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

Those that are comprehended in these circulations, are vice versa, partial universal. And in the last place, partial souls have alone a partial subsistence. Plato therefore calls all the divine souls that are comprehended in their wholenesses

1 i. c. Through 1 lie twelve Gods that belong to tiic liberated order, and which arc divided into four triads. Of tlie-r triad' alio the first, winch consists of Jupiter, N« plinic, and Vulcan, is demiurgic or fahric.itirr ; iln- veroiul, rtniMMing of VcMn, Minerva, and Mars, is of a guardiau characteristic; the third, which is composed of Ceres,Juno,and Diana, is vivilic ; and the fourth, which consist* of Mer¬ cury, Y< nus, and Vpolio, is of an harmonic and elevating characteristic.

* And these arc the satellite* of the stars.

p. 390

rnocLUs on the

[book v.

start , whether in heaven, or in the sublunary region, giving to all of them a com¬ mon name, from things known to all me n. For all of them have entirely certain starr)-formed vehicles; since Socrates also assimilates partial souls leaping into generation, to the stars, according to their vehicles. For he says, that some of them were disseminated by the Deiniurgus about the earth, and the moon; as it would lie absurd, if partial souls were alone distributed about what are properly called the stars, but the other (iods should not be leaders of the herds of souls, which exist in each clement analogous to them; v iz. the aerial, aquatic, and terres¬ trial (iods, concerning whom he says, that tin y become \isible when they please.' Hut as we hate said, he gives to them a common name from things obvious to all men, and in consequence of not neglecting to survey that which is sensible.*

//

“ Anil causing them to ascend as into a vehicle, lie pointed out to them the nature of the universe,”

Such then fore as say, as the great r l heodorus, that the vehiele of the soul is the nature of the universe, neither speak conforinahlv to things themselves, nor to the words of 1*1 ito. for neither is the nature of the uuiver.se tin* vehiele of a partial sold ; lor it is sullieieut to sueh a soul to eomlm t a partial nature rightly ; lior can we co-arraiige with what follows, the expression, he JhhiiUiI out. Aim* will they sp, A conformably to the nature of tin- thing, who look, not to the fol¬ lowing, Imt to the forint i colon, and say that by the vehicle, a star is signified. For where is the vt bit le of a partial soul, whit li fills into generation, said to Ik* n star, i v< n though you should spi ah n| the « orpon d star, since a star always ahull s ou high ? Hut it seems that both these w< rt persuadi d to adopt this opinion, from tin Deiniurgus not first constituting the vehicle, and afterwards causing the sou! to asc 4 ml into it, though they ought to have s*-< n, that m consequent e of the veliii le hi mg form* d at the same time with the soul, it would !><* superfluous to represent tin Dt niiurgus eon-tituliug the body first. To which may he added, that it has been hi fore slmwn, that flit* I)« miurgus produced bodies in conjoin turn with souls. If therefore, it he requisite both to follow tilings themselves, and the doctrine of IMato, it must he said, that the nature which is pointed out by the Deiniurgus is one thing; the star under which the soul is arranged anutlier, and this incorporeal ; and this vehicle wInch is subservient to souls, another, it is iiook r.]

* lit tier it follow s I tut in each uf tlie s ]» 1 111 s of (lit- elements, tficrr n imr le^nling (mil liavin^; a (tarr^-fuinu ll *eliule, ami numerous s.iti llite> uliout lliij diviuiq, m iliv same in inner as in (lie q>Lerea of the ]>1 aneIs, uml the qilirn* of tlie find stars.

1 For iffOi /rty licrr, it u necenvary to nail uioOfrer.

TIM/l-lS OF PLATO.

p. 391

iiook r.]

1 For iffOi /rty licrr, it u necenvary to nail uioOfrer.

TIM/l-lS OF PLATO.

p. 391

aKo requisite to sav, that souls ascending into their vehicles, taeame citizens ofthe universe, proceeded into, and were arranged in subjection to the whole world ; that souls likewise were divided together with the stars; and that they surveyed Nature and the whole mundane order, being themselves arranged above the nature of the world, but receiving their own proper mundane allotment. For in the first place, they were constituted ; afterwards, they were distributed about the divine go¬ vernments; and thus, in the third place, they ascended into vehicles, surveyed Nature, and were auditors ofthe laws of Fate; from all which, it is easy to per¬ ceive, that according to Plato, souls are superior to Fate, according to their high¬ est lit**. I*or that which the father ot wholes gave to them, is according to nature. Hence, as the [Chaldean] Oracle says, “ By understanding the works of the fa¬ ther, they fly from the shameless ' wing of Fate. Ibit they be in Cod, drawing vi¬ gorous torches, descending from the father; from which descending, the soul plucks of empyrean fruits, the soul-nourishing dower.”

M hat tl lerefore is the vehicle ot the soul, and how dot's the Demiurgns cause souls to ascend into it ? It is requisite then to understand, that the great Ianiblielms and his followers, are accustomed to say, that front all ether, which has a prolific power, the composition of the psychical vehicles is generated, divine bodies neither being diminished, nor constituting those vehicles by co-acervation, but proceeding according to divine lives, and giving morphe to partial pneumatic substances. It i> necessary, however, to conceive in addition to this, vvliat is more true, that the i-lahoratiou of these vehicles proceeds from demiurgic causes. For the maker * of every corporeal hypostasis constitutes these, who also pre¬ pares seats for thi' Gods in the world. For ho receives souls that are sent from the intelligible into the world, and gives different abodes to different souls. The Demiurgns of the universe likewise, constitutes them, and lie the first of all. II* 'nee also, he now causes them to ascend into vehicles, evidently producing the vehicle. For this was not fashioned in what lias been before said, hut the Dciniurgus himself, having constituted this together with wholes, causes souls to ascend into it, and imparts to them the principle of their proper organs. For In; is the Demiiirgus of animals, and of tin* plenitudes of tin* universe. Hence, lie not only produces souls, hut he produces them together with appropriate vehicles. And on a survey of the conception of Plato, we shall find that it is truly admira¬ ble ami arcane,* since lie does not represent the Demiurgns as fashioning these vehicles from wholenesses which previously had an existence, as neither does he

* For ni<t« lirrc, read arm Ft*.