Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

844 28. philosophy and philosophical schools
found in Hierocles’ commentary on the Golden Verses of Pythagoras. Ilsetraut
Hadot has shown that Hierocles’ metaphysics is not significantly different
from that of the Athenian Neoplatonists; like Simplicius’ Encheiridion commentary,
it simplifies the system only because it is addressed to beginners. 21
Hadot has also turned her attention to examining Athenian and
Alexandrian styles of commentary. She has compared the introduction to
Simplicius’ commentary on the Categories, commonly regarded as
‘Athenian’, with the similar introductions to the Alexandrian Categories commentaries
of Ammonius, Philoponus, Olympiodorus and David (or Elias
– the attribution is disputed). All discuss ten questions such as ‘What is the
classification of Aristotle’s writings?’, ‘What is the end of Aristotle’s philosophy?’,
‘What are the qualities required of the exegete?’ according to a
standard scheme; they all then proceed to a second set of points relating to
the Categories in particular and consider the aim of the work, its usefulness,
its authenticity, its place in the order of reading Aristotle, the reason for its
title and its division into chapters. Hadot argues that both schemes go back
in the first instance to a lost work of Proclus, the Synanagnosis or Commentary
on a Text under the Direction of a Teacher, although the second scheme can be
traced further back. Wider examination of the Alexandrian commentaries
leads her to the more general conclusion that the Alexandrian commentators,
like their Athenian contemporaries, seek to harmonize Plato and
Aristotle but hold that Plato is superior. This conclusion accords with the
conclusions reached by Henry Blumenthal in his study of the Neoplatonic
commentaries on the De anima. Blumenthal has shown that all the
Neoplatonic commentators read the De anima through Platonizing spectacles
and all sought to harmonize Plato and Aristotle. Individual commentators
differ over details but share a common approach. 22
What then remains of Praechter’s picture? Athenian and Alexandrian
metaphysics do not differ as radically as he thought; nor do Athenian and
Alexandrian styles of commentary. When we also take account of the personal
connections between the two groups of philosophers, the division
into two schools might seem to lack real significance. Recent work has
stressed how much the two schools have in common. Nevertheless, there
are still some differences of emphasis and attitude which distinguish the
philosophers based in Athens from the philosophers based in Alexandria.
There are some differences in their interests as commentators, although the
differences are not as great as has been traditionally supposed; there are also
differences in the third area to which Praechter drew attention, in their attitudes
to Christianity.
21 Praechter (1913). Hadot (1978) chs. 4–6.
22 Hadot (1987b) (�Hadot (1990b) 21–47); Hadot (1991). Blumenthal (1976), (1977–8), (1981);
Mansfeld (1994).
Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008