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the six enneads-第219章

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ed; for the essence of a thing is its cause。 I am not here saying that the informing Idea is the cause of the thing… though this is true… but that the Idea itself; unfolded; reveals the cause inherent in it。     A thing of inactivity; even though alive; cannot include its own cause; but where could a Forming…Idea; a member of the Intellectual…Principle; turn in quest of its cause? We may be answered 〃In the Intellectual…Principle〃; but the two are not distinct; the Idea is the Intellectual…Principle; and if that Principle must contain the Ideas complete; their cause must be contained in them。 The Intellectual…Principle itself contains every cause of the things of its content; but these of its content are identically Intellectual…Principle; each of them Intellectual…Principle; none of them; thus; can lack its own cause; each springs into being carrying with it the reason of its being。 No result of chance; each must rise complete with its cause; it is an integral and so includes the excellence bound up with the cause。 This is how all participants in the Idea are put into possession of their cause。     In our universe; a coherent total of multiplicity; the several items are linked each to the other; and by the fact that it is an all every cause is included in it: even in the particular thing the part is discernibly related to the whole; for the parts do not come into being separately and successively but are mutually cause and caused at one and the same moment。 Much more in the higher realm must all the singles exist for the whole and each for itself: if then that world is the conjoint reality of all; of an all not chance…ruled and not sectional; the cause There must include the causes: every item must hold; in its very nature; the uncaused possession of its cause; uncaused; independent and standing apart from cause; they must be self…contained; cause and all。     Further; since nothing There is chance…sprung; and the multiplicity in each comprehends the entire content; then the cause of every member can be named; the cause was present from the beginning; inherent; not a cause but a fact of the being; or; rather; cause and manner of being were one。 What could an Idea have; as cause; over and above the Intellectual…Principle? It is a thought of that Principle and cannot; at that; be considered as anything but a perfect product。 If it is thus perfect we cannot speak of anything in which it is lacking nor cite any reason for such lack。 That thing must be present; and we can say why。 The why is inherent; therefore; in the entity; that is to say in every thought and activity of the Intellectual…Principle。 Take for example the Idea of Man; Man entire is found to contribute to it; he is in that Idea in all his fulness including everything that from the beginning belonged to Man。 If Man were not complete There; so that there were something to be added to the Idea; that additional must belong to a derivative; but Man exists from eternity and must therefore be complete; the man born is the derivative。     3。 What then is there to prevent man having been the object of planning There?     No: all stands in that likeness; nothing to be added or taken away; this planning and reasoning is based only on an assumption; things are taken to be in process and this suggests planning and reasoning; insist on the eternity of the process and planning falls to the ground。 There can be no planning over the eternal; that would imply forgetfulness of a first state; further; if the second state were better; things stood ill at first; if they stood well; so they must remain。     Only in conjunction with their causes are things good; even in this sphere a thing is good in virtue of being complete; form means that the thing is complete; the Matter duly controlled; this control means that nothing has been left crude; but something is so left if anything belonging to the shape be missing…eye; or other part。 Thus to state cause is to state the thing complete。 Why eyes or eyebrows? For completion: if you say 〃For preservation;〃 you affirm an indwelling safeguard of the essence; something contributory to the being: the essence; then; preceded the safeguard and the cause was inbound with the essence; distinct; this cause is in its nature a part of the essence。     All parts; thus; exist in regard to each other: the essence is all…embracing; complete; entire; the excellency is inbound with the cause and embraced by it; the being; the essence; the cause; all are one。     But; at this; sense…perception… even in its particular modes… is involved in the Idea by eternal necessity; in virtue of the completeness of the Idea; Intellectual…Principle; as all…inclusive; contains in itself all by which we are brought; later; to recognise this perfection in its nature; the cause; There; was one total; all…inclusive; thus Man in the Intellectual was not purely intellect; sense…perception being an addition made upon his entry into birth: all this would seem to imply a tendance in that great Principle towards the lower; towards this sphere。     But how could that Principle have such perception; be aware of things of sense? Surely it is untenable on the one hand that sense…perception should exist There; from eternity; and on the other that only upon the debasement of the soul should there be sense…perception here and the accomplishment in this realm of the Act of what was always a power in that?     4。 To meet the difficulty we must make a close examination of the nature of Man in the Intellectual; perhaps; though; it is better to begin with the man of this plane lest we be reasoning to Man There from a misconception of Man here。 There may even be some who deny the difference。     We ask first whether man as here is a Reason…Principle different to that soul which produces him as here and gives him life and thought; or is he that very soul or; again; the 'yet lower' soul using the human body?     Now if man is a reasonable living being and by 〃living being〃 is meant a conjoint of soul and body; the Reason…Principle of man is not identical with soul。 But if the conjoint of soul and body is the reason…principle of man; how can man be an eternal reality; seeing that it is only when soul and body have come together that the Reason…Principle so constituted appears?     The Reason…Principle will be the foreteller of the man to be; not the Man Absolute with which we are dealing but more like his definition; and not at that indicating his nature since what is indicated is not the Idea that is to enter Matter but only that of the known thing; the conjoint。 We have not yet found the Man we are seeking; the equivalent of the Reason…Principle。     But… it may be said… the Reason…Principle of such beings must be some conjoint; one element in another。     This does not define the principle of either。 If we are to state with entire accuracy the Reason…Principles of the Forms in Matter and associated with Matter; we cannot pass over the generative Reason…Principle; in this case that of Man; especially since we hold that a complete definition must cover the essential manner of being。     What; then; is this essential of Man? What is the indwelling; inseparable something which constitutes Man as here? Is th
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