The Enneads

a ...complete. He was so devoted to philosophical studies that he cared not only [for the free-born]
b but also for the servants. The name "Putilianus" was not applied to him in an opposing sense
because of his sensitivity and fairness, but rather for his noble and
c ungrudging nature. For in his full and royal character, every virtue seemed to be present.
d [He sought a teacher] in his heart; yet many left him unsatisfied. Indeed, out of dejection, he
told his feelings to a certain companion of his. That friend led him to Ammonius Ammonius Saccas, the self-taught philosopher of Alexandria and teacher of Plotinus..
When Plotinus saw and heard him, he said to his companion, "This is the man I was seeking." From that
day, staying constantly with Ammonius, he acquired such a habit in philosophy
that he became eager to gain experience in the philosophy practiced among the Persians
and that which is successfully pursued among the Indians.
e When he was reaching his twenty-eighth year, having set out for philosophy, he was introduced to the
most esteemed men in Alexandria at that time. But being left unsatisfied by most,
and indeed out of dejection telling his feelings to a certain companion,
the friend led him to Ammonius. Having seen and heard him, he said to the
companion: "This is the man I was seeking." From that day, staying
f constantly with Ammonius, he acquired such a habit in philosophy
that he was eager to gain experience in the philosophy practiced among the Persians
and that successfully pursued among the Indians. Now, when the Emperor
Gordian Gordian III, Roman Emperor from 238–244 AD. was setting out against the Persians, Plotinus joined
the army and went with them, being then in the thirty-ninth year of his
age. For he had spent eleven years with Ammonius.
When Gordian was killed in Mesopotamia, Plotinus escaped with difficulty
and was saved by fleeing to Antioch. When Philip Philip the Arab, who succeeded Gordian. took over the rule,
having become forty years old, he went up to Rome.
g Herennius, Origen likely Origen the Platonist, a fellow student of Ammonius, rather than the Christian theologian., and Cassius, having made a pact with one another
to reveal nothing of the doctrines of Ammonius which they had been taught
in his lectures—which Plotinus himself kept pure and
unmixed from his own hearing.

...to travel abroad both to those around Origen and those around Eubulus.
Note As for the others generally, he did not concern himself with the elders or their worries,
until he came to Rome when Philip took over the rule.
Having spent eighteen whole years in
Rome, being already at the completion of his sixty-second year of age,
and having established his school there from that day, [he turned to writing].
In a state of detachment and disregard for the book, the doctrine of the Gnostics A diverse group of religious thinkers whom Plotinus criticized for their views on the material world.
was flourishing, so to speak—already making progress and introducing their own
interpretations, claiming that these good things were not correct but finding much evil,
and those who held these views, through which they themselves participated. Regarding these matters,
Plotinus, struggling especially with one book, tried to persuade those
present, as they desired philosophy, that this was an
entirely mistaken conception, even if it seemed likely to see the truth of things there.
But the wanderers were ignorant wherefore? the things written by him were true.
Character He possessed a certain quality regarding divine dreams. Plotinus was not easily
How he wrote caught, nor did he maintain the precision of letters; for he did not [write]
the full names, nor [did he focus] on the thoughts from them, but everything was done
all at once original: "ἐξαππινάδην" (exappinaden), meaning suddenly or without preparation., as if it were not hidden. Because of the great [weakness] he suffered from a lack of speech This likely refers to his failing eyesight or health late in life.
regarding reading, he looked down upon the careful shaping of
letters, for his mind was already meeting the thought. And it was not shameful, nor
was he living through the voice, but holding it only in his mind, so that the whole
was marveled at. For he was especially affected in this way: when he was composing
his own works, he would read to draw out the thought. To him, the whole
written work was formed again within him, just as it was from the beginning; thus he wrote, as if it
were being put together once more. So that it seemed to be written from a book and not from his own mind.
For it is agreed among these people that it is not necessary to prepare the things written,
but to fulfill the signs from the soul itself.
For Plotinus, even in his proclamations, did not [aim] toward the mere sense of the expression...