Works of Porphyry (A): Aristotelica

Porphyry of Tyre, one of the outstanding intellectuals of the Roman empire, produced a vast corpus of original texts and commentaries on a breadth of subjects. Not all of these exist to this day – some books are only known by title, others survive as fragments through quotations in other authors. This post is an adaptation of the conspectus testimoniorum et fragmentorum in A. Smith’s edition of Porphyry’s fragments (Porphyrii Philosophi fragmenta: Fragmenta Arabica David Wasserstein interpretante, 1993), which gives the best overview of Porphyry’s works, as well as indirect sources on his life and writings. I have added explanations and bibliographical references to the titles he lists.

The titles use the following format: No. [work number in Smith’s edition]: Description / “Authentic title” / ⟨Reconstructed title⟩ (fragment numbers in Smith’s edition)

No. N/A: Testimonia on the life and works of Porphyry (fragments/testimonia 1–43)

Most of the information later writers had about Porphyry stemmed from his own works, especially his Life of Plotinus. This leaves us with only a very incomplete knowledge of his life. Nor do we have a full catalogue of his works from antiquity. The fullest testimonium is this, 2T Smith:

He who wrote against [the] Christians; [he] who was properly called King*; from Tyre, a philosopher, student of Amelios who was a student of Plotinos**, and teacher of Iamblichos. He flourished in the time of Aurelian and lasted until the emperor Diocletian. He wrote very many books, on philosophy and rhetoric and grammar. He was also a student of the critic Longinus.

[He wrote] On Divine Names, 1 [book];
On First Principles, 2;
On Matter, 6;
On the Soul against Boethus, 5;
About Abstinence from Animate Creatures, 4;
On 'Know Yourself', 4;
On Incorporeal Beings;
On the Sect of Plato and Aristotle being One 6;
[Commentary] on the [Oracles] of Julian the Chaldean;
Philosophical History in 4 books;
15 speeches against the Christians;
On the Philosophy of Homer;
Against Aristotle in the matter of the Soul being Entelechy;
5 books of Philological Investigation;
On Generation and Form and Difference and Uniqueness and Accidence;
On the Sources of the Nile according to Pindar;
10 books of Tips for Kings out of Homer;
6 of Mixed Investigations;
[Commentary] on the Prologue of Thucydides;
Against Aristides, 6;
[Commentary] on Minucian's Art of Rhetoric;
and lots of other works, especially astronomical; among them an Introduction to Astronomy in three books;
also Grammatical Cruces.

This man is the Porphyry who wagged his wicked tongue against the Christians.

(translation David Whitehead, Suda On Line, article pi 2098, “Porphyry”.)

*Porphyrios, ‘the red one’, like Basileus, ‘king’, are Hellenizations of his Semitic given name, Malch(os). Red being the royal or imperial color.

**More precisely, Amelius and he were fellow students of Plotinus. Porphyry joined the circle much later than Amelius, and after Plotinus’ death, they seem to have contended for their master’s legacy.

Aristotelica

No. N/A: Testimonium on the Aristotelica generally (44T)

The emperor Julian, in a letter to one Priscus (epist. 12), wrote as follows (44T):

While the Tyrian [corrupt text] little in many books of logic, you, through one book of Aristotelian philosophy, made me like a bacchus, not some narthex-bearer*.

*The saying “there are many narthex-bearers, but few bacchi” means that many attend the mysteries, but few become true initiates, or something to that effect.

This reflects Julian’s preference for the teaching of Iamblichus – a student of Porphyry’s who differed from his teacher in many points – and of the students of Iamblichus over Porphyry. Perhaps this is connected to controversy between Iamblicheans and “Theodoreans”, followers of another student of Porphyry’s. But there was also considerable diversity of opinion among the Iamblicheans.

No. 1: “Isagoge” (edited separately)

The Isagoge or ‘Introduction’ is an interpretation of the basics of Aristotelian logic (as found in the Categories). It became a standard textbook in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and several other languages, and was commented on by many philosophers throughout the Middle Ages. As the introduction to the first text of the logical part of the corpus of Aristotle, it was usually the first philosophical text one would study formally. The brief text has been translated into English, with copious notes, by Jonathan Barnes, Porphyry. Introduction, 2003. The 19th-century translation by Octavius W. Owen is online.

No. 2: Commentary “On Aristotle’s Categories by Question and Answer” (edited separately)

Still extant almost in its entirety, as I understand, this briefer commentary on the Categories seems intended specifically for use in teaching, probably third in sequence after the Isagoge and the Categories itself.

No. 3: “⟨Commentary on Aristotle’s Categories⟩ in seven books” (F/T 45–74)

This fuller, more scholarly commentary is known through later quotations. It was presumably intended for more advanced students of philosophy who wished to revisit Aristotle’s logic.

No. 4: Commentary “On Aristotle’s De interpretatione” (75–110)

Boethius’ Latin and Ammonius’ Greek commentaries on De interpretatione make extensive use of Porphyry’s.

No. 5: “Introduction to the categorical syllogisms” (111–114)

This once existed in Arabic translation (by Abū ˁUthmān al-Dimashqī), and was adapted in Boethius work De syllogismis categoricis.

No. 6: Commentary on Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations (?) (115–117)

The probable source for Porphyrian opinions in Anonymus Aurelianensis II, de paralogismis, a Latin work.

No. 7: Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics (118–162)

Once existed in (partial?) Arabic translation; used by Simplicius in his mega-commentary on the Physics. To a much smaller extent, in Philoponus’ commentary on the Physics.

No. 8: Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics (163–164)

Mentioned by Simplicius in his commentary on Aristotle’s De caelo.

No. 9: Commentary on Aristotle’s Ethics (165–166)

A handful of quotations from an Arabic translation survive in Islamic philosophers.

No. 10: Commentary on Theophrastus’ On Affirmation and Negation (167T)

Mentioned in Boethius’ De interpretatione. Theophrastus’ work is also lost, but the fragments are collected and translated in Theophrastus of Eresus. Sources for His Life, Writings, Thought and Influence, and discussed in the same series’ commentary volume on Logic.