The Commentaries on the Timaeus of Plato — trans. Thomas Taylor

Plato, however, by constituting the mundane eoul from these media, manifests that it is a medium lietwecu the natures that are si-

1 For nvrot here, it is necessary to read «vXm.

* For aAXo ^njr here, it u necessary to read aXX’ cv.

VOL. II.

Tun. Plat.

E

p. 34

PKOCLUS ON Till:

p. 111

tuated on each side of it, lint that it is not the medium lietween every intellectual and corporeal essence. For it is not the medium of partial intellects, and the forms which are distributed in the parts of the universe. It is likewise the peculiarity of the soul of the universe, neither to consist of numbers, nor ot these or those reasons, nor of so many circles. For all these ami other things, are common to every div ine, du-moniaral, and human soul. llut the Juculiuritji of it is, fur the essence of it, to he the medium between the following i rtrentes, xiz.thc out mundane mUlUet , and the whole cf the partible essence which is distributed about bodies. \nd it is the medium ot these, not so far as mt« Meet is gnostic, or vital, nor so tar as nature is the hto ot bodies; for the discourse is not about knowledge, nor about lives ; but so far as these are certain essences, the forim i beiii” an impartible essence, but the latter an essence divisible about bodies. For on this account we also endeavour to assume both bnii^ and generation, the impartible and the partible, according to the hvparxis of the soul, disinissiii" mutations and energies, not seeking to per¬ ceive tin 1 energies of the soul, but the essence of it, which is uuh« gotten and at the same timt generated. 1

p. 1

It is likewise evident, that the essential bound of it, is more unical than all the bounds that are m all other souls, and that the infinite of it is more comprehensive than all the infinites in other souls. I'or neither is every bound equal to every bound; some bounds beinjj more total, but others more partial; nor is every infinity equal to every power. So that neither is every essence equal to every essence, bill one is total, and another partial. I he essential tin relore, of the soul of the universe, is more total than iwiv psychical essence, the hound in it is the most total of all psychical hounds, and its infinity is the most total of all the infinites in souls. For the extremes of these are, the simply impartible essence, and the simply partible about bodies, not about some, but about all bodies. For the soul of tin- sun, is the mi diuiii belvvi-eii a certain impartible esscm e, (and not of the impartible iudcfuiiti ly,) and a certain partible essence, and not every essence which is divisible alumt bodies. 1‘lato, likewise, assuming this in the first place, as the peculiarity of the mundane soul, connects the remaining particulars, as beloniiinjr to tin" discussion of a soul ot this kind, viz. number, harmony, and form. Hence the impartible must not now be said to be every intellectual essence, but only the essence of tin* mundane intellect. And in the soul of the.situ, it must he said to be the essence of the solar intellcc'., and m a similar manner in the soul of tin moon, and in all other souls. For every medium lias peculiar proximate extremes, and will be the medium of these, and not of all extremes every where.

1 Then- is nulliiii" mure in I lie iiii^in.il in tlin place tliaii, «X\« ci^inc iui 7<yl<-y<o'|J , . but it is obviously Itijuisite to oad u X \u uvim* uurr/t uyt i t i/ror >ui VV "f ll> '!*'• noon Hi.]

TIM.EL'S OF PLATO.

.15

1 Then- is nulliiii" mure in I lie iiii^in.il in tlin place tliaii, «X\« ci^inc iui 7<yl<-y<o'|J , . but it is obviously Itijuisite to oad u X \u uvim* uurr/t uyt i t i/ror >ui VV "f ll> '!*'• noon Hi.]

TIM.EL'S OF PLATO.

.15

Tims too, darinons who are more exalted than partial souls, subsist as media between their proper intellects, and the bodies that are eonnaseeiit with them. So that Plato, if he had discussed some one ut other souls, would not have said that tin* essence of it is a medium between the impartible essence, and the essence which ;s divisible about bodies, but between this or that impartible and partible essence belonging to partial natures. Pot articles manifest the transcendent and the total, as Plato elsewhere determines, asserting that when we say the b« autiful, we manifest one thing, but another when we say lieautiful. And the former manifests the exempt, but the latter, some one of the things co-ordinate with others. \nd if you are willing to adopt here what is said by the illustrious Theodoras, intillert e without habitude, the life about bod) subsists in habitude, but the soul is the medium between the two, lieing a certain half-habitude. And according to the groat Iainbliclms, intellect indeed is exempt; the life about body, is co-arran^ed with corporeal masses; and the soul is exempt from, and at the same time co-arranged w ith the corporeal life. livery intellect, therefore, is impartil>le, as having cne essence, one sameness, and one ililfen nee, of which it wholly consi-ts. Put every soul is partible, because earh mixture of the elements in it of which it consists, is divided into many parts, each of which is compounded of all the ni'in rn ; so that there are many essences in each mixture, many same¬ nesses, and many differences, which arc co-divided together with the parts that are in it. What the parts are however, and bow many, he demonstrates to us, bv using media, and sections through sesrpiioctavcs, and leimmas, as will 1 m* manifest as we proceed.