Interpretation of Enneads by Plotinus Vol. 1.6
What
is beauty? Why are we drawn to it? Why are some things beautiful and other
things not? How do we find beauty in
things? People who can answer these
questions transcend conventional experience and they can ascend to the origins
of beauty and goodness. In addition,
these ultimate experiences can be returned and shared with the rest of humanity.
Conventional
thought suggests that a thing is beautiful if it is “well proportioned and
measured.” This theory implies that only
complex items, or items constructed of individual parts, can be beautiful. It also implies that all things well
proportioned are beautiful. However,
general observation reveals beauty is present in simple items, and many things that
are well proportioned are ugly. These
ideas reveal that there is more to beauty than proportion, parts and
complexity.
Beauty
in things reveals aspects relating to the human soul. The soul transcends the physical realm and is
attune to higher realities. When the
soul recognizes beauty in a thing, it recognizes something of itself. It becomes “delighted and thrilled” and it
“remembers itself.” The virtues are
part of the soul and reflective of the higher realms. Beauty is the reflection of virtuous ideas
instilled and unified within material things.
The
soul determines beauty, and it uses its own inner forms as standards for
comparisons. Light is a formative power,
and it reveals an object’s color and form through the shaping of darkness. The soul gives definition and understanding
to beauty in the same fashion that fire gives illumination to objects. Music also works on the principle, as the
absence of melody gives meaning to the notes that are revealed.
There
is beauty in knowledge and virtue.
Although all souls can see these beauties, not all souls have seen them. There are people who are attuned to the higher
forms. They have the ability to see and
experience them. These people can help
us learn. They can help us understand
why “real beings make the soul lovable,” and can guide us to revelation. Ugliness comes from want of the material,
whereas the beauties come from explorations of the higher realms.
The
soul becoming good is akin to becoming like god. Death is the “separation of body and soul,”
and courage is not being afraid of death.
Wisdom and intellectual pursuits purify the soul by turning people away from
the material. Good, beauty and reality
are all the same, and the other things are primary evils. The shaping of the soul, through the
beauties, makes beauty in the body. One
who masters ascension and beauty succeeds completely. Regardless of material success, one will fail
completely if they cannot master beauty.
Finding
beauty is enticing and difficult.
Although one may see the beauty in a thing, they must not pursue it as
real. They must understand that beauty
is a reflection of higher virtue, and not the thing itself. They must separate, by reflection, the
material from the beauty in order to see into the higher realms. Failure to understand this means the individual
will ponder on the wrong aspects of reality.
Everyone is capable of exploring beauty, but not many people do it.
The
soul needs guidance and training to awaking the inner sight. It must look at the beauty in life and
beautiful works. Again, not at the
things themselves, but the aspects of beauty that shine through them. One can also look to the souls of artisans who
have produced beautiful work. Finding
beauty is a lifelong endeavor, and the search enables confidence and trust
within one’s self. The search will lead
to full ascension and to the “good that is beyond.”
Works
Cited
Plotinus. Enneads. Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d.
Web. Sept 1, 2013
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