Select Works of Plotinus · 470 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 446
Section 14 14. How, then, do we ourselves come to be speaking of it? No doubt we deal with it, but we do not state it; we have neither knowledge nor intellection of it. But in what sense do we even deal with it when we have no hold upon it? We do not, it is true, grasp it by knowledge, but that does not mean that we are utterly void of it; we hold it not so as to state it, but so as to be able to speak about it. And we can and do state what it is not, while we are silent as to what it is: we are, in fact, speaking of it in the light of its sequels; unable to state it, we may still possess it. Those divinely possessed and inspired have at least the knowledge that they hold some greater thing within them though they cannot tell what it is; from the movements that stir them and the utterances that come from them they perceive the power, not themselves, that moves them: in the same way, it must be, we stand towards the Supreme when we hold the Intellectual-Principle pure; we know the divine Mind within, that which gives Being and all else of that order: but we know, too, that other, know that it is none of these, but a nobler principle than any-thing we know as Being; fuller and greater; above reason, mind and feeling; conferring these powers, not to be confounded with them.
Themes
◆Demiurgecosmology
A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.
References a soul that moulded the body, functioning as a secondary creator distinct from the Divine Intellect.
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 Divine Mind acts as the ordering principle and source of light for the universe.
All passages →◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
Implies a singular transcendent source (the sun/Intellect) from which light flows.
All passages →◇Divine Sparkscosmology
Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
[auto] The soul is described as retaining some light from the Divine Intellect (the sun).
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.
[auto] The passage describes light pouring downward from the Divine Intellect to the sphere of magnitudes (Matter).
All passages →◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
[auto] The text outlines a method to know the Divine Mind through observation and separation rather than external ritual.
All passages →Related passages · 7 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 13, Section 1d
“And hence, when we speak of the All-Transcendent Godhead as an Unity and a Trinity, It is not an Unity or a Trinity such as can be known by us or any other creature, though to express the truth of Its utter Self-Union and Its Divine Fecundi…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine, emphasizing that it transcends human understanding and language. They share the theme of the limitations of human knowledge and expression in describing the ultimate reality.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I.
Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is.
But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding in describing it. They emphasize that the divine is beyond human comprehension and can only be approached through negation or indirect means.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1d
“Furthermore, we must ask how it is that we know God when He cannot be perceived by the mind or the senses and is not a particular Being.
Perhaps ‘tis true to say that we know not God by His Nature (for this is unknowable and beyond the rea…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the human inability to fully comprehend or describe it. They share the idea that the divine can be known through its effects or manifestations rather than its essence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 8)
“They are fire-flames, illumined by the light of God, but we attain the great fountain of meekness and love which is welling up within the holy essentiality of God." 1 ( Menschwerdung , i.
5.) Man comprises all three principles: the princip…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine. They describe a process of ascending from the material to the spiritual, emphasizing the immaterial and divine aspects of the soul. The passages share a common theme of the soul's connection to a higher, intellectual principle or divine light.
◆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 soul's connection to the divine, emphasizing the need to transcend the physical and mundane to attain a higher, more spiritual state. They both describe the soul as having a divine origin and the potential to reunite with the divine intellect or light.
◆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 and its relationship to the divine intellect or higher principles. They emphasize the purification of the soul and its ascent towards higher knowledge or gnosis, highlighting the distinction between the material and the immaterial aspects of existence.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogueg
“Wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine, but we cannot even think of them without detracting from, rather than adding to the glory of them; so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is, that man, in the pre…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and expression when it comes to transcendent realities. They share a common theme of the inability to fully grasp or articulate the divine, yet acknowledging its presence and influence.