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Iamblichus: On the Mysteries · 125 of 218 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Chapter II

After another manner, also, this doubt may be dissolved. For in men, indeed, who are detained in matter, bodies deprived of life produce a certain stain; because that which is not alive inserts a certain defilement in that which is living, in the same manner as the impure in that which is pure, and that which is in privation in that which is in habit; and also because that which is dead produces a certain pollution, through a physical aptitude to a worse condition, in consequence of having possessed the power of dying. But a dead body cannot produce any defilement in a dæmon who is perfectly incorporeal, and does not receive any corruption. For it is necessary that 277 he should transcend a corruptible body, and not participate of any representation of corruption from it. And thus much in answer to the contrariety of the doubt.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The passage explicitly argues that a dead body produces defilement in living beings because it is corruptible and incapable of sustaining life.

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◆Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The text contrasts the corruptible, dead body with the incorporeal dæmon, implying an ontological distinction between material and spiritual realms.

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◆Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

Defilement is attributed to the 'privation' of life in the dead body rather than a positive evil substance.

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◆Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The passage centrally discusses the defilement produced by dead bodies and the necessity for the dæmon to transcend corruption.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 43 (part 44)
“The preservation of the corruptible body too was in some way connected with the life in the world to come, and its preservation was necessary to ensure eternal life; otherwise the prayers recited to this end would have been futile, and the…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the body's corruption and its implications for the soul or spirit. Iamblichus argues that a dead body cannot defile an incorporeal daemon, while the Egyptian text discusses the preservation of the body to ensure eternal life and prevent decay, showing a shared concern with the corruption of the body and its spiritual consequences.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedo|Section 1f
“And being dead is the attainment of this separation; when the soul exists in herself, and is parted from the body and the body is parted from the soul-that is death? Exactly: that and nothing else, he replied. And what do you say of anoth…”
Both passages discuss the separation of the soul from the body and the idea that the soul is corrupted or hindered by the physical body. Iamblichus emphasizes the incorporeality of the dæmon and its transcendence of corruption, while Plato's passage explores the philosopher's disdain for bodily pleasures and the body's hindrance to the acquisition of knowledge.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedo|Section 1h
“And now that the hour of departure is appointed to me, this is the hope with which I depart, and not I only, but every man who believes that he has his mind purified. Certainly, replied Simmias. And what is purification but the separation…”
Both passages discuss the separation of the soul from the body, emphasizing the purity and incorporeality of the soul. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's transcendence over the physical body, though they come from different traditions.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedo|Section 1j
“I reckon, said Socrates, that no one who heard me now, not even if he were one of my old enemies, the comic poets, could accuse me of idle talking about matters in which I have no concern. Let us, then, if you please, proceed with the inqu…”
Both passages explore the relationship between life and death, and the nature of existence beyond physical forms. Iamblichus discusses the incorporeal nature of daemons and their transcendence of corruption, while Socrates argues for the cyclical nature of life and death through the generation of opposites.