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Select Works of Plotinus · 308 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 295 (part 2)

This means that it is no external limit that defines the individual being or the extension of souls any more than of God; on the contrary each in right of its own power is all that it chooses to be: and we are not to think of it as going forth from itself [losing its unity by any partition]: the fact is simply that the element within it, which is apt to entrance into body, has the power of immediate projection any whither: the soul is certainly not wrenched asunder by its presence at once in foot and in finger. Its presence in the All is similarly unbroken; over its entire range it exists in every several part of everything having even vegetal life, even in a part cut off from the main; in any possible segment it is as it is at its source. For the body of the All is a unit, and soul is everywhere present to it as to one thing. When some animal rots and a multitude of others spring from it, the Life-Principle now present is not the particular soul that was in the larger body; that body has ceased to be receptive of soul, or there would have been no death; what happens is that whatsoever in the product of the decay is apt material for animal existence of one kind or another becomes ensouled by the fact that soul is nowhere lacking, though a recipient of soul may be. This new ensouling does not mean, however, an increase in the number of souls: all depend from the one or, rather, all remains one: it is as with ourselves; some elements are shed, others grow in their place; the soul abandons the discarded and flows into the newcoming as long as the one soul of the man holds its ground; in the All the one soul holds its ground for ever; its distinct contents now retain soul and now reject it, but the total of spiritual beings is unaffected.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

The contrast between souls dwelling in the All-Soul and those assuming bodies suggests the body is a condition of separation from the source.

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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 All-Soul producing a kosmos functions as an ordering principle mediating between the higher realm and material existence.

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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 souls that have not fallen away versus those that received spheres later implies a narrative of descent and potential return.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] It explains how an identity can reside simultaneously in various places without division, illustrating the undivided nature of the soul.

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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 distinguishes between the All-Soul producing the kosmos and particular souls administering parts, indicating a hierarchical flow of creative power.

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◇Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] The description of the soul containing all things implies a luminous or divine quality residing within the human person.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] It states that the particular soul contains all things in itself, suggesting the divine realm is present within the individual.

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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 asserts that particular souls are of the one ideal Kind and contain all things in themselves, emphasizing ontological unity.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1i
“The Godhead is not a Whole because it is indivisible, nor a Part because there is nothing, on the ultimate plane, outside It. Yet It is a Whole because It includes the true existence of all things, and is Partitive because It contains the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to individual beings and the universe. They explore the ideas of unity, indivisibility, and the transcendence of the divine beyond form and being, albeit from different theological perspectives.
◆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 the soul and its relationship to the divine and the universe. They explore the ideas of unity, individuality, and the presence of the divine in all things, though from different theological perspectives.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1i
“an introversion 288 288 ἡ εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἴσοδος. from things without and the unified concentration 289 289 In souls being unified and simplified. See Intr., p. 25. of its spiritual powers—which gives it a kind of fixed revolution, and, tur…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine or the universal. Passage A from Plotinus describes the soul's omnipresence and unity within the All, while Passage B from Dionysius the Areopagite discusses the soul's introversion and its movement towards the divine unity. Both texts explore the concept of the soul's connection to a higher, unified reality.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1t
“For in the case of other qualities, such as heat or cold, the things which have been warmed have their being even when they lose their warmth, and many of the creatures there are which have no life or mind; and in like manner God transcende…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the Good (or divine) and existence. Pseudo-Dionysius emphasizes that all being participates in the Good to some degree, while Plotinus explains the omnipresence of the soul (or divine) in all living things, highlighting the unity and continuity of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1k
“Hence the soul possessing God is in a state of “having nothing and yet possessing all things.” Cf. Dante, cio che per l’universa si squaderna, etc. 382 Cf. Section 5. 383 i. e. The Platonic ideas of things—their ultimate essences. Bu…”
Both passages discuss the omnipresence and unity of the soul or divine essence. Passage A from Plotinus describes the soul's presence throughout the universe without division, while Passage B from the Christian mystical tradition discusses the soul possessing God and the essence of all things existing in the Absolute.
◆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 explore the relationship between a universal soul or divine principle and individual souls or creations. They discuss the nature of creation and the differing capacities of souls, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical insights.
◆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 soul and a higher, divine principle. They explore how the soul interacts with and is influenced by this higher principle, though they use different terminology and frameworks (Plotinus' All-Soul and Intellectual-Principle vs. Jacob Boehme's Word and divinity).
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 14 (part 2)
“2.) During his terrestrial existence man can remain consciously in the three worlds, and by the power of the will with which he is endowed penetrate into either one or the other; but after the separation of the soul from the body has taken…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its connection to higher and lower realms. They explore the idea of the soul's ability to create or influence its environment based on its alignment with higher principles or descent into lower states.
◆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, involving the concepts of intellect, soul, and body. They share the idea that intellect is the primary cause of motion and life, with soul acting as an intermediary, and body being the recipient of these influences. The passages also emphasize the unity and interconnectedness of all things through these principles.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedo|Section 1q
“Then reflect, Cebes: is not the conclusion of the whole matter this?-that the soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, emphasizing the soul's immortality and its separation from the physical realm. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's purity and its connection to the divine.