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Select Works of Plotinus · 339 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 324

Section 4 4. In that realm it has also vision, through the Intellectual-Principle, of The Good which does not so hold to itself as not to reach the soul; what intervenes between them is not body and therefore is no hindrance- and, indeed, where bodily forms do intervene there is still access in many ways from the primal to the tertiaries. If, on the contrary, the soul gives itself to the inferior, the same principle of penetration comes into play, and it possesses itself, by memory and imagination, of the thing it desired: and hence the memory, even dealing with the highest, is not the highest. Memory, of course, must be understood not merely of what might be called the sense of remembrance, but so as to include a condition induced by the past experience or vision. There is such a thing as possessing more powerfully without consciousness than in full knowledge; with full awareness the possession is of something quite distinct from the self; unconscious possession runs very close to identity, and any such approach to identification with the lower means the deeper fall of the soul. If the soul, on abandoning its place in the Supreme, revives its memories of the lower, it must have in some form possessed them even there though the activity of the beings in that realm kept them in abeyance: they could not be in the nature of impressions permanently adopted- a notion which would entail absurdities- but were no more than a potentiality realized after return. When that energy of the Intellectual world ceases to tell upon the soul, it sees what it saw in the earlier state before it revisited the Supreme.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

The claim that the soul will know nothing of 'things of earth' implies the material realm is an obstacle to be left behind.

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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 distinction between 'things of earth' and the 'Intellectual Realm' peripherally suggests a hierarchical structure of being.

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◆Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

The description that there is 'room for nothing else than to know' implies a stilling of discursive thought and memory.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

References to 'that Essence' and the 'Supreme' point peripherally to the undivided first principle.

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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 centrally describes the 'direct intellectual act' and knowing the object without previous knowledge as the defining state of the soul in the Intellectual Realm.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The text states that without Contemplation of the Essence, the soul's being is not there, suggesting a merging of identity with the divine object.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

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

[auto] The passage dissolves the opposition between time and eternity, stating that intellection is timeless and memory belongs to the lower realm.

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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.

[auto] The text explicitly mentions the soul having 'won its way to that Essence' after an 'earthly career', indicating a journey back to the divine origin.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

[auto] The passage contrasts the 'earthly career' with the 'Intellectual Realm', implying a staged journey upward toward the divine source.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1d
“In the next or third 500 years, they will be strong in 'much learning,' i.e. bahu s ruta, religious knowledge. In the next or fourth 500 years, they will be strong in founding monasteries, &c. In the last or fifth 500 years, they will be…”
Both passages discuss the nature of enlightened beings in the final stages of a spiritual cycle, emphasizing their understanding and contemplation of ultimate truths. They also highlight the transcendence of conventional notions such as self and time.
◆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 relationship between the soul and the divine, exploring themes of memory, essence, and the nature of existence. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's connection to higher realities, though they come from different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 14 (part 8)
“, in the heavenly essentiality (Devachan)—cannot be disturbed by anybody, unless they should wish it themselves, in case that they were very favourably inclined towards some particular soul in harmony with their own. They do not trouble th…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul and higher realms of existence, focusing on the soul's ability to connect with or remember these realms. They also explore the idea of the soul's descent and its interaction with lower or earthly realms.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXVI. MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY
“LXXVI. To MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY * . The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. THE consort I invoke of Jove divine, Source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine; p. 215 Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind, By whom the soul with inte…”
Both passages discuss the concept of memory and its role in connecting the soul to higher realms of existence. They explore the idea that memory can be a bridge between the intellectual or divine and the mundane, and that the soul's focus on lower or higher memories affects its spiritual state.
◆platonism|Plato: Phaedrus|Section 1q
“Thus far I have been speaking of the fourth and last kind of madness, which is imputed to him who, when he sees the beauty of earth, is transported with the recollection of the true beauty; he would like to fly away, but he cannot; he is li…”
Both passages discuss the soul's recollection of higher realities and the impact of remembering or forgetting these realities. They share the theme of the soul's connection to a higher realm and the consequences of focusing on lower, earthly concerns.
◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 124 (part 9)
“The harmonising of them is to be found in the invisible operation of Heaven, and by following this on into the unlimited past. It is by this method that we can complete our years (without our minds being disturbed) 1 . 'What is meant by h…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul or self in a higher realm of existence, emphasizing the transcendence of time and the unity of experience. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of reality and the soul's connection to it.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 6)
“These chains of events go on continuously, inter-weaving among themselves, entering one into another, sometimes hidden from our eyes, and sometimes visible. I find an admirable description of this idea in the chapter on "Karma" in Light on…”
Both passages explore the concept of continuity and interconnectedness in different realms. Passage A discusses the unbroken chain of events and the interconnectedness of phenomena in the context of karma, while Passage B describes the Soul's contemplation and act in the Intellectual Realm, emphasizing the timeless and interconnected nature of intellectual facts.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 5)
“The "seeing" changes with the changes of the state of consciousness in which it is proceeding. But what forms of consciousness exist? p. 239 Hindu philosophy makes the division into four states of consciousness: sleep, dream, waking, and…”
Both passages discuss the expansion of consciousness and the experience of higher states of awareness, with Passage A focusing on Hindu philosophy and Passage B on the teachings of Plotinus. They both describe the transition from ordinary consciousness to a more encompassing state of being, though from different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 7)
“In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity. But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation above the limi…”
Both passages discuss the soul's ascent to a higher realm of being and the nature of union with the divine. They explore the idea of the soul's potential to transcend its ordinary state and achieve a more profound, almost identical union with the divine principle.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|13. Necromancye
“There are evocations of intelligence, evocations of love and evocations of hate; but, once more, there is no proof whatsoever that spirits leave the higher spheres to communicate with us: the opposite, as a fact is more probable. We evoke…”
Both passages discuss the concept of memory and its relationship to higher and lower states of being. Passage A describes the soul's memory of the lower realm while in the Supreme, and how this memory can cause a fall. Passage B discusses evoking memories left in the Astral Light and how past experiences can influence current perceptions, aligning with the idea of memory affecting spiritual states.