Visions of Rapture

Anand Mangal – November 28, 2022

Plotinus, at the end of his fifth Ennead, is consumed by an impossible desire. Beset with
discomfort, pain, and expectation, his soul “must bring forth, having reached the fulness of her
birth-pangs in her eager longing for the One” (V.3, 17.16). He employs no mystic language to
hide the object of his desire; after trying to talk about the One for so long, Plotinus wants to
experience it directly. If his previous discourse is any indication, speculating about the nature of
the One brings him no satisfaction, and it seems he must give up his quest. Instead, Plotinus
curiously proposes, “We must sing another charm to her, if we can find one anywhere to allay
her pangs” (17.18). These charms, which appear mysteriously at the end of the treatise, are
critical to understanding the eventual fulfilment of Plotinus’ “eager longing.”
At first, the charms seem to hide no great mystery. The philosopher could simply mean
that a song, played for a woman in travail, might “allay her pangs.” The Greek ἐπῳδὴς derives
from the word for “a song, lay, or ode,” which seems to accord with this straightforward
interpretation. However, this reading hinges on the word “allay,” and this word may not reflect
Plotinus’ meaning accurately. The original Greek text reads, “τινα πρὸς τὴν ὠδῖνα ἐπῳδὴν
εὕροιμεν,” which has been translated, “allay her pangs” (17.18), but a more literal translation
would be “toward her pangs.” For Plotinus, the charms could never ease his pain or satisfy his
longing; nothing less than the One, the very cause of all existence, can accomplish that. The
charms certainly are employed in response to his desire, but they are not intended to satisfy.
It seems that the charms have only become more obscure than before, but Plotinus,
instead of explaining their purpose, wishes to highlight their utility by contrasting them with the
Intellect. He completely dismisses the idea of understanding the One through the Intellect,
even though this faculty enables the soul to make sense of the entirety of existence. But the
One, which is beyond existence, renders the Intellect powerless; for the intellectual process
must consider multiple things in succession (17.23), which the One, being only one thing,
cannot accommodate. The One is “truly ineffable” and any attempt at description only results in
inaccuracy or gibberish (10.35; 13.1). Therefore, Plotinus makes it clear that despite the
Intellect’s capacious ability, it is woefully inadequate to satisfy his longing for the One.
So far, Plotinus has only presented inadequate solutions for his deep desire. He does not
accept the singing of charms, nor of the mediations of the Intellect, to bring him satisfaction.
But all is not lost; Plotinus introduces the possibility of revelations, of moments when “the soul
suddenly takes light” (17.28). Such mystical visions provide true satisfaction to the soul’s desire
for the One, “and this is the soul’s true end, to touch that light and see it by itself, not by
another light” (17.34). Finally, Plotinus elaborates on the substance of his longing: to directly
encounter the One, not by the “other light” of the Intellect, but through a brilliant, satisfying
vision. Such a vision cannot be achieved by the activity of the Intellect, and this is why the
treatise ends with a violent “ἄφελε πάντα,” as Plotinus calls for an end to all discursive thought.
And although he lacks the ability to trigger any vision of the One, Plotinus is certain that such a
vision will one day materialize.
Plotinus does not see fit to explain the significance of the charms, which were previously
presented as the proper response to the deep longing of the soul, but he does offer all of the
pieces required for a complete understanding of his ideas. For Plotinus, the soul’s desire and
true purpose is to come in contact with the One, which is only possible through a sudden,
Visions of Rapture
Anand Mangal – November 28, 2022

unexpected vision; therefore, the soul’s habitual reliance on the Intellect, in this particular
pursuit, would be utterly pointless. This final caveat is based on clear logic, but it is so contrary
to the functioning of the soul in everyday life that it reveals the utility of the charms. If the
soul’s true purpose is to experience an unforeseen vision, the most worthless way to prepare
for that glorious day would be to engage in discursive thought, trying to understand the One
through a method that can never succeed. This is the proper role of the charms: to remind the
One’s faithful adherents of its ineffable nature, and thereby to prepare them for the day when
the deepest longing of their souls is finally fulfilled.