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Select Works of Plotinus · 681 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 651

Section 12 12. Or take it another way: Since in our view this universe stands to that as copy to original, the living total must exist There beforehand; that is the realm of complete Being and everything must exist There. The sky There must be living and therefore not bare of stars, here known as the heavens- for stars are included in the very meaning of the word. Earth too will be There, and not void but even more intensely living and containing all that lives and moves upon our earth and the plants obviously rooted in life; sea will be There and all waters with the movement of their unending life and all the living things of the water; air too must be a member of that universe with the living things of air as here. The content of that living thing must surely be alive- as in this sphere- and all that lives must of necessity be There. The nature of the major parts determines that of the living forms they comprise; by the being and content of the heaven There are determined all the heavenly forms of life; if those lesser forms were not There, that heaven itself would not be. To ask how those forms of life come to be There is simply asking how that heaven came to be; it is asking whence comes life, whence the All-Life, whence the All-Soul, whence collective Intellect: and the answer is that There no indigence or impotence can exist but all must be teeming, seething, with life. All flows, so to speak, from one fount not to be thought of as one breath or warmth but rather as one quality englobing and safeguarding all qualities- sweetness with fragrance, wine- quality and the savours of everything that may be tasted, all colours seen, everything known to touch, all that ear may hear, all melodies, every rhythm.
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.

The mention that things are good only in conjunction with their causes implies a causal chain or hierarchy of existence.

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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 passage discusses 'planning and reasoning' as assumptions applied to process rather than the eternal, engaging with the concept of divine reason.

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Monadcosmology

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

References to the 'first state' and the eternal imply a singular, undivided source principle.

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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 explicitly negates human categories like planning and reasoning when applied to the eternal divine realm.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The text describes the eternal state as having nothing to be added or taken away and being complete without composition.

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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 asserts that all things in the eternal likeness stand together without addition or subtraction, implying fundamental unity.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 13, Section 1c
Emily Brontë: “Every existence would exist in Thee.”) And if all things be conceived as being ultimately unified with each other, then all things taken as a whole are One. 507 507 All things possess the same Super-Essence, and that is why…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a unified, all-encompassing reality that encompasses all existence. Passage A describes a realm of complete Being where all things exist in a living total, while Passage B speaks of a Super-Essence that unifies all things and from which all things derive their existence.
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 1)
p. 122 CHAPTER VI. THE RESTORATION OF NATURE AND THE GENERATION OF MAN. " If we speak about heaven and the birth of the elements, we are then not telling of things that are far away or foreign to us, but of that which is taking place wit…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a divine creation or restoration of the natural world, emphasizing the idea of a heavenly realm that is the origin of all life and existence. They share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness of the spiritual and physical realms.
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 7)
That which Sol (the sun) is spiritually becomes corporeal in Luna (the moon)." ( Signature , ix. 24.) After the world of stars had begun to exist, the sidereal life appeared by the power of the former—that is to say, that living organisms…”
Both passages discuss the interconnectedness of all life and the existence of a higher, spiritual realm that serves as the origin of all things. They share a mystical perspective on the unity and vitality of the cosmos, though they come from different traditions.
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 man as a complete entity, with inherent qualities and the potential to connect with or reflect divine or eternal principles. The passages share a mystical perspective on human existence and purpose.