Commentary on Timaeus. Book 1

This edition contains the translation of Book 1 of the Commentary on "Timaeus" by Proclus Diadochus of Lycia, an Athenian Neoplatonist of the 5th century A.D. (412-485). The book is a line-by-line commentary on the dramatic introduction of Plato's dialogue Timaeus (17a-27b), which includes a brief retelling of the dialogue Republic and the story of Atlantis. Defining the subject of Timaeus as "a universal teaching on nature," Proclus interprets the dramatic introduction of the dialogue as an allegorical narrative about the causes and structure of the physical cosmos, which precedes a scientific examination of nature through its figurative and symbolic description. The translation attempts to preserve the stylistic features of the Greek text without compromising the clarity of its philosophical content and argumentation. The translation is supplemented with an extended abstract that will help the reader better navigate the structure of this work, as well as detailed notes explaining the key categories and doctrines of Neoplatonism.