Divine Madness

◆Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LX — Of Madness, and Divinations which are made when men are awake, and of the Power of a Melancholy Humor, by which Spirits are sometimes induced into Men's Bodies | Chapter LX, Section 1a

“CHAPTER LX. Of Madness, and Divinations which are made when men are awake, and of the Power of a Melancholy Humor, by which Spirits are sometimes induced into Men's Bodies . It happens also, sometimes, that not only they that are asleep,…”

◆Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LX — Of Madness, and Divinations which are made when men are awake, and of the Power of a Melancholy Humor, by which Spirits are sometimes induced into Men's Bodies | Chapter LX, Section 1b

“And this thing, they think, happens under a three-fold difference, according to a three-fold apprehension of the soul, viz., imaginative, rational, and mental; they say, therefore, that when the mind is forced with a melancholy humor, nothi…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogued

“Some are called in vain to put in a ready appearance, and are chiefly those which proceed from the lower instincts, and which obey the reason either not at all, or very little; and forcing himself to prevent their actions and condemn those…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguee

“Herein he proves that his love is truly heroic; because he proposes to himself as the chief aim, not corporeal beauty, but rather the grace of the spirit, and the inclination of the affections in which, rather than in the beauty of the body…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueb

“It is not a fury of black bile which sends him drifting outside of judgment, reason, and acts of prudence, and tossed by the discordant tempest, like those who, having violated certain laws of the divine Adrastia, are condemned to be scourg…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueg

“Such over-boldness rarely grief escapes." "Fear not the utmost ruin then," I said, "Cleave confident the clouds and die content, That heaven has destined thee to such illustrious death." Cic . I understand when you say: "Enough that thou h…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguef

“Hence it follows that not less do we desire to see things unknown and unseen than those known and seen. And from this it does not follow that the desire does not proceed from cognition, and that we desire something that is not known; but I…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueh

“Heaven the second gift denies, To him who does the first despise. With these and similar reasons the soul, taking part with the weakest, seeks to recall the thoughts to the care of the body. And these, although late, come and show themsel…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguem

“In conclusion, whatever love it may be, it is ever afflicted and tormented in such a way that it cannot fail to supply material for the forge of Vulcan; because the soul, being a divine thing, and by nature, not a servant but the mistress o…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueh

“If one aspires to the supreme splendour, let him retire as much as he can, from union and support, into himself (Di sorte che non sia simile a molti, per che son molti; e non sia nemico di molti per che son dissimili), so that he be not lik…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguep

“Well do I remember having seen it expressed in the sonnet. But let us read it first. 50. Eager to find the much desired food, The eagle towards the sky spreads out his wings And warns of his approach both bird and beast, The third flight…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueq

“Solomon calls it furtive waters. Samuel named it the whisper of a gentle wind. The which three significations show with what sweetness, gentleness, and astuteness, in seas, on earth, in sky, does this fellow come and tyrannize over the wh…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguer

“But where the entire affection is all turned towards God, that is towards the Idea of Ideas, from the light of intelligible things, the mind becomes exalted to the super-essential unity, and, all love, all one, it feels itself no longer sol…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueb

“By her finally, they were treated in such a manner that, blind and homeless, with great labour having ploughed the seas, passed over rivers, overcome mountains, traversed plains for the space of ten years, and at the end of which time havin…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguec

“Too long, too long our limbs Have wandered o'er the terrene globe, So that to us it seems As if the shrewd wild beast, With false and flattering hopes, Our bosoms has encumbered with her wiles. Wretched henceforth, we see, though late, the…”

◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguee

“"The sun is equal to thy chiefest nymph, By virtue of the everlasting laws, And pauses alternating, Amongst my stars she's equal to the sun." [AJ] Plato says that [Greek: Theos] is derived from the verb [Greek: Theein], to move, to run, as…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | INTRODUCTIONc

“Bruno also wrote a book upon the Sphere, which was lost. He expounded the system of Copernicus, and talked to his pupils with enthusiasm about the movement of the earth and of the plurality of worlds. As in that same Liguria Columbus firs…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | INTRODUCTIONi

“The life of man is more than an experience or trial; it is an effort, a struggle to reproduce and represent upon earth some of that goodness, beauty, and truth which are diffused over the universe and constitute its harmony. Long, slow, an…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | INTRODUCTIONl

“There he passed the first day of that imprisonment which was to last for eight years. The next day he went over the lagoon in a gondola, in the company of his jailors, who took him to the prison of the Holy Office, and left him there. Lev…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguea

“. Tansillo, Cicada. Tans. The enthusiasms most suitable to be first brought forward and considered are those that I now place before you in the order that seems to me most fitting. Cic. Begin, then, to read. Tansillo. 1. Ye Muses, t…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueb

“They do not consider that those rules serve principally as a frame for the Homeric poetry, and for other similar to it, and they set up one as a great poet, high as Homer, and disallow those of other vein, and art, and enthusiasm, who in th…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguec

“Hence he cries: "O mountain of Parnassus, where I abide! Muses, with whom I converse! Fountain of Helicon, where I am nourished. Mountain, that affordest me a quiet dwelling-place! Muses, that inspire me with pro found doctrines. Fount…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguee

“What power or spell of herb or magic art Can tear thee from the centre of my heart, Since he, who with an ever-growing zest, Tormenting most, yet most does make me blest? How can I of this weight unburdened be, If pain the cure, and joy th…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueg

“"Steals it from me," he says of Jealousy, not simply in order that it may not be present to me; removing it from my eyesight, but in order that good may not be good, but an acute evil; sweet, not sweet, but an agonized longing; while the he…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguea

“. Tansillo. Now begins the enthusiast to display the affections and uncover the wounds which are for a sign in his body, and in substance or essence in his soul, and he says thus: 9. Of Love the standard-bearer I; My hopes are ice, and g…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguec

“I can very well conceive, from what you have said, the condition of that heroic enthusiast, who says, "My hopes are ice and my desires are glowing," because he is not in the temperance of mediocrity, but, in the excess of contradictions, hi…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogued

“So that, finding himself thus ascending and descending, he feels within his soul the greatest dissension that is possible to be felt, and he remains in a state of confusion through this rebellion of the senses, which urge him thither where…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguea

“. Tansillo . There are several varieties of enthusiasts, which may all be reduced to two kinds. While some only display blindness, stupidity, and irrational impetuosity, which tend towards savage madness, others by divine abstraction bec…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguec

“Here he shows his love not to be like that of the butterfly, of the stag, and of the unicorn, who would flee away if they had knowledge of the fire, of the arrow, and of the snares, and who have no other sense than that of pleasure; but he…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogued

“In this disposition, I believe, was the Nolano when he said: 14. Woe's me! my fury forces me To union with the bad within, And makes it seem a love supreme and good. Wearied, my soul cares nought That I opposing counsels entertain, And w…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguef

“Fitly, therefore, this rapture of heroic enthusiasm feeds on such "high emprise." For the object is infinite, and in action most simple, and our intellectual power cannot apprehend the infinite except in speech or in a certain manner of spe…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueh

“In which generation finding themselves once more through the changes which permutably succeed, they return again to the superior forms. Cic . So that they mean, that souls are impelled by the necessity of fate, and have no proper counsel…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguea

“. Tansillo . Thus is described the discourse of heroic love, in all which tends to its own object, which is the highest good; and heroic intellect, which devotes itself to the study of its own object, which is the primal verity, or absolu…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueb

“He forms intelligible conceptions in his own way and proportions them to his capacity, so that they are received according to the manner of the recipient. Tans. And does he hunt through the operation of the will, by the act of which he co…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguec

“Whence he says, "Come not back to me till thou art mine," and not unworthily may I say with that other— Thou has left me, oh, my heart, And thou, light of my eyes, art no more with me. Here he describes the death of the soul, which by the…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogued

“To be infinite, it must be infinitely pursued with that form of pursuit which is not incited physically, but metaphysically, and is not from imperfect to perfect, but goes circulating through the grades of perfection to arrive at that infin…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguee

“She dispatches the armed thoughts, which, solicited and urged by disagreement with the inferior nature, are sent to recall the heart. The soul instructs them how they should conduct themselves, so that, being allured and attracted by the o…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueg

“Behold me, miserable one, deprived of heart, abandoned of thoughts, left by hope, I, who had fixed my all in them. Nothing is left to me but the sense of my poverty, my unhappiness and misery; why does not this too leave me? Why does not…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguei

“And amongst men the same thing is seen, according as some resemble one species of brute beast and some another: these having something of the quadruped, and those of birds, and, may be, some affinity, which I will not explain, but through w…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguea

“. I. Cic . Now show me how I may be able for myself to consider the conditions of these enthusiasts, through that which appears in the order of the warfare here described. Tans . Behold how they carry the ensign of their affections or…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueb

“There is a sun whose rays extend to the back of the earth, and there is a legend which says: "Idem semper ubique totum." Cic . I perceive that the interpretation of it will be difficult. Tans . The more excellent the meaning the less obv…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguec

“It means that enthusiast, signified by the naked child as simple, pure, and exposed to all the accidents of Nature and of fortune, who at the same time by the force of thought, constructs castles in the air, and amongst other things a tower…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguef

“I understand it all; but what is the meaning of, "May I be happy in this governance and with these bonds, and may that light not cease?" Tans. He means, and he proves, that every sort of love, the greater its dominion and the surer its hol…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguei

“It seems to me, that it means that his particular intelligence is to the universal intelligence ever the same—that is to say, the one is ever illuminated by the other, over the whole hemisphere; notwithstanding that to the inferior powers,…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguek

“That is a maxim of the Epicureans which, being well understood, would not be considered so unworthy as the ignorant hold it to be, seeing that it does not detract from what I have called virtue, nor does it impair the perfection of firmness…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguel

“Here are shown the pains and troubles which beset love, principally love of a low kind, which is no other than the forge of Vulcan, that smith who makes the bolts of Jove which torment offending souls. For ill-ordered love has in itself th…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguen

“Of necessity, one is according to the sum of the other, seeing that where things are finite it may result in this, that it is more wise than beautiful or good, more good and beautiful than wise, more wise and good than powerful, and more po…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueo

“For love, while it is finite, contented, and fixed in a certain measure, is not in the form of the species of divine beauty, but as it goes on with ever higher aspirations, it may be said to verge towards the infinite. Cic. . How is brea…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguep

“So wills my fate; But blazing every hour From their meridian they burn the afflicted heart. [A] Quando il sen d'oriente il giorno sgombra. Cic. This tablet expresses with greater truth than perspicacity the sense of the figure. Tans. .…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueq

“Nec Veneris fructu caret is, qui vitat amorem, Sed potius, quæ sunt, sine poena, commoda sumit. Cic. What is meant by the meridian of the heart? Tans. That part or region of the will which is highest and most exalted, and where it becom…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguer

“But it is not so, if you consider well, for it cannot be that in one instant, which is an atom or point, love persists or endures; therefore one must of necessity understand the instant in another signification. And for the sake of getting…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueb

“This is precisely the humour of a furious lover, though the same may be said of nearly all mortals who are seriously affected in any way. We cannot say that this accords with all conditions in a general way, but only with those mortals who…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogued

“You see, Cesarino, how this enthusiast is justified in his anger against those who reproach him with being in captivity to a low beauty, to which he dedicates his vows, and attributes these forms, so that he is deaf to those voices which ca…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguei

“"It is not," says he, "gold and silver that makes one like God, because these are not treasure to Him; nor vestments, for God is naked; nor ostentation and fame, for He shows Himself to few, and perhaps not one knows Him, and certainly many…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguej

“So that the continual movement of one part supposes and carries with it the movement of the whole, in such a way that the attraction of the posterior parts is consequent upon the repulsion of the anterior parts; thus the movement of the sup…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguem

“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueo

“Because those lights which made present the illuminating, acting intellect and sun of intelligence found easy ingress through his eyes; that of Truth (the intellect of Truth?) through the door of the intellectual faculty; that of Goodness (…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogues

“Weary and hoarse I yield me, impotent, And seek no more to elude my destiny, Or make endeavour to escape my death: Let every other life to me be null, And let not the extremest torment fail, Which my hard fate for me prescribed. Type of my…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogued

“The long life of Archimedes, of Euclid, of Priscian, of Donato, and others, who were found up to their death occupied with numbers, lines, diction, concordances, writings, dialectics, syllogisms, forms, methods, systems of science, organs,…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguec

“First, because such an impediment cannot exist in action, if (equally?) violent opposition is not put into action;[U] second, because in so far as the waters are actually in the eyes, they can give passage to the heat as to the light; for,…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueg

“The eyes, when they move (the heart), are dry, because they perform the office of a looking-glass, and of a representer; when they are moved, however, they become troubled and perturbed, because they perform the office of a diligent execute…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguea

“. Interlocutors : Severing. Minutolo. Sev. You will see the origin of the nine blind men, who state nine reasons and special causes of their blindness, and yet they all agree in one general reason and one common enthusiasm.[AB] [AB] May…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguec

“Besides which he considers that his blindness is not from constitution, but from habit, and is peculiar to himself, because the luminous fire which kindles the soul in the pupil, was for too long a time and with too much force, repressed an…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogued

“Therefore, in the sistine he would have space made for him to pass; for if anybody should be touched by his fires he would become such that he would have no more feeling of the flames of hell, for their heat would be to him as cold snow. 6…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguee

“Thou sayest well that no natural impulse or power is without strong reason; it is in fact the same rule of nature which orders things. So far, it is a thing most true and most certain to well-disposed intellects, that the human soul, whate…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguei

“As he who looks aloft sometimes is overcome by the majesty.[AG] Besides, when he comes to penetrate the Divine species, he passes it like a ray. Whence say the theologians that the Divine word is more penetrating than sharp point of sword…”

◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguea

“. Interlocutors : Laodomia. Giulia. Lao. Some other time, oh my sister, thou wilt hear what happened to those nine blind men, who were at first nine most beautiful and amorous youths, who being so inspired by the loveliness of your face…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 6 (part 2)

“Footnotes 109:* As these Hymns, though full of the most recondite antiquity, have never yet been commented on by any one, the design of the following notes, is to elucidate, as much as possible, their concealed meaning, and evince their agr…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn X (part 1)

“X. TO PAN * The FUMIGATION from VARIOUS ODORS I Call strong Pan, the substance of the whole, Etherial, marine, earthly, general soul, Immortal fire; for all the world is thine, And all are parts of thee, O pow'r divine. p. 131 Come, bles…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXIII. THE NEREIDS

“XXIII. TO THE NEREIDS. The FUMIGATION from AROMATICS. DAUGHTERS of Nereus, resident in caves Merg'd deep in Ocean, sporting thro' the waves; Fanatic fifty nymphs, who thro' the main Delight to follow in the Triton's train, Rejoicing close b…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXVI. THE MOTHER OF THE GODS

“XXVI. TO THE MOTHER OF THE GODS. The FUMIGATION from a Variety of ODORIFEROUS SUBSTANCES. Mother of Gods, great nurse of all, draw near, Divinely honor'd, and regard my pray'r: Thron'd on a car, by lions drawn along, By bull-destroying lion…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXIX. BACCHUS

“XXIX. TO BACCHUS. The FUMIGATION from STORAX. BACCHUS I call, loud-sounding and divine, Fanatic God, a two-fold shape is thine: Thy various names and attributes I sing, O, first-born, thrice begotten, Bacchic king: 4 Rural, ineffable, two-f…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXXIII. APOLLO (part 1)

“XXXIII. TO APOLLO. The FUMIGATION from MANNA. BLEST Pæan, come, propitious to my pray'r, Illustrious pow'r, whom Memphian tribes revere, Slayer of Tityus, and the God of health, Lycorian Phœbus, fruitful source of wealth . Spermatic, go…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXXVII. THE CURETES +

“XXXVII. TO THE CURETES + . The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. Brass-beating Salians, ministers of Mars, Who guard his arms the instruments of wars p. 168 Whose blessed frames, heav'n, earth, and sea compose, And from whose breath all animals…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XLV. LIKNITUS + BACCHUS

“XLV. TO LIKNITUS + BACCHUS. The FUMIGATION from MANNA. LIKNITAN Bacchus, bearer of the vine, Thee I invoke to bless these rites divine: p. 179 Florid and gay, of nymphs the blossom bright, And of fair Venus, Goddess of delight, 'Tis thine m…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1f

“"I believe that I have said enough; but if there is anything more which you desire or which in your opinion needs to be supplied, ask and I will answer." Now, Socrates, what do you think? Is not the discourse excellent, more especially in…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1l

“And I bethink me of an ancient purgation of mythological error which was devised, not by Homer, for he never had the wit to discover why he was blind, but by Stesichorus, who was a philosopher and knew the reason why; and therefore, when he…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1m

“For prophecy is a madness, and the prophetess at Delphi and the priestesses at Dodona when out of their senses have conferred great benefits on Hellas, both in public and private life, but when in their senses few or none. And I might also…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1q

“Thus far I have been speaking of the fourth and last kind of madness, which is imputed to him who, when he sees the beauty of earth, is transported with the recollection of the true beauty; he would like to fly away, but he cannot; he is li…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1r

“But he whose initiation is recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world, is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs throug…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1u

“And the beloved when he has received him into communion and intimacy, is quite amazed at the good-will of the lover; he recognises that the inspired friend is worth all other friends or kinsmen; they have nothing of friendship in them worth…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1|

“The two speeches, as you may remember, were unlike-I the one argued that the lover and the other that the non-lover ought to be accepted. Phaedr. And right manfully. Soc. You should rather say "madly"; and madness was the argument of th…”

◆Plato: Symposium | Section 1b

“But when I hear another strain, especially that of you rich men and traders, such conversation displeases me; and I pity you who are my companions, because you think that you are doing something when in reality you are doing nothing. And I…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XVII (part 9)

“In ourselves, visual consciousness goes with our eyes, tactile consciousness with our skin. But although neither skin nor eye knows aught of the sensations of the other, they come together and figure in some sort of relation and combinatio…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIX (part 7)

“In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity. But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation above the limi…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XX (part 2)

“Only by the repudiation of everything will the possibility of entering into a new life be realized. With the beginning of the gradual loss of the old world, the logic of the two-dimensional being—or that which stood for it for logic—will s…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXI (part 3)

“All attempts to penetrate mentally into that higher, noumenal world, or world of causes, by means of the logic of the phenomenal world, if they did not fail altogether, or did not lead to castles in the air , gave only one result: in becomi…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXI (part 5)

“Penetrating there, it first of all renounces its fundamental axioms of identity and difference. In the world of infinite and fluent magnitudes, a magnitude may be not equal to itself; a part may be equal to the whole; and of two equal magn…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 11)

“Let not thy Left Eye deceive thee, by making continually one representation after another, and stirring up thereby an earnest longing in the self-propriety; but let thy Right Eye command back this Left . . . And only bringing the Eye of…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 13)

“Then the understanding of such a man receives from the Holy Spirit the highest and hidden mysteries which according to the divine Paul, neither the human eye can understand nor the human reason comprehend unaided. (Ii Corinthians ii, 9).…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 18)

“This is at the same time a religious sect and a philosophical school of high idealistic character, which struggled against materialism and against the narrow fanaticism and the literal understanding of the Koran. The Sufis interpreted the…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter IV

“Afterwards, also, you say, “ that many, through enthusiasm and divine inspiration, predict future events, and that they are then in so wakeful a state, as even to energize according to sense, and yet they are not conscious of the state they…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter V

“There are, therefore, many species of divine possession, and divine inspiration is multifariously excited; whence, also, the signs of it are many and different. For either the Gods are different, by whom we are inspired, and thus produce a…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VII

“It is not, however, sufficient to learn these things alone, nor will he who only knows these become perfect in divine science. But it is requisite also to know what enthusiasm is, and how it is produced. It is falsely, therefore, supposed t…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII

“If, therefore, true divination was a solution of the divine part of the soul from the other parts of it, or if it was a separation of intellect, or a certain extension of it; or if it was a vehemence 128 and extension of energy or passion,…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter IX

“What you afterwards say is as follows: “ That some of those who suffer a mental alienation, energize enthusiastically on hearing cymbals or drums, or a certain modulated sound, such as those who are Corybantically inspired, those who are po…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter X

“Let us, however, discuss what pertains to divination more particularly; not asserting this, that nature leads each thing to its like; for the enthusiastic energy is not the work of nature; nor again asserting that the temperature of the air…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIIIm

“Thus, for instance, if the allotment of the soul was as far as to philosophy, the soul would be able, though it should not choose a philosophic but some other life, to energize in that life somewhat philosophically. There are also said to…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIIIn

“As, therefore, it is possible for the tyrannic life, when suddenly changed, to become aristocratic, through employing strenuous promptitude and a divine allotment, but the gradual ascent is from a tyrannic to a democratic, and from this to…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale KILHWCH AND OLWENa

“OR THE TWRCH TRWYTH Kilydd the son of Prince Kelyddon desired a wife as a helpmate, and the wife that he chose was Goleuddydd, the daughter of Prince Anlawdd. And after their union, the people put up prayers that they might have an heir.…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale MATH THE SON OF MATHONWYa

“THIS IS THE FOURTH PORTION OF THE MABINOGI Math the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd, and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one-and-twenty Cantrevs of the South; and these were the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and the seven Cantre…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIGb

“The garments of the youths were of jet-black satin, and chaplets of ruddy gold bound their hair, whereon were sparkling jewels of great price, rubies, and gems, alternately with imperial stones. Buskins of new Cordovan leather on their fee…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINg

“And so, when the bards and the heralds came to cry largess, and to proclaim the power of the king and his strength, at the moment that they passed by the corner wherein he was crouching, Taliesin pouted out his lips after them, and played “…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINj

“And the king caused them to fetch Elphin in haste from his dungeon, and placed him before Taliesin. And it is said, that immediately he sang a verse, so that the chains opened from about his feet. “I adore the Supreme, Lord of all animati…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 9: The Decalogue | Section 1a

“On Thought and Sense <This somewhat diffuse essay covers a series of topics, starting with (and to some extent from) the concept that the set of perceptions we call "thoughts" and the set we call "sensory perceptions" are not significantly…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1b

“For It doth will to be, and It is both Itself and most of all by reason of Itself. Indeed, all other things beside are just bacause of It; for the distinctive feature of the Good is "that it should be known". Such is the Good, O Tat. Tat…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1f

“But God is o'er them all, and God contains them all. God's rays, to use a figure, are His energies; the Cosmos's are natures, the arts and sciences are man's. The energies act through the Cosmos, thence through the nature-rays of Cosmos u…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat | Section 1b

“Thou seest me with eyes, my son; but what I am thou dost not understand [even] with fullest strain of body and of sight. 4. Tat: Into fierce frenzy and mind-fury hast thou plunged me, father, for now no longer do I see myself. Hermes: I…”

◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | PROLOGUEa

“HEARKEN to the reed-flute, how it complains, Lamenting its banishment from its home: "Ever since they tore me from my osier bed, My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears. I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs, And t…”

◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY Ia

“The Prince and the Handmaid. A prince, while engaged on a hunting excursion, espied a fair maiden, and by promises of gold induced her to accompany him. After a time she fell sick, and the prince had her tended by divers physicians. As,…”

◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XVa

“Counsels of Reserve given by the Prophet to his Freedman Zaid. At dawn the Prophet said to Zaid, "How is it with thee this morning, O pure disciple?" He replied, "Thy faithful slave am I." Again he said, "If the garden of faith has bloomed…”

◇The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY Ib

“That precious Soul caught my skirt, Smelling the perfume of the garment of Yusuf; And said, "For the sake of our ancient friendship, Tell forth a hint of those sweet states of ecstasy, That earth and heaven may be rejoiced, And also Reason…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 1 (part 10)

“It is itself the most secret thing, which can be known by no one except by him who has experienced it; neither do those that live entirely within the realm of animality, or within that of the speculating intellect, believe that such a state…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 4)

“The will cannot attain this light, and the more it desires for freedom the greater will be the attraction caused by the desire." ( Six Theosophical Points , i, 38.) "There must be au opposition, for the will desires not to be dark, and this…”

◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 2

“Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."…”

◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 13

“Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is who…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 8)

“'This, indeed,' said he, 'is a tree good for nothing, and it is thus that it has attained to such a size. Ah! and spirit-like men acknowledge this worthlessness (and its result) 3 .' In Sung there is the district of King-shih 4 , in which…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 10)

“214:2 Not meaning the king of Khû; but the Tâo, whose will was to be found in his nature and the conditions of his lot. 215:1 A member of the Yen family of Lû. We shall meet with him again in Books XIX, XXVIII, and XXXII. 215:2 A ministe…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1m

“I ween that I hung | on the windy tree, Hung there for nights full nine; With the spear I was wounded, | and offered I was To Othin, myself to myself, On the tree that none | may ever know What root beneath it runs. [138. In the manuscrip…”