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Select Works of Plotinus · 22 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 27

Section 1 1. What art is there, what method, what discipline to bring us there where we must go? The Term at which we must arrive we may take as agreed: we have established elsewhere, by many considerations, that our journey is to the Good, to the Primal-Principle; and, indeed, the very reasoning which discovered the Term was itself something like an initiation. But what order of beings will attain the Term? Surely, as we read, those that have already seen all or most things, those who at their first birth have entered into the life-germ from which is to spring a metaphysician, a musician or a born lover, the metaphysician taking to the path by instinct, the musician and the nature peculiarly susceptible to love needing outside guidance. But how lies the course? Is it alike for all, or is there a distinct method for each class of temperament? For all there are two stages of the path, as they are making upwards or have already gained the upper sphere. The first degree is the conversion from the lower life; the second- held by those that have already made their way to the sphere of the Intelligibles, have set as it were a footprint there but must still advance within the realm- lasts until they reach the extreme hold of the place, the Term attained when the topmost peak of the Intellectual realm is won. But this highest degree must bide its time: let us first try to speak of the initial process of conversion. We must begin by distinguishing the three types. Let us take the musician first and indicate his temperamental equipment for the task. The musician we may think of as being exceedingly quick to beauty, drawn in a very rapture to it: somewhat slow to stir of his own impulse, he answers at once to the outer stimulus: as the timid are sensitive to noise so he to tones and the beauty they convey; all that offends against unison or harmony in melodies and rhythms repels him; he longs for measure and shapely pattern. This natural tendency must be made the starting-point to such a man; he must be drawn by the tone, rhythm and design in things of sense: he must learn to distinguish the material forms from the Authentic-Existent which is the source of all these correspondences and of the entire reasoned scheme in the work of art: he must be led to the Beauty that manifests itself through these forms; he must be shown that what ravished him was no other than the Harmony of the Intellectual world and the Beauty in that sphere, not some one shape of beauty but the All-Beauty, the Absolute Beauty; and the truths of philosophy must be implanted in him to lead him to faith in that which, unknowing it, he possesses within himself. What these truths are we will show later.
Themes
◆Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The text explicitly mentions material forms having 'correspondences' to the Authentic-Existent and the reasoned scheme of art.

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◆Inner Lightanthropology

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

The reference to possessing divine truth or Beauty 'within himself' aligns with the concept of an inner divine light.

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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.

The text states truths must lead to faith in that which the individual 'unknowing it, he possesses within himself'.

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◆Soul Migrationcosmology

The transmigration of the soul across lives.

Mention of 'first birth' and entering a life-germ implies pre-existence or transmigration contexts.

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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 first stage of the path is defined as 'conversion from the lower life,' implying the material state must be left behind.

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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 drawn between the 'lower life' and the 'upper sphere' or 'Intelligibles.'

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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 'lower life,' 'upper sphere,' and 'sphere of the Intelligibles' implies a hierarchical structure of being.

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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] Reasoning is described as an initiation, and the metaphysician takes the path by instinct, implying direct knowledge over external ritual.

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◇Ladder Of Lovesoteriology

Diotima's staged ascent from love of beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → beautiful pursuits → beautiful knowledge → Beauty itself; the canonical scala amoris that grounds Plotinus's On the Beautiful and Bruno's Eroici Furori — distinct from generic spiritual_ascent in that eros is the specific motive force.

[auto] The passage details the musician's ascent from love of sensory beauty (tone, rhythm) to the All-Beauty and Absolute Beauty.

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◇Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

[auto] The destination is identified as the singular 'Good' and 'Primal-Principle,' aligning with the concept of a first principle.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The goal is described as attaining the Term and bringing us there where we must go, indicating union with the divine source.

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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 centrally describes the soul's journey back to the Good and Primal-Principle through conversion from the lower life.

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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 text explicitly outlines two stages of the path making upwards to the sphere of the Intelligibles.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 6)
“2.) There existed in man also the third principle, wherein resides sensual desire. He was not endowed with this principle for the purpose of surrendering himself to it, but that he might introduce it into the light of God, and glorify Him…”
Both passages discuss the journey towards a higher spiritual realm or principle (the Good in Plotinus, the light of God in the second passage). They also emphasize the role of beauty, harmony, and inner transformation in this journey, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter. Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i. 9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages explore the concept of ascending to a higher spiritual realm or understanding. Passage A discusses the path to the Good and the Primal-Principle through different temperaments, while Passage B describes the relationship between the terrestrial and celestial consciousness and the hidden divine qualities in the material world. Both emphasize the transformation and purification of the soul or consciousness to attain a higher state.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 12 (part 2)
“1 "It was the will of God to transmute humanity, after it had become earthly, again into the celestial quality, to turn the human earth (material element) into heaven, to make out of the four elements only one, and to transform the wrath of…”
Both passages discuss the transformative journey of the soul towards a higher spiritual reality. Passage A describes the path to the Good and the Primal-Principle through conversion and the appreciation of beauty, while Passage B discusses the transformation of humanity through divine love and the incarnation of God to redeem humanity.
◆platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1f
“But in music there was nothing which tended to that good which you are now seeking. You are most accurate, I said, in your recollection; in music there certainly was nothing of the kind. But what branch of knowledge is there, my dear Glau…”
Both passages discuss the role of certain disciplines (arithmetic in Plato, music in Plotinus) in elevating the soul or mind towards higher truths or the Good. They share a common theme of using specific arts or sciences as a means to draw the individual towards a deeper understanding of reality.
◆platonism|Plato: Symposium|Section 1{
“"These are the lesser mysteries of love, into which even you, Socrates, may enter; to the greater and more hidden ones which are the crown of these, and to which, if you pursue them in a right spirit, they will lead, I know not whether you…”
Both passages describe a mystical journey towards the contemplation of absolute beauty and the Good, emphasizing a progressive ascent from the appreciation of physical beauty to the understanding of higher, abstract truths. They share a similar structure of spiritual progression and the use of beauty as a pathway to divine insight.