عنوان

Synesius of Cyrene and the American "Synesii"

شماره

LA122842

زبان متن نوشتاري يا گفتاري و مانند آن

انگلیسی

عنوان اصلي

Synesius of Cyrene and the American "Synesii"

نام عام مواد

[Article]

نام نخستين پديدآور

Jay Bregman

محل نشرو پخش و غیره

Leiden

نام ناشر، پخش کننده و غيره

Brill

متن يادداشت

This article explores the Hellenic/Christian synthesis of bishop Synesius and its later influence, especially on nineteenth-century America. Synesius accepted a bishopric despite Neoplatonic reservations concerning Christian doctrine: the uncreated soul pre-exists; the uncreated cosmos is eternal; and the "resurrection" an ineffable mystery, beyond the vulgar. Whether or not born a Christian, his study under Hypatia brought about a conversion to "pagan" Neoplatonism. His attempted synthesis of Hellenism and Christianity was unique, unlike that of any other late antique Christian Platonist. Later, Renaissance thinkers scanned a new religious horizon reviving Hellenic Neoplatonism, Hermetic thought, Pythagoreanism, etc., included in a "primordial revelation," contemporaneous with the Mosaic revelation and thereby in harmony with Christianity. In Romantic-era England, Thomas Taylor revived Hellenic Neoplatonism as the "true" religion, in the spirit of the anti-Christian theurgic Neoplatonist Roman emperor, Julian. Taylor had a significant influence on the American "Synesii," Transcendentalists and Neoplatonists, e.g., on Bronson Alcott's Platonic/Pythagorean lifestyle. Reading Taylor's translations, Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke of the "Trismegisti" whose Neoplatonic religion predated and superseded "parvenu" Christianity. Later Transcendentalists continued the work of Taylor, sympathizing with late antique "pagan" Neoplatonism, but, in the spirit of Synesius, synthesizing it with Christianity and with other religions. They sought a non-sectarian, universal "cosmic theism," notably through Thomas M. Johnson's journal, The Platonist, which included translations of Synesius and other Neoplatonists. One of its contributors, Alexander Wilder, also influenced Theosophy on its Neoplatonic side. More recent Anglophone "Synesii" include Hilary Armstrong, who was a major presence in Neoplatonic scholarship, both in the uk and North America. He argued for a return to Hellenic inclusive monotheism, in which a Christian Platonist, like himself, could also venerate Hindu or Isis' holy images as being true reflections of the divine. This article explores the Hellenic/Christian synthesis of bishop Synesius and its later influence, especially on nineteenth-century America. Synesius accepted a bishopric despite Neoplatonic reservations concerning Christian doctrine: the uncreated soul pre-exists; the uncreated cosmos is eternal; and the "resurrection" an ineffable mystery, beyond the vulgar. Whether or not born a Christian, his study under Hypatia brought about a conversion to "pagan" Neoplatonism. His attempted synthesis of Hellenism and Christianity was unique, unlike that of any other late antique Christian Platonist. Later, Renaissance thinkers scanned a new religious horizon reviving Hellenic Neoplatonism, Hermetic thought, Pythagoreanism, etc., included in a "primordial revelation," contemporaneous with the Mosaic revelation and thereby in harmony with Christianity. In Romantic-era England, Thomas Taylor revived Hellenic Neoplatonism as the "true" religion, in the spirit of the anti-Christian theurgic Neoplatonist Roman emperor, Julian. Taylor had a significant influence on the American "Synesii," Transcendentalists and Neoplatonists, e.g., on Bronson Alcott's Platonic/Pythagorean lifestyle. Reading Taylor's translations, Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke of the "Trismegisti" whose Neoplatonic religion predated and superseded "parvenu" Christianity. Later Transcendentalists continued the work of Taylor, sympathizing with late antique "pagan" Neoplatonism, but, in the spirit of Synesius, synthesizing it with Christianity and with other religions. They sought a non-sectarian, universal "cosmic theism," notably through Thomas M. Johnson's journal, The Platonist, which included translations of Synesius and other Neoplatonists. One of its contributors, Alexander Wilder, also influenced Theosophy on its Neoplatonic side. More recent Anglophone "Synesii" include Hilary Armstrong, who was a major presence in Neoplatonic scholarship, both in the uk and North America. He argued for a return to Hellenic inclusive monotheism, in which a Christian Platonist, like himself, could also venerate Hindu or Isis' holy images as being true reflections of the divine.

تاريخ نشر

2016

توصيف ظاهري

299-323

عنوان

Numen

شماره جلد

63/2-3

شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها

1568-5276

اصطلاح موضوعی

"Synesii"

اصطلاح موضوعی

American Transcendentalists

اصطلاح موضوعی

cosmic theism

اصطلاح موضوعی

Hellenic/Christian synthesis

اصطلاح موضوعی

Neoplatonism

اصطلاح موضوعی

secularization

اصطلاح موضوعی

syncretism

اصطلاح موضوعی

Synesius

اصطلاح موضوعی

Thomas M. Johnson

اصطلاح موضوعی

Thomas Taylor

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Jay Bregman

شماره بازیابی

10.1163/15685276-12341424

نام الکترونيکي

فرمت انتشار

p

نوع ماده

[Article]

کد کاربرگه

275578

سطح دسترسي

a

تكميل شده

Y