CHAPTER V.

THE SPIRITUALISM OF PLOTINUS pages 266-362

I. Plutarch on _Delays in the Divine Vengeance_, 266—A vision of judgment, 267—Nero forgiven for the sake of Greece, 268—A century of western supremacy in politics and literature, 268—Reaction begun by Nero, 269—Revival of Greek literature: Plutarch and his successors, 269—Renewed cultivation of philosophy and science, 270—Sophisticism and Platonism of the second century, 271—The two methods of interpreting Plato, 272—The problem of the age, 273.

II. Life of Plotinus, 273—His personal influence and popularity, 275—The part assigned to him in a dialogue of Leopardi’s, 277—Composition and arrangement of his writings, 277—Mythical elements in his biography, 280—Alleged derivation of his teaching from Ammonius Saccas, 281.

III. Difficulties presented by the style of Plotinus, 282—General clearness of his philosophy, 284—His dependence on Plato and exclusive attention to the metaphysical side of Plato’s teaching, 285—His unacknowledged obligations to Aristotle, 287.

IV. Plotinus on the spiritual interpretation of love and beauty, 287—His departure from the method of Plato, 289—Aristotelian influences, 290—His subjective standpoint shared by Plato and Aristotle, 291—Relation of the post-Aristotelian schools to their predecessors, 292—The antithesis between materialism and spiritualism common to both, 292—Services rendered by the later schools, 293.

V. Anti-materialistic arguments of Plotinus, 294—Coincidence with modern philosophy, 295—Criticism of the Aristotelian doctrine, 296—Weakness of Greek philosophy in dealing with the phenomena of volition, 297—Difficulties raised by astrology, 298—Plotinus as a philosophical critic and reformer, 299.

VI. Intermediate position of the soul between the principles of unity and division, 302—Combination of the Aristotelian Nous with the Platonic Ideas, 303—Difficulties to which it gave rise, 304—Unity and plurality in the Ideas and in the Nous, 304—Descent of the soul into the material world, 305—The triad of body, soul, and spirit, 307—Search for a supreme principle of existence: data furnished by Plato and Aristotle, 307—The unity of all souls, 309—Universal dependence of existence on unity, 310—Method for arriving at the One, 310—To what extent Plotinus can be called a mystic, 312—Mystical elements in the systems of his predecessors, 313.

VII. Retrospect and recapitulation, 315—Transition to the constructive philosophy of Plotinus, 317—Three aspects of the supreme principle, 317—Creative power of the One, 318—Influence of false physical analogies on metaphysics, 319—Inconceivability of causation apart from time, 320—Subjective nature of logical and mathematical sequence, 321—The Neo-Platonic method in the Christian creeds, 322—How Plotinus employed the method of generation by contraries, 322—Difficulty of explaining the derivation of Soul from Nous, 323—and of accounting for the existence of Matter, 323—Return to the Platonic identification of Matter with Extension, 326—Generation of the Infinite from the One, 327—Hesitation of Plotinus between monism and dualism, 328—Influence of Stoicism, 329—Substitution of contemplation for action as a creative principle, 330.

VIII. The ethics of Plotinus: derivation of the cardinal virtues, 331—Absence of asceticism, 332—Condemnation of suicide, 332—Similar view expressed by Schopenhauer, 333—Dialectic as a method for attaining perfection, 333—The later writings of Plotinus, 334.

IX. Four points of view from which every great philosophical system may be considered, 334—Inferiority of Neo-Platonism to the older schools of Greek thought in absolute value, 335—Deserved neglect into which it has fallen, 336—In combining the metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle with Stoicism, Plotinus eliminates the elements of truth and utility which they severally contain, 336—High aesthetic value of Neo-Platonism, 338—Purity and unworldliness of Plotinus, 339—Complete self-absorption of thought which he represents, 340.

X. Neo-Platonism not a product of Oriental tendencies, 341—Nor of the religious revival of the empire, 342—Nor a mystical reaction against Scepticism, 343—Independent attitude of Plotinus towards the old religion, 344—His views on immortality, 345—His relation to pantheism, 346—His attack on the Gnostics, 347—Plotinus on the relation between religion and morality, 348—Neo-Platonism a part of the great classical revival, 349.

XI. The place of Plotinus in the history of philosophy, 350—The triumph of spiritualism due to his teaching, 350—He secures the supremacy of Plato and Aristotle during the Middle Ages, 351—His interpretation of Plato universally accepted until a recent date, 352—The pantheistic direction of modern metaphysics largely determined by Plotinus, 353—Neo-Platonic derivation of the Unknowable, 353—Atavism in philosophy, 355.

XII. History of Neo-Platonism after Plotinus, 355—Its alliance with the old religion, 356—Continued vitality of polytheism, 357—Increased study of the classic philosophers, 358—Proclus and his system, 358—The schools of Athens closed by Justinian, 360—The Greek professors in Persia, 361—Final extinction of pagan philosophy, 362.