We return to the One not by traveling, but by turning our attention inward, away from bodily desires and toward our own intellect.
The absolute, simple, and transcendent first principle. It is beyond "being" and "intellect," acting as the source of all existence.
Used Neoplatonic concepts to articulate Christian doctrine, such as the nature of God and the soul. PLOTINUS THE ENNEADS
The Enneads of Plotinus (c. 204–270 CE) is the seminal text of , a philosophical system that dominated Late Antiquity and profoundly influenced Christian, Islamic, and Jewish theology. Compiled and edited by his student Porphyry , the work consists of 54 treatises organized into six groups of nine (hence "Enneads," from the Greek word for nine). 🏛️ The Three Fundamental Hypostases
The first emanation from the One. It contains the totality of Platonic Forms and represents eternal, non-discursive thinking where the thinker and the thought are one. We return to the One not by traveling,
Each layer of reality becomes less unified and more complex as it moves further from the One.
Physical beauty is a "reminder" of the higher beauty of the Forms. Contemplating beautiful things can trigger the soul's memory of its divine origin. Compiled and edited by his student Porphyry ,
Plotinus influenced some of history’s most important thinkers: