Until the Renaissance, the work of Calcidius offered the medieval West almost the only direct access to Plato's corpus not dispersed in fragments. In the 4th century CE, Calcidius translated into Latin an important section of Plato's Timaeus, complemented by extensive commentary and organized into coordinated parts. The first part is broadly devoted to the architecture of the world, to its intelligible structure. The second delves into the nature of the living creatures that inhabit it. This basic division subsequently informed the sense of macrocosm and microcosm-of the world and our place in it-which is prevalent in western European thought in the Middle Ages. At the same time, this medieval volume altered perspectives on Plato by drawing on other philosophical traditions, particularly the Stoic and Peripatetic, while including Judeo-Christian cosmology and anthropology. The present edition provides the first English translation of Calcidius's work.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Platonis Timaeus Calcidius, Johann Wrobel, Plato aedibus B.G. Teubneri, 1876 Philosophy; History & Surveys; Ancient & Classical; Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical

"Bakhouche and the publisher J. Vrin have done scholarship a real service. For a very reasonable price, they have dramatically enhanced the accessibility of a fascinating and neglected text. The Latin text is reliable and the translation marvelously clear..." -- Clifford Ando, University of Chicago, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2012.09.20) A la fin du IVe siecle, un certain Calcidius, qui reste encore inconnu, a traduit et commente les pages du Timee de Platon concernant la fabrication de l'ame et du corps du monde et de l'homme. Dans ce vaste ensemble de 355 chapitres, un premier tiers offre une exegese centree sur les sciences de l'epoque, le reste presentant une allure plus philosophique. Etonnant recueil - unique dans toute la litterature latine - de theories scientifiques autrement inconnues, le commentaire de Calcidius occupe de surcroit une place centrale dans la transmission des theories philosophiques de l'Antiquite au Moyen Age et a la Renaissance. Ce fut, pour tout le Moyen age occidental, le seul moyen, avec les traductions de Ciceron, d'avoir un acces en latin a une interpretation medio-platonicienne du Timee de Platon, le seul recit paien pouvant faire concurrence a celui de la Genese. Les quelques deux cents copies - dont l'une a ete annotee de la main meme de Petrarque (Paris, BnF 6280) et une autre de celle de Marsile Ficin en 1454 (Milan, Ambr. S.14, Sup.) - temoignent de l'interet durable suscite par ce commentaire, de l'influence profonde que cette oeuvre exerca sur la construction du platonisme medieval et de son usage comme cle hermeneutique dans l'exegese biblique. On comprendra que la traduction en francais de ce document exceptionnel constitue un evenement considerable.