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Ennead III.8 [30]: On nature, contemplation and the One — Plotinus

Written work

Ennead III.8 [30]: On nature, contemplation and the One

Περὶ φύσεως καὶ θεωρίας καὶ τοῦ ἑνός

Cabeza de mármol identificada con Plotino (Ostia, inv. 436)
byPlotinus

The first part of the great treatise against the Gnostics. It opens with the thesis that "all things aspire to contemplation": nature too contemplates when it produces, and action is a detour of contemplation for those who cannot contemplate. It rises to the One, which lies beyond Intellect.

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Authorship note

An authentic treatise by Plotinus, no. 30 in Porphyry's chronological order (Life of Plotinus 4–6), second period (treatises 22–45, written during Porphyry's stay, 263–268). The title and the placement in Ennead III are Porphyry's.

Editions and translations

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English

  • Plotinus III: Ennead III (Loeb Classical Library 442) — Plotinus

    Plotinus III: Ennead III (Loeb Classical Library 442)

    Harvard University Press, 1967

    Translation: A. H. Armstrong

    ISBN 9780674994874

    Bilingüe griego-inglés.

  • Ennead III.8 (MacKenna)

    Medici Society; Wikisource, 1921

    Translation: Stephen MacKenna

    Dominio público (MacKenna murió en 1934).

Español

  • Plotino, Enéadas III–IV — Plotinus

    Plotino, Enéadas III–IV

    Gredos (Biblioteca Clásica Gredos, 88), 1985

    Translation: Jesús Igal

    ISBN 9788424910044

    Introducciones, traducción y notas. ISBN visto en el catálogo de Marcial Pons y en catálogos universitarios.

Other works by Plotinus

Sources

  • Porfirio. Vida de Plotino y orden de sus libros (Περὶ τοῦ Πλωτίνου βίου καὶ τῆς τάξεως τῶν βιβλίων αὐτοῦ). Texto griego en la ed. de R. Volkmann (Teubner, 1883), en Wikisource en griego; trad. inglesa de Stephen MacKenna (1917), en Wikisource en inglés.

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