Neoplatonism asserts that the One is a transcendent entity beyond being and non-being

and it is this One from whom emanates the Universal Intellect or the First Intellect and from
the first intellect emanates the universal soul. The universal soul receives all its ontological
or existential perfections from the first two existents that are superior to it in terms of
being and existence and does not takes in or receives anything from the existents inferior
to it and that is the reason why the universal soul remains pure ,immutable and perfect.
The universal intellect also known as the intellectual principle or the divine mind contains
within itself all the ideal forms, which are the archetypes of material or sensible existents.
The individual souls are nothing but images of the universal soul which fall or descend from
it and the intelligible realm when the universal souls gaze is fixed towards the universal
intellect. These individual souls descend from the intelligible reality to attach themselves
with material existents or bodies thereby illuminating them through the infusion of life. The
attachment of souls to material bodies causes birth, therefore birth is nothing but the
attachment of the individual soul with material existents in the sensible reality. This
attachment of the individual soul with the body results in an animate being, this animate
being is a couplement of body and the soul. It is due to the attachment of the soul with the
body that the body acquires the faculty of sense perception and is able to sense things.
Sensation leaves impressions on the soul and it is these impressions that cause within us
desires, passions and emotions and these in turn cause mental or physical acts, and this is
how the individual soul becomes tainted or impure with sin. It is the attachment or
association with matter that causes or gives birth to desires and passions which lead to
indulgence in bodily pleasures, and it is indulgence in these bodily desires that pollute the
soul. Therefore the soul needs to be purified from this pollution and this requires it to
detach itself from matter. Disassociation or detachment from matter is possible through
becoming god-like and one can only become god-like through the acquisition of virtue,
because virtue places bounds and limits on our desires and therefore helps in detaching
the soul from matter and its experiences or states. The universal intellect emanates or
flows from the One when the One contemplates itself, therefore the universal intellect is a
product of Divine Thought and is divine thought, and contains within itself all the IdealForms such as the forms of Beauty and Justice etc. The intelligible realm is a realm of
beauty and perfection, it is a realm that is truly real in existence and being, one that is
truly alive, far more superior and nobler than those below it such as the material realm of
the senses. It is a realm wherein subsist the ideal forms that are immutable, fixed and
unchanging archetypes of the material existents. These ideal-forms are immaterial,
immortal and immutable in character. By contrast the realm of the senses which is also the
realm of matter is the least real of all the realms, in fact in comparison to the intelligible
realm of the archetypes it is unreal and illusory, imperfect in character, mutable where
things are always in a state of flux and change and nothing remains constant. It is a world
devoid of immortality, a realm for mortals and finite beings, that are destined to perish due
to being attached with matter. The transcendent One is the source and the fountain of all

being and existence therefore the nearer a being or an existent is to The One the more
perfect, real and pure it is, the more alive it is by virtue of its proximity to the One, and
similarly the farther a being or an existent is from the source of all being the more
imperfect, unreal, mutable, material and impure it is by reason of its remoteness from the
One. Therefore the intelligible realm of the ideal-forms happens to be the most sublime,
pure and existentially the most perfect realm as compared to the material world which is
imperfect due to its remoteness from the One. The intelligible realm has emanated from
the One and the sensible world emanates from the intelligible realm, therefore the
intelligible realm since it is nearer to the transcendent One happens to be perfect, nobler
and purer by virtue of its proximity in comparison to the realm of matter which is ignoble,
impure and imperfect due to its remoteness from the fountain of being or the One. The
sensible objects that exist in the material world are imperfect images of the Ideal-Forms
subsisting in the intelligible world, they are mere shadows or imperfect reflections of those
nobler and perfect Archetypes. The sensible existents of the material world are particulars
that participate in the universals subsisting in the intelligible realm. The universal soul has
its gaze focused on the universal intellect and all that exists therein, meaning the Ideal
Forms and before its separation from the universal soul the individual soul before its
descent into the material realm is also focused towards the universal intellect and the Ideal
Forms contained therein, but it is the descent of the individual soul or its separation from
the universal soul that causes it to suffer from forgetfulness. The Ideal Forms are contained
within the individual soul that descends into the sensible world but it is not aware of them.
The particular sensible objects that the individual soul perceives through sensation in the
material realm are mere imperfect images of the Ideal Forms contained within the
individual soul. When we perceive through the senses particular material objects in the
sensible realm so the particular Good or Beauty present in those things causes the soul to
recollect the Ideal Forms which are the universals the images or shadows of which are
those sensible objects found in the material world. These Ideal Forms are present within
the individual soul which it acquired before its separation from the universal soul. The
participated and particular Good and Beauty present in particular sensible things attract
the souls gaze and attention as something similar or akin to its own nature or essence.
The human soul longs to return to the intelligible realm from where it descends into the
sensible realm, it yearns to unite once again with its source which is the realm of perfection
and beauty. The intelligible realm is a realm that is all Good because therein is Good
unblended and unmixed with Evil , Good in its purity. The material world is a realm in which
Good and Evil both exist blended and mixed together, the evil therein is due to Matter. It is
the souls design to escape from evil towards the Good because the soul is Good by nature
and therefore inclines towards that which is similar to its own nature, and since matter is
evil therefore escaping from evil necessarily involves detachment or disassociation from
matter, and the soul may detach itself from matter and hence escape evil by avoiding
indulgence in desires and pleasures, because it is indulgence in desires and pleasures that

pollutes the soul with evil, the soul contracts this evil through matter when it shares the
states and experiences of matter. The soul can detach itself from matter and thereby
escape evil by becoming god-like through the acquisition of virtuous attributes which are
god-like qualities because virtue or virtuous attributes are good because they participate in
The Form of the Good meaning the One, who is The Good. There can be no desires in the
One because the presence of desires implies the absence of the desired object which is
something alluring or desirable and since no good or perfection is lacking in the One or the
Divine Being therefore there can be nothing alluring or desirable the absence of which
should cause desires in the One. The nearer a being is to the source of all that is Good
which is the One the more it participates in its Goodness and consequently the more godlike it is, and the farther a being is from the source of all being the lesser is its participation
in the goodness of the One and hence the greater the imperfection. Life is possessed by all
living beings be they plants, animals, humans or the beings subsisting in the intelligible
cosmos such as the universal intellect and the universal soul and also the One, but the One
possesses life in a primal manner, that is without having received it from any other,
whereas all other animate beings possess life in a secondary manner, that is they have
received it from the One who is the fountain of all being and life. Similarly the One is
beautiful and perfect and the other beings of the intelligible and sensible realms are also
beautiful and perfect, but the One is beautiful in a primal manner, he is perfect in a primal
sense, whereas all other beings are beautiful or perfect only secondarily having received it
from the One. In comparison with the material beings in the realm of sense the universal
soul is a higher being and in comparison to the universal soul the universal intellect is a
superior being because the universal soul with respect to the intellectual-principle is like
matter, and finally in comparison with the One the universal intellect is inferior and is like
matter when compared to it. The Intelligible realm is an immaterial realm and since there is
no matter in the intelligible world therefore there is no potentiality and since there is no
potentiality therefore there can be no change towards a future actuality and hence the
intellectual beings are immutable existents that remain eternally unchangeable in their
actuality. This is due to the fact that potentiality implies a possibility of movement or
motion towards a future actuality but where there can be no change simply because there
is no matter to receive change, so there is no potentiality to strive for and hence no change
as well. Man is a composite being a couplement consisting of an immaterial aspect, known
as the soul and a material aspect, called the body, the soul is not from the phenomenal
world which is the realm of matter, which is evil, the soul has a divine source from whence
is its origin and is therefore nobler and purer than the body whose origin is from matter
and it is therefore inferior to the soul. Matter is dead and it is the soul which imparts or
infuses life into this dead matter. The phenomenal world which is the realm of matter even
though it exists and has being but in comparison to the intellectual realm it is unreal and
its existence is not truly real but only illusory, in other words this world of the senses is
merely a shadow or an image of that which is truly real in existence and being. The

sensible objects that exist in the material realm strive to attract our attention towards
them, that is the material world, and keep the soul imprisoned in the realm of senses
thereby striving to divert the souls gaze from that which is truly real, meaning the
intellectual realm or the ideal-forms subsisting therein. In the sensible world nothing ever Is
but everything is in a state of becoming due to constant change or flux therefore the things
here cannot be regarded as being real because that which is real always Is and is never in
a process of becoming. True beauty lies in the intellectual realm but beauty exists even in
this phenomenal world of the senses therefore what is it that renders material things
beautiful, because matter is evil so how can material things be beautiful? That which
renders material things alluring and beautiful is their acceptance or receiving of the idealforms within them, the reception of ideal-forms imparts measure, harmony and order to
sensible things thereby rendering them beautiful. Therefore when the soul feels attracted
to a particular material object and finds it beautiful it is due to the presence of an idealform the nature of which is similar to that of the soul, and the soul discovering something
familiar and similar to its own character and nature feels attracted towards it. But some
material objects are more beautiful than others, this is because the extent of beauty is
proportionate to the degree of participation in the ideal-form by a particular material thing,
the greater its participation in an ideal-form the more beautiful it would be. The soul by its
nature or in its essence is good, pure and luminous whereas matter by nature that is in its
essence is evil, impure and dark, therefore matter or the material world is something alien
to the soul and its nature, therefore when the soul indulges in matter or is lured by matter
into indulgence in itself it is actually taking in or accepting something alien to its essence
or nature. The souls attachment with matter and subsequent indulgence in material
passions or desires obstructs and impairs its vision of that which is true being or the truly
real in comparison to the sensible realm. This vision, if exercised, is not of things existing
without the soul in the external-sensible world, but is the inner vision concerned with the
seeing of the ideal-forms that are found in the soul. It is this inward vision or the inner
seeing that is the true act of the soul. The desires, passions and affections that arise as a
result of the souls association with matter cover the soul thereby blinding it to that which
is truly real. As long as the soul remains immersed in matter it remains blind to this reality
like one in a dream with these desires and passions acting as a thick layer of dust
preventing the souls inward vision of reality, beauty and perfection. This immersion in
matter renders the soul impure, but not impure essentially because the soul by its essence
is something noble and luminous, but this impurity arises in the soul through association
with matter which is essentially evil, therefore in the soul this impurity is accidental and
not essential, therefore all that the soul needs to do for purification is to isolate itself
completely from the alien matter that has accumulated on it, this can be achieved by
detaching itself and withdrawing from the illusory world of the senses and matter and
focusing [Link] impurities of sins that result from the souls association and
attachment with matter act as a thick layer of dust that dampens the luminosity of the

soul, thereby concealing the souls light. All the material desires and passions act as a veil
designed to cover, to conceal the light of the soul, to blind it from seeing reality through
inner vision. Looking within allows the soul to have a vision of the truly real, it enables the
soul to contemplate the ideal-forms that have a nature similar to its own, and the soul has
a natural inclination towards that which is similar to its own essence, it assists the soul in
waking up from its dream and escaping that which is illusory and false. Through indulgence
in desires the soul allows the body to dominate over itself, but if the soul isolates itself from
all that is alien to its nature through detachment from matter so by doing so it is the soul
that dominates and holds sovereignty over the body. The soul can either sink low through
the gratification of desires and passions and by involving itself with something impure and
dark or it could either aspire and rise above matter towards the intelligible reality, towards
that which is higher and nobler. The soul is closer to Real Being and by virtue of this
proximity possesses life and being through participation in that which is truly real or real
being, and the corporeal bodies become animate or come to possess life by reason of the
souls attachment with the body it is this association of the soul with the body that infuses
life into that which was before dead matter. Therefore the material body is closer to nonbeing and remote from that which is true being. Therefore attachment with a corporeal
body puts the soul to sleep, and all the corporeal or material senses assist the body in its
striving to keep the soul asleep and in a dream, therefore as long as the soul is attached to
the body and is indulging in the gratification of its sensual appetites it is dreaming, and
therefore it is only the souls detachment from the body that can make it rise from this
sleep and put an end to its dreaming. Neoplatonism makes a distinction between that
which exists by itself or through itself and that which exists through another and is
therefore dependent upon some other entity for its being and existence. That which is
existent through itself or in itself is regarded as true being and that which really exists
because it does not depends upon anything for existing and for its existential perfections
whereas all other beings or existents are dependent upon this real being for their
existence, being and life, as well as perfection therefore the Real Being is absolutely
independent of everything, in contrast to this all other things are dependent upon the real
being for their life, existence, perfection or being and derive or come to possess all these
through participation in that which is truly real. The more a thing partakes off that which is
truly real or off the absolute good and beautiful the more perfect, beautiful and real it is
said to be and therefore the greater or more perfect is its being or existence, and the lesser
the participation of anything in the absolute good the more evil, imperfect or illusory it is in
its being. Therefore all good things have a common source and origin from which they
derive or receive their goodness , similarly all beautiful things have a common source and
origin from which they derive or receive their beauty which is the absolute good or the
form of the good. The farther a thing is from the absolute good or The Good the nearer it is
to non-being, similarly the nearer a thing is to The Good the farther it is from non-being. In
Neoplatonism evil is defined as a privation or a negation of good, in other words evil is

nothing but the absence of good. Therefore evil does not have an independent existence or
being of its own but it is merely the result or the consequence of the withdrawal of good,
for instance cold is an evil and it is the result of the absence of heat, darkness is an evil
which is the consequence of the absence of light, similarly death also is an evil which is
nothing but the absence of life, therefore what exists is good and evil is the name given to
the absence thereof. Therefore evil is something negative and is devoid of a positive
existence. The purpose of Mans existence is to seek perfection through the purification of
the soul, the soul is a noble and pure being which through its fall or descent from the realm
of perfection and beauty comes to be associated and attached to matter which is impure
and evil by its nature, this association of the soul with matter ennobles matter and infuses
life into it but results in the degradation of the soul because it is by reason of this
association that the soul becomes tainted with the impurity of sin. The sinning is due to
accepting and indulgence in that which is alien to the soul, meaning matter and the
consequent desires and passions that it engenders within the soul through association.
Therefore purification of the soul and its perfection lies in detachment from matter and all
the other material desires and passions associated with it. The purification of the soul lies
in becoming God-like through the acquisition of virtue, therefore the more a soul partakes
off virtue the more god-like it becomes, this is because virtue is a good and the more
virtuous a soul becomes the closer it gets to that which is absolute good or The Good. Sin
is the result or product of vice or vicious attributes, and vice is a negation of virtue or
virtuous qualities and virtue is a good, and since the opposite of that which is good is evil
therefore it follows that vice being opposed to virtue, which is a good, is an evil and since
every evil is a negation and a privation of some good therefore it follows that vice is a
negation or a privation of virtue and it is the absence of virtue that causes vice the
consequence of which is sin. Sin is a pollutant and like all pollutants it is in its nature to
corrupt and render impure that to which it attaches itself, meaning the soul, therefore it is
in the nature of sin to corrupt and pollute the soul thereby rendering it impure. But in order
for something to become corrupt it must first have been uncorrupted , in order for
something to become polluted it must first have been pure, because a thing already
corrupt cannot subsequently become corrupt again, although the corruption may be said to
have been compounded, but for something to experience corruption for the very first time
it is necessary for it to have been uncorrupted previously and to have been untouched by
any pollution and impurity, but this can only be when that thing is completely and
essentially good, therefore Neoplatonism asserts the essential goodness of the soul, which
only becomes corrupt and impure by association with matter. The soul is from the divine
realm of perfection and beauty, it is something noble and pure, and it is only by
attachment with matter that its purity becomes corrupted. Neoplatonism speaks of two
realms or worlds one being invisible and the other visible, the invisible realm is the
intellectual cosmos the realm of perfection and beauty, the realm of eternal existents and
immortal beings, where nothing changes or is in a state or process of becoming because

over there everything is immutable and fixed, it is the realm of true being and true life,
where Good and beauty are found unmixed and unmingled with evil and ugliness, it is the
world of ideal-forms or universals. The visible realm is the realm of the senses, it is the
sensible world of matter and corporeality, where everything is in a process of becoming
and changing, where all is in a state of flux and nothing is fixed or constant, where
everything is perishable and mutable, it is an imperfect realm in comparison to the ideal
reality or the intellectual cosmos, it is merely an illusion, a shadow of that which is truly
real, it is an image of that which is true being, it is a realm in which is to be found good
mingled with evil, and beauty mixed with ugliness, unlike the intellectual cosmos where
good and beauty exist in their purity. It is because of matter that we find good mingled with
evil and beauty mixed with ugliness in this world of phenomenon, because matter is evil.
But there is beauty as well in this material realm so what is the cause of the existence of
beauty in this world or how is it that some corporeal existents happen to be beautiful? It is
the acceptance and reception of ideal-forms by the sensible corporeal beings from the
invisible realm of the intellectual cosmos, it is the acceptance of these forms which imparts
harmony and order to the sensible reality and it is the presence of order and harmony that
brings about beauty. Therefore the more a being or a thing participates in the ideal-reality
through the acceptance of ideal-forms the more beautiful, perfect or good it is said to be,
because the degree of perfection or goodness a thing possesses depends upon the extent
of its participation in the ideal-reality or that which is truly real, the Good. Neoplatonism
sees this material universe as beautiful and good and not as some existent that is
completely devoid of beauty and perfection, they see the beauty and goodness found
therein as a manifestation of Gods infinite wisdom and power. They see this world as a
corporeal and material translation of divine power and wisdom. Those who deny this world
any share in beauty and goodness are in reality blind and therefore if they cant observe
the apparent beauty lying in front of the senses they surely will not be able to appreciate
and have a vision of real beauty that exists in the intellectual realm off which this corporeal
beauty is merely an image. This is because the particular corporeal things that exist
outside are images or shadows of the ideal-forms found within the individual human soul,
and the soul is attracted by these beautiful objects existing in the external reality because
it observes something similar to its own nature in them and this similarity attracts its gaze
and attention. Anything that exists cannot be completely devoid of goodness because
existence is Good therefore since the corporeal world exists therefore it must possess
some good and cannot be absolutely destitute off goodness, and nothing can have any
share in goodness without participating in that which is absolutely Good, the Good. This is
because goodness in the form of grace is constantly emanating from the divine , meaning
the Good towards those inferior to it, and it is by virtue of the receiving of this emanation
of goodness that things happen to participate in the Absolute Good and thereby become
good to the extent of their participation. The extent or degree to which a being or an
existent is able to participate in the absolute good or The Good is dependent upon its

capacity for such participation or receiving, and this capacity to partake of the good varies
from being to being where some beings are endowed or possess a greater capacity to
participate than others and are therefore superior than those whose participation is limited
or lesser by comparison. For instance in case of inanimate existents such participation
results in mere existence devoid of life, and in animate non-rational beings participation
results in existence as well as sensible life and in rational beings such as Man it results in a
rational life, therefore from among the existents of this world the inanimate things
participate the least in the Good whereas Man happens to participate the greatest in The
Good. All things that exist pursue, seek, desire and strive towards The Good but each
attains to it only to the extent of its capacity. There are three kinds of beings namely the
Gods or celestial beings (angels), humans and beasts, therefore Man is inferior to the
celestial beings but superior to the beasts, this gradation of beings depends upon the
degree or extent of their participation in the Primal Good and the degree in which they
receive Good from it therefore the participation of the beasts happens to be the least and
that of the celestial beings happens to be the greatest. The degree or the extent of
participation of beings in the Primal Good depends upon their capacity to receive the flow
of Good, because the grace of The One in the form of Good is constantly flowing and each
being or thing receives it to the extent of its capacity to do so. Now man may ascend to the
level of the higher or celestial beings by becoming God-like through the acquisition of
virtue, or he may descend or fall to the level of the beasts through sinning and possessing
a vicious character, this is because when a man sins so he harms or hurts his own soul
through the performance of sin. The human soul is a noble being, pure, luminous and
essentially Good in its character that finds itself lured into and held captive in the sensible
world by reason of its descent or fall from its celestial origin (intelligible reality) into a
material body. The soul being trapped inside corporeality longs to escape from matter and
return to the object of its desire which is Absolute Good or God, but it is the design of the
material realm to prolong the soul's imprisonment through engendering within the soul
base desires and passions for the attainment of material and bodily pleasures. Matter
seeks to accomplish this in order to divert the soul's gaze from looking inwards within itself,
to frustrate the soul's objective of contemplating the Divine Reality. The purpose of Man is
to seek perfection through purification of the soul, and the soul can only be purified
through escaping matter and the consequent material desires but escaping matter does
not refers to the forced abandonment of the material realm for that more perfect and
sublime invisible sphere by shedding off our corporeality, it really means to acquire virtue
to become God-like, because virtue places bounds and measures on the desires of the soul
allowing it to wake-up from its material sleep to its own inner reality to contemplate the
Divine. The material realm is a sphere where Good exists in a mixed or mingled state, in
other words Good is found mixed with Evil and not in its pure, unmingled form, the Evil
here is due to Matter because it is the soul's attachment with matter that gives occasion to
the base desires thereby causing the soul to forget the true reality from whence is its

origin. Association with matter and indulgence in the desires that its association engenders
within the soul is death to the soul that drives it towards non-being. The soul yearns to free
itself from matter and to return to that invisible realm wherein Good exists in its pure and
unmixed state free from Evil. This is because the soul is essentially Good but it is its
descent or fall into the material sphere that causes it to become impure and tainted with
sin, thereby resulting in the concealment of the soul's essential luminosity with the
darkness of matter in the form of sins. This layer of material darkness that covers the
soul's essential Goodness impairs its inner vision of Reality, hence in order to seek Reality
it is necessary for the soul to detach itself from the baseness of matter and turn its gaze
from outward vision to that of inner vision. A Sage is one whose soul has managed to free
itself from the shackles of bodily desires and pleasures to escape matter. He is one the
gaze of whose soul is directed towards inner vision of the Ideal-Reality of which this
external world of phenomenon is a mere image. Such a soul see's the world for what it is,
an illusion meant to distract the soul from the object of its desire which is the Divine
Reality, and therefore the soul of a sage avoids being lured into the world of matter by
seeking refuge in Virtue. The sage's soul is undeterred by adversity, affliction or material
loss because of its awareness that true happiness lies not in the possession of worldly
goods that are perishable and mutable or in the acquisition of bodily pleasures, but
happiness consists in contemplation of that Ideal-Reality that is perfect, noble, eternal and
immutable. According to Neoplatonism the material things that exist here are composites
consisting of matter and Ideal-Form, in fact it is the acceptance and the receiving of idealform that imparts order, harmony and measure to the realm of matter so whatever beauty
or good exists in this sphere it is due to the participation and the receiving of these idealforms by material existents, and the greater this participation or receiving the more good
and beautiful these corporeal things become. Therefore it is the attachment of ideal-forms
with material things that infuses and imparts Good and beauty to the world of
phenomenon. Before becoming associated and attached to matter these ideal-forms
subsisting in the intellectual realm are simple entities and in their simplicity are pure, noble
and immutable. The idea of the pre-existence of the souls is another notion found in
Neoplatonism where the soul is described as a noble and pure being dwelling in the
presence of the Divine from whom it derives its being, it is only the subsequent descent or
fall into the lower sphere that separates it from the Realm of Beauty and Goodness
resulting in its embodiment and degradation by association with matter which is base and
evil. It is this descent into the material world that causes the soul to suffer from forgetfullness regarding that which is truly real, that which is Divine. Neoplatonism classifies
being into two distinct categories namely non-derivative and derivative. The Transcendent
One is the only non-derivative being that is independent of all others by reason of its
supreme perfection and absolute goodness, there is no perfection that is lacking or absent
in The One and hence no deficiency. All other existents are derivative beings in the sense
that they depend on The One for their existence, their being and for the maintenance of

that being, and also because whatever good, beauty pr perfection is possessed by the
derivative beings has been imparted to them by The One, and it is through their
participation in The Good that they also become good. It has been stated before that the
extent to which all things participate in the Form of The Good is directly proportional to
how great or less is the faculty or capacity for such participation which is limited only by a
lack of capacity. The harm or hurt caused to the soul is a natural consequence or effect of
sin or evil conduct. Virtuous conduct elevates the human soul to a higher level, that is the
level of celestial beings, whereas evil conduct degrades it to the level of beasts. Similarly
the reward merited by the human soul through virtuous living is a natural consequence of
virtuous or righteous conduct. Therefore if an evil man is afflicted with adversity in this life
he ought not to complain because the adversity or affliction is the natural consequence of
its evil mode of living. There is no existent that has not been touched by the power of God
and therefore there can be nothing that lies beyond the reach of his infinite power, this is
due to the fact that existence is good and all that exists possesses it to the degree of the
perfection of its being, but the source and fountain of all Good is God, who is the Absolute
Good. Good lies in Divine proximity whereas Evil lies in being distant from The Good and
since the material reality is farthest from The Good therefore it is evil. The source of all
evils is the souls attachment with the body, because it is the souls attachment with the
body that renders the animate prone to fear of loss, mortality, poverty, adversity,
discomfort, decay and corruption. According to Neoplatonism True Happiness is something
to be earned through good actions and therefore only the Good are happy. This is because
Good acts produce good results or rewards which are the natural consequences of those
actions and this therefore causes happiness, whereas evil acts produce evil results or
punishment which is the natural consequence of evil actions. Neoplatonism regards Man as
a noble being that occupies a status or position higher than all other beings of this world
and hence is the noblest. This is due to the fact that animate beings are nobler in
comparison to the inanimate beings, and among the animate beings the rational ones are
nobler than the non-rational ones. Man is a free agent possessing free-will and choice and
may choose either to live in good or in evil thereby determining or choosing the resultant
consequences attached to the respective courses of action available to him as an agent.
Therefore Man is not compelled to do what he does and acts freely. It is because Man is a
free agent acting by his own choice that he becomes virtuous, in case of choosing to act
justly, or becomes vicious, in case of choosing to act unjustly, thereby becoming worthy of
praise or blame. Had Man been compelled to act so he would not in that case be
considered sinfull. Man by nature is Good and therefore desires good and it is this desire
that compels him to move towards the Good and to seek it. God acts in a purposeful
manner and not arbitrarily or without any definite aim and purpose, and the acts of God
are a reflection or a manifestation of his attributes or qualities, in other words the Divine
acts express Divine qualities. There is wisdom behind all divine acts and this wisdom is
apparent in all creation and existence, whether it is a thing minute or insignificant or

something sublime or grand, Gods wisdom is manifest in all. All that God does is good and
just therefore no act of God is evil, The One is only the author of Good not of evil, because
it is good that exists positively whereas evil exits negatively, meaning that it has no
independent being of its own and is simply a negation of Good. The individual human soul
has both an upward tendency as well as a downward tendency, it is because of this
downward tendency that the human soul descends from the realm of perfection and
beauty towards the realm of change and matter, whereas it is due to the upward tendency
inherent within the human soul that it aspires upwards towards its original abode, the
realm of perfection and immutability. It is due to this upward tendency of the human soul
that it aspires and desires to soar to the source of all that is Good, the fountain-head of all
perfection, and move from imperfection and deficiency towards perfection and completion
of its being or existence. However the One has no upward or downward tendency within
itself, it has no upward tendency because it has no desire to seek any perfection or Good
that is absent within itself this is due to the fact that there simply is no perfection that The
One lacks and therefore may possibly desire, because desire is nothing but the result of
deficiency and want, a lacking. There is also no downward tendency in The One because
had there been any downward tendency that would have resulted in commerce and
communication between The One and that lower world or beings, by commerce here we
mean the in taking of influence by The One from those lower that it, but had that been the
case the The One would no longer have remained immutable and unchanging. Secondly
why should The One be inclined to have any kind of commerce or in taking with the lower
beings, simply because there is nothing in them that The One lacks in terms of Good and
Beauty. Creation is a ceaseless process that never ceases or stops but is ever expanding
and streaming forth from The One that is the source of all creation and existence.