Proclus 412 AD – 485 AD
Proclus Lycius was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher and the last great head of the Platonic Academy at Athens. He systematized the Neoplatonic tradition inherited from Plotinus and Iamblichus, producing detailed commentaries on Plato's dialogues and a metaphysical treatise, the Elements of Theology, that proceeds in the manner of geometric proof. Proclus articulated a hierarchy descending from the One through the henads, the divine intellects, and the souls, down to the material world. His thought shaped Christian, Islamic, and Renaissance Platonism.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Greek
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Platonism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Proclus:
“Every multiplicity in some way participates of the One.”
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Attributed to Proclus:
“All that exists proceeds from a single first cause.”
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Attributed to Proclus:
“All that proceeds from any cause reverts in respect of its being upon that from which it proceeds.”
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Attributed to Proclus:
“Wherever there is procession there is also reversion.”
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Attributed to Proclus:
“The soul is the mean between the divisible and the indivisible, the eternal and that which is in time.”