The belief that mind and body are two alien substances had a deadly effect on the psychology of man. It led to the belief that man is a “prisoner” of the body and therefore either must war against it, or seek escape from it if his mind is to be free. The true philosopher ought not to care about the pleasures of eating and drinking. In Plato’s Phaedo we read that “thought is best when the mind is gathered into herself and none of these things trouble her — neither sounds nor sights nor pain nor any pleasure, — when she takes leave of the body, and has as little as possible to do with it, when she has no bodily sense or desire, but is aspiring after true being.”[32]

Rushdoony, R. J.. The Flight From Humanity: A Study of the Effect of Neoplatonism on Christianity . Chalcedon/Ross House Books. Kindle Edition.