Select Works, Section 113

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

The 'essential of the Soul' bestowed by God implies a fragment of divine origin within the human being amidst material affections.

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

The 'ordering' of the stars and the 'creating God' function as divine reason or ordering principles structuring existence.

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

The inquiry into the true 'We' implies a need to transcend the star-bound nature and return to the divine Being.

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

[auto] The lower phase of the soul is described as bound by stars and necessity, shaping temperament and actions in a way that obscures the true 'We'.

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

[auto] A clear distinction is drawn between the divine creating God and the binding forces of Necessity and the stars governing the lower soul.

A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.

[auto] The text references Plato's Timaeus where a 'creating God' bestows the essential of the Soul and fashions existence.

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 passage describes a flow from the creating God to divinities/stars and finally to the human soul's essential and lower phases.

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

[auto] The passage culminates in the inquiry 'What... remains to stand for the "We"?', pointing toward the recognition of the true self beyond star-bound personality.

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

[auto] The passage distinguishes between the 'essential of the Soul' bestowed by God and the 'lower phase of the Soul' containing affections and sensations.