the six enneads-第93章

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Sense　and　Nature；　the　vegetal　principle。　　　　　Nothing；　however；　is　completely　severed　from　its　prior。　Thus　the　human　Soul　appears　to　reach　away　as　far　down　as　to　the　vegetal　order：　in　some　sense　it　does；　since　the　life　of　growing　things　is　within　its　province；　but　it　is　not　present　entire；　when　it　has　reached　the　vegetal　order　it　is　there　in　the　sense　that　having　moved　thus　far　downwards　it　produces…　by　its　outgoing　and　its　tendency　towards　the　less　good…　another　hypostasis　or　form　of　being　just　as　its　prior　（the　loftier　phase　of　the　Soul）　is　produced　from　the　Intellectual…Principle　which　yet　remains　in　untroubled　self…possession。　　　　　2。　To　resume：　there　is　from　the　first　principle　to　ultimate　an　outgoing　in　which　unfailingly　each　principle　retains　its　own　seat　while　its　offshoot　takes　another　rank；　a　lower；　though　on　the　other　hand　every　being　is　in　identity　with　its　prior　as　long　as　it　holds　that　contact。　　　　　In　the　case　of　soul　entering　some　vegetal　form；　what　is　there　is　one　phase；　the　more　rebellious　and　less　intellectual；　outgone　to　that　extreme；　in　a　soul　entering　an　animal；　the　faculty　of　sensation　has　been　dominant　and　brought　it　there；　in　soul　entering　man；　the　movement　outward　has　either　been　wholly　of　its　reasoning　part　or　has　come　from　the　Intellectual…Principle　in　the　sense　that　the　soul；　possessing　that　principle　as　immanent　to　its　being；　has　an　inborn　desire　of　intellectual　activity　and　of　movement　in　general。　　　　　But；　looking　more　minutely　into　the　matter；　when　shoots　or　topmost　boughs　are　lopped　from　some　growing　thing；　where　goes　the　soul　that　was　present　in　them？　Simply；　whence　it　came：　soul　never　knew　spatial　separation　and　therefore　is　always　within　the　source。　If　you　cut　the　root　to　pieces；　or　burn　it；　where　is　the　life　that　was　present　there？　In　the　soul；　which　never　went　outside　of　itself。　　　　　No　doubt；　despite　this　permanence；　the　soul　must　have　been　in　something　if　it　reascends；　and　if　it　does　not；　it　is　still　somewhere；　it　is　in　some　other　vegetal　soul：　but　all　this　means　merely　that　it　is　not　crushed　into　some　one　spot；　if　a　Soul…power　reascends；　it　is　within　the　Soul…power　preceding　it；　that　in　turn　can　be　only　in　the　soul…power　prior　again；　the　phase　reaching　upwards　to　the　Intellectual…Principle。　Of　course　nothing　here　must　be　understood　spatially：　Soul　never　was　in　space；　and　the　Divine　Intellect；　again；　is　distinguished　from　soul　as　being　still　more　free。　　　　　Soul　thus　is　nowhere　but　in　the　Principle　which　has　that　characteristic　existence　at　once　nowhere　and　everywhere。　　　　　If　the　soul　on　its　upward　path　has　halted　midway　before　wholly　achieving　the　supreme　heights；　it　has　a　mid…rank　life　and　has　centred　itself　upon　the　mid…phase　of　its　being。　All　in　that　mid…region　is　Intellectual…Principle　not　wholly　itself…　nothing　else　because　deriving　thence　＇and　therefore　of　that　name　and　rank＇；　yet　not　that　because　the　Intellectual…Principle　in　giving　it　forth　is　not　merged　into　it。　　　　　There　exists；　thus；　a　life；　as　it　were；　of　huge　extension；　a　total　in　which　each　several　part　differs　from　its　next；　all　making　a　self…continuous　whole　under　a　law　of　discrimination　by　which　the　various　forms　of　things　arise　with　no　effacement　of　any　prior　in　its　secondary。　　　　　But　does　this　Soul…phase　in　the　vegetal　order；　produce　nothing？　　　　　It　engenders　precisely　the　Kind　in　which　it　is　thus　present：　how；　is　a　question　to　be　handled　from　another　starting…point。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　THIRD　TRACTATE。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　THE　KNOWING　HYPOSTASES　AND　THE　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　TRANSCENDENT。

　　　　1。　Are　we　to　think　that　a　being　knowing　itself　must　contain　diversity；　that　self…knowledge　can　be　affirmed　only　when　some　one　phase　of　the　self　perceives　other　phases；　and　that　therefore　an　absolutely　simplex　entity　would　be　equally　incapable　of　introversion　and　of　self…awareness？　　　　　No：　a　being　that　has　no　parts　or　phases　may　have　this　consciousness；　in　fact　there　would　be　no　real　self…knowing　in　an　entity　presented　as　knowing　itself　in　virtue　of　being　a　compound…　some　single　element　in　it　perceiving　other　elements…　as　we　may　know　our　own　form　and　entire　bodily　organism　by　sense…perception：　such　knowing　does　not　cover　the　whole　field；　the　knowing　element　has　not　had　the　required　cognisance　at　once　of　its　associates　and　of　itself；　this　is　not　the　self…knower　asked　for；　it　is　merely　something　that　knows　something　else。　　　　　Either　we　must　exhibit　the　self…knowing　of　an　uncompounded　being…　and　show　how　that　is　possible…　or　abandon　the　belief　that　any　being　can　possess　veritable　self…cognition。　　　　　To　abandon　the　belief　is　not　possible　in　view　of　the　many　absurdities　thus　entailed。　　　　　It　would　be　already　absurd　enough　to　deny　this　power　to　the　soul　or　mind；　but　the　very　height　of　absurdity　to　deny　it　to　the　nature　of　the　Intellectual…Principle；　presented　thus　as　knowing　the　rest　of　things　but　not　attaining　to　knowledge；　or　even　awareness；　of　itself。　　　　　It　is　the　province　of　sense　and　in　some　degree　of　understanding　and　judgement；　but　not　of　the　Intellectual…Principle；　to　handle　the　external；　though　whether　the　Intellectual…Principle　holds　the　knowledge　of　these　things　is　a　question　to　be　examined；　but　it　is　obvious　that　the　Intellectual…Principle　must　have　knowledge　of　the　Intellectual　objects。　Now；　can　it　know　those　objects　alone　or　must　it　not　simultaneously　know　itself；　the　being　whose　function　it　is　to　know　just　those　things？　Can　it　have　self…knowledge　in　the　sense　＇dismissed　above　as　inadequate＇　of　knowing　its　content　while　it　ignores　itself？　Can　it　be　aware　of　knowing　its　members　and　yet　remain　in　ignorance　of　its　own　knowing　self？　Self　and　content　must　be　simultaneously　present：　the　method　and　degree　of　this　knowledge　we　must　now　consider。　　　　　2。　We　begin　with　the　soul；　asking　whether　it　is　to　be　allowed　self…knowledge　and　what　the　knowing　principle　in　it　would　be　and　how　operating。　　　　　The　sense…principle　in　it　we　may　at　once　decide；　takes　cognisance　only　of　the　external；　even　in　any　awareness　of　events　within　the　body　it　occupies；　this　is　still　the　perception　of　something　external　to　a　principle　dealing　with　those　bodily　conditions　not　as　within　but　as　beneath　itself。　　　　　The　reasoning…principle　in　the　Soul　acts　upon　the　representations　standing　before　it　as　the　result　of　sense…perception；　these　it　judges；　combining；　distinguishing：　or　it　may　also　observe　the　impressions；　so　to　speak；　rising　from　the　Intellectual…Principle；　and　has　the　same　power　of　handling　these；　and　reasoning　will　develop　to　wisdom　where　it　recognizes　the　new　and　late…coming　impressions　＇those　of　sense＇　and　adapts　them；　so　to　speak；　to　those　it　holds　from　long　before…　the　act　which　may　be　described　as　the　soul's　Reminiscence。　　　　　So　far　as　this；　the　efficacy　of　the　Intellectual…Principle　in　the　Soul　certainly　reaches；　but　is　there　also　introversion　and　self…cognition　or　is　that　power　to　be　reserved　strictly　for　the　Divine　Mind？　　　　　If　we　accord　self…knowing　to　this　phase　of　the　soul　we　make　it　an　Intellectual…Principle　and　will　have　to　show　what　distinguishes　it　from　its　prior；　if　we　refuse　it　self…knowing；　all　our　thought　brings　us　step　by　step　to　some　principle　which　has　this　power；　and　we　must　discover　what　such　self…knowing　consists　in。　If；　again；　we　do　allow　self…knowledge　in　the　lower　we　must　examine　the　question　of　degree；　for　if　there　is　no　difference　of　degree；　then　the　reasoning　principle　in　soul　is　the　Intellectual…Principle　unalloyed。　　　　　We　ask；　then；　whether　the　understanding　principle　in　the　soul　has　equally　the　power　of　turning　inwards　upon　itself　or　whether　it　has　no　more　than　that　of　comprehending　the　impressions；　superior　and　inferior；　which　it　receives。　　　　　The　first　stage　is　to　discover　what　this　comprehension　is。　　　　　3。　Sense　sees　a　man　and　transmits　the　impression　to　the　understanding。　What　does　the　understanding　say？　It　has　nothing　to　say　as　yet；　it　accepts　and　waits；　unless；　rather；　it　questions　within　itself　〃Who　is　this？〃…　someone　it　has　met　before…　and　then；　drawing　on　memory；　says；　〃Socrates。〃　　　　　If　it　should　go　on　to　develop　the　impression　received；　it　distinguishes　various　elements　in　what　the　representative　faculty　has　set　before　it；　supposing　it　to　say　〃Socrates；　if　the　man　is　good；〃　then；　while　it　has　spoken　upon　information　from　the　senses；　its　total　pronouncement　is　its　own；　it　contains　within　itself　a　standard　of　good。　　　　　But　how　does　it　thus　contain　the　good　within　itself？　　　　　It　is；　itself；　of　the　nature　of　the　good　and　it　has　been　strengthened　still　towards　the　perception　of　all　that　is　good　by　the　irradiation　of　the　Intellectual…Principle　upon　it；　for　this　pure　phase　of　the　soul　welcomes　to　itself　the　images　implanted　from　its　prior。　　　　　But　why　may　we　not　distinguish　this　understanding　phase　as　Intellectual…Principle　and　take　soul　to　consist　of　the　later　phases　from　the　sensitive　downwards？　　　　　Because　all　the　activities　mentioned　are　within　the　scope　of　a　reasoning　faculty；　and　reasoning　is　characteristically　the　function　of　soul。　　　　　Why　not；　however；　absolve　the　question　by　assigning　self…cognisance　to　this　phase？　　　　　Because　we　have　allotted　to　soul　the　function　of　dealing…　in　thought　and　in　multiform　action…　with　the　external；　and　we　hold　that　observation　of　self　and　of　the　content　of　self　must　belong　to　Intellectual…Principle。　　　　　If　any　one　says；　〃Still；　what　precludes　the　reasoning　soul　from　observing　its　own　content　by　some　special　faculty？〃　he　is　no　longer　posting　a　principle　of　understanding　or　of　reasoning　but；　simply；　bringing　in　the　Intellectual…Principle　unalloyed。　　　　　But　what　precludes　the　Intellectual…Principle　from　being　present；　unalloyed；　within　the　soul？　Nothing；　we　admit；　but　are　we　entitled　therefore　to　think　of　it　as　a　phase　of　soul？　　　　　We　cannot　describe　it　as　belonging　to　the　soul　though　we　do　describe　it　as　our　Intellectual…Principle；　something　distinct　from　the　understanding；　advanced　above　it；　and　yet　ours　even　though　we　cannot　include　it　among　soul…phases：　it　is　ours　and　not　ours；　and　therefore　we　use　it　sometimes　and　sometimes　not；　whereas　we　always　have　use　of　the　understanding；　the　Intellectual…Principle　is　ours　when　we　act　by　it；　not　ours　when　we　neglect　it。　　　　　But　what　is　this　acting　by　it？　Does　it　mean　that　we　become　the　Intellectual…Principle　so　that　our　utterance　is　the　utterance　of　the　Intellectual…Principle；　or　that　we　represent　it？　　　　　We　are　not　the　Intellectual…Principle；　we　represent　it　in　virtue　of　that　highest　reasoning　faculty　which　draws　upon　it。　　　　　Still；　we　perceive　by　means　of　the　perceptive　faculty　and　are；　ourselves；　the　percipients：　may　we　not　say　the　same　of　the　intellective　act？　　　　　No：　our　reasoning　is　our　own；　we　ourselves　think　the　thoughts　that　occupy　the　understanding…　for　this　is　actually　the　We…　but　the　operation　of　the　Intellectual…Principle　enters　from　above　us　as　that　of　the　sensitive　faculty　from　below；　the　We　is　the　soul　at　its　highest；　the　mid…point　between　two　powers；　between　the　sensitive　principle；　inferior　to　us；　and　the　intellectual　principle　superior。　We　think　of　the　perceptive　act　as　integral　to　ourselves　because　our　sense…perception　is　uninterrupted；　we　hesitate　as　to　the　Intellectual…Principle　both　because　we　are　not　always　occupied　with　it　and　because　it　exists　apart；　not　a　principle　inclining　to　us　but　one　to　which　we　incline　when　we　choose　t