medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
hard to believe that the OED could have gotten it right, Phil, but, since i'm
reading it off The Innernets, i suppose that i must accept that it is true.
a Google on "Plato Timaeus Hyle" gets quite a few hits --of varying utility--
from which it appears that, since the middlevils only knew the Timaeus from
Chalcidius' epitome, and C. used the term...
"Aristotle also determined the twelfth-century reading of the Timaeus, because
Calcidius' version of Plato's chōra was hyle (hulē), Aristotle's
reinterpretation of the concept as matter."
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/parergon/v024/24.1leglu.html
"we can note that Plato in the Timaeus avoids the use of the word hyle in his
description of what the universe was made from. He says (47e) that the world
came into existence through a combination of intelligence and necessity, the
intelligence (or providence, fate) being that of the creator, the Demiurge.
The question is what is 'necessity', his word, ananke? Plato actually avoids
an answer to the question but goes on immediately to discuss the four elements
fire, water, earth and air. Calcidius (early 4thC CE) in his commentary on the
Timaeus, which was the only work on or by Plato available in the Middle Ages,
says (268) that by necessity is meant hyle using the self-serving logic that
material was necessary for anything to exist."
http://www.camrax.com/symbol/blog.php4
etc.
c
------ Original Message ------
Received: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:43:53 AM EST
From: Phil Feller <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] medieval interpretations of Genesis 1, 1
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 7:51 AM, Christopher Crockett
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > i thought it was Platonic, rather than Aristotelian, but the OED
disagrees
> > (what do *they* know?).
>
> The OED is correct. Aristotle needed a general term for matter, which
> the Greek language lacked, and used the word hyle (upsilon lamda eta).
> His theory of hylomorphism was widely used in the Medieval period, and
> is perhaps best known for its role in Medieval Eucharistic theology.
>
> Phil Feller
>
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