The Enneads: Abridged Edition (Penguin Classics) [ABRIDGED] (Paperback)

~ (Author), John Dillon (Editor, Introduction), Stephen MacKenna (Translator) "1. Pleasure and distress, fear and courage, desire and aversion, where have these affections and experiences their seat?1..." (more)
Key Phrases: integral omnipresence, vegetal principle, desiring faculty, Soul of the All, Authentic Existent, Des Places (more...)

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Product Description

Regarded as the founder of Neo-Platonism, Plotinus (AD 204 70) was the last great philosopher of antiquity, producing 0works that proved in many ways a precursor to Renaissance thought. Plotinus was convinced of the existence of a state of supreme perfection and argued powerfully that it was necessary to guide the human soul towards this state. Here he outlines his compelling belief in three increasingly perfect levels of existence the Soul, the Intellect, and the One and explains his conviction that humanity must strive to draw the soul towards spiritual transcendence. A fusion of Platonism, mystic passion and Aristotelian thought, The Enneads offers a highly original synthesis of early philosophical and religious beliefs, which powerfully influenced later Christian and Islamic theology.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Abridged edition (November 5, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014044520X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140445206
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #495,326 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Enneads for Dummies, November 27, 2002

By	calmly - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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The Enneads is a staggering vision of unity. The concept of the soul plays a central part. Here's my take at a very brief summation:

1. The source of the soul ... and of everything else lies in a oneness (the One) that can be inferred but never contacted. So the One isn't a personal God. It isn't aware of us, so it doesn't intervene in our affairs.

2. What the soul receives ... are the goodness and intelligence that emanated from the source and are the principal characteristics of our cosmos. We exist in a cosmos that is fundamentally good and intelligent and we can sense and see that.

3. The mixed blessing for the soul ... is embodiment in matter, which, on the positive side, provides a context for helping and for personal growth. In a world of many, the one soul appears as many souls.

4. The downside of that blessing ... are pain, isolation, and the suffering and distraction caused by attachment to material things. Evil is real but we're created in a fundamentally good and intelligent place and with powers to deal with it.

5. The way to live ... includes recognizing that the many souls are in fact one. Individuality is the reward and the price the soul paid to become embodied. Just as the One gives richly via its emanations, so we should give to the cosmos. Enjoy and feel awed by the beauty around and within you.

6. We're no small things ... but a product of the One, of its Intelligence and Soul... each of our souls linked to each other via that one soul.

7. Soul and body go well together. The individual body being material isn't permanent. But the soul and the cosmos are, so the soul re-enters material life via a new body.

Unlike some religious positions that may seem similar, all of this and more can be demonstrated in a rational presentation that begins with just a few stated assumptions. That's what you'll find in The Enneads, a culmination of centuries of ancient Greek philosophy. As much a treasure as a book can be.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, December 6, 2000

By A Customer

This is the cheapest edition of Plotinus that you can buy and is a decent edition for those who wish just to dip into Plotinus or read him for pleasure. The main stumbling block is the translation by MacKenna which reads majestically, but which is not as faithful to the text as it should be. If you are studying Plotinus as a philosopher then the best translation is the Armstrong in the Loeb series. However, that edition runs to seven volumes in hardback and thus is quite expensive. I must admit that I really do enjoy the MacKenna translation as art but not as philosophy.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspired system of spiritual philosophy, April 13, 2003

By	OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

The Enneads (the Nines) is the greatest surviving work of spiritual philosophy of late antiquity.

Here we have expounded Plotinus' interpretation of the perennial philosophy. We are shown that the material world has a spiritual origin, for all of creation emanates down from the divine Source, through the various levels of manifestation, to our own world. Moreover, we are shown that mankind's ultimate goal is to turn away from the distractions of this lower material creation and seek union with this divine Source (God, the One, the Good.)

While Plotinus critised the Gnostic sects of his day, it is obvious that his own idea of intuitive intellectual knowlege, where subject and object unite in perfect understanding, is pure gnosis. The main disagreement seems to have been on the nature of the material world: The Gnostics held it to be inherently evil, while Plotinus saw it as simply lower and inferior, yet basically good.

This Penguin edition has a large and informative introductory section. It includes an excellent biography of Stephen Mackenna, the translator, who gave his life and health to this work. There is also a good brief historical sketch of late historical times to help the reader to understand the period in which Plotinus wrote. Plus, the brief, condensed, well-structured, outline of Plotinus' system of Philosophy is invaluable in getting an initial grip on the concepts that are expanded upon in the main work. Finally, Porphyry's brief contemporary biographical sketch of Plotinus is included.

There is great wisdom in this book for those who can penetrate the traditional intuitive mindset. This only to be expected since Plotinus studied the perennial philosophy at the great library of Alexandria for over a decade. There is also the fact that Plotinus admitted to three episodes of enlightenment, epiphany, or cosmic consciousness in his life. Like all true masters, he was more of a reciever of timeless divine truths than an originator of anything new and contrived.