Concealed pleasures are the greatest. The main conception of the World is that of three divine hypostases, or natures, which are, in descending order, the One Intellect, the Soul, and Time. The One is that from which all else depends, and toward which all aspires to return. It is above the realm of Being, lying beyond the possibilities of thought and discourse, and is to be attained only by a rare ascent of mystical exaltation. The realm of Intellect is the realm of Being, and Intellect contains the system of Ineligibles within itself. Intellect turns its back on the One in contemplation and derives thence its own productive power, while the intelligible World itself is seen not as static but as instinct with life. Soul derives from Intellect and looks toward it, and itself in turn gives rise to the World of nature; it is (importantly for Plotinus’ psychology) at the level of the Soul that we encounter time, which is the life of the soul in movement. God is not working toward a particular finish—His purpose is the process itself. It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying God.  

Dark matter makes up about 27 percent of the Universe and is some strange kind of energy-fluid that filled space, unknowable in itself, represents the farthest limit to which the process of descent points; utterly negative, it is for Plotinus the source of evil.  The other 68 percent of the Universe is dark energy. The Universe is thought to be 13.8-billion-years-old. Dark matter is an invisible substance that can only be seen through the effects of its gravity, while dark energy is pushing the Universe apart. The nature of both remains mysterious. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith and not by sight. The Greek influence of the Platonic theory is shown to have a tendency to correspond with the Bible narrative of the divine Logos by means of which God formed the World: the intelligible World, subsisting in the Divine Mind, served as a pattern for the production of the material Universe. What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Platonic tradition believes that the soul has a pre-existence, of a cosmic Fall, and that reincarnation is possible. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me.

No civilized person ever regrets a pleasure, and no uncivilized individual ever knows what a pleasure is. If you do it too often, anything becomes a pleasure. The concept of pleasure has always bulked large in thought about human motivation and human values and standards. It seems clear to most people that pleasure and enjoyment are pre-eminent among the things worth having and that when someone gets pleasure out of something, one develops a desire for it. Moreover, from the time of Plato much of the discussion of the topics of motivation and value has consisted in arguments for and against the doctrines of psychological hedonism (only pleasure is desired for its own sake) and ethical hedonism (only pleasure is desirable for its own sake). One can make an intelligent judgment on these doctrines only to the extent that one has a well-worked-out view as to the nature of pleasure. Otherwise one will be unable to settle such questions as whether a putative counterexample, for instance, a desire for the welfare of one’s children, is or is not a genuine example of desiring something other than pleasure for its own sake.  

The love of pleasure and the fear of pain are the ruling principles of the human heart, in which they maintain an uninterrupted struggle for superiority. Pleasure and pain have usually been regarded as opposite parts of a single continuum. As pain diminishes, it tends toward a neutral point; by continuing in the same “direction” we move toward increasing intensities of pleasure. Amounts of pain are negative quantities to be algebraically summated with amounts of pleasure in computing the total hedonic consequences of an action or a piece of legislation. This was in accordance with the utilitarian principle that an action is justified to the extent that it tends to produce pleasure and the diminution of pain. Since “pain” is most commonly used as a term for a kind of bodily sensation, it is natural to think of pleasure as having the same status. And indeed there are uses of the term “pleasure” in which it seems to stand for a kind of bodily sensation. Thus we speak of “pleasures of the stomach” and thrills of pleasure. However, as hedonists have often insisted, in any sense of the term in which psychological or ethical hedonism is at all plausible, the term “pleasure” must be sued so as to embrace more than certain kinds of localized bodily sensations.   

 The pleasure which attends noble aims remunerates not the pains they bring with them. When someone maintains that pleasure is the only thing which is desirable for its own sake, one certainly means to include states of the following sort: Enjoying taking pleasure in doing something, such as playing tennis. Getting satisfaction out of something, such as seeing an enemy humiliated. Having a pleasant evening; hearing pleasant sounds. Feeling good, having a sense of well-being. Feeling contented. It seems clear that phenomena of these sorts do not consist in localized bodily sensation of the same type as headaches, except for being an opposite quality. When someone has enjoyed playing tennis, it makes no sense to ask where (in one’s body) did one enjoy it. Nor does it make sense to wonder whether the pleasure one got from the tennis came and went in brief flashes, or whether it was steady and continuous; but theses would be sensible questions if getting pleasure from playing tennis were a localized bodily sensation like a headache.  

Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will—even if it means you will suffer—is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; one simply chooses God’s will, just as Christ did, whether it means suffering or not. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. The questions about the experience of playing tennis would not deny that various localized sensations might be involved in one’s enjoyment of the game, such as a swelling in one’s chest after making a good shot, or a sinking sensation in one’s stomach after muffing a shot. The point is that one’s enjoyment of the game cannot be identified with such sensations, for one could be enjoying the game throughout its duration, even though such sensations cropped up only from time to time. My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. There must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. What I need is God’s surgical procedure—His use of external circumstances to being about internal purification.

Pleasure is a quality that can attach itself to any state of consciousness. In the state of future perfection, there will be pleasure without danger and security without restraint. Enjoying listening to music and feeling good on arising in the morning are special forms of “getting pleasure.” Getting pleasure can, then, be thought of as a good feeling. However, we have various degrees of getting pleasure. To be deprived of one pleasure is no very good reason for rejection of the rest. One can enjoy oneself more or less and be displeased at something more or less. Moreover, it would seem that there is an intermediate neutral point at which one is neither pleased nor displeased at what is happening, neither enjoying oneself nor feeling miserable, and so on. Nonetheless, the near approach of pleasure frequently awakens the heart to emotions which would fail to be excited by a more remote and abstracted observance. I have never had more pleasure in my contrivances then in the end of them. Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.  

The Winchester Mystery House

Discover the tales of the ghosts and specters that linger in The Winchester Mystery House. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/