Platonism and Christianity in Late Ancient Cosmology: God, Soul, Matter

286 Pages·2022·3.336 MB·English

by  Johannes Zachhuber, Ana Schiavoni-Palanciuc (eds.)

PlatonismandChristianityinLateAncientCosmology
Ancient Philosophy & Religion
Editedby
GeorgeBoys-Stones(UniversityofToronto)
GeorgevanKooten(UniversityofCambridge)
AdvisoryBoard
GáborBetegh(Cambridge)
TroelsEngberg-Pedersen(Copenhagen)
ReinhardFeldmeier(Göttingen)
MatyášHavrda(Prague)
PhilippeHoffmann(ÉcolePratiquedesHautesÉtudes,Paris)
GeorgeKaramanolis(Vienna)
AndersKlostergaardPetersen(Aarhus)
DavidKonstan(NewYorkUniversity)
WinrichLöhr(Heidelberg)
JohnMagee(Toronto)
MarenNiehoff(HebrewUniversityofJerusalem)
IlariaRamelli(Milan)
GretchenReydams-Schils(NotreDame,USA)
LautaroRoigLanzillotta(Groningen)
GregoryE.Sterling(Yale)
IlincaTanaseanu-Döbler(Göttingen)
ShaulTor(King’sCollegeLondon)
RobbertvandenBerg(Leiden)
PeterVanNuffelen(Ghent)
Volume 9
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations ix
NotesonContributors x
Introduction 1
AnaSchiavoni-PalanciucandJohannesZachhuber
LineageTrouble
SomeConsiderationsonPlatoasaGenealogistintheTimaeus 18
MarwanRashed
TheWorldSoulinEarlyChristianThought 46
JohannesZachhuber
MatterintheDialogueofAdamantius
Origen’sHeritageandHylomorphism 74
IlariaL.E.Ramelli
MicrocosmeetimagedeDieu
Deuxapprochesdel’hommedansleDehominisopificiodeGrégoirede
Nysse 125
LaurentLavaud
L’héliocentrismedanslacosmologiedeProclus 147
FrédéricBerland
L’immutabilitéetl’inengendrementdelamatièrepremièredumondeen
question
Lessoubassementsmétaphysiquesd’uncasd’École :Philoponversus
Proclus 168
PascalMueller-Jourdan
TheChristianRejectionofPtolemeanCosmographyin(Late)Antiquity
Motives,Modalities,andBackgrounds 184
BenjaminGleede
vi Contents
« LeSeigneurdesPuissances »
Uneimagedel’AscensionchezDenysl’Aréopagite 205
RaduMarasescu
TheCreationofManandHisConstitutionAccordingtoAnastasiusSinaïta
SermonesduoinconstitutionemhominissecundumimaginemDei 229
CarloDell’Osso
Unkaléidoscopebyzantinsurlessixjoursdelacréation 247
PeterVanDeun
IndexofAncientAuthors 265
IndexofModernAuthors 269
GeneralIndex 272
Acknowledgements
The texts gathered in this volume investigate the ancient sources of cosmo-
logical developments at the end of antiquity and the particular relationship
betweenphilosophyandChristiantheologyinthefirstmillennium.Thestrong
interestthroughoutthisperiodinPlatoniccosmologyand,atthesametime,
the renewed attention to the Aristotelian corpus as interpreted by the com-
mentary tradition, had a powerful impact on the understanding andexpres-
sion of Christian cosmology. The confluence of philosophy and theology in
Byzantinewritingsisnotjustamatterofborrowingargumentativemodels;it
alwaystookplaceintwodirections.Asmuchastheologicalformulationswere
reflectedinthehistoryofphilosophy,philosophicalwritingsinfluencedtheo-
logicaldebates.AristoteliancommentariesandNeoplatonicwritingsstrongly
and lastingly inspired late antique exegetical methods. We thus face textual
sources that exist in a structural relationship with multiple traditions, Pla-
tonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Gnostic, and Patristic. The texts collected in this
volumecontributesubstantiallytothisproblematic,establishingtherangeof
questionsaddressedandexploringthemannerinwhichthesetextsshouldbe
approached.
WhiletheAristoteliancommentariesprovidedaframeworktoLateAntique
exegesis, they were never perceived as monolithic. Aristotelian and Platonic
traditions were themselves subject to internal tensions, some of which find
their expression in the distinctly Athenian and Alexandrian Neoplatonisms
of the fifth and sixth centuries. These tensions produced a sense of erudite
excitement in later readers, but more importantly, they sharpened issues by
setting interpretative standards, being transmitted by Proclus, Simplicius or
PhiloponustoMaximustheConfessor,AnastasiusofSinaiorPhotius.Among
thetopicstheseauthorsanalysed,wefindtherelationshipof divinefreedom
andprovidence,thedoctrineof substanceandtheuniversalsaswellasques-
tionsabouttimeanddivinecausality.
The texts composing the present volume investigate the terms in which
thesequestionswereframedattheendofantiquitycross-examiningtherela-
tionshipsbetweenritualpractices,theimportanceof theexegeticaltradition
ofTimaeus,theAristoteliancommentariesandGnosticdebatesinlateancient
cosmologies.
Thisvolumeoweseverythingtoitsauthors.Manyofthemaccompaniedus
fromthebeginningoftheproject,butsomekindlyagreedtoaddtheircontri-
butionsatalaterstage.Itisaprivilegetothankthemallfortheirconfidence
andpatienceovertheyears.WearegratefultoProfs.GeorgeBoys-Stonesand
viii Acknowledgements
GeorgevanKootenforacceptingthebookintotheirseries.Wewouldalsolike
tothankNathanWallaceandJonathanYoungfortheireditorialworkonthe
manuscript,andtheBrilleditors,inparticularMarjoleinvanZuylen,fortheir
interestinthisvolumeandtheirconstantencouragementofitspreparation.
AnaSchiavoni-Palanciuc,JohannesZachhuber
Paris/Oxford,January2022
Abbreviations
ANF TheAnte-NiceneFathers:TheWritingsof theFathersdowntoA.D.325.
EditedbyA.RobertsandJ.Donaldson.10vols.Edinburgh:T&TClark,
1867–1885.
CAG CommentariainAristotelemGraeca
CAGsuppl. CommentariainAristotelemGraeca,SupplementumAristotelicum
CCCM CorpusChristianorumContinuatioMediaevalis
CCSG CorpusChristianorumSeriesGraeca
CCSA CorpusChristianorumSeriesApocryphorum
CCSL CorpusChristianorumSeriesLatina
Coll.Coisl. CollectioCoisliniana
CSCO CorpusScriptorumChristianorumOrientalium
DHGE Dictionnaired‘histoireetdegéographieecclésiastiques.EditedbyA.Bau-
drillart and others. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1912–2005;Turnhout: Bre-
pols,2005ff.
GCS DiegriechischenchristlichenSchriftstellerderersten[drei]Jahrhunderte
GCS,NF DiegriechischenchristlichenSchriftstellerdererstenJahrhunderte,Neue
Folge
GNO GregoriiNysseniOpera
OCA OrientaliaChristianaAnalecta
PG PatrologiaGraeca
PL PatrologiaLatina
PLP ProsopographischesLexikonderPalaiologenzeit.EditedbyE.Trappand
others.I,1–12,Add.1–2.Vienna:VerlagderösterreichischenAkademie
derWissenschaften,1976–1995.
PTS PatristischeTexteundStudien
PO PatrologiaOrientalis
RE Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Edited
byG.Wissowaandothers.83vols.Stuttgart:J.B.Metzler,1893–1978.
SC SourcesChrétiennes
SVF StoicorumVeterumFragmenta.EditedbyH.vonArnim.4vols.Leipzig:
Teubner,1903–1905.
TEG TraditioExegeticaGraeca
TLG ThesaurusLinguaeGraecae
Notes on Contributors
FrédéricBerland
is Doctor of Philosophy from the University Paris 8 (Saint-Denis). His work
focusesonnon-AristotelianlogicinNeoplatonism,medievalphilosophyand
contemporarylogic.HepublishedabookontheNeoplatonisminfluenceon
Descartes,papersonDietrichof Freiberg,andhetranslatedintoFrenchsev-
eralworksbyGrahamPriestonparaconsistentlogic.
BenjaminGleede
Dr.theol.2008,Dr.theol.habil.2014,currentlyholdsaHeienbergpositionat
theUniversityofTübingen.HisresearchspecialisationisGreekpatristicsand
its relationship with ancient philosophy and science. Main publications in-
cludePlatonundAristotelesinderKosmologiedesProklos.EinKommentarzu
den18ArgumentenfürdieEwigkeitderWeltbeiJohannesPhiloponos(Tübingen
2009),Thedevelopmentof thetermἐνυπόστατοςfromOrigentoJohnof Damas-
cus(Leiden2012),andParabiblicalatina.Studienzudengriechisch-lateinischen
ÜbersetzungenparabiblischerLiteraturunterbesondererBerücksichtigungder
apostolischenVäter(Leiden2016).
Carlodell’Osso
isProfessorofPatristicsandChurchHistoryatthePontificalInstituteofChris-
tianArchaeologyinRome.HeobtainedhisLaureawithathesisonPs.-Justin
andearnedaDoctorof TheologyandPatristicStudiesattheAugustinianum
withadissertationontheChristologyof Leontiusof Byzantium.Hehaspub-
lished widely on the Greek and Latin fathers. Recent books include Cristo
e Logos: Il calcedonismo del VI secolo in oriente (Rome 2010) and Monoener-
giti/monotelitidelVIIsecoloinOriente(Rome2017).
LaurentLavaud
isProfessorof AncientPhilosophyattheÉcoleNormaleSupérieuredeLyon.
HespecialisesinthehistoryofNeoplatonism,especiallyPlotinusandProclus.
HehasalsoworkedontheinfluenceofGreekphilosophyonpatristicthought
(Augustine,MariusVictorinus,GregoryofNyssa)andisengagedinthetransla-
tionofthecompleteworksofPlotinusfortheFlammarioneditions.Heisthe
authorofL’Image(Paris,Flammarion,1999),D’unemétaphysiqueàl’autre.Fig-
uresdel’altéritédanslaphilosophiedePlotin(Paris,Vrin,2008)andMystiqueet
monde(Paris,Cerf,2015).