Such therefore, in short, is divine beauty, the supplier of divine hilarity, familiarity and friendship. For through this the Gods are united to and rejoice in each other, admire, and are delighted in communicating with each other, and in their mutual replenishings, and do not desert the order which they arc always allotted in the distributions of themselves. Plato also delivers three indications of this beauty, in the Banquet indeed, denominating it the delicate ; for the perfect and that which is most blessed, accedes to the beautiful through the participation of goodness. But hethus speaks of it in that dialogue : "That which is truly beauti- ful is delicate, perfect and most blessed." One of the indications there- fore of the beautiful, is a thing of this kind, viz. the delicate. But we • may assume another indication of it from thePhtedrus, viz. the splendid. For Plato attributing this to the beautiful says : " It was then that we were permitted to see splendid beauty shining upon us Sec" And after- wards he adds : " And arriving hither we apprehended it shining most manifestly through the clearest of the sepses." And at last he says : " But now beauty alone has this allotment to be most splendid and most lovely." These two things therefore are to be assumed as indications of beauty. Another indication of beauty is this, that it is the object of love, which now also Plato appears to me to have called most lovely. And in many other places he shows that the amatory fury is conversant with the beautiful, defining, and in short, suspending love from the monad of beauty. " For love, says he, is conversant with the beautiful."
Because, therefore, beauty converts and moves all things to itself, causes them to energize enthusiastically, and recalls them through love, it is the object of love, being the leader of the whole amatory series, walking on the extremities of its feet, and exciting all things to itselr through desire and astonishment. But again because it extends to secondary natures plenitudes from itself, in conjunction with hilarity and divine facility, alluring, enflaming, and elevating all things, and pouring on
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78 ON THE THEOLOGY BOOK 1.
them illuminations from on high, it is delicate, and is said to be so by Plato. And because it bounds this triad, and covers as with a veil the ineffable union of the Gods, swims as it were on the light of forms, causes intelligible light to shine forth, and announces the occult nature of goodness, it is denominated splendid, lucid and manifest. For the goodness of the Gods is supreme and most united ; their wisdom is in a certain respect now parturient with intelligible light, and the first forms ; but their beauty is established in the highest forms, b the lumin- ous precursor of divine light, and is the first thing that is apparent to ascending souls, being more splendid and more lovely to the view and to embrace than every luciferous essence, and when it appears is received with astonishment. This triad therefore filling all things, and proceeding through all things, it is certainly necessary that the natures which are filled should be converted to and conjoined with each of the three through kindred, and not through the same media. For of different things that are filled by this triad there is a different medium ; and different powers are converted to a different perfection of the Gods. I think therefore, it is manifest to every one, and it is frequently asserted by Plato, that the cause which congregates all secondary natures to divine beauty, which familiarizes them to it and is the source of their being filled with it, and of their derivation from thence, is nothing else than love, which always conjoins according to the beautiful, secondary to the first ' Gods, and the more excellent genera, and the best of souls. But again, truth is certainly the leader to, and establishes beings in, divine wisdom, with which intellect being filled, possesses a knowledge of beings, and souls participating of this energize intellectually. For the full participation of true wisdom is effected through truth, since this every where illumi- nates intellective natures, and conjoins them with the objects of intellection, just as truth also is tfie first thing that congregates intellect and the intelligible. To those however who hasten to be conjoined with the good, knowledge and co-operation are no longer requisite, but collo- cation, a firm establishment and quiet are necessary.
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CHAP. XXV. OF PLATO.
What therefore is it which unites us to the good? What is it which causes in us a cessation of energy and motion ? What is it which establishes all divine natures in the first and ineffable unity of goodness ? And how does it conic to pass that every tiling being established in that which is prior to itself according to the good which is in itself, again establishes things posterior to itself according to cause ? It is, in short, the faith of the Gods, which ineffably unites all the genera of the Gods, of daemons, and of happy souls to the good. For it is necessary to investigate the good neither gnostically, nor imperfectly, but giving ourselves up to the divine light, and closing the eyes of the soul, after this manner to become established in the unknown and occult unity of beings. For such a kind of faith as this is more ancient than the gnostic energy, not in us only, but with the Gods themselves, and according to this all the Gods are united, and about one centre uniformly collect the whole of their powers and pro- gressions.
If however it be requisite to give a particular definition of this faith, let no one suppose that it is such a kind of faith as that which is conver- sant with the wandering about sensibles. For this falls short of science, and much more of the truth of beings. But the faith of the Gods sur- passes all knowledge, and according to the highest union conjoins secon- dary with first natures. Nor again, let him conceive a faith of a similar species with the celebrated belief in common conceptions ; for we believe in common conceptions prior to all reasoning. But the knowledge of these is divisible, and is by no means equivalent to divine union ; and the science of these is not only posterior to faith, but also to intellectual simplicity. For intellect is established beyond all science, both the first science, and that which is posterior to it. Neither, therefore, must we say that the energy according to intellect is similar to such a faith as this. For intellectual energy is multiform, and is separated from the
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objects of intellection through difference ; and in short, it is intellectual motion about the intelligible. But it is necessary that divine faith should be uniform and quiet, being perfectly established in the port of goodness. For neither is the beautiful, nor wisdom, nor any thing else among beings, so credible and stable to all things, and so exempt from all ambiguity, divisible apprehension and motion, as the good. For through this intellect also embraces another union more ancient than intellectual energy, and prior to energy. And soul considers the variety of intellect and the splendour of forms as nothing with respect to that transcendency of the good by which it surpasses the whole of tilings. And it dismisses indeed intellectual perception, running back to its own hyparxis ; but it always pursues, investigates, and aspires after the good, hastens as it were to embosom it, and gives itself to this alone among all things without hesitation. But why is it necessary to speak of the soul ? For these mortal animals, as Diotima somewhere says, despise all other things, and even life itself and being, through a desire of the nature of the good ; and all things have this one immoveable and ineffable tendency to the good ; but they overlook, consider as secondary, and despise the order of every thing else. This, therefore, is the one secure port of all beings.
This also is especially the object of belief to all beings. And through this the conjunction and union with it is denominated faith by theologists, and not by them only, but by Plato likewise, (if I may speak what appears tome to be the case) the alliance of this faith with truth and love is proclaimed in the Laws. The multitude therefore are ignorant, that he who has a conception of these things, when discoursing about their contraries, infers the same thing with respect to the deviations from this triad. Plato then clearly asserts in the Laws that the lover of false- hood is not to be believed, and that he who is not to be believed is void of friendship. Hence it is necessary that the lover of truth should be worthy of belief, and that he who is worthy of belief should be well adapted to friendship. From these things therefore, we may survey divine truth, faith and love, and comprehend by a reasoning process their stable com- munion with each other. If, however, you arc willing, prior to thesp things we will recall to our memory that Plato denominates that virtuo
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fidelity which conciliates those that disagree, and subverts the greatest of wars, I mean seditions in cities. For from these things faith appears to be the cause of union, communion and quiet. And if there is such a power as this in us, it is by a much greater priority in the Gods them- selves. For as Plato speaks of a certain divine temperance, justice and science, how is it possible that faith which connectedly comprehends the whole order of the virtues should not subsist with the Gods ? In short, there are these three things which replenish divine natures, and which are the sources of plenitude to all the superior genera of beings, viz. good- ness, wisdom and beauty. And again, there are three things which collect together the natures that are filled, being secondary indeed to the former, but pervading to all the divine orders, and these are faith, truth and love. But all things are saved through these, and are conjoined to their primary causes ; some things indeed, through the amatory mania, others through divine philosophy, and others through theurgic power, which is more excellent than all human wisdom, and which comprehends prophetic good, the purifying powers of perfective good, and in short, alt such things as are the effects of divine possession. Concerning these things therefore, we may perhaps again speak more opportunely.
Again, let us, if you are willing, from other dialogues investigate the common dogmas of Plato about divine natures. Whence therefore, and what dogmas shall we assume, while we proceed in our search according to nature? Are you willing that we should in the next place recall to our memory what is written in the Phsedo ? Socrates therefore says in the demonstrations of the immortality of the soul which are derived from its similitude to divinity, that the essence which is superior to the soul, Proc. Vol. I. L
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(and to which the soul is naturally similar, and being similar participates of an immortal allotment) is divine and immortal, intelligible and uniform, indissoluble and possesses an invariable sameness of subsistence; but that the essence which is inferior to the soul, is entirely the contrary, to which also it pertains to be corrupted and to be passive. For a thing of this kind is sensible and multiform, and is dissoluble because it is a composite ; and he predicates among these all such things as pertain to a corporeal subsistence. Let us therefore direct our attention to these common dog- mas, and examine after what, manner each of them pertains to the Gods.