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Select Works of Plotinus · 116 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 123

Section 1 1. By common agreement of all that have arrived at the conception of such a Kind, what is known as Matter is understood to be a certain base, a recipient of Form-Ideas. Thus far all go the same way. But departure begins with the attempt to establish what this basic Kind is in itself, and how it is a recipient and of what. To a certain school, body-forms exclusively are the Real Beings; existence is limited to bodies; there is one only Matter, the stuff underlying the primal-constituents of the Universe: existence is nothing but this Matter: everything is some modification of this; the elements of the Universe are simply this Matter in a certain condition. The school has even the audacity to foist Matter upon the divine beings so that, finally, God himself becomes a mode of Matter- and this though they make it corporeal, describing it as a body void of quality, but a magnitude. Another school makes it incorporeal: among these, not all hold the theory of one only Matter; some of them while they maintain the one Matter, in which the first school believes, the foundation of bodily forms, admit another, a prior, existing in the divine-sphere, the base of the Ideas there and of the unembodied Beings.
Themes
◆Logoscosmology

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

The Intellectual-Principle functions as the mediating giver of gifts to the Soul.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

References to the 'Highest and Best' and 'God' imply a singular first principle.

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◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The Soul is described as striving towards the Intelligible Kind and towards God.

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◇Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

[auto] The Soul is described as abiding in ceaseless contemplation of the Highest and Best.

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◇Demiurgecosmology

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

[auto] It identifies a secondary 'Maker' distinct from the supreme Intellectual-Principle creator.

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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 explicitly describes a downward flow from the Highest through Divine Intelligence and Soul to the Maker.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The Soul is depicted as absorbing and filled full by the Divine Intelligence.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

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

[auto] The text argues that evil and vice are necessary and useful for the completeness of the Universe.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1e
“And if these Universals exist by participating in Existence, far more is this true of the things which participate in them. 6. Thus the first gift which the Absolute and Transcendent Goodness bestows is that of mere Existence, and so It d…”
Both passages explore the nature of existence and the relationship between the divine and the material world. Passage A discusses the concept of Matter as a recipient of Form-Ideas, while Passage B elaborates on the Absolute and Transcendent Goodness as the source of all existence and attributes. Both texts delve into metaphysical principles and the unity of existence, showing a conceptual parallel in their exploration of fundamental realities.
◆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 explore the concept of divine will and its role in creation and manifestation. They discuss the interplay between different aspects of the divine and the necessity of duality or opposition for the realization of the divine will or the divine plan.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 6)
“2.) "If there is to be a light, there must be a fire. The fire produces the light, and the light renders the fire manifest; it receives the nature of the fire within itself and resides in the fire." ( Mysterium , xl. 2.) "Joy enters the s…”
Both passages discuss the necessity of evil or opposition in the universe for the manifestation of good or light. They explore the interdependence of seemingly opposing forces, with Plotinus emphasizing the completeness of the universe through evil and the Jacob Boehme text discussing the interplay of 'Yes' and 'No' or light and darkness.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 5 (part 10)
“119 The evil spirits are especially inimical to man; but they cannot injure him if his will is directed towards the divine, and if he does not permit himself to be captured by evil desire. No man, except he who is regenerated in the spirit…”
Both passages discuss the role of evil within a broader cosmic framework. Passage A from Plotinus suggests that evil is necessary for the completeness of the Universe and serves a purpose, while Passage B from the Theosophical tradition discusses the nature of evil spirits and the role of divine will in overcoming them. Both texts explore the idea that evil has a place within the divine order.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 5 (part 11)
“Man must know evil for the purpose of becoming able to realise the good, after which he returns to the latter; but as everything seeks for its own corresponding principle, he in whom evil has become paramount will remain in evil. p. 121 "…”
Both passages explore the role of evil in the universe and its necessity for the realization of good. They discuss how evil serves a purpose and is intertwined with the divine order, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 10)
“6.) God had ordered mankind not to eat from the fruits of the tree of temptation; but the devil thought of inducing them to disobey the command, and they were, moreover, p. 160 incited to do so by the spirit of the world, and by their own…”
Both passages explore the role of evil or temptation within a divine or cosmic framework. Passage A discusses the devil's role in tempting Adam and Eve, leading to their fall, while Passage B examines the necessary role of evil in the universe, suggesting that even vice has useful sides. Both texts consider the dual nature of forces that seem malevolent but have a place in a larger divine order.
◆jewish_mysticism|The Kabbalah Unveiled|Introduction, Section 1p
“66 the sins of the inferiors, no influx can come into the universe in a proper manner.) [Following out the symbol of the equilibrium in the Sephiroth, the sin of the inferior paths would be the introduction of unbalanced force. The reader…”
Both passages discuss the role of evil or imbalance within the universe, suggesting that these negative aspects serve a greater purpose or are necessary for the completeness of the cosmos. They share a conceptual parallel in exploring the deeper meaning behind seemingly negative forces in a mystical context.