Select Works of Plotinus · 144 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 152
Section 3 3. We have thus covered our main ground, but since corporeity has been mentioned, we must consider its nature: is it the conjunction of all the qualities or is it an Idea, or Reason-Principle, whose presence in Matter constitutes a body? Now if body is the compound, the thing made up of all the required qualities plus Matter, then corporeity is nothing more than their conjunction. And if it is a Reason-Principle, one whose incoming constitutes the body, then clearly this Principle contains embraced within itself all the qualities. If this Reason-Principle is to be no mere principle of definition exhibiting the nature of a thing but a veritable Reason constituting the thing, then it cannot itself contain Matter but must encircle Matter, and by being present to Matter elaborate the body: thus the body will be Matter associated with an indwelling Reason-Principle which will be in itself immaterial, pure Idea, even though irremoveably attached to the body. It is not to be confounded with that other Principle in man- treated elsewhere- which dwells in the Intellectual World by right of being itself an Intellectual Principle.
Related passages · 3 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1b
“(2) Wisdom as a whole = Wisdom embodied in the universe as a whole.
(3) Wisdom in each individual instance = Wisdom as shown in the structure of some particular plant or animal, or part of a plant or animal.
(1) Is an Emanation; (2) and (…”
Both passages discuss the nature of immaterial principles that inform and structure the material world. Plotinus explores the concept of a Reason-Principle that shapes Matter, while the second passage discusses Divine Wisdom as an immaterial, spiritual intuition that informs the structure of the universe and individual entities.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1c
“For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the immaterial and material realms, discussing the nature of principles that govern or constitute physical reality. They both delve into the concept of an immaterial principle that interacts with or encircles matter, highlighting the distinction between the corporeal and incorporeal.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 8)
“Without it the form of the spirit would not be knowable; it is the corporeity of the spirit.
To be sure, it is not a bodily, tangible substance, like the bodies of men, but has nevertheless substantial and visible qualities which the spiri…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the spiritual and the corporeal, exploring how spiritual principles or ideas interact with matter to form bodily existence. They both posit that there is an immaterial, rational principle that gives form to matter, though they use different terminology and contexts.