Select Works of Plotinus · 298 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 286 (part 2)
In the case of things not endowed with intelligence, the "leading-principle" is their mere unity- a lower reproduction of the soul's efficiency.
This is the deeper meaning of the profound passage [in the Timaeus], where we read "By blending the impartible, eternally unchanging essence with that in division among bodies, he produced a third form of essence partaking of both qualities." Soul, therefore, is, in this definite sense, one and many; the Ideal-Form resident in body is many and one; bodies themselves are exclusively many; the Supreme is exclusively one.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
The soul is explicitly defined as neither a material fabric nor a harmony of matter, separating it from physical constraints.
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.
The passage distinguishes between the Intellectual Kind and the sensible realm, reflecting a hierarchical ontology.
All passages →◇Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
[auto] The passage defines the soul primarily by negation, stating what it is not (material fabric, harmony, entelechy) before affirming its divine order.
All passages →◇Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
[auto] The text contrasts the soul with partitioned magnitudes and masses, implying a non-composite nature consistent with divine simplicity.
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 explicit goal of the text is to elucidate the essence of the soul, aligning with the pursuit of recognizing one's true nature.
All passages →Related passages · 11 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1k
“Indeed, He is not an unity in this sense, and doth not participate in unity nor possess it; 224 224 These two phrases well express the meaning of the title “Beyond things and supernally infusing Unity” (ὑπερηνωμένη), which I have generally…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in relation to the divine and the soul. They explore how the divine unity can manifest in a pluralistic manner, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical insights.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1o
“Yet It is a Whole because It includes the true existence of all things, and is Partitive because It contains the principle of separate Individuality whereby Christ possesses a Human Soul distinct from all other human souls, and whereby, too…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in relation to divine and soul essence. They explore how the divine (or Supreme) is exclusively one, while also being present in the multiplicity of individual souls or forms, reflecting a similar mystical insight across different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1j
“For from It and through It are all Being and life of spirit and of soul; and hence in the realm of nature magnitudes both small, co-equal and great; hence all the measured order and the proportions of things, which, by their different harmo…”
Both passages discuss the unity and multiplicity of existence, with Passage A focusing on the soul and the Supreme, and Passage B elaborating on the Beautiful and Good as the source of all being. They share a conceptual parallel in exploring the relationship between the one and the many within their respective mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1b
“(2) Wisdom as a whole = Wisdom embodied in the universe as a whole.
(3) Wisdom in each individual instance = Wisdom as shown in the structure of some particular plant or animal, or part of a plant or animal.
(1) Is an Emanation; (2) and (…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in relation to divine and intellectual principles, exploring how the one manifests in the many and the role of the soul or intellect in this process.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 9 (part 1)
“p.
180 CHAPTER IX.
GENERATION.
"Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit.
For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine, emphasizing the indivisible and eternal aspects of the soul and its connection to a higher, unparted essence or divine spirit.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 7)
“48.) "The soul and the Word are not one or one being.
The soul is born from the centre of nature, from the essences, and belongs to the body, for she issues from the essences of the body, and attracts to herself the body; but the Word is f…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the soul, emphasizing the indivisibility and omnipresence of the divine essence. They both describe how the divine penetrates and illuminates the soul without altering its fundamental nature.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 4)
“Hence according to his theology there are two worlds, the intelligible and the sensible.
Hence too his three demiurgic principles: Jovial, Dionysiacal, and Adonical, Δΐι#, ( ) Διονυσιακὴ, Αδωναϊκὴ, from whence many orders and differences o…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to higher intellectual principles. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's role in the cosmos, emphasizing its connection to a divine intellect and the hierarchy of being.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1c
“For that the soul who hath no knowledge of the things that are, or knowledge of their nature, or of Good, is blinded by the body's passions and tossed about.
This wretched soul, not knowing what she is, becomes the slave of bodies of stran…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine and material realms, emphasizing the soul's connection to the intelligible and its distinction from the material world.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 12)
“He clearly affirms: I confess that I am very much inclined to assert the existence of immaterial natures in the world, and to put my soul itself into that class of beings.
These immaterial beings .
.
.
are immediately united with each o…”
Both passages discuss the dual nature of human existence, exploring the relationship between the material and immaterial worlds. They both posit the existence of a spiritual or intellectual realm that coexists with the physical world, and they delve into the nature of the soul's connection to these realms.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 3)
“These Eleatic ideas—namely that there is and there can be only One Absolute Being, infinite., unchangeable, without a second, without parts and passions—are the same ideas which underlie the Upanishads and have been fully worked out in the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine, emphasizing the unity and indivisibility of the divine essence. They explore the idea that the soul is of the divine order and that true knowledge or understanding leads to the realization of this unity.