the six enneads-第16部分

快捷操作: 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! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！


pplying　the　principle　to　the　case　of　Evil　in　the　Soul；　the　Evil；　the　Vice；　will　be　a　Negation　and　not　anything　having　a　separate　existence；　we　come　to　the　doctrine　which　denies　Matter　or；　admitting　it；　denies　its　Evil；　we　need　not　seek　elsewhere；　we　may　at　once　place　Evil　in　the　Soul；　recognising　it　as　the　mere　absence　of　Good。　But　if　the　negation　is　the　negation　of　something　that　ought　to　become　present；　if　it　is　a　denial　of　the　Good　by　the　Soul；　then　the　Soul　produces　vice　within　itself　by　the　operation　of　its　own　Nature；　and　is　devoid　of　good　and；　therefore；　Soul　though　it　be；　devoid　of　life：　the　Soul；　if　it　has　no　life；　is　soulless；　the　Soul　is　no　Soul。　　　　　No；　the　Soul　has　life　by　its　own　nature　and　therefore　does　not；　of　its　own　nature；　contain　this　negation　of　The　Good：　it　has　much　good　in　it；　it　carries　a　happy　trace　of　the　Intellectual…Principle　and　is　not　essentially　evil：　neither　is　it　　primally　evil　nor　is　that　Primal　Evil　present　in　it　even　as　an　accidental；　for　the　Soul　is　not　wholly　apart　from　the　Good。　　　　　Perhaps　Vice　and　Evil　as　in　the　Soul　should　be　described　not　as　an　entire；　but　as　a　partial；　negation　of　good。　　　　　But　if　this　were　so；　part　of　the　Soul　must　possess　The　Good；　part　be　without　it；　the　Soul　will　have　a　mingled　nature　and　the　Evil　within　it　will　not　be　unblended：　we　have　not　yet　lighted　on　the　Primal；　Unmingled　Evil。　The　Soul　would　possess　the　Good　as　its　Essence；　the　Evil　as　an　Accidental。　　　　　Perhaps　Evil　is　merely　an　impediment　to　the　Soul　like　something　affecting　the　eye　and　so　hindering　sight。　　　　　But　such　an　evil　in　the　eyes　is　no　more　than　an　occasion　of　evil；　the　Absolute　Evil　is　something　quite　different。　If　then　Vice　is　an　impediment　to　the　Soul；　Vice　is　an　occasion　of　evil　but　not　Evil…Absolute。　Virtue　is　not　the　Absolute　Good；　but　a　co…operator　with　it；　and　if　Virtue　is　not　the　Absolute　Good　neither　is　Vice　the　Absolute　Evil。　Virtue　is　not　the　Absolute　Beauty　or　the　Absolute　Good；　neither；　therefore；　is　Vice　the　Essential　Ugliness　or　the　Essential　Evil。　　　　　We　teach　that　Virtue　is　not　the　Absolute　Good　and　Beauty；　because　we　know　that　These　are　earlier　than　Virtue　and　transcend　it；　and　that　it　is　good　and　beautiful　by　some　participation　in　them。　Now　as；　going　upward　from　virtue；　we　come　to　the　Beautiful　and　to　the　Good；　so；　going　downward　from　Vice；　we　reach　Essential　Evil：　from　Vice　as　the　starting…point　we　come　to　vision　of　Evil；　as　far　as　such　vision　is　possible；　and　we　become　evil　to　the　extent　of　our　participation　in　it。　We　are　become　dwellers　in　the　Place　of　Unlikeness；　where；　fallen　from　all　our　resemblance　to　the　Divine；　we　lie　in　gloom　and　mud：　for　if　the　Soul　abandons　itself　unreservedly　to　the　extreme　of　viciousness；　it　is　no　longer　a　vicious　Soul　merely；　for　mere　vice　is　still　human；　still　carries　some　trace　of　good：　it　has　taken　to　itself　another　nature；　the　Evil；　and　as　far　as　Soul　can　die　it　is　dead。　And　the　death　of　Soul　is　twofold：　while　still　sunk　in　body　to　lie　down　in　Matter　and　drench　itself　with　it；　when　it　has　left　the　body；　to　lie　in　the　other　world　until；　somehow；　it　stirs　again　and　lifts　its　sight　from　the　mud：　and　this　is　our　〃going　down　to　Hades　and　slumbering　there。〃　　　　　11。　It　may　be　suggested　that　Vice　is　feebleness　in　the　Soul。　　　　　We　shall　be　reminded　that　the　Vicious　Soul　is　unstable；　swept　along　from　every　ill　to　every　other；　quickly　stirred　by　appetites；　headlong　to　anger；　as　hasty　to　compromises；　yielding　at　once　to　obscure　imaginations；　as　weak；　in　fact；　as　the　weakest　thing　made　by　man　or　nature；　blown　about　by　every　breeze；　burned　away　by　every　heat。　　　　　Still　the　question　must　be　faced　what　constitutes　this　weakness　in　the　Soul；　whence　it　comes。　　　　　For　weakness　in　the　body　is　not　like　that　in　the　Soul：　the　word　weakness；　which　covers　the　incapacity　for　work　and　the　lack　of　resistance　in　the　body；　is　applied　to　the　Soul　merely　by　analogy…　unless；　indeed；　in　the　one　case　as　in　the　other；　the　cause　of　the　weakness　is　Matter。　　　　　But　we　must　go　more　thoroughly　into　the　source　of　this　weakness；　as　we　call　it；　in　the　Soul；　which　is　certainly　not　made　weak　as　the　result　of　any　density　or　rarity；　or　by　any　thickening　or　thinning　or　anything　like　a　disease；　like　a　fever。　　　　　Now　this　weakness　must　be　seated　either　in　Souls　utterly　disengaged　or　in　Souls　bound　to　Matter　or　in　both。　　　　　It　cannot　exist　in　those　apart　from　Matter；　for　all　these　are　pure　and；　as　we　read；　winged　and　perfect　and　unimpeded　in　their　task：　there　remains　only　that　the　weakness　be　in　the　fallen　Souls；　neither　cleansed　nor　clean；　and　in　them　the　weakness　will　be；　not　in　any　privation　but　in　some　hostile　presence；　like　that　of　phlegm　or　bile　in　the　organs　of　the　body。　　　　　If　we　form　an　acute　and　accurate　notion　of　the　cause　of　the　fall　we　shall　understand　the　weakness　that　comes　by　it。　　　　　Matter　exists；　Soul　exists；　and　they　occupy；　so　to　speak；　one　place。　There　is　not　one　place　for　Matter　and　another　for　Soul…Matter；　for　instance；　kept　to　earth；　Soul　in　the　air：　the　soul's　〃separate　place〃　is　simply　its　not　being　in　Matter；　that　is；　its　not　being　united　with　it；　that　is　that　there　be　no　compound　unit　consisting　of　Soul　and　Matter；　that　is　that　Soul　be　not　moulded　in　Matter　as　in　a　matrix；　this　is　the　Soul's　apartness。　　　　　But　the　faculties　of　the　Soul　are　many；　and　it　has　its　beginning；　its　intermediate　phases；　its　final　fringe。　Matter　appears；　importunes；　raises　disorders；　seeks　to　force　its　way　within；　but　all　the　ground　is　holy；　nothing　there　without　part　in　Soul。　Matter　therefore　submits；　and　takes　light：　but　the　source　of　its　illumination　it　cannot　attain　to；　for　the　Soul　cannot　lift　up　this　foreign　thing　close　by；　since　the　evil　of　it　makes　it　invisible。　On　the　contrary　the　illumination；　the　light　streaming　from　the　Soul；　is　dulled；　is　weakened；　as　it　mixes　with　Matter　which　offers　Birth　to　the　Soul；　providing　the　means　by　which　it　enters　into　generation；　impossible　to　it　if　no　recipient　were　at　hand。　　　　　This　is　the　fall　of　the　Soul；　this　entry　into　Matter：　thence　its　weakness：　not　all　the　faculties　of　its　being　retain　free　play；　for　Matter　hinders　their　manifestation；　it　encroaches　upon　the　Soul's　territory　and；　as　it　were；　crushes　the　Soul　back；　and　it　turns　to　evil　all　that　it　has　stolen；　until　the　Soul　finds　strength　to　advance　again。　　　　　Thus　the　cause；　at　once；　of　the　weakness　of　Soul　and　of　all　its　evil　is　Matter。　　　　　The　evil　of　Matter　precedes　the　weakness；　the　vice；　it　is　Primal　Evil。　Even　though　the　Soul　itself　submits　to　Matter　and　engenders　to　it；　if　it　becomes　evil　within　itself　by　its　commerce　with　Matter；　the　cause　is　still　the　presence　of　Matter：　the　Soul　would　never　have　approached　Matter　but　that　the　presence　of　Matter　is　the　occasion　of　its　earth…life。　　　　　12。　If　the　existence　of　Matter　be　denied；　the　necessity　of　this　Principle　must　be　demonstrated　from　the　treatises　〃On　Matter〃　where　the　question　is　copiously　treated。　　　　　To　deny　Evil　a　place　among　realities　is　necessarily　to　do　away　with　the　Good　as　well；　and　even　to　deny　the　existence　of　anything　desirable；　it　is　to　deny　desire；　avoidance　and　all　intellectual　act；　for　desire　has　Good　for　its　object；　aversion　looks　to　Evil；　all　intellectual　act；　all　Wisdom；　deals　with　Good　and　Bad；　and　is　itself　one　of　the　things　that　are　good。　　　　　There　must　then　be　The　Good…　good　unmixed…　and　the　Mingled　Good　and　Bad；　and　the　Rather　Bad　than　Good；　this　last　ending　with　the　Utterly　Bad　we　have　been　seeking；　just　as　that　in　which　Evil　constitutes　the　lesser　part　tends；　by　that　lessening；　towards　the　Good。　　　　　What；　then；　must　Evil　be　to　the　Soul？　　　　　What　Soul　could　contain　Evil　unless　by　contact　with　the　lower　Kind？　There　could　be　no　desire；　no　sorrow；　no　rage；　no　fear：　fear　touches　the　compounded　dreading　its　dissolution；　pain　and　sorrow　are　the　accompaniments　of　the　dissolution；　desires　spring　from　something　troubling　the　grouped　being　or　are　a　provision　against　trouble　threatened；　all　impression　is　the　stroke　of　something　unreasonable　outside　the　Soul；　accepted　only　because　the　Soul　is　not　devoid　of　parts　or　phases；　the　Soul　takes　up　false　notions　through　having　gone　outside　of　its　own　truth　by　ceasing　to　be　purely　itself。　　　　　One　desire　or　appetite　there　is　which　does　not　fall　under　this　condemnation；　it　is　the　aspiration　towards　the　Intellectual…Principle：　this　demands　only　that　the　Soul　dwell　alone　enshrined　within　that　place　of　its　choice；　never　lapsing　towards　the　lower。　　　　　Evil　is　not　alone：　by　virtue　of　the　nature　of　Good；　the　power　of　Good；　it　is　not　Evil　only：　it　appears；　necessarily；　bound　around　with　bonds　of　Beauty；　like　some　captive　bound　in　fetters　of　gold；　and　beneath　these　it　is　hidden　so　that；　while　it　must　exist；　it　may　not　be　seen　by　the　gods；　and　that　men　need　not　always　have　evil　before　their　eyes；　but　that　when　it　comes　before　them　they　may　still　be　not　destitute　of　Images　of　the　Good　and　Beautiful　for　their　Remembrance。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　NINTH　TRACTATE。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　〃THE　REASONED　DISMISSAL〃。

　　　　〃You　will　not　dismiss　your　Soul　lest　it　go　forth。。。〃　＇taking　something　with　it＇。　　　　　For　wheresoever　it　go；　it　will　be　in　some　definite　condition；　and　its　going　forth　is　to　some　new　place。　The　Soul　will　wait　for　the　body　to　be　completely　severed　from　it；　then　it　makes　no　departure；　it　simply　finds　itself　free。　　　　　But　how　does　the　body　come　to　be　separated？　　　　　The　separation　takes　place　when　nothing　of　Soul　remains　bound　up　with　it：　the　harmony　within　the　body；　by　virtue　of　which　the　Soul　was　retained；　is　broken　and　it　can　no　longer　hold　its　guest。　　　　　But　when　a　man　contrives　the　dissolution　of　the　body；　it　is　he　that　has　used　violence　and　torn　himself　away；　not　the　body　that　has　let　the　Soul　slip　from　it。　And　in　loosing　the　bond　he　has　not　been　without　passion；　there　has　been　revolt　or　grief　or　anger；　movements　which　it　is　unlawful　to　indulge。　　　　　But　if　a　man　feel　himself　to　be　losing　his　reason？　　　　　That　is　not　likely　in　the　Sage；　but　if　it　should　occur；　it　must　be　classed　with　the　inevitable；　to　be　welcome　at　the　bidding　of　the　fact　though　not　for　its　own　sake。　To　call　upon　drugs　to　the　release　of　the　Soul　seems　a　strange　way　of　assisting　its　purposes。　　　　　And　if　there　be　a　period　allotted　to　all　by　fate；　to　anticipate　the　hour　could　not　be　a　happy　act；　unless；　as　we　have　indicated；　under