Parmenides Publishing

WISHING YOU MANY HAPPY MOMENTS in 2024!

"For Plotinus ... the present moment offers the opportunity to escape chronological time and elevate our form of life from that which is tied to sensible experience toward the transcendence available in the intelligible intellection of reality." (Ennead I.5, Commentary by Danielle A. Layne, p. 66).

Digital art: © Arnold Hermann | https://www.lightandnight.com

NEW PUBLICATION — PLOTINUS ENNEAD I.5:
On Whether Well-Being Increases with Time
Translation, with an Introduction, and Commentary
by Danielle A. Layne

The ENNEADS OF PLOTINUS
—with Philosophical Commentaries
Series edited by John M. Dillon and Andrew Smith

In Ennead I.5 Plotinus attempts to navigate a well-trodden path on inquiry by directly responding to a wide spectrum of popular theories on human flourishing, and insisting emphatically that well-being belongs to the present moment. Indeed, Aristotle—with his insistence that well-being be measured by "a complete life" (Nicomachean Ethics 1098a16–20) or a life measured by virtue, a modus vivendi sustained via the development of appropriate habits (hexes) and the avoidance of misfortunes—is one of Plotinus' central targets.

Nevertheless, it is also obvious that the Hellenistic schools, with their almost evangelical insistence of the "now," take pride of place in Plotinus' short treatise on the subject. Layne analyzes in depth Plotinus' unique conception of the value of the present moment by highlighting his dialogue with Aristotle and Hellenistic conceptions of the soul, pleasure and pain, time and eternity, and so forth.
Visit our website for more info & ordering at
https://www.parmenides.com/publications/Layne_I5.html

Giovanni Casertano (1941–2023)

It was Prof. Néstor-Louis Cordero who took us, Arnold and Sara Hermann, to his dear friend’s home in Naples, Italy, to discuss Gianni’s contribution to our 2007 conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina—“Parmenides—Scholar of Nature,” which was included in the published Proceedings.

We couldn’t agree more with Néstor Cordero's moving words: “In the name of our fellow Eleatic citizens, a touching tribute to our dearest Gianni, who, ‘absent, will always be present.’"

We have taken the liberty of translating Prof. Stefania Giombini's heartfelt obituary into English.

"Dear friends,
many of you will have already learned of the death of our Gianni Casertano. Gianni was a tireless researcher and a true friend to all of us: he leaves a huge void in our community, which will never fail to remember him and be enriched by his fruitful studies.

Below you will find the message in his memory that we spread on our Fb page after learning the news and that we like to share here as well.

A special thought to Lidia Palumbo, a member of the Program Committee of Eleatica, a direct student and dear friend of Gianni.
Best regards to all of you, ps: attached [a photo] from our last Eleatica (September 2023).

At the age of 82, John Casertano has left us. A member of the College of Honorary Citizens of the Ancient City of Elea, in May 2011 Casertano delivered for Eleatica the magisterial lectures entitled "From Parmenides of Elea to Plato's Parmenides." One of Italy's best-known and most influential Platonists, Casertano was a full professor of History of Ancient Philosophy at the University "Federico II" of Naples and a Visiting Professor at many universities in Europe and America. The international recognition of his studies and in particular his connection with the dynamic South American environment came to fruition in 2012, when he was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy honoris causa at the University of Brasilia. The author of hundreds of publications, his studies in ancient philosophy focus mainly on Plato and the Presocratics. Among Casertano's earliest interests was, precisely, Parmenides of Elea, to whose study he devoted his first publications, up to the celebrated 1979 book. "Parmenides: method, science, experience." The work, which has become a classic in Parmenidean studies, anticipated (and inaugurated) that awakening of interest in Parmenides' science that would occur only decades later, an awakening that would entail a real paradigm shift in Eleatic studies. His connection with the Cilento area was also strong: as he often recalled, as a young man he had begun teaching in Vallo della Lucania, in a high school with the significant name, "Parmenides." Casertano was admired not only for his valiant studies but also for the gifts of his personality and humanity. He was distinguished by a lucid intelligence, great culture and above all by his refined irony. "Gianni" was a great friend of the Eleatica group and an acknowledged teacher from the very first moment. He will be missed by all of us. We join, therefore, in the grief of his relatives, friends and students, who, like us, loved him."

Suzanne Stern-Gillet (1943–2023)

We were saddened to learn of Suzanne’s passing and send our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues. Suzanne had been working on a volume in our Plotinus series on Ennead I.2 On Virtues and had already turned in the bulk of the material to our editors John Dillon and Andrew Smith. We hope that with their help we will be able to publish her work in due course. We were in frequent contact with Suzanne over the years in her capacity as editor of the International Journal of the Platonic Tradition. Her presence, involvement, and contributions in the Platonic and Neoplatonic communities will be sorely missed.

Photo credit: Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Neoplatonic Lectures, streamed live on May 3, 2022.

Professor Holger Thesleff (1924–2023) — Wishing you Fair Winds and Following Seas . . .

We had the honor of working with Holger on his last book-length publication, Platonic Patterns: A Collection of Studies, which combined three of his monographs, four articles, and a new introduction to his scholarship on Plato spanning the decades from 1967 to 2003. We hope the collection will do its part in making his important contributions to Platonic studies accessible to many future generations of scholars in the English speaking world. He was an esteemed colleague and will be remembered with great fondness by all of us at Parmenides.

Photo credit: Hendrik Segercrantz

CHARLES KAHN (1928–2023)

The Memorial for Charles Kahn hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Philosophy Department will take place (in person and via Zoom):

Tomorrow Friday, 6 October 6, 2023, 3:00–4:30pm Eastern
402 Claudia Cohen Call (formerly Logan Hall).
With reception to follow.

Zoom link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/93156046631...

Prof. Dorothea Frede wrote this lovely obituary and appreciation of Charles Kahn's scholarly career, published in September (thankfully made available to us by Prof. Susan Meyer).
https://brill.com/view/journals/jpt/17/2/article-p155_1.xml?ebody=full%20html-copy1

Charles Kahn, 1928-2023 "Charles Kahn, 1928-2023" published on 20 Sep 2023 by Brill.

Wishing you a successful conference!

¡Se viene la 7ma transmisión neoplatónica!

Directamente desde Chile, contaremos con la participación en nuestro Seminario del Dr. Andrés Santa María, el cual presentará la conferencia "Ser, pensar y vivir en la ontología plotiniana": tríada fundamental que constituye el ámbito inteligible. ¡No se la pueden perder!

La cita es el miércoles 13 de septiembre a las 12 hrs. (CDMX) y a las 15 hrs. (Santiago de Chile y Buenos Aires).

Les dejamos por acá el formulario de inscripción. Unos días antes de la presentación les enviaremos a sus correos electrónicos el enlace Zoom. De todas formas, la conferencia será transmitida en vivo a través de nuestra página de FB.

https://forms.gle/tWZmZbkQPX9XhRFS7

¡Quedan todas y todos invitados! A compartir.

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In memory of Konstantinos Boudouris

From all of us at Parmenides Publishing, we would like to express our condolences to his family and friends.

We, particularly Arnold, remember him as a very kind, generous man, a gentle soul with lively eyes, and a true believer in philosophy. He was an early proponent of cross-disciplinary activities, as was evidenced by his inclusion of historians, linguists, and experts from various fields in his famously large-attendance conferences that he organized over a number of decades. Our many pleasant interactions with him will make him live on in our memories.

Translation from the Greek:
https://hub.uoa.gr/in-memory-of-konstantinos-voudouris/

"Konstantinos Boudouris, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, has passed away at the age of 88.
A dynamic and tireless healer of philosophical education, an enthusiastic researcher, an excellent organizer of international meetings—including the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy in 2013—, an exuberant editor of scientific journals and edited volumes, he contributed to the promotion of Greece and its culture on a global level and was a source of inspiration for many.
His funeral will be held on Monday 28 August at 10 am at the Athens 1st Cemetery. The Department of Philosophy will be represented by Associate Professor Evangelos Protopapadakis.
The Department of Philosophy expresses its condolences to his family and relatives."

Display of a selection of our books early this morning before the Neoplatonic Conference got underway in Catania, Italy.

Wishing all participants a successful conference and a great time!

NEW PUBLICATION — THE SECOND ALCIBIADES:
A Platonist Dialogue on Prayer and on Ignorance
by Harold Tarrant

1st Volume in the Series
PLATONICA MINORA, DUBIA ET SPURIA
The Unknown Plato: Shorter, Dubious, and Spurious Works
in the Platonic Corpus
Series Editor: Richard McKirahan
Editorial Board: John Dillon, David Sedley, Voula Tsouna

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"This book turns a text that has been easy to ignore into an important resource for an area of ancient Greek thought that deserves more attention. Harold Tarrant’s reflections on the provenance of the Second Alcibiades and its discussion of prayer are by turns suggestive and forensic, and offer fruitful provocation for us to think more about the rise of skepticism in Plato’s Academy.”
—George Boys-Stones, Professor of Classics and Philosophy, University of Toronto

For more information and to order:
https://www.parmenides.com/.../Tarrant_SecondAlcibiades.html

NEW PUBLICATION — PLOTINUS ENNEAD II.4:
On Matter
Translation, with an Introduction, and Commentary
by A. A. Long

In Ennead II.4 Plotinus investigates the question of what underlies the forms that constitute the contents of our minds and senses. Aristotle had called this substrate “matter,” and Stoic philosophers followed suit. With a critical review of their notions, and reference to Plato’s so-called Receptacle, Plotinus develops an account of matter that makes it a supremely negative entity. How he describes the indescribable, and how he justifies incorporeal matter’s indispensability to bodies, are highlights of this tenaciously argued essay.

A. A. Long translates and interprets Plotinus’ treatise on the matter that underlies all physical and intelligible beings. With a wide-ranging introduction and probing analysis of details, he explains the intricate structure of the text. The book will appeal to everyone interested in the history of Platonism and ancient Greek theories of the world’s ultimate principles.

Visit our website for more info & ordering at
https://www.parmenides.com/publications/Long_Plotinus_II4.html

We wish Prof. John Finamore, his organizing team, and all participating scholars a successful conference!

https://isns2023.wordpress.com

SAD NEWS — Charles H. Kahn has died.

https://dailynous.com/2023/03/06/charles-h-kahn-1928-2023/

We remember him dearly from the Presocratics and Plato Festschrift Symposium in his honor at Delphi. https://www.hyele.com/pages/conferences.090603.html

Our Plotinus volume, "Ennead VI.8: On the Voluntary and on the Free Will of the One by Plotinus, Kevin Corrigan, and John D. Turner voted among the 5 best books on Neoplatonism by Ursula Coope, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Oxford.

For more info: https://www.parmenides.com/publications/Corrigan-Turner.html

Neoplatonism The best books on Neoplatonism, recommended by Professor Ursula Coope, a philosopher at the University of Oxford

Sarah Broadie (1942–2021)
We are sad about Prof. Broadie's passing.

We are also grateful to have known and interacted with her on several occasions, most memorably at Delphi where she contributed her paper, "Fifth-Century Bugbears in the Timaeus" to the Festschrift in Honor of Charles Kahn.

| University of St Andrews It is with sadness that we report the death of our good friend and colleague Sarah Broadie. Sarah had suffered ill health in recent times, most recently being diagnosed with a respiratory condition that largely confined her to her home in St Andrews. She was, however, in good spirits and enjoyed con...

Colloquium On the Enneads
14–15 June 2021, 1pm - 7pm CET
With our best wishes for a successful conference!https://ancientesotericism.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/colloque_new_perspectives_juin_2021.pdf

Helga Weyhe, Germany’s Oldest Bookseller, Dies at 98
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/world/europe/helga-weyhe-dead.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20210116&instance_id=26087&nl=todaysheadlines®i_id=48735555&segment_id=49469&user_id=10a660370980c7e4ca24758e7548f0a9

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Treat yourself to books that will inspire you!
Save 30–50% when ordering by January 31, 2021.
Sending our very best wishes to you all!

For orders within the US & Canada: https://conta.cc/34opa3y
For orders in the UK, Europe, and Worldwide (non-US/Canada): https://conta.cc/2Wpbv7L

Soul Shelters
Happy Halloween!
If you need directions: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/albert-szukalskis-last-supper

We are deeply saddened about the passing of beloved Viorica Quintus, wife of former statesman Mircea Ionescu-Quintus. She was 94 years old. (26 March 1926–26 October 2020)

In her honor, here is Mircea's poem that he wrote while being incarcerated. It is part of his book, The Devil's Grinder | Moara Dracilor (Parmenides Publishing, 2013).

Romance for Viorica-Ileana

I can almost see you, sentenced to bear
the brunt of my incarceration,
and hunting for me, starving, inside
the darkness between the frigid ir on bars

I can almost see you, coming like a storm,
wishing to linger one more moment,
one moment still together,
like at our first encounter.

From that realm of pale and pink flowers
you brought so much comfort
and, shaking petals from your hair,
to me you spoke sweet words, enough

to moisten eyes of cornflower
and in your wake, slightly stooped,
I humbly kissed the path
that brought you to the visiting room.

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Romanţă pentru Viorica-Ileana

Parcă te văd, purtând osândă
povara-ntemniţării mele
şi căutându-mă, flămândă,
în bezna recilor zăbrele;

parcă te văd, veneai furtună
şi-o clipă vreai să mai rămâi,
o clipă încă împreună,
ca la-ntâlnirea cea dintâi.

Din lumea florilor roz-pale
atâta linişte-ai adus
şi scuturând din păr petale,
atâtea vorbe dragi mi-ai spus,

că-n ochi a umezit cicoarea
şi-n urmă-ţi, aplecat uşor,
am sărutat smerit cărarea
ce te-adus la vorbitor.

NEW PUBLICATION — PLOTINUS ENNEAD III.4:
On Our Allotted Guardian Spirit
Translation, with an Introduction, and Commentary
by Wiebke-Marie Stock
Visit our website for more info & ordering at
https://www.parmenides.com/publications/Stock_III_4.html

NEW PUBLICATION — PLOTINUS ENNEAD VI.9:
On the Good or the One
Translation, with an Introduction, and Commentary
by Stephen R. L. Clark
Visit our website for more info & ordering at
https://www.parmenides.com/publications/Clark_VI_9.html

Happy memories of easier times when we were given permission to film the historical site of Elea—today's Parco Archeologico Velia—and photograph the bust of Parmenides.

For this opportunity we are forever indebted to the generosity of local and provincial officials overseeing the site, to the shared compassion of and friendship with archeological & philosophical scholars, and not least to the continuous efforts of our staff whose active support has made this and many other endeavors possible.

In this image, Arnold Hermann is facing the physical representation of Parmenides, his most revered ancient philosopher, whose only surviving (fragmented) work, a poem— On Nature, had become the focus of his academic work.

Philosophy seems to be back in fashion!

Why philosophers could be the ones to transform your 2020 Long-dead thinkers from Socrates to Nietzsche are the latest hot property when it comes to self-help books. But can they really make effective gurus, asks Neil Armstrong.