IAMBLICHUS

...wise men. Passions The term "passions" here refers to the Greek pathe, meaning anything that is "suffered" or "acted upon" from the outside, including emotions and physical sensations., of whatever kind they may be in a living creature, are not in the soul (regardless of its nature) but in the body, which, being under the soul, possesses a specific quality by which it may both act and be acted upon. There is no passion in the soul that is either destructive or disturbing. Furthermore, the soul does not only acquire this impassibilityThe state of being unable to suffer or be affected by external forces. through choice, but possesses it by its very nature, being far superior to bodies. Demons and heroes In Neoplatonism, "demons" and "heroes" are not evil or mythological figures, but intermediate spirits that bridge the gap between the high Gods and humanity. are likewise impassible and eternal. For they always follow the gods in preserving the order of the world; wherever there is passion, a perpetual order cannot be maintained.

Porphyry A student of Plotinus who wrote a famous "Letter to Anebo" questioning various religious and philosophical practices, which this text—attributed to Iamblichus—seeks to answer. suspected that the demons who rule the world were in some way passible subject to being affected because of the things offered to them in sacred rites. Iamblichus denies this: because where there is perpetual order, there is no passion, which an incorporeal essence cannot receive through eternal things.

Perhaps, however, he would concede that the lowest and evil demons—those deprived of governance—might be touched by "effective" passions; not indeed in their soul, but in a body constituted in such a way by the presence of the soul. Just as nature makes manifest things out of hidden principles, so the Priest employs manifest things to signify the hidden. The Priest often performs many actions to create something similar and appropriate to divine things, so that through this kinship he may attract something from the divine.

Meanwhile, he also performs many things to purify the soul and turn away evils from us. Demons, who are superior to us, receive no natural utility from us; for they either have no needs, or they themselves provide abundantly for themselves everywhere. Truly, they never suffer any change from corporeal things. There are within us certain principles of disturbances; if these are suppressed too violently and suddenly from the start, they eventually burst out more sharply—like a compressed flame or stifled laughter. Therefore, they should be corrected more gently.

Heraclitus An ancient Greek philosopher known for his doctrines on change and the unity of opposites. calls sacrifices "medicines" original: "medicamẽta" because they purge the soul of the diseases contracted in this world of generation. Porphyry suspected that not only demons but even the gods might be touched by some passion, since they are "moved" during invocations. However, the will for the Good in God and the gods (who are the very essence of goodness) is more excellent and thus more free than our own life of choosing regarding the good. Therefore, the gods are not moved to provide good to men because they are "invoked." Rather, they provoke us toward the good of their own accord, and they meet us spontaneously when we are turned toward them by our prayers, revealing something and granting it freely.

Men think they are free to ask; very well then, the gods are even freer to give. Because of their free will for the good and their everlasting and perfect action, the gods do good to everyone as soon as they have turned toward them in prayer. The soul, reaching the contemplation of divine things through supplications, transforms its prior life which was subject to passions.