Plotinus Quotes
Plotinus was a 3rd-century philosopher of late antiquity, born in Roman Egypt and active in Rome, where he founded the philosophical school whose teaching is preserved in the Enneads. Edited by his student Porphyry, the Enneads develop a Platonic metaphysics in which all reality emanates from a single ineffable source called the One, through Intellect and Soul, into the perceptible cosmos. The quotes below are attributed to Plotinus, organized by topic.
Plotinus on God
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“If you do not become equal to God, you cannot understand God: for the like is known by the like.”
Plotinus on Knowledge
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“He who has but the slightest experience of beauty knows what beauty is.”
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“Knowledge has three degrees: opinion, science, and illumination.”
Plotinus on Mind
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“Withdraw into yourself and look.”
Plotinus on Nature
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“It is in virtue of unity that beings are beings.”
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“All things, in proportion to their possession of being, possess unity.”
Plotinus on Virtue
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“We are not separated from the good. We are separated from ourselves.”
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Attributed to Plotinus:
“The wise man recognises the idea of the good in all that he sees.”