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Select Works of Plotinus · 648 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 622

Section 2 2. What, then, of the "Number of the Infinite"? To begin with, how is Number consistent with infinity? Objects of sense are not unlimited and therefore the Number applying to them cannot be so. Nor is an enumerator able to number to infinity; though we double, multiply over and over again, we still end with a finite number; though we range over past and future, and consider them, even, as a totality, we still end with the finite. Are we then to dismiss absolute limitlessness and think merely that there is always something beyond? No; that more is not in the reckoner's power to produce; the total stands already defined. In the Intellectual the Beings are determined and with them Number, the number corresponding to their total; in this sphere of our own- as we make a man a multiple by counting up his various characteristics, his beauty and the rest- we take each image of Being and form a corresponding image of number; we multiply a non-existent in and so produce multiple numbers; if we number years we draw on the numbers in our own minds and apply them to the years; these numbers are still our possession.
Themes
◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

The concept that all beings are centres uniting at one central centre implies the divine presence is immanent within each being.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The passage describes the divine reality as 'undifferentiated' and a state where there is 'no distinction even upon the one surface'.

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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 metaphor of 'lines radiating from one centre' and 'produced multiplicity' reflects the Neoplatonic structure of emanation.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text repeatedly references a 'one centre' and 'first centre' from which multiplicity radiates and to which all unite.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] It describes how 'centres all unite in that first centre' while maintaining their individual identity, illustrating a state of union.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

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

[auto] The text emphasizes a state where 'there is no distinction' and multiplicity and unity coexist without separation.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage presents the paradoxical idea that centres are 'as many as are the lines' yet simultaneously 'constitute a unity'.

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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] The passage centrally argues that despite diversity and multiplicity, all Intellectual Beings constitute a single unity at the central centre.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 10, Section 1d
“If Time be thought of as an infinite series of finite numbers Eternity is the sum of that series and not its process. But the name may be applied loosely to the process, though this is generally to be avoided. According to St. Thomas, Et…”
Both passages explore the concept of infinity and its relationship with time and number. Passage A discusses the inconsistency of infinity with finite enumeration, while Passage B delves into the distinction between time and eternity, highlighting the timeless nature of the self and the transformation of motion into rest.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XX (part 4)
“The chief of these conditional data consists in the fact that in problems of this mathematics there is always taken the t of the universe only , i.e., one section only of the universe is taken, p. 249 which section is never taken in conjun…”
Both passages explore the concept of infinity and its relationship with numbers and reality. Passage A discusses the inconsistency of infinity with finite numbers and the Intellectual sphere, while Passage B delves into the mathematics of infinite and variable magnitudes, highlighting the real nature of transfinite numbers.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XX (part 5)
“Consequently, the number of points in the cube, a 3 is equal to ∞ ∞∞ , this expression is equal to the expression ∞ ∞ and ∞, i.e., this means that an infinity continues to grow, remaining at the same time unchanged . ______ Thus in transfi…”
Both passages explore the concept of infinity and its relationship with numbers and mathematics. They discuss the limitations of traditional mathematical axioms when applied to infinite or transfinite numbers, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXI (part 5)
“Penetrating there, it first of all renounces its fundamental axioms of identity and difference. In the world of infinite and fluent magnitudes, a magnitude may be not equal to itself; a part may be equal to the whole; and of two equal magn…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of conventional logic and mathematics when applied to higher or infinite realms. They explore the idea that traditional axioms must be renounced or transcended to understand these higher realities, indicating a shared insight across different mystical traditions.