the six enneads-第131章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


e　its　completion　from　the　principles　engendering　it　which；　like　fathers；　labour　in　the　improvement　of　an　offspring　born　imperfect：　the　produced　is　a　Matter　to　the　producing　principle　and　is　worked　over　by　it　into　a　shapely　perfection。　　　　　And　if；　further；　soul　is　passible　while　something　impassible　there　must　be　or　by　the　mere　passage　of　time　all　wears　away；　here　too　we　are　led　to　something　above　soul。　　　　　Again　there　must　be　something　prior　to　Soul　because　Soul　is　in　the　world　and　there　must　be　something　outside　a　world　in　which；　all　being　corporeal　and　material；　nothing　has　enduring　reality：　failing　such　a　prior；　neither　man　nor　the　Ideas　would　be　eternal　or　have　true　identity。　　　　　These　and　many　other　considerations　establish　the　necessary　existence　of　an　Intellectual…Principle　prior　to　Soul。　　　　　5。　This　Intellectual…Principle；　if　the　term　is　to　convey　the　truth；　must　be　understood　to　be　not　a　principle　merely　potential　and　not　one　maturing　from　unintelligence　to　intelligence…　that　would　simply　send　us　seeking；　once　more；　a　necessary　prior…　but　a　principle　which　is　intelligence　in　actuality　and　in　eternity。　　　　　Now　a　principle　whose　wisdom　is　not　borrowed　must　derive　from　itself　any　intellection　it　may　make；　and　anything　it　may　possess　within　itself　it　can　hold　only　from　itself：　it　follows　that；　intellective　by　its　own　resource　and　upon　its　own　content；　it　is　itself　the　very　things　on　which　its　intellection　acts。　　　　　For　supposing　its　essence　to　be　separable　from　its　intellection　and　the　objects　of　its　intellection　to　be　not　itself；　then　its　essence　would　be　unintellectual；　and　it　would　be　intellectual　not　actually　but　potentially。　The　intellection　and　its　object　must　then　be　inseparable…　however　the　habit　induced　by　our　conditions　may　tempt　us　to　distinguish；　There　too；　the　thinker　from　the　thought。　　　　　What　then　is　its　characteristic　Act　and　what　the　intellection　which　makes　knower　and　known　here　identical？　　　　　Clearly；　as　authentic　Intellection；　it　has　authentic　intellection　of　the　authentically　existent；　and　establishes　their　existence。　Therefore　it　is　the　Authentic　Beings。　　　　　Consider：　It　must　perceive　them　either　somewhere　else　or　within　itself　as　its　very　self：　the　somewhere　else　is　impossible…　where　could　that　be？…　they　are　therefore　itself　and　the　content　of　itself。　　　　　Its　objects　certainly　cannot　be　the　things　of　sense；　as　people　think；　no　First　could　be　of　the　sense…known　order；　for　in　things　of　sense　the　Idea　is　but　an　image　of　the　authentic；　and　every　Idea　thus　derivative　and　exiled　traces　back　to　that　original　and　is　no　more　than　an　image　of　it。　　　　　Further；　if　the　Intellectual…Principle　is　to　be　the　maker　of　this　All；　it　cannot　make　by　looking　outside　itself　to　what　does　not　yet　exist。　The　Authentic　Beings　must；　then；　exist　before　this　All；　no　copies　made　on　a　model　but　themselves　archetypes；　primals；　and　the　essence　of　the　Intellectual…Principle。　　　　　We　may　be　told　that　Reason…Principles　suffice　＇to　the　subsistence　of　the　All＇：　but　then　these；　clearly；　must　be　eternal；　and　if　eternal；　if　immune；　then　they　must　exist　in　an　Intellectual…Principle　such　as　we　have　indicated；　a　principle　earlier　than　condition；　than　nature；　than　soul；　than　anything　whose　existence　is　potential　for　contingent＇。　　　　　The　Intellectual…Principle；　therefore；　is　itself　the　authentic　existences；　not　a　knower　knowing　them　in　some　sphere　foreign　to　it。　The　Authentic　Beings；　thus；　exist　neither　before　nor　after　it：　it　is　the　primal　legislator　to　Being　or；　rather；　is　itself　the　law　of　Being。　Thus　it　is　true　that　〃Intellectual　and　Being　are　identical〃；　in　the　immaterial　the　knowledge　of　the　thing　is　the　thing。　And　this　is　the　meaning　of　the　dictum　〃I　sought　myself；〃　namely　as　one　of　the　Beings：　it　also　bears　on　reminiscence。　　　　　For　none　of　the　Beings　is　outside　the　Intellectual…Principle　or　in　space；　they　remain　for　ever　in　themselves；　accepting　no　change；　no　decay；　and　by　that　are　the　authentically　existent。　Things　that　arise　and　fall　away　draw　on　real　being　as　something　to　borrow　from；　they　are　not　of　the　real；　the　true　being　is　that　on　which　they　draw。　　　　　It　is　by　participation　that　the　sense…known　has　the　being　we　ascribe　to　it；　the　underlying　nature　has　taken　its　shape　from　elsewhere；　thus　bronze　and　wood　are　shaped　into　what　we　see　by　means　of　an　image　introduced　by　sculpture　or　carpentry；　the　craft　permeates　the　materials　while　remaining　integrally　apart　from　the　material　and　containing　in　itself　the　reality　of　statue　or　couch。　And　it　is　so；　of　course；　with　all　corporeal　things。　　　　　This　universe；　characteristically　participant　in　images；　shows　how　the　image　differs　from　the　authentic　beings：　against　the　variability　of　the　one　order；　there　stands　the　unchanging　quality　of　the　other；　self…situate；　not　needing　space　because　having　no　magnitude；　holding　an　existent　intellective　and　self…sufficing。　The　body…kind　seeks　its　endurance　in　another　kind；　the　Intellectual…Principle；　sustaining　by　its　marvellous　Being；　the　things　which　of　themselves　must　fall；　does　not　itself　need　to　look　for　a　staying　ground。　　　　　6。　We　take　it；　then；　that　the　Intellectual…Principle　is　the　authentic　existences　and　contains　them　all…　not　as　in　a　place　but　as　possessing　itself　and　being　one　thing　with　this　its　content。　All　are　one　there　and　yet　are　distinct：　similarly　the　mind　holds　many　branches　and　items　of　knowledge　simultaneously；　yet　none　of　them　merged　into　any　other；　each　acting　its　own　part　at　call　quite　independently；　every　conception　coming　out　from　the　inner　total　and　working　singly。　It　is　after　this　way；　though　in　a　closer　unity；　that　the　Intellectual…Principle　is　all　Being　in　one　total…　and　yet　not　in　one；　since　each　of　these　beings　is　a　distinct　power　which；　however；　the　total　Intellectual…Principle　includes　as　the　species　in　a　genus；　as　the　parts　in　a　whole。　This　relation　may　be　illustrated　by　the　powers　in　seed；　all　lies　undistinguished　in　the　unit；　the　formative　ideas　gathered　as　in　one　kernel；　yet　in　that　unit　there　is　eye…principle；　and　there　is　hand…principle；　each　of　which　is　revealed　as　a　separate　power　by　its　distinct　material　product。　Thus　each　of　the　powers　in　the　seed　is　a　Reason…Principle　one　and　complete　yet　including　all　the　parts　over　which　it　presides：　there　will　be　something　bodily；　the　liquid；　for　example；　carrying　mere　Matter；　but　the　principle　itself　is　Idea　and　nothing　else；　idea　identical　with　the　generative　idea　belonging　to　the　lower　soul；　image　of　a　higher。　This　power　is　sometimes　designated　as　Nature　in　the　seed…life；　its　origin　is　in　the　divine；　and；　outgoing　from　its　priors　as　light　from　fire；　it　converts　and　shapes　the　matter　of　things；　not　by　push　and　pull　and　the　lever　work　of　which　we　hear　so　much；　but　by　bestowal　of　the　Ideas。　　　　　7。　Knowledge　in　the　reasoning　soul　is　on　the　one　side　concerned　with　objects　of　sense；　though　indeed　this　can　scarcely　be　called　knowledge　and　is　better　indicated　as　opinion　or　surface…knowing；　it　is　of　later　origin　than　the　objects　since　it　is　a　reflection　from　them：　but　on　the　other　hand　there　is　the　knowledge　handling　the　intellectual　objects　and　this　is　the　authentic　knowledge；　it　enters　the　reasoning　soul　from　the　Intellectual…Principle　and　has　no　dealing　with　anything　in　sense。　Being　true　knowledge　it　actually　is　everything　of　which　it　takes　cognisance；　it　carries　as　its　own　content　the　intellectual　act　and　the　intellectual　object　since　it　carries　the　Intellectual…Principle　which　actually　is　the　primals　and　is　always　self…present　and　is　in　its　nature　an　Act；　never　by　any　want　forced　to　seek；　never　acquiring　or　traversing　the　remote…　for　all　such　experience　belongs　to　soul…　but　always　self…gathered；　the　very　Being　of　the　collective　total；　not　an　extern　creating　things　by　the　act　of　knowing　them。　　　　　Not　by　its　thinking　God　does　God　come　to　be；　not　by　its　thinking　Movement　does　Movement　arise。　Hence　it　is　an　error　to　call　the　Ideas　intellections　in　the　sense　that；　upon　an　intellectual　act　in　this　Principle；　one　such　Idea　or　another　is　made　to　exist　or　exists。　No：　the　object　of　this　intellection　must　exist　before　the　intellective　act　＇must　be　the　very　content　not　the　creation　of　the　Intellectual…Principle＇。　How　else　could　that　Principle　come　to　know　it：　certainly　not　＇as　an　external＇　by　luck　or　by　haphazard　search。　　　　　8。　If；　then；　the　Intellection　is　an　act　upon　the　inner　content　＇of　a　perfect　unity＇；　that　content　is　at　once　the　Idea　＇as　object：　eidos＇　and　the　Idea　itself　＇as　concept：　idea＇。　　　　　What；　then；　is　that　content？　　　　　An　Intellectual…Principle　and　an　Intellective　Essence；　no　concept　distinguishable　from　the　Intellectual…Principle；　each　actually　being　that　Principle。　The　Intellectual…Principle　entire　is　the　total　of　the　Ideas；　and　each　of　them　is　the　＇entire＇　Intellectual…Principle　in　a　special　form。　Thus　a　science　entire　is　the　total　of　the　relevant　considerations　each　of　which；　again；　is　a　member　of　the　entire　science；　a　member　not　distinct　in　space　yet　having　its　individual　efficacy　in　a　total。　　　　　This　Intellectual…Principle；　therefore；　is　a　unity　while　by　that　possession　of　itself　it　is；　tranquilly；　the　eternal　abundance。　　　　　If　the　Intellectual…Principle　were　envisaged　as　preceding　Being；　it　would　at　once　become　a　principle　whose　expression；　its　intellectual　Act；　achieves　and　engen