Numenius of Apamea: The Father of Neo-Platonism

10. THE ROAD TO UNDERSTANDING THE GOOD (OR, THE PATH TO ECSTASY).

Physical objects can be perceived by signs that exist in surrounding items. But the Good cannot be deduced from any cognizable object. (We can only explain how to achieve an understanding of the Good through an illustration.) It is as if one were sitting on an observation tower, watching intently, and suddenly observed a small, solitary fishing boat sailing between the waves. Thus, far from the visible world, one must commune with the Good, being alone with the Alone—in solitude, far from man, living beings, or any body, small or great, in an inexpressible, indefinable, truly divine solitude. There, in radiant beauty, the Good dwells, brooding over existence in a manner that, though solitary and sovereign, is peaceful, gracious, and friendly.

To imagine that one sees the Good floating up to oneself while remaining attached to the sensory world, and to suppose that one has approached the Good, is entirely wrong. The approach to the Good is not easy; it is, you might say, divine(ly difficult). The best way is to neglect the visible world, courageously pursue the sciences, and contemplate numbers; thus is achieved the meditation on what the One is.

11. REAL BEING INHERES NEITHER IN THE ELEMENTS, NOR IN MATTER.

Stranger: Asking myself the nature of Existence, I wonder whether it could be the four elements—earth, fire, and the two intervening natures (water and air)? Could it possibly consist of these, either together or separately?

Philosopher: Impossible! For these were generated and are therefore transitory. This you can observe when they arise from one another and transform, which shows that they are neither (genuine) elements nor compounds.