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From an amazon review:
"Students of Neoplatonism are inevitably confronted with the Chaldean oracles, a mysterious text whose origin is not definitively established. Starting with Porphyry, all the major philosophers of late Antiquity - most notably Iamblichus and Proclus - made extensive use of it. It is usually admitted that it featured the first appearence of the words `theourgos' (theurgist) and `theourgika' (theurgy), and both were to form an essential part of Iamblichus' and Proclus' thought. This in-depth study by Hans Lewy (1901-1945) is an invaluable document. In the book's initial chapter, Lewy suggests that new fragments should be added to the body of oracles usually discussed, and in the following sections he presents a thorough analysis of the Chaldean system as it can be inferred from the available sources - the lenghty passages that consider the Chaldeans' cosmology (which includes a demonology) and their rituals (a whole chapter is devoted to the reconstitution of the Chaldeans' immortalization of the soul) are especially worth noting. Lewy later studies how Platonic and Oriental elements have played a role in the genesis of the text, and, among other topics in the short but informative excursuses that follow the book's seven main sections, the history of the words `theurgist' and `theurgy'. Lewy's work is as vital for its actual content as for what it made possible thereafter."
Very scholarly, I don't think I've ever posted a book with so many footnotes here.
Buy:
