Select Works of Plotinus · 522 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 499

Section 7 7. Knowledge in the reasoning soul is on the one side concerned with objects of sense, though indeed this can scarcely be called knowledge and is better indicated as opinion or surface-knowing; it is of later origin than the objects since it is a reflection from them: but on the other hand there is the knowledge handling the intellectual objects and this is the authentic knowledge; it enters the reasoning soul from the Intellectual-Principle and has no dealing with anything in sense. Being true knowledge it actually is everything of which it takes cognisance; it carries as its own content the intellectual act and the intellectual object since it carries the Intellectual-Principle which actually is the primals and is always self-present and is in its nature an Act, never by any want forced to seek, never acquiring or traversing the remote- for all such experience belongs to soul- but always self-gathered, the very Being of the collective total, not an extern creating things by the act of knowing them. Not by its thinking God does God come to be; not by its thinking Movement does Movement arise. Hence it is an error to call the Ideas intellections in the sense that, upon an intellectual act in this Principle, one such Idea or another is made to exist or exists. No: the object of this intellection must exist before the intellective act [must be the very content not the creation of the Intellectual-Principle]. How else could that Principle come to know it: certainly not [as an external] by luck or by haphazard search.

Themes

◆Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The text mentions the 'better in their soul' urging them upward, suggesting an internal divine capacity.

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◆Rejection Of Hypocrisyethics

Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.

The passage critiques those who 'pretend to reasoning' but remain bound to material concerns.

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◇Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

[auto] The text depicts material existence as a weight that prevents flight, describing those bound to sense as weighted down by the earth.

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◇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 fundamental opposition between the realm of sense/material and the Intellectual realm.

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◇Divine Lighttheology

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

[auto] The highest state is described as having clear vision of the 'splendour above', indicating a luminous divine reality.

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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 distinction between the realm of sense and the Intellectual implies a hierarchical structure of reality descending from the higher.

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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 elevation is achieved through 'clear vision' and 'keenness of their sight' rather than ritual or mere reasoning.

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◇Pneumatic Electsoteriology

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

[auto] The passage categorizes humanity into three distinct orders, highlighting a 'third order' of godlike men with superior spiritual power.

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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 narrative arc involves souls attempting to escape lower actions and options to reach the higher Intellectual ground.

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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 passage explicitly describes the movement of souls lifting themselves above the earth to achieve vision of the splendour above.

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Related passages · 8 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1b

“For even as things which are intellectually discerned 52 52 i. e. The Transcendent Truths which are beyond ordinary knowledge. νοητά . The word νοῦς = Mind in the sense not merely of abstract intellect but of the spiritual personality.…”

Both passages discuss the nature of intellectual knowledge and the higher principles beyond sensory perception. They explore the idea of a transcendent reality that is beyond ordinary understanding and the limitations of human cognition in comprehending it.

◆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. Both emphasize the idea of a transcendent, godlike state.

◆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, contrasting the terrestrial (material, sensual) and celestial (spiritual, intellectual) states. They also explore the idea of human beings being drawn to the material world but having the potential to rise above it to achieve a higher state of existence.

◆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.

◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 9: The Decalogue|Section 1b

“But I return once more to the Discourse (Logos) on Sense. That sense doth share with thought in man, doth constitute him man. But 'tis not [every] man, as I have said, who benefits by thought; for this man is material, that other one subs…”

Both passages discuss the relationship between the material and the intellectual/spiritual realms, and the different types of individuals based on their alignment with these realms. They also touch on the idea of divine order and the nature of existence.

◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1s

“But they are not so, for they are incapable of reason or intellect; the only being which can properly have mind is the invisible soul, whereas fire and water, and earth and air, are all of them visible bodies. The lover of intellect and kn…”

Both passages discuss the nature of knowledge and intellect, emphasizing the distinction between higher, intellectual knowledge and lower, sensory-based opinion. They also explore the relationship between the divine or intellectual principle and the material world, highlighting the primacy of the former.

◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 128 (part 7)

“With these views, how should they know wherein death and life are to be found, or what is first and what is last? They borrow different substances, and pretend that the common form of the body is composed of them 1 . They dismiss the thou…”

Both passages explore the theme of transcending the mundane and material aspects of life to attain a higher state of being or understanding. They discuss individuals who rise above conventional norms and seek a deeper connection with the Tao or the higher realm.

◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 129 (part 1)

“p. 259 BOOK VII. PART I. SECTION VII. Ying Tî Wang 1 , or 'The Normal Course for Rulers and Kings 1 .' 1. Nieh Khüeh 2 put four questions to Wang Î 2 , not one of which did he know (how to answer). On this Nieh Khüeh leaped up, and in…”

Both passages discuss the idea of individuals who rise above the mundane concerns of the world to attain a higher state of being or understanding. Plotinus describes those who see the 'splendour above' and return to their 'native land,' while the Taoist text speaks of those who sleep 'tranquilly' and awake in 'contented simplicity,' seeking to govern from a place of inner correctness.