Plotinus
The founder of Neoplatonism, he developed a complex metaphysical system based on the One, Intellect, and Soul.
Most quoted
"Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the sculptor of a statue that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here, he smoothes there, he makes this line lighter, this other purer, until he fills his statue with a lovely face. So too must you. Cut away all that is superfluous, straighten all that is crooked, bring light to all that is dark, labor to make all that is brilliant, and never cease chiseling your statue until the divine splendor of virtue shines out on you, until you see temperance enthroned in its holy sanctuary."
— from Ennead I.6.9, 270
"Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here, he smoothes there, he makes this line lighter, this other purer, until a lovely face has grown upon his work."
— from Enneads I.6.9
"This is the life of gods and of the godlike and blessed among men, liberation from the alien that besets us here, a life taking no pleasure in the things of earth, a flight of the alone to the Alone."
— from Enneads VI.9.11
All quotes by Plotinus (148)
The universe is a single living being embracing all living beings with a common life.
Knowledge has two ends: to know and to act.
The soul's true life is in the intellect.
All things come from the One, and return to the One.
Virtue is the health of the soul.
The body is the tomb of the soul.
Contemplation is the highest activity.
The Good is not good because it benefits, but it benefits because it is good.
Matter is the principle of evil.
The wise man is always similar to himself.
Time is the life of the soul in movement.
Beauty addresses itself chiefly to sight, but there is a beauty for the hearing too.
The soul becomes what it contemplates.
Happiness is the possession of the good.
The One is beyond being.
Intellect is the image of the One.
The soul must purify itself to ascend.
Nature is the image of the soul.
Evil has no substance.
The philosopher is a lover of the divine.