---
title: "Enneads: Treatise 4.1 (On the Essence of the Soul II)"
author: Plotinus the Neoplatonist
eul_wid: rlc-bd
eul_aid: rlc
canonical: "https://eulogikon.org/works/plotinus-enneads-4-1-rlc-bd"
lang: grc
period: Roman
dialect: Koine
content_hash: "sha256:f498293b87e9402d6961f73c51eb9fac4b8e00d870e8d1db743b7f1e6907cbca"
content_modified_at: "2026-10-21"
license: "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"
---

# Enneads: Treatise 4.1 (On the Essence of the Soul II)

**Author:** Plotinus the Neoplatonist

**eul_wid:** `rlc-bd` · [HTML page](https://eulogikon.org/works/plotinus-enneads-4-1-rlc-bd)

## Text

<!-- 4.1.1 -->Ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τῷ νοητῷ ἡ ἀληθινὴ οὐσία· νοῦς τὸ ἄριστον αὐτοῦ· ψυχαὶ δὲ κἀκεῖ· ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα. Κἀκεῖνος ὁ κόσμος ψυχὰς ἄνευ σωμάτων ἔχει, οὗτος δὲ τὰς ἐν σώμασι γινομένας καὶ μερισθείσας τοῖς σώμασιν. Ἐκεῖ δὲ ὁμοῦ μὲν νοῦς πᾶς καὶ οὐ διακεκριμένον οὐδὲ μεμερισμένον, ὁμοῦ δὲ πᾶσαι ψυχαὶ ἐν αἰῶνι τῷ κόσμῳ, οὐκ ἐν διαστάσει τοπικῇ. Νοῦς μὲν οὖν ἀεὶ ἀδιάκριτος καὶ οὐ μεριστός, ψυχὴ δὲ ἐκεῖ ἀδιάκριτος καὶ ἀμέριστος· ἔχει δὲ φύσιν μερίζεσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μερισμὸς αὐτῆς τὸ ἀποστῆναι καὶ ἐν σώματι γενέσθαι. Μεριστὴ οὖν εἰκότως περὶ τὰ σώματα λέγεται εἶναι, ὅτι οὕτως ἀφίσταται καὶ μεμέρισται. Πῶς οὖν καὶ ἀμέριστος; Οὐ γὰρ ὅλη ἀπέστη, ἀλλʼ ἔστι τι αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐληλυθός, ὃ οὐ πέφυκε μερίζεσθαι. Τὸ οὖν ἐκ τῆς ἀμερίστου καὶ τῆς περὶ τὰ σώματα μεριστῆς ταὐτὸν τῷ ἐκ τῆς ἄνω καὶ κάτω ἰούσης καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἐξημμένης, ῥυείσης δὲ μέχρι τῶνδε, οἷον γραμμῆς ἐκ κέντρου. Ἐλθοῦσα δὲ ἐνθάδε τούτῳ τῷ μέρει ὁρᾷ, ᾧ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ μέρει σῴζει τὴν φύσιν τοῦ ὅλου. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα μόνον μεριστή, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμέριστος· τὸ γὰρ μεριζόμενον αὐτῆς ἀμερίστως μερίζεται. Εἰς ὅλον γὰρ τὸ σῶμα δοῦσα αὑτὴν καὶ μὴ μερισθεῖσα τῷ ὅλη εἰς ὅλον τῷ ἐν παντὶ εἶναι μεμέρισται.

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