QUESTION: EVEN THE PRIORITY OF ORDER IMPLIES A TEMPORAL CONCEPTION.
16. It may however be objected that if the (universal Soul) contain things in the order in which they were successively produced, she thereby contains them as earlier and later. Then, if she produce them within time, she inclines towards the future, and consequently, also conversely to the past.
EARLIER AND LATER EXIST ONLY IN WHAT IS BEGOTTEN; NOT IN THEIR SEMINAL REASON.
It may be answered that the conceptions of earlier and later apply only to things which are becoming; in the Soul, on the contrary, there is no past; all the (“seminal) reasons” are simultaneously present to her, as has already been said. On the contrary, in begotten things, the parts do not exist simultaneously, because they do not all exist together, although they all exist together within the (“seminal) reasons.” For instance, the feet or the hands exist together in the (“seminal) reasons,” but in the body they are separate. Nevertheless, these parts are equally separated, but in a different manner, in the (“seminal) reason,” as they are equally anterior to each other in a different manner. If however they be thus separate in the (“seminal) reason,” they then differ in nature.
THINGS WHICH ARE ANTERIOR CAN BE ONLY IN LOWER PRINCIPLES.
But how are they anterior to each other? It must be because here he who commands is identical with him who is commanded. Now in commanding he expresses one thing after another; for why are all things not together? (Not so). If the command and he who commands were separate entities, the things would have been produced in the same manner as they have been expressed (by speech) ; but as the commander is himself the first command, he does not express things (by speech), he only produces them one after the other. If he were (by speech) to express what he actually does, he would have to consider the order; consequently, he would have to be separate from it. Is it asked, how can the commander be identical with the command? He is not simultaneously form and matter, but form alone (that is, the totality of the reasons which are simultaneously present to him). Thus, the Soul is both the potentiality and the actualization which occupy the second rank after Intelligence. To have parts some of which are prior to others suits only such objects as cannot be everything simultaneously.
DIAGRAM OF THE UNIVERSE.
The Soul, such as we are considering her here, is something venerable; she resembles a circle which is united to the centre, and which develops without leaving (its base of operations, the centre), thus forming an undivided extension. To gain a conception of the order of the three principles, the Good may be considered as a centre, the Intelligence as an immovable circle, and the Soul as an external movable circle impelled by desire.
CIRCULAR MOVEMENT OF THE SOUL.
Indeed, intelligence possesses and embraces the Good immediately; while the Soul can only aspire to (the Good), which is located above the Intelligence. The whole world-sphere possessing the Soul which thus aspires (to the Good), is moved by the promptings of its natural aspirations. Its natural aspiration, however, is to rise in bodily aspiration to the principle on the outside of which it is; namely, to extend around it, to turn, and consequently to move in a circle.
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 1) – PSYCHOLOGY OBEYS THE PRECEPT “KNOW THYSELF” (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 2) – CONFORMITY TO THE UNIVERSAL SOUL IMPLIES THAT THEY ARE NOT PARTS OF HER (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 3) – ARE INDIVIDUAL SOULS PART OF THE WORLD-SOUL? (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 4) – INTELLECTUAL DIFFICULTY OF THE SOUL BEING ONE AND YET IN ALL BEINGS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 5) – SOULS RETAIN BOTH THEIR UNITY AND DIFFERENCES ON DIFFERENT LEVELS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 6) – WHY SHOULD CREATION BE PREDICATED OF THE UNIVERSAL SOUL AND NOT OF THE HUMAN? (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 7) – DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVERSAL SOULS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 3, 8) – SYMPATHY BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVERSAL SOUL (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 1-5) – A memória em sua relação à união da alma e do corpo (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 1) – SPEECH OF SOUL IN THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 10) – JUPITER MAY BE TAKEN IN A DOUBLE SENSE (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 11) – RATIOCINATION HAS NO PLACE IN THE WORLD-SOUL (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 12) – WISDOM, IN THE WORLD-SOUL DOES NOT IMPLY REASONING AND MEMORY (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 13) – IN THE WORLD-SOUL WISDOM IS THE HIGHEST AND NATURE THE LOWEST (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 14) – THERE IS CONTINUITY BETWEEN NATURE AND THE ELEMENTS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 15) – HOW CAN TIME BE DIVIDED WITHOUT IMPLYING DIVISION OF THE SOUL’S ACTION? (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 17) – THE INTELLECTUAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WORLD-SOUL, AND SOULS OF STARS, EARTH AND MEN (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 18-29) – O prazer e a dor, o desejo e a cólera em sua relação à união da alma e do corpo (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 18) – THE BODY IS NOT US, BUT OURS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 19) – THE SOUL FEELS THE PASSIONS WITHOUT EXPERIENCING THEM (Guthrie)