the six enneads-第36章

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pend　on　their　quantity…　for　certainly　magnitude　can　be　distinguished　from　existence　as　can　many　other　forms　and　attributes。　　　　　In　a　word；　every　unembodied　Kind　must　be　classed　as　without　quantity；　and　Matter　is　unembodied。　　　　　Besides　quantitativeness　itself　＇the　Absolute…Principle＇　does　not　possess　quantity；　which　belongs　only　to　things　participating　in　it；　a　consideration　which　shows　that　Quantitativeness　is　an　Idea…Principle。　A　white　object　becomes　white　by　the　presence　of　whiteness；　what　makes　an　organism　white　or　of　any　other　variety　of　colour　is　not　itself　a　specific　colour　but；　so　to　speak；　a　specific　Reason…Principle：　in　the　same　way　what　gives　an　organism　a　certain　bulk　is　not　itself　a　thing　of　magnitude　but　is　Magnitude　itself；　the　abstract　Absolute；　or　the　Reason…Principle。　　　　　This　Magnitude…Absolute；　then；　enters　and　beats　the　Matter　out　into　Magnitude？　　　　　Not　at　all：　the　Matter　was　not　previously　shrunken　small：　there　was　no　littleness　or　bigness：　the　Idea　gives　Magnitude　exactly　as　it　gives　every　quality　not　previously　present。　　　　　10。　But　how　can　I　form　the　conception　of　the　sizelessness　of　Matter？　　　　　How　do　you　form　the　concept　of　any　absence　of　quality？　What　is　the　Act　of　the　Intellect；　what　is　the　mental　approach；　in　such　a　case？　　　　　The　secret　is　Indetermination。　　　　　Likeness　knows　its　like：　the　indeterminate　knows　the　indeterminate。　Around　this　indefinite　a　definite　conception　will　be　realized；　but　the　way　lies　through　indefiniteness。　　　　　All　knowledge　comes　by　Reason　and　the　Intellectual　Act；　in　this　case　Reason　conveys　information　in　any　account　it　gives；　but　the　act　which　aims　at　being　intellectual　is；　here；　not　intellection　but　rather　its　failure：　therefore　the　representation　of　Matter　must　be　spurious；　unreal；　something　sprung　of　the　Alien；　of　the　unreal；　and　bound　up　with　the　alien　reason。　　　　　This　is　Plato's　meaning　where　he　says　that　Matter　is　apprehended　by　a　sort　of　spurious　reasoning。　　　　　What；　then；　is　this　indetermination　in　the　Soul？　Does　it　amount　to　an　utter　absence　of　Knowledge；　as　if　the　Soul　or　Mind　had　withdrawn？　　　　　No：　the　indeterminate　has　some　footing　in　the　sphere　of　affirmation。　The　eye　is　aware　of　darkness　as　a　base　capable　of　receiving　any　colour　not　yet　seen　against　it：　so　the　Mind；　putting　aside　all　attributes　perceptible　to　sense…　all　that　corresponds　to　light…　comes　upon　a　residuum　which　it　cannot　bring　under　determination：　it　is　thus　in　the　state　of　the　eye　which；　when　directed　towards　darkness；　has　become　in　some　way　identical　with　the　object　of　its　spurious　vision。　　　　　There　is　vision；　then；　in　this　approach　of　the　Mind　towards　Matter？　　　　　Some　vision；　yes；　of　shapelessness；　of　colourlessness；　of　the　unlit；　and　therefore　of　the　sizeless。　More　than　this　would　mean　that　the　Soul　is　already　bestowing　Form。　　　　　But　is　not　such　a　void　precisely　what　the　Soul　experiences　when　it　has　no　intellection　whatever？　　　　　No：　in　that　case　it　affirms　nothing；　or　rather　has　no　experience：　but　in　knowing　Matter；　it　has　an　experience；　what　may　be　described　as　the　impact　of　the　shapeless；　for　in　its　very　consciousness　of　objects　that　have　taken　shape　and　size　it　knows　them　as　compounds　＇i。e。；　as　possessing　with　these　forms　a　formless　base＇　for　they　appear　as　things　that　have　accepted　colour　and　other　quality。　　　　　It　knows；　therefore；　a　whole　which　includes　two　components；　it　has　a　clear　Knowledge　or　perception　of　the　overlie　＇the　Ideas＇　but　only　a　dim　awareness　of　the　underlie；　the　shapeless　which　is　not　an　Ideal…Principle。　　　　　With　what　is　perceptible　to　it　there　is　presented　something　else：　what　it　can　directly　apprehend　it　sets　on　one　side　as　its　own；　but　the　something　else　which　Reason　rejects；　this；　the　dim；　it　knows　dimly；　this；　the　dark；　it　knows　darkly；　this　it　knows　in　a　sort　of　non…knowing。　　　　　And　just　as　even　Matter　itself　is　not　stably　shapeless　but；　in　things；　is　always　shaped；　the　Soul　also　is　eager　to　throw　over　it　the　thing…form；　for　the　Soul　recoils　from　the　indefinite；　dreads；　almost；　to　be　outside　of　reality；　does　not　endure　to　linger　about　Non…Being。　　　　　11。　〃But；　given　Magnitude　and　the　properties　we　know；　what　else　can　be　necessary　to　the　existence　of　body？〃　　　　　Some　base　to　be　the　container　of　all　the　rest。　　　　　〃A　certain　mass　then；　and　if　mass；　then　Magnitude？　Obviously　if　your　Base　has　no　Magnitude　it　offers　no　footing　to　any　entrant。　And　suppose　it　sizeless；　then；　what　end　does　it　serve？　It　never　helped　Idea　or　quality；　now　it　ceases　to　account　for　differentiation　or　for　magnitude；　though　the　last；　wheresoever　it　resides；　seems　to　find　its　way　into　embodied　entities　by　way　of　Matter。〃　　　　　〃Or；　taking　a　larger　view；　observe　that　actions；　productive　operations；　periods　of　time；　movements；　none　of　these　have　any　such　substratum　and　yet　are　real　things；　in　the　same　way　the　most　elementary　body　has　no　need　of　Matter；　things　may　be；　all；　what　they　are；　each　after　its　own　kind；　in　their　great　variety；　deriving　the　coherence　of　their　being　from　the　blending　of　the　various　Ideal…Forms。　This　Matter　with　its　sizelessness　seems；　then；　to　be　a　name　without　a　content。〃　　　　　Now；　to　begin　with：　extension　is　not　an　imperative　condition　of　being　a　recipient；　it　is　necessary　only　where　it　happens　to　be　a　property　inherent　to　the　recipient's　peculiar　mode　of　being。　The　Soul；　for　example；　contains　all　things　but　holds　them　all　in　an　unextended　unity；　if　magnitude　were　one　of　its　attributes　it　would　contain　things　in　extension。　Matter　does　actually　contain　in　spatial　extension　what　it　takes　in；　but　this　is　because　itself　is　a　potential　recipient　of　spatial　extension：　animals　and　plants；　in　the　same　way；　as　they　increase　in　size；　take　quality　in　parallel　development　with　quantity；　and　they　lose　in　the　one　as　the　other　lessens。　　　　　No　doubt　in　the　case　of　things　as　we　know　them　there　is　a　certain　mass　lying　ready　beforehand　to　the　shaping　power：　but　that　is　no　reason　for　expecting　bulk　in　Matter　strictly　so　called；　for　in　such　cases　Matter　is　not　the　absolute；　it　is　that　of　some　definite　object；　the　Absolute　Matter　must　take　its　magnitude；　as　every　other　property；　from　outside　itself。　　　　　A　thing　then　need　not　have　magnitude　in　order　to　receive　form：　it　may　receive　mass　with　everything　else　that　comes　to　it　at　the　moment　of　becoming　what　it　is　to　be：　a　phantasm　of　mass　is　enough；　a　primary　aptness　for　extension；　a　magnitude　of　no　content…　whence　the　identification　that　has　been　made　of　Matter　with　The　Void。　　　　　But　I　prefer　to　use　the　word　phantasm　as　hinting　the　indefiniteness　into　which　the　Soul　spills　itself　when　it　seeks　to　communicate　with　Matter；　finding　no　possibility　of　delimiting　it；　neither　encompassing　it　nor　able　to　penetrate　to　any　fixed　point　of　it；　either　of　which　achievements　would　be　an　act　of　delimitation。　　　　　In　other　words；　we　have　something　which　is　to　be　described　not　as　small　or　great　but　as　the　great…and…small：　for　it　is　at　once　a　mass　and　a　thing　without　magnitude；　in　the　sense　that　it　is　the　Matter　on　which　Mass　is　based　and　that；　as　it　changes　from　great　to　small　and　small　to　great；　it　traverses　magnitude。　Its　very　undeterminateness　is　a　mass　in　the　same　sense　that　of　being　a　recipient　of　Magnitude…　though　of　course　only　in　the　visible　object。　　　　　In　the　order　of