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Select Works of Plotinus · 745 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 710 (part 2)

Unity, self-present, it has no need of self-intellection: indeed this "self-presence" were better left out, the more surely to preserve the unity; we must eliminate all knowing and all association, all intellection whether internal or external. It is not to be though of as having but as being Intellection; Intellection does not itself perform the intellective act but is the cause of the act in something else, and cause is not to be identified with caused: most assuredly the cause of all is not a thing within that all. This Principle is not, therefore, to be identified with the good of which it is the source; it is good in the unique mode of being The Good above all that is good.
Themes
◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

The difficulty in speaking correctly about God suggests His nature transcends ordinary comprehension and language.

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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.

While focusing on the First, the text implies a source ('maker') distinct from subsequent existence without describing the full chain of beings.

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◆Living Godtheology

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

The text describes God as 'Activity' and 'maker', implying dynamic presence rather than a static abstract principle.

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◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

The text explicitly rejects duality between maker and made or essence and activity in the context of the supreme Principle.

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◆Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The passage begins by addressing a logical difficulty regarding God's existence before making Himself to clarify the nature of the divine.

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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.

The passage asserts 'no duality but pure unity' regarding the First Principle, implying an ontological oneness of essence and activity.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The author insists we 'must not speak of Him as made' and negates categories like time and achievement to describe the divine nature.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] The passage centrally argues that the First Principle has no duality or composite attributes, stating Activity is the very reality and unity must not be shattered.

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◇Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text describes the 'First' as a perfect, undivided principle that is pure unity and the source of existence without temporal sequence.

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Related passages · 9 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1i
“The Godhead is not a Whole because it is indivisible, nor a Part because there is nothing, on the ultimate plane, outside It. Yet It is a Whole because It includes the true existence of all things, and is Partitive because It contains the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the ultimate divine principle, emphasizing its unity, transcendence, and the inability to fully comprehend it through human intellect or attributes. They share a mystical approach to describing the divine as beyond form, being, and perfection.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1o
“Yet It is a Whole because It includes the true existence of all things, and is Partitive because It contains the principle of separate Individuality whereby Christ possesses a Human Soul distinct from all other human souls, and whereby, too…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine principle, emphasizing its unity, transcendence, and the distinction between the divine and its manifestations. They explore the idea of the divine being beyond human comprehension and the source of all existence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1a
“CHAPTER IV Concerning ” Good ,” ” Light ,” ” Beautiful ,” “ Desire ,” ” Ecstasy ,” “ Jealousy .” Also that Evil is neither existent nor Sprung from anything existent nor inherent in existent things . 1. Now let us consider the name of “Go…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as a transcendent, unifying principle that is the source of goodness and existence. They emphasize the idea that the divine is not to be identified with its effects or attributes but is the cause of all things.
◆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 the divine and the relationship between the divine and intellect. They explore the idea of a supreme principle that is beyond intellect and the source of all goodness and wisdom.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 2)
“That Will, by conceiving of its own self, thereby creates a mirror within its own self. The same takes place in the microcosm of man. By conceiving of his own self man creates a mirror in which he " feels " his own self, and thereby he be…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a self-existent, self-sufficient divine being whose essence is intrinsically linked to its activity or will. They explore the idea of divine self-awareness and the unity of the divine nature, 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 explore the nature of the divine as self-existent and self-sufficient, emphasizing the unity and purity of the divine essence. They discuss the relationship between the divine and creation, though from different perspectives and within different theological frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 2)
“91 "Christ never said, 'I, in my human selfhood, am the voice of God, I am speaking as God, in or with God,' &c.; but He said, 'The words which I speak are the Father's, who lives in me '—that is to say, who lives in my human or natural sel…”
Both passages discuss the nature of God as an eternal, self-sufficient being whose essence is inseparable from His activity. They both emphasize the unity and perfection of God, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 3)
“7.) "We cannot reasonably suppose any formation or differentiation to have existed in the eternal One from which, or according to which (formation) something could have been made; for if such a form, or predisposition to making a form, had…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as pure activity and the concept of self-existence without beginning or end. They explore the idea of divine creation as an eternal process, emphasizing the unity and self-sufficiency of the divine being.
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 43 (part 70)
“He giveth life to man, He breatheth the breath of life into his nostrils--God is father and mother, the father of fathers, and the mother of mothers. He begetteth, but was never begotten; He produceth, but was never produced; He begat hims…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a self-existent, eternal, and all-powerful God. They explore the unity and sovereignty of the divine being, emphasizing that God is not subject to external influences or prior conditions.