Abstract This note offers a critical appraisal of Jeremy Swist's Julian Augustus: Platonism, Myth, and the Refounding of Rome (Oxford University Press, 2025), a significant contribution to the study of the emperor Julian within late-antique imperial ideology. The discussion engages with Swist's central arguments: his reconstruction of Julian's Iamblichean foundations of kingship, his vision of Rome as the providential culmination of Hellenic civilisation, and his self-fashioning as an Augustan imperial refounder. While largely endorsing Swist's integrative approach and his interpretation of the Caesars as a theurgic allegory, the analysis challenges his tendency to reduce Julian's Neoplatonism to its ritual-theurgical dimension, arguing that Julian's theological writings reveal a substantive philosophical engagement with Iamblichean metaphysics. Additionally, the article calls for greater attention to Julian's complex dialectical relationship with contemporary Christianity, which shaped his thought through both polemical opposition and subtle conceptual absorption.
Riassunto Sebbene la metafisica occupi un ruolo centrale nel pensiero di Plotino, qualsiasi ricostruzione autentica della sua filosofia risulterebbe grossolanamente riduttiva se si concentrasse esclusivamente sulla dottrina del Primo Principio. Non si può infatti trascurare lo stretto legame tra la metafisica di Plotino e le sue riflessioni sull’essere umano. L’analisi di Enn . VI 8 [39] – uno dei trattati di maggior densità speculativa – risulta dunque particolarmente interessante, non solo perché in esso prende forma la relazione intrinseca tra metafisica e antropologia, ma anche perché vi viene posta una questione fondamentale: la ragione dell’esistenza del Primo Principio, ovvero «perché l’Uno è ed è ciò che è».
Resumen En el transcurso de su discurso en el Libro II de La República (362d–367a), Adimanto atribuye a toda la tradición griega, sin excepción, una concepción instrumental del valor de la justicia—de naturaleza tanto reputacional como personal—que, según él, conlleva la misma implicación (la «implicación inmoralista») que los argumentos expuestos anteriormente por Glaucón. A esta postura la denomino «tesis protohistórica». Tras argumentar que dicha tesis debe entenderse en sentido literal, sostengo que esta pasa por alto dos defensas instrumentales de la justicia cuyas raíces se encuentran en Los trabajos y los días de Hesíodo y en el «gran discurso» de Protágoras, dentro del diálogo platónico homónimo. Asimismo, argumento que Platón reconoció los obstáculos que estas dos defensas alternativas de la justicia planteaban a la tesis protohistórica, y que se consideró justificado al omitirlas por estimar que también ellas conllevaban la implicación inmoralista.
Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel beleuchtet die Altersauffassung im Epikureismus und stellt hierfür erstmals die relevanten Textpassagen in Original und Übersetzung zusammen. Ausgehend von den Schriften des Schulgründers Epikur behandelt die Untersuchung die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema bei Philodem, Lukrez und Diogenes von Oinoanda, und geht auch auf die Frage ein, ob in Ciceros maßgeblicher Schrift zum Thema, Cato maior De senectute , Spuren epikureischen Gedankenguts zu finden sind, was bisher nicht in Betracht gezogen wurde. Im Rahmen der schultypischen „faithful innovation“ (F. Verde) werden im Laufe der Jahrhunderte von Epikureern bemerkenswerte Interpretationen besonderer Aspekte geboten, die mit den generellen Vorgaben des Meisters in Einklang stehen. Diese werden hier präsentiert und kommentiert.
Résumé Cet article examine l’usage de la prosopopée chez Plotin dans les Ennéades , où le philosophe prête la parole au monde, à la nature et au temps afin de défendre la beauté du cosmos, notamment face aux critiques gnostiques. Il soutient que ces figures ne remplissent pas une simple fonction rhétorique, mais articulent un cadre épistémologique et cosmologique cohérent. Après avoir montré que la prosopopée du monde sensible joue un rôle essentiellement illustratif, l’article propose une analyse comparative des prosopopées de la nature et du temps, qui relèvent toutes deux de l’ordre des principes suprasensibles. La thèse centrale est que la prosopopée permet à Plotin à la fois de signaler leur position subordonnée au sein de l’âme et de souligner leur puissance génératrice. Une analyse lexicale des termes « chute » et « silence » montre comment les discours de la nature et du temps invitent à une contemplation silencieuse, guidant le lecteur vers une compréhension intérieure de la véritable nature de la causalité divine.
Abstract Prompted by the publication of a new bilingual edition (with notes) of the first and second declamations in the Corpus Libanianum , this note presents some thoughts on these texts. While acknowledging the general usefulness of the new edition, it points out some shortcomings regarding the historical context of the first declamation and the authenticity of the second.
Abstract In the ps.-Aristotelian treatise Περὶ κόσμου, the notion of divine nature raises significant philosophical questions in the field of physical and metaphysical theology. This article examines the phrase θεία φύσις to clarify certain aspects of the concept of god. Specific issues related to the doctrines of the aether and the unmoved mover will be considered. By foregrounding the consistency of the argument in the treatise, this article also challenges the traditional thematic division of the Περὶ κόσμου, which limits theological content to the latter half of the text.
Riassunto Il presente contributo mira a mettere in luce la natura divina degli artefatti nel sistema di Proclo, in particolare nel suo commento al Cratilo . Sebbene non esistano Idee degli artefatti in quanto tali, essi possiedono una δύναμις derivante dagli ordini divini, che li rende utilizzabili nei rituali teurgici. Il saggio è così articolato: (1) Panoramica sullo status quaestionis e sugli obiettivi del saggio. (2) Esposizione del dibattito sullo statuto degli artefatti nell'antica Accademia. (3) Breve trattazione del tema dello statuto delle arti tecniche in Siriano. (4) Analisi dei concetti di δύναμις e σειρά nel sistema di Proclo, mostrando come essi descrivano connessioni tra piani di realtà che trascendono la partecipazione alle Idee. (5) Esame dell'applicazione dei risultati della discussione precedente alla questione degli artefatti nel commento di Proclo al Cratilo . (6) Conclusioni.
Abstract This article deals with the interpretation of Book V of the Nicomachean Ethics in three commentaries in Greek: the Anonymous commentary (2nd century BC), the commentary by Michael of Ephesus (11th–12th century AD), which is a reworking of the previous one, and the commentary by Georgios Pachymeres (1261–1341). The three commentators present a general interpretation of the book very different from the contemporary one. In fact, they consider particular justice to be the main subject of Aristotle’s discussion and they reduce to it the majority of the other forms of justice described by Aristotle. They also minimise the importance of general justice, because they consider it to be conditioned by the constitution—good or bad—of the city. In this way they propose a unitary and coherent reading of the book as far as possible.
Abstract This article explains Aristotle’s view of conflicting appearances of the same objects in perception. Examining his responses to the Protagoreans who take all such appearances as true, the article argues that Aristotle treats this epistemological position as fundamentally metaphysical. He distinguishes two versions of Protagoreanism, each connected to a distinct metaphysical thesis: a realist thesis urging simultaneous ascription of contrary perception-independent qualities to objects, and an anti-realist thesis making perceptible qualities’ existence dependent on perception. Against both positions, Aristotle develops a restrictive realist response that preserves the perception-independent existence of qualities while denying that all appearing qualities actually belong to objects—thereby indicating the previously underappreciated scope of his realism. Rather than revising our conception of the world’s uniform structure, Aristotle suggests that we should treat conflicting appearances as perceptual deceptions arising from deviations in perceivers’ conditions such as illness, distance, or weakness.
Abstract This article reexamines Plato’s critique of writing in the Phaedrus , arguing that it considers writing from three distinct angles: reading (reception), the written text (medium), and writing (emission). Initially, I explore how ancient Greek παιδεραστία influenced the conceptualisation of written communication, portraying the writer as a lover who subdues the reader, as if he were a passive beloved. Next, I address the text as a medium of expression, noting that its structural defects (e.g., fixedness and helplessness) are also present in some forms of oral communication, such as myth-telling and epideictic oratory. In this sense, my analysis demonstrates that the distinction between oral and written communication is a matter of degree rather than kind. Finally, I describe how the Phaedrus acknowledges that a writer can be a philosopher, provided that they can defend their written arguments and show that actual knowledge resides within their soul.
Résumé L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser le débat complexe qui traverse le Cynisme à l’époque impériale concernant son identité philosophique, et plus précisément le rôle respectif d’Antisthène et de Diogène. Trois ensembles de sources illustrent des positions divergentes. La première est représentée par Œnomaos de Gadara, qui affirme que le Cynisme n’est ni un « antisthénisme » ni un « diogénisme » (Iulien, Or. 9, 8, 187 C). L’article soutient que cette prise de position propose une interprétation originale et novatrice du Cynisme, conçu comme une synthèse dynamique des traditions antisthénienne et diogénienne. À l’inverse, les épîtres de Cratès (en particulier les lettres 16 et 19) présentent le Cynisme avant tout comme un mode de vie, centré sur l’exemplarité de Diogène. Enfin, le livre VI de Diogène Laërce suggère une conception du Cynisme comme école philosophique structurée, enracinée dans la figure d’Antisthène et jouant un rôle de précurseur du Stoïcisme. À l’époque impériale, alors que les écoles philosophiques s’efforcent de redéfinir leurs origines, le Cynisme engage lui aussi une profonde réflexion sur ses fondements historiques et théoriques.
