Select Works of Plotinus · 351 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 335

Section 15 15. But there is a difficulty affecting this entire settlement: Eternity is characteristic of the Intellectual-Principle, time of the soul- for we hold that time has its substantial being in the activity of the soul, and springs from soul- and, since time is a thing of division and comports a past, it would seem that the activity producing it must also be a thing of division, and that its attention to that past must imply that even the All-Soul has memory? We repeat, identity belongs to the eternal, time must be the medium of diversity; otherwise there is nothing to distinguish them, especially since we deny that the activities of the soul can themselves experience change. Can we escape by the theory that, while human souls- receptive of change, even to the change of imperfection and lack- are in time, yet the Soul of the All, as the author of time, is itself timeless? But if it is not in time, what causes it to engender time rather than eternity? The answer must be that the realm it engenders is not that of eternal things but a realm of things enveloped in time: it is just as the souls [under, or included in, the All-Soul] are not in time, but some of their experiences and productions are. For a soul is eternal, and is before time; and what is in time is of a lower order than time itself: time is folded around what is in time exactly as- we read- it is folded about what is in place and in number.

Themes

◆Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The author negates human categories like reasoning and memory when applied to the divine leading principle to correct human error.

All passages →

◆Divine Simplicitytheology

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

The leading principle is argued against being a learner with composite acts like memory, implying an undivided nature.

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.

A distinction is drawn between the work of Nature and the higher leading principle, suggesting a hierarchical structure of reality.

All passages →

◆Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

The passage discusses the ordering principle governing Nature and the All, functioning as a mediator between higher wisdom and natural operation.

All passages →

◆Monadcosmology

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

The text refers to a singular leading principle of the All that stands above multiplicity and natural development.

All passages →

◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The passage distinguishes wisdom as a state of possession and repose rather than the discursive search characteristic of reasoning.

All passages →

◇Inner Silencepraxis

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

[auto] Wisdom is described as a state where reasoning ceases and the mind rests, aligning with the stilling of mental activity.

All passages →

Related passages · 2 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1m

“65 In the whole of this passage God is spoken of as at the same time Efficient, Formal and Final Cause of the soul’s activity. D. teaches that God is present in all things, but not equally in all. Cf. Intr., p. 14 66 Gen. i. 67 Three…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to time and the soul. Passage A explores the distinction between eternity and time in the context of the Intellectual-Principle and the soul, while Passage B discusses God's transcendence of time and the soul's desire for union with the divine. Both touch on the themes of the eternal and the temporal, and the soul's relationship to the divine.

◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1m

“They are all parts of time, and the past and future are created species of time, which we unconsciously but wrongly transfer to the eternal essence; for we say that he "was," he "is," he "will be," but the truth is that "is" alone is proper…”

Both passages discuss the nature of time and eternity, exploring the distinction between the timeless nature of the divine or intellectual principle and the temporal nature of the soul or created world. They both delve into the idea that time is a creation and a measure, but not an inherent characteristic of the eternal.