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Select Works of Plotinus · 283 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 273

Section 7 7. Certain Principles, then, we may take to be established- some self-evident, others brought out by our treatment above: All the forms of Authentic Existence spring from vision and are a vision. Everything that springs from these Authentic Existences in their vision is an object of vision-manifest to sensation or to true knowledge or to surface-awareness. All act aims at this knowing; all impulse is towards knowledge, all that springs from vision exists to produce Ideal-Form, that is a fresh object of vision, so that universally, as images of their engendering principles, they all produce objects of vision, Ideal-forms. In the engendering of these sub-existences, imitations of the Authentic, it is made manifest that the creating powers operate not for the sake of creation and action but in order to produce an object of vision. This same vision is the ultimate purpose of all the acts of the mind and, even further downward, of all sensation, since sensation also is an effort towards knowledge; lower still, Nature, producing similarly its subsequent principle, brings into being the vision and Idea that we know in it. It is certain, also, that as the Firsts exist in vision all other things must be straining towards the same condition; the starting point is, universally, the goal. When living things reproduce their Kind, it is that the Reason-Principles within stir them; the procreative act is the expression of a contemplation, a travail towards the creation of many forms, many objects of contemplation, so that the universe may be filled full with Reason-Principles and that contemplation may be, as nearly as possible, endless: to bring anything into being is to produce an Idea-Form and that again is to enrich the universe with contemplation: all the failures, alike in being and in doing, are but the swerving of visionaries from the object of vision: in the end the sorriest craftsman is still a maker of forms, ungracefully. So Love, too, is vision with the pursuit of Ideal-Form.
Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology

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

The text uses human metaphors such as 'birth pangs' and 'teeming fullness' to describe the Soul's creative activity.

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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.

The creative act of the Soul producing the Kosmos through Contemplation functions as an ordering principle similar to the Logos.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

The reference to the 'Supreme' and the 'primal phase' implies a singular first principle from which existence flows.

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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 identifies Contemplation as the origin of things and the driving force by which the Soul produces the Kosmos.

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◇Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] Visible objects are described as 'dim and helpless by the side of the content of the Soul', implying material inferiority.

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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 describes the primal phase as 'filled and illuminated' and Life streaming from Life, indicating a luminous divine quality.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

[auto] The Soul is described as 'complete in itself' and 'all one object of Vision', suggesting an undivided nature.

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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 the Soul producing the Kosmos as a secondary vision flowing from the primal phase in the Supreme, illustrating a hierarchical descent of being.

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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] The passage highlights 'knowing and enquiring' and the knowledge attained as the cause of creation and fullness.

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◇Living Godtheology

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

[auto] The text portrays the divine as dynamic and active, with 'Life streaming from Life' and energy running through the Universe.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The concept of participation in the Supreme and remaining 'unchangeably There' reflects a state of union with the divine source.

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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.

[auto] The text emphasizes that the Soul is 'all one object of Vision' and that energy runs through the Universe as a continuous stream.

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Related passages · 9 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter IIa
“How it is necessary to be united with and render praise to Him Who is the cause of all and above all. Unto this Darkness which is beyond Light we pray that we may come, and may attain unto vision through the loss of sight and knowledge, an…”
Both passages discuss the concept of vision and knowledge as ultimate goals, with Passage A focusing on the production of Ideal-Forms through vision and Passage B emphasizing the union with the divine through the loss of self and perception. Both highlight the transformative power of vision and contemplation in their respective mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 3)
“The seven spirits are in the centre of the Father—that is to say, in the power of the Word. The Word changes the wrathfulness into sweet joy and shapes it into a crystalline ocean; therein the seven spirits appear in a burning form, like s…”
Both passages discuss the concept of manifestation and the role of desire or vision in the creation of forms and existence. They explore how the initial impulse (desire in Boehme, vision in Plotinus) leads to the differentiation and manifestation of various forms and qualities.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 3)
“7.) "We cannot reasonably suppose any formation or differentiation to have existed in the eternal One from which, or according to which (formation) something could have been made; for if such a form, or predisposition to making a form, had…”
Both passages discuss the concept of creation as an emanation or revelation of a divine principle. They describe a hierarchical structure where the divine contemplation or will gives rise to subsequent levels of existence, emphasizing the continuous and universal nature of the divine energy or love.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres|Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a higher, contemplative principle that gives rise to the cosmos. They describe a hierarchical structure of being, where a primary, divine contemplation leads to the creation of a secondary, material reality. The passages also emphasize the continuous and universal presence of the divine principle throughout the cosmos.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialoguef
“Hence it follows that not less do we desire to see things unknown and unseen than those known and seen. And from this it does not follow that the desire does not proceed from cognition, and that we desire something that is not known; but I…”
Both passages explore the theme of vision and knowledge as fundamental drives, with a focus on the pursuit of ideal forms or universal truths. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of existence and the soul's desire for contemplation and understanding.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogueg
“The fifth results from the disproportion of the means of our cognition to the knowable; seeing that in order to contemplate Divine things, the eyes must be opened by means of images, analogies and other reasonings which by the Peripatetics…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human cognition in understanding divine or higher realities. They explore the idea that direct, unmediated vision or contemplation is necessary to grasp the divine, and that our usual means of perception are inadequate.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogueh
“All which you have explained where it says: "When will the bright spark of the visual ray Darting, spring through each veiling obstacle." But let us return. The sixth, represented in the following, is caused only by the imbecility and unre…”
Both passages explore the theme of vision and knowledge as fundamental drives and the ultimate purpose of existence. They discuss how all actions and creations are aimed at achieving a higher form of understanding or contemplation, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 8)
“V It remains to say a few words upon the psychological origin of what is called in this book Cosmic Consciousness. Although in the birth of Cosmic Consciousness the moral nature plays an important part, it will be better for many reasons t…”
Both passages discuss the evolution of consciousness and the development of higher cognitive functions. Passage A describes the progression from percepts to recepts to concepts, while Passage B discusses the contemplation of the Soul leading to the creation of the Kosmos, highlighting the hierarchical nature of consciousness and understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|5. The Pentagramb
“Here let us state distinctly that this work is being performed continually in the world by some of the flower of mankind; that there is hence a permanent revelation by intuition; and that there is no insuperable barrier which separates soul…”
Both passages emphasize the primacy of vision and knowledge as the ultimate purpose of existence and creation. They share the concept of a universal striving towards understanding and the manifestation of ideal forms or ideas through vision, though expressed in different philosophical and mystical frameworks.