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

Its recuireney however, to the intelligible its* It, requires a jieriod of three thousand years. For through this, the highest winged condition is dice ted.

“ 15ut that lie whose conduct was depraved, should in the second gene¬ ration, be changed into the nature ot .1 woman.

We have liefure observed, that Plato docs not call the semination of souls the first generation, but the one descent from the intelligible, common to all partial souls. lie calls therefore, the second descent, the second generation, and makes the second descent to he, into the nature of a woman; just as the third is into the brutal nature, indicating by this, the well-ordered diminution of life. Thus also in the Pliadrus, lie denoniiuati s all the lives successively after the first generation, conformably to the second lives.

“That both these, at the expiration of a thousand y ears, should return to the allotment and choice 1 of a second life ; each soul receiving a life conformable to its choice. And that in this election, the human soul should pass into the lilt* ot a brute.

Plato here exhibits another order of life, and leads the soul from a more pow¬ erful to a more imbecile nature, and from an intellectual life, to one deprived of intellect. For why is it necessary that the soul should not descend from the first generation into the nature of a woman ? For it the female genus subsisted through an aberration from the male, it would l»e necessary that souls recently perfected, should begin from that which is according to nature [i. e. should liegin from the male only]; since that which is preti rnatural is every where posterior and adven¬ titious. But since the female nature is also in thetiods, what should prevent souls, in this respect imitating their proper leaders, from not only choosing lives adapted to them, 1 hut also the nature of animals allied to them ? It is not how¬ ever wonderful, that alternations should tube place, as we betore observed, l or that the male and the female not only subsist 111 mortal natures, but also in the

* For aiOik litre, reatl ay>eoiv.

* Instead of avrrjt here, it is necessary to read avro<«.

IUJOK V J

TJM/T-US OF PLATO.

p. 113

* Instead of avrrjt here, it is necessary to read avro<«.

IUJOK V J

TJM/T-US OF PLATO.

p. 113

impartible lives themselves of souls, may Ik* interred bv n—ain recollecting what was before asscited, \i/. that these sexual diflerenres arc Iioth in the natures j»tu<r, and posti nor to pailial souls. It is not proper however, to he incredulous, if in total souls, the vehicles are connasrrntly conjoined to them, hut in partial souls, they are sometimes conjoined, and sometimes not. For in the former the colligation is essential, hut in the latter, is the oiled of deliberatechoice. Hence in the former, the di\ision of the vehicle's is annexed to the ess< nee of the souls, hut in the latter, to the dilleri nces of their choice. And this mav lie inferred from what is asserted in the Hampict, in the table of Aristophanes. I or there, as we have hetore observed, the diiisifius of souls according to these \chicles, and the alternations of choice in these, about the mortal 'life, are clearly delivered. If therefore, you understand in what is said, that the nature of woman is immediately implied, I should thus interpret the words. Hut if every form of life, which is imhecile, elleminato, and verging to generation, is symbolically signified through woman, as sonic prior to us, and these no casual persons, have thought, the words will not at all require such a solution as the above. Hut you m iv adopt either of these explications; though at the same time, it must he observed, that Plato stu¬ diously conceals many things through symbols. Whichever of these solutions tlir refore is arlopted, it is evident that the soul in its first descent, is not implanted in the female nature.

From this also, I assume that according to Tuna us, the soul, man, and in short tin* universe, are imhcgntlt n. For if the soul was generated, and <h scended at a certain time into the first generation, it would impart the life of a mm. lint this man bring entirely generated, would be venerated from a female; and tins female would have a soul, which is either the first that has desreiided ; and if this ho the rasp, the assertion of Tima ns is false, who leads the soul in its brst descent into the male; or it is not the first, and prior to this female, it is neces¬ sary that the soul of a male should have generated the soul which is in it. Jjut again this male must have hern Generated a male from a female; or if this is not admitted, its existence must he from chance. If hmvcvi r this lie the ease, it will bein vain, a female not existing, from which and in which, the male mav rate. "i his female likewise, in the same manner as the male, must either he from chance, and have a soul which is the first that descended, and was -ourrated with it; or must he generated from the male. Hut this is impossible. Hence, neither of these was once generated, nor does the soul, and much less does the universe, pertain to generated natures.

Hut this is impossible. Hence, neither of these was once generated, nor does the soul, and much less does the universe, pertain to generated natures.

Instead of ptp^rra ^i ivatt in this place, il is necessary to read apfpirrau £wau,

p. 414

PROCLL'S ON TilK

[book r.

“ And that in case vice sliouhl not even then cease in these, but should remain according to a similitude of the mode of gene.ation, then the soul should always be changed into a brutal nature correspondent to its disposition.”

It i> usual to investigate what the deseent of souls into irrational animals, must be said to he. And some indeed think, that what are call, d brutal lives, are assimilations of men to brutes, for it is not possible that a rational essence should become the soul of a brute. Hut others admit, that if may be immediately introduced into irrational animals, for they say that all souls are of a similar form, so that they may become wolves and leopards, and the marine fishes called pnannnms. The true aiisw. r however to the impiirv is this, that the human sou! may enti r into brutes, but so as to pi issess its proper I ill, t ic nisei ted soul 11 < ng as it Were on, and being bound by sympathy, to the brutal natuic. And this Hide* d, is d< monstrated la ns through many arguuit nts, in our Coinineiitai is on the Plnrdrus; in which we have also snown that tliis is the only mode of inser¬ tion. If therefore it be requisite to remind the reader that this doctrine is Platonic, it may also be observed that in the Republic, the soul of'Thersites is said to have been invi-ti d with tl w nature, and not the body, of an ape; and in the Plradrus, the soul is s od to descend into a brutal life, but not into a brutal body. Por the life is in conjunction with the proper soul. And hi re, 1 imams says, that the soul is changed into a brutal nature. For the brutal nature is not the brutal body, but the life of the brute. And this, as we have said, may be assumed from our Commentaries on the Pha-drus. Hut that it is impossible for a recently perfected soul to become the soul of a brute, we may recollect from this, that brutality is something beyord all human vice, as Aristotle also says. lienee, it is necessary first to have i.iuuan vice, and thus afterwards the vice adapted to brutes. For it is not possible from the most contrary forms of life to have their perfect contraries, lienee Tima us says, “ And in case vice should not even then cease in these," by then signifying in the descent into women ; according to which mode of descent, becoming depraved, they are changed into a brutal nature of this kind. For from the first and more intellectual' forms of hie, the more irrational are produced through diminution ; from the hums that are more remote from habitude, those that subsist >n habitude; and the more imbecile, from the more robust. Since however, vice is multiform, the brutal nature may be survey-