Enneads III 9: Detached Considerations

This is a funny little tractate that seems almost as if it is just a series of scraps—mere reminders of topics for Plotinus to treat more fully elsewhere. (Please note that I present these various notes in a different order from Plotinus, so that they form a logical progression from the One, to the Ideal, to Soul, and finally to individual souls.)

III 9: Detached Considerations

1. The One is not a transcendant God; rather It transcends even the Gods. The One can't be conscious, since It is the source of consciousness; It can't be alive, since It is the source of Life; It can't even Be, since It is the source of Being.

2. The One is un-self-conscious, while the Ideal is self-conscious. (The reason for this is that self-consciousness implies both a subject and object of consciousness; a distinction, and the One is without distinction.) The Ideal is less perfect than the One, since it must be satisfied with Knowing rather than being satisfied without.

3. The One becomes Many by being everywhere, since by being everywhere, it is also nowhere: this distinction becomes the source of many others.

4. By thinking about ourselves, it is clear there is simultaneously a thinker (at rest) and a thought (an action). Since that action pertains to a living being, from this root we can now rest on certain ground by positing Thought (e.g. the Ideal) and Life (e.g. Soul) as Real Things, and that actions proceed from thought.

5. Reality is that which is perfect. Therefore, Real things are those that do not change.

6. Even though the Ideal possesses distinction (of knower and known), this distinction is not a separation: it is, after all, reflecting upon itself. Separation begins with Soul, and thus the Universe, with its many and varied forms, is a product of Soul.

7. Just as Matter is matter to Soul, Soul is matter to the Ideal.

8. Consider geometry: even though it consists of many propositions, it is not shattered into pieces by this. Geometry is a whole thing, and in each of these many propositions the whole is latent.

In the same way, a person may consist of many thoughts and actions, but he or she is not broken into pieces by this; no, in each thought and action is latent the True Being, the soul within. By reflecting on this latent Whole, one more closely unites with It, and draws closer to illumination from Its Source, Soul itself.

And with that, we are now halfway through the Enneads! I note, however, that my bookmark is only perhaps a third of the way through the book; from this I infer that the later material is more difficult than that which we have covered already.

Enneads IV 1: On the Essence of the Soul (1)

Oh, alright, the next tractate is really short, so I'll take a crack at it before trying to get back to sleep.

IV 1: On the Essence of the Soul (1)

While the Ideal admits distinction (of Knower and Known), separation is alien to It: It is still too close to the One for such a thing. Separation, rather, is the thing of Soul. But since the nature of the Ideal is unity, souls are unified within the Ideal; but since the nature of Soul is separation, souls "descend" into bodies that they may be separate. But this "descending" is not a complete separation: the soul simultaneously exists above, unified in the Ideal, and below, separated in Matter. Each separate part has the Whole latent within it.

HEN TO PAN 🐍

Enneads IV 2: On the Essence of the Soul (2)

IV 2: On the Essence of the Soul (2)

We have said that the nature of Soul is division, but let us be more precise. It is the nature of bodies (not Matter itself, but imprinted upon Matter) to be divided, since they stand opposite to the One, Whose nature is unity. It is Soul that bridges this gap, and so it must, in fact, possess both natures: it is both unified and divided at once. This division is not, however, because Soul is cut up into many pieces, but rather that it is clothed in many bodies; but it is the bodies, and not Soul, that is divided. And so we can see that there is a smooth continuum from top to bottom: the One is one, Soul is one in many, souls are many as one, and bodies are strictly many.

It was nice to have a few short tractates to rest myself upon, but the next will like as not take me awhile, as it is three times as long as average!