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Select Works of Plotinus · 13 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 17

Section 13 13. And the principle that reasons out these matters? Is it We or the Soul? We, but by the Soul. But how "by the Soul"? Does this mean that the Soul reasons by possession [by contact with the matters of enquiry]? No; by the fact of being Soul. Its Act subsists without movement; or any movement that can be ascribed to it must be utterly distinct from all corporal movement and be simply the Soul's own life. And Intellection in us is twofold: since the Soul is intellective, and Intellection is the highest phase of life, we have Intellection both by the characteristic Act of our Soul and by the Act of the Intellectual-Principle upon us- for this Intellectual-Principle is part of us no less than the Soul, and towards it we are ever rising.
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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 describes Intellection as an 'Act' that 'subsists without movement', characterizing a dynamic state of contemplative being.

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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] The distinction between the Soul and the Intellectual-Principle, with the latter being a higher phase of life towards which one rises, reflects a hierarchical structure.

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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] The focus on 'Intellection' as the highest phase of life and the means by which we reason suggests knowledge through direct intellectual contact.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The text asserts that the Intellectual-Principle is 'part of us no less than the Soul', locating the divine within the individual.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The description of rising towards a principle that is already 'part of us' implies a process of reunification or union with the divine.

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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 phrase 'towards it we are ever rising' suggests a journey back to the higher Intellectual-Principle from which the soul derives its life.

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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 inquiry 'Is it We or the Soul?' and the conclusion that reasoning occurs 'by the fact of being Soul' emphasizes knowing one's true nature.

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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 passage explicitly states that towards the Intellectual-Principle 'we are ever rising', indicating a central theme of upward movement.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i
“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter I-b
“They are useful and necessary up to a point, but the Truth lies beyond them and is to be apprehended to a supernatural manner by what later writers call “infused” contemplation. The sum of the whole matter is that God is incomprehensible.…”
Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 4)
“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”
Shared concept: Self Knowledge — The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 6)
“The human selfhood will then follow in its perceptions the Spirit of God, tremblingly and in the joy of humility, and become able to see what is contained in time and in eternity. Everything is near to a soul in that state, for the soul is…”
Shared concept: Kingdom Within — The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 47
“Mastery over the powers of perception and action comes through perfectly concentrated Meditation on their fivefold forms; namely, their power to grasp their distinctive nature, the element of self-consciousness in them, their inherence, and…”
Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
western_esoteric|Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune)|18. Methods Of Defence II-a
“THERE are two types of practical psychic work which may be used separately or in combination, the latter method, in my opinion, giving by far the best results, though the exponents of each are apt to decry the other. The method which we wi…”
Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)