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Select Works of Plotinus · 10 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 14

Section 10 10. It will be objected, that if the Soul constitutes the We [the personality] and We are subject to these states then the Soul must be subject to them, and similarly that what We do must be done by the Soul. But it has been observed that the Couplement, too- especially before our emancipation- is a member of this total We, and in fact what the body experiences we say We experience. This then covers two distinct notions; sometimes it includes the brute-part, sometimes it transcends the brute. The body is brute touched to life; the true man is the other, going pure of the body, natively endowed with the virtues which belong to the Intellectual-Activity, virtues whose seat is the Separate Soul, the Soul which even in its dwelling here may be kept apart. [This Soul constitutes the human being] for when it has wholly withdrawn, that other Soul which is a radiation [or emanation] from it withdraws also, drawn after it. Those virtues, on the other hand, which spring not from contemplative wisdom but from custom or practical discipline belong to the Couplement: to the Couplement, too, belong the vices; they are its repugnances, desires, sympathies. And Friendship? This emotion belongs sometimes to the lower part, sometimes to the interior man.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

[auto] The passage prioritizes virtues springing from 'contemplative wisdom' over those from custom.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] The passage centrally contrasts the true man with the brute body, stating the former goes 'pure of the body' while vices belong to the bodily Couplement.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

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

[auto] A clear opposition is established between the Intellectual-Activity/Soul and the brute body/Couplement as distinct ontological states.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

[auto] It describes the lower soul as a 'radiation [or emanation]' from the Separate Soul, indicating a hierarchical flow.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] True virtues are linked to 'contemplative wisdom' rather than custom or practical discipline, emphasizing direct intellectual knowledge.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] Virtues belonging to the Intellectual-Activity are seated in the Separate Soul dwelling within the human being.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] The Separate Soul, representing the higher reality, is said to dwell 'here' within the human being even in its earthly state.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] The Separate Soul is described as the seat of virtues belonging to Intellectual-Activity, implying a union with that higher realm.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

[auto] The passage describes the soul's 'withdrawal' and 'emancipation' back to its higher state when it has wholly withdrawn.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The text urges distinguishing the true self ('true man') from the composite personality ('We') that identifies with bodily experiences.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

[auto] The process of withdrawal and emancipation implies an upward movement away from matter toward the Separate Soul.

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Tripartite Soulanthropology

Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).

The text distinguishes between the Separate Soul, the radiation Soul, and the Couplement (body/soul compound), aligning with a layered structure of the human being.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
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Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
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Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)