Criticism > Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism > Plotinus - Frederic M. Schroeder (essay date 1992)

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Frederic M. Schroeder (essay date 1992)

SOURCE: “Love,” in Form and Transformation: A Study in the Philosophy of Plotinus, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992, pp. 91-113.

[In the following excerpt, Schroeder investigates what Porphyry meant in describing Plotinus as being “present at once to himself and to others.”]

Porphyry describes Plotinus' relationship to his circle with these words: “He was present at once to himself and to others …”¹ Hadot remarks,² “On the subject of the philosopher's rapport with others, about his ‘presence to others’ of which Porphyry speaks, we find no theoretical information in the treatises of Plotinus.” In the present chapter, we shall see, on the contrary, that there is abundant evidence of a theoretical background, both metaphysical and ethical, for Porphyry's statement.

The presence portrayed in Porphyry's sentence is twofold: Plotinus is present both...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. E. R. Dodds (essay date 1928)
   2. A. Hilary Armstrong (lecture date 1956)
   3. E. R. Dodds (lecture date 1959)
   4. John M. Rist (essay date 1961)
   5. A. H. Armstrong (essay date 1966)
   6. John M. Rist (essay date 1967)
   7. A. H. Armstrong (lecture date 1979)
   8. A. P. Bos (lecture date 1984)
   9. R. Ferwada (lecture date 1984)
   10. Eyjólfur Kjalar Emilsson (essay date 1988)
   11. Frederic M. Schroeder (essay date 1992)
   12. Steven K. Strange (essay date 1994)
   13. Georges Leroux (essay date 1996)
   14. Frederic M. Schroeder (essay date 1996)
   15. Th. G. Sinnige (essay date 1999)
   16. Sara Rappe (essay date 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright

1. Ancient Greece