the six enneads-第215章

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　the　people　gathered　happily　at　the　rites；　so　when　we　affirm　unity　we　are　not　thinking　of　some　Oneness　self…standing；　unrelated。　And　there　are　many　other　such　cases；　for　instance　〃on　the　right；〃　〃Above〃　and　their　opposites；　what　is　there　of　reality　about　this　〃On…the…right…ness〃　but　the　fact　that　two　different　positions　are　occupied？　So　with　〃Above〃：　〃Above〃　and　〃Below〃　are　a　mere　matter　of　position　and　have　no　significance　outside　of　this　sphere。　　　　　Now　in　answer　to　this　series　of　objections　our　first　remark　is　that　there　does　exist　an　actuality　implicit　in　each　one　of　the　relations　cited；　though　this　is　not　the　same　for　all　or　the　same　for　correlatives　or　the　same　for　every　reference　to　unity。　　　　　But　these　objections　must　be　taken　singly。　　　　　13。　It　cannot　reasonably　be　thought　that　the　notion　of　unity　is　derived　from　the　object　since　this　is　physical…　man；　animal；　even　stone；　a　presentation　of　that　order　is　something　very　different　from　unity　＇which　must　be　a　thing　of　the　Intellectual＇；　if　that　presentation　were　unity；　the　mind　could　never　affirm　unity　unless　of　that　given　thing；　man；　for　example。　　　　　Then　again；　just　as　in　the　case　of　〃On　the　right〃　or　other　such　affirmation　of　relation；　the　mind　does　not　affirm　in　some　caprice　but　from　observation　of　contrasted　position；　so　here　it　affirms　unity　in　virtue　of　perceiving　something　real；　assuredly　the　assertion　of　unity　is　not　a　bare　attitude　towards　something　non…existent。　It　is　not　enough　that　a　thing　be　alone　and　be　itself　and　not　something　else：　and　that　very　〃something　else〃　tells　of　another　unity。　Besides　Otherness　and　Difference　are　later；　unless　the　mind　has　first　rested　upon　unity　it　cannot　affirm　Otherness　or　Difference；　when　it　affirms　Aloneness　it　affirms　unity…with…aloneness；　thus　unity　is　presupposed　in　Aloneness。　　　　　Besides；　that　in　us　which　asserts　unity　of　some　object　is　first　a　unity；　itself；　and　the　object　is　a　unity　before　any　outside　affirmation　or　conception。　　　　　A　thing　must　be　either　one　thing　or　more　than　one；　manifold：　and　if　there　is　to　be　a　manifold　there　must　be　a　precedent　unity。　To　talk　of　a　manifold　is　to　talk　of　what　has　something　added　to　unity；　to　think　of　an　army　is　to　think　of　a　multitude　under　arms　and　brought　to　unity。　In　refusing　to　allow　the　manifold　to　remain　manifold；　the　mind　makes　the　truth　clear；　it　draws　a　separate　many　into　one；　either　supplying　a　unity　not　present　or　keen　to　perceive　the　unity　brought　about　by　the　ordering　of　the　parts；　in　an　army；　even；　the　unity　is　not　a　fiction　but　as　real　as　that　of　a　building　erected　from　many　stones；　though　of　course　the　unity　of　the　house　is　more　compact。　　　　　If；　then；　unity　is　more　pronounced　in　the　continuous；　and　more　again　where　there　is　no　separation　by　part；　this　is　clearly　because　there　exists；　in　real　existence；　something　which　is　a　Nature　or　Principle　of　Unity。　There　cannot　be　a　greater　and　less　in　the　non…existent：　as　we　predicate　Substance　of　everything　in　sense；　but　predicate　it　also　of　the　Intellectual　order　and　more　strictly　there…　since　we　hold　that　the　greater　and　more　sovereign　substantiality　belongs　to　the　Real　Beings　and　that　Being　is　more　marked　in　Substance；　even　sensible　Substance；　than　in　the　other　Kinds…　so；　finding　unity　to　exhibit　degree　of　more　and　less；　differing　in　sense…things　as　well　as　in　the　Intellectual；　we　must　similarly　admit　that　Unity　exists　under　all　forms　though　still　by　reference；　only；　to　that　primal　Unity。　　　　　As　Substance　and　Real　Being；　despite　the　participation　of　the　sensible；　are　still　of　the　Intellectual　and　not　the　sensible　order；　so　too　the　unity　observed　present　in　things　of　sense　by　participation　remains　still　an　Intellectual　and　to　be　grasped　by　an　Intellectual　Act。　The　mind；　from　a　thing　present　to　it；　comes　to　knowledge　of　something　else；　a　thing　not　presented；　that　is；　it　has　a　prior　knowledge。　By　this　prior　knowledge　it　recognises　Being　in　a　particular　being；　similarly　when　a　thing　is　one　it　can　affirm　unity　as　it　can　affirm　also　duality　and　multiplicity。　　　　　It　is　impossible　to　name　or　conceive　anything　not　making　one　or　two　or　some　number；　equally　impossible　that　the　thing　should　not　exist　without　which　nothing　can　possibly　be　named　or　conceived；　impossible　to　deny　the　reality　of　that　whose　existence　is　a　necessary　condition　of　naming　or　affirming　anything；　what　is　a　first　need；　universally；　to　the　formation　of　every　concept　and　every　proposition　must　exist　before　reasoning　and　thinking；　only　as　an　existent　can　it　be　cited　to　account　for　the　stirring　of　thought。　If　Unity　is　necessary　to　the　substantial　existence　of　all　that　really　is…　and　nothing　exists　which　is　not　one…　Unity　must　precede　Reality　and　be　its　author。　It　is　therefore；　an　existent　Unity；　not　an　existent　that　develops　Unity；　considered　as　Being…with…Unity　it　would　be　a　manifold；　whereas　in　the　pure　Unity　there　is　no　Being　save　in　so　far　as　Unity　attends　to　producing　it。　As　regards　the　word　〃This；〃　it　is　nat　a　bare　word；　it　affirms　an　indicated　existence　without　using　the　name；　it　tells　of　a　certain　presence；　whether　a　substance　or　some　other　existent；　any　This　must　be　significant；　it　is　no　attitude　of　the　mind　applying　itself　to　a　non…existent；　the　This　shows　a　thing　present；　as　much　as　if　we　used　the　strict　name　of　the　object。　　　　　14。　To　the　argument　touching　relation　we　have　an　answer　surely　legitimate：　　　　　The　Unity　is　not　of　a　nature　to　lose　its　own　manner　of　being　only　because　something　else　stands　in　a　state　which　it　does　not　itself　share；　to　stray　from　its　unity　it　must　itself　suffer　division　into　duality　or　the　still　wider　plurality。　　　　　If　by　division　the　one　identical　mass　can　become　a　duality　without　loss　of　quantity；　clearly　the　unity　it　possessed　and　by　this　destructive　division　lost　was　something　distinct。　What　may　be　alternatively　present　and　absent　to　the　same　subject　must　be　classed　among　Real…Beings；　regardless　of　position；　an　accidental　elsewhere；　it　must　have　reality　in　itself　whether　it　be　manifested　in　things　of　sense　or　in　the　Intellectual…　an　accidental　in　the　Laters　but　self…existent　in　the　higher；　especially　in　the　First　in　its　aspect　of　Unity　developing　into　Being。　We　may　be　told　that　Unity　may　lose　that　character　without　change　in　itself；　becoming　duality　by　association　with　something　else；　but　this　is　not　true；　unity　does　not　become　two　things；　neither　the　added　nor　what　takes　the　addition　becomes　two；　each　remains　the　one　thing　it　was；　the　duality　is　predicable　of　the　group　only；　the　unity　remaining　unchanged　in　each　of　those　unchanged　constituents。　　　　　Two　and　the　Dyad　are　not　essentially　relative：　if　the　only　condition　to　the　construction　of　duality　were　meeting　and　association　such　a　relation　might　perhaps　constitute　Twoness　and　Duality；　but　in　fact　we　see　Duality　produced　by　the　very　opposite　process；　by　the　splitting　apart　of　a　unity。　This　shows　that　duality…　or　any　other　such　numerical　form…　is　no　relation　produced　either　by　scission　or　association。　If　one　configuration　produces　a　certain　thing　it　is　impossible　that　the　opposite　should　produce　the　same　so　that　the　thing　may　be　identified　with　the　relation。　　　　　What　then　is　the　actual　cause？　　　　　Unity　is　due　to　the　presence　of　Unity；　duality　to　that　of　Duality；　it　is　precisely　as　t