Of the three first principles [aichai] or hypostases, One, Intellect, and
Soul, the One or Good is the most difficult to conceive and the most
central to understanding Plotinian philosophy. It is everything and
nothing, everywhere and nowhere. The One is the source [aiche] of all
beings and, as the Good, the goal [telos] of all aspirations, human and
non-human. As the indemonstrable first principle of everything, as
transcendent infinite being, and as the supreme object of love, the
One is the center of a vibrant conception of reality many of whose
facets resist philosophical analysis. Efforts to understand or to define
the nature of the One, Plotinus believes, are doomed to be inadequate.
We speak about it, but in reality these efforts only amount to "making
signs to ourselves about it"; it is not possible for anyone to say what it
is (V.3.13.7, 14.1-7).1
Despite this insistence on the ineffability of the
first principle Plotinus talks about it constantly, making radical
claims about its universal role in the structure of reality. Only by
reflecting on the internal logic of his metaphysics can we recognize
the multi-faceted nature of this unitary principle.