A Beginner’s Success: The Impact of Plotinus’s First Treatise among Christians

The first treatise written by Plotinus, On Beauty (Enn. 1.6), was admired among those Christian authors who were open to the influence of Platonic philosophy, in particular the Cappadocian Fathers. This could be due to a possible publication of the treatise before Porphyry's editorial work for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the history of ideas 2022, Vol.83 (1), p.1-16
Main Author: Iozzia, Daniele
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
Asceticism
Authorship
Beauty
Christianity
Christians
Eschatology
Exegesis & hermeneutics
Fathers
Literary influences
Metaphor
Narrative techniques
Philology
Philosophers
Philosophy
Physicians
Plotinus (205-270)
Reported speech
Students
Teachers
Theology
Writers
Writing
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The first treatise written by Plotinus, On Beauty (Enn. 1.6), was admired among those Christian authors who were open to the influence of Platonic philosophy, in particular the Cappadocian Fathers. This could be due to a possible publication of the treatise before Porphyry's editorial work for the Enneads. The presence of concepts of the treatise in their works is a sign of their interest in its rhetorical qualities and, at a deeper level, in the theoretical support that Plotinus's thought could give to theological reflection. A possible reference to Plotinus's treatise in Augustine, Conf. 10.6.8 is also discussed.
ISSN:0022-5037
1086-3222
1086-3222
DOI:10.1353/jhi.2022.0000