Porphyre - Lettre À Marcella

Winner of the 2024 Théodore Reinach Prize, awarded by the Association des Études Grecques and of the 2024 Prix Bordin from the Académie française, awarded by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres for over 150 years.
Porphyre (234 - 305), disciple de Plotin et éditeur de ses Ennéades, adresse cette Lettre à Marcella, une femme d'un certain âge qu'il a épousée sur le tard. Il lui explique la raison de son départ, après seulement dix mois de mariage. Il l'invite, loin de toute passion, à mener une vie philosophique dont il lui rappelle les grands principes éthiques, inspirés de Platon. Porphyre livre ici une apologie de la philosophie traditionnelle, dirigée contre les croyances irrationnelles. La Lettre à Marcella est un document unique sur la manière dont une vie philosophique peut être vécue.
Le texte de la Lettre a Marcella n'a été conservé que dans un unique manuscrit, recopié au XVe s. Il est ici édité, traduit et présenté.
Porphyrius (234 - 305), Plotinus' disciple and editor of his Enneads, addresses his letter to Marcella, an aging woman, whom he married late in life. He explains to her the reasons for leaving her, after only ten months of marriage. He invites her to leave passions behind to lead a philosophical life along the lines of the major ethical principles inspired by Plato. Porphyrius takes a strong stand as an apologist of traditional philosophical teachings. The Letter to Marcella provides a unique account on the ways and principles along which a philosophical life should be led.
The Letter to Marcella survives as a single manuscript that dates from the 15th century. It is here introduced, edited, translated and annotated.
"Pradeau has managed to create a high-quality edition that truly helps both researchers and the general public understand the Letter to Marcella, reviving the classical tradition of the bilingual edition, which is less common than translations. Most importantly, Pradeau has also succeeded in reviving and drawing attention to the literary and historical image of the educated woman in antiquity, exemplified by Marcella." - Sonsoles Costero-Quiroga, Complutense University of Madrid, in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2025)