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Select Works of Plotinus · 749 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 713 (part 2)

Any that have seen know what I have in mind: the soul takes another life as it approaches God; thus restored it feels that the dispenser of true life is There to see, that now we have nothing to look for but, far otherwise, that we must put aside all else and rest in This alone, This become, This alone, all the earthly environment done away, in haste to be free, impatient of any bond holding us to the baser, so that with our being entire we may cling about This, no part in us remaining but through it we have touch with God. Thus we have all the vision that may be of Him and of ourselves; but it is of a self-wrought to splendour, brimmed with the Intellectual light, become that very light, pure, buoyant, unburdened, raised to Godhood or, better, knowing its Godhood, all aflame then- but crushed out once more if it should take up the discarded burden.
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The One is defined largely by negation, stating what it is not (not Being, not Intellect, not manifold) to preserve its transcendence.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

The Unity is portrayed as 'Transcendent' and 'Prior', an object of looking towards that remains beyond the full grasp of Intellect.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

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

[auto] It states that in collective existence, essence and unity are not distinct but identical, reflecting a lack of composite attributes.

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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] It describes the Intellectual-Principle purveying something of Being and unity to the rest of things, implying a downward flow.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

Attainment is linked to grasping Being, which implies direct intellectual knowledge rather than ritual or faith alone.

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Living Godtheology

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

Collective Being is described as containing life and intelligence, explicitly stated as 'no dead thing'.

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Monadcosmology

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

[auto] The text refers to the Unity Absolute and Primal Being as the source from which other things derive their being.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

Holding unity upon grasping Being suggests a state of union between the knower and the divine principle.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

[auto] The passage discusses Unity in relation to Number, suggesting it corresponds to a number ruling the realm of the particular.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The Intellectual-Principle is described as 'self-knowing and Knowing itself as All-Being' through its introversion.

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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 text mentions the Intellect's 'introversion' and looking to a 'better, to a prior', implying an upward movement of thought.

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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 explicitly argues that in Real Being, essence and unity are identical, coinciding as Primal Being and Pure Unity.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
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…”
Shared concept: Apophatic Theology — Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 43 (part 69)
“unity of a supreme and self-existent being, his eternity, his almightiness, and external reproduction thereby as God; the attributing of the creation of the world and of all living beings to this supreme God; the immortality of the soul, co…”
Shared concept: Divine Hiddenness — The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 4)
“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”
Shared concept: Self Knowledge — The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Mysteries and Their Emissaries-a
“DID that divine knowledge which constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the destruction of their temples? Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-m
“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)