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Select Works of Plotinus · 445 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 423 (part 2)

Now, even in the Divine the engendered could not be the very highest; it must be a lesser, an image; it will be undetermined, as the Divine is, but will receive determination, and, so to speak, its shaping idea, from the progenitor. Yet any offspring of the Intellectual-Principle must be a Reason-Principle; the thought of the Divine Mind must be a substantial existence: such then is that [Soul] which circles about the Divine Mind, its light, its image inseparably attached to it: on the upper level united with it, filled from it, enjoying it, participant in its nature, intellective with it, but on the lower level in contact with the realm beneath itself, or, rather, generating in turn an offspring which must lie beneath; of this lower we will treat later; so far we deal still with the Divine.
Themes
◇Divine Lighttheology

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

[auto] Uses the analogy of 'heat of a fire' to describe the energy sent forth by the Principle.

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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.

[auto] The passage explicitly describes the Soul as an image and utterance of the Intellectual-Principle, which itself flows from a higher Supreme source.

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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] Salvation is linked to 'seeing' the soul as precious and using 'intellection' rather than just faith or ritual.

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◇Inner Lightanthropology

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

[auto] The soul is described as 'precious' and 'divine', residing within the possessor ('by its possession').

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] States that by possessing the divine soul, one is 'already nearing God', implying divinity is internal.

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◇Logoscosmology

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

[auto] It describes reason as an 'utterance' and image of stored reason, mediating between the Intellectual-Principle and the soul.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] References to the 'Supreme' and 'Intellectual-Principle' align with the concept of a singular first principle from which existence flows.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The goal is described as 'nearing God' and attaining Him, implying a union with the divine source.

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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] It explicitly instructs the reader to 'make upwards towards Him' and grasp the 'prior and source' of the soul.

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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] Knowing the soul's divine nature ('Soul once seen') is presented as the means to approach God.

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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 text urges movement 'upwards' to attain God, describing a journey through levels of being.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1g
“Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge. 203 203 Even the Differentiations finally lead us up into the Undifferenced Godhead Where they transcend themselves.…”
Both passages discuss the concept of emanation and the relationship between a divine source and its offspring. They describe a hierarchy where the lower entity is an image or reflection of the higher, divine entity, and both explore the nature of the divine and its manifestations.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1o
“And herein the Divine Yearning showeth especially its beginningless and endless nature, revolving in a perpetual circle for the Good, from the Good, in the Good, and to the Good, with unerring revolution, never varying its centre or directi…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between divine and lesser beings, emphasizing the hierarchical and interconnected nature of existence. Passage A describes the Intellectual-Principle and its offspring, while Passage B discusses the Divine Yearning and its manifestations, both highlighting the unity and interaction between higher and lower realms.
◆christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|Vb
“It is necessary, therefore, for all the creatures which issued forth from God to co-operate earnestly with all their powers to form a Man who may again attain that union with God which Adam enjoyed before he fell, and who may again restore…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the created, emphasizing the union and the hierarchical nature of existence. Passage A describes the soul as an image of the Divine Mind, while Passage B discusses the union of human nature with the Divine Nature through Christ.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 3)
“2.) "The inner man stood in heaven; his essences were the Paradise; his body was indestructible. He knew the language of God and the angels, and the language of nature, as may be seen by Adam giving names to all creatures, to each accordin…”
Both passages discuss the divine nature of the soul or inner man and its connection to a higher divine principle. They emphasize the elevated status and capabilities of the soul or inner man when aligned with the divine, though they use different metaphors and contexts.
◆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 relationship between the human soul and a higher divine principle, emphasizing the soul's connection to and dependence on the divine intellect or will. They share the theme of the soul's ascent towards the divine, though they use different metaphors and conceptual frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 1)
“p. 224 CHAPTER XI. INCARNATION—THE CELESTIAL VIRGIN. The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ, or, to express it in other words, of the awakening of the germ of divine self-knowledge in man, is so grand, that it is impossible to form a…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher divine principle and a lower, yet still divine, aspect of reality. Plotinus describes the Intellectual-Principle and the Soul, while Boehme discusses the Logos and its incarnation in humanity. Both emphasize the hierarchical and interdependent nature of these divine aspects.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 5)
“If, then, the soul of the child is in the Holy Trinity, do you then not think that its glorious light beautifully illuminates the mother, and does not that mother rightfully put her feet upon the Moon, 1 as being exalted above all that is o…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a divine progenitor and its offspring, emphasizing the image and participation of the divine in the created being. They explore the hierarchical and generative aspects of divine and soulful existence.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXV. THE MUSES (part 2)
“207 fury arises from truth, and the amatorial from beauty; so the poetic proceeds from divine symmetry, by means of which it most intimately unites the poets with the Gods. Plato, in the Phædrus, speaking of this Fury, says that it is an o…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the human soul, emphasizing the elevation of the soul through divine connection. Plotinus describes the soul's ascent towards the Intellectual-Principle, while the Hymn to the Muses invokes divine inspiration to refine the intellect and guide the soul towards virtue and sacred knowledge.