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Select Works of Plotinus · 614 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 585

Section 24 24. With regard to locomotion: if ascending is to be held contrary to descending, and circular motion different [in kind] from motion in a straight line, we may ask how this difference is to be defined- the difference, for example, between throwing over the head and under the feet. The driving power is one- though indeed it might be maintained that the upward drive is different from the downward, and the downward passage of a different character from the upward, especially if it be a natural motion, in which case the up-motion constitutes lightness, the down-motion heaviness. But in all these motions alike there is the common tendency to seek an appointed place, and in this tendency we seem to have the differentia which separates locomotion from the other species. As for motion in a circle and motion in a straight line, if the former is in practice indistinguishable from the latter, how can we regard them as different? The only difference lies in the shape of the course, unless the view be taken that circular motion is "impure," as not being entirely a motion, not involving a complete surrender of identity. However, it appears in general that locomotion is a definite unity, taking its differences from externals.
Themes
◆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.

The text examines the relationship between Sensible and Intellectual qualities, noting they are 'identical in name only' but connected through manifestations.

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◆Inner Lightanthropology

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

The discussion of beauty residing in the soul's Reason-Principle suggests an internal divine quality.

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◆Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

Geometry and arithmetic are mentioned as having a twofold character, belonging to the Sensible in earthly types but to the Intellectual world as functions of pure Soul.

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◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The text refers to the Soul's 'apostasy' when associated with Matter and the lower realm, indicating a state of separation from the higher order.

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◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The passage mentions virtues that 'isolate Soul by inclining it towards the higher', indicating a movement toward the divine.

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◆Tripartite Soulanthropology

Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).

The passage distinguishes between Soul, Body, and Reason-Principles, reflecting a composite structure of the human being.

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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] Material bodies are characterized as 'pseudo-substance' with inferior beauty compared to the Intellectual order.

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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 text distinguishes between the Sensible and Intellectual spheres, reflecting the hierarchical structure of reality.

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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 explicitly references the 'Reason-Principle' as a locus of beauty distinct from sensible manifestation.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
◆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 explore the relationship between the divine and the material world, discussing the nature of beauty, quality, and the distinction between the intellectual and sensible realms. They both delve into the idea that certain qualities and virtues can be associated with either the higher (intellectual) or lower (sensible) spheres, reflecting a common mystical concern with the nature of reality and its divine origins.
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXV. THE MUSES (part 2)
“207 fury arises from truth, and the amatorial from beauty; so the poetic proceeds from divine symmetry, by means of which it most intimately unites the poets with the Gods. Plato, in the Phædrus, speaking of this Fury, says that it is an o…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the human, particularly how divine qualities or inspirations manifest in the human realm. Plotinus discusses the nature of beauty and virtue in the Intellectual and Sensible spheres, while the Hymn to the Muses describes how the Muses inspire poetry and virtue in humans, bridging the divine and the mundane.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 2: The Serapeum|Section 1b
“A: How is it, then, that things down here, Thrice-greatest one, are moved with those that are [already] moved? For thou hast said the errant spheres were moved by the inerrant one. H: This is not, O Asclepius, a moving with, but one again…”
Both passages explore the nature of motion and its underlying principles. Passage A discusses different types of motion and their characteristics, while Passage B delves into the causes and effects of motion, particularly focusing on the role of stability and contrariety. Both texts seek to understand the fundamental aspects of movement, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical exploration of motion.
◆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 perception, discussing how beauty and its opposite (ugliness) are understood in relation to each other. They also touch on the idea of qualities and their manifestation in different realms, though from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.