1 October 2022

The Silence of Xenocrates 

“He [Xenocrates} was the least puffed up of men; he would often, in the course of a day, withdraw into himself, and it is said that he used to assign an entire hour to silence.”

(Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited by James Miller, Oxford University Press, 2018, page 184)

There are frequent references to contemplation in Platonism.  By contemplation I mean practices that cultivate interior states of mind, or an interior focus, a turning away from sensory stimulation in order to awaken to the interior light and wisdom that flows from The Good, The Beautiful, The One, and The Eternal.

The contemporary philosopher Mark Anderson refers to this passage about Xenocrates in Anderson’s book Pure:

“According to reports recorded by Diogenes Laertius, Xenocrates ‘practiced an internal care and devoted an hour every day to silence’ . . .  “

(Pure, Mark Anderson, Sophia Perennis, San Rafael, CA, 2009, page 102)

Anderson connects this practice of interior silence to Xenocrates’s commitment to vegetarianism, viewing both practices as forms of purification.  From this perspective, the practice of vegetarianism and the practice of interior silence are seen as having equal importance in the Platonic tradition.

For those of us wanting to practice Platonism today this understanding offers us a way of living a life that is conducive to the Return to the One that is at the heart of Platonism.  The two practices of vegetarianism and interior silence balance each other and mutually re-enforce each other.  Vegetarianism is a transformation of one’s relationship to the mundane world.  Interior silence is a transformation of one’s relationship with the soul. 

By adopting these two practices we open the gate to the Platonic Way of Life.