1001Philosophers

Marius Victorinus c. 290 AD – c. 364 AD

Marius Victorinus (c. 290 AD – c. 364 AD) was a Roman philosopher of the Ancient era, associated with Platonism and Christian Philosophy.

Gaius Marius Victorinus was a Roman rhetorician, grammarian, Neoplatonist philosopher, and Latin Christian theologian whose late conversion in Rome around 355 became a pattern that helped inspire Augustine's own. Honored with a public statue in the Forum of Trajan as a leading teacher of rhetoric, he translated some of the works of Plotinus and Porphyry into Latin and so brought Neoplatonic thought to a Latin-reading Christian audience for the first time. His treatises against Arianism applied a Neoplatonic conceptual vocabulary to Trinitarian theology, and his commentaries on Cicero and on the letters of Paul shaped subsequent Latin philosophical theology.

Key facts

Nationality
Roman
Era
Ancient
Movements
Platonism, Christian Philosophy

Selected quotes

  • Attributed to Marius Victorinus:

    “The Word is the act of being itself.”

  • Attributed to Marius Victorinus:

    “God is being, and being is the source of all that is.”

  • Attributed to Marius Victorinus:

    “Trinity is unity in motion, distinction without division.”

  • Attributed to Marius Victorinus:

    “True conversion is the soul's return to its source.”

  • Attributed to Marius Victorinus:

    “The path of philosophy ends in worship.”

Marius Victorinus by topic

Frequently asked about Marius Victorinus

When did Marius Victorinus live?
Marius Victorinus was born in c. 290 AD and died in c. 364 AD.
Where was Marius Victorinus from?
Marius Victorinus was a Roman philosopher of the Ancient era.
What philosophical movements is Marius Victorinus associated with?
Marius Victorinus was associated with Platonism and Christian Philosophy.
What was Marius Victorinus known for?
Gaius Marius Victorinus was a Roman rhetorician, grammarian, Neoplatonist philosopher, and Latin Christian theologian whose late conversion in Rome around 355 became a pattern that helped inspire Augustine's own.
How many quotes are attributed to Marius Victorinus?
There are 5 attributed quotations from Marius Victorinus in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.