CONTENTS

PREFACE vu
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 2
INTRODUCTION 3
PART ONE

I Plato and Neoplatonism 7

The attitude of the Neoplatonists to Plato, 7-8. MvOos
and Xo-yos, 8-13. Modern attitudes to Plato and Neopla-
tonism, 14-15.

u The Good, the Forms, and Eros in Plato 16

I. Anthropomorphism and theomorphism, 16-19. Gods
and Forms, 19. Purification and mathematics, 20-22. The
Forms as the objects of love, 22-23; ~Epws means more
than desire, 23-30. Creation and the goodness of Gods,
30-31. Overflowing love and the germs of emanation,
31-34. Two kinds of ~Epws; the view of Markus re-
examined, 35-40.
11. The relation between Forms and souls, 40-41.
Difficulties arising from the supposedly Platonic Form of
Being, 41-46. The separation of Forms and souls, 46-47.
m. The lifelessness of Forms and the Third Man, 47-50.
1v. The Good and the One, 50-52. The relationship of
the Good and the Forms, 53-54. Platonic contradictions
and the "unity" of Plato's thought, 54-55.

m The One, Eros, and the Progression of the

Soul in Plotinus 56
1. Plotinus' attitude to the Platonic writings, 56-59. Self-
predication in Plotinus, 59-60. Nous and the Forms;
Plotinus' view different from Plato's, 60-61. History of
the Forms from Plato to Plotinus; the roles of the early
Stoics, Posidonius, Antiochus of Ascalon, Philo, Albinus,
61-67. Plotinus "humanizes" the doctrine of Forms,
67-68. The One as Being and "beyond Being"; the
positive and negative approaches, 68-69. The One as
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cause and "Father"; quasi-lifelike terms applied to it,

69-73. Metaphors of emanation, 74. Difficulties in motive
for the One and the Demiourgos, 75-76. The One de-
scribed in voluntarist terms; the view of Trouillard;
the One as"Epws, 76-79. Nygren on "Epws and 'A-ya:1rTJ,
79-80. The transcendence, immanence, and "Epws of
the One, 80-84. Plato and Plotinus on "Epws, 84-85.
Plotinus excludes doctrines of salvation, 85. The One
"supra-personal" rather than impersonal, 86-87.
11. The mystical union as a clue to the understanding
of the One; two ways of approach; deification, 87-89.
Preliminary studies, including mathematics out of
deference to Plato, 89-91. The via negatioa is platonic,
91-92. Plotinus' attitude to mystic union and oa.lµo11Es,
92-94. Dialectic, 94. 'Oµolw,ns OE~, 94. Ecstasy de-
scribed; "Epws as the link between the two approaches
to the One, 95-97. Higher replaces lower in union, 97-99.
No Christian influence, 99. The sublimations of hetero-
sexual and homosexual love, 100-102. The Good and the
Beautiful, 103. Tactual imagery in the description of
ecstasy, 103. The transcendence of self and Plato's views
on immortality, 104-109. Forms of individuals and the
transcendence of self, 109-110. 'Oµolwu,s and "Epws in
Plato and Plotinus, 110-111. Plotinus, his contempor-
aries, and personal religion, 111-112.

PART TWO

I Knowing How and Knowing That 115

The theory of Gould, 115-117. "Knowing how" in Plato,
117. TtXIITJ and t1rwr~µTf, 118-120. Definitions of
uwq,pouv11Tf, 120-121. Has the Platonic Socrates a theory
of the object?, 121-128. The Memora/Jilia on "knowing
how" and "knowing that," 128-130. The priority of
"knowing that," 130-137. Knowing oneself, 137. Gould's
distinction anachronistic, 138. Learning to "know how,"
139-141. Virtue as knowledge of the Good, 142.

II Virtue in the Middle and Late Dialogues 143

True opinion, virtue, and q,pollTJO'LS, 143-144. The kinds
of virtue, 144-148. Virtue as health or harmony, 148-150.
'E1rLO'T~µTJ, q,pollTJO'LS, and «PET~, 150-155. 'Oµolwu,s
OE~ and virtue, 155-156.

m The Disintegration of the Platonic Doctrine of

Virtue and Knowledge 157
1. Aristotle on the "theoretical" and practical life; mo-
tives for moral behaviour, 157-160.
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II. The Stoics on virtue, 160-161. 'Oµolwou and

ro 0µ0Ao-yovµi11ws f~11, 161-163. Virtue and knowledge
in the Stoa, 164.
111. 'Oµolwou and the Epicureans, 165.
1v. Albinus on oµolwcns, 165-167. Knowledge and
virtue in Albinus, 167-168.

IV Plotinus and Virtue 169

Civic and philosophic virtue, 169-170. No return to the
Cave, 170-171. Platonopolis, 171-173. Contemplation
and action, 173. Knowledge and True Opinion, 174. The
divine spark and natural immortality, 175-180. The
return to the Cave and salvation, 180-181. 'Oµolw,ns
and virtue, 181-184. The Gnostics on oµolwu,s and
virtue, 184-185. The meaning of oµolwu,s, 186. The
Symposium, Albinus, Philo, and Plotinus on ecstasy,
187-190. Virtue, knowledge, and love, 190-191.

PART THREE

Origen 195
Polytheism and the cultured elite, 195-196. 'A1ro.8EL0.
in Clement and Origen, 197. God as Being and "beyond
Being," 197-198. Faith, love, and wisdom, 198-200.
The "spiritual" Christian supplements Faith, 200.
Origen's neglect of the Dark Night of the Soul, 201.
0E07rOLEt080.,, 202. Bride-mysticism and Plato, 203-204.
"Epws-'A-y6.1r17 contrast denied by Origen, who sees
the dual nature of "Epws in Platonism; the Symposium
and Philo, 204-207. "Epws, a.-yo.8or71s, and ¢iAo.118pw1rlo.,
207. No evidence for Ammonius as source, 208. Creative
contemplation in Origen and Plotinus, 208-209. Origen
and Plato on subsidiary studies, 209. Though Origen does
not regard his work on "Epws as a new departure, his
emphasis on personality corrects a weakness in Plato, 210.
The significance of Origen's use of "Epws, 210-211.
"EKUTO.ULS in Origen and the Plotinian transcendence of
self, 211-212.

Epilogue 213
The salvation-motif in pagan Neoplatonism, 213. Sub-
ordinationism, 213-214. "Epws in Proclus confuses
Nygren, 214-216. Divinization, 216-218. Faith, theurgy,
and the descent of the soul, 218-220.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 221
INDICES 229