Macrina the Younger c. 327 – 379
Macrina the Younger (c. 327 – 379) was a Cappadocian philosopher of the Medieval era, associated with Christian Philosophy and Platonism.
Macrina the Younger was a Cappadocian Christian philosopher and theologian, the elder sister of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, who shaped the early monastic communities of fourth-century Cappadocia and exerted a decisive influence on the philosophical and theological work of her brothers. Her brother Gregory's On the Soul and the Resurrection presents Macrina, on her deathbed, as the Christian Diotima of the Phaedo, leading her brother through a sustained philosophical conversation on the immortality of the soul and the nature of the resurrection. Gregory's Life of Macrina celebrates her as a model of philosophical life in the ascetic and Cappadocian tradition.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Cappadocian
- Era
- Medieval
- Movements
- Christian Philosophy, Platonism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Macrina the Younger:
“The soul is not a stranger to the body; it is the form by which the body is made one.”
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Attributed to Macrina the Younger:
“Where there is love, there is the recognition that we are not yet what we are to be.”
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Attributed to Macrina the Younger:
“Death is the loosening, not the destruction, of what God has made.”
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Attributed to Macrina the Younger:
“Philosophy is not the consolation of fear; it is the school of hope.”
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Attributed to Macrina the Younger:
“The truly wise woman gives counsel even to her teachers.”
Frequently asked about Macrina the Younger
- When did Macrina the Younger live?
- Macrina the Younger was born in c. 327 and died in 379.
- Where was Macrina the Younger from?
- Macrina the Younger was a Cappadocian philosopher of the Medieval era.
- What philosophical movements is Macrina the Younger associated with?
- Macrina the Younger was associated with Christian Philosophy and Platonism.
- What was Macrina the Younger known for?
- Macrina the Younger was a Cappadocian Christian philosopher and theologian, the elder sister of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, who shaped the early monastic communities of fourth-century Cappadocia and exerted a decisive influence on the philosophical and theological work of her brothers.
- How many quotes are attributed to Macrina the Younger?
- There are 5 attributed quotations from Macrina the Younger in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.