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Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4 In Chronological Order,...

WEAKNESS OF THE SOUL OCCURS CHIEFLY IN SOULS FALLEN INTO MATTER.

Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition Plotinus and Guthrie, Kenneth Sylvan
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In the soul weakness does not derive from an excess of density or rarefaction of leanness or stoutness, nor of any sickness such as fever. It must be met in souls which are either entirely separated from matter, or in those joined to matter, or in both simultaneously. Now, as it does not occur in souls separated from matter, which are entirely pure, and "winged,"193 and which, as perfect, carry out their functions without any obstacle; it remains, that this weakness occurs in fallen souls, which are neither pure nor purified. For them weakness consists not in the privation of anything, but in the presence of something alien, just as, for instance, weakness of the body consists in the presence of slime or bile. We shall, therefore, be able to understand clearly the weakness of the soul by ferreting out the cause of the "fall" of the soul.

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Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4 In Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods, Project Gutenberg eBook #42933

WEAKNESS OF THE SOUL AS AN EXPLANATION OF EVIL. THE FALL OF THE SOUL AS DESCENT INTO MATTER.