THE SOUL DOES NOT EVEN REMEMBER HERSELF.
2. Granted. But does the soul remember herself? Probably not. He who contemplates the intelligible world does not remember who he is; that, for instance, he is Socrates, that he is a soul or an intelligence. How indeed would he remember it? Entirely devoted to the contemplation of the intelligible world, he does not by thought reflect back upon himself; he possesses himself, but he applies himself to the intelligible, and becomes the intelligible, in respect to which he plays the part of matter. He assumes the form of the object he is contemplating, and he then is himself only potentially. Actually, he is himself only when he thinks the intelligible. When he is himself only, he is empty of all things, because he does not think the intelligible; but if by nature he is such that he is all things, in thinking himself, he thinks all things. In this state, seeing himself actually by the glance he throws on himself, he embraces all things in this intuition; on the other hand, by the glance he throws on all things, he embraces himself in the intuition of all things.
IN THE INTELLIGIBLE SELF-DIRECTION OF THOUGHT IS NOT CHANGEABLENESS.
Under the above circumstances, the soul changes thoughts — something that we above refused to admit. Intelligence is indeed immutable; but the soul, situated on the extremities of the intelligible world, may undergo some change when she reflects upon herself. Indeed, what applies to the immutable necessarily undergoes some change in respect to it, because it does not always remain applied to it. To speak exactly, there is no change when the soul detaches herself from the things that belong to her to turn towards herself, and conversely; for the soul is all things, and the soul forms but one thing with the intelligible. But when the soul is in the intelligible world, she becomes estranged from herself and from all that belongs to her; then, living purely in the intelligible world, she participates in its immutability, and she becomes all that it is; for, as soon as she has raised herself to this superior region, she must necessarily unite herself to Intelligence, towards which she has turned, and from which she is no longer separated by an intermediary. On rising towards intelligence, the soul attunes herself to it, and consequently unites herself with it durably, in a manner such that both are simultaneously single and double. In this state the soul cannot change; she is immutably devoted to thought, and she simultaneously has self-consciousness, because she forms a unity with the intelligible world.
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 19) – THE SOUL FEELS THE PASSIONS WITHOUT EXPERIENCING THEM (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 20) – THE APPETITES ARE LOCATED NEITHER IN BODY NOR SOUL, BUT IN THEIR COMBINATION (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 21) – DESIRES ARE PHYSICAL, BECAUSE CHANGEABLE IN HARMONY WITH THE BODY (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 22) – RELATION OF DESIRE-FUNCTION TO THE VEGETATIVE POWERS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 23) – CONCEPTIVE THOUGHT DEMANDS THE INTERMEDIARY PROCESS OF SENSATION (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 24) – ARE THE SENSES GIVEN US ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF UTILITY? (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 25) – IF SENSATION IS A SOUL-DISTRACTION, THE STARS WOULD NOT INDULGE THEREIN (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 26) – THE EARTH FEELS AND DIRECTS BY THE LAWS OF SYMPATHETIC HARMONY (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 27) – ANALYSIS OF THE EARTH’S PSYCHOLOGY (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 28) – DOES THE IRASCIBLE POWER ALSO ORIGINATE IN THE BODY? (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 29) – WHEN THE SOUL LEAVES THE BODY, SHE LEAVES A TRACE OF LIFE (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 3) – THE SOUL BECOMES WHAT SHE REMEMBERS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 30-45) – A influência dos astros é devida à simpatia (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 30) – STARS, AS WELL AS THE SUN, HAVE PRAYERS ADDRESSED TO THEM (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 31) – NATURAL ACTIONS ARE BOTH ON WHOLES AND ON PARTS (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 32) – HAVING CONFUTED ASTROLOGY AND DEVILTRY, WORLD INFLUENCE IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORLD-SOUL (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 33) – THE STARS’ MOTIONS COMPARED TO A PREARRANGED DANCE (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 34) – THE INFLUENCE OF THE UNIVERSE SHOULD BE PARTIAL ONLY (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 35) – EARTHLY EVENTS SHOULD NOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE STARS’ BODY OR WILL (Guthrie)
- Tratado 28 (IV, 4, 36) – NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE IS ENTIRELY INANIMATE (Guthrie)