Select Works of Plotinus · 46 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 52
Section 2 2. It may be objected that our will towards living and towards expressive activity is constant, and that each attainment of such expression is an increase in Happiness. But in the first place, by this reckoning every to-morrow's well-being will be greater than to-day's, every later instalment successively larger that an earlier; at once time supplants moral excellence as the measure of felicity. Then again the Gods to-day must be happier than of old: and their bliss, too, is not perfect, will never be perfect. Further, when the will attains what it was seeking, it attains something present: the quest is always for something to be actually present until a standing felicity is definitely achieved. The will to life which is will to Existence aims at something present, since Existence must be a stably present thing. Even when the act of the will is directed towards the future, and the furthest future, its object is an actually present having and being: there is no concern about what is passed or to come: the future state a man seeks is to be a now to him; he does not care about the forever: he asks that an actual present be actually present.
Related passages · 5 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1k
“and all things are moved by a longing for the Beautiful and Good, to accomplish every outward work and form every act of will.
And true reasoning will also dare to affirm that even the Creator of all things Himself yearneth after all thing…”
Both passages discuss the nature of desire and will in relation to the divine and the attainment of a state of perfection or happiness. They explore the idea of a constant striving towards the good and the beautiful, and the dynamic nature of divine perfection.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 5)
“The will beholding itself in the mirror of wisdom causes its own image to appear within the groundlessness, and thus it creates a foundation in its own imagination." ( Menschwerdung , ii.
1.) "Wisdom, the eternal virgin, the playmate of Go…”
Both passages discuss the nature of will and its relationship to existence and happiness. They explore the idea of desire and the will's drive towards manifestation and presence, though within different philosophical and mystical frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 7)
“The light of God has also the quality of the fire, but in it the wrath is changed into love; hate and bitter pain into mild beneficence and sweet desire or satisfaction." ( Menschwerdung , i.
5–16.) "The fountain of love is a clasping and…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine will and its relationship to existence and happiness. Passage A explores the will towards life and expression as a constant pursuit of present happiness, while Passage B delves into the eternal will-spirit as God and the transformative power of love and light. Both texts emphasize the importance of present existence and the divine nature of will.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 5)
“13.) Man can attain real similarity to God and perfect beatitude only by decisively willing to put his will into the Son, as the Heart or Light of the Father.
"God has the eternal and unchangeable will to generate His Heart and his Son, an…”
Both passages discuss the nature of will and its relationship to happiness or beatitude. Passage A from Plotinus emphasizes the will towards existence and present happiness, while Passage B from Jacob Boehme focuses on aligning the human will with the divine will to achieve divine happiness. Both explore the concept of will as a means to attain a higher state of being or union with the divine.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 12)
“In the place which formerly was the seat of self-will there is now nothing, and wherever there is nothing there the love of God is solely active." ( Supernatural Life , xxviii.) "A true Christian knows himself to be a servant of God, whose…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the will and its relationship to a higher state of being or divine will. Passage A from Plotinus emphasizes the will's desire for present existence and happiness, while Passage B from the Christian mystical tradition speaks of submitting one's will to the will of God for eternal bliss and divine connection.