On the first cause
65:7
Book Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Book Description: Full of insight and wisdom, Seneca's letters are a Stoic treasure. They've influenced famous philosophers, leaders, and students over the centuries. Each letter can be read on its own. By reading this volume you'll absorb the thoughts of a thoughtful Stoic aimed at living well.
7.
To these four Plato adds a fifth cause,—the pattern which he himself calls the “idea"; for it is this that the artist gazed upon when he created the work which he had decided to carry out.
Now it makes no difference whether he has his pattern outside himself, that he may direct his glance to it, or within himself, conceived and placed there by himself.
God has within himself these patterns of all things, and his mind comprehends the harmonies and the measures of the whole totality of things which are to be carried out; he is filled with these shapes which Plato calls the “ideas,”—imperishable, unchangeable, not subject to decay.
And therefore, though men die, humanity itself, or the idea of man, according to which man is moulded, lasts on, and though men toil and perish, it suffers no change.
Book: Moral Letters Vol I
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On the first cause
Location: Chapter 65, Section 7
Content:
7.
To these four Plato adds a fifth cause,—the pattern which he himself calls the “idea"; for it is this that the artist gazed upon when he created the work which he had decided to carry out.
Now it makes no difference whether he has his pattern outside himself, that he may direct his glance to it, or within himself, conceived and placed there by himself.
God has within himself these patterns of all things, and his mind comprehends the harmonies and the measures of the whole totality of things which are to be carried out; he is filled with these shapes which Plato calls the “ideas,”—imperishable, unchangeable, not subject to decay.
And therefore, though men die, humanity itself, or the idea of man, according to which man is moulded, lasts on, and though men toil and perish, it suffers no change.