Select Works of Plotinus · 231 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 230
Section 9 9. This Poros, Possession, then, is the Reason-Principle of all that exists in the Intellectual Realm and in the supreme Intellect; but being more diffused, kneaded out as it were, it must touch Soul, be in Soul, [as the next lower principle]. For, all that lies gathered in the Intellect is native to it: nothing enters from without; but "Poros intoxicated" is some Power deriving satisfaction outside itself: what, then, can we understand by this member of the Supreme filled with Nectar but a Reason-Principle falling from a loftier essence to a lower? This means that the Reason-Principle upon "the birth of Aphrodite" left the Intellectual for the Soul, breaking into the garden of Zeus. A garden is a place of beauty and a glory of wealth: all the loveliness that Zeus maintains takes its splendour from the Reason-Principle within him; for all this beauty is the radiation of the Divine Intellect upon the Divine Soul, which it has penetrated. What could the Garden of Zeus indicate but the images of his Being and the splendours of his glory? And what could these divine splendours and beauties be but the Ideas streaming from him? These Reason-Principles- this Poros who is the lavishness, the abundance of Beauty- are at one and are made manifest; this is the Nectar-drunkenness. For the Nectar of the gods can be no other than what the god-nature essentially demands; and this is the Reason pouring down from the divine Mind. The Intellectual Principle possesses Itself to satiety, but there is no "drunken" abandonment in this possession which brings nothing alien to it. But the Reason-Principle- as its offspring, a later hypostasis- is already a separate Being and established in another Realm, and so is said to lie in the garden of this Zeus who is divine Mind; and this lying in the garden takes place at the moment when, in our way of speaking, Aphrodite enters the realm of Being.
Themes
◆Divine Sparkscosmology
Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
The presence of the Intellective Act within humans, though not wholly merged, resembles fragments of divine spirit awaiting return.
All passages →◇Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
[auto] Acts not of the Soul are described as alien and merely happening to it, implying the material or accidental hinders true being.
All passages →◇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 text distinguishes between the Absolute and particular beings where the Intellectual-Principle is manifest, implying a hierarchical structure of reality.
All passages →◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
[auto] The passage emphasizes authentic ideas involving an act of true knowing as opposed to false mentation lacking reality.
All passages →◇Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
[auto] The text asserts the existence of the authentic Intellective Act within each particular human being.
All passages →◇Kingdom Withinanthropology
The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.
[auto] It states that the Intellectual-Principle is manifest in every several form, indicating divine presence within particulars.
All passages →◇Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
[auto] It describes the human longing for absolute things as an expression of intellective activities seeking their origin.
All passages →◇Self Knowledgesoteriology
The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
[auto] Distinguishing truly good acts of the Soul from alien occurrences requires recognizing one's authentic nature.
All passages →◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
[auto] The longing for absolute things suggests a movement or orientation toward a higher state of being.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1n
“And the Divine Yearning brings ecstasy, not allowing them that are touched thereby to belong unto themselves but only to the objects of their affection.
This principle is shown by superior things 106 through their providential care for the…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine emanation and the relationship between higher and lower realms of being. They describe a process where a divine principle or reason flows from a higher realm (Intellectual Realm or Divine Mind) to a lower one (Soul or Universe), indicating a similar mystical insight across different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1o
“And herein the Divine Yearning showeth especially its beginningless and endless nature, revolving in a perpetual circle for the Good, from the Good, in the Good, and to the Good, with unerring revolution, never varying its centre or directi…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine emanation and the flow of divine principles from a higher to a lower realm. Passage A describes the Reason-Principle (Poros) descending from the Intellectual Realm to the Soul, while Passage B discusses the Divine Yearning as a unifying power that moves from higher to lower realms, connecting different levels of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 1)
“p.
89 CHAPTER IV.
CREATION.
Everything we see in nature is manifested truth; only we are not able to recognise it as such, unless the truth is manifest within ourselves.
God is the supreme, fundamental, universal, self-existent eternal…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the individual, emphasizing the distinction between the authentic and the accidental or material. They explore the idea that the divine is manifest in individual beings but not identical to them.
◆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 relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the existence of a higher, intellectual or spiritual reality that is reflected in the physical world. They both explore the idea of authentic existence and knowledge within the individual, though from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 12 (part 10)
“Every object or person we see in the world is nothing but a symbol of existing ideas; every event taking place in external life is the outcome of invisibly acting forces.
The historical correctness of the occurrences described in the Bible…”
Both passages discuss the nature of true being and the divine within the individual. Passage A emphasizes the Intellectual-Principle and authentic ideas, while Passage B focuses on the divine light and wisdom within man, both pointing to a higher, transcendent reality.
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 10 (part 10)
“There is no one word which will exactly describe the Egyptian conception of Maat both from a physical and from a moral point of view; but the fundamental idea of the word is " straight," and from the Egyptian texts it is clear that maat mea…”
Both passages explore the concept of truth and authenticity, with Passage A discussing Maat as the embodiment of truth and righteousness in Egyptian mythology, and Passage B discussing the Intellectual-Principle and authentic ideas in neoplatonic philosophy. Both texts emphasize the importance of genuine, unalterable truths in their respective contexts.
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 43 (part 92)
“She is depicted in the form of a woman, having upon her head the shuttle or arrows, or she wears the crown and holds arrows, a bow, and a sceptre in her left hand; she also appears in the form of a cow.[5] Sekhet was in Memphis the wife of…”
Both passages discuss the concept of truth and authenticity in their respective traditions. Passage A explores the Egyptian concept of Maat, which encompasses truth, justice, and righteousness, while Passage B discusses the Platonic concept of Real-Being and authentic ideas. Both texts emphasize the importance of these concepts in the context of the soul and the divine.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn XXXIV
“XXXIV. T O L A T O N A. The FUMIGATION from MYRRH. DARK veil'd Latona, much invoked queen, Twin-bearing Goddess, of a noble mien; Cæantis great, a mighty mind is thine, Offspring prolific, blest of Jove divine: Phœbus proceeds from thee, th…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine principles shaping reality and the nature of authentic existence. Passage A discusses Apollo as the demiurgus possessing archetypal ideas, while Passage B talks about the Intellectual-Principle and authentic ideas in the soul, both reflecting a mystical understanding of divine order and true being.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 2: The Serapeum|Section 1d
“Not only, then, is God not understood by all, but both unto the gods and some of the men they out of ignorance do give the name of Good, though they can never either be or become Good.
For they are very different from God, while Good can n…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the Good and its relationship to the divine and human intellect. Passage A emphasizes the authentic Intellective Act and the authentically knowable object, while Passage B focuses on the nature of God as the Good and the source of all things. Both texts explore the concept of the divine and its manifestation in human understanding.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter VIII — How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself|Chapter VIII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER VIII.
How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself .
It is the unanimous consent of all Platonists, that as in the original and exemplary World, all things are in all; so also in t…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine principles permeating different realms of existence. Plotinus discusses the Reason-Principle flowing from the Intellectual Realm to the Soul, while the second passage describes how elements are present in various celestial and spiritual entities, reflecting a similar idea of interconnectedness and divine immanence.