ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 239

OTTO KERN

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For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.

SUMMARY: This testimony consists of several quotations from The Life of Proclus by the philosopher Marinus which demonstrate the deep love and respect Proclus (410-485 C. E.), his great teacher, had for the writings of Orpheus.

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 239

Προκλος (410-485 C. E.). Μαρίνου Νεαπολίτου εἰς τὸν βίον Πρόκλου; Marini Procli vita 18 p. 160, 33 Jean François Boissonade*:

νύκτωρ τε καὶ μεθ’ ἡμέραν ἀποτροπαῖς καὶ περιρραντηρίοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις καθαρμοῖς χρώμενος, ὁτὲ μὲν Ὀρφικοῖς, ὁτὲ δὲ Χαλδαϊκοῖς . . .

“...using both night and day prayers, lustrations, and other purifications, as well according to the Orphic as the Chaldaic institutions...”

(trans. Thomas Taylor, 1788)

*There must be another edition of Boissonade other than that which I found on Google Books because the page numbers do not match.

c. 20 p. 161, 21:

πιεζόμενος γὰρ ὑπὸ ταύτης (sc. τῆς τελευταίας νόσου) καὶ περιωδυνίαις συνεχόμενος, ἐκκρούειν ἐπειρᾶτο τὰς ἀλγηδόνας. παρεκελεύετο οὖν ἡμῖν ἑκάστοτε ὕμνους λέγειν, καί, λεγομένων τῶν ὕμνων, πᾶσα εἰρήνη τῶν παθῶν ἐγίγνετο καὶ ἀταραξία. καὶ ὅ γ’ ἔτι τούτου παραδοξότερον, ὅτι καὶ μνήμην εἶχε τῶν λεγομένων, καίτοι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σχεδὸν ἁπάντων ἐπιλελησμένος, ἐπιβρισάσης αὐτῶι τῆς παρέσεως. ἀρχομένων γὰρ ἡμῶν ὑμνεῖν ἐκείνος ἀνεπλήρου τοὺς ὕμνους καὶ τῶν Ὀρφικῶν ἐπῶν τὰ πλεῖστα· καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ἐστιν ὅτε παρόντες ἀνεγιγνώσκομεν.

“For when, at that time, he was oppressed and tormented with the most excruciating pains, he endeavoured to the utmost to mitigate and expel their afflictive invasions. Hence, on such occasions, he often commanded us to repeat certain hymns, which when repeated procured him a remission and cessation of pain. And what is more wonderful, he remembered what he heard of these, though forgetful of almost all human concerns, from the dissolution of his corporeal part continually increasing. For when we began to repeat, he supplied what was unfinished of the hymns, together with many of the Orphic verses; for it was these we were then reciting.”

(trans. Thomas Taylor, 1788)

c. 26 p. 163, 42:

καὶ τοιαύταις μὲν ἀρεταῖς συνεβίω ἔτι συσχολάζων τῶι φιλοσόφωι Συριανῶι, καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων ἐπεξιὼν πραγματείας· τῆς δὲ Ὀρφικῆς καὶ Χαλδαϊκῆς θεολογίας στοιχεῖα ἄττα καὶ οἱονεὶ σπέρματα παρὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου λαβών, διὰ τὸ μὴ φθῆναι καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν αὐτῶι συγγενέσθαι (προέθετο μὲν γὰρ ἐξηγήσασθαι αὐτῶι τε καὶ τῶι ἐκ τῆς Συρίας φιλοσόφωι καὶ διαδόχωι Δομνίνωι θάτερα τούτων, ἤτοι τὰ Ὀρφέως ἢ τὰ λόγια, καὶ αἵρεσιν αὐτοῖς προὔτεινε τῶν ἑτέρων· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ συνήχθησαν, οὐδὲ τὰ αὐτὰ εἵλοντο ἀμφότεροι, ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τὰ Ὀρφέως, ὁ δὲ ἡμέτερος τὰ λόγια, τοῦτό τε αὐτὸ διεκώλυσεν καὶ τὸ μὴ πολὺν ἐπιβιῶναι χρόνον τὸν μέγαν Συριανὸν), λαβὼν δ’ οὖν, ὡς εἴρηται (164) παρὰ τοῦ καθηγεμόνος τὰς ἀφορμὰς, καὶ μετ’ ἐκεῖνον τοῖς τε εἰς Ὀρφέα αὐτοῦ ὑπομνήμασιν ἐπιμελῶς ἐντυγχάνων, καὶ τοῖς Πορφυρίου καὶ Ἰαμβλίχου μυρίοις ὅσοις εἰς τὰ λὸγια καὶ τὰ σύστοιχα τῶν Χαλδαίων συγγράμματα, αὐτοῖς τε τοῖς θείοις λογίοις ἐντρεφόμενος, ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκροτάτας τῶν ἀρετῶν, ὡς πρὸς ἀνθρωπίνην ψυχὴν, ἀνέδραμεν, ἃς ὁ ἔνθους Ἰάμβλιχος ὑπερφυῶς θεουργικὰς ἀπεκάλεσεν.

“And thus he had rendered virtues of this kind familiar to himself, while he frequented the philosopher Syrianus, and evolved and studied the commentaries of the ancients. But he received from the mouth of his preceptor certain small seeds, as it were, of the Orphic and Chaldaic theology; because he was prevented from hearing the complete interpretation of his master on the Orphic verses. For Syrianus left to the choice of Proclus and one Domninus, a philosopher of the Syrian nation, and who afterwards succeeded Syrianus, the exposition of the Orphic writings, or the oracles. But they were by no means unanimous in their choice; for Domninus preferred the interpretation of the Orphic verses, and Proclus that of the oracles. But our philosopher did not perfect his undertaking, because the death of the great Syrianus happened not long after. Having therefore, as I have said, received the outlines from the mouth of his master, he applied himself with the greatest diligence to the written commentaries of Syrianus upon Orpheus; and being assiduously nourished with the copious lucubrations (ed. studied writings) of Porphyry and Iamblichus on the oracles, and similar writings of the Chaldeans, he arrived, as much as is possible to man, to the top of those highest virtues, which the divine Iamblichus was accustomed to call after a truly divine manner, theurgic.”

(trans. Thomas Taylor, 1788)

c. 27 p. 164, 42:

ἀναγινώσκων δὲ ἐγώ ποτε παῥ αὐτῶι τὰ Ὀρφέως, καὶ οὐ μόνον τὰ παρὰ τῶι Ίαμβλίχω καὶ Συριανῶι ἀκούων ἐν ταῖς ἐξηγήσεσιν, ἀλλὰ πλείω τε ἅμα καὶ προσφυέστερα τῆι θεολογίαι, ἤιτησα τὸν φιλόσοφον μηδὲ τὴν τοιαύτην ἔνθεον ποίησιν ἀνεξήγητον ἐᾶσαι, ὑπομνηματίσασθαι δὲ καὶ ταύτην ἐντελιὲστερον. Ὁ δὲ ἔφασκεν προθυμηθῆναι μὲν πολλάκις γράψαι, κωλυθῆναι δὲ ἐναργῶς ἔκ τινων ἐνυπνίων. αὑτὸν γὰρ ἔλεγεν θεάσασθαι τὸν διδάσκαλον, ἀπείργοντα αὐτὸν μετὰ ἀπειλῆς. μηχανὴν οὖν ἐνταῦθα ἄλλην ἐπινοῶν, ἠξίωσα γὰρ παραγράφειν αὐτὸν τὰ ἀρέσκοντα τοῖς τοῦ διδασκάλου βιβλίοις· πεισθέντος δὲ τοῦ ἀγαθοειδεστάτου καὶ παραγράψαντος τοῖς μετώποις τῶν ὑπομνη(165)μάτων, ἔσχομεν συναγωγὴν εἰς ταὐτὸν ἁπάντων, καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς Ὀρφέα αὐτῶι σχόλια καὶ ὑπομνήματα στίχων οὐκ ὀλίγων, εἰ καὶ μὴ εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν θεομυθίαν ἢ πάσας τὰς ῥαψωιδίας ἐξεγένετο αὐτῶι τοῦτο ποιησαι.

“But I, on a certain time, having read with him the Orphic verses, and heard, among his interpretations, not only the recondite theology which is to be found in Iamblichus and Syrianus, but also, among many other divine men, I requested the philosopher that he would not leave these divine verses also without his explanation: but his answer was, That he had often thought of writing commentaries on Orpheus, but that he had been strongly prohibited in more than one dream. For Syrianus appearing to him in his sleep, had deterred him with threats from the design. Having therefore employed other machines, I intreated that at least he would mark what he principally approved of in the books of his master; which when this best of men had performed, in consequence of my persuasions, and had noted some things in the front of each of Syrianus’s commentaries, we obtained a collection of all these, and by this means scholia, and commentaries of no small bulk; though to accomplish this on the whole of that divine poetry, and on all the Orphic rhapsodies, was not the intention of Proclus.”

(trans. Thomas Taylor, 1788)

Arthur Ludwich Königsberger Stud. I 1887, 74 n. 16. The books on Orpheus of Proclus are fictions of the Souda after the example of his teacher Syrianus (Rudolf Schoell Anecdota varia Graeca musica metrica grammatical II 5).

The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Theogony.

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Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

Introduction to the Thæí (the Gods): The Nature of the Gods.

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