[Gutenberg 42931] • Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 2 / In Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods by Plotinus -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

PLOTINOS Complete Works SIXTH ENNEAD, BOOK FOUR. The One Identical Essence is Everywhere Entirely Present.

WHY THE WORLD-SOUL IS EVERYWHERE ENTIRE IN THE WORLD-BODY. HOW COULD THE SOUL HAVE NO MAGNITUDE, IF SHE ALREADY FILLED ALL SPACE? THE SOUL WAS CAPABLE OF EXTENSION BEFORE THE EXISTENCE OF THE BODY. DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL BEING. THE UNIVERSAL BEING IS INDIVISIBLE. THE UNITY OF BEING DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE EXISTENCE OF OTHER BEINGS. ESSENCE IS DIVISIBLE IF THEREBY NOT DIMINISHED. THE SOUL, AS COMPRISING MANY SOULS, IS INFINITE. THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SIZE OF THE BODY. THE SOULS WILL DIFFER AS WILL THE SENSATIONS. HOW CAN THE SAME PRINCIPLE EXIST IN ALL THINGS? LIGHT EXISTS SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHIN AND WITHOUT. UNITY IS IN THE MANIFOLD BY A MANNER OF EXISTENCE. POTENTIALITIES ARE INSEPARABLE FROM THEIR BEINGS. THE UNIVERSAL SOUL IS EVERYWHERE ENTIRE, INCLUDING SOULS SPLIT INFINITELY. THE IMAGE IS BOUND TO ITS MODEL BY RADIATION. SOULS ARE AS IMMORTAL AS THE ONE FROM WHOM THEY PROCEED. BEINGS PARTAKE OF THE ONE DIFFERENTLY ACCORDING TO THEIR CAPACITIES. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRESENCES. HOW VARIOUS THINGS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SAME PRINCIPLE. THE BODY'S RELATION TO THE SOUL IS A PASSAGE INTO THE WORLD OF LIFE. EXTENSION IS MERELY A SIGN OF PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD OF LIFE. PARTICIPATION CAN BE ONLY IN THE INTELLIGIBLE. NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSAL SOUL IS BEGOTTEN; IT ONLY SEEMS SO. RELATION OF MAN TO THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. WE ARE NOT ALWAYS BOTH MEN, AS WE SHOULD BE. HOW THE BODY APPROACHED THE SOUL. THIS DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE MYTHS OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS. THE SOUL'S DESCENT INTO THE BODY. PROCEDURE OF THE DESCENT OF THE SOUL. WHAT HELL MEANS FOR THE CAREER OF THE SOUL.

SIXTH ENNEAD, BOOK FIVE. The One Identical Essence is Everywhere Entirely Present.

UNITY MUST BE SOUGHT FOR IN ESSENCE. "BEING" IS THE BASIS OF JUDGMENT IN THINGS PARTICIPATING IN BEING. INTELLIGIBLE ESSENCE IS BOTH IN AND OUT OF ITSELF. THAT ENTIRE BEING IS PRESENT EVERYWHERE IS THE ONLY SOLUTION OF THE PUZZLE. GOD'S PRESENCE EVERYWHERE ENTIRE DESCRIBED AS INFINITE. EXAMPLE OF THE SUN AND THE RAYS. THE UNITY OF MANIFOLDNESS. PARABLE OF THE HEAD WITH FACES ALL AROUND. THIS IS PROVED BY THE PARTICIPATION OF MATTER IN IDEAS. THE SOUL, AS ENTIRE, FASHIONED THE WHOLE AND THE INDIVIDUALS. THE UNITY OF THE SOUL PROVES THAT OF THE SUPREME. THE BEING LOVES ESSENCE AS ENTIRE. REASON ALSO IS A WHOLE. THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD HAS MUCH MORE UNITY THAN THE SENSE-WORLD. HOW THE INTELLIGIBLE MAY REMAIN UNMOVED AND YET PENETRATE IN THE WORLD. HOW THE INFERIOR NATURE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE INTELLIGIBLE. LIFE INTERPENETRATES ALL; AND KNOWS NO LIMITS. IF YOU SEE ANYTHING BEYOND IT, YOU DEPART FROM IT.

FIFTH ENNEAD, BOOK SIXTH. The Superessential Principle Does Not Think; Which is the First Thinking Principle, and Which is the Second?

A SUPRA-THINKING PRINCIPLE IS NECESSARY TO THE WORKING OF INTELLIGENCE. THE FIRST THINKING PRINCIPLE IS THE SECOND PRINCIPLE. THE FIRST MUST BE ONE EXCLUSIVELY, WHICH WOULD MAKE THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT SOMETHING SIMPLE, NOTHING MANIFOLD COULD EXIST. GOOD, INTELLIGENCE AND SOUL ARE LIKE LIGHT, SUN AND MOON. AS THOUGHT IS INSPIRATION TO THE GOOD, INTELLIGENCE IMPLIES THE LATTER. THE GOOD AS SUPRA-COGITATIVE IS ALSO SUPRA-ACTIVE. PRIMARY EXISTENCE WILL CONTAIN THOUGHT, EXISTENCE AND LIFE. THE FIRST, THEREFORE, BEING SUPRA-COGITATIVE, DOES NOT KNOW ITSELF.

SECOND ENNEAD, BOOK FIVE. Of the Aristotelian Distinction Between Actuality and Potentiality.

QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED. DEFINITION OF POTENTIALITY. DISTINCTION BETWEEN EXISTING POTENTIALITY AND POTENTIALITY. MATTER IS NOTHING ACTUALLY. IN PERMANENT THINGS, POTENTIALITY AND ACTUALITY MAY COINCIDE. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL AND PARTICULAR ACTUALITY. THE FORM ADDED TO MATTER IS THE SPECIFIC ACTUALITY. WHAT IN THE BODY IS A PASSIVE CAPACITY, IN THE SOUL IS AN ACTIVE FACULTY. INTELLIGIBLE MATTER IS NOT POTENTIAL. THE SOUL IS THE PRODUCING POTENTIALITY; NOT THE POTENTIALITY OF BECOMING. IN THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD EVERYTHING IS ACTUAL. MATTER IS NON-BEING, AND CAN NOT BE ANYTHING ACTUAL. ARISTOTLE SAID, MATTER IS NOTHING REAL ACTUALLY, BUT ONLY POTENTIALLY. ETERNAL MATTER EXISTS ONLY POTENTIALLY.

THIRD ENNEAD, BOOK SIXTH. Of the Impassibility of Incorporeal Entities (Soul and and Matter).

A. OF THE SOUL. QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSIBILITY OF JUDGMENT AND THE SOUL. HOW CAN THE SOUL REMAIN IMPASSIBLE, THOUGH GIVEN UP TO EMOTION? ON THE STOIC HYPOTHESIS OF CORPOREITY THE SOUL CANNOT REMAIN IMPASSIBLE; AS IT IS IMPASSIBLE ALL TERMS TO THE CONTRARY ARE ONLY FIGURATIVE. VIRTUE AS A HARMONY; VICE AS A DISHARMONY. THIS DEFINITION SUFFICES TO EXPLAIN THE FACTS OF EVIL IN THE SOUL. ONLY THE PHYSICAL ORGANS, NOT THE IMMATERIAL NATURES, COULD BE AFFECTED. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF ANGER-PART'S COURAGE OR COWARDLINESS. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF VIRTUE OR VICE OF APPETITE. THE SOUL ORIGINATES MOVEMENTS, BUT IS NOT ALTERED (AGAINST STOICS). POLEMIC AGAINST THE STOIC THEORY OF PASSIONS. VIRTUE AND VICE AFFECT THE SOUL DIFFERENTLY FROM ALL THE OTHER PASSIONS. PASSIONAL CHANGES OCCUR IN THE BODY, NOT EVEN TO THE PASSIONAL PART OF THE SOUL. THE SOUL'S AFFECTIVE PART MAY BE THE CAUSE OF AFFECTIONS; BUT IS INCORPOREAL. THE AFFECTIONS OF THE SOUL COMPARED TO A MUSICIAN PLAYING THE LYRE. PASSIONS ARE PRODUCED BY EXTERNAL IMAGES; AND THEIR AVOIDANCE IS THE TASK OF PHILOSOPHY. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS INVOLVED IN PURIFYING THE SOUL, AND SEPARATING SOUL FROM BODY. B. OF MATTER. INTRODUCTION TO THE ESCOREAL NUMENIAN FRAGMENT. NONENTITY WILL HAVE INTELLIGENT LIFE ONLY AS BENEATH "BEING." MATERIALISTS CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW SOLID EARTH IS NEAREST NONENTITY; AND WHY GREATEST EXISTENCE IS LEAST MATERIAL. CORPOREITY IS NONENTITY BECAUSE OF LACK OF UNITY. SENSATION AS THE DREAM OF THE SOUL FROM WHICH WE MUST WAKE. MATTER COMPARED TO A MIRROR WHICH REFLECTS EVERYTHING THOUGH REALLY EMPTY. AS OBJECTS ARE MERELY REFLECTIONS IN A MIRROR, MATTER IS NO MORE AFFECTED BY THEM THAN WOULD BE A MIRROR. SINCE MATTER CANNOT BE DESTROYED, IT CANNOT BE AFFECTED. OBJECTION THAT MATTER MUST BE PASSIBLE IF ITS QUALITIES CHANGE AS THEY DO. DIFFERENT SENSES OF "PARTICIPATION" WILL ALLOW FOR MATTER TO REMAIN IMPASSIBLE. IF FORM BE UNCHANGEABLE, SO IS MATTER. MATTER PARTICIPATES IN THE INTELLIGIBLE ONLY BY APPEARANCE. SENSE-OBJECTS ARE UNREAL AND ARE CHIEFLY MADE UP OF APPEARANCE. PLATO'S FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE MIGHT LEAD TO ERRORS ABOUT HIS REAL OPINIONS. MATTER AS THE ETERNAL LOCATION OR RESIDENCE OF GENERATION. MATTER AS LOCATION OF FORMS REMAINS IMPASSIBLE. THE MYTH OF POVERTY AND ABUNDANCE. THE MIRACLE IS THAT MATTER PARTICIPATES IN EXISTENCE WITHOUT PARTICIPATING IN IT. GENERATION ILLUSTRATED BY LIGHTING FIRE BY REFRACTION. THE RELATION OF MATTER TO REASON ILLUSTRATED BY THAT OF OPINION AND IMAGINATION. THE MAGNITUDE OF MATTER IS REALLY DERIVED FROM THE SEMINAL REASON. MAGNITUDE IS AN IMAGE FORMED BY THE UNIVERSAL REFLECTION OF UNIVERSAL BEINGS. SENSE-OBJECTS APPEAR, AND ARE INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN FORM AND MATTER. MAGNITUDE IS ONLY APPEARANCE. IF MATTER WERE A PRIMARY PRINCIPLE, IT WOULD BE THE FORM OF THE UNIVERSE, SUCH AS SOUL IS. MATTER AS MOTHER, NURSE, RESIDENCE, AND "OTHER" NATURE. THE MYTH OF THE ITHYPHALLIC HERMES. THE STERILITY OF NATURE INDICATED BY CASTRATION.

FOURTH ENNEAD, BOOK THREE. Psychological Questions.

A. ARE NOT ALL SOULS PARTS OR EMANATIONS OF A SINGLE SOUL?99 PSYCHOLOGY OBEYS THE PRECEPT "KNOW THYSELF," AND SHOWS HOW WE ARE TEMPLES OF THE DIVINITY. ARE INDIVIDUAL SOULS EMANATIONS OF THE UNIVERSAL SOUL? CONFORMITY TO THE UNIVERSAL SOUL IMPLIES THAT THEY ARE NOT PARTS OF HER. LIMITATIONS TO THE USE OF THE TERM "PARTS," IN PHYSICAL THINGS. WHEN APPLIED TO INCORPOREAL THINGS, "PARTS" HAVE DIFFERENT SENSES. SUCH MATHEMATICAL SENSES CANNOT BE APPLIED TO THE SOUL. ACTUAL DIVISION INTO PARTS WOULD BE TANTAMOUNT TO A DENIAL OF THE WHOLE. NOR IS THE SOUL A PART IN THE SENSE THAT ONE PROPOSITION IS A PART OF A SCIENCE. THE DIFFERENCE OF FUNCTIONS OF THE WORLD-SOUL AND INDIVIDUAL SOULS MAKES ENTIRE DIVISION BETWEEN THEM IMPOSSIBLE. ARE INDIVIDUAL SOULS PART OF THE WORLD-SOUL AS IS THE LOCAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF SOME PART OF THE BODY TO THE WHOLE CONSCIOUSNESS? STUDY OF THE QUESTION BY OBSERVATION OF THE HUMAN ORGANISM. INTELLECTUAL DIFFICULTY OF THE SOUL BEING ONE AND YET IN ALL BEINGS. THE HEALTHY SOUL CAN WORK, THE SICK SOUL IS DEVOTED TO HER BODY. SOULS RETAIN BOTH THEIR UNITY AND DIFFERENCES ON DIFFERENT LEVELS. SOULS DEVELOP MANIFOLDNESS JUST AS INTELLIGENCE DOES. WHY SHOULD CREATION BE PREDICATED OF THE UNIVERSAL SOUL AND NOT OF THE HUMAN? THE WORLD-SOUL ALONE CREATES BECAUSE SHE REMAINS NEAREST THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVERSAL SOULS. SYMPATHY BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVERSAL SOUL COMES FROM COMMON SOURCE. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOULS. LIKE THE DIVINITY, THE SOUL IS ALWAYS ONE. SOUL POWERS REMAIN THE SAME THROUGHOUT ALL CHANGES OF BODY. B. WHY AND HOW DO SOULS DESCEND INTO BODIES? TWO KINDS OF TRANSMIGRATION. STUDY OF FIRST INCARNATION. HOW THE UNIVERSE IS ANIMATED BY THE WORLD SOUL. THE WORLD-SOUL PROGRESSIVELY INFORMS ALL THINGS. THE UNIVERSAL SOUL AS MODEL OF REASON, AS INTERMEDIARY AND INTERPRETER. SOULS ARE NOT CUT OFF FROM INTELLIGENCE DURING THEIR DESCENT AND ASCENT. WHY SOULS TAKE ON DIFFERENT KINDS OF BODIES. HOW SOULS COME TO DESCEND. WHY MANY SOULS SUCCUMB TO THE LAW OF THE ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MISFORTUNES AND PUNISHMENTS. FROM THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD, SOULS FIRST GO INTO HEAVEN. THE DESCENDING GRADUATIONS OF EXISTENCE. C. DOES THE SOUL EMPLOY DISCURSIVE REASON WHILE DISCARNATE? THE SOUL DOES NOT USE DISCURSIVE REASON EXCEPT WHILE HINDERED BY THE OBSTACLES OF THE BODY. THE SOUL CAN REASON INTUITIONALLY WITHOUT RATIOCINATION. D. HOW CAN THE SOUL SIMULTANEOUSLY BE DIVISIBLE AND INDIVISIBLE? A DECISION WILL DEPEND ON THE MEANING OF THE TERMS. THE BODY NEEDS THE SOUL FOR LIFE. SENSE, GROWTH AND EMOTION TEND TOWARDS DIVISIBILITY. THE SOUL AS A WHOLE OF TWO DISTINCT DIVISIBLE AND INDIVISIBLE PARTS. E. RELATIONS BETWEEN SOUL AND BODY. IF FUNCTIONS ARE NOT LOCALIZED THE SOUL WILL NOT SEEM ENTIRELY WITHIN US. SPACE IS CORPOREAL; THE BODY IS WITHIN THE SOUL. NOR IS THE BODY A VASE, FOR PROXIMATE TRANSMISSION OF THE SOUL. MANY METAPHYSICAL OBJECTIONS TO THE CONCEPTION OF SOUL AS LOCALIZED. NOR IS THE SOUL IN THE BODY AS A QUALITY IN A SUBSTRATE. NOR IS THE SOUL IN THE BODY AS A PART IN THE WHOLE. NOR IS THE SOUL IN THE BODY AS A WHOLE IN A PART. NOR WILL THE SOUL BE IN THE BODY AS FORM IN MATTER. THE SOUL IS SAID TO BE IN THE BODY BECAUSE THE BODY ALONE IS VISIBLE. THIS LEAVES THE QUESTION OF THE MANNER OF THE SOUL'S PRESENCE. THE SOUL IN A BODY AS A PILOT IN A SHIP. THE SOUL PRESENT IN THE BODY AS LIGHT IN AIR. WHILE THE SOUL-POWER IS EVERYWHERE, THE PRINCIPLE OF ACTION IS LOCALIZED IN THE SPECIAL ORGAN. REASON IS IN THE HEAD, BUT NOT IN THE BRAIN, WHICH IS THE SEAT OF THE INTERMEDIARY, THE POWER OF SENSATION. GROWTH IS LOCALIZED IN THE LIVER, ANGER IN THE HEART. F. WHERE GOES THE SOUL AFTER DEATH? THE SOUL AFTER DEATH GOES TO THE PLACE SUITED TO IT BY RETRIBUTION. PURE INCORPOREAL SOULS DWELL WITHIN INTELLIGENCE IN DIVINITY. G. WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS OF THE OPERATION OF MEMORY AND IMAGINATION? COSMIC QUESTIONS ABOUT MEMORY DEPEND ON EXACT DEFINITION OF WHAT MEMORY IS. MEMORY INAPPLICABLE EXCEPT TO BEINGS SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS OF TIME. THERE IS A TIMELESS MEMORY CONSISTING OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. DEFINITION OF MEMORY DEPENDS ON WHETHER IT BELONGS TO THE SOUL OR ORGANISM. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SENSATION. IN ANY CASE MEMORY IS PECULIAR TO THE SOUL AND BODY. THAT THE SOUL IS INCARNATE IS NOT THE CAUSE OF HER POSSESSING MEMORY. MEMORY BELONGS TO THE SOUL ALONE. MEMORY BELONGS BOTH TO THE DIVINE SOUL, AND TO THAT DERIVED FROM THE WORLD-SOUL. WHAT THE RATIONAL SOUL, IF SEPARATED, WOULD REMEMBER OF LIFE. MEMORY DOES NOT BELONG TO APPETITE, BECAUSE IT MAY BE REDUCED TO SENSATION. WHAT APPETITE KEEPS IS AN AFFECTION, BUT NOT A MEMORY. MEMORY DOES NOT BELONG TO THE FACULTY OF SENSATION. MEMORY DOES NOT BELONG EXCLUSIVELY TO THE POWER OF PERCEPTION. MEMORY IS NOT IDENTICAL WITH FEELING OR REASONING. MEMORY BELONGS TO IMAGINATION. INTELLECTUAL CONCEPTIONS ARE NOT ENTIRELY PRESERVED BY IMAGINATION. THE TWO KINDS OF MEMORY IMPLY TWO KINDS OF IMAGINATION. OF THE TWO IMAGINATIONS ONE ALWAYS PREDOMINATES OR OVERSHADOWS THE OTHER. PARTITION OF THE FUND OF MEMORY BETWEEN THE TWO SOULS.

FOURTH ENNEAD, BOOK FOUR. Questions About the Soul. (Second Part.)

SPEECH OF SOUL IN THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. MEMORY OF SOUL IN THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. IN THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD ALL THINGS ARE SIMULTANEOUS; HENCE NOT REMEMBERED. INTELLIGENCE UNITES AS IT RISES TO THE INTELLIGIBLE. NOT EVEN THE ASCENDED SOUL NEED BE DIVIDED. THE UNITY OF APPERCEPTION IS MANIFOLD. IN THE INTELLIGIBLE ANTERIORITY REFERS TO ORDER, NOT TO TIME. INTELLIGENCE IS NOT A UNITY; BUT ITS MANIFOLD IS PRODUCED BY A UNITY. THE SOUL DOES NOT EVEN REMEMBER HERSELF. IN THE INTELLIGIBLE SELF-DIRECTION OF THOUGHT IS NOT CHANGEABLENESS. THE SOUL BECOMES WHAT SHE REMEMBERS. MEMORY IS NOT AS HIGH AS UNREFLECTIVE IDENTIFICATION. INTELLIGIBLE ENTITIES ARE NOT MERELY IMAGES, BUT POTENTIALITIES FOR MEMORY. INTELLIGIBLE ENTITIES RETURN, NOT BY MEMORY, BUT BY FURTHER VISION. WHEN SOULS DESCEND FROM THE INTELLIGIBLE TO THE HEAVENS, THEY RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER. TRAINING HERE BELOW WILL HELP THE SOULS TO REMEMBER WHEN BEYOND. FALL INTO GENERATION MAY BE PARTIAL; AND MAY BE RECOVERED FROM, BEFORE RUIN. MEMORY IS LIMITED TO SOULS THAT CHANGE THEIR CONDITION. DO THE WORLD-SOUL AND THE STAR-SOULS EXERCISE MEMORY? THESE SOULS DO NOT REMEMBER GOD; FOR THEY CONTINUE TO SEE HIM. MEMORY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THESE SOULS, FOR TO THEM THERE IS NO TIME, BUT ONE SINGLE DAY. BUT WHY COULD THE STAR-SOULS NOT BE CONSCIOUS OF OUR CHANGES? MANY NEW THINGS ARE UNNOTICED; NOTHING FORCES THE PERCEPTION OF NEW THINGS. MEMORY IS NOT COMPULSORY. STAR-MOTIONS COMPARED TO A BALLET-CHORUS. STARS HAVE NO MEMORY BECAUSE THEY ARE UNIFORMLY BLISSFUL. QUESTION: DOES JUPITER'S ROYAL ADMINISTRATION IMPLY A USE OF MEMORY? THE INFINITY OF JUPITER'S LIFE OPPOSES HIS USE OF MEMORY. JUPITER MAY BE TAKEN IN A DOUBLE SENSE. RATIOCINATION HAS NO PLACE IN THE WORLD-SOUL. THIS UNIVERSAL WISDOM IS PERMANENT BECAUSE TIMELESS. WISDOM, IN THE WORLD-SOUL DOES NOT IMPLY REASONING AND MEMORY. OMNISCIENT INTUITION MAKES MEMORY AND REASONING SUPERFLUOUS. IN THE WORLD-SOUL WISDOM IS THE HIGHEST AND NATURE THE LOWEST. THERE IS CONTINUITY BETWEEN NATURE AND THE ELEMENTS. HOW CAN TIME BE DIVIDED WITHOUT IMPLYING DIVISION OF THE SOUL'S ACTION? IN TIME ARE ACTIONS AND REACTIONS OF THE SOUL; BUT NOT THE SOUL HERSELF. QUESTION: EVEN THE PRIORITY OF ORDER IMPLIES A TEMPORAL CONCEPTION. EARLIER AND LATER EXIST ONLY IN WHAT IS BEGOTTEN; NOT IN THEIR SEMINAL REASON. THINGS WHICH ARE ANTERIOR CAN BE ONLY IN LOWER PRINCIPLES. DIAGRAM OF THE UNIVERSE. CIRCULAR MOVEMENT OF THE SOUL. THE INTELLECTUAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WORLD-SOUL, AND SOULS OF STARS, EARTH AND MEN. SOULS, ACCORDING TO MORALIZATION, RESEMBLE VARIOUS FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. THE BODY IS NOT US, BUT OURS. THE SOUL AND BODY TOGETHER FORM A FUSION OF BOTH. THE SOUL FEELS THE PASSIONS WITHOUT EXPERIENCING THEM. UNLESS THE SOUL WERE IMPASSIBLE SHE COULD NOT LOCALIZE AND MANAGE PAIN. THE APPETITES ARE LOCATED NEITHER IN BODY NOR SOUL, BUT IN THEIR COMBINATION. TWO KINDS OF DESIRES: OF THE BODY; AND OF THE COMBINATION, OR NATURE. DESIRES ARE PHYSICAL, BECAUSE CHANGEABLE IN HARMONY WITH THE BODY. RELATION OF DESIRE-FUNCTION TO THE VEGETATIVE POWERS. PLATO IS IN DOUBT ABOUT THE EARTH'S SOUL; WHETHER SHE IS LIKE THOSE OF STARS. THE EARTH CAN FEEL AS WELL AS ANY OF THE STARS. QUESTION: WHAT PASSIONS WOULD BE SUITABLE TO THE EARTH? SENSATION WILL FIRST HAVE TO BE EXAMINED. RESTATEMENT OF PROBLEMS INVOLVED. CONCEPTIVE THOUGHT DEMANDS THE INTERMEDIARY PROCESS OF SENSATION. THE PURE SOUL WOULD REMAIN ISOLATED. SENSATION DEPENDS ON THE SENSE-SHAPE, WHICH, LIKE TOOLS, IS INTERMEDIATE. EXCLUSION OF OTHER SIDE ISSUES. ARE THE SENSES GIVEN US ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF UTILITY? ARE SENSES GIVEN THE STARS FOR UTILITY? IF SENSATION IS A SOUL-DISTRACTION, THE STARS A WOULD NOT INDULGE THEREIN. THE EARTH FEELS AND DIRECTS BY THE LAWS OF SYMPATHETIC HARMONY. THE EARTH'S SENSES MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM OURS. ANALYSIS OF THE EARTH'S PSYCHOLOGY. DOES THE IRASCIBLE POWER ALSO ORIGINATE IN THE BODY? THE LIVER IS THE SEAT OF THE SOUL'S FACULTY OF DESIRE. THE HEART IS THE SEAT OF ANGER. ANGER ORIGINATES IN THE VEGETATIVE AND GENERATIVE POWER, AS TRACE OF THE SOUL. WHEN THE SOUL LEAVES THE BODY, SHE LEAVES A TRACE OF LIFE. DOES THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THESE THINGS NECESSARILY IMPLY THEIR DESTRUCTION? THREE POSSIBLE INTERRELATIONS OF THE SOUL'S SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR BODIES. CAN THE PHYSICAL LIFE EXIST WITHOUT THE SOUL? STARS, AS WELL AS THE SUN, HAVE PRAYERS ADDRESSED TO THEM. BENEFITS ARE GRANTED TO MEN THROUGH THE WORLD-SOUL'S MEDIATION. STATEMENT OF THREE QUESTIONS. NATURAL ACTIONS ARE BOTH ON WHOLES AND ON PARTS. MOST OF THE ARTS ACHIEVE THEIR OWN ENDS. ABSURDITY OF PTOLEMEAN ASTROLOGY. NO CRIMES SHOULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE INFLUENCE OF SUBLUNARY DIVINITIES. HAVING CONFUTED ASTROLOGY AND DEVILTRY, WORLD INFLUENCE IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORLD-SOUL. THE STARS' MOTIONS COMPARED TO A PREARRANGED DANCE. THE INFLUENCE OF THE UNIVERSE SHOULD BE PARTIAL ONLY. ASTROLOGICAL INFLUENCE MERELY INDICATION. ASTROLOGICAL INFLUENCE MAY BE PARTLY ACTION; PARTLY MERE SIGNIFICANCE. EARTHLY EVENTS SHOULD NOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE STARS' BODY OR WILL. THE INFLUENCE OF THE STARS CONSISTS IN THEIR CONTEMPLATION OF THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. STAR INFLUENCE IS EXPLAINED BY THEIR NATURAL RADIATION OF GOOD. SPECIAL FIGURES HAVE INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS, DUE TO THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE IS ENTIRELY INANIMATE. CONSCIOUSNESS DEPENDS ON CHOOSING; EVERYTHING HAS POWERS, THOUGH HIDDEN. PRODUCTION IS DUE TO SOME PHYSICAL SOUL, NOT TO ANY ASTROLOGICAL POWER. ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS ARE ONLY CONCATENATIONS FROM UNIVERSAL REASON. THE GODS CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ILLS. MAGIC OCCURS BY LOVE WORKING AS SYMPATHY. HOW PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED. AS THE STARS ANSWER PRAYERS UNCONSCIOUSLY, THEY DO NOT NEED MEMORIES THEREFOR. THE PRAYERS OF EVEN THE EVIL ARE ANSWERED, IF MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH NATURAL LAW. THE WORLD-SOUL AND STARS ARE IMPASSIBLE. HOW THE WISE MAN ESCAPES ALL ENCHANTMENTS. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GUARDIANS. AN ACTIVE LIFE MAKES MEN MORE LIABLE TO ENCHANTMENTS. MAGIC HAS POWER OVER MAN BY HIS AFFECTIONS AND WEAKNESSES. HONESTY ESCAPES MAGIC ONLY BECAUSE IT RESULTS FROM CONTEMPLATION OF THE INTELLIGIBLE. HOW TO AVOID MAGIC ENCHANTMENTS. EVERY BEING THEREFORE IS A SPECIALIZED ORGAN OF THE UNIVERSE. HUMAN NATURE IS INTERMEDIATE, SUFFERING WITH THE WHOLE, BUT ALSO ACTING ON IT. EXISTENCE OF HEAVEN; HELL'S TORMENTS ARE REFORMATORY.

FOURTH ENNEAD, BOOK FIVE. Psychological Questions—III. About the Process of Vision and Hearing.

IT IS UNCERTAIN WHETHER AN INTERMEDIARY BODY BE IMPLIED BY VISION. REFUTATION OF ARISTOTLE'S INSISTENCE ON A MEDIUM OF SIGHT. THOUGH THE MEDIUM EXPERIENCE AFFECTION, THE ORGANS FEEL IT BETTER WITHOUT THE MEDIUM. NECESSITY OF A MEDIUM IN THE THEORIES OF VARIOUS PHILOSOPHERS. A COSMOLOGICAL MEDIUM IS NECESSARY, BUT IT AFFECTS SIGHT ONLY ACCIDENTALLY. IMAGES DO NOT REACH US BY EFFLUENCE. USELESSNESS OF AIR AS TRANSMITTING MEDIUM PROVED FROM SIGHT OF OBJECTS AT NIGHT. ABSENCE OF MEDIUM WOULD INTERFERE WITH VISION ONLY BY DESTROYING SYMPATHY. VISION IS NOT DEPENDENT ON THE AFFECTION OF THE MEDIUM. MUTUAL RELATION OF THE EYE'S LIGHT AND THE OBJECTIVE LIGHT. INTERMEDIARY LIGHT IS UNNECESSARY, PARTLY BEING AN OBSTACLE. NOT EVEN THE LIGHT OF THE EYE IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS MEDIUM. THE OBJECTIVE LIGHT DOES NOT TRANSMIT THE IMAGE BY RELAYS. NEITHER FOR HEARING IS THE AIR NECESSARY AS A MEDIUM. THE RELATION OF THE AIR TO THE LIGHT. DOES THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE LUMINOUS SOURCE ABANDON THE LIGHT TO DESTRUCTION; OR DOES THE LIGHT FOLLOW IT? LIGHT AS ACTUALIZATION IS THE BEING OF THE LUMINOUS BODY, AND IS INCORPOREAL. LIFE AND LIGHT DO NOT PERISH, BUT ARE NO MORE THERE. A WORLD OUTSIDE OF OUR WORLD WOULD NOT BE VISIBLE. SENSATION IS LIMITED TO COMMON INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE UNIVERSE.

THIRD ENNEAD, BOOK EIGHT. Of Nature, Contemplation and Unity.177

A. OF NATURE. INTRODUCTION: AS A JOKE, IT MAY BE SAID THAT EVEN PLANTS ASPIRE TO CONTEMPLATION. ENUMERATION OF THE LOWER FORMS OF CONTEMPLATION. NATURE ACTS ON MATTER NOT MECHANICALLY BUT BY ITS POTENCY. NATURE IS IMMOVABLE AS A FORM, BUT NOT AS COMPOUND OF MATTER AND FORM. BOTH NATURE AND REASON ARE CONTEMPLATION; WHILE UNIVERSAL REASON IS BOTH SOUL AND NATURE. THE REASON OF NATURE IS THE RESULT OF AN IMMOVABLE CONTEMPLATION. NATURE'S CONFESSION THAT HER MOTHER IS UNIVERSAL REASON, AND HER FATHER THE FORMAL REASONS. DESCRIPTION OF NATURE AS A WEAKER CONTEMPLATION. IT IS MEN WHO ARE TOO WEAK FOR CONTEMPLATION THAT SEEK A REFUGE IN ACTION. B. CONTEMPLATION. THE PROCESSION OF THE WORLD-SOUL. PRACTICE IS ONLY A PREPARATION FOR CONTEMPLATION. THIS CONTEMPLATION IS THE GOAL OF ALL KINDS AND GRADES OF EXISTENCE. EVEN LOWER FORMS OF BEGETTING ARE DUE TO SEMINAL REASONS. C. OF UNITY. THE DIFFERENT GRADES OF THOUGHT AND LIFE. "ALL BEINGS ARE CONTEMPLATIONS." LIKE A CIRCLE, INTELLIGENCE IS INSEPARABLY SINGLE AND MANIFOLD. TO THE INTELLIGENCE THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY IS THE INTELLIGIBLE THERE MUST BE A SUPREME. THE BEGETTER OF INTELLIGENCE MUST BE SIMPLER THAN IT, AND IS REACHED NOT BY INTELLIGENT REASONING BUT A SIMPLE INTUITION. THE SUPREME IS THE POTENTIALITY OF ALL THINGS, ABOVE ALL ACTUALIZATION. THE SUPREME AS A SPRING OF WATER. THE SUPREME AS THE TREE OF THE UNIVERSE. IF UNITY PASSED INTO THE MANIFOLD, THE UNIVERSE WOULD BE DESTROYED. THIS IS THE BASIS OF THE RETURN TO UNITY. THE SUPREME IS NOT INTELLIGENCE, WHICH ASPIRES TO THE FORM OF THE GOOD. THE GOOD AS SUPREME NEITHER NEEDS NOR POSSESSES INTELLECTION.

FIFTH ENNEAD, BOOK EIGHT. Concerning Intelligible Beauty.

ART MAKES A STATUE OUT OF ROUGH MARBLE. BEAUTY INHERES NOT IN THE ORGANISM'S PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, BUT IN ITS COLOR AND FORM. BEAUTY COMES FROM THE FORM IMPARTED BY THE ORIGINATOR. RECOGNITION OF BEAUTY DEPENDS ON PRELIMINARY INTERIOR BEAUTY. BEAUTY IS THE CREATING PRINCIPLE OF THE PRIMARY REASON. OUR IMAGE OF INTELLIGENCE IS ONLY A SAMPLE THAT MUST BE PURIFIED. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CELESTIAL AND INFERIOR DIVINITIES. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD. THE INTELLIGIBLE COMPARED TO LYNCEUS WHOSE SIGHT PENETRATED ALL. DEMONSTRATION THAT WISDOM IS VERITABLE BEING, AND THE CONVERSE. RESEMBLANCE OF EARTHLY THINGS TO THE INTELLIGIBLE IS THE BASIS OF THE RESEMBLANCE OF THE INTELLIGIBLE TO THE EARTHLY. CONTROVERSY AGAINST THE GNOSTIC DIVINE PLANNING OF THE WORLD. HOW CREATION OF THE WORLD TOOK PLACE. THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE ADMITS OF NO REASONING, DEMONSTRATION, FAITH OR CAUSE. IF THIS PRINCIPLE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL, NOTHING ELSE COULD BE THAT. PLATO SYMBOLIZES THIS BY MAKING THE CREATOR ADMIRE HIS HANDIWORK. THE POWER OF THE INFERIOR DIVINITIES DEPENDS ON THEIR INHERING IN THE SUPREME. ALL THE INFERIOR DIVINITIES ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE SUPREME. BEING IS DESIRABLE BECAUSE BEAUTIFUL. VISION OF THE SUPERCELESTIAL. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF THIS VISION. THIS VISION, WHEN TRANSFERRED WITHIN, BECOMES SWEET AS NECTAR. MECHANISM OF THE ECSTASY. BENEFITS OF THIS CONVERSION TOWARDS THE DIVINITY. HOW THE SOUL MAY BE UNITED TO THE DIVINITY WITHOUT SEEING HIM. NATURE OF THE OBJECT OF SPIRITUAL VISION. SATURN IS SON OF COELUS, AND FATHER OF JUPITER. IF THE WORLD-SOUL AND VENUS BE BEAUTIFUL, HOW MUCH MORE THEIR SOURCE?

FIFTH ENNEAD, BOOK FIVE. That Intelligible Entities Are Not External to the Intelligence of the Good.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE INTELLIGIBLE ENTITIES IMPLIES THEIR PRESENCE. INTELLIGENCE IS ANNIHILATED BY THE THEORY THAT TRUTH IS EXTERNAL TO IT. THE NOTION OF INTELLIGENCE IMPLIES ITS POSSESSION OF ALL INTELLIGIBLES. SUPREME INTELLIGENCE IS DIVINITY AND SUPREME ROYALTY. ALLEGORY OF THE ROYAL PROCESSION. THE COURSE UPWARDS IS ONE OF UNIFICATION. THE THEORY OF THE UNIQUE; THE PAIR; AND THE GROUP. PUNS ABOUT VESTA, TAKEN FROM THE CRATYLUS OF PLATO. THE SUPREME NAMED APOLLO.266 TWO METHODS OF SIGHT; THE FORM, AND THE LIGHT. INTELLIGIBLE LIGHT, NOT BEING SPATIAL, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PLACE. GOD ARISES ABOVE THE HORIZON OF INTELLIGENCE. OMNIPRESENCE IS EXPLAINED BY POSSESSION OF ALL THINGS WITHOUT BEING POSSESSED BY THEM. THE MANNER OF PERCEIVING THE SUPREME. PROGRESS TOWARDS HIM IS WAKENING TO TRUE REALITY. THE GOOD IS SUPERIOR TO THE BEAUTIFUL, AND IS COGNIZED BY THE MIND AS ITS SENSE. THE SUPREMACY OF THE GOOD IMPLIES HE IS SUPERIOR TO ALL POSSESSIONS.

SECOND ENNEAD, BOOK NINE. Against the Gnostics; or, That the Creator and the World are Not Evil.275

THE SUPREME PRINCIPLES MUST BE SIMPLE AND NOT COMPOUND. THE ONLY SUPREME PRINCIPLES MUST THEN BE UNITY, INTELLIGENCE AND SOUL. THE ARISTOTELIAN DISTINCTION OF POTENTIALITY AND ACTUALITY IS NOT APPLICABLE TO DIVINITY. THE DISTINCTION OF REST AND MOVEMENT ALSO INAPPLICABLE. AN INTERMEDIARY LOGOS (OR AEON JESUS), ALSO UNACCOUNTABLE. CONSCIOUSNESS IS UNITARY THOUGH CONTAINING THINKER, OBJECT AND THOUGHT. A DIFFERENTIATED REASON WOULD DEPRIVE THE SOUL OF CONSCIOUSNESS. NO MORE THAN THREE PRINCIPLES ADMITTED BECAUSE OF THE UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS. THE WORLD AS ETERNALLY BEGOTTEN—GOD'S NEED TO GIVE. MOST GENERALLY ASSIGNED MOTIVES OF CREATION ARE RIDICULOUS, OR WORSE. THE WORLD SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED EVIL BECAUSE OF OUR SUFFERINGS; NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL COULD BE IMAGINED. IT IS CONTRADICTORY TO CONSIDER ONESELF CAPABLE OF PERFECTION, BUT TO DENY IMPASSIBILITY TO THE BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF NATURE. AN INTERMEDIARY ELEMENTAL SOUL IS ALSO INADMISSIBLE. THE GNOSTICS' NEW EARTH, THAT IS MODEL OF THE OLD IS UNREASONABLE. EXILES, REPENTANCES, ANTITYPES, AND OTHER GNOSTIC INVENTIONS. THE GNOSTICS MAY WELL BORROW FROM THE GREEKS, BUT SHOULD NOT DEPRECIATE THEM. GNOSTIC ADDITIONS TO PLATONISM ARE THEIR POOREST DOCTRINES. THE UNIVERSAL SOUL MAY NOT BE JUDGED BY THE HUMAN STANDARD. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNIVERSAL SOUL AND THE HUMAN SOUL. GNOSTIC DEMANDS FOR REASON OF WORLD'S CREATION ARE IDLE, AND INVOLVE STILL LARGER QUESTIONS. INTELLIGENCE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE LAST DEGREE OF EXISTENCE. THIS IS THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS BECAUSE WE CAN ACHIEVE VIRTUE. THE INEQUALITY OF RICHES IS OF NO MOMENT TO AN ETERNAL BEING. MOREOVER THIS WORLD CONTAINS TRADITIONS OF DIVINITY. TRUE KNOWLEDGE SHOWN NOT BY UNIFICATION, BUT REVELATION OF DIVINE POWER. MODESTY IS A PART OF GOODNESS; PRIDE IS FOLLY. OTHER GNOSTIC INCONSISTENCIES. PLOTINOS ADDRESSES HIMSELF TO THOSE OF HIS FRIENDS WHO WERE FORMERLY GNOSTIC, NOT TO THE LATTER WHO ARE HOPELESS. PLOTINOS HAS NO INTENTION OF WRITING A FULL CONFUTATION. GNOSTIC THEORY OF CREATION BY MERE ILLUMINATION.386 THE NUMBERLESS INTELLECTUAL DIFFICULTIES OF SUCH A THEORY. HOW THE GNOSTIC DEMIURGE CREATED. THE NECESSITY OF THE ILLUMINATION OF THE DARKNESS MUST HAVE BEEN ETERNAL. EVEN THE EXISTENCE OF THE DARKNESS MUST BE RELATED TO THE SOUL. INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING OF THE WORLD, UNDERSTAND IT AND FIT YOURSELF TO IT. GNOSTICS WRONGLY IMAGINE INTELLIGIBLE ENTITIES CAN BE BEWITCHED.387 THEIR EXPLANATION OF DISEASE AS DEMONIACAL POSSESSION IS WRONG. THE GENUINE VALUE OF GNOSTICISM SEEN IN ITS LOW MORAL ASPECTS. THE GNOSTIC DESTINY OF MAN IS DEMORALIZING. THE GNOSTICS IGNORE VIRTUE WITHOUT WHICH GOD IS A MERE WORD. SCORN OF THIS WORLD IS NO GUARANTEE OF GOODNESS. TO EXCEPT CERTAIN CLASSES OF BEING FROM DIVINE CARE IS TO SHOW CALLOUSNESS OF DISPOSITION. GNOSTICS JUSTIFY THEIR HATE OF THE BODY BY PLATO; IN THIS CASE THEY SHOULD FOLLOW HIM ALSO IN ADMIRATION OF THE WORLD. GNOSTICS BOAST OF LACK OF APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY ALREADY RECOGNIZED. EVEN EXTERIOR OR PARTIAL BEAUTY NEED NOT CONFLICT WITH THE BEAUTY OF THE UNIVERSE; AND IN ANY CASE THERE WOULD BE NO EVIL IN IT. RECOGNITION OF THE BEAUTY OF THE BODY NEED NOT IMPLY ATTACHMENT THERETO; IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH RESIGNATION. GNOSTICS ACKNOWLEDGE KINSHIP WITH DEPRAVED MEN, BUT REFUSE IT TO THE BEAUTIFUL UNIVERSE, OF WHICH WE SHOULD BE FAR PROUDER. GNOSTICS WHO BOAST SUPERIORITY TO THE DIVINITIES WHO CANNOT LEAVE THEIR BODIES ARE IN REALITY IGNORANT OF THE TRUE STATE OF AFFAIRS. THE JEALOUS DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE SPIRITUAL, PSYCHIC AND MATERIAL IS DUE CHIEFLY TO IGNORANCE OF OTHER PEOPLE'S ATTAINMENTS.

FOOTNOTES Transcriber's Notes

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