The first volume in a landmark commentary on an important and influential work of ancient philosophy
This is the first volume of a groundbreaking commentary on one of the most important works of ancient philosophy, the
Enneads
of Plotinus—a text that formed the basis of Neoplatonism and had a deep influence on early Christian thought and medieval and Renaissance philosophy. This volume covers the first three of the six
, as well as Porphyry's
Life of Plotinus
, a document in which Plotinus’s student—the collector and arranger of the
—introduces the philosopher and his work. A landmark contribution to modern Plotinus scholarship, Paul Kalligas’s commentary is the most detailed and extensive ever written for the whole of the
.
For each of the treatises in the first three
, Kalligas provides a brief introduction that presents the philosophical background against which Plotinus’s contribution can be assessed; a synopsis giving the main lines and the articulation of the argument; and a running commentary placing Plotinus’s thought in its intellectual context and making evident the systematic association of its various parts with each other.