Enneads VI 9: On the Good, or the One
May. 18th, 2023 11:11 amTHE PLACE IS HERE
THE TIME IS NOW
LET'S DO THIS
Though It seems so alien to us, the One isn't something "out there"—rather we are like children who left home, got lost, and became so distraught that we don't even recognize our own Father. Philosophy points the way back, but that final leap can only be made by you, yourself, gathered into a microcosmic One.
The One is thus the great Mystery, because it can only be experienced but not understood or even spoken about. It is in mimicry of this that the lesser mysteries would not divulge their secrets to the uninitiated. Things here in this world such as these are like the signs written upon the walls of the great Temple, where those who are taught to read the signs may enter the holy place and commune with God.
The One is not to be made a common story—only those worthy are enabled to go behind the curtain and See. To those who have Seen, they are forever impressed by that Image—no sensation, no movement, no desire, no self, only Love and Contentment and Rest. This is the life of the gods, and this is the life of the saints: the flight of the alone to the Alone.
This is a short and moving tractate and another of those worth reading in full. For some sightseeing:
The first few paragraphs of §1 describe a theoretical principle important beyond the realms of mysticism. Mages and suppliants, take note!
§9 has beautiful observations of the myths of Aphrodite and the myth of Eros and Psyche. "There, the soul is the Aphrodite Ourania; here, the soul turns harlot, Aphrodite Pandemos; but the soul is always Aphrodite." This meshes with my understanding of the myths going back all the way to Innana. Is there a Love Principle? Of course—but do not forget that you are She, for it is by forgetting that you end up here in the first place.
§11 is a very beautiful summation and conclusion to Plotinus' life and thought—a very good place to end his writings on.
And with that, we have completed the Enneads! Back when I had started, my angel had urged me to try and average one tractate a week, but I just missed doing so by (exactly) two weeks. Considering that I got a concussion, that my wife was in the ICU, and that we had a baby in the last year, I suppose that's not too bad.
I think it's going to take me some time to gather up and set into order all of my thoughts about Plotinus and do a proper retrospective, but let me say this: Mabel Collins wrote in her Light on the Path that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear," and Xenophon wrote in his Memorabilia that "students get nothing from a teacher with whom they are not in sympathy." So in that sense it is not surprising that when I asked my angel, "why Plotinus?" they responded, "because you will find nothing better suited to your disposition in English." I was simply ready to hear.
I recognize Plotinus isn't for everyone. Indeed, Neoplatonism is so obviously not a religion for most people that it's no wonder at all to me that it died out and was replaced with one that was! No, this is a very peculiar way of understanding the cosmos, only really suited to peculiar people. I have found it tremendously valuable and hope that you've gotten something out of following along—but you should not feel bad if you did not, since Plotinus assumes a worldview and a model that was very foreign to most people in his time and is only more so today.
But no matter what your disposition, keep growing, keep seeking, keep praying: Providence is just, and a teacher will be made available for you.