← Home
Select Works of Plotinus · 304 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 292

Section 5 5. But what place is left for the particular souls, yours and mine and another's? May we suppose the Soul to be appropriated on the lower ranges to some individual, but to belong on the higher to that other sphere? At this there would be a Socrates as long as Socrates' soul remained in body; but Socrates ceases to exist, precisely on attainment of the highest. Now nothing of Real Being is ever annulled. In the Supreme, the Intellectual-Principles are not annulled, for in their differentiation there is no bodily partition, no passing of each separate phase into a distinct unity; every such phase remains in full possession of that identical being. It is exactly so with the souls. By their succession they are linked to the several Intellectual-Principles, for they are the expression, the Logos, of the Intellectual-Principles, of which they are the unfolding; brevity has opened out to multiplicity; by that point of their being which least belongs to the partial order, they are attached each to its own Intellectual original: they have already chosen the way of division; but to the extreme they cannot go; thus they keep, at once, identification and difference; each soul is permanently a unity [a self] and yet all are, in their total, one being. Thus the gist of the matter is established: one soul the source of all; those others, as a many founded in that one, are, on the analogy of the Intellectual-Principle, at once divided and undivided; that Soul which abides in the Supreme is the one expression or Logos of the Intellectual-Principle, and from it spring other Reason-Principles, partial but immaterial, exactly as in the differentiation of the Supreme.
Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

The text defines the soul by negation, stating it is not subject to part or magnitude.

All passages →
Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

Equating quantitative magnitude with body suggests materiality is a degradation of the soul's true nature.

All passages →
Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] It asserts the soul lacks quantitative parts and remains an undivided whole unlike material magnitudes.

All passages →
Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The analogy of science implies the whole reality is potentially present within each individual constituent proposition.

All passages →
Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The phrase 'partition without severance' explicitly transcends the binary opposition between division and unity.

All passages →
Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The passage argues that individual souls are not fragments but entireties of the All-Soul, maintaining ontological unity despite apparent partition.

All passages →
Related passages · 6 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1b
Plotinus says the Godhead is indivisibly divided. doth not leave Its own Unity, but, even in the act of going forth to all things, remains entirely within Itself through the excess of that all-transcendent Unity: concerning these things ‘t…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and division within the divine and the souls. They explore how individual souls or intelligences maintain their unity while being part of a greater whole, reflecting a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1e
And if these Universals exist by participating in Existence, far more is this true of the things which participate in them. 6. Thus the first gift which the Absolute and Transcendent Goodness bestows is that of mere Existence, and so It d…”
Both passages discuss the unity and multiplicity of souls and their relationship to higher principles. They explore the idea of a single source from which all things emanate and maintain their existence, reflecting a common mystical theme of oneness and differentiation.
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 9 (part 11)
Unless this distinction of the various aspects of man is kept in mind, we are always exposed to mistaking the leaves of the tree of life for the branches, and the branches for the trunk, and the trunk for the roots. 197:1 Each soul constit…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to a larger, collective entity. They explore the idea of individual souls as parts of a whole, whether it be the All-Soul in Plotinus' work or the tree of life in the second passage, showing a genuine conceptual parallel.
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 explore the relationship between the individual and the universal aspects of the soul or divine essence. Plotinus discusses the nature of the All-Soul and individual souls, while the second passage examines the relationship between the soul and the Word (divine essence), highlighting how the divine penetrates and illuminates the soul without altering its nature.
gnosticism|Pistis Sophia|Document THIRD„
But if it is one out of the dregs of the purifying of the Light, is wont Melkhisedek the great Receiver of the Light to take her from the Rulers, or otherwise indeed if they are some out of the tears of their eyes, or out of the breath of t…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul, its relationship to higher principles, and the concept of individuality versus unity. They explore how souls are connected to higher realms or principles, and how they maintain both individual and collective aspects.
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 hierarchical structure of reality, with a emphasis on the role of intellect and soul in the cosmos. They share the idea of a divine intellect that is the source of all motion and life, and a soul that is self-motive and governs the universe. The passages also highlight the participation of lower entities in higher principles, reflecting a common mystical understanding of the interconnectedness of all things.