Excertos de “Plotinus (Arguments of the Philosophers)”
Plotinus’ vocabulary is laden with ambiguous terms. For example, the term noûs is used to refer to (1) a fundamental arche or principle of the universe; (2) the intellect of the soul of the universe; (3) an individual human intellect in its discarnate state; (4) the highest part of a human soul in its incarnate state. One cannot always be confident as to which of these Plotinus is referring on a particular occasion. It is not, I think, desirable for an interpreter simply to avoid the issue by always using noûs instead of trying to say which of the four meanings he thinks is present in a passage or argument. The ambiguities between (1) and (2), (1) and (3), and (3) and (4) are especially troublesome. When I write “Intellect” with a capital “I” as a translation for noûs, I am always referring to (1). When I write “intellect” with a lowercase “i,” I mean either (2), (3), or (4). Which of these it is in particular should be clear from the context. Nevertheless, I wish I were more confident than I in fact am that I have always been able to interpret Plotinus correctly in this regard. A similar but slightly less acute problem exists for his use of the word or soul. I write “Soul” for the principle and “soul” for individuals or when Plotinus is referring generally and indefinitely to psychic properties. I capitalize “One” and “Good” when Plotinus uses these words, roughly, as proper names.
Translating the texts of the Enneads is in general exceedingly difficult. The best complete English translation presently available is that of A. H. Armstrong in the seven volumes of the Loeb edition. The quotations from Plotinus in this book are mainly taken from Armstrong’s translations, with my own modifications where I found these to be necessary. I judged it less confusing to the reader familiar with Armstrong’s work to rely on his terminology rather than to introduce my own.