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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.
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Themes
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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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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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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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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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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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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Related passages · 5 parallels
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 56 (part 3)
“2, Page]] 113 THE SECRET WORK OF CHIRAM. active emanations from the three higher principles in man, namely, "Spirit, Soul, and Mind," or Atma, Buddhi, and Manas. It is the spiritual and also the material human basis. Rudimentary man, hav…”
Shared concept: Tripartite Soul — Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma). (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 8)
“They are fire-flames, illumined by the light of God, but we attain the great fountain of meekness and love which is welling up within the holy essentiality of God." 1 ( Menschwerdung , i. 5.) Man comprises all three principles: the princip…”
Shared concept: Tripartite Soul — Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma). (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity-g
“At the first gate the great crown is removed from her head, at the second gate the earrings from her ears, at the third gate the necklace from her neck, at the fourth gate the ornaments from her breast, at the fifth gate the girdle from her…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Tree of the Sephiroth-g
“Thomas Maurice reproduces the above engraving, which is modification of the elaborate tree on the preceding page. The Sephiroth are here superimposed, decreasing in size as they decrease in power and dignity. Thus, the Crown is the greate…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
sufism|The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi)|PROLOGUE-a
“HEARKEN to the reed-flute, how it complains, Lamenting its banishment from its home: "Ever since they tore me from my osier bed, My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears. I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs, And t…”
Shared concept: Separation From Source — 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. (derived)