Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Descriptive Information

Title

Hapanta Platōnos meth hypomnēmatōn Proklou eis ton Timaion, kai ta Politika, thēsaurou tēs palaias philosophias megistou

Description

This volume contains the second Greek edition of the Platonic corpus, edited by Johannes Oporinus and Simon Grynaeus; the text is based upon the Aldine edition of 1513. The book was printed at Basel by Joannes Valderum in March 1534. In addition to the text of Platonic works, the edition contains commentaries by Proclus on the Timaeus and the Republic. Notes in Latin, Greek, and French have been written throughout the volume. These notes often comment upon different readings of the text, citing sources including Cicero, Calcidius, and Proclus; printing errors are also pointed out and corrected*. The pages displayed are from the section of the Timaeus in which the composition of the world’s body and soul is described. The chart on the right page relates to Proclus’ commentary on the Timaeus 35b-36b, where Plato states that the Demiurge created harmonious divisions of the world soul. Conforming to Pythagorean numerology, Plato’s conception of harmony, music, and geometry depended upon integer multiples and divisions:
2 x 1 = 2 2 x 2 = 4 2 x 4 = 8
3 x 1 = 3 3 x 3 = 9 3 x 9 = 27
These integer relationships form musical intervals.
2:1 = octave
3:1 = double octave
3:2 = fifth
Ancient Greek studies in acoustics produced mathematical arrangements of proportions in order to establish their scale. Thus, the proportions represented in the second horizontal line are:
432:384 = 9:8 (wholetone)
486:432 = 9:8 (wholetone)
512:486 = 256:243 (leimma, i.e. halftone)
576:512 = 9:8 (wholetone)
648:576 = 9:8 (wholetone)
729:648 = 9:8 (wholetone)
These intervals form a musical scale. The subsequent lines in the chart give similar proportions in greater multiples.

Call Number (click link to view in library catalog)

Q 881 P51534

Authors

Plato.

Full Title

Works. 1534

Date

anno arch 1534

Publisher

Apud Ioan Valderum, mense Martio

Location

Basileae

Language

Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Rights

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Type

Text

Medium

Book

Bibliographic Citation

Plato., Johann Walder, Simon Grynäus, Joannes Oporinus, Markos Mousouros, and Proclus. Hapanta Platōnos meth hypomnēmatōn Proklou eis ton Timaion, kai ta Politika, thēsaurou tēs palaias philosophias megistou = Platonis omnia opera cum commentariis Procli in Timæum & Politica, thesauro ueteris philosophiæ maximo. Prostethetai de kai ta tou Platōnos hapanta, gnōmōn kai onomatōn axiomnēmoneutōn, elenchos. Adiectus etiam est in Platonis omnia, sententiarum & uerborum memorabilium, index. Basileae: Apud Ioan. Valderum, 1534.