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Select Works of Plotinus · 530 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 509

Section 1 1. Philosophy at a very early stage investigated the number and character of the Existents. Various theories resulted: some declared for one Existent, others for a finite number, others again for an infinite number, while as regards the nature of the Existents- one, numerically finite, or numerically infinite- there was a similar disagreement. These theories, in so far as they have been adequately examined by later workers, may be passed over here; our attention must be directed upon the results of those whose examination has led them to posit on their awn account certain well-defined genera. These thinkers rejected pure unity on the ground of the plurality observed even in the Intellectual world; they rejected an infinite number as not reconcilable with the facts and as defying knowledge: considering the foundations of being to be "genera" rather than elements strictly so called, they concluded for a finite number. Of these "genera" some found ten, others less, others no doubt more. But here again there is a divergence of views. To some the genera are first-principles; to others they indicate only a generic classification of the Existents themselves. Let us begin with the well-known tenfold division of the Existents, and consider whether we are to understand ten genera ranged under the common name of Being, or ten categories. That the term Being has not the same sense in all ten is rightly maintained. But a graver problem confronts us at the outset: Are the ten found alike in the Intellectual and in the Sensible realms? Or are all found in the Sensible and some only in the Intellectual? All in the Intellectual and some in the Sensible is manifestly impossible. At this point it would be natural to investigate which of the ten belong to both spheres, and whether the Existents of the Intellectual are to be ranged under one and the same genus with the Existents in the Sensible, or whether the term "Existence" [or Substance] is equivocal as applied to both realms. If the equivocation exists, the number of genera will be increased: if there is no equivocation, it is strange to find the one same "Existence" applying to the primary and to the derivative Existents when there is no common genus embracing both primal and secondary. These thinkers are however not considering the Intellectual realm in their division, which was not intended to cover all the Existents; the Supreme they overlooked.
Themes
◆Aeonscosmology

Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.

The Intellectual Kosmos contains intellective essences that function as divine archetypal beings within the higher realm.

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◆Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The passage negates the presence of conflicting or inartistic qualities within the Supreme realm.

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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.

Matter is described as distressed and the source of evil through deficiency, implying it hinders true form.

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◆Divine Simplicitytheology

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

The Supreme and Intellectual Kosmos are presented as unified wholes where entities have essential existence without conflict.

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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 Ideas in the sense realm as coming from the Supreme, implying a downward flow of being.

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◆Kenomacosmology

The void or emptiness outside the pleroma; the realm of matter, ignorance, and deficiency.

Matter is characterized as distressed and the locus of deficiency and privation outside the Intellectual Kosmos.

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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 Reason-principle is mentioned as the source of form that can be thwarted or achieved in matter.

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◆Monadcosmology

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

The 'Supreme' is identified as the singular source from which all Ideas in the sense realm originate.

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◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

In the Intellectual Kosmos, identity and difference, movement and rest coexist essentially rather than conflicting.

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◆Pleromacosmology

The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.

The Intellectual Kosmos is depicted as a divine fullness containing all qualities and essences, contrasted with deficient matter.

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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 Intellectual Kosmos is described as a state where 'all is one total' and every entity participates in life.

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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.

[auto] The passage explicitly defines evil as begotten of need, privation, and deficiency rather than an ideal archetype.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 13, Section 1f
“Thus in the form “1 x 1” the first figure represents the unity underlying all numbers, the second figure represents unity as a particular number among other numbers. The first figure may thus be taken as a symbol of the Godhead, the second…”
Both passages explore the nature of unity and multiplicity in existence, with Passage A discussing the genera of existents in the Intellectual and Sensible realms, and Passage B discussing the underlying unity of all numbers and the Godhead. Both texts grapple with the relationship between the one and the many, and the nature of existence in different realms.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1e
“And if these Universals exist by participating in Existence, far more is this true of the things which participate in them. 6. Thus the first gift which the Absolute and Transcendent Goodness bestows is that of mere Existence, and so It d…”
Both passages explore the nature of existence and the unity of being, with Passage A discussing the genera of existents and Passage B describing the unity and multiplicity of existence emanating from a transcendent source. They share a metaphysical inquiry into the fundamental principles of reality.
◆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 creation and the relationship between the divine and the material world. They explore the idea that the divine realm contains the forms or essences of all things, and that the material world is a manifestation of the divine, albeit in a less perfect or remote state.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 5: The Discourse of Hermes to Asclepius|Section 1c
“And for this cause hath He all names, in that they are one Father's. And for this cause hath He Himself no nome, in that He's Father of [them] all. Who, then, may sing Thee praise of Thee, or [praise] to Thee? Whither, again, am I to tur…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an all-encompassing, ultimate reality that is both manifest and unmanifest. They explore the idea that the divine is the source of all things and contains all things within itself, though the Corpus Hermeticum passage is more poetic and the Select Works passage is more philosophical.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 9: The Decalogue|Section 1c
“This is God's sense-and-thought, ever to move all things. And never time shall be when e'en a whit of things that are shall cease; and when I say "a whit of things that are", I mean a whit of God. For thigs that are, God hath; nor aught […”
Both passages discuss the nature of God or the Supreme as the source and essence of all things, emphasizing the unity and interdependence of existence. They share a mystical perspective on the divine as the fundamental reality underlying all phenomena.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1c
“It must, then, be that such a one as this must be some one who's wholly One. 9. For as the many motions of them [all] are different, and as their bodies are not like, yet has one speed been ordered for them all, it is impossible that ther…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the cosmos, emphasizing the unity and oneness of the divine principle. They explore the relationship between the divine, the intellectual realm, and the material world, highlighting the role of the divine in creation and the order of the cosmos.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|INTRODUCTIONh
“The primal idea of Pythagoras, which Bruno worked out to a more distinct development is this: numbers are the beginning of things; in other words numbers are the cause of the existence of material things; they are not final, but are always…”
Both passages explore the nature of existence and the relationship between unity and multiplicity. Plotinus discusses the genera of existents and their classification, while Bruno elaborates on the concept of the One and its relationship to the multitude of things, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical explorations of reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXI (part 1)
“p. 254 CHAPTER XXI Man's transition to a higher logic. The necessity for rejecting everything "real." "Poverty of the spirit." The recognition of the infinite alone as real. Laws of the infinite. Logic of the finite—the Organon of Arist…”
Both passages explore the nature of existence and reality, questioning the limitations of finite logic and categories. Plotinus discusses the genera of existents and their application in different realms, while Ouspensky examines the limitations of finite logic in understanding the infinite and the noumenal world. Both seek to move beyond conventional frameworks to grasp higher truths.