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Select Works of Plotinus · 94 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 101

Section 2 2. And what of lower things? [Why have they not this motion?] [Their case is very different]: the single thing here is not an all but a part and limited to a given segment of space; that other realm is all, is space, so to speak, and is subject to no hindrance or control, for in itself it is all that is. And men? As a self, each is a personal whole, no doubt; but as member of the universe, each is a partial thing. But if, wherever the circling body be, it possesses the Soul, what need of the circling? Because everywhere it finds something else besides the Soul [which it desires to possess alone]. The circular movement would be explained, too, if the Soul's power may be taken as resident at its centre. Here, however, we must distinguish between a centre in reference to the two different natures, body and Soul. In body, centre is a point of place; in Soul it is a source, the source of some other nature. The word, which without qualification would mean the midpoint of a spheric mass, may serve in the double reference; and, as in a material mass so in the Soul, there must be a centre, that around which the object, Soul or material mass, revolves. The Soul exists in revolution around God to whom it clings in love, holding itself to the utmost of its power near to Him as the Being on which all depends; and since it cannot coincide with God it circles about Him. Why then do not all souls [i.e., the lower, also, as those of men and animals] thus circle about the Godhead? Every Soul does in its own rank and place. And why not our very bodies, also? Because the forward path is characteristic of body and because all the body's impulses are to other ends and because what in us is of this circling nature is hampered in its motion by the clay it bears with it, while in the higher realm everything flows on its course, lightly and easily, with nothing to check it, once there is any principle of motion in it at all. And it may very well be that even in us the Spirit which dwells with the Soul does thus circle about the divinity. For since God is omnipresent the Soul desiring perfect union must take the circular course: God is not stationed. Similarly Plato attributes to the stars not only the spheric movement belonging to the universe as a whole but also to each a revolution around their common centre; each- not by way of thought but by links of natural necessity- has in its own place taken hold of God and exults.
Themes
◆Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The omnipresent Soul communicates its quality to the heavens, binding the parts of the cosmos through shared presence and motion.

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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.

The text implies a hierarchy where Nature is the custom established by the All-Soul, indicating a flow from higher to lower principle.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The Soul is depicted as active and dynamic, communicating presence and leading the Kosmos rather than being a static abstraction.

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◆Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

Nature is defined as the ordering custom of the Soul, functioning as a mediating principle between the divine and the cosmos.

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◇Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

[auto] The text defines Nature as the custom established by the All-Soul and describes the Soul ceaselessly leading the Kosmos, embodying active ordering.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

[auto] The passage explicitly describes the Soul as 'Omnipresent in its entirety, incapable of division,' which is the core definition of divine simplicity.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The 'centre' towards which there is an impulse represents the undivided first principle or source from which motion originates.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The continuous attraction towards the Soul results in 'eternal attainment,' implying a state of union within the one sphere.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The distinction between motion (seeking) and attainment (finding) is dissolved, showing that the process itself is the goal.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage resolves the tension of seeking by stating 'this very motion is its eternal attainment,' using paradox to convey spiritual truth.

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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 text describes the Kosmos moving and being led ceaselessly towards the Soul, representing a cosmic journey back to its origin.

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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 heavens are described as 'pursuing universality and advancing towards it,' depicting a movement upward toward the divine principle.

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◇Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The Soul is described as encompassing all and communicating universal presence, emphasizing the fundamental oneness of reality.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1h
“Hence comes the bare existence of all things, and hence their unions, 277 277 ἑνώσεις, διακρίσεις, ταὐτότητες, ἑτερότητες. their differentiations, their identities, their differences, 278 278 Hence parts are united into wholes and wholes a…”
Both passages discuss the concept of circular motion as a metaphor for the soul's relationship with the divine. Plotinus describes the soul's circular movement around God due to its love and desire for union, while the second passage from Proclus discusses the circular movement of Heavenly Minds in their union with the Beautiful and Good.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 10 (part 12)
“For the third time, and at the end of the world, God will move in the name (quality) of the Holy Spirit, when the world will return into the Ether ( Akasa ), and then its dead will be resurrected." ( Threefold Life , vii. 22.) This may per…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a divine or cosmic entity and the movement or manifestation of the universe or humanity. They explore the idea of an eternal, omnipresent force guiding and attracting all things towards itself, whether it be the Soul in Plotinus' work or the divine Logos in the second passage.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 3)
“Because it is also necessary that the soul, essentially rational, should receive intellect by participation, and that intellectual energy should be of p. 22 two kinds; one primarily subsisting in the divine intellect; but the other subsist…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its role in the motion of the universe. Passage A describes the soul as the self-motive essence that governs the motion of celestial bodies rationally, while Passage B describes the soul as the omnipresent force that leads the Kosmos in a continuous, circular motion. Both passages emphasize the soul's role in maintaining the order and motion of the universe.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 4)
“Hence according to his theology there are two worlds, the intelligible and the sensible. Hence too his three demiurgic principles: Jovial, Dionysiacal, and Adonical, Δΐι#, ( ) Διονυσιακὴ, Αδωναϊκὴ, from whence many orders and differences o…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a universal soul and intellect that governs the cosmos. They share the idea that the soul is self-motive and that intellect is the cause of perpetual order and motion in the universe. The passages also emphasize the hierarchical structure of existence, with the soul and intellect playing crucial roles in maintaining cosmic harmony.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 2: The Serapeum|Section 1b
“A: How is it, then, that things down here, Thrice-greatest one, are moved with those that are [already] moved? For thou hast said the errant spheres were moved by the inerrant one. H: This is not, O Asclepius, a moving with, but one again…”
Both passages explore the nature of motion and its relationship to stability and the soul. They discuss how motion is not merely physical but is influenced by incorporeal elements like the soul, and how this motion is perpetual and purposeful.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogued
“To be infinite, it must be infinitely pursued with that form of pursuit which is not incited physically, but metaphysically, and is not from imperfect to perfect, but goes circulating through the grades of perfection to arrive at that infin…”
Both passages discuss the concept of pursuing an infinite or divine center through a circular or spiraling motion. They explore the idea of the soul's journey and the nature of its movement towards a higher, metaphysical goal, though they use different metaphors and contexts.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter IV (part 1)
“p. 38 CHAPTER IV In what direction may the fourth dimension lie? What is motion? Two kinds of motion—motion in space and motion in time—which are contained in every movement. What is time? Two ideas contained in the conception of time.…”
Both passages explore the concept of motion and its relationship to higher dimensions or spiritual realms. Passage A discusses the fourth dimension and the idea of motion in time, while Passage B describes the circular motion of the Soul around God, highlighting the similarities in their exploration of motion and its metaphysical implications.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter X (part 4)
“This happens because the circle inevitably ends in the same point at which it began, and the "life" of the separate being, beginning with birth, must end in death, which is the return to the point of departure. But during its transit throu…”
Both passages explore the concept of motion and life through higher dimensions, with Passage A discussing the idea of life as motion in higher space and Passage B describing the Soul's motion as an eternal attainment within the cosmos. Both use circular motion as a metaphor for existence and life.