Plotinus (205–270) taught that the soul can know the One by becoming one with it, which he called “ecstasy,” “surrender,” “simplicity,” “touching,” or “flight of the alone to the alone.” This re-ascension of the soul, which has been described as a union with God, in the Christian sense, was experienced many times by Plotinus. To prepare for it, Neoplatonists practiced virtues and Platonic dialectics, which included the study of mathematics.