Sorabji's project of translating the Aristotelian commentaries and discussing their philosophical content has had the long- term effect of demonstrating the variety and value of the material from late antiquity.4 By pointing out the basic paradox that most of these commentators were all in some sense Platonists, Sorabji emphasized that attitudes that had been seen as a reason for dismissing the material, such as the idea of the harmony of Plato and Aristotle, should rather be seen first as challenging and second as by no means entirely accepted among late Platonists.5 This movement to consider seriously the history of Platonism has been explicitly connected with doubts about the developmental hypothesis which had been used to lay the foundation of a modern approach to Plato6 together with a reconsideration of the 1 See Ahbel-Rappe 2009 (434-453) for a succinct account of some aspects of this influence. R.T. Wallis pointed out: "a survey of Neoplatonism's influence threatens to become little less than a cultural history of Europe and the Near East down to the Renaissance, and on some points far beyond" (1972: 160). See also Klibansky 1982. 2 See Siorvanes 1996 for a brief treatment of some surprising aspects of Proclus' reception and survey of some of the leading figures in 20th century Proclus studies (especially 34-44). 3 See also a whole sequence of translations by John Dillon which include the Commentary on the Parmenides (1987 with Glenn Morrow), Iamblichus' On the Pythagorean Way of Life (1991 with Jackson Hershbell), Iamblichus' De Anima (2002 with John Finamore), and Syrianus' On Aristotle's Metaphysics (with John O'Meara 2006). 4 See especially Sorabji 2005. 5 On this question see especially Gerson 2005, Steel 1987. 6 See especially the essays in the collection New Approaches to Plato: Ancient and Modern (2002) eds. Rowe and Annas as well as Annas' Platonic Ethics (1999). 1 relationship between Plato's texts and the broader literary and philosophical culture of antiquity including rhetoric and drama.7 Other scholars have begun to investigate basic questions in the history of ancient Platonism such as how Plato was read in relation to key figures like Democritus (Marciano 2007) and Pythagoras (see especially the essays in Bonazzi, Lévy and Steel 2007). Peter Kingsley's religious/ritualist approach to Plato which stresses the importance of initiation rites and mysticism is partially based on evidence from late-antique commentators,8 and there are two influential modern schools of thought who see some degree of esotericism in Plato's writing, the Straussians and the Tubingen school.9 Since all of these interpreters make at least some limited claim to be recovering ancient readings, interest in these approaches is probably also responsible to some degree for the growing interest in how Plato was read in antiquity. Not only devotees of these approaches but also those who simply want to evaluate their claims are naturally interested in understanding more about the most relevant sources. Until this recent movement, important and valuable discussions which tried to address the general hermeneutic question about how to read Plato would then follow with wildly inaccurate generalizations about how "the ancients" read Plato.10 At other points, obviously important questions received surprisingly little modern attention; for example, reading the introduction to the Parmenides by Mary Louise Gill, one finds that Dodds’ 1928 article was at the time (1992) not only the best but even the only widely known article on the Neoplatonic reading of the dialogue. In any case, most interpreters would agree that the sheer variety of ancient approaches to Plato is one thing that makes the subject appealing. Because the skeptical academy seemed most congenial to the predominant trends in modern philosophy, it tended to receive the most attention. This though created the paradox that the most modern attention was focused on the figures for whom we have the least evidence. The movement to consider the later material seriously began to some extent with an attempt to separate middle Platonism from later Platonism as a way of discussing the so-called middle-Platonist material while avoiding the prejudices and controversies associated with late antiquity (see especially Dillon 1977 and Tarrant 2000). Having come this far and posed some of the most relevant questions, it became obvious that we simply did not even entirely understand the philosophy of late antiquity.11 Over the last decade or two, many scholars have begun to advocate a more expansive approach. Myles Burnyeat expressed his surprise at the interest and complexity of the material at the beginning of his helpful article "First Words" (1997).
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