Select Works of Plotinus · 509 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 486
Section 8 8. This then is Beauty primally: it is entire and omnipresent as an entirety; and therefore in none of its parts or members lacking in beauty; beautiful thus beyond denial. Certainly it cannot be anything [be, for example, Beauty] without being wholly that thing; it can be nothing which it is to possess partially or in which it utterly fails [and therefore it must entirely be Beauty entire]. If this principle were not beautiful, what other could be? Its prior does not deign to be beautiful; that which is the first to manifest itself- Form and object of vision to the intellect- cannot but be lovely to see. It is to indicate this that Plato, drawing on something well within our observation, represents the Creator as approving the work he has achieved: the intention is to make us feel the lovable beauty of the autotype and of the Divine Idea; for to admire a representation is to admire the original upon which it was made. It is not surprising if we fail to recognise what is passing within us: lovers, and those in general that admire beauty here, do not stay to reflect that it is to be traced, as of course it must be, to the Beauty There. That the admiration of the Demiurge is to be referred to the Ideal Exemplar is deliberately made evident by the rest of the passage: "He admired; and determined to bring the work into still closer likeness with the Exemplar": he makes us feel the magnificent beauty of the Exemplar by telling us that the Beauty sprung from this world is, itself, a copy from That. And indeed if the divine did not exist, the transcendently beautiful, in a beauty beyond all thought, what could be lovelier than the things we see? Certainly no reproach can rightly be brought against this world save only that it is not That.
Themes
◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
Negates physical processes like blood or menstruation as the source of true beauty, defining the divine by what it is not.
All passages →◆Demiurgecosmology
A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.
References a 'moulder and maker' who subdues material to give form, functioning as a creator principle distinct from the ultimate source.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
Uses imagery of beauty 'shone forth' from a higher source, suggesting illumination as revelation.
All passages →◇Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
[auto] Matter is described as a 'bare recipient' associated with sheer ugliness unless subdued by form, implying the physical is inferior.
All passages →◇Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
[auto] The text establishes a clear ontological distinction between Form (beauty) and Matter (ugliness/bare recipient).
All passages →◇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 describes beauty as communicated from the producer to the produced, implying a downward flow of form from a higher source.
All passages →◇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 'Idea' functions as the ordering principle communicated from the divine realm to natural creations, mediating between source and matter.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1h
“that which makes an individual thing to be one thing); (2) Mental or Spiritual intercourse; (3) Physical intercourse; (4) Sense perception.
Here it = either (1) or (2), probably (1).
limit, infinity, everything that exists.
And yet since…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent, ultimate beauty or goodness that is the source and cause of all things. They both emphasize the idea that this ultimate principle is beyond names and descriptions, yet it is the essence of all that is beautiful and good in the world.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1e
“Hence the Good God is called the Fount, first, of the Very Primaries: then, of those creatures which share completely therein; then, of those which share partially therein.
484 484 Migne’s text here is corrupt, I have emended it.
(1) The…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent, ultimate beauty or goodness that is the source of all beauty and goodness in the created world. They both describe a hierarchy of beings that share in this ultimate beauty or goodness to varying degrees.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1g
“and because It is the Cause of the harmony and splendour in all things, flashing forth upon them all, like light, the beautifying communications of Its originating ray; and because It summons all things to fare unto Itself (from whence It h…”
Both passages discuss the concept of Beauty as a primordial, transcendent, and all-encompassing principle. They emphasize that Beauty is not partial or changeable but is eternally and uniquely beautiful, serving as the cause and goal of all things.
◆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 divine beauty and its manifestation in the world. Passage A from Plotinus emphasizes the primal and omnipresent nature of Beauty, while Passage B from the mystical Christian tradition describes God as the supreme and fundamental source of beauty and perfection, which is reflected in creation.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 4)
“28.) "In Paradise the substance of the divine world penetrated the substance belonging to time, comparable to the power of the sun penetrating a fruit growing on a tree, and endowing it with such qualities as render it lovely to the sight a…”
Both passages discuss the nature of beauty and its origin, suggesting that true beauty is not found in the physical form but in an underlying, transcendent reality or divine principle. They both emphasize the inner essence as the source of beauty, though they use different metaphysical frameworks.
◆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 inner beauty and the relationship between the inner and outer worlds. Plotinus discusses the Idea as the source of beauty, which resides within and is perceived through the soul, while the second passage talks about the inner light and the harmony of the inner and outer principles in man.
◆platonism|Plato: Symposium|Section 1u
“True, he said.
Then Love wants and has not beauty?
Certainly, he replied.
And would you call that beautiful which wants and does not possess beauty?
Certainly not.
Then would you still say that love is beautiful?
Agathon replied: I fe…”
Both passages explore the nature of beauty and love, suggesting that the true essence of beauty lies beyond the physical and material. They both point to an ideal or form of beauty that exists independently of the physical manifestations.
◆platonism|Plato: Symposium|Section 1x
“All creation or passage of non-being into being is poetry or making, and the processes of all art are creative; and the masters of arts are all poets or makers." "Very true." "Still," she said, "you know that they are not called poets, but…”
Both passages explore the nature of beauty and love, positing that the pursuit of beauty is a manifestation of a deeper, more abstract ideal. They both suggest that the true object of love and beauty is not found in the physical or material, but in an eternal and immaterial realm.
◆taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 2
“All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. So it is that existe…”
Both passages explore the nature of beauty and its origins, suggesting that true beauty is not merely superficial but rooted in deeper, more abstract principles or ideas. They both emphasize the inner essence over the outer form.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 8)
“Permanency also suffers no change of its nature, because it is not mingled with the unstable.
And the beautiful there is beautiful, because it does not subsist in beauty (as in a subject).
Each thing too is there p.
280 established, not…”
Both passages discuss the nature of beauty and the divine, emphasizing the primal and transcendent aspects of beauty. They share a mystical perspective on the unity and perfection of the divine realm, though they come from different traditions.