2. A celebrated Neo-Platonic philosopher, was born at Chalcis in Coele-Syria, and was
perhaps a descendant of No. 1. He was a pupil of
Anatolius and Porphyrius. Respecting his life we know very little beyond the fact that he
resided in Syria till his death, making every year an excursion to the hot springs of Gadara.
He died in the reign of Constantine the Great, and probably before A. D. 333. (Suidas, s.v.
Iamblich.) He
had studied with great zeal the philosophy of Plato and Pythagoras, and was also acquainted
with the theology and philosophy of the Chaldaeans and Egyptians. The admiration which he
enjoyed among his contemporaries was so great that they declared him to be equal to Plato
himself, and that the difference of time was the only one existing between them. (Julian, Orat. iv. p. 146, Epist. 40.) We cannot join in this
admiration, for although he pretended to be a follower of Plato, his Platonism was so much
mixed up with notions and doctrines derived from the East, and with those of other Greek
philosophers, especially Pythagoras, that it may justly be termed a syncretic philosophy. By
means of this philosophy, which was further combined with a great deal of the superstition of
the time, he endeavoured to oppose and check the progress of Christianity. He did not
acquiesce in the doctrines of the earlier New Platonists, Porphyrius and Plotinus, who
regarded the perception and comprehension of the Deity, by means of ecstasies, as the object
of all philosophy; but his opinion was that man could be brought into direct communion with
the Deity through the medium of theurgic rites and ceremonies, whence he attached particular
importance to mysteries, initiations, and the like.
Iamblichus was the author of a considerable number of works, of which a few only have come down to us. The most important among them are:
It was intended as a preparation for the study of Plato, and consisted originally of ten books, of which five only are extant.
The first book, entitled
The second book, entitled
The third book is entitled
It exists in MS. in various libraries, but for a long time only fragments were
published, until at length
The fourth book, entitled
The fifth and sixth books, which treated on physics and ethics, are lost.
The seventh, entitled
With regard to the other books of this work, we know that the eighth contained an
introduction to music (Iambl. Vit. Pyth. 120, ad
Nicom. Arithm. pp. 73, 77, 172, 176), the ninth an introduction to geometry (ad Nicom. Arithm. pp. 141, 176), and the tenth the spheric theory of
Pythagoras (ad Nicom. Arithm. p. 176).
PORPHYRIUS.] He endeavours to refute various doubts respecting the
truth and purity of the Egyptian religion and worship, and to prove the divine origin of the
Egyptian and Chaldaean theology, as well as that men, through theurgic rites, may commune
with the Deity. Many critics have endeavoured to show that this work is not a production of
Iamblichus, while Tennemann and others have vindicated its authenticity; and there are
apparently no good reasons why the authorship should be denied to Iamblichus.
Besides these works, we have mention of one. Flor.
tit. 25, 6), Epistles, several of which are quoted by Stobaeus, on the gods and other works,
among which we may notice a great one,
Comp. Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. viii. p. 758, &c.; G. E.
Hebenstreit, Dissertatio de Iamblicho, philos. Syr. Lipsiae, 1764,
4to.)