Reading one of Proclus' hymns and relating it to passages in the Platonic Theology was my very unexpected (unofficial) winter break hobby.
Death and What’s Best
A post from Sententiae Antiquae caught my eye a few days ago due to Apollon, and eerily, I kept thinking about it while reading the Platonic Theology due to several passages. Plutarch, Consolatio ad Apollonium 108-109: “Pindar says of Agamedes and Trophonius that they built a temple of Apollo and asked the god for a reward. He … Continue reading Death and What’s Best
Think, Pray, Swim.
For many months now, when I pray to Athene in the morning, I ask her to extend her goodness down here to stave of the worst of suffering, illness, death, and calamity — on my mind is everything from human-caused climate change to political unrest to social inequality and injustice, not just in my country, … Continue reading Think, Pray, Swim.
Brief Thoughts after Reading Book VI of the Platonic Theology
Tonight, I finished reading the part of the Platonic Theology in the six books from Proclus; I'm about to commence with the remainder of the Prometheus Trust volume, which contains a seventh book by Thomas Taylor. (I've already read all of the endnotes, so I'm about 3/4 of the way through it.) I've been pushing … Continue reading Brief Thoughts after Reading Book VI of the Platonic Theology
Less Is Now (Review)
On January 1, the documentary Less Is Now was released onto Netflix by the Minimalists, two people in minimalism who have built their public identities around minimalism and giving advice about living with less. It is a follow-up to the 2015 documentary Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. The documentary is just under an … Continue reading Less Is Now (Review)
Three Things to Begin 2021
At 12:00 AM on Friday, January 1, 2021, my neighborhood erupted into a loud exorcism of 2020 — a rough, hated year — and a welcome of 2021 — the year that many have placed our hopes and aspirations into — while I was in bed trying to stay awake reading Proclus' Platonic Theology. First … Continue reading Three Things to Begin 2021
Who Is the Poet?
Here are two different translations of the final bit of Proclus' Essay 5 (K69.10-19), on the Republic. What I find interesting in the translation choices — not knowing Ancient Greek — is the word choice between sin and failing. It's also interesting how the first translation separates out the hymns for the Gods from those … Continue reading Who Is the Poet?
From Plato, There Is No Escape
Socrates did, in fact, cancel Homer first. Except not. It's complicated.
Wrapping Up 2020, Welcoming 2021
In 2020, this blog had 10,400 views and 3,636 visitors (some repeat visitors, some new, some click-and-leaves). The majority of readers reached the blog through search engines (Google, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, Bing), WordPress Reader, or Twitter, with other social media venues trailing a bit farther behind. The most viewed item overall was the homepage. Some reading … Continue reading Wrapping Up 2020, Welcoming 2021
