Select Works of Porphyry

Three works of Porphyry: Abstinence from Animal Foods; Auxiliaries to the perception of Intelligible Natures or the Sentences; Concerning Homer’s Cave of the Nymphs; also included is Taylor’s essay Allegory on the Wanderings and Trials of Ulysses.

Contains three works: Abstinence from Animal Foods; in which aspiring philosophers are shown how to apply philosophical ideas and concepts in a practical way in their daily lives. A learned and wide ranging individual, Porphyry presents us with an insight in to many cultural traditions which had their expressions in the Classical world. Auxiliaries to the perception of Intelligible Natures; clearly reveals his position in the succession of later Platonists: He stands between Plotinus (whose Enneads he collected and arranged), and Proclus. The careful way in which this work explores its subject is perfected in Proclus’ Elements of Theology. Concerning Homer’s Cave of the Nymphs; the third work in this volume, Porphyry unfolds the allegories hidden in a small section of the Odyssey: a beautiful blend of myth and philosophy. Taylor’s Allegory on the Wanderings and Trials of Ulysses is written in the same spirit, and completes this volume.