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Select Works of Plotinus · 639 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 612

Section 5 5. Often for the purpose of exposition- as a help towards stating the nature of the produced multiplicity- we use the example of many lines radiating from one centre; but, while we provide for individualization, we must carefully preserve mutual presence. Even in the case of our circle we need not think of separated radii; all may be taken as forming one surface: where there is no distinction even upon the one surface but all is power and reality undifferentiated, all the beings may be thought of as centres uniting at one central centre: we ignore the radial lines and think of their terminals at that centre, where they are at one. Restore the radii; once more we have lines, each touching a generating centre of its own, but that centre remains coincident with the one first centre; the centres all unite in that first centre and yet remain what they were, so that they are as many as are the lines to which they serve as terminals; the centres themselves appear as numerous as the lines starting from gem and yet all those centres constitute a unity. Thus we may liken the Intellectual Beings in their diversity to many centres coinciding with the one centre and themselves at one in it but appearing multiple on account of the radial lines- lines which do not generate the centres but merely lead to them. The radii, thus, afford a serviceable illustration for the mode of contact by which the Intellectual Unity manifests itself as multiple and multipresent.
Themes
◆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.

It mentions that from the one identical presence, another will 'derive something else,' hinting at a flow from source to recipient.

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◇Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

[auto] It uses the analogies of sight and hearing to illustrate the active reception of intelligible forms by the soul.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The passage explicitly argues that the intelligible form is an 'undivided whole' present entirely at every point without being divided into sections.

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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] The passage emphasizes that the ear catches and 'comprehends' or the eye 'grasps' the form directly without mediation.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] The text states that the divine presence will 'possess itself of soul,' implying the divine realm is accessible internally.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text refers to a 'one identical presence' from which others derive, aligning with the concept of a singular first principle.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] It describes how what is apt for the soul will 'possess itself of soul,' indicating a participatory union with the divine source.

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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.

[auto] It emphasizes that participation is determined by an 'identical unity' where the same effect is made upon every receiver from one source.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 5)
“13.) Man can attain real similarity to God and perfect beatitude only by decisively willing to put his will into the Son, as the Heart or Light of the Father. "God has the eternal and unchangeable will to generate His Heart and his Son, an…”
Both passages discuss the omnipresence and unity of a divine or mystical principle. Passage A describes the soul as omnipresent and entire within the All, while Passage B discusses the soul's union with the divine will and heart of God, emphasizing a similar concept of unity and presence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 7)
“48.) "The soul and the Word are not one or one being. The soul is born from the centre of nature, from the essences, and belongs to the body, for she issues from the essences of the body, and attracts to herself the body; but the Word is f…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship with the divine or the Word. They explore the idea of the soul being omnipresent and whole, not divided or confined to a specific location, which is a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres|Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Both passages explore the concept of an omnipresent, unifying principle (soul in Plotinus, Logos in Hermeticism) that permeates the cosmos and individual entities. They share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness of all things.
◆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 soul and its omnipresence, using analogies to illustrate the concept of a unified, non-divisible principle that permeates all existence. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's relationship with the cosmos and the divine.
◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 124 (part 1)
“p. 176 BOOK II. PART I. SECTION II. Khî Wû Lun, or 'The Adjustment of Controversies 1 .' 1. Nan-kwo Sze-khî 2 was seated, leaning forward on his stool. He was looking up to heaven and breathed gently, seeming to be in a trance, and to…”
Both passages explore the concept of a unified, omnipresent principle (soul in Plotinus, the Great Mass in Taoism) that interacts with the physical world in a non-separate, non-dualistic manner. They use natural phenomena (sound and wind) to illustrate the pervasive nature of this principle.