Plotino – Tratado 10,12 (V, 1, 12) — Se nossa alma possui “coisas tão grandes”, porque permanece frequentemente inerte e inativa?

12. Pero, si tenemos en nosotros todas estas cosas, ¿cómo es que no las percibimos y nos mantenemos, en cambio, desocupados la mayor parte del tiempo haciendo caso omiso de tales actividades, e incluso en algunos casos desconociéndolas totalmente? Digamos a este respecto que los seres del mundo inteligible ejercen constantemente sus actividades, y lo mismo la Inteligencia que el principio que es anterior a ella, subsistente siempre en sí mismo. En cuanto al alma también aparece animada de un movimiento eterno ¹; pero no percibimos todo lo que ocurre en el alma sino tan sólo lo que llega hasta nosotros a través de la sensación. Porque es claro que cuando una actividad no se transmite al sentido sensible, no atraviesa en realidad el alma entera. No conocemos, pues, verdaderamente, dado que contamos con una facultad sensitiva y no constituimos una parte del alma sino que somos la totalidad de ella. Además, cada una de las partes del alma vive y actúa según su función propia, de lo cual sólo adquirimos conocimiento por medio de la comunicación y de la percepción. Convendrá, por tanto, que volvamos nuestra percepción hacia el interior de nosotros mismos y que nos apliquemos a ella si queremos tener presentes esas acciones. Porque lo mismo que un hombre, cuando se halla a la espera de un sonido que desea escuchar, se aleja de los demás sonidos y tan sólo presta atención al mejor de los que llegan hasta él, así también habremos de dejar a un lado todos los sonidos sensibles, si la necesidad no nos lo impide, para conservar en toda su pureza y bien dispuesto a las voces de lo alto, ese poder de percepción de que dispone el alma.

[12] Comment peut-il se faire que nous possédions des principes si relevés à notre insu et sans nous en occuper le plus souvent? Car il y a même des hommes qui ne s’en occupent jamais.— Néanmoins ces principes, c’est-à-dire, l’Intelligence et le principe supérieur à l’Intelligence, lequel demeure toujours en lui-même [c’est-à-dire l’Un], ces principes, dis-je, agissent sans cesse. Il en est de même de l’âme: elle se meut toujours; mais les opérations qui se produisent en elle ne sont pas toujours perçues : elles ne viennent jusqu’à nous que lorsqu’elles arrivent à se faire sentir. Quand la faculté qui agit en nous ne transmet pas son action à la puissance qui sent, cette action ne se communique pas à l’âme entière (60); nous n’en avons pas connaissance, parce que, bien que nous possédions la sensibilité, ce n’est pas seulement cette puissance, c’est l’âme tout entière qui constitue l’homme (61). Chaque puissance de l’âme, tant que la vie dure, exerce par elle-même sa fonction propre ; mais nous ne le savons que lorsqu’il y a communication et perception. Pour avoir ainsi perception des choses qui sont en nous, il faut tourner vers elles notre faculté perceptive pour qu’elle y applique toute son attention (62). La personne qui désire entendre un son néglige les autres et lui prête l’oreille quand il approche. Ainsi, nous devons ici fermer nos sens à tous les bruits qui nous assiègent, à moins que la nécessité ne nous force de les entendre, et conserver notre l’acuité perceptive pure et prête à écouter les voix qui viennent d’en haut. »

THESE PRINCIPLES LAST EVER; EVEN THOUGH WE ARE DISTRACTED FROM THEM.

12. How does it happen that we possess principles that are so elevated, almost in spite of ourselves, and for the most part without busying ourselves about them? For there are even men who never notice them. Nevertheless these principles, that is, intelligence, and the principle superior to intelligence, which ever remains within itself (that is, the One), these two principles are ever active. The case is similar with the soul. She is always in motion; but the operations that go on within her are not always perceived; they reach us only when they succeed in making themselves felt. When the faculty that is active within us does not transmit its action to the power that feels, this action is not communicated to the entire soul; however, we may not be conscious thereof because, although we possess sensibility, it is not this power, but the whole soul that constitutes the man. So long as life lasts, each power of the soul exercises its proper function by itself; but we know it only when communication and perception occur. In order to perceive the things within us, we have to turn our perceptive faculties towards them, so that (our soul) may apply her whole attention thereto. The person that desires to hear one sound must neglect all others, and listen carefully on its approach. Thus we must here close our senses to all the noises that besiege us, unless necessity force us to hear them, and to preserve our perceptive faculty pure and ready to listen to the voices that come from above.

XII. How, therefore, does it happen, since we possess things of such great dignity, that we do not apprehend them, but for the most part are sluggish with respect to such like energies ? And there are some who do not energize about them at all. Intellect, indeed, and that which, prior to intellect, is always in itself, are always employed in their own energies. Soul, likewise, is thus that which is always moved. For not every thing which is in the soul is now sensible ; but it arrives to us when it proceeds as far as to sense. When, however, each thing in us energizing, does not impart itself to the sensitive power, it does not yet proceed through the whole soul. Hence we have not yet any knowledge of the energy, because we exist in conjunction with the sensitive power, and are not a part of the soul, hut the whole soul. And farther still, each of the psychical animals in us, always energizes essentially according to its peculiarity ; hut we then only recognize the energy, when there is a participation and apprehension of it. It is necessary, therefore, in order that there may he an apprehension of things which are thus present, that the animadversive power should be converted to the interior of the soul, and there fix its attention. Just as if some one waiting to hear a voice which is pleasing to him, should separate himself from other voices, and excite his hearing to the pereception of the more excellent sound, when it approaches. Thus, also, here it is necessary to dismiss sensible auditions, except so far as is necessary, and to preserve the animadversive power of the soul pure, and prepared to hear supernal sounds.

12. Possessed of such powers, how does it happen that we do not lay hold of them, but for the most part, let these high activities go idle – some, even, of us never bringing them in any degree to effect?

The answer is that all the Divine Beings are unceasingly about their own act, the Intellectual-Principle and its Prior always self-intent; and so, too, the soul maintains its unfailing movement; for not all that passes in the soul is, by that fact, perceptible; we know just as much as impinges upon the faculty of sense. Any activity not transmitted to the sensitive faculty has not traversed the entire soul: we remain unaware because the human being includes sense-perception; man is not merely a part [the higher part] of the soul but the total.

None the less every being of the order of soul is in continuous activity as long as life holds, continuously executing to itself its characteristic act: knowledge of the act depends upon transmission and perception. If there is to be perception of what is thus present, we must turn the perceptive faculty inward and hold it to attention there. Hoping to hear a desired voice, we let all others pass and are alert for the coming at last of that most welcome of sounds: so here, we must let the hearings of sense go by, save for sheer necessity, and keep the soul’s perception bright and quick to the sounds from above.