He who is to be promoted to that world should know everything, or at
least, as says (Plato),[344] he should be as learned as possible. In
his first generation he should have descended here below to form a
philosopher, a musician, a lover. That is the kind of men whose nature
makes them most suitable to be raised to the intelligible world. But
how are we going to raise them? Does a single method suffice for all?
Does not each of them need a special method? Doubtless. There are two
methods to follow: the one for those who rise to the intelligible world
from here below, and the other for those who have already reached
there. We shall start by the first of these two methods; then comes
that of the men who have already achieved access to the intelligible
world, and who have, so to speak, already taken root there. Even these
must ceaselessly progress till they have reached the summit; for one
must stop only when one has reached the supreme term.