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Select Works of Plotinus · 671 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 642

Section 3 3. What then is there to prevent man having been the object of planning There? No: all stands in that likeness, nothing to be added or taken away; this planning and reasoning is based only on an assumption; things are taken to be in process and this suggests planning and reasoning; insist on the eternity of the process and planning falls to the ground. There can be no planning over the eternal; that would imply forgetfulness of a first state; further, if the second state were better, things stood ill at first; if they stood well, so they must remain. Only in conjunction with their causes are things good; even in this sphere a thing is good in virtue of being complete; form means that the thing is complete, the Matter duly controlled; this control means that nothing has been left crude; but something is so left if anything belonging to the shape be missing-eye, or other part. Thus to state cause is to state the thing complete. Why eyes or eyebrows? For completion: if you say "For preservation," you affirm an indwelling safeguard of the essence, something contributory to the being: the essence, then, preceded the safeguard and the cause was inbound with the essence; distinct, this cause is in its nature a part of the essence. All parts, thus, exist in regard to each other: the essence is all-embracing, complete, entire; the excellency is inbound with the cause and embraced by it; the being, the essence, the cause, all are one. But, at this, sense-perception- even in its particular modes- is involved in the Idea by eternal necessity, in virtue of the completeness of the Idea; Intellectual-Principle, as all-inclusive, contains in itself all by which we are brought, later, to recognise this perfection in its nature; the cause, There, was one total, all-inclusive; thus Man in the Intellectual was not purely intellect, sense-perception being an addition made upon his entry into birth: all this would seem to imply a tendance in that great Principle towards the lower, towards this sphere. But how could that Principle have such perception, be aware of things of sense? Surely it is untenable on the one hand that sense-perception should exist There, from eternity, and on the other that only upon the debasement of the soul should there be sense-perception here and the accomplishment in this realm of the Act of what was always a power in that?
Themes
◆Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The transcendental unity is defined by what sense-nature cannot compass.

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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.

The sense-nature is described as unable to compass the transcendental unity.

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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 through which the universe reflects the Unity.

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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 distinction between the Intellectual and sense-nature implies a movement toward the higher realm.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The Unity is presented as a singular principle that cannot be compassed by sense-nature.

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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 Unity There is reproduced in the living universe in the degree possible to it, indicating a downward flow.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] Every living thing is described as being There in the Life-form by virtue of having life.

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◇Living Godtheology

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

[auto] The divine is described as the Complete Living Form and the Living-All that includes the total of living things.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text refers to The Unity There as the singular source reproduced in the multiplicity of living things.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The text states that man exists in the Intellectual and is There in the Life-form by virtue of being intellect.

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◇Numerical Mysticismtheology

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

[auto] The passage explicitly argues that Number exists before every living thing and constitutes the Living-All as Number-Entire.

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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.

[auto] The Intellectual realm is described as the Collective Being that includes the total of living things and is Complete.

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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] Salvation or presence in the Intellectual is linked to knowing oneself as intellect rather than sense-nature.

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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 text centers on the Collective Being and Unity as the source from which all living forms derive their existence.

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Related passages · 11 parallels
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1o
“Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the bodily eye?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the bodily eye.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the heavenly eye?' Subh…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of perception and description. The Vajrakkhedika discusses the concept of 'no-self' and the illusory nature of multiplicity, while Plotinus' work delves into the unity and number of the Intellectual-Principle. Both texts grapple with the idea that what is perceived is not the ultimate reality.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1l
“The formless essence (ἀμορφία) of a thing is simple and imageless—a Platonic idea—perceived by the mind; things which have bodily form are, as it were, types and symbols perceived by the senses. 54 Or “indeterminate.” 55 Thus the three gra…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the completeness and unity of the divine essence. They also explore the concept of perception and the limitations of human understanding in relation to the divine.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 6)
“2.) There existed in man also the third principle, wherein resides sensual desire. He was not endowed with this principle for the purpose of surrendering himself to it, but that he might introduce it into the light of God, and glorify Him…”
Both passages discuss the nature of man and his relationship to higher principles and the external world. They explore the idea of completeness and harmony within man, and how man's essence and desires are interconnected with divine and worldly influences.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 12)
“145:1 This was the divine Man, out of whom the world was created, while the natural man is a product of the world. 145:2 Because everything was within his own will, within himself. 145:3 This celestial Adam has not died, but still exists…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine nature within humanity and the process of self-realization. They discuss the idea of a higher, divine state that humans can attain through self-knowledge and the overcoming of lower, animalistic tendencies. The passages also touch on the unity of being and the role of divine principles in creation.
◆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 concept of unity and the interconnectedness of all beings within a divine or intellectual framework. Plotinus emphasizes the unity of the Intellectual-Principle and the role of Number in the cosmos, while the Golden Verses of Pythagoras describe the order and function of the Gods and the unity of the universe. Both texts explore the idea of a higher, transcendent reality that encompasses and unifies all existence.
◆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 unity and interconnectedness of all existence, with Passage A focusing on the Intellectual-Principle and Number as fundamental to Being, and Passage B emphasizing the singularity of God as the creator and sustainer of all life. Both texts explore the idea of a singular, transcendent principle that underlies and unifies all reality.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1d
“And this is, My beloved, Life; this is the Beautiful; this is the Good; this, God. 14. And if thou wouldst in practice understand [this work], behold what taketh place with thee desiring to beget. Yet this is not like unto that, for He d…”
Both passages explore the concept of a divine unity that encompasses all existence, with the Hermetic text emphasizing the singular, self-sustaining nature of God as the source of all life and the Neoplatonic text discussing the Collective Being and Intellectual-Principle as the comprehensive, numerable source of all living things.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer|Section 1d
“Now it is units that give birth to number and increase it, and, being decomposed, are taken back again into themselves. Matter is one; and this whole Cosmos - the mighty God and image of the mightier One, both with Him unified, and the con…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the cosmos, the role of number and life within it, and the immortality or eternal nature of the components of the cosmos. They share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness and eternal motion of all things within the universe.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat|Section 1d
“<lacuna in text>, though this Sermon (Logos) on Rebirth, on which I did not comment - in order that we may not be calumniators of the All unto the multitude, to whom indeed God Himself doth will we should not. 14. Tat: Tell me, O father:…”
Both passages discuss the unity and multiplicity of the divine and the cosmos, emphasizing the concept of the One containing the Ten and the Ten containing the One in the Corpus Hermeticum, and the idea of the Collective Being encompassing all living things and numbers in Plotinus. They share a mystical exploration of the relationship between the divine and the material world.
◆jewish_mysticism|Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation)|Section 1a
“Wescott, tr. (1887) CHAPTER 1 1. In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths of wisdom did JAH the Lord of Hosts engrave his name: God of the armies of Israel, ever-living God, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on high, who i…”
Both passages discuss the concept of numbers as fundamental to the structure of reality and creation. Plotinus describes numbers as inherent in the Intellectual-Principle and the Living-All, while the Sepher Yetzirah presents numbers as foundational to the Sephiroth and the creation of the universe.
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◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|INTRODUCTIONh
“The primal idea of Pythagoras, which Bruno worked out to a more distinct development is this: numbers are the beginning of things; in other words numbers are the cause of the existence of material things; they are not final, but are always…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the One or Unity as the fundamental principle from which all things originate. They also explore the idea of numbers as integral to the structure and harmony of the universe, reflecting a deep metaphysical insight shared across different mystical traditions.