Commentary on the First Alcibiades

This edition is the first publication of a parallel text and translation of Proclus’ extensive and profound Commentary: the text is the Westerink edition first published in 1962, and the translation is that of O’Neill originally published in 1965. The late Platonists considered the First Alcibiades as the best starting point for the new student of philosophy because its primary theme is an exploration of the Delphic exhortation, “know thyself” - and since all human knowledge is shaped by our particular nature, unless we understand the nature of our self all further knowledge is dubious. This Commentary is an extensive summary of this theme, and its most important implications; it draws not only on the text but also upon the Chaldean Oracles, Orphic mythology, as well as the writings of Proclus’ predecessors in the late Platonic tradition.