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Select Works of Plotinus · 393 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 370 (part 2)

Besides, even on this explanation, the mind must have previously been in contact with the object in the entire absence of intervenient; only if that has happened could contact through an intervenient bring knowledge, a knowledge by way of memory, and, even more emphatically, by way of reasoned comparison [ending in identification]: but this process of memory and comparison is excluded by the theory of first knowledge through the agency of a medium. Finally, we may be told that the impinging light is modified by the thing to be seen and so becomes able to present something perceptible before the visual organ; but this simply brings us back to the theory of an intervenient changed midway by the object, an explanation whose difficulties we have already indicated.
Themes
◆Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

Light is the central metaphor and mechanism discussed for vision and connection, reflecting Plotinus's metaphysical association of illumination with intelligible reality.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The text describes the universe as 'one living thing,' implying a divine or ensouled active presence underlying cosmic continuity.

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◇Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

[auto] The passage explicitly debates theories of vision based on sympathy and argues that the universe functions as a single sympathetic living entity where parts resonate with one another.

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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 argument rests on the premise that the universe is 'one living thing' and that perception depends on belonging integrally to this fundamental unity.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 9)
“Little would it benefit the blind to know of the light merely from hearsay. Little would it profit the "Christian" if he knew of a historical Christ, and could not perceive the glory and majesty of the Atma Buddhi within his own soul. Boe…”
Both passages explore the nature of perception and the role of an intervening medium. Passage A discusses the necessity of an intervening substance in vision, while Passage B emphasizes the internal perception of divine light and the interconnectedness of all things, suggesting a parallel in their exploration of perception and unity.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogueg
“The fifth results from the disproportion of the means of our cognition to the knowable; seeing that in order to contemplate Divine things, the eyes must be opened by means of images, analogies and other reasonings which by the Peripatetics…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human cognition in perceiving or understanding higher realities. They explore the role of intermediaries (such as light or intelligible species) in the process of knowledge and the inherent difficulties in direct perception or comprehension of divine or higher truths.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter IV (part 3)
“If, presupposing that we are moving upon a sphere, upon its equator or one of its parallels, then it will appear that we recognize as really existing only one meridian: those which are behind us have disappeared and those ahead of us have n…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and the potential for a higher consciousness to transcend these limitations. Passage A discusses the idea of an eternal present and the inability of human senses to perceive the past and future, while Passage B examines the nature of vision and the possibility of perceiving remote objects without an intervening substance, suggesting a deeper unity of perception.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter IX (part 2)
“This happens because we never feel anything at a long distance, and the eye has not been taught to discern the difference in surfaces which at short distances are felt by the finger-tips. 1 p. 100 We can never see, even in the minute, any…”
Both passages explore the concept of perception and the illusions created by the senses. They discuss how our perception of the world is distorted and how we must mentally correct these distortions to understand reality.