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Select Works of Plotinus · 423 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 399

Section 15 15. (20) Thus far we have offered the considerations appropriate to those asking for demonstration: those whose need is conviction by evidence of the more material order are best met from the abundant records relevant to the subject: there are also the oracles of the Gods ordering the appeasing of wronged souls and the honouring of the dead as still sentient, a practice common to all mankind: and again, not a few souls, once among men, have continued to serve them after quitting the body and by revelations, practically helpful, make clear, as well, that the other souls, too, have not ceased to be.
Themes
◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The divine soul is defined by negation, possessing neither shape, colour, nor tangibility.

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◇Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] It states that bodily desires and impulses must be cast aside as evil accretion alien to the true soul.

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◇Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] A distinction is drawn between alien evil accretion and the native store of good within the soul.

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◇Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

[auto] Evil is defined as accretion and alien to the soul's native store of good.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The purged soul achieves a token of kinship and identity with the divine nature.

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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 passage explicitly describes the soul returning to its self as a return to the divine and eternal nature.

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◇Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The text emphasizes working out the nature of one's own soul as the path to recognizing its divinity.

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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 soul is identified with the divine nature, suggesting an underlying ontological identity.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 6)
“The human selfhood will then follow in its perceptions the Spirit of God, tremblingly and in the joy of humility, and become able to see what is contained in time and in eternity. Everything is near to a soul in that state, for the soul is…”
Both passages emphasize the transformation of the soul through purification and union with the divine, leading to a state of divine knowledge and immortality. They share the theme of the soul's divine nature being revealed through a process of inner purification and alignment with the divine.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 11)
“Only he in whom is light can see the light; only the element of love can feel love; only the divinity in man can know God in and through man. 138:1 Therefore Theophrastus Paracelsus says: "Natural man is made out of the world, and not the…”
Both passages emphasize the divine nature within the human soul and the need for purification or regeneration to recognize this divinity. They share the concept that the true essence of the soul is divine and immortal, but this is obscured by worldly or bodily influences.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 5)
“13.) Man can attain real similarity to God and perfect beatitude only by decisively willing to put his will into the Son, as the Heart or Light of the Father. "God has the eternal and unchangeable will to generate His Heart and his Son, an…”
Both passages discuss the soul's potential to achieve a divine state through alignment with the divine will or nature. They emphasize the purification and transformation of the soul to attain a higher, divine existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 9 (part 1)
“p. 180 CHAPTER IX. GENERATION. "Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit. For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot…”
Both passages discuss the divine nature of the soul and its connection to the divine spirit or Intellectual-Principle. They emphasize the soul's potential to transcend its earthly state and unite with the divine, highlighting the importance of purification and surrendering to the divine will.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 6)
“90.) "The living Word that dwelt within the eternal virgin attracted to itself the flesh of Mary—that is to say, the essences from the corporeal body of Mary—and thus there grew in nine months a complete human being with soul, spirit, and f…”
Both passages explore the divine nature within human beings, emphasizing the purity and divine essence of the soul or spirit. Passage A discusses the incarnation of Christ and the union of divine and human principles without commingling, while Passage B describes the soul's divine nature and its potential for purity and immortality through purification.
◆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 divine nature of the soul and its connection to the eternal and the divine. They emphasize the purification and illumination of the soul, and its ultimate union with the divine, though they use different metaphors and conceptual frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 12 (part 11)
“The human will refuses to submit itself entirely to the exquisite grace which offers itself out of divine love, and seeks for its own self and for the love of that self which belongs to that which is impermanent. It loves itself and the st…”
Both passages discuss the struggle of the soul to overcome worldly temptations and align with the divine. They emphasize the need for purification and the transformation of the soul's nature to achieve a higher, divine state.
◆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 nature of the soul after death and its connection to the divine. They emphasize the purity and wisdom of the soul that has been purified or sanctified, and its ability to interact with the divine realm. The passages also highlight the idea that the soul's true nature is revealed when it is freed from earthly desires and impurities.
◆greek_mystery|The Golden Verses of Pythagoras|Section 12 (part 1)
“p. 67 THE SYMBOLS OF PYTHAGORAS All the Symbols are exhortatory in common to the whole of virtue; but particularly each to some particular virtue. Different symbols also are differently adapted to parts of philosophy and discipline. Thus…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of virtue and the purification of the soul to achieve a higher, divine state. They share a common theme of the soul's divine nature and the necessity of moral and intellectual discipline to realize this nature.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1c
“For that the soul who hath no knowledge of the things that are, or knowledge of their nature, or of Good, is blinded by the body's passions and tossed about. This wretched soul, not knowing what she is, becomes the slave of bodies of stran…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul, its relationship to the divine, and the importance of knowledge (Gnosis in Hermeticism, Intellectual-Principle in Plotinus) for achieving a higher state of being. They emphasize the purification of the soul and its divine origin.