we are not so different when they break you apart I will be here to collect each piece not to soothe your naked heart but to give closure to now-ashen limbs recollecting the time I sang for you and your tears fell like overripe grapes from their twisting, tangled vines I wrote these verses while … Continue reading More Binds than Separates
Tag: platonism
The Phaedo, piety, and public health
While reading some passages about the relationship of the lover of wisdom to the body in Damascius’ commentary on the Phaedo this week, a mesh of associations captured me like a net, and I started thinking about something I first encountered as a teenager — the idea that, if we fall ill, or if something … Continue reading The Phaedo, piety, and public health
Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter 2
That a God is immutable, without Generation, eternal, incorporeal, and has no Subsistence in Place.And such are the requisites for an auditor of the gods. But the necessary discourses proceed as follows: the essences of the gods are neither generated; for eternal natures are without generation; and those beings are eternal who possess a first … Continue reading Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter 2
Some Passages from Damascius’ Philosophical History
At the beginning of the month, I devoured the fragments of Damascius' Philosophical History, an out-of-print translation filled with interesting anecdotes about people in the polytheistic intellectual scene of Late Antiquity. The translator, Polymnia Athanassiadi, identifies many continuities between the world of Damascius and Mediterranean cultures today even while emphasizing the extreme cultural loss and … Continue reading Some Passages from Damascius’ Philosophical History
Prayers to All of the Gods
I have made some updates to the prayers to all of the Gods that I published on my blog earlier this year, including the downloadable PDFs, mobi, and ePub files available on Gumroad. Here are the links, with the estimated time they take to use in ritual. Note that the time does not include any … Continue reading Prayers to All of the Gods
Dionysos, Altered States, and Adaptogens
The goddess of the harvest has graciously bestowed two gifts upon us, (a) the fruit which pleases Dionysus so much, but which won’t keep, and (b) the produce which nature has made fit to store.”Plato, Laws, trans. Saunders, 844d A year or two ago, I started seeing something on my social media feed about something … Continue reading Dionysos, Altered States, and Adaptogens
A Cool Theological Moment in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes
There is a moment in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes that I didn't notice before, but once I did, it filled me with excitement, so I want to share it as an example of something theological in the hopes that the inspired words of the poets excite your minds, too. [Hermes] chose a stout branch … Continue reading A Cool Theological Moment in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes
Some Thoughts on the Fifth Delphic Maxim and a Passage from Plato’s LAWS
ἡττῶ ὑπὸ δικαίουbe overcome by justice / yield to JusticeFifth Delphic Maxim Over the past month, I have been thinking about justice and people outside of the state because I'm co-reading Plato's Laws with someone. A few weeks ago, we read a section in Book V where the Athenian Stranger is discussing appropriate conduct towards … Continue reading Some Thoughts on the Fifth Delphic Maxim and a Passage from Plato’s LAWS
Recommended read — “Message in a Bottle” from barefootwisdom
This was a very beautiful piece written in honor of Proclus' death day by barefootwisdom. I think readers of my blog will be interested in taking a look at it. Today, we remember Proclus, who died in Athens on this date, in 485 CE. It’s quite possible, by mistranslating a few words here, a few … Continue reading Recommended read — “Message in a Bottle” from barefootwisdom
