Plotino – Tratado 51,2 (I, 8, 2) — A natureza do bem

2 De momento, expliquemos cuál sea la naturaleza del Bien en la. medida en que convenga a la presente discusión. El Bien es aquello de que están suspendidas todas las cosas y aquello que desean todos los seres teniéndolo por principio y estando necesitados de aquél. Él, en cambio, no está falto de nada, se basta a sí mismo, no necesita nada, es medida y límite de todas las cosas, dando de sí inteligencia, esencia, alma, vida y actividad centrada en la inteligencia. Y hasta aquí todas las cosas son bellas, porque él mismo es superbello y está más allá de las cosas más eximias reinando en la región inteligible, pese a que la Inteligencia de allá no es como la que uno podría colegir juzgando por las que se dice que en nosotros son inteligencias, o sea, las que se llenan de contenido a partir de unas premisas, las que son capaces de comprender los enunciados, las que raciocinan y consideran las consecuencias como quienes consideran los seres deduciéndolos lógicamente. Señal de que antes no los contenían, sino que estaban aún vacías antes de inferirlos, a pesar de que eran inteligencias.

Aquella Inteligencia no es, pues, como éstas, sino que contiene todas las cosas y es todas las cosas y está con ellas porque está consigo misma y las contiene todas sin contenerlas. Porque no son éstas una cosa y ella otra, ni existe por separado cada una de las cosas que hay en ella, pues que cada una es total y es absolutamente todo. Y, sin embargo, no están confundidas, sino a su vez discriminadas. Es un hecho al menos que el participante no participa de todas juntamente, sino de la que puede. Y así, la Inteligencia es la primera actividad de aquél y la primera Esencia, mientras aquél se queda en sí mismo. La Inteligencia, sin embargo, actúa en torno a aquél como quien vive en torno suyo. El Alma, en cambio, danzando por fuera alrededor de la Inteligencia, mirando a ésta y escrutando el interior de ésta, mira a Dios a través de la Inteligencia.

Y «ésta es la vida de los dioses» indemne y bienaventurada. Aquí no existe el mal en absoluto; y si ése fuera el final, no existiría mal alguno, sino sólo el Bien primario y los bienes de segundo y de tercer orden. «Todas las cosas están en torno al Rey de todas las cosas, y aquél es causa de todas las cosas bellas, y todas son de aquél; el Segundo en torno a las segundas y el Tercero en torno a las terceras».

Déterminons maintenant la nature du Bien, autant du moins que l’exige la présente discussion. Le Bien est le principe dont tout dépend, auquel tout aspire, d’où tout sort et dont tout a besoin. Quant à lui, il est complet, il se suffit à lui-même, il n’a besoin de rien, il est la mesure ¹ et le terme de foutes choses; il tire de son sein l’Intelligence, l’Essence, l’Âme, la Vie, et la contemplation intellectuelle.

Toutes ces choses sont belles; mais il est un principe possédant une Beauté suprême, principe supérieur aux choses qui sont les meilleures ²; il règne dans le monde intelligible ³, étant l’Intelligence même, bien différente de ce que nous appelons les intelligences humaines. Ces dernières en effet sont tout occupées de propositions, discutent sur le sens des mots, raisonnent, examinent la validité des conclusions, contemplent les choses dans leur enchaînement, incapables qu’elles sont de posséder la vérité à priori, et vides de toute idée avant d’avoir été instruites par l’expérience, quoiqu’elles soient cependant des intelligences. Telle n’est pas l’Intelligence première : tout au contraire, elle possède toutes choses; elle est toutes choses, mais en restant en elle-même; elle possède toutes choses, mais sans les posséder [à la manière ordinaire], les choses qui subsistent en elle ne différant pas d’elle et n’étant pas non plus séparées entre elles : car chacune d’elles est toutes les autres, est tout et partout, quoiqu’elle ne se confonde pas avec les autres et qu’elle en reste distincte.

La puissance qui participe de l’Intelligence [l’Âme universelle] ⁴ n’en participe pas de manière à lui être égale, mais seulement dans la mesure où elle est capable d’en participer : elle est le premier acte de l’Intelligence, la première essence que l’Intelligence engendre tout en restant en elle-même. Elle dirige vers l’Intelligence suprême toute son activité et ne vit en quelque sorte que par elle. Se mouvant hors d’elle et autour d’elle suivant les lois de l’harmonie, l’Âme universelle attache ses regards sur elle, et pénétrant par la contemplation jusqu’à ses profondeurs les plus intimes, elle voit par elle Dieu lui-même [le Bien]. C’est en cela que consiste la vie sereine et heureuse des dieux, vie où le mal n’a aucune place.

Si tout s’arrêtait là [et qu’il n’y eût rien au delà des principes décrits jusqu’ici], le mal n’existerait pas [il n’y aurait que des biens]. Mais il y a des biens du premier, du deuxième et du troisième rang. Tous se rapportent [il est vrai] au roi de toutes choses, qui est leur auteur et dont ils tiennent leur bonté; mais les biens du second rang se rapportent [plus spécialement] au second principe ; les biens du troisième rang, au troisième principe ⁵.

A DEFINITION OF EVIL BY CONTRAST WITH THE GOOD.

2. Let us now determine the nature of the Good, at least so far as is demanded by the present discussion. The Good is the principle on which all depends, to which everything aspires, from which everything issues, and of which everything has need. As to Him, He suffices to himself, being complete, so He stands in need of nothing; He is the measure and the end of all things; and from Him spring intelligence, being, soul, life, and intellectual contemnlation.

NATURE OF DIVINE INTELLIGENCE.

All these beautiful things exist as far as He does; but He is the one<one Principle that possesses supreme beauty, a principle that is superior to the things that are best. He reigns royally, in the intelligible world, being Intelligence itself, very differently from what we call human intelligences. The latter indeed are all occupied with propositions, discussions about the meanings of words, reasonings, examinations of the validity of conclusions, observing the concatenation of causes, being incapable of possessing truth “a priori,” and though they be intelligences, being devoid of all ideas before having been instructed by experience; though they, nevertheless, were intelligences. Such is not the primary Intelligence. On the contrary, it possesses all things. Though remaining within itself, it is all things; it possesses all things, without possessing them (in the usual acceptation of that term); the things that subsist in it not differing from it, and not being separated from each other. Each one of them is all the others, is everything and everywhere, although not confounded with other things, and remaining distinct therefrom.

NATURE OF THE UNIVERSAL SOUL.

The power which participates in Intelligence (the universal Soul) does not participate in it in a manner such as to be equal to it, but only in the measure of her ability to participate therein. She is the first actualization of Intelligence, the first being that Intelligence, though remaining within itself, begets. She directs her whole activity towards supreme Intelligence, and lives exclusively thereby. Moving from outside Intelligence, and around it, according to the laws of harmony, the universal Soul fixes her glance upon it. By contemplation penetrating into its inmost depths, through Intelligence she sees the divinity Himself. Such is the nature of the serene and blissful existence of the divinities, a life where evil has no place.

EVIL EXISTS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DERIVATIVE GOODS OF THE THIRD RANK.

If everything stopped there (and if there were nothing beyond the three principles here described), evil would not exist (and there would be nothing but goods). But there are goods of the first, second and third ranks. Though all relate to the King of all things, who is their author, and from whom they derive their goodness, yet the goods of the second rank relate more specially to the second principle; and to the third principle, the goods of the third rank.

2. For the moment let us define the nature of the Good as far as the immediate purpose demands.

The Good is that on which all else depends, towards which all Existences aspire as to their source and their need, while Itself is without need, sufficient to Itself, aspiring to no other, the measure and Term of all, giving out from itself the Intellectual-Principle and Existence and Soul and Life and all Intellective-Act.

All until The Good is reached is beautiful; The Good is beyond-beautiful, beyond the Highest, holding kingly state in the Intellectual-Kosmos, that sphere constituted by a Principle wholly unlike what is known as Intelligence in us. Our intelligence is nourished on the propositions of logic, is skilled in following discussions, works by reasonings, examines links of demonstration, and comes to know the world of Being also by the steps of logical process, having no prior grasp of Reality but remaining empty, all Intelligence though it be, until it has put itself to school.

The Intellectual-Principle we are discussing is not of such a kind: It possesses all: It is all: It is present to all by Its self-presence: It has all by other means than having, for what It possesses is still Itself, nor does any particular of all within It stand apart; for every such particular is the whole and in all respects all, while yet not confused in the mass but still distinct, apart to the extent that any participant in the Intellectual-Principle participates not in the entire as one thing but in whatsoever lies within its own reach.

And the First Act is the Act of The Good stationary within Itself, and the First Existence is the self-contained Existence of The Good; but there is also an Act upon It, that of the Intellectual-Principle which, as it were, lives about It.

And the Soul, outside, circles around the Intellectual-Principle, and by gazing upon it, seeing into the depths of It, through It sees God.

Such is the untroubled, the blissful, life of divine beings, and Evil has no place in it; if this were all, there would be no Evil but Good only, the first, the second and the third Good. All, thus far, is with the King of All, unfailing Cause of Good and Beauty and controller of all; and what is Good in the second degree depends upon the Second-Principle and tertiary Good upon the Third.