Vprašanje (dis)kontinuitete med etiko in politiko je civilni živec renesančnega humanizma v historični ontogenezi, ki se začne s Salutatijem, razvija s Ficinom in sklepa z Machiavellijem. Tragično ...sirensko petje človeškega bivanja vseskozi zapeljuje, a nikdar ne preglasi vzgornih upov k praksi usmerjene človeškosti, ki spekulacijo uresničuje skozi dejavnost, kontemplacijo udejanja skozi politiko, sveto izpričuje skozi posvetnost. Humanistična duhovna in filozofska prenova ciceronskega nauka o dobrem delovanju na pragu modernosti nemirno, pa vendar srečno pripelje antropološko vexata quaestio skozi Scilo in Karibdo družbene etike, nihajoče med jajcem in jabolkom (ab ovo usque ad mala) Salutatijevega voluntarističnega optimizma, Ficinovega novoplatonizma in Machiavellijevega antropološkega pesimizma, med zemljo, nebom in breznom. Civilni humanizem še danes budi in bodri vse, ki se v somraku človeškosti še trudijo služiti kvalificiranemu življenju.
Članek obravnava Plotinovo teorijo ljubezni v okviru njegovega kontemplativnega nauka, ki lik Erosa kot »očesa« duše interpretira kot substancializiran odnos, čigar narava je sorodna tako duši kot ...predmetu njene ljubezni, ki je najvišje Lépo. Poleg tega skuša pravilno razumeti Plotinovo simboliko lika Penija iz Platonovega mita v Simpoziju; tam namreč Penija predstavlja vzrok nepopolne in nezadovoljne narave dajmonskega Erosa, pri Plotinu pa se kot še neopredeljivo zrenje vključuje celo v emanacijski proces nastanka Duše. Neopredeljiva narava, ki jo pri Plotinu predstavlja Penija, je pravzaprav odgovor na presežek Dobrega v duši, ki ga simbolizira Poros; iz nje rojeni Eros pa predstavlja gonilo kontemplativne dejavnosti Duše, ki se trudi doseči prvotno ravnovesje.
Plotinov spis O dialektiki je edino v celoti ohranjeno delo antične grške filozofije s tem naslovom. Ker zelo jasno, zgoščeno in nazorno prikazuje njegovo temeljno stališče, ga je priporočljivo brati ...kot uvod v njegovo filozofijo sploh.
Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius (4th—5th cent. A.D.) belongs among the late Latin philosophical authors who draw on the traditions of Middle and Late Platonism, partly of Stoicism, and whose ...allegorical exegetic literature forms a fascinating spiritual and thematic bridge between late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Of Macrobius’ two known treatises, one is Saturnalia (Saturnaliorum libri VII), a conversation named for the Roman December festival, while the other is his allegorical commentary onThe Dream of Scipio (Commentarium in Somnium Scipionis). The latter takes as its starting-point the lost Book 6 of Cicero’s De re publica, or, more precisely, the description of the dream (6.9–29), which has been handed down separately and therefore preserved. Young Scipio Aemilianus is visited in his dream by his deceased grandfather, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236–184 B.C.), who led the Roman army to victory over Hannibal in the Second Punic War. Their dream conversation revolves around eschatological and ethical themes, centring on the soul and her immortality, which may be attained through true cognition as well as through virtuous and moral civil activity. To this, Macrobius adds an allegorical treatise on the structure of the universe, the soul’s descent through the spheres, and her ascent back to the astral celestial sphere, her true eternal home. A comprehensive commentary is provided on the geography of the known world – the continents, the sea, winds – as well as on the structure of the universe, the zodiac belt, and the planetary spheres, including the themes of harmony and music.
The article presents the leading Platonic doctrines of the embodied soul, examining the relation between their Orphic and Pythagorean roots and Plotinus’ correction of the Neo-Pythagorean pessimism ...on the one hand, and Gnostic solutions of the problem on the other. The analysis of certain Gnostic passages clearly shows that, in spite of Plotinus’ anti-Gnostic polemic, some of the ideas proposed by the philosopher as an alternative to his opponents’ pessimism are also present in the Gnostic descriptions of the emanation from the first Principle and the multiplication of the Eons. The article focuses on the passages which, avoiding an ethical valuation of the generation and multiplication process, limit the concept of sin to the human domain, where it belongs in Plotinus’ view as well. Moreover, the article endeavours to throw light on some of the most controversial themes, which were to remain irreconcilable despite a number of tenets shared by both sides.
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