Alcinous Quotes
Alcinous was a Greek philosopher of the second century AD and the author of the Handbook of Platonism, the principal surviving systematic introduction to Middle Platonist doctrine. The work presents Platonic philosophy as a unified body of teaching, organized into logic, physics, and ethics, and incorporates Aristotelian, Stoic, and Pythagorean elements within a recognizably Platonic framework. The quotes below are attributed to Alcinous, organized by topic.
Browse Alcinous by topic
Alcinous on God
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Attributed to Alcinous:
“The end of human life is assimilation to God so far as is possible.”
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Attributed to Alcinous:
“God is the intellect that thinks the Forms.”
Alcinous on Knowledge
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“De numero uatum si quis seponat Homerum, proximus a primo tunc Maro primus erit. at si post primum Maro seponatur Homerum, longe erit a primo, quisque secundus erit.”
??? | A.L. 740. De Vergilio ('Of Virgil') -
“A.L. 740. De Vergilio ('Of Virgil')”
De numero uatum si quis seponat Homerum, proximus a primo tunc Maro primus erit. at si post primum Maro seponatur Homerum, longe erit a primo, quisque secundus erit. -
“Maeonio uati qui par aut proximus esset, consultus Paean risit et haec cecinit; si potuit nasci, quem tu sequereris, Homere, nascetur, qui te possit, Homere, sequi.”
??? | A.L. 713. De Vergilio et Homero ('Of Virgil and Homer') -
“A.L. 713. De Vergilio et Homero ('Of Virgil and Homer')”
Maeonio uati qui par aut proximus esset, consultus Paean risit et haec cecinit; si potuit nasci, quem tu sequereris, Homere, nascetur, qui te possit, Homere, sequi. -
“Lux mea puniceum misit mihi Lesbia malum: iam sordent animo cetera poma meo. sordent uelleribus uestita cydonia canis, sordent hirsutae munera castaneae; nolo nuces, Amarylli, tuas nec cerea pruna: rusticus haec Corydon munera magna putet. horreo sanguineo male mora rubentia suco: heu graue funesti crimen amoris habent! missa et dente leui paulo libata placenta: nectarea e labris dulcia liba suis: nescio quid plus melle sapit, quod contigit ipsa spirans Cecropium dulcis ab ore thymum.”
??? | A.L. 715 -
“O blandos oculos et o facetos et quadam propria nota loquacis! illic et Venus et leues Amores atque ipsa in medio sedet Voluptas.”
??? | A.L. 714 | Compare: O blandos oculos et inquietos et quadam propria nota loquaces! illic et Venus et leves Amores atque ipsa in medio sedet Voluptas. O lovely restless eyes, that speak In language's despite! For there sits Beauty, and the little Loves: Between them dwells Delight. — Helen Waddell , Mediaeval Latin Lyrics (1929), p. 23 O sweet and pretty speaking eyes, Where Venus, love, and
Alcinous on Mind
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Attributed to Alcinous:
“Philosophy is the release of the soul from the body.”
Alcinous on Nature
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Attributed to Alcinous:
“Matter receives form but is itself without form.”
Alcinous on Truth
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Attributed to Alcinous:
“The Forms are the eternal patterns of all that becomes.”