the six enneads-第18章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


m　any　of　the　particular　forms　in　which；　by　the　addition　of　certain　elements；　it　becomes　manifest。　Thus　there　may　be　wickedness　in　the　Soul；　the　forms　this　general　wickedness　is　to　take　will　be　determined　by　the　environing　Matter；　by　the　faculties　of　the　Soul　that　operate　and　by　the　nature　of　their　operation；　whether　seeing；　acting；　or　merely　admitting　impression。　　　　　But　supposing　things　external　to　the　Soul　are　to　be　counted　Evil…　sickness；　poverty　and　so　forth…　how　can　they　be　referred　to　the　principle　we　have　described？　　　　　Well；　sickness　is　excess　or　defect　in　the　body；　which　as　a　material　organism　rebels　against　order　and　measure；　ugliness　is　but　matter　not　mastered　by　Ideal…Form；　poverty　consists　in　our　need　and　lack　of　goods　made　necessary　to　us　by　our　association　with　Matter　whose　very　nature　is　to　be　one　long　want。　　　　　If　all　this　be　true；　we　cannot　be；　ourselves；　the　source　of　Evil；　we　are　not　evil　in　ourselves；　Evil　was　before　we　came　to　be；　the　Evil　which　holds　men　down　binds　them　against　their　will；　and　for　those　that　have　the　strength…　not　found　in　all　men；　it　is　true…　there　is　a　deliverance　from　the　evils　that　have　found　lodgement　in　the　soul。　　　　　In　a　word　since　Matter　belongs　only　to　the　sensible　world；　vice　in　men　is　not　the　Absolute　Evil；　not　all　men　are　vicious；　some　overcome　vice；　some；　the　better　sort；　are　never　attacked　by　it；　and　those　who　master　it　win　by　means　of　that　in　them　which　is　not　material。　　　　　6。　If　this　be　so；　how　do　we　explain　the　teaching　that　evils　can　never　pass　away　but　〃exist　of　necessity；〃　that　〃while　evil　has　no　place　in　the　divine　order；　it　haunts　mortal　nature　and　this　place　for　ever〃？　　　　　Does　this　mean　that　heaven　is　clear　of　evil；　ever　moving　its　orderly　way；　spinning　on　the　appointed　path；　no　injustice　There　or　any　flaw；　no　wrong　done　by　any　power　to　any　other　but　all　true　to　the　settled　plan；　while　injustice　and　disorder　prevail　on　earth；　designated　as　〃the　Mortal　Kind　and　this　Place〃？　　　　　Not　quite　so：　for　the　precept　to　〃flee　hence〃　does　not　refer　to　earth　and　earthly　life。　The　flight　we　read　of　consists　not　in　quitting　earth　but　in　living　our　earth…life　〃with　justice　and　piety　in　the　light　of　philosophy〃；　it　is　vice　we　are　to　flee；　so　that　clearly　to　the　writer　Evil　is　simply　vice　with　the　sequels　of　vice。　And　when　the　disputant　in　that　dialogue　says　that；　if　men　could　be　convinced　of　the　doctrine　advanced；　there　would　be　an　end　of　Evil；　he　is　answered；　〃That　can　never　be：　Evil　is　of　necessity；　for　there　must　be　a　contrary　to　good。〃　　　　　Still　we　may　reasonably　ask　how　can　vice　in　man　be　a　contrary　to　The　Good　in　the　Supernal：　for　vice　is　the　contrary　to　virtue　and　virtue　is　not　The　Good　but　merely　the　good　thing　by　which　Matter　is　brought　to　order。　　　　　How　can　there　any　contrary　to　the　Absolute　Good；　when　the　absolute　has　no　quality？　　　　　Besides；　is　there　any　universal　necessity　that　the　existence　of　one　of　two　contraries　should　entail　the　existence　of　the　other？　Admit　that　the　existence　of　one　is　often　accompanied　by　the　existence　of　the　other…　sickness　and　health；　for　example…　yet　there　is　no　universal　compulsion。　　　　　Perhaps；　however；　our　author　did　not　mean　that　this　was　universally　true；　he　is　speaking　only　of　The　Good。　　　　　But　then；　if　The　Good　is　an　essence；　and　still　more；　if　It　is　that　which　transcends　all　existence；　how　can　It　have　any　contrary？　　　　　That　there　is　nothing　contrary　to　essence　is　certain　in　the　case　of　particular　existences…　established　by　practical　proof…　but　not　in　the　quite　different　case　of　the　Universal。　　　　　But　of　what　nature　would　this　contrary　be；　the　contrary　to　universal　existence　and　in　general　to　the　Primals？　　　　　To　essential　existence　would　be　opposed　the　non…existence；　to　the　nature　of　Good；　some　principle　and　source　of　evil。　Both　these　will　be　sources；　the　one　of　what　is　good；　the　other　of　what　is　evil；　and　all　within　the　domain　of　the　one　principle　is　opposed；　as　contrary；　to　the　entire　domain　of　the　other；　and　this　in　a　contrariety　more　violent　than　any　existing　between　secondary　things。　　　　　For　these　last　are　opposed　as　members　of　one　species　or　of　one　genus；　and；　within　that　common　ground；　they　participate　in　some　common　quality。　　　　　In　the　case　of　the　Primals　or　Universals　there　is　such　complete　separation　that　what　is　the　exact　negation　of　one　group　constitutes　the　very　nature　of　the　other；　we　have　diametric　contrariety　if　by　contrariety　we　mean　the　extreme　of　remoteness。　　　　　Now　to　the　content　of　the　divine　order；　the　fixed　quality；　the　measuredness　and　so　forth…　there　is　opposed　the　content　of　the　evil　principle；　its　unfixedness；　measurelessness　and　so　forth：　total　is　opposed　to　total。　The　existence　of　the　one　genus　is　a　falsity；　primarily；　essentially；　a　falseness：　the　other　genus　has　Essence…Authentic：　the　opposition　is　of　truth　to　lie；　essence　is　opposed　to　essence。　　　　　Thus　we　see　that　it　is　not　universally　true　that　an　Essence　can　have　no　contrary。　　　　　In　the　case　of　fire　and　water　we　would　admit　contrariety　if　it　were　not　for　their　common　element；　the　Matter；　about　which　are　gathered　the　warmth　and　dryness　of　one　and　the　dampness　and　cold　of　the　other：　if　there　were　only　present　what　constitutes　their　distinct　kinds；　the　common　ground　being　absent；　there　would　be；　here　also；　essence　contrary　to　essence。　　　　　In　sum；　things　utterly　sundered；　having　nothing　in　common；　standing　at　the　remotest　poles；　are　opposites　in　nature：　the　contrariety　does　not　depend　upon　quality　or　upon　the　existence　of　a　distinct　genus　of　beings；　but　upon　the　utmost　difference；　clash　in　content；　clash　in　effect。　　　　　7。　But　why　does　the　existence　of　the　Principle　of　Good　necessarily　comport　the　existence　of　a　Principle　of　Evil？　Is　it　because　the　All　necessarily　comports　the　existence　of　Matter？　Yes：　for　necessarily　this　All　is　made　up　of　contraries：　it　could　not　exist　if　Matter　did　not。　The　Nature　of　this　Kosmos　is；　therefore；　a　blend；　it　is　blended　from　the　Intellectual…Principle　and　Necessity：　what　comes　into　it　from　God　is　good；　evil　is　from　the　Ancient　Kind　which；　we　read；　is　the　underlying　Matter　not　yet　brought　to　order　by　the　Ideal…Form。　　　　　But；　since　the　expression　〃this　place〃　must　be　taken　to　mean　the　All；　how　explain　the　words　〃mortal　nature〃？　　　　　The　answer　is　in　the　passage　＇in　which　the　Father　of　Gods　addresses　the　Divinities　of　the　lower　sphere＇；　〃Since　you　possess　only　a　derivative　being；　you　are　not　immortals。。。　but　by　my　power　you　shall　escape　dissolution。〃　　　　　The　escape；　we　read；　is　not　a　matter　of　place；　but　of　acquiring　virtue；　of　disengaging　the　self　from　the　body；　this　is　the　escape　from　Matter。　Plato　explains　somewhere　how　a　man　frees　himself　and　how　he　remains　bound；　and　the　phrase　〃to　live　among　the　gods〃　means　to　live　among　the　Intelligible…Existents；　for　these　are　the　Immortals。　　　　　There　is　another　consideration　establishing　the　necessary　existence　of　Evil。　　　　　Given　that　The　Good　is　not　the　only　existent　thing；　it　is　inevitable　that；　by　the　outgoing　from　it　or；　if　the　phrase　be　preferred；　the　continuous　down…going　or　away…going　from　it；　there　should　be　produced　a　Last；　something　after　which　nothing　more　can　be　produced：　this　will　be　Evil。　　　　　As　necessarily　as　there　is　Something　after　the　First；　so　necessarily　there　is　a　Last：　this　Last　is　Matter；　the　thing　which　has　no　residue　of　good　in　it：　here　is　the　necessity　of　Evil。　　　　　8。　But　there　will　still　be　some　to　deny　that　it　is　through　this　Matter　that　we　ourselves　become　evil。　　　　　They　will　say　that　neither　ignorance　nor　wicked　desires　arise　in　Matter。　Even　if　they　admit　that　the　unhappy　condition　within　us　is　due　to　the　　pravity　inherent　in　body；　they　will　urge　that　still　the　blame　lies　not　in　the　Matter　itself　but　with　the　Form　present　in　it…　such　Form　as　heat；　cold；　bitterness；　saltness　and　all　other　conditions　perceptible　to　sense；　or　again　such　states　as　being　full　or　void…　not　in　the　concrete　signification　but　in　the　presence　or　absence　of　just　such　forms。　In　a　word；　they　will　argue；　all　particularity　in　desires　and　even　in　perverted　judgements　upon　things；　can　be　referred　to　such　causes；　so　that　Evil　lies　in　this　Form　much　more　than　in　the　mere　Matter。　　　　　Yet；　even　with　all　this；　they　can　be　compelled　to　admit　that　Matter　is　the　Evil。　　　　　For；　the　quality　＇form＇　that　has