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Select Works of Plotinus · 494 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 470

Section 3 3. We may be told that nothing prevents an identity being thus multiple. But there must be a unity underlying the aggregate: a manifold is impossible without a unity for its source or ground, or at least, failing some unity, related or unrelated. This unity must be numbered as first before all and can be apprehended only as solitary and self-existent. When we recognize it, resident among the mass of things, our business is to see it for what it is- present to the items but essentially distinguished from them- and, while not denying it there, to seek this underly of all no longer as it appears in those other things but as it stands in its pure identity by itself. The identity resident in the rest of things is no doubt close to authentic identity but cannot be it; and, if the identity of unity is to be displayed beyond itself, it must also exist within itself alone. It may be suggested that its existence takes substantial form only by its being resident among outside things: but, at this, it is itself no longer simplex nor could any coherence of manifolds occur. On the one hand things could take substantial existence only if they were in their own virtue simplex. On the other hand, failing a simplex, the aggregate of multiples is itself impossible: for the simplex individual thing could not exist if there were no simplex unity independent of the individual, [a principle of identity] and, not existing, much less could it enter into composition with any other such: it becomes impossible then for the compound universe, the aggregate of all, to exist; it would be the coming together of things that are not, things not merely lacking an identity of their own but utterly non-existent. Once there is any manifold, there must be a precedent unity: since any intellection implies multiplicity in the intellective subject, the non-multiple must be without intellection; that non-multiple will be the First: intellection and the Intellectual-Principle must be characteristic of beings coming later.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] The text describes an 'intellective act' where one sets down what can be taken to mind as The Good.

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Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The divine is described by what it is not ('not in any combination') and by the inability to fully possess or articulate it.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

[auto] The text notes that one will 'never tell it entire' and the experience will 'pass from you', indicating concealment.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The text describes The Good as 'standing to itself not in any combination', emphasizing its undivided 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] It describes The Good as the 'Source of essence and of existence' from which life and intellect 'grow'.

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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] The text emphasizes an 'intellective act' and direct vision of the object rather than looking for traces through other things.

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Inner Silencepraxis

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

The opening command 'Still, do not... look for The Good through any of these other things' suggests turning inward away from distraction.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The instruction that 'you must yourself be the divine Intellect' places the divine reality within the self.

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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 'divine Intellect' is mentioned as the cause of intelligent life, functioning similarly to a mediating ordering principle.

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Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The passage refers to 'The Good' as a singular principle ('one such there must be') from which all existence flows.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The passage explicitly states that to possess the power of the principle 'one must be identical with it' and 'you must yourself be the divine Intellect'.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

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

[auto] The phrase 'the unheld in which all have hold' uses paradox to describe the nature of the Good.

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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 passage outlines the journey to grasp 'The Good' which is the 'Source of essence and of existence'.

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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] Achieving the Good requires becoming 'the divine Intellect in Act', implying knowledge of one's true nature.

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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 seeker is urged to 'throw forward all your being' in a venture toward the divine 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.

[auto] It asserts that to possess the principle 'one must be identical with it', implying a fundamental unity.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
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…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 19 (part 1)
“The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 1 [[Vol. 1, Page]] 325 THE IMPARTIALITY OF SCIENTIFIC DENIALS. [[This page continued from previous section ]] § III. PRIMORDIAL SUBSTANCE AND DIVINE THOUGHT. "As it would seem irrational…”
Shared concept: Unity Of Being — The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 47
“Mastery over the powers of perception and action comes through perfectly concentrated Meditation on their fivefold forms; namely, their power to grasp their distinctive nature, the element of self-consciousness in them, their inherence, and…”
Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-g
“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…”
Shared concept: Inner Silence — The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence. (derived)