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Select Works of Plotinus · 429 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 406

Section 6 6. Something besides a unity there must be or all would be indiscernibly buried, shapeless within that unbroken whole: none of the real beings [of the Intellectual Kosmos] would exist if that unity remained at halt within itself: the plurality of these beings, offspring of the unity, could not exist without their own nexts taking the outward path; these are the beings holding the rank of souls. In the same way the outgoing process could not end with the souls, their issue stifled: every Kind must produce its next; it must unfold from some concentrated central principle as from a seed, and so advance to its term in the varied forms of sense. The prior in its being will remain unalterably in the native seat; but there is the lower phase, begotten to it by an ineffable faculty of its being, native to soul as it exists in the Supreme. To this power we cannot impute any halt, any limit of jealous grudging; it must move for ever outward until the universe stands accomplished to the ultimate possibility. All, thus, is produced by an inexhaustible power giving its gift to the universe, no part of which it can endure to see without some share in its being. There is, besides, no principle that can prevent anything from partaking, to the extent of its own individual receptivity in the Nature of Good. If therefore Matter has always existed, that existence is enough to ensure its participation in the being which, according to each receptivity, communicates the supreme good universally: if on the contrary, Matter has come into being as a necessary sequence of the causes preceding it, that origin would similarly prevent it standing apart from the scheme as though it were out of reach of the principle to whose grace it owes its existence. In sum: The loveliness that is in the sense-realm is an index of the nobleness of the Intellectual sphere, displaying its power and its goodness alike: and all things are for ever linked; the one order Intellectual in its being, the other of sense; one self-existent, the other eternally taking its being by participation in that first, and to the full of its power reproducing the Intellectual nature.
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Themes
Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] The soul is described as being 'Lifted out of the body,' implying the body is a constraint to be transcended.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The passage explicitly states that 'the loveliness that is in the sense-realm is an index of the nobleness of the Intellectual sphere,' making the lower a legible reflection of the higher.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

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

The One is characterized as a unity that 'remained at halt within itself,' undivided and without internal differentiation, from which all multiplicity is derived.

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Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

[auto] The text refers to the soul within the body as 'the high thing it has shown itself to be,' implying a divine nature trapped in matter.

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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 passage's central theme is the cascading outflow from the One through Intellectual beings, souls, and the sense-world, each level begotten from the one above.

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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 describes salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, such as 'beholding a marvellous beauty' and being 'assured of community'.

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Inner Lightanthropology

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

[auto] The mystic experience involves 'beholding a marvellous beauty' associated with the divine presence within.

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Involutioncosmology

The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.

The passage describes the directional process of descent: 'the outgoing process' advancing 'from some concentrated central principle as from a seed, and so advance to its term in the varied forms of sense.'

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The passage emphasizes seeking the divine 'within ourselves' rather than through external mediation.

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Monadcosmology

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

[auto] References to the 'Supreme' and 'loftiest order' align with the concept of a single first principle from which all flows.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The text explicitly states the experience involves 'acquiring identity with the divine' and 'stationing within It'.

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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 details the soul's journey back to its origin by 'stationing within It' and questions the initial descent.

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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 experience is described as being 'Lifted out of the body into myself' and the instruction to 'seek within ourselves'.

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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 narrative details being 'Lifted out of the body' and references the dynamic of 'ascent and descent'.

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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 goal is described as 'acquiring identity with the divine,' suggesting a non-dual state of existence.

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