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Select Works of Plotinus · 684 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 653

Section 14 14. On the nature of the Intellectual-Principle we get light from its manifestations; they show that it demands such diversity as is compatible with its being a monad. Take what principle you will, that of plant or animal: if this principle were a pure unity and not a specifically varied thing, it could not so serve as principle; its product would be Matter, the principle not having taken all those forms necessary if Matter is to be permeated and utterly transformed. A face is not one mass; there are nose and eyes; and the nose is not a unity but has the differences which make it a nose; as bare unity it would be mere mass. There is infinity in Intellectual-Principle since, of its very nature, it is a multiple unity, not with the unity of a house but with that of a Reason-Principle, multiple in itself: in the one Intellectual design it includes within itself, as it were in outline, all the outlines, all the patterns. All is within it, all the powers and intellections; the division is not determined by a boundary but goes ever inward; this content is held as the living universe holds the natural forms of the living creatures in it from the greatest to the least, down even to the minutest powers where there is a halt at the individual form. The discrimination is not of items huddled within a sort of unity; this is what is known as the Universal Sympathy, not of course the sympathy known here which is a copy and prevails amongst things in separation; that authentic Sympathy consists in all being a unity and never discriminate.
Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The use of Man in the Intellectual attributes human form to the archetypal principle.

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◆Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

The shining of the diviner upon lower levels suggests fragments of divine light permeating material existence.

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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 hierarchical structure implies a path for the soul to move from the lowest extremity back toward the Intellectual.

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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.

[auto] The passage explicitly mentions 'aware of that correspondence' between the sense-realm and the Intellectual realm, using analogy to connect them.

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◇Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

[auto] Metaphors of fire and shining such as fire Intellectual and the diviner shines out illustrate the transmission of divine illumination.

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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 explicitly describes a downward flow from the Intellectual realm to the sense-realm through secondary and tertiary levels.

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◇Inner Lightanthropology

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

[auto] The passage describes how the diviner shines upon the secondary and tertiary levels, implying an internal luminous quality within lower beings.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] It states that Man in the Intellectual contained the Man that existed before any man, indicating the archetype resides within the individual.

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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.

[auto] The text references Reason-Principles contained in copy within the secondary Man, acting as ordering principles mediating between realms.

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◇Soul Migrationcosmology

The transmigration of the soul across lives.

[auto] The text directly addresses the soul occupying the body of an animal after human life, stating 'the soul has always been all, and will at different times be this and that.'

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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 correspondence between the sense-realm and the Intellectual realm suggests an underlying ontological unity despite apparent separation.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1h
“Hence comes the bare existence of all things, and hence their unions, 277 277 ἑνώσεις, διακρίσεις, ταὐτότητες, ἑτερότητες. their differentiations, their identities, their differences, 278 278 Hence parts are united into wholes and wholes a…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity within a divine or intellectual principle. They explore how diversity and unity coexist, with Plotinus emphasizing the multiple unity of the Intellectual-Principle and the second passage detailing the interconnections and distinctions within the universe.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1b
“(2) Wisdom as a whole = Wisdom embodied in the universe as a whole. (3) Wisdom in each individual instance = Wisdom as shown in the structure of some particular plant or animal, or part of a plant or animal. (1) Is an Emanation; (2) and (…”
Both passages discuss the nature of an intellectual or divine principle that encompasses unity and multiplicity. They explore how this principle manifests diversity while maintaining an underlying unity, reflecting a similar mystical insight across different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 6)
“The human selfhood will then follow in its perceptions the Spirit of God, tremblingly and in the joy of humility, and become able to see what is contained in time and in eternity. Everything is near to a soul in that state, for the soul is…”
Both passages discuss the soul's connection to a higher realm or divine entity, emphasizing the soul's ability to perceive and align with this higher reality. They also explore the idea of the soul's transformation and its relationship to different levels of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 3 (part 7)
“171.) When the power of the light becomes revealed it manifests its activity first of all in the Fifth Quality , which is evolved by means of the preceding four as sweet love, or a luminous water-spirit. "The first three principles are mer…”
Both passages discuss the nature of a higher principle or divine essence that manifests in multiple qualities or forms. They explore the idea of unity and multiplicity within this principle, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆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 the divine and its manifestations. Passage A from Plotinus explores the Intellectual-Principle as a multiple unity, while Passage B from the Christian mystical tradition discusses the divine nature and its creation, emphasizing the distinction between God and the world. Both texts delve into the complexity and unity of divine principles.
◆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 concept of the soul's connection to a higher realm or divine principle. They explore the idea of the soul's ascent or alignment with the divine will, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆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 relationship between the divine and the human, exploring how higher realms influence or penetrate lower ones. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's connection to divine principles, though they come from different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 10)
“"Human reason can understand nothing about the kingdom of Christ, nor about His person or office, because the testament of Christ is celestial, and human reasoning is terrestrial; the latter seeks Christ in time, while He can only be found…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and human realms, emphasizing the higher, intellectual or spiritual nature that influences the lower, material or sensory nature. They also explore the idea of the divine within the individual, though expressed in different metaphysical frameworks.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1c
“For that the soul who hath no knowledge of the things that are, or knowledge of their nature, or of Good, is blinded by the body's passions and tossed about. This wretched soul, not knowing what she is, becomes the slave of bodies of stran…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul, its perception, and its relationship with the divine or intellectual realm. They explore the idea of the soul's descent into material forms and the consequences of its actions and knowledge.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|2. The Pillars Of The Templeb
“Such is the mysterious language of the Kabalists in the Talmud, and on account of vulgar ignorance and malignity, it is impossible for us to explain or simplify it further. What then is creation? It is the house of the creative Word. Wha…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity, emphasizing that unity manifests through duality or multiplicity. Plotinus describes the Intellectual-Principle as a multiple unity, while the Kabalistic text discusses the monad manifesting through the duad, highlighting the interplay of opposing forces and principles.