Iamblichus on the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians

Rating:
Summary: One of the most important surviving ancient Pagan texts!
Review: "On the Mysteries" by Iamblichus is one of the, if not THE most important surviving ancient Pagan text from the late Classical world. Iamblichus was considered to be one of the great Neoplatonist philosophers and Theurgists. His works continued to inspire debate for centuries after his death, and was lauded by philosophers and condemned by the Church in the Middle Ages. In this work Iamblichus gives not only a complete Canon of pagan religious thought and belief... he explains the "whys" behind it all. He works to provide the sense and logic behind ancient spiritual beliefs and practices. The Emperor Julian, the last Pagan Emperor of Rome (360 AD) considered Iamblichus to be divinely inspired. The Emperor Julian studied this work for years and used it as the basis for his own writings, which are also available from Amazon.com. Anyone researching the subjects of ancient paganism, philosophy or theurgy will find this book to be an invaluable addition to their library. The translator of this ancient work, Thomas Taylor, does an excellent job of providing footnotes and commentary which makes the text even more accessible. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: In fear and love to unify the name...
Review: "On the Mysteries" by Iamblichus is one of the, if not THE most important surviving ancient Pagan text from the late Classical world. Iamblichus was considered to be one of the great Neoplatonist philosophers and Theurgists. His works continued to inspire debate for centuries after his death, and was lauded by philosophers and condemned by the Church in the Middle Ages. In this work Iamblichus gives not only a complete Canon of pagan religious thought and belief... he explains the "whys" behind it all. He works to provide the sense and logic behind ancient spiritual beliefs and practices. The Emperor Julian, the last Pagan Emperor of Rome (360 AD) considered Iamblichus to be divinely inspired. The Emperor Julian studied this work for years and used it as the basis for his own writings, which are also available from Amazon.com. Anyone researching the subjects of ancient paganism, philosophy or theurgy will find this book to be an invaluable addition to their library. The translator of this ancient work, Thomas Taylor, does an excellent job of providing footnotes and commentary which makes the text even more accessible. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: YOU HAVE MAIL!
Review: As usual, Taylor's highly sympathetic inveighing adds a considerable amount of charm to a classic pagan text. And if you want familiarity with high paganism, this book should be on your list.

The crucial issue explored here is THEURGY: as Taylor remarks, it appears to be an element of religion which has become lost to us moderns. Theurgists presumably were able, through long years of training, to invoke deities. One is reminded of "the communion of saints" notion in the Apostles' Creed.

A very humorous technique employed by Iamblichus is to set up the text as a dialogue-by-mail from the Greek mystic Prophyry to the Egyptian priest Anebo; the Greek's assertions and questions are followed by the Egyptian's replies. And as the Egyptians considered themselves far superior to the Greeks in matters philosophical, it comes as no surprise at all that the Egyptian corrects the Greek on every occasion!

"It must be granted that there are gods" Porphyry opens.

"Not so", counters the Egyptian. "An innate knowledge of the Gods is built into the very fabric of our very being, and so to frame the question thus, as though it could be disputed, is in error." (This of course is a throwback to "The Divine Pymander" in which it is asserted that 'whatever can be seen, has a creator'.)

My advice - You should probably get a copy of Manly P. Hall's taped lecture on this text from the Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, CA, if you really want to appreciate this mind-expanding work.

Rating:
Summary: YOU HAVE MAIL!
Review: As usual, Taylor's highly sympathetic inveighing adds a considerable amount of charm to a classic pagan text. And if you want familiarity with high paganism, this book should be on your list.

The crucial issue explored here is THEURGY: as Taylor remarks, it appears to be an element of religion which has become lost to us moderns. Theurgists presumably were able, through long years of training, to invoke deities. One is reminded of "the communion of saints" notion in the Apostles' Creed.

A very humorous technique employed by Iamblichus is to set up the text as a dialogue-by-mail from the Greek mystic Prophyry to the Egyptian priest Anebo; the Greek's assertions and questions are followed by the Egyptian's replies. And as the Egyptians considered themselves far superior to the Greeks in matters philosophical, it comes as no surprise at all that the Egyptian corrects the Greek on every occasion!

"It must be granted that there are gods" Porphyry opens.

"Not so", counters the Egyptian. "An innate knowledge of the Gods is built into the very fabric of our very being, and so to frame the question thus, as though it could be disputed, is in error." (This of course is a throwback to "The Divine Pymander" in which it is asserted that 'whatever can be seen, has a creator'.)

My advice - You should probably get a copy of Manly P. Hall's taped lecture on this text from the Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, CA, if you really want to appreciate this mind-expanding work.

Rating:
Summary: In fear and love to unify the name...
Review: In this work are collected the neoplatonist Porphyry's "Letter to Anebo" (in which he voices modern-sounding criticisms of religious ritual) and his student Iamblichus' answer to these criticism (which takes the form of an elaborate rationale and defense for these sacramental practices as legitimate *philosophical* means of establishing union with the divine). This work is of interest because 1) it articulates an authentic philosophical understanding of the role of ritual as it is is related to the neoplatonic goal of re-unification with the divine oneness 2) certain of its important arguments remain relevant to contemporary discussion in the philosophy of religion, 3) and it holds historical interest in that it was influential on all subsequent neoplatonism.

Particularly interesting (and most enduringly relevant) is Iamblichus' argument for the impropriety of Porphyry's admission of the existence of the gods (though Iamblichus of course holds that gods are real). The problem with Porphyry's concession is that it treats gods as ontic beings either having or lacking existence like other beings, rather than what neoplatonists held them to be, the ontological source of being holding all being in existence through its own. Of ontological being, Iamblichus argues, we are comprehended in it, and cannot therefore ascribe or refute its existence; we are in it and are all that we are through it, and cannot speak of it at all unless granted some vantage point as a gift from the beyond (hence the rituals Iamblichus prescribes as the divine self-revelation given to humans for establishing that vantage point). A rather sophisticated and modern-sounding argument (and one quite natural to the ideas under consideration) for how empirical-sounding proofs and disproofs for the existence of the divine are misguided about what it means for a god to be a god, and for how the ritual practices prescribed in religions are integral to their philosophical significance rather than negotiable packaging, of perhaps inestimable value to contemporary theistic apologetic.