osophy in the realm of opinion, which, like a mist, seemed
to darken the purity of truth in itself.--So far the words of Plato may
perhaps find an intelligible meaning. But when he goes on to speak of
the Essence which is compounded out of both, the track becomes fainter
and we can only follow him with hesitating steps. But still we find a
trace reappearing of the teaching of Anaxagoras: 'All was confusion, and
then mind came and arranged things.' We have already remarked that Plato
was not acquainted with the modern distinction of subject and object,
and therefore he sometimes confuses mind and the things of mind--(Greek)
and (Greek). By (Greek) he clearly means some conception of the
intelligible and the intelligent; it belongs to the class of (Greek).
Matter, being, the Same, the eternal,--for any of these terms, being
almost vacant of meaning, is equally suitable to express indefinite
existence,--are compared or united with the Other or Diverse, and out of
the union or comparison is elicited the idea of intelligence, the 'One
in many,' brighter than any Promethean fire (Phil.), which co-existing
with them and so forming a new existence, is or becomes the intelligible
world...So we may perhaps venture to paraphrase or interpret or put into
other words the parable in which Plato has wrapped up his conception
of the creation of the world. The explanation may help to fill up with
figures of speech the void of knowledge.

The entire compound was divided by the Creator in certain proportions
and reunited; it was then cut into two strips, which were bent into an
inner circle and an outer, both moving with an uniform motion around a
centre, the outer circle containing the fixed, the inner the wandering
stars. The soul of the world was diffused everywhere from the centre to
the circumference. To this God gave a body, consisting at first of
fire and earth, and afterwards receiving an addition of air and water;
because solid bodies, like the world, are always connected by two middle
terms and not by one. The world was made in the form of a globe, and all
the material elements were exhausted in the work of creation.

The proportions in which the soul of the world as well as the human soul
is divided answer to a series of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 8, 27, composed
of the two Pythagorean progressions 1, 2, 4, 8 and 1, 3, 9, 27, of which
the number 1 represents a point, 2 and 3 lines, 4 and 8, 9 and 27 the
squares and cubes respective