Elements of Theology, Proposition 12

 The Principle and First Cause of all beings is The Good It­self.

For if all things proceed from one cause, [as has been demonstrated], it is necessary to call that cause either The Good, or that which is better than The Good. But if it is better than The Good, is any thing imparted by it to beings, and to the nature of beings, or nothing? And if nothing is imparted by it, an absurdity will re­sult. For we would no longer rank it in the order of causes, since it is everywhere necessary that something should be present from cause to the things caused, and especially from the First Cause, on which all things de­pend, and by reason of which every being exists. But if something is imparted by it, in the same manner as there is by The Good, there will be something better than goodness in beings, emanating from the First Cause.

For if it is better than and above The Good it will in no way bestow on secondary natures any thing inferior to that which is imparted by the nature posterior to itself. But what can be greater than goodness? Since that which is better than other things is so called because it is a participant to a greater degree of the good. Hence if the not good cannot be said to be better than The Good, it must be entirely secondary to it. If, too, all beings desire The Good how is it possible that there should be any thing prior to this cause? For if they also desire that which is prior to The Good, how can they specially desire The Good? But if they do not de­sire it, how is it possible that they should not desire the cause of all, since they proceed from it? If therefore The Good is that on which all beings depend, The Good is the Principle and First Cause of all things.

 

COMMENTARY

This is the identity of the Good and the One. Remember that the Good is that toward which everything is aiming, and that "good" in this context means "excellent" or "beneficent." If there is something above the Good, then it has to impart either something or nothing to the beings that come after it. Clearly, however, it must impart something, otherwise there is no reason to posit it-- a First Cause which caused nothing would be a contradiction. But if it impart something to beings, then that "something" would be better than goodness and more excellent than excellence. Again, this would be a contradiction. And so the First Cause must be the Good itself. 

And so we have as our First Principle an entirely simple overflowing cause, which is both unknowable the source of all beings and that toward which all beings are striving. 

This same doctrine is found in the traditions which succeeded Platonism-- and not just in their esoteric variations. The One is Ain Soph on the Tree of Life. But it's also the God of Dionysius the Areopagite, and of Thomas Aquinas. If I recall correctly, Aquinas had access to the Elements of Theology itself, and probably respected it as he believed it to have been written by his hero Aristotle. In Catholicism this is called the doctrine of "Divine Simplicity." It's important to note that, for Proclus, the One is not part of a triad of terms or hypostases, as all succeeding gods: He explicitly denies this in the Platonic Theology, stating in so many words that "The First God is not the head of a triad." And yet, the absolutely simple God of the Catholic Church is also a triad consisting of relationships between three distinct persons. I've seen many attempts to explain how this works but absolutely none that are convincing-- actually, it's far more convincing to say "The nature of God is beyond that which may be known by human reason" than to claim "God is a radically simple unity and is also three distinct persons in relationship." But, as someone you and I know likes to say, your mileage may vary.