Elements of Theology, Proposition 13

 Every good has the power of uniting its participants, and every union is good; and The Good is the same as The One.

For if The Good is preservative of all beings — by reason of which it is desirable to all things — that indeed which is preservative and connective of the essence of every thing is The One. For by The One all things are preserved, but dispersion expels every thing from its essence. If this be the case, The Good will cause those things to which it is present to be one, and will connect and contain them through union. And if The One is collective and connective of beings, it will perfect each of them by its presence. The union therefore which unites a thing with all is a good. But if union is a good per se, and Good itself has a unifying power, that which is simply good and simply one are the same, causing beings to be both good and one. Hence those things which in a certain way or respect fall off from The Good, at the same time lose the participation of The One. And those things which become destitute of The One, being filled with separation, are equally deprived of The Good. Goodness therefore is union, and union is goodness, and The Good itself is one, and The One is that which is primarily Good

COMMENTARY

A short proposition with a brief commentary, but through this we learn a great deal about just how Proclus thinks about the First Principle. Here is a summary of all the affirmative statements made in this proposition and its commentary: 

1. Every good has the power of uniting its participants. 

2. Every union is good. 

3. The Good (we are reminded) is the same as the One.

And: 

4. The Good is preservative of all beings. 

5. The Good is that which all beings desire. 

6. The Good/the One preserves and connects the essence of all beings. 

7. Dispersion expels everything from its essence. 

8. The Good causes things to which it is present to be one. 

9. The Good connects and contains the things to which it is present through unity.

10. "A good" is a unity which unites "a thing" with "all."

11. To fall away from unity is to fall away from goodness. 

12. Goodness is unity, unity is goodness, and the Good is the One, and the One is the Good

 

And so we have our first principle, the Good. We also have the concepts of "goodness" and "goods." Just as the Good is the same as the One, goodness is the same as union, and goods the same as unities. We have dispersion, which is a falling away from unity and the Good, and which must, therefore, necessarily be evil. We have the reminder that the Good is that which all beings seek, and the fact which they must attain it through unity. 

Contained in this proposition, then, is the entire process of creation, descent, and return. Every being simply by coming into existence will fall away from the Good to a certain extent. Some will necessarily fall very far away indeed. Perhaps as far as the chaos of un-formed matter. The work of every being, then, is to return to the Good, and this is done by making itself good. All by itself? No, by participating in the Good Itself. But how is this done? By way of particular goods-- which is to say, unities. 

Those unities are the Henads. Proclus's massive treatise called the Platonic Theology applies the philosophical ideas he outlines here to the particular gods and myths of Graeco-Roman civilization. Most of the Gods you and I know well are actually fairly far down the rung for Proclus in that particular volume. It's clearly the case, however, that one can apply Proclus's philosophical ideas to any particular theology. The unities are the One as participated. Proclus's unknown student who applied his ideas to Christian theology under the name "Dionysius the Areopagite" treated the Henads not as "Gods," but as "Names of God" or Divine Names. (Can you think of an other system which treats the highest powers as Divine Names?)

The mode of ascent for beings like you and me, then, is to unite ourselves to the Good, and this is done by uniting ourselves to particular Goods. In this way we bring order, unity, and goodness to the dispersion and chaos of our selves and our souls.