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Select Works of Plotinus · 111 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 118

Section 15 15. According to Plato, lots and choice play a part [in the determination of human conditions] before the Spindle of Necessity is turned; that once done, only the Spindle-destiny is valid; it fixes the chosen conditions irretrievably since the elected guardian-spirit becomes accessory to their accomplishment. But what is the significance of the Lots? By the Lots we are to understand birth into the conditions actually existent in the All at the particular moment of each entry into body, birth into such and such a physical frame, from such and such parents, in this or that place, and generally all that in our phraseology is the External. For Particulars and Universals alike it is established that to the first of those known as the Fates, to Clotho the Spinner, must be due the unity and as it were interweaving of all that exists: Lachesis presides over the Lots: to Atropos must necessarily belong the conduct of mundane events. Of men, some enter into life as fragments of the All, bound to that which is external to themselves: they are victims of a sort of fascination, and are hardly, or not at all, themselves: but others mastering all this- straining, so to speak, by the head towards the Higher, to what is outside even the Soul- preserve still the nobility and the ancient privilege of the Soul's essential being. For certainly we cannot think of the Soul as a thing whose nature is just a sum of impressions from outside- as if it, alone, of all that exists, had no native character. No: much more than all else, the Soul, possessing the Idea which belongs to a Principle, must have as its native wealth many powers serving to the activities of its Kind. It is an Essential-Existent and with this Existence must go desire and act and the tendency towards some good. While body and soul stand one combined thing, there is a joint nature, a definite entity having definite functions and employments; but as soon as any Soul is detached, its employments are kept apart, its very own: it ceases to take the body's concerns to itself: it has vision now: body and soul stand widely apart.
Themes
◆Divine Simplicitytheology

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

The distinction between the unified Whole and its partial objects implies the simplicity of the governing principle compared to composite parts.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

The reference to the 'Unity of which they are portions' suggests the underlying simple principle from which multiplicity derives.

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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 describes how Soul governs the All by a plan and how the scheme is subordinate to its Dirigeant, indicating active divine ordering.

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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 passage implies a structured reality where Soul governs via Reason-Principle and parts hold reality in proportion to their essential degree.

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◇Living Godtheology

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

[auto] The Universe is described as having a life-history and functioning like a living organism governed by the active force of Soul.

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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.

[auto] The passage explicitly identifies the Reason-Principle as the plan through which Soul governs the All, mediating between higher principles and the material world.

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◇Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

[auto] The passage draws a direct analogy between the parts of the All and human members, stating 'there is a general analogy between the things of the All and our own members'.

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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 text emphasizes that every separate existent is an adjusted part contributing to the unity of the Universe and its life-history.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1o
“And herein the Divine Yearning showeth especially its beginningless and endless nature, revolving in a perpetual circle for the Good, from the Good, in the Good, and to the Good, with unerring revolution, never varying its centre or directi…”
Both passages explore the concept of the soul's connection to higher realities and its inherent nature. Passage A discusses the soul's nobility and its essential being, while Passage B describes the Divine Yearning and the soul's tendency towards higher goods, both emphasizing the soul's intrinsic connection to the divine and its higher aspirations.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 2)
“For a self-motive being, is the cause of motion to those, which are moved by another, in the same manner as that which is immovable, inserts in all beings the power of moving. And again, that which is moved only, must depend on those natur…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a universal soul or intellect that governs the cosmos and the existence of subordinate intelligences. They share a hierarchical view of beings, with some moving only, some moving themselves, and others being moved. The passages also emphasize the role of these intelligences in directing the order and life of the universe.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn X (part 2)
“For the World is one, and only-begotten. Opusc. Mythol. p. 203. 131:17 Ver. 17] The sportive nymphs . This is because Pan rejoices in the exhalations produced from humid substances; without which the world cannot subsist. Phurnutus…”
Both passages describe a unified, interconnected cosmos governed by a divine principle. Plotinus discusses the Soul governing the All, while the Hymn to Pan describes Pan as the substance of the whole, with all parts of the world obeying his general sway.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres|Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Both passages discuss the hierarchical structure of the cosmos and the role of a divine principle (Soul/Reason-Principle in Plotinus, Mind/Word in Hermeticism) in governing and organizing the universe. They also explore the interplay between different levels of being and the unity of all existence.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1c
“It must, then, be that such a one as this must be some one who's wholly One. 9. For as the many motions of them [all] are different, and as their bodies are not like, yet has one speed been ordered for them all, it is impossible that ther…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul, the body, and the divine, emphasizing the unity and hierarchy within the cosmos. They share a conceptual parallel in their exploration of how different parts of the universe are interconnected and governed by a higher principle.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer|Section 1d
“Now it is units that give birth to number and increase it, and, being decomposed, are taken back again into themselves. Matter is one; and this whole Cosmos - the mighty God and image of the mightier One, both with Him unified, and the con…”
Both passages discuss the nature of life, death, and the cosmos, emphasizing the immortality and continuous motion of all things within the universe. They share a metaphysical perspective on the interconnectedness and eternal nature of existence.