Pensiero filosofico e forma letteraria: la prosopopea del tempo in Plotino

Abstract

This paper examines the personification of time (prosopopoeia) in Plotinus’ Ennead III.7 (On Eternity and Time) as a literary strategy grounded in his philosophical aims. Engaging with Paolo D’Angelo’s reflections on philosophical genres, I argue that Plotinus deliberately fashions a distinctive literary form to articulate concepts that transcend the limits of discursive language. Focusing on chapter III.7.11, the analysis shows how giving voice to time allows Plotinus to render narratable a non-temporal process: the derivation of temporal succession from intelligible eternity. This use of prosopopoeia integrates causal explanation with the experiential itinerary of the inquiring soul, emphasizing the affinity between knower and known that underpins Plotinus’ epistemology. Narrative and personification thus serve to make intelligible the life of the soul as temporal distension. The paper highlights the close correspondence between metaphysical content and literary form in Plotinus’ thought.