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Select Works of Plotinus · 225 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 226

Section 5 5. But what is the Nature of this Spirit- of the Supernals in general? The Spirit-Kind is treated in the Symposium where, with much about the others, we learn of Eros- Love- born to Penia- Poverty- and Poros- Possession- who is son of Metis- Resource- at Aphrodite's birth feast. But to take Plato as meaning, by Eros, this Universe- and not simply the Love native within it- involves much that is self-contradictory. For one thing, the universe is described as a blissful god and as self-sufficing, while this "Love" is confessedly neither divine nor self-sufficing but in ceaseless need. Again, this Kosmos is a compound of body and soul; but Aphrodite to Plato is the Soul itself, therefore Aphrodite would necessarily- he a constituent part of Eros, dominant member! A man is the man's Soul, if the world is, similarly, the world's Soul, then Aphrodite, the Soul, is identical with Love, the Kosmos! And why should this one spirit, Love, be the Universe to the exclusion of all the others, which certainly are sprung from the same Essential-Being? Our only escape would be to make the Kosmos a complex of Supernals. Love, again, is called the Dispenser of beautiful children: does this apply to the Universe? Love is represented as homeless, bedless and barefooted: would not that be a shabby description of the Kosmos and quite out of the truth?
Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The text uses biological metaphors like 'conceived and brought forth an offspring' to describe metaphysical emanation.

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◆Living Godtheology

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

The divine principles are described as having 'life' and engaging in 'strenuous activity,' portraying them as dynamic realities.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

The text references the 'very Highest' and the 'Act of the Hypostasis that ranks before it,' implying the ultimate simple source of all being.

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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.

The passage refers to a singular 'Real-Being of all that authentically is,' suggesting an underlying ontological unity.

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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 emphasizes the 'strenuous activity of contemplation' and the 'intensity of its gaze' as the generative force behind the birth of Eros.

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◇Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

[auto] The passage uses visual metaphors such as 'eye filled with its vision' and 'seeing that bears its image' to describe the divine influence.

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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 Love as a Real-Being sprung from the Soul, which itself comes from a higher Hypostasis, establishing a clear downward chain of existence.

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◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

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

[auto] Love's essential being is defined by 'horasis,' or direct seeing/vision of the divine object, rather than discursive reasoning.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The Soul is described as looking 'rapt' towards the very Highest, indicating a state of deep spiritual connection or union with the divine source.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

[auto] The Soul's orientation is described as looking towards the Highest as its good, implying an upward movement or aspiration toward the divine origin.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1e
“Hence the Good God is called the Fount, first, of the Very Primaries: then, of those creatures which share completely therein; then, of those which share partially therein. 484 484 Migne’s text here is corrupt, I have emended it. (1) The…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine emanation and the hierarchy of beings. Passage A from Plotinus explores the concept of Eros and the Supernals, while Passage B from the mystical Christian tradition discusses the outpouring of divine qualities and the hierarchy of creation. Both texts delve into the idea of a transcendent source and its manifestations in the lower orders of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 4)
“She is passive, but the Spirit of God is active, like the soul in the body." ( Clavis , v. 18.) This eternal Trinity is inconceivable in its aspect as a spiritual potentiality, in the same sense as a fire is inconceivable if it does not bu…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine emanation and the nature of love as a hypostasis or emanation from a higher divine principle. They explore the idea of a higher soul or divine being giving rise to love or desire, which in turn influences the lower realms.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 1)
“p. 164 CHAPTER VIII. NATURE, OR THE THIRD PRINCIPLE. "The godless seeks for God outside of his own self, and the Christless sectarians seek for a personal Christ in history; but the man of God and the true Christian know God and Christ w…”
Both passages discuss the concept of love or divine emanation as a hypostasis or principle that originates from a higher divine source. They explore the idea of a lower being or principle emanating from a higher one, and the nature of this emanation.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 5)
“If, then, the soul of the child is in the Holy Trinity, do you then not think that its glorious light beautifully illuminates the mother, and does not that mother rightfully put her feet upon the Moon, 1 as being exalted above all that is o…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine love or divine birth, with Passage A focusing on the hypostasis of Love (Eros) as an emanation from the Soul's contemplation of the divine, and Passage B discussing the divine birth of Christ through Mary, emphasizing the divine influence and the elevation of the soul towards the divine. Both explore the relationship between the divine and the soul, but from different religious contexts.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 1)
“p. 263 CHAPTER XIII. REGENERATION. "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not of those things?" — John iii. 10. "Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."— Luke ix. 23. No man c…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine love or spirit within the human soul. Plotinus describes Love as a hypostasis born from the Soul's contemplation of the divine, while Boehme discusses the spiritual regeneration of man through the divine Christ within. Both emphasize the transformative power of divine connection within the individual.