Σῶμα Σῆμα

Anand Mangal – December 5, 2022

“Plotinus, the philosopher of our times, seemed ashamed of being in the body.” With
these words, Porphyry begins his ambitious biography, intending to establish his master’s
renown across all the lands. This idea of the body as a vessel of shame is conspicuously absent
in Plotinus’ own writings – Porphyry’s primary intention is closer to that of a publicist than a
scribe – but elements of Plotinus’ conception of the body are still present in the biography. In
fact, Porphyry’s description seems more fitting for the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans,
where the apostle discusses the sinful nature of the flesh, but in like manner to Plotinus,
concludes by rejecting this wholly negative view.
Porphyry may think that Plotinus views his body with shame, but the philosopher’s own
words paint a slightly different picture. Refusing to pose for a portrait, Plotinus scorns the idea
that his body is “something genuinely worth looking at” (1.8). To Porphyry, this refusal is a
result of Plotinus’ shame; but the words are dismissive, not demeaning. This kind of dismissal is
perfectly in line with a man who continually ignores his ailing health (2.2), who “never relaxed
his intent concentration upon the intellect” (8.19), and who never even speaks about his
parents or native land (1.1).
To Plotinus, disinterest in the body reveals a level of philosophical enlightenment.
Porphyry tells of Rogatianus, a senator who earns Plotinus’ great esteem by renouncing his
position, slaves, possessions, and physical desires; the man does not keep a house and only eats
every other day. “As a result of this renunciation and indifference to the needs of life,”
Porphyry recounts, Rogatianus recovered from a debilitating infirmity that had left him
immobile and partially paralyzed (7.40). Plotinus “regarded him with great favor and praised
him highly, and frequently held him up as an example to all who studied philosophy” (7.45).
Plotinus holds Rogatianus up as the pinnacle of philosophical life; his apathy towards his body
had resulted in a miraculous recovery, and perhaps Plotinus believes that such a detached
mindset will cause his own ailments to disappear soon enough.
Despite this disinterest, Plotinus does not scorn the body. According to Porphyry,
Plotinus “often raised himself in thought according to the ways Plato teaches in the Banquet”
(23.8). A serious student of Plato like Plotinus would be very familiar with the conception of the
body as a kind of guide: the philosopher, in his ascent to appreciating Beauty, is to begin by
admiring the beauty of one body, then of multiple bodies, and so on to contemplation of the
higher forms (Symposium, 211c). This passage of Plato cannot be said to view bodies as
shameful; there is no debate that bodies possess some measure of beauty, but one’s
meditations ought not remain at a physical level. Indeed, a philosopher unable to appreciate
the beauty of a physical body would be unable even to begin his ascent.
Perhaps Porphyry’s view of the body can find some support in the work of the apostle
Paul, who also comments on the body in his presentation of the Gospel. He writes, “Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their
own bodies between themselves” (Romans 1:24). Paul communicates the Biblical view that
although God created men with perfect bodies, man’s continued disobedience has enslaved
him to a life of sin. Freedom is found in the sacrifice of Christ, “that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Rom.
6:6). This body of sin undergoes a death, like the death of Christ, but Paul warns that the
Σῶμα Σῆμα
Anand Mangal – December 5, 2022

believer must still contend with a propensity towards sin. In Romans 7, Paul associates “sin that
dwelleth in me” (Rom. 7:17) with the flesh (ἡ σάρξ), which serves the “law of sin” (Rom. 7:25).
So far Paul has only had negative things to say about the body, seemingly lending
credence to, and even amplifying, Porphyry’s idea of shame. Paul desperately cries, “O
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24)
However, hope is not far off; Paul finds that he has been set free by “the law of the Spirit of life
in Jesus Christ,” which allows him to “walk not after the flesh” (Rom. 7:2,4). The body is not a
misfortune of which one must be ashamed, but rather an old slave master that one must refuse
to obey. Paul reminds the Romans that God, who “raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom. 8:11). Ultimately, Paul
believes in the possibility of mobilizing the body to actually serve God, charging his brethren,
“that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom. 12:1).
Ultimately, though Paul and Plotinus differ widely on humanity’s relationship to God, the two
men are allied against a kind of dualism, which flatly associates the body with everything evil
and base while associating the spirit with goodness and wisdom. This dualism lurks, perhaps
unintentionally, in Porphyry’s opening statements about the body being worthy of shame, and
reveals why the student’s attempt to characterize his master ultimately misses the mark.