Tratado 30,1-4 (III, 8, 1-4) – Of Nature (Guthrie)

THIRD ENNEAD, BOOK EIGHT.

OF NATURE, CONTEMPLATION AND UNITY.

(These three subjects are discussed in paragraphs 1-4, 5-7, and 8-16. The plain paragraph numbers, are those of the Teubner edition; those in parenthesis are the Creuzer (Didot) edition.)

A. OF NATURE.

INTRODUCTION: AS A JOKE, IT MAY BE SAID THAT EVEN PLANTS ASPIRE TO CONTEMPLATION.

ENUMERATION OF THE LOWER FORMS OF CONTEMPLATION.

NATURE ACTS ON MATTER NOT MECHANICALLY BUT BY ITS POTENCY.

NATURE IS IMMOVABLE AS A FORM, BUT NOT AS COMPOUND OF MATTER AND FORM.

BOTH NATURE AND REASON ARE CONTEMPLATION; WHILE UNIVERSAL REASON IS BOTH SOUL AND NATURE.

THE REASON OF NATURE IS THE RESULT OF AN IMMOVABLE CONTEMPLATION.

NATURE’S CONFESSION THAT HER MOTHER IS UNIVERSAL REASON, AND HER FATHER THE FORMAL REASONS.

DESCRIPTION OF NATURE AS A WEAKER CONTEMPLATION.

IT IS MEN WHO ARE TOO WEAK FOR CONTEMPLATION THAT SEEK A REFUGE IN ACTION.