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Select Works of Plotinus · 477 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 452 (part 2)

And again, if that secondary is all things, and if above its multiplicity there is a unity not ranking among those things, once more this unity transcends Real Being and therefore transcends the Intellectual-Principle as well. There is thus something transcending Intellectual-Principle, for we must remember that real being is no corpse, the negation of life and of intellection, but is in fact identical with the Intellectual-Principle. The Intellectual-Principle is not something taking cognisance of things as sensation deals with sense objects existing independently of sense: on the contrary, it actually is the things it knows: the ideas constituting them it has not borrowed: whence could it have taken them? No: it exists here together with the things of the universe, identical with them, making a unity with them; and the collective knowledge [in the divine mind] of the immaterial is the universe of things.
Themes
◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The One is termed 'utterly transcendent' with its emanation process noted as a potential problem to explain.

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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.

The text references the 'Reason-Principle' within the Second hypostasis as the agent that elaborates distinct existence from potentiality.

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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.

Multiplicity is described as 'striving towards unity,' indicating a dynamic movement back toward the origin.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The Supreme is described as 'utterly transcendent' and defined by what it is not (not identical to emanation).

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◇Divine Lighttheology

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

[auto] The text utilizes the analogy of irradiation from a luminary to explain the process of emanation.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The author questions how the source can be simplex while producing manifold effects, centralizing the concept of undivided being.

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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 details the flow from the Supreme One to multiplicity as a less perfect emanation.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text identifies 'The One' or 'pure unity' as the absolutely simple first principle from which existence flows.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage employs rhetorical contradictions regarding possession and simplicity to explore the nature of the divine source.

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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] It states that all that is not One is conserved by virtue of the One, implying a fundamental ontological unity.

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Related passages · 11 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1b
“Plotinus says the Godhead is indivisibly divided. doth not leave Its own Unity, but, even in the act of going forth to all things, remains entirely within Itself through the excess of that all-transcendent Unity: concerning these things ‘t…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent unity that is beyond the Intellectual-Principle or Divine Intelligences, emphasizing the indivisible and unifying nature of the divine. They share a mystical exploration of the relationship between the divine and the multiplicity of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 12, Section 1b
“Which meaneth that just as things that have no substantial Being 490 490 i. e. The material things (cf. Myst. Theol. I.). This is the ordinary meaning of the phrase in D. are transcended by things that have such Being, together with…”
Both passages discuss the concept of transcendence and the hierarchy of being, emphasizing that the divine is beyond all created things and that there is a unity that transcends the multiplicity of existence. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine nature.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 13, Section 1c
“Emily Brontë: “Every existence would exist in Thee.”) And if all things be conceived as being ultimately unified with each other, then all things taken as a whole are One. 507 507 All things possess the same Super-Essence, and that is why…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent unity that underlies and encompasses all existence. They explore the idea that this unity is not merely a collection of things but a fundamental principle that gives shape and existence to all things.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1k
“Indeed, He is not an unity in this sense, and doth not participate in unity nor possess it; 224 224 These two phrases well express the meaning of the title “Beyond things and supernally infusing Unity” (ὑπερηνωμένη), which I have generally…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent unity that is beyond the intellectual principle or differentiation. They explore the idea of a supreme, undifferentiated unity that encompasses and transcends all things, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1b
“(2) Wisdom as a whole = Wisdom embodied in the universe as a whole. (3) Wisdom in each individual instance = Wisdom as shown in the structure of some particular plant or animal, or part of a plant or animal. (1) Is an Emanation; (2) and (…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the Intellectual-Principle or Divine Wisdom and its relationship to the material and immaterial worlds. They both emphasize the unity and transcendence of the higher principle beyond the material and intellectual realms.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 6)
“2.) "If there is to be a light, there must be a fire. The fire produces the light, and the light renders the fire manifest; it receives the nature of the fire within itself and resides in the fire." ( Mysterium , xl. 2.) "Joy enters the s…”
Both passages explore the relationship between unity and multiplicity, and the nature of the divine source. They discuss how the One (or the Transcendent) gives rise to multiplicity while maintaining its own simplicity and primacy.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 1)
“p. 89 CHAPTER IV. CREATION. Everything we see in nature is manifested truth; only we are not able to recognise it as such, unless the truth is manifest within ourselves. God is the supreme, fundamental, universal, self-existent eternal…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to creation, emphasizing the unity and transcendence of the divine source and the multiplicity and dependence of creation. They explore how the divine manifests in the world while maintaining its distinctness.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres|Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Both passages discuss the emanation of the divine into the material world, with a focus on the unity and multiplicity of existence. They explore the relationship between the transcendent source and the created world, highlighting the concept of a divine emanation that results in a hierarchical and interconnected cosmos.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1c
“It must, then, be that such a one as this must be some one who's wholly One. 9. For as the many motions of them [all] are different, and as their bodies are not like, yet has one speed been ordered for them all, it is impossible that ther…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the One (or God) as the source of all things, emphasizing unity and the emanation of multiplicity from a single, transcendent principle. They explore the relationship between the One and the many, and the role of the divine in sustaining and creating the universe.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 9)
“In our language only an eternally becoming universe exists. The "Eternal Now" cannot be expressed in language. Thus our language pictures to us beforehand a false universe— dual , when in reality it is one ; and eternally becoming when it…”
Both passages discuss the nature of reality and the unity of existence. Plotinus speaks of a unity transcending the Intellectual-Principle, while the second passage emphasizes the monism of the universe and the unity of spirit and matter. Both explore the idea of a higher, more unified reality beyond ordinary perception.
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◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXI (part 7)
“_______ Where are our "idols?" From what shall we liberate ourselves in order to pass to an understanding of the multi-dimensional world? First of all we must get rid of our assurance that we see and sense that which exists in reality, and…”
Both passages explore the limitations of dualistic thinking and the need to transcend it. Passage A discusses the illusion of the material world and the necessity of monism to understand higher reality, while Passage B delves into the nature of the One and the emanation of multiplicity, emphasizing the unity and identity within diversity.