The Works of Proclus
Guthrie was involved in 'resurrecting' Proclus. This he did by translating those of his writings which were neither too bulky nor already in print.
He was inspired to do this by a strange visit in 1924. A former Californian miner turned seaman named Emil Verch came to see him in his study at All Saints Church, N.Y. Verch told Guthrie that he had had a vision of a sage by the name of Proclus, giving lectures in a language unknown to Verch. When Guthrie told Verch about Proclus and his works, Mr. Verch begged him to spread the word about this writer by means of an English translation.
Verch had no money to finance the task he had set. Guthrie, in his own words, "tightened an already tight belt by one notch" and set to work. In the process he came to esteem Proclus as one of the greatest ornaments of humanity, approaching as near as possible to the ideal of the 'universal man', in whom every aspect of human nature is exercised and developed in mutual harmony.
Read more about this topic: Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie
Famous quotes containing the word works:
“Are you there, Africa with the bulging chest and oblong thigh? Sulking Africa, wrought of iron, in the fire, Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars.”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)