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Proclus' Commentary on Plato's dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offers the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant recent advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato's dialogue, while also presenting Proclus' own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the first in the edition, deals with what may be seen as the prefatory material of the Timaeus. In it Socrates gives a summary of the political arrangements favoured in the Republic, and Critias tells the story of how news of the defeat of Atlantis by ancient Athens had been brought back to Greece from Egypt by the poet and politician Solon.
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This page intentionally left blank PROCLUS Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus Proclus’ Commentary on Plato’s dialogue Timaeus is arguably the most important commentary on a text of Plato, offering unparalleled insights into eight centuries of Platonic interpretation. This edition offers the first new English translation of the work for nearly two centuries, building on significant recent advances in scholarship on Neoplatonic commentators. It provides an invaluable record of early interpretations of Plato’s dialogue, while also presenting Proclus’ own views on the meaning and significance of Platonic philosophy. The present volume, the first in the edition, deals with what may be seen as the prefatory material of the Timaeus, in which Socrates gives a summary of the political arrangements favoured in the Republic, and Critias tells the story of how news of the defeat of Atlantis by ancient Athens had been brought back to Greece from Egypt by the poet and politician Solon. Harold Tarrant is Head of the School of Liberal Arts, University of Newcastle, Australia. He has published widely on Plato and ancient Platonism including Scepticism or Platonism? (1985) in the Cambridge Classical Studies series. PROCLUS Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus VOLUME I Book 1: Proclus on the Socratic State and Atlantis t r a n s l at e d w i t h a n introduction and notes by H A R O L D TA R R A N T University of Newcastle, New South Wales With a general introduction by Dirk Baltzly and Harold Tarrant CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521846592 © Harold Tarrant 2006 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2007 ISBN-13 ISBN-10 978-0-511-27517-3 eBook (NetLibrary) 0-511-27517-X eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 ISBN-10 978-0-521-84659-2 hardback 0-521-84659-5 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents page vii Acknowledgements Note on the translation viii General introduction to the Commentary d i r k b a l t z ly a n d h a r o l d t a r r a n t 1 The importance of the Timaeus and its commentary tradition Proclus’ life and writings