Trinitarian Tought and Platonist Metaphysics in Marius Victorinus ́ De Generatione Divini Verbi

Abstract

Marius Victorinus Africanus (ca. 300-382) represents the el- oquent encounter between Christianity and Platonist thought in the IVth Century Latin context. In one of his Works: The De Generatione Divini Verbi, Victorinus uses a Plotinian philosoph- ical device to approach better to the Christian theology in or- der to solve this trinitarian problem: How can the One generate something and continue to be the One? The aim of this text is to analyze the coexistence of the Trinitarian theological thought with the Plotinian Platonist metaphysics in De Generatione Divini Verbi according to two important topics: 1) the modes of being, and 2) the explanation of the life of the One beyond the sub- stance. First, we shall give a brief profile of Marius Victorinus; then, we shall analyze why the Arrian Christological problem needs a systematic and mature metaphysics to be solved; sub- sequently we shall revise the conclusions of this interaction be- tween theology and Platonist philosophy mentioning the origi- nality that Victorinus gave to the comprehension of the Platonist Plotinian metaphysics.