Select Works of Plotinus · 515 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 493
Section 1 1. All human beings from birth onward live to the realm of sense more than to the Intellectual. Forced of necessity to attend first to the material, some of them elect to abide by that order and, their life throughout, make its concerns their first and their last; the sweet and the bitter of sense are their good and evil; they feel they have done all if they live along pursuing the one and barring the doors to the other. And those of them that pretend to reasoning have adopted this as their philosophy; they are like the heavier birds which have incorporated much from the earth and are so weighted down that they cannot fly high for all the wings Nature has given them. Others do indeed lift themselves a little above the earth; the better in their soul urges them from the pleasant to the nobler, but they are not of power to see the highest and so, in despair of any surer ground, they fall back in virtue's name, upon those actions and options of the lower from which they sought to escape. But there is a third order- those godlike men who, in their mightier power, in the keenness of their sight, have clear vision of the splendour above and rise to it from among the cloud and fog of earth and hold firmly to that other world, looking beyond all here, delighted in the place of reality, their native land, like a man returning after long wanderings to the pleasant ways of his own country.
Themes
◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The reference to 'Its prior' implies the undivided first principle from which Beauty flows.
All passages →◆Self Knowledgesoteriology
The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
The passage notes that lovers fail to recognize what is passing within them regarding the source of beauty.
All passages →◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
It suggests tracing earthly beauty back to its divine source as a cognitive movement upward.
All passages →◇Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
[auto] It states that the prior principle does not deign to be beautiful, negating attributes for the highest source.
All passages →◇Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
[auto] The passage centrally argues that primal Beauty is entire, lacks no parts, and cannot be possessed partially.
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 text distinguishes between a 'prior' principle and the first manifestation of Form or Intellect.
All passages →◇Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
[auto] It describes the primal principle as an omnipresent entirety where nothing is lacking or divided.
All passages →Related passages · 11 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 concept of transcending the material world to reach a higher, divine realm. They emphasize the limitation of human understanding and the need to rise above it to comprehend the divine, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 8)
“Without it the form of the spirit would not be knowable; it is the corporeity of the spirit.
To be sure, it is not a bodily, tangible substance, like the bodies of men, but has nevertheless substantial and visible qualities which the spiri…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine beauty and its manifestation. Passage A from Plotinus describes Beauty as a primal, omnipresent entity that is the source of all beauty in the world, while Passage B from the Threefold Life discusses the divine wisdom and its corporeal substantiality, which is described as beautiful and splendid. Both passages emphasize the transcendence and perfection of divine beauty.
◆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 concept 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 Boehme talks about the divine origin of all things and the reflection of divine beauty in creation.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 3)
“2.) "The inner man stood in heaven; his essences were the Paradise; his body was indestructible.
He knew the language of God and the angels, and the language of nature, as may be seen by Adam giving names to all creatures, to each accordin…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a higher, divine state of being that humans can aspire to or once possessed. Passage A describes the intellectual and spiritual ascent of individuals towards a higher realm, while Passage B discusses Adam's original state of divine connection and power in Paradise. Both emphasize the transcendence of the material world and the attainment of a higher, more spiritual existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 13)
“154:1 This is the difference between life in the terrestrial and life in the celestial states of nature, that the former is differentiated into forms, each of which loves to live in the consciousness of its own illusive self— i.e.
, in a s…”
Both passages discuss the duality of human nature, the struggle between higher and lower states of being, and the aspiration towards a more spiritual or celestial existence. They also highlight the tendency of humans to be drawn to the material world and the difficulty in rising above it.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 1)
“p.
164 CHAPTER VIII.
NATURE, OR THE THIRD PRINCIPLE.
"The godless seeks for God outside of his own self, and the Christless sectarians seek for a personal Christ in history; but the man of God and the true Christian know God and Christ w…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine beauty and its manifestation in the world. Plotinus describes Beauty as a primal, omnipresent entity, while Boehme talks about the divine nature and its reflection in the external world, both emphasizing the divine origin of beauty and its presence in creation.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 9 (part 1)
“p.
180 CHAPTER IX.
GENERATION.
"Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit.
For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine beauty and the soul's relationship with the divine. Passage A discusses the primal beauty of the divine and its reflection in the world, while Passage B describes the soul's desire to unite with the divine light and the consequences of failing to do so. Both emphasize the transcendent nature of the divine and its influence on the created world.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 7)
“27.) The first and greatest danger for the new-born being arises from pride; as is illustrated in the New Testament, for hardly is the new-born Saviour laid in the cradle, standing between the ox of self will and the ass of ignorance in the…”
Both passages discuss the internal struggle between higher spiritual aspirations and lower, earthly desires. They describe a battle within the individual, where the higher self seeks divine connection while the lower self is mired in material concerns and pride.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 14 (part 2)
“2.) During his terrestrial existence man can remain consciously in the three worlds, and by the power of the will with which he is endowed penetrate into either one or the other; but after the separation of the soul from the body has taken…”
Both passages discuss the idea of human beings existing in different realms or states of being, with a focus on the higher, spiritual realm versus the lower, material realm. They also emphasize the importance of the individual's will and consciousness in determining their state, either in this life or the next.
◆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 concept of beauty and its origin, with Passage A discussing the primal and omnipresent nature of beauty in the context of Platonic and Neoplatonic thought, while Passage B from the Tao Te Ching discusses the relational nature of beauty and its opposites in the context of Taoist philosophy. Both texts emphasize the transcendent and fundamental nature of beauty.