Select Works of Plotinus · 689 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor
Select Works, Section 657 (part 2)
We cannot be content with the conviction of their goodness on the ground of their origin in that realm: we do not deny that things deriving Thence are good, but our subject demands that we discover the mode by which they come to possess that goodness.
Themes
◇Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
[auto] It states that 'every Reason-Principle is a unity,' emphasizing the undivided nature of the archetypal forms.
All passages →◇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 text describes a higher realm containing lower things and argues that multiple entities here derive from a primal unity above.
All passages →◇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 passage explicitly and repeatedly references the 'Reason-Principle' as the shaping force of existence and life.
All passages →◇Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
[auto] The passage argues that multiplicity must derive from a 'unity' and posits a 'primal plant' as a singular source of being.
All passages →◇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 suggests the universe holds everything and that diverse things derive from a single primal source.
All passages →Related passages · 8 parallels
◆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 explore the concept of a higher, more primal realm that contains the essence of all things in the lower, material world. They discuss the idea that elements and life forms in the physical world derive from a more authentic and living source in the higher realm.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 6 (part 4)
“Then in the spirit of external nature there originated a male and a female kind—namely, in the fiery Mercury the male, and in the watery the female one." ( Clavis , 86.) "On the third day the fiery and the watery Mercury have again entered…”
Both passages discuss the creation and nature of life, elements, and the interplay between divine and material realms, highlighting the emergence of life and the role of divine principles in the process.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 4)
“28.) "In Paradise the substance of the divine world penetrated the substance belonging to time, comparable to the power of the sun penetrating a fruit growing on a tree, and endowing it with such qualities as render it lovely to the sight a…”
Both passages explore the concept of a higher, divine realm influencing and containing the elements of the physical world. They discuss the idea of a primal, more authentic form of natural elements existing in a spiritual or divine realm, which parallels can be drawn between the Reason-Principle in Plotinus' work and the divine world penetrating the substance of time in the second passage.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 5)
“Thus the earth is filled with hunger after the stars and after the spiritus mundi , so that they have no peace." ( Clavis , 110.) "The earth is turning around because she has both fires, the hot and the cold fire, and that which is below al…”
Both passages discuss the nature of elements and their origins, suggesting a higher, more primal form of existence for these elements. They also explore the idea of a unified principle behind the diversity of elements, indicating a conceptual parallel between the two mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter.
Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i.
9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the material world and a higher, spiritual realm, suggesting that elements of the physical world have their origins and more perfect forms in the higher realm. They both discuss the idea of a primal, more authentic form of natural elements and life.
◆platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1m
“Yes, I said, that they should begin by reproaching us with our ignorance of the good, and then presume our knowledge of it-- for the good they define to be knowledge of the good, just as if we understood them when they use the term `good'--…”
Both passages explore the nature of goodness and the difficulty in understanding it. Plotinus emphasizes the need to understand the mode by which things derive goodness, while Plato (through Socrates) discusses the perplexities and difficulties in defining and understanding the good. Both texts reflect a deep philosophical inquiry into the concept of goodness.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 2)
“If in general life and feeling exist, they must exist in all.
Life and rationality make up the world.
If we consider nature from our side , from the side of phenomena, then it is necessary to say that each thing, each phenomenon , possess…”
Both passages explore the idea that inanimate objects and natural phenomena possess a form of psyche or life, and that these entities are manifestations of a higher, incomprehensible rationality or Reason-Principle. They both suggest that the elements and natural forms in our world have a more primal and authentic existence in a higher realm.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 7)
“The activity of the life of such a composite being as a forest is not the same as the activity of different species of plants and animals, and the activity of the life of a species is again different from the life of separate individuals.…”
Both passages explore the concept of a universal soul or life principle that permeates all levels of existence, from the smallest entities to the entire cosmos. They both discuss the hierarchical nature of life and rationality, with Ouspensky focusing on the noumenon and the World-Soul, and Plotinus on the Reason-Principle and the ensouled nature of all elements.