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Select Works of Plotinus · 485 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 460

Section 7 7. Consider the act of ocular vision: There are two elements here; there is the form perceptible to the sense and there is the medium by which the eye sees that form. This medium is itself perceptible to the eye, distinct from the form to be seen, but the cause of the seeing; it is perceived at the one stroke in that form and on it and, hence, is not distinguished from it, the eye being held entirely by the illuminated object. When on the contrary this medium presents itself alone it is seen directly- though even then actual sight demands some solid base; there must be something besides the medium which, unless embracing some object, eludes perception; thus the light inherent to the sun would not be perceived but for the solidity of the mass. If it is objected that the sun is light entire, this would only be a proof of our assertion: no other visible form will contain light which must, then, have no other property than that of visibility, and in fact all other visible objects are something more than light alone. So it is with the act of vision in the Intellectual Principle. This vision sees, by another light, the objects illuminated by the First Principle: setting itself among them, it sees veritably; declining towards the lower Nature, that upon which the light from above rests, it has less of that vision. Passing over the visible and looking to the medium by which it sees, then it holds the Light and the source of Light. But since the Intellectual-Principle is not to see this light as something external we return to our analogy; the eye is not wholly dependent upon an outside and alien light; there is an earlier light within itself, a more brilliant, which it sees sometimes in a momentary flash. At night in the darkness a gleam leaps from within the eye: or again we make no effort to see anything; the eyelids close; yet a light flashes before us; or we rub the eye and it sees the light it contains. This is sight without the act, but it is the truest seeing, for it sees light whereas its other objects were the lit not the light. It is certainly thus that the Intellectual-Principle, hiding itself from all the outer, withdrawing to the inmost, seeing nothing, must have its vision- not of some other light in some other thing but of the light within itself, unmingled, pure, suddenly gleaming before it;
Themes
◆Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

Intellection is described as an 'act' of knowing that is spontaneous and inherent rather than passive reception.

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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.

Sense-knowledge is contrasted with Intellect as grasping only images while the thing itself remains 'outside', implying the sensory mode hinders true reality.

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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 text focuses on the 'Intellectual-Principle' as a distinct divine level, implying its place within a broader metaphysical structure.

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◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The text defines the Intellectual-Principle's knowledge as inherent and non-discursive ('no guesswork', 'no demonstration'), aligning with the concept of direct experiential knowledge, though salvation is not explicitly mentioned.

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◆Inner Lightanthropology

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

Knowledge is described as 'inherent' and 'patent to it in virtue of its own nature', suggesting an internal source of illumination.

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

The text argues against objects being 'outside' the Intellectual-Principle, positing reality as internal to the intellect.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The passage describes the Intellectual-Principle and its objects as linked in a 'standing unity' where knower and known are not separate.

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◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

The passage seeks to resolve the duality between knower and known into a 'standing unity' within the Intellectual-Principle.

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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.

The passage argues that the Intellectual Realm is a unity rather than 'sundered individuality' or separate entities.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The passage describes the Intellectual-Principle as 'veritably and essentially intellective' with knowledge that is inherent and undivided ('no means by which to distinguish'), reflecting a state of pure, undivided being.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1
“Intr., p. 5. 259 Here we get once more the Aristotelian classification of causes. The Good is:— (i) Formal Cause (1) immanent in the world (Order— τάξις ); (2) containing the world (Embracing Power— περιοχή ). (ii) Efficient Cause (Caus…”
Both passages explore the nature of light and vision as metaphors for understanding higher principles. Plotinus discusses the Intellectual Principle's vision of pure light within itself, while the second passage describes the Spiritual Light as indivisible and present in each illuminated mind, highlighting a conceptual parallel in their mystical insights.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 3)
“7.) "I do not wish to divert men from the Word as it is written and taught; but my writings are intended to lead them from a merely historical belief to a living faith, even to Jesus Christ (the Light and Truth) Himself. All preaching and…”
Both passages explore the nature of higher knowledge and the relationship between the divine and the knower. Passage A discusses the Intellectual-Principle's inherent knowledge and its connection to intellectual objects, while Passage B emphasizes the divine spirit within man and the awakening of spiritual knowledge. Both highlight the idea of an innate, divine understanding.
◆platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1b
“You mean the sun, as you and all mankind say. May not the relation of sight to this deity be described as follows? How? Neither sight nor the eye in which sight resides is the sun? No. Yet of all the organs of sense the eye is the most…”
Both passages explore the concept of vision as an analogy for understanding higher principles. Plotinus discusses the Intellectual Principle seeing the light within itself, while Plato's dialogue describes the sun as the source of sight and the good as the source of truth and knowledge. Both use visual metaphors to explain abstract philosophical concepts.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogueh
“All which you have explained where it says: "When will the bright spark of the visual ray Darting, spring through each veiling obstacle." But let us return. The sixth, represented in the following, is caused only by the imbecility and unre…”
Both passages explore the nature of perception and the limitations imposed by physical and intellectual constraints. They discuss the idea of seeing beyond the physical to grasp a higher reality or truth, though they use different metaphors and contexts.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 5)
“It is not true because our experimental knowledge is not a confused perception of a real world . It is a very acute perception of an entirely unreal world appearing round about us at the moment of our contact with the world of true causes,…”
Both passages explore the nature of perception and reality, questioning whether our sensory experiences reveal the true nature of things or merely our own subjective representations. They both delve into the limitations of human understanding and the distinction between phenomena and noumena.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 4)
“1 This is the way a little girl thought, about whom I was reading, if I mistake not, in The Theosophical Review . The girl was sitting near the fireplace, and beside her slept a cat. "Well, the eat is sleeping," the girl reflected, "perha…”
Both passages explore the relationship between higher and lower phenomena, questioning the nature of reality and the dependence of one level of existence on another. They both delve into the nature of consciousness and its independence from physical processes.