The Platonic philosophy is denominated from Plato, who was
born about B. C. 426. He founded the old academy on the opinions of
Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Socrates; and by adding the information he
had acquired to their discoveries, he established a sect of
philosophers, who were esteemed more perfect than any who had before
appeared in the world. The outlines of Plato’s philosophical system were
as follows:--that there is one God, eternal, immutable, and immaterial;
perfect in wisdom and goodness, omniscient, and omnipresent: that this
all-perfect Being formed the universe out of a mass of eternally
preëxisting matter, to which he gave form and arrangement: that there is
in matter a necessary, but blind and refractory force, which resists the
will of the supreme Artificer, so that he cannot perfectly execute his
designs; and this is the cause of the mixture of good and evil which is
found in the material world: that the soul of man was derived by
emanation from God; but that this emanation was not immediate, but
through the intervention of the soul of the world, which was itself
debased by some material admixture: that the relation which the human
soul, in its original constitution, bears to matter, is the source of
moral evil; that when God formed the universe, he separated from the
soul of the world inferior souls, equal in number to the stars, and
assigned to each its proper celestial abode: that these souls were sent
down to earth to be imprisoned in mortal bodies; hence arose the
depravity and misery to which human nature is liable: that the soul is
immortal; and by disengaging itself from all animal passions, and rising
above sensible objects to the contemplation of the world of
intelligence, it may be prepared to return to its original habitation:
that matter never suffers annihilation, but that the world will remain
for ever; and that by the action of its animating principle it
accomplishes certain periods, within which every thing returns to its
ancient place and state. This periodical revolution of nature is called
the Platonic, or great year.
The Platonic system makes the perfection of morality to consist in
living in conformity to the will of God, the only standard of truth, and
teaches that our highest good consists in the contemplation and
knowledge of the supreme Being. In this divine Being Plato admitted a
sort of trinity of _three hypostases_. The first he considered as
self-existent, calling him, by way of eminence, τὸ hὸν, the Being, or τὸ
hὲν, the One. The only attribute which he acknowledged in this person
was goodness; and therefore he frequently styles him, τὸ ἀγαθὸν, the
_good_. The second he considered as, νοῦς, the _mind_, or, λογὸς, the
_wisdom_ or _reason_ of the former, and the δημιȣργὸς, _maker of the
world_. The third he always speaks of as, ψυχὴ, the _soul_ of the world.
He taught that the second is a necessary emanation from the first, and
the third from the second, or perhaps from both; comparing these
emanations to those of light and heat from the sun. From the above use
of _Logos_ for the second person of the Platonic trinity, it has been
thought that St. John borrowed the term from Plato; but it is not likely
that this Apostle was conversant with his writings, and therefore both
Le Clerc and Dr. Campbell think it more probable that he took it from
the Old Testament. The end of all knowledge, or philosophy, according to
Plato, was to make us resemble the Deity as much as is compatible with
human nature. This likeness consists in the possession and practice of
all the moral virtues. After the death of Plato, many of his disciples
deviated from his doctrines. His school was then divided into the old,
the middle, and the new academy. The old academy strictly adhered to his
tenets. The middle academy partially receded from his system, without
entirely deserting it. The new academy almost entirely relinquished the
original doctrines of Plato, and verged toward the skeptical philosophy.
An infusion of Platonism, though in a perverted form, is seen in the
philosophy most prevalent in the times of the Apostles. It was Judaized
by the contemplative Hellenists, and, through them, their native Judaism
was Platonized. The eclectic philosophy added other ingredients to the
compound, from the oriental systems. All however issued in pride, and
the domination of bewildering and monstrous imaginations.
born about B. C. 426. He founded the old academy on the opinions of
Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Socrates; and by adding the information he
had acquired to their discoveries, he established a sect of
philosophers, who were esteemed more perfect than any who had before
appeared in the world. The outlines of Plato’s philosophical system were
as follows:--that there is one God, eternal, immutable, and immaterial;
perfect in wisdom and goodness, omniscient, and omnipresent: that this
all-perfect Being formed the universe out of a mass of eternally
preëxisting matter, to which he gave form and arrangement: that there is
in matter a necessary, but blind and refractory force, which resists the
will of the supreme Artificer, so that he cannot perfectly execute his
designs; and this is the cause of the mixture of good and evil which is
found in the material world: that the soul of man was derived by
emanation from God; but that this emanation was not immediate, but
through the intervention of the soul of the world, which was itself
debased by some material admixture: that the relation which the human
soul, in its original constitution, bears to matter, is the source of
moral evil; that when God formed the universe, he separated from the
soul of the world inferior souls, equal in number to the stars, and
assigned to each its proper celestial abode: that these souls were sent
down to earth to be imprisoned in mortal bodies; hence arose the
depravity and misery to which human nature is liable: that the soul is
immortal; and by disengaging itself from all animal passions, and rising
above sensible objects to the contemplation of the world of
intelligence, it may be prepared to return to its original habitation:
that matter never suffers annihilation, but that the world will remain
for ever; and that by the action of its animating principle it
accomplishes certain periods, within which every thing returns to its
ancient place and state. This periodical revolution of nature is called
the Platonic, or great year.
The Platonic system makes the perfection of morality to consist in
living in conformity to the will of God, the only standard of truth, and
teaches that our highest good consists in the contemplation and
knowledge of the supreme Being. In this divine Being Plato admitted a
sort of trinity of _three hypostases_. The first he considered as
self-existent, calling him, by way of eminence, τὸ hὸν, the Being, or τὸ
hὲν, the One. The only attribute which he acknowledged in this person
was goodness; and therefore he frequently styles him, τὸ ἀγαθὸν, the
_good_. The second he considered as, νοῦς, the _mind_, or, λογὸς, the
_wisdom_ or _reason_ of the former, and the δημιȣργὸς, _maker of the
world_. The third he always speaks of as, ψυχὴ, the _soul_ of the world.
He taught that the second is a necessary emanation from the first, and
the third from the second, or perhaps from both; comparing these
emanations to those of light and heat from the sun. From the above use
of _Logos_ for the second person of the Platonic trinity, it has been
thought that St. John borrowed the term from Plato; but it is not likely
that this Apostle was conversant with his writings, and therefore both
Le Clerc and Dr. Campbell think it more probable that he took it from
the Old Testament. The end of all knowledge, or philosophy, according to
Plato, was to make us resemble the Deity as much as is compatible with
human nature. This likeness consists in the possession and practice of
all the moral virtues. After the death of Plato, many of his disciples
deviated from his doctrines. His school was then divided into the old,
the middle, and the new academy. The old academy strictly adhered to his
tenets. The middle academy partially receded from his system, without
entirely deserting it. The new academy almost entirely relinquished the
original doctrines of Plato, and verged toward the skeptical philosophy.
An infusion of Platonism, though in a perverted form, is seen in the
philosophy most prevalent in the times of the Apostles. It was Judaized
by the contemplative Hellenists, and, through them, their native Judaism
was Platonized. The eclectic philosophy added other ingredients to the
compound, from the oriental systems. All however issued in pride, and
the domination of bewildering and monstrous imaginations.