Ambrose of Milan, death as a good (de bono mortis) an introduction, a Russian translation and notes

Two sermons of Ambrose of Milan, the “Death as a good” and “On Isaac or on the soul,” are sometimes called “Plotinian sermons” because of the abundance of the hidden citations from the Neoplatonic philosopher in the text and the overall impression of otherworldliness and detestation to body they leave after reading. These texts can't really be called “Plotinian” in the proper sense of the word, of course. In the universe, as Ambrose sees it, there is no place for a ‘Neoplatonic' hierarchy of entities, ranked according to their proximity to the universal source; matter is not considered as a universe principle, but as a sort of bodily resistance to the soul. Body as well as soul appears as a fragile created thing, and corporality fighting with mind becomes a consequence, not a condition of the soul's sinful fall. For the sake of the audience's admonition Ambrose develops an original version of Christian anthropology and examines the connection between soul and body, introducing the term “affection” to describe their reciprocal influence: someone can be called “human” only thanks to his conversion to God, and the restoration of the perfection of his human nature and the harmony between soul and body can be achieved by the means of innate action of the Creator.