29 October 2022

Rogatianus

In The Life of Plotinus by Porphyry there is a section where Porphyry briefly touches on a number of Plotinus’s followers.  These are brief sketches of individuals who attended the lectures Plotinus gave in Rome.  In spite of their brevity, Porphyry gives us a glimpse of the interests and personalities of many people who became followers of Plotinus.  One of these was named Rogatianus.  Here is what Porphyry writes about him:

“A good many members of the Senate also attended his (Plotinus’s) lectures, of whom Marcellus Orrontius and Sabinillus worked hardest at philosophy.  There was also Rogatianus, a senator, who advances so far in renunciation of public life that he gave up all his property, dismissed all his servants, and resigned his rank.  When he was on the point of appearing in public as praetor and the lictors were already there, he refused to appear or have anything to do with the office.  He would not even keep his own house to live in, but went the round of his friends and acquaintances, dining at one house and sleeping at another (but he only ate every other day).  As a result of this renunciation and indifference to the needs of life, though he had been so gouty that he had to be carried in a chair, he regained his health, and, though he had not been able to stretch out his hands, he became able to use them much more easily than professional handicraftsmen.  Plotinus regarded him with great favour and praised him highly, and frequently held him up as an example to all who practiced philosophy.”

(Porphyry, The Life of Plotinus, Plotinus I, translated by A. H. Armstrong, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1966, pages 27 & 29)

When I read this, I am impressed by the numerous asceses, or ascetic practices, that Rogatianus embodied after he entered the Way of Philosophy.  These include giving up status, giving up wealth, giving up political power, adopting a rigorous program of fasting, etc.  What this teaches me is that there are many practices that can be adopted on the Ascetic Way.  Each of these practices can be cultivated and nourished as we become more familiar with the Way of Philosophy.