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Select Works of Plotinus · 742 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 708

Section 4 4. The main part of the difficulty is that awareness of this Principle comes neither by knowing nor by the Intellection that discovers the Intellectual Beings but by a presence overpassing all knowledge. In knowing, soul or mind abandons its unity; it cannot remain a simplex: knowing is taking account of things; that accounting is multiple; the mind, thus plunging into number and multiplicity, departs from unity. Our way then takes us beyond knowing; there may be no wandering from unity; knowing and knowable must all be left aside; every object of thought, even the highest, we must pass by, for all that is good is later than This and derives from This as from the sun all the light of the day. "Not to be told; not to be written": in our writing and telling we are but urging towards it: out of discussion we call to vision: to those desiring to see, we point the path; our teaching is of the road and the travelling; the seeing must be the very act of one that has made this choice. There are those that have not attained to see. The soul has not come to know the splendour There; it has not felt and clutched to itself that love-passion of vision known to lover come to rest where he loves. Or struck perhaps by that authentic light, all the soul lit by the nearness gained, we have gone weighted from beneath; the vision is frustrate; we should go without burden and we go carrying that which can but keep us back; we are not yet made over into unity. From none is that Principle absent and yet from all: present, it remains absent save to those fit to receive, disciplined into some accordance, able to touch it closely by their likeness and by that kindred power within themselves through which, remaining as it was when it came to them from the Supreme, they are enabled to see in so far as God may at all be seen. Failure to attain may be due to such impediment or to lack of the guiding thought that establishes trust; impediment we must charge against ourselves and strive by entire renunciation to become emancipate; where there is distrust for lack of convincing reason, further considerations may be applied:
Themes
◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The instruction 'Himself do not attempt' suggests the divine transcends direct conceptual grasp.

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◇Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The divine is located at the 'innermost depth' and the seeker is told not to attempt to grasp 'Himself' directly.

All passages →
◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The centre is described as 'undeveloped' compared to the radii, indicating simplicity.

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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 Reason-Principle and Intellectual-Principle as dependent upon and taking being from the central Source.

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◇Kingdom Withinanthropology

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

[auto] The text instructs the seeker to find what follows upon Him 'within' rather than outside.

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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] Reason-Principle is mentioned as circling round the centre and mediating being to the outer realm.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text describes a singular 'centre' or 'Himself' from which all radii and terminals flow, representing the undivided first principle.

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◇Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

[auto] The text describes becoming Intellectual-Principle 'by contact with Him'.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The text presents a paradox where the divine is both 'that outer' and 'within, at the innermost depth'.

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◇Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

[auto] The seeker is directed inward to find the origin from which all things depend.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

[auto] The act of 'Seeking Him' within implies a journey or movement toward the divine source.

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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 states that the terminals are 'of one nature with the centre', implying ontological unity.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1l
“All these beings, O Subhûti, will equally remember the Bodhi (the highest Buddha-knowledge), will recite it, and understand it. And why? Because it is not possible, O Subhûti, that this treatise of the Law should be heard by beings of lit…”
Both passages discuss the nature of ultimate reality and the limitations of human understanding. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary knowledge and intellectual understanding to grasp the divine or ultimate truth. The passages also highlight the transformative power of this realization and the difficulty in conveying it through ordinary language.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1i
“an introversion 288 288 ἡ εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἴσοδος. from things without and the unified concentration 289 289 In souls being unified and simplified. See Intr., p. 25. of its spiritual powers—which gives it a kind of fixed revolution, and, tur…”
Both passages discuss the concept of transcending the multiplicity of the world and the limitations of the intellect to attain a unified, divine principle. They emphasize the need for a transformative experience or vision that goes beyond ordinary knowledge and discursive reasoning.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1l
“Need is there to understand that in proper truth we do but use the elements and syllables and phrases and written terms and words as an aid to our senses; inasmuch as when our soul is moved by spiritual energies unto spiritual things, our s…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human understanding and language in approaching the divine. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary knowledge and sensory perception to achieve a direct, mystical union with the divine, highlighting the concept of 'unknowing' or 'not knowing' as a necessary step in this process.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1c
“And in the same way we attribute lack of Reason to Him that is above Reason, and Imperfectibility to Him that is above and before Perfection; and Intangible and Invisible Darkness we attribute to that Light which is Unapproachable because I…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine knowledge and the limitations of human understanding in comprehending the divine. They explore the idea that God's knowledge is not derived from external sources but is inherent and unified, transcending the multiplicity of created things.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1d
“Furthermore, we must ask how it is that we know God when He cannot be perceived by the mind or the senses and is not a particular Being. Perhaps ‘tis true to say that we know not God by His Nature (for this is unknowable and beyond the rea…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human knowledge and understanding in perceiving the divine. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary knowledge and intuition to experience the divine presence, highlighting the paradox of knowing the unknowable.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter Ib
“They are useful and necessary up to a point, but the Truth lies beyond them and is to be apprehended to a supernatural manner by what later writers call “infused” contemplation. The sum of the whole matter is that God is incomprehensible.…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and language in comprehending it. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary knowledge and intellectual processes to attain a direct, unmediated experience of the divine.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter Va
“That He Who is the Pre-eminent Cause of everything intelligibly perceived is not Himself any one of the things intelligibly perceived. Once more, ascending yet higher we maintain 537 537 It is not (1) a Thinking Subject; nor (2) an Act or…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine, emphasizing that it transcends human understanding and cannot be grasped through ordinary knowledge or thought. They both highlight the limitations of human concepts and language in describing the ultimate reality.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialoguef
“Hence it follows that not less do we desire to see things unknown and unseen than those known and seen. And from this it does not follow that the desire does not proceed from cognition, and that we desire something that is not known; but I…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of knowledge and the intellect in attaining a higher, mystical understanding. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary perception and cognition to achieve a direct, unmediated experience of the divine or ultimate reality.
◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 124 (part 9)
“The harmonising of them is to be found in the invisible operation of Heaven, and by following this on into the unlimited past. It is by this method that we can complete our years (without our minds being disturbed) 1 . 'What is meant by h…”
Both passages explore the concept of transcending the limitations of human perception and understanding to achieve a higher state of awareness or unity. They emphasize the importance of moving beyond ordinary knowledge and intellectual discourse to experience a deeper, more profound reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter IV (part 3)
“If, presupposing that we are moving upon a sphere, upon its equator or one of its parallels, then it will appear that we recognize as really existing only one meridian: those which are behind us have disappeared and those ahead of us have n…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human perception and the potential for a higher consciousness to transcend these limitations. Passage A uses the metaphor of a blind man with a stick to illustrate the limited scope of human awareness, while Passage B describes the soul's journey beyond knowing to achieve unity and vision. Both texts emphasize the existence of a reality beyond ordinary perception.