mountainman

From "The Life of Plotinus" written by Porphyry, there is a reference which states that "Many Christians .... fooled many, and themselves first ...". Does anyone know of any articles dealing with this reference to "Christians" by Porphyry in "The Life of Plotinus"? Is this a later Christian interpolation? Here is one SOURCE text.

15 ......... When Eubulus, the Platonic Successor, wrote from Athens, sending treatises on some questions in Platonism. Plotinus had the writings put into my hands with instructions to examine them and report to him upon them.

He paid some attention to the principles of Astronomy though he did not study the subject very deeply on the mathematical side. He went more searchingly into Horoscopy; when once he was convinced that its results were not to be trusted he had no hesitation in attacking the system frequently both at the Conferences and in his writings.

[16] Many Christians of this period - amongst them sectaries who had abandoned the old philosophy, men of the schools of Adelphius and Aquilinus--had possessed themselves of works by Alexander of Libya, by Philocomus, by Demostratus, and bby Lydus, and exhibited also Revelations bearing the names of Zoroaster, Zostrianus, Nicotheus, Allogenes, Mesus, and others of that order. Thus they fooled many, themselves fooled first; Plato, according to them, had failed to penetrate into the depth of Intellectual Being.

Plotinus fequently attacked their position at the Conferences and finally wrote the treatise which I have headed Against the Gnostics: he left to us of the circle the task of examining what he himself passed over. Amelius proceeded as far as a fortieth treatise in refutation of the book of Zostrianus: I myself have shown on many counts that the Zoroastrian volume is spurious and modern, concocted by the sectaries in order to pretend that the doctrines they had embraced were those of the ancient sage.

The above seems to be saying that the Gnostics whom Plotinus wrote a treatise against were "Christians". Yet none of the ideas attributed to these "Christians" appear anything remotely like "Christian ideas". Can anyone shed any light on this reference by Porphyry, writing about Plotinus, to "Christians". Is this just another case of subsequent christian interpolation? What is the date of the earliest manuscripts, and what does the Greek original present? Does the origina cite "christians" or "chrestians" for example?

andrewcriddle

The Greek is Christians not Chrestians in all manuscripts.
The manuscripts are late medieval (after 1200 CE IIUC) but go back more or less independently to an older archetype probably dating from some time after 800 CE.

Andrew Criddle

mountainman

Thanks Andrew, can you direct me to a reasonable internet resource on the manuscript traditions for the literature of "early christianity"? Is there one?

andrewcriddle

I'm not aware of an internet site that thoroughly covers the field as a whole, sorry.

Andrew Criddle