Introduction to the Philosophy and Writings of Plato

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...exquisite alliance to it, and in order that wholes with a partial subsistence—such as all individuals—may rank in the last gradation of things.

As the world too, considered as one great comprehending whole, is called by Plato a divine animal Plato views the entire universe as a single, living being endowed with soul and intelligence., so likewise every "whole" which it contains is a world in itself. Each of these possesses, in the first place, a self-perfect unity; proceeding from the ineffable The "Ineffable" refers to the ultimate, nameless source of all reality, often called "The One.", by which it becomes a god. In the second place, it possesses a divine intellect; in the third place, a divine soul; and in the last place, a deified body. Hence each of these "wholes" is the producing cause of all the multitude of things it contains. On this account, it is said to be a "whole prior to its parts"; because, considered as possessing an eternal form which holds all its parts together and gives the whole a perpetual existence, it does not actually need those individual parts for its own being to be perfect. That these "wholes" which rank so high in the universe are "animated" (meaning they possess a soul) must follow by a geometrical necessity. For, as Theophrastus was a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. Theophrastus well observes, these "wholes" would possess less authority than their own "parts," and eternal things would be less than those that can decay, if they were deprived of a soul.

And now—having with a daring yet humble wing ascended to the ineffable principle of all things, and standing with eyes closed in the vestibules of the adytum From the Greek adyton, meaning the innermost, most sacred "inner sanctum" of a temple where only priests could enter., finding that we could announce nothing concerning Him but only indicate our doubts and disappointment; and having from there descended to His hidden and most venerable children; and passing through the luminous world of Ideas; and holding fast by the golden chain of deity—we have terminated our downward flight in the material universe and its unchanging wholes. Let us stop awhile and contemplate the sublimity and magnificence of the scene which this journey presents to our view.

Here then we see the vast empire of deity. This empire is bounded at its highest point by a principle so ineffable that all language fails to describe it, and at its lowest point by the vast body of the world. Immediately existing after this immense "unknown," we behold a mighty, all-comprehending "One." Because this "One" is next to that which is in every respect incomprehensible, it also possesses much of the ineffable and unknown. From this "principle of principles"—in which all things exist potentially, absorbed in superessential light A light that exists beyond the level of "being" or "essence." and involved in unfathomable depths—we view a beautiful lineage of principles. All of these partake in the ineffable; all are stamped with the hidden character of deity; all possess an overflowing fullness of good. From these dazzling summits, these ineffable blossoms, these divine outgrowths, we next see being, life, intellect, soul, nature, and body depending. We see monads From the Greek monas, meaning a single unit or "oneness" that serves as the source for a specific series of things. suspended from unities, and deified natures proceeding from deities. Each of these monads is the leader of a series which extends from itself to the very last of things; and while this series proceeds from its leader, it also remains connected to and returns back to its leader.

All these principles and all their children are finally centered and rooted by their "summits" in the first great all-comprehending One. Thus, all beings proceed from and are contained in the first Being; all intellects flow from one first Intellect; all souls from one first Soul; all natures blossom from one first Nature; and all bodies proceed from the vital and luminous body of the world. And lastly, all these great monads are contained in the First One, from which both they and all their depending series are unfolded into light. Hence this First One is truly the unity of unities, the monad of monads, the principle of principles, the God of gods—one and all things, and yet the One who existed before all.

Such, according to Plato, are the flights of the true philosopher, and such is the grand and magnificent scene which presents itself to his view. By ascending these luminous heights, the natural tendencies of the soul toward the divine find the only object that can satisfy their desire. Here, investigation finally rests, doubt dies away into certainty, and knowledge loses itself in the ineffable.

And here perhaps some serious objector—whose small soul is indeed sharp, but sees nothing with a healthy or sound vision—will say that all this is very magnificent, but that it is soaring too high for man. They might say it is merely the effect of spiritual pride; that no truths in morality or theology are important unless they are adapted to the level of the simplest mind; and that all a man needs to know concerning either God or himself is so plain that "he who runs may read." In answer to such "cant" Used here to mean hypocritical or mindless talk.—for it is nothing more, being a product of profound ignorance and often accompanied by the most deplorable envy—I ask: is then the Delphic precept The famous motto "Know Thyself" (Greek: gnothi seauton) inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. KNOW THYSELF a trivial command? Can this be accomplished by every man?

Introduction to the Philosophy and Writings of Plato