Select Works of Plotinus · 198 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 202 (part 2)

All this is the doing of man knowing no more than to live the lower and outer life, and never perceiving that, in his weeping and in his graver doings alike, he is but at play; to handle austere matters austerely is reserved for the thoughtful: the other kind of man is himself a futility.

Those incapable of thinking gravely read gravity into frivolities which correspond to their own frivolous Nature.

Anyone that joins in their trifling and so comes to look on life with their eyes must understand that by lending himself to such idleness he has laid aside his own character.

If Socrates himself takes part in the trifling, he trifles in the outer Socrates.

We must remember, too, that we cannot take tears and laments as proof that anything is wrong; children cry and whimper where there is nothing amiss.

Themes

◆Unity Of Beingtheology

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

It asserts that the Reason-Principle extends to every possible existent, suggesting a unified underlying reality.

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◇Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] The text encourages reasoning to wonder at the spectacle and understand the form allotted to entities.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] It states that no reasoning or arrangement could express the Divine Intelligence, highlighting its ineffability.

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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] It distinguishes between the Intellectual Principle and the realm of sense, implying a hierarchical structure of being.

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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 centers on the 'Reason-Principle' as the creating and ordering force of the Kosmos.

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Related passages · 6 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|VIIc

“When a good work is done by a man, he is free of it, and through that freedom is liker and nearer to his Original than he was before. The moral task of man is a process of spiritualization. All creatures are go-betweens, and we are placed…”

Both passages discuss the nature of human existence and the importance of transcending the temporal and superficial aspects of life. They emphasize the need for a deeper, more thoughtful approach to life and the elevation of the soul towards a higher, divine state.

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 12)

“145:1 This was the divine Man, out of whom the world was created, while the natural man is a product of the world. 145:2 Because everything was within his own will, within himself. 145:3 This celestial Adam has not died, but still exists…”

Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the individual, emphasizing the divine nature within humans and the process of attaining higher spiritual states. They explore the idea of the individual's role in the cosmos and the path to divine self-knowledge.

◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1d

“And this is, My beloved, Life; this is the Beautiful; this is the Good; this, God. 14. And if thou wouldst in practice understand [this work], behold what taketh place with thee desiring to beget. Yet this is not like unto that, for He d…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine and its relationship to creation, emphasizing the unity and interconnectedness of all things. They discuss the idea of a single, all-encompassing principle (God or the Intellectual Principle) that governs and sustains the cosmos.

◆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 the cosmos and the immortality of its components. They emphasize the interconnectedness and perpetual motion within the cosmos, and the idea that what appears as death is merely transformation or dissolution.

◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat|Section 1d

“<lacuna in text>, though this Sermon (Logos) on Rebirth, on which I did not comment - in order that we may not be calumniators of the All unto the multitude, to whom indeed God Himself doth will we should not. 14. Tat: Tell me, O father:…”

Both passages explore the relationship between the individual and the divine, emphasizing the unity and interconnectedness of all things. They discuss the transcendence of the physical body and the attainment of a higher, divine state of being.

◆taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 23

“Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and E…”

Both passages discuss the importance of aligning with a higher nature or principle (the Tao in Passage B and the thoughtful life in Passage A) and criticize those who engage in superficial or frivolous activities. They emphasize the need for genuine understanding and adherence to a deeper truth.