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Select Works of Plotinus · 505 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 482 (part 2)

The greatness and power of the wisdom There we may know from this, that is embraces all the real Beings, and has made all, and all follow it, and yet that it is itself those beings, which sprang into being with it, so that all is one, and the essence There is wisdom. If we have failed to understand, it is that we have thought of knowledge as a mass of theorems and an accumulation of propositions, though that is false even for our sciences of the sense-realm. But in case this should be questioned, we may leave our own sciences for the present, and deal with the knowing in the Supreme at which Plato glances where he speaks of "that knowledge which is not a stranger in something strange to it"- though in what sense, he leaves us to examine and declare, if we boast ourselves worthy of the discussion. This is probably our best starting-point.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The passage mentions the 'varying resistance of the material of the body' as a factor in differentiation, implying matter hinders form.

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◆Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

It describes how higher Reason-Principles mould the lower bodily substance, reflecting a structural relationship between archetype and manifestation.

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◆Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

It argues that differences among beings are not random but result from differing archetypes, implying an ordered divine design where difference is a good.

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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 describes a generative flow from parents to offspring via principles, reflecting a hierarchical derivation typical of Neoplatonism.

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◆Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The text explicitly denies Matter any power to thwart nature, attributing such thwarting only to evil as a lack rather than a positive force.

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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 argument that the parent 'contains all' principles reflects the doctrine that higher unities encompass lower multiplicities.

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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.

[auto] The passage centrally discusses Reason-Principles (Logoi) as the determinants of individual formation and generation.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1a
“CHAPTER VII Concerning “Wisdom,” “Mind,” “Reason,” “Truth,” “Faith.” 1. Now, if it like thee, let us consider the Good and Eternal Life as Wise and as Very Wisdom, or rather as the Fount of all wisdom and as Transcending all wisdom and und…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine wisdom as transcending human understanding and being the source of all creation. They emphasize the limitations of human knowledge in comprehending the supreme wisdom.
◆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 nature of divine wisdom and the limitations of human understanding in comprehending it. They explore the idea that divine wisdom is both knowable and unknowable, and that it transcends ordinary human knowledge.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 4)
“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of inner knowledge and unity with the divine. Passage A discusses the supreme wisdom that encompasses all beings and the need to understand knowledge beyond mere propositions, while Passage B highlights the necessity of recognizing the divine within oneself and the futility of seeking wisdom externally.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 4)
“She is passive, but the Spirit of God is active, like the soul in the body." ( Clavis , v. 18.) This eternal Trinity is inconceivable in its aspect as a spiritual potentiality, in the same sense as a fire is inconceivable if it does not bu…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine principles or reasons that govern the creation and individuality of beings. They explore the idea of a higher, unifying principle that manifests in diverse forms, though they use different metaphors and frameworks to explain this concept.
◆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 discuss the nature of human individuality and the principles that govern it. Passage A explores the concept of Reason-Principles determining individual characteristics, while Passage B discusses the three principles in man and their harmony or discord. Both texts delve into the idea of divine archetypes and the influence of different principles on human existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 7)
“48.) "The soul and the Word are not one or one being. The soul is born from the centre of nature, from the essences, and belongs to the body, for she issues from the essences of the body, and attracts to herself the body; but the Word is f…”
Both passages explore the relationship between divine principles and individual beings, discussing how divine archetypes or principles interact with and influence the individual soul or body. They both delve into the nature of these interactions, though from different theological perspectives.
◆platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1c
“And have we not a right to say in his defence, that the true lover of knowledge is always striving after being--that is his nature; he will not rest in the multiplicity of individuals which is an appearance only, but will go on--the keen ed…”
Both passages discuss the nature of true knowledge and the philosopher's pursuit of ultimate reality. Plato emphasizes the philosopher's striving for the knowledge of true essence, while the second passage highlights the unity and embrace of all real beings in supreme wisdom, both pointing towards a transcendent understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVIII (part 3)
“In exactly the same way, our separate lives are manifestations of some great rational entity. We find the proof of this in the fact that our lives have no other meaning at all aside from that process of acquiring knowledge performed by us.…”
Both passages discuss the nature of knowledge and its relationship to existence and the self. They explore the idea that knowledge is not merely an accumulation of facts but a fundamental aspect of being and experience, though they do so within different philosophical and mystical frameworks.