Select Works of Plotinus · 267 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 260 (part 2)

That definite Quantity is merely something occurring within Time, for, otherwise Time is not everywhere but is something belonging to Movement which thus would be its substratum or basic-stuff: once more, then, we would be making Time identical with Movement; for the extent of Movement is not something outside it but is simply its continuousness, and we need not halt upon the difference between the momentary and the continuous, which is simply one of manner and degree.

The extended movement and its extent are not Time; they are in Time.

Those that explain Time as extent of Movement must mean not the extent of the movement itself but something which determines its extension, something with which the movement keeps pace in its course.

But what this something is, we are not told; yet it is, clearly, Time, that in which all Movement proceeds.

This is what our discussion has aimed at from the first: "What, essentially, is Time?" It comes to this: we ask "What is Time?" and we are answered, "Time is the extension of Movement in Time!" On the one hand Time is said to be an extension apart from and outside that of Movement; and we are left to guess what this extension may be: on the other hand, it is represented as the extension of Movement; and this leaves the difficulty what to make of the extension of Rest- though one thing may continue as long in repose as another in motion, so that we are obliged to think of one thing Time that covers both Rest and Movements, and, therefore, stands distinct from either.

What then is this thing of extension?

To what order of beings does it belong?

It obviously is not spatial, for place, too, is something outside it.

Themes

◆Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

The phrase 'part or share in Eternity' suggests a fragment of the divine resides within humans.

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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.

The text describes Time as a 'descent from Eternity' and an 'outgoing subsequent', implying a hierarchical flow from the higher to the lower.

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

It asserts that we must have 'ourselves, some part or share in Eternity', locating the divine within the self.

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◆Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The mention of the previously taken 'upward way' contextualizes the current discussion within the soul's journey back to its origin.

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◆Self Knowledgesoteriology

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

Understanding the divine requires a 'point of contact' within ourselves, implying self-knowledge is prerequisite to higher knowledge.

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◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The text highlights the distinction between existing 'in Time' versus 'in Eternity', marking a state of ontological separation.

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◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

The author references having previously taken the 'upward way' before descending to investigate Time, indicating a journey of ascent.

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