Select Works of Plotinus · 200 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 203 (part 2)

That one Reason-Principle, then, must be the unification of conflicting Reason-Principles whose very opposition is the support of its coherence and, almost, of its Being.

And indeed, if it were not multiple, it could not be a Universal Principle, it could not even be at all a Reason-Principle; in the fact of its being a Reason-Principle is contained the fact of interior difference.

Now the maximum of difference is contrariety; admitting that this differentiation exists and creates, it will create difference in the greatest and not in the least degree; in other words, the Reason-Principle, bringing about differentiation to the uttermost degree, will of necessity create contrarieties: it will be complete only by producing itself not in merely diverse things but in contrary things.

§ Ask Guru about this passage →

Themes

Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] The text contrasts the 'lower and outer life' associated with futility against the thoughtful inner life, implying the material/outer realm hinders true perception.

All passages →

Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The text describes the ordinary man as 'futility' and suggests tears/laments are not proof of wrong, aligning with the view that apparent evils are deficiencies rather than positive realities.

All passages →

Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The distinction between those who 'perceive' and those who know 'no more than to live the lower life' suggests salvation or truth lies in direct perception.

All passages →

Mechanical Humanityanthropology

Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.

The description of ordinary man living the 'lower and outer life' where he is 'but at play' and a 'futility' mirrors the concept of humans living in a state of waking sleep without true consciousness.

All passages →

Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The statement that Socrates trifles only in the 'outer Socrates' uses a paradoxical distinction to clarify the nature of the sage's engagement with the world.

All passages →

Rejection Of Hypocrisyethics

Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.

[auto] It critiques those who read gravity into frivolities and treat play as serious matters, highlighting the disconnect between outward appearance and inner reality.

All passages →

Self Knowledgesoteriology

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

[auto] The passage emphasizes recognizing one's true character versus the outer persona, warning against laying aside one's own nature for trifling.

All passages →

Related passages · 7 parallels

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i

“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”

Shared concept: Evil As Privation — Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness. (derived)

western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Page 4 (part 3)

“Just as Goethe's Werther , with its sex-sentimentality, is said to have provoked an epidemic of suicides, so may Tertium Organum —which restores love to that high heaven from whence descend every beauty and benison—inaugurate a renascence o…”

Shared concept: Mechanical Humanity — Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition. (derived)

christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 4)

“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”

Shared concept: Self Knowledge — The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology. (derived)

western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Page 29 (part 2)

“Consciousness as in sleep without dreams. Simple consciousness. "It pains me," but the impossibility of saying, "I am conscious that it pains me." The reflected state of consciousness. Vision as in dreams. The passive state of conscious…”

christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 10 (part 9)

“"All sacrificing without faith and divine desire is an p. 219 abomination before God, and does not reach the gate of divine glory; but if man enters therein with the power of faith, he surrenders to it his free will, and desires by that me…”

Shared concept: Rejection Of Hypocrisy — Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1c

“And the perfect Peace guards each several individuality unalloyed by Its providential gift of peace, keeping all things without internal or mutual discord or confusion, and establishing all things, in the power of unswerving stability, so a…”

Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 6 (part 1)

“PART I THE LITERATURE OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC Click to view THE SERPENT OF THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES. From a Greek Vase Painting. CHAPTER I The antiquity of Magical Rituals § 1. The Importance of Ceremonial Magic THE ordinary fields of ps…”

Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)