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Select Works of Plotinus · 492 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 468

Section 1 1. There is a principle having intellection of the external and another having self-intellection and thus further removed from duality. Even the first mentioned is not without an effort towards the pure unity of which it is not so capable: it does actually contain its object, though as something other than itself. In the self-intellective, there is not even this distinction of being: self-conversing, the subject is its own object, and thus takes the double form while remaining essentially a unity. The intellection is the more profound for this internal possession of the object. This principle is the primally intellective since there can be no intellection without duality in unity. If there is no unity, perceiving principle and perceived object will be different, and the intellection, therefore, not primal: a principle concerned with something external cannot be the primally intellective since it does not possess the object as integrally its own or as itself; if it does possess the object as itself- the condition of true intellection- the two are one. Thus [in order to primal intellection] there must be a unity in duality, while a pure unity with no counterbalancing duality can have no object for its intellection and ceases to be intellective: in other words the primally intellective must be at once simplex and something else. But the surest way of realizing that its nature demands this combination of unity and duality is to proceed upwards from the Soul, where the distinction can be made more dearly since the duality is exhibited more obviously. We can imagine the Soul as a double light, a lesser corresponding to the soul proper, a purer representing its intellective phase; if now we suppose this intellective light equal to the light which is to be its object, we no longer distinguish between them; the two are recognised as one: we know, indeed, that there are two, but as we see them they have become one: this gives us the relation between the intellective subject and the object of intellection [in the duality and unity required by that primal intellection]: in our thought we have made the two into one; but on the other hand the one thing has become two, making itself into a duality at the moment of intellection, or, to be more exact, being dual by the fact of intellection and single by the fact that its intellectual object is itself.
Themes
◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

The text notes that the Principle is 'now it is seen and now not seen', indicating a degree of concealment.

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◇Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] The practice involves looking to the good and beautiful with perfect surrender rather than passive emptiness.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The text negates spatial categories to describe the divine advent, stating there is 'no whence, no coming or going in place'.

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◇Divine Lighttheology

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

[auto] The passage uses the sun as an image and describes the soul gleaming in the light of the divine presence.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The Principle is described as having no place or movement, implying an undivided, simple nature.

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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 text explicitly places the Principle 'immediately above the contemplating Intellect', indicating a hierarchical 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.

[auto] Salvation or vision is described as direct experience ('vision is not of something that must enter') rather than expectation.

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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 taking 'a new beauty to itself' and gleaming in the light of the presence.

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◇Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

[auto] The passage emphasizes waiting tranquilly and holding oneself at rest towards the vision.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The 'Principle' described stands above Intellect and transcends place and movement, fitting the definition of a simple first principle.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The passage centrally describes the soul fitting itself for vision, surrendering to the Principle, and gleaming in its light.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

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

[auto] The text dissolves binary oppositions of within/without and coming/going to describe the divine presence.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

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

[auto] The passage uses contradictions like 'coming without approach' and 'It was here. Yet no; it was beyond!' to convey the experience.

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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 process of fitting oneself and surrendering implies a journey back to the divine origin of beauty.

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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 outlines a process of fitting oneself for vision and positions the Principle above the Intellect.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
◆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 intellection and the unity of the intellective principle. They explore the relationship between unity and duality in the process of understanding, with Plotinus focusing on the primal intellection and the Neoplatonic text discussing the intuitive faculty of Angelic Minds and their unity with Divine Wisdom.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 1)
“p. 33 THE DOCTRINES OF JACOB BOEHME. "Our whole doctrine is nothing else but an instruction to show how man may create a kingdom of light within himself. . . . He in whom this spring of divine power flows, carries within himself the d…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and duality in the context of divine intellection or spiritual awareness. Plotinus discusses the primal intellection that requires both unity and duality, while Boehme talks about the divine principle within man that transcends intellectual reasoning and leads to a state of divine knowledge.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 1)
“p. 58 CHAPTER II. THE UNITY OF THE ALL. "We are all one body in Christ, and have all the Spirit of Christ within our reach. If, then, we enter into the Christ, we may see and know everything by the power of His Spirit." ( Forty Question…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine reality and the limitations of human understanding in comprehending it. They emphasize the transcendence of the divine and the need for a transformed state of consciousness to perceive it, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 6)
“2.) There existed in man also the third principle, wherein resides sensual desire. He was not endowed with this principle for the purpose of surrendering himself to it, but that he might introduce it into the light of God, and glorify Him…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and duality within the human experience and divine connection. Plotinus discusses the primal intellection as a unity within duality, while the second passage describes the human being as a harmonious blend of internal and external principles, aiming to unite with the divine light.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 1)
“p. 232 CHAPTER XIX The intellectual method, objective knowledge. The limits of objective knowledge. The possibility of the expansion of the application of the psychological method. New forms of knowledge. The ideas of Plotinus. Differ…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness and the limits of knowledge, discussing the unification of different forms of knowledge and the expansion of inner experience. They both touch on the idea of a higher, unified state of consciousness or intellection.