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Select Works of Plotinus · 664 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 636 (part 2)

When you enumerate two things- say, animal and beauty- each of these remains one thing; the number is your production; it lay within yourself; it is you that elaborate quantity, here the dyad. But when you declare virtue to be a Tetrad, you are affirming a Tetrad which does actually exist; the parts, so to speak, make one thing; you are taking as the object of your act a Unity- Tetrad to which you accommodate the Tetrad within yourself.
Themes
Aeonscosmology

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

The text lists 'Absolute Man, Absolute Number, Absolute Justice' as distinct entities within the Intellectual-Principle.

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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 describes effects produced 'in the ratio of the contact, closely to the close, more remotely to the remote.'

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Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The production of effect by contact implies a resonance or affinity between levels of being.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

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

The Intellectual-Principle is described as 'power without magnitude' and 'self-existing', implying non-composite nature.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The text describes the Intellectual-Principle as a 'thing most living and intellective'.

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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 Intellectual-Principle functions as the ordering principle containing all forms and numbers.

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Monadcosmology

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

The text references 'unity' existing before the Living-Form and Authentic Being as power self-existing.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

Knowledge is described as occurring through 'contact' between the knower and the Intellectual-Principle.

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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-Principle is described as containing all living things, Number, Justice, and Beauty, resembling the divine fullness.

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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 suggests seeking 'Being at its intensest', implying a movement toward higher reality.

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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 text describes 'Authentic Being' as containing all living things and numbers, suggesting a unified source of existence.

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Active Contemplationpraxis

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

[auto] The practice described involves reflecting within oneself on life and intellect as a form of meditation.

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Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The passage commands to 'lay aside all sense-perception' and describes the divine as 'not in extension but as power without magnitude'.

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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] The instruction to 'lay aside all sense-perception' implies that sensory experience hinders the knowledge of Intellectual-Principle.

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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 passage distinguishes between the 'Life-Form primal', 'Intellectual-Principle', and 'Authentic Being', outlining levels of reality.

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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 text states 'by Intellectual-Principle we know Intellectual-Principle', emphasizing direct noetic knowledge over sensory perception.

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Inner Lightanthropology

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

[auto] The text suggests that life and intellect are found within the self ('reflect within ourselves'), indicating an internal divine presence.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The divine Intellect and Authentic Being are accessed by reflecting within oneself rather than looking outward.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

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

[auto] The text explicitly mentions that the higher realm contains 'all Number' and ascribes existence to 'Absolute Number'.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The author instructs to 'reflect within ourselves there is life, there is intellect', linking self-reflection to divine knowledge.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 1)
p. 71 CHAPTER III. THE SEVEN PROPERTIES OR QUALITIES OF ETERNAL NATURE. 1 I. ♄ ☾ II. ☿ ♃ III. ♂ ♀ IV. ☉ V. ♀ ♂ VI. ♃ ☿ VII. ☾ ♄ When the Eternal One, in its aspect as a Trinity and with reference to divine wisdom, reveals itself o…”
Both passages explore the concept of a primordial, divine essence that manifests in various forms or qualities. Plotinus discusses the primal Life-Form, Intellectual-Principle, and Being, while Boehme describes the seven properties or qualities of eternal nature. Both texts emphasize the unity and interdependence of these manifestations within a divine framework.
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 reality and its relationship to the world and human understanding. They explore the concept of an ultimate, transcendent principle from which all things emanate, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
greek_mystery|The Golden Verses of Pythagoras|Section 5 (part 1)
p. 9 NOTES ON THE GOLDEN VERSES OF PYTHAGORAS FROM THE COMMENTARIES OF HIEROCLES. The Golden Verses may be divided into two parts, the first treating of the Practical or Human Virtues, whose aim is the making of Good Men; and the second,…”
Both passages discuss the nature of higher intelligences and the structure of reality, with Plotinus focusing on the primal Life-Form and Intellectual-Principle, and the Pythagorean text discussing the order and function of the Immortal Gods and their role in the universe. Both emphasize the importance of understanding these higher principles to achieve a higher state of being.
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 discuss the nature of the divine and the structure of reality, emphasizing the primacy of Intellectual-Principle or Mind, and the emanation of lower forms from higher principles. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine and the cosmos.
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 explore the nature of the divine and the structure of reality, emphasizing the unity and primacy of the divine principle. They discuss the hierarchy of being and the relationship between the divine, intellect, and life, though from different philosophical and mystical traditions.