--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's important to realise that…" description: "\"I think it's important to realise that what happens in Neo-Platonism beginning with Plotinus and Porphyry and then going on for the next several centur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/peter-adamson-14769_century_i-think-it-s-important-to-realise-that-w_2349726.png" --- # I think it's important to realise that what happens in… ![“I think it's important to realise that what happens in Neo-Platonism beginning with Plotinus and Porphyry and then going on for the next several centuries, is a real kind of contest for the ideas and convictions of the intelligentsia of the later Roman Empire. So that you have Christians slowly…” quote by Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/peter-adamson-14769_century_i-think-it-s-important-to-realise-that-w_2349726.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/peter-adamson-14769_century_i-think-it-s-important-to-realise-that-w_2349726.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/peter-adamson-14769_century_i-think-it-s-important-to-realise-that-w_2349726.png) > “I think it's important to realise that what happens in Neo-Platonism beginning with Plotinus and Porphyry and then going on for the next several centuries, is a real kind of contest for the ideas and convictions of the intelligentsia of the later Roman Empire. So that you have Christians slowly converting more and more powerful people until of course actually Constantine and then other emperors after him, become Christian, and the empire becomes a Christian empire rather than Pagan empire.” [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The spread of Christianity in the later Roman Empire was a gradual intellectual and political shift, turning a pagan empire into a Christian one. **In simple terms:** Christianity gradually replaced paganism in the Roman Empire. Key Takeaway Recognize how ideas reshape societies over time. Themes history religion politics cultural change Mood reflective analytical Type historical scholarly When to use this quote - academic study - religious education - political analysis Key Concepts Christianization intellectual contest power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How did pagan elites respond to Christian influence? - What role did political power play in religious change? A Different Perspective Cultural resistance and syncretism complicated the transition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Pagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagan/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Platonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platonism/) [Powerful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-people/) [Roman empire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman-empire/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Plotinus is usually called the Founder of Neo Platonism and what that means is that in this philosophical circle, he was founding a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/plotinus-is-usually-called-the-founder-of-neo-platonism-and-what-that/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Before the 3rd century you're having several philosophical schools still as a going concern. You have not only the Platonists and the Aristotelians but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/before-the-3rd-century-you-re-having-several-philosophical-schools/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Certainly neo-Platonism, Plotinus and Porphyry and that school are psychedelic philosophers. Their idea of an ascending hierarchy of more and more rarefied states is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/certainly-neo-platonism-plotinus-and-porphyry-and-that-school-are/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The importance of Plotinus is not only his own philosophical ideas which are quite interesting, but his historical impact as the founder of neo-Platonism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-importance-of-plotinus-is-not-only-his-own-philosophical-ideas/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [“The church is never more in danger than when it sees itself simply as the solution-bearer and forgets that every day it too must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-church-is-never-more-in-danger-than-when-it-sees-itself-simply-as/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [I've had lots of discussions with my Muslim brothers and sisters who have said to me, "Christianity is a white man's religion" But I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-ve-had-lots-of-discussions-with-my-muslim-brothers-and-sisters-who/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Most Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/most-christian-leadership-is-exercised-by-people-who-do-not-know-how/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It is sufficiently humiliating to our nature to reflect that our knowledge is but as she rivulet, our ignorance as the sea. On points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-sufficiently-humiliating-to-our-nature-to-reflect-that-our/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [My philosophy is inverted Platonism: the further a thing is from true being, the purer, the lovelier, the better it is. Living inillusion as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/my-philosophy-is-inverted-platonism-the-further-a-thing-is-from-true/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Christianity is Platonism for the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/christianity-is-platonism-for-the-people/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The faith engaged with Platonism in the ancient world, with Aristotle in the medieval world, with nominalism in the Reformation era, and with rationalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/the-faith-engaged-with-platonism-in-the-ancient-world-with-aristotle/) [Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/) > [“Most scientists and mathematicians operate as if Platonism is true regardless of whether they believe that it is. That is, they work as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/most-scientists-and-mathematicians-operate-as-if-platonism-is-true/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“In his numerous historical and Scriptural works Bauer rejects all supernatural religion, and represents Christianity as a natural product of the mingling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/in-his-numerous-historical-and-scriptural-works-bauer-rejects-all/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [“how if you help someone maybe you loved to get someone her love? it's complicated? no it's interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nom-de-plume/how-if-you-help-someone-maybe-you-loved-to-get-someone-her-love-it-s/) nom de plume > [“Constantine would have been proud of the new Gods that were formed as you will see why later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-holder/constantine-would-have-been-proud-of-the-new-gods-that-were-formed-as/) Raymond Holder ## More by Peter Adamson > [Plotinus thought that the entire world has a single soul. He also thought that each animal and plant and of course human, has an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/plotinus-thought-that-the-entire-world-has-a-single-soul-he-also/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Assuming there is an intellect, we're clearly not this universal intellect or we would know it. So that's one function of soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/assuming-there-is-an-intellect-we-re-clearly-not-this-universal/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The body is some kind of image of you, it's kind of something that's just attached to your soul, some kind of outside principle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-body-is-some-kind-of-image-of-you-it-s-kind-of-something-that-s/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The forms are part of the mind, or really are the mind, they're just the contents of this universal night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-forms-are-part-of-the-mind-or-really-are-the-mind-they-re-just/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Before the 3rd century you're having several philosophical schools still as a going concern. You have not only the Platonists and the Aristotelians but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/before-the-3rd-century-you-re-having-several-philosophical-schools/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Unlike later Neo-Platonists, Plotinus says that our souls are always connected to the universal intellect and that we never really fall away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/unlike-later-neo-platonists-plotinus-says-that-our-souls-are-always/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The forms in intellect are some kind of blueprint or model on which the physical world is based, and something needs to come along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-forms-in-intellect-are-some-kind-of-blueprint-or-model-on-which/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Once you're in a kind of revealed religious tradition, you wind up having to explain how the things said about God in the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/once-you-re-in-a-kind-of-revealed-religious-tradition-you-wind-up/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Al-Ghazali is the most important philosophical theologian of classical Islam, and Moderation in Belief is among his most important works. It sets out al-Ghazali's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/al-ghazali-is-the-most-important-philosophical-theologian-of/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [In fact Plotinus thought not only that soul in general is eternal so that you always have soul, but he thought that each person's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/in-fact-plotinus-thought-not-only-that-soul-in-general-is-eternal-so/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The intellect must be different from the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-intellect-must-be-different-from-the-soul/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Basically the problem is that if the intellect is looking at or beholding the forms, what it will get is some kind of representation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/basically-the-problem-is-that-if-the-intellect-is-looking-at-or/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [The body distracts your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/the-body-distracts-your-soul/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [For Plotinus, what really exists are the Platonic forms, so the true nature or form of things like justice, beauty, maybe numbers, things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/for-plotinus-what-really-exists-are-the-platonic-forms-so-the-true/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [This is in a way the most important thing about soul is that it's a kind of principle which mediates between the universal intellect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/this-is-in-a-way-the-most-important-thing-about-soul-is-that-it-s-a/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) [Explore all 45 Peter Adamson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. 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