praxis
Inner Silence
The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.
201 passages · 16 traditions
taoism53
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 27
“The skilful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps; the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed; the skilful reckoner uses no tallies; the skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 31
“Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them. The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place,…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 41
“Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it. Scholars of the lowest class, when they have…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 57
“A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction; weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose. How do I know that it is so? By these facts:--In the kingdom…”
◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 63
“(It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense inju…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 123 (part 5)
“You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is of no use;--why do you not plant it in a tract where there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild?
p.
175 [paragraph continues] There you might saunter idly by its side, or…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 7)
“How do you know that when I say "I know it," I really (am showing that) I do not know it, and that when I say "I do not know it," I really am showing that I do know it 1 .' And let me ask you some questions:--'If a man sleep in a damp place…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 1)
“p.
198 BOOK III.
PART I.
SECTION III.
Yang Shang Kû, or 'Nourishing the Lord of Life 1 .' 1.
There is a limit to our life, but to knowledge there is no limit.
With what is limited to pursue after what is unlimited is a perilous thing;…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 3)
“Doing what other men do, they would have no occasion to blame me.
This p.
208 is what is called being a fellow-worker with other men.
'Fully declaring my sentiments and substantiating them by appealing to antiquity, I shall be a co-worke…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 5)
“They know that there is no alternative to their acting as they do, and rest in it as what is appointed; and this is the highest achievement of virtue.
He who is in the position of a minister or of a son has indeed to do what he cannot but…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 7)
“People came to see it in crowds as in a market place, but the mechanic did not look round at it, but held on his way without stopping.
One of his workmen, however, looked long and admiringly at it, and then ran on to his master, and said t…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 2)
“Hence he who tries to share his joys with others is not a sagely man; he who manifests affection is not benevolent; he who observes times and seasons (to regulate his conduct) is not a man of wisdom; he to whom profit and injury are not the…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 3)
“When the springs are dried up, the fishes collect together on the land.
Than that they should moisten one another there by the damp about them, and keep one another wet by their slime, it would be better for them to forget one another in t…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 5)
“Dze-sze 1 , Dze-yü 1 , Dze-1î 1 , and Dze-lâi 1 , these four men, were talking together, when some one said, 'Who can suppose the head to be made from nothing, the spine from life, and the rump-bone from death?
Who knows how death and birt…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 7)
“With these views, how should they know wherein death and life are to be found, or what is first and what is last?
They borrow different substances, and pretend that the common form of the body is composed of them 1 .
They dismiss the thou…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 1)
“p.
259 BOOK VII.
PART I.
SECTION VII.
Ying Tî Wang 1 , or 'The Normal Course for Rulers and Kings 1 .' 1.
Nieh Khüeh 2 put four questions to Wang Î 2 , not one of which did he know (how to answer).
On this Nieh Khüeh leaped up, and in…”
◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 4)
“It conducts nothing and anticipates nothing; it responds to (what is before it), but does not retain it.
Thus he is able to deal successfully with all things, and injures none.
7.
The Ruler 3 of the Southern Ocean was Shû 4 , the p.
267…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 1
“The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a n…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 2
“All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. So it is that existe…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 3
“Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 4
“The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things! We should blunt our sharp points, and…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 5
“Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of gras…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 6
“The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; The female mystery thus do we name. Its gate, from which at first they issued forth, Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth. Long and unbroken does its power remain, Used gently, and wi…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 8
“The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 10
“When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) b…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 12
“Colour's five hues from th' eyes their sight will take; Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make; The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make mad the mind; and objects rare and stran…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 15
“The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to desc…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 16
“The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When thin…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 17
“In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 20
“When we renounce learning we have no troubles. The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'-- Small is the difference they display. But mark their issues, good and ill;-- What space the gulf between shall fill? What all men fear is indeed to…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 23
“Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and E…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 26
“Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement. Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his p…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 37
“The Tao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing it), and so there is nothing which it does not do. If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them. If this transformatio…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 38
“(Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest measure). (Those who) possessed in a lower degree those attributes (sought how) not to lose them,…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 43
“The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose). There are few in th…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 45
“Who thinks his great achievements poor Shall find his vigour long endure. Of greatest fulness, deemed a void, Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide. Do thou what's straight still crooked deem; Thy greatest art still stupid seem, And eloquenc…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 52
“(The Tao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all. When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 56
“He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it. He (who knows it) will keep his mouth shut and close the portals (of his nostrils). He will blunt his sharp points and un…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 61
“What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down- flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small states) under heaven. (To illustrate from) the case of all females:--the female always overcomes the male…”
◇Tao Te Ching | Chapter 81
“Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those who are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do n…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 1)
“p.
176 BOOK II.
PART I.
SECTION II.
Khî Wû Lun, or 'The Adjustment of Controversies 1 .' 1.
Nan-kwo Sze-khî 2 was seated, leaning forward on his stool.
He was looking up to heaven and breathed gently, seeming to be in a trance, and to…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 2)
“Where their utterances are like arrows from a bow, we have those who feel it their charge to pronounce what is right and what is wrong.; where they are given out like the conditions of a covenant, we have those who maintain their views, det…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 6)
“Let us abjure such procedure, and simply rest here 1 .
7.
The Tâo at first met with no responsive recognition.
Speech at first had no constant forms of expression.
Because of this there came the demarcations (of different views).
Let m…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 8)
“You see the egg, and (immediately) look out for the cock (that is to be hatched from it); you see the bow, and (immediately) look out for the dove (that is to be brought down by it) being roasted.
I will try to explain the thing to you in…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 9)
“The harmonising of them is to be found in the invisible operation of Heaven, and by following this on into the unlimited past.
It is by this method that we can complete our years (without our minds being disturbed) 1 .
'What is meant by h…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 126 (part 4)
“I have heard of the knowledge of the wise; I have not heard of the knowledge of the unwise.
Look at that aperture (left in the wall);--the empty apartment is filled with light through it.
Felicitous influences rest (in the mind thus emble…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 1)
“p.
223 BOOK V.
PART I.
SECTION V.
Teh Khung Fû, or 'The Seal of Virtue Complete 1 .' 1.
In Lû 2 there was a Wang Thâi 3 who had lost both his feet 4 ; while his disciples who followed and went about with him were as numerous as those o…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 127 (part 4)
“for many months, when I was drawn to the man; and before he had been with me a full year, I had confidence in him.
The state being without a chief minister, I (was minded) to commit the government to him.
He responded to my proposal sorro…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 8)
“When they wailed, he also wailed, having in himself the reason why he did so.
And we all have our individuality which makes us what we are as compared together; but how do we know that we p.
255 determine in any case correctly that indivi…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 9)
“257 [paragraph continues] 'I have lost all thought of ceremonies and music.' 'Very well, but that is not enough., A third day, Hui again saw (the Master), and said, 'I am making progress.' 'What do you mean?' 'I sit and forget everything 1…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 10)
“The Shwo Wän dictionary defines the name by , 'a recluse of the mountain, whose bodily form has been changed, and who ascends to heaven;' but when this account was made, Tâoism had entered into a new phase, different from what it had in the…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 13)
“See what I have said on II, par.
9.
255:1 This also is obscure; but Confucius is again made to praise the Tâoistic system.
255:2 Î- r is said by Lî Î to have been 'a worthy scholar;' but Î- r is an old name for the swallow, and there is…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 129 (part 2)
“Yang Dze-kü 5 , having an interview with Lao Tan, said to him, 'Here is a man, alert and vigorous p.
262 in responding to all matters 1 , clearsighted and widely intelligent, and an unwearied student of the Tâo;--can he be compared to one…”
← Collapseneoplatonism39
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII~
“But Pythagoras, as he was astronomizing, happened to meet with the Phrygian piper at an unseasonable time of night, and persuaded him to change his Phrygian for a spondaic song; through which the fury of the lad being immediately repressed,…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 30
“Section 4 4. But this science, this Dialectic essential to all the three classes alike, what, in sum, is it? It is the Method, or Discipline, that brings with it the power of pronouncing with final truth upon the nature and relation of thin…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 220 (part 1)
“Section 6 6.
What, then, is the achieved Sage?
One whose Act is determined by the higher phase of the Soul.
It does not suffice to perfect virtue to have only this Spirit [equivalent in all men] as cooperator in the life: the acting forc…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 283
“Section 1 1. In the Intellectual Kosmos dwells Authentic Essence, with the Intellectual-Principle [Divine Mind] as the noblest of its content, but containing also souls, since every soul in this lower sphere has come thence: that is the wor…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 322
“Section 2 2. Enough on that point: we come now to the question of memory of the personality? There will not even be memory of the personality; no thought that the contemplator is the self- Socrates, for example- or that it is Intellect or S…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 324
“Section 4 4. In that realm it has also vision, through the Intellectual-Principle, of The Good which does not so hold to itself as not to reach the soul; what intervenes between them is not body and therefore is no hindrance- and, indeed, w…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 325
“Section 5 5. But this power which determines memory is it also the principle by which the Supreme becomes effective in us? At any time when we have not been in direct vision of that sphere, memory is the source of its activity within us; wh…”
◆Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 348 (part 1)
“Section 28 28.
Thus much established, we may return on our path: we have to discuss the seat of the passionate element in the human being.
Pleasures and pains- the conditions, that is, not the perception of them- and the nascent stage of…”
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◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1c
“59 59 ὡς οὐκ ὄντος ἴχνους τῶν ἐπὶ τὴν κρυφίαν αὐτῆς ἀπειρίαν διεληλυθότων.
Two interpretations of this passage are possible: (1) Those who have penetrated the hidden Depths cannot describe the Vision (cf.
Dante, Par.
xxxiii.
55–66) ; (2…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1a
“CHAPTER XI Concerning ” Peace “ and what is meant by ” Very Being “ Itself , ” Very Life ,” ” Very Power ,” and similar phrases .
1.
Now let us praise with reverent hymns of peace the Divine Peace which is the Source of all mutual attract…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology | Chapter Ia
“Wheat is the Divine Gloom.
T rinty, which exceedeth all Being, Deity, and Goodness!
514 514 Lit.
“Super-Essential, Supra-Divine, Super-Excellent.” Thou that instructeth Christians in Thy heavenly wisdom!
Guide us to that topmost height…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IIa
“THE NEARNESS OF THE KINGDOM St Luke xxi.
31 .—“Know that the Kingdom of God is near.” Our Lord saith that the Kingdom of God is near us.
Yea, the Kingdom of God is within us as St Paul saith “our salvation is nearer than when we believed.…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IIIb
“The earth cannot flee from heaven: whether it flee up or down, the heaven rains its influence upon it, and stamps its impress upon it, and makes it fruitful, whether it be willing or not.
Thus doth God with men: whoever thinketh to escape…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IVa
“TRUE HEARING Ecclesiasticus xxiv.
30 .—“Whoso heareth Me shall not be confounded.” The everlasting and paternal wisdom saith, “Whoso heareth Me is not ashamed.” If he is ashamed of anything he is ashamed of being ashamed.
Whoso worketh in…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | Vb
“It is necessary, therefore, for all the creatures which issued forth from God to co-operate earnestly with all their powers to form a Man who may again attain that union with God which Adam enjoyed before he fell, and who may again restore…”
◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | VIa
“SANCTIFICATION 1 1 That is separation from all outward things.
St Luke x.
42 .—“One thing is needful.” I have read many writings both of heathen philosophers and inspired prophets, ancient and modern, and have sought earnestly to discover…”
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◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn II. NIGHT
“II. TO NIGHT. The FUMIGATION with TORCHES. NIGHT, parent goddess, source of sweet repose, From whom at first both Gods and men arose, Hear, blessed Venus, deck'd with starry light, 3 In sleep's deep silence dwelling Ebon night! Dreams and s…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXXIII. APOLLO (part 2)
“Gesner well observes, in his notes to this Hymn, that the comparison and conjunction of the musical and astronomical elements are most ancient; being derived from Orpheus and Pythagoras, to Plato.
Now, according to the Orphic and Pythagori…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXXV. THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS
“LXXXV. TO THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS. The FUMIGATION from AROMATICS. THEE I invoke, blest pow'r of dreams divine, Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine: Great source of oracles to human kind, When stealing soft, and whisp'ring to the min…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 2)
“The waters of Thames, heavy laden with the wealth of merchandize, and sonorous with the din of trade, may devolve abundance in a golden tide; but we must remember that the Dæmon of commerce is at the same time advancing with giant strides,…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 6 (part 2)
“38.
The love is just which, unattended with injury, aspires after things becoming.
39.
Admit nothing as pleasant which is not advantageous.
40.
It is better to be governed by, than to govern, the stupid.
41.
Not argument but calamity…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 6 (part 3)
“A woman should not be given to loquacity; for it is a dreadful thing.
77.
To be governed by a woman is the extremity of insolence and unmanliness.
78.
It is the property of a divine intellect p.
27 to be always intently thinking about…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 7 (part 1)
“p.
29 THE PYTHAGOREAN SENTENCES OF DEMOPHILUS 1.
Request not of Divinity such things as, when obtained, you cannot preserve; for no gift of Divinity can ever be taken away; and on this account he does not confer that which you are unable…”
◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 11
“p. 62 PYTHAGOREAN SENTENCES FROM THE PROTREPTICS OF IAMBLICHUS 1. As we live through soul, it must be said that by the virtue of this we live well; just as because we see through the eyes, we see well through the virtue of these. 2. It must…”
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◆Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres | Section 1f
“All this befell me from my Mind, that is Man-Shepherd, Word (Logos) of all masterhood, by whom being God-inspired I came unto the Plain of Truth.
Wherefore with all my soul and strength thanksgiving give I unto Father-God.
31.
Holy art T…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 5: The Discourse of Hermes to Asclepius | Section 1a
“Though Unmanifest God Is Most Manifest 1.
I will recount to thee this sermon (logos) too, O Tat, that thou may'st cease to be without the mysteries of the God beyond all name.
And mark thou well how that which to the many seems unmanifest…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 7: The Seven Powers | Section 1
“The Greatest Ill Among Men is Ignorance of God 1. Whither stumble ye, sots, who have sopped up the wine of ignorance and can so far not carry it that ye already even spew it forth? Stay ye, be sober, gaze upwards with the [true] eyes of the…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 8: The Eight Sphere | Section 1b
“Now the third life - Man, after the image of the Cosmos made, [and] having mind, after the Father's will, beyond all earthly lives - not only doth have feeling with the second God <i.e., the Cosmos>, but also hath conception of the first; f…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1a
“The Key <This longer tractate presents itself explicitly as a summary or abridgement of the General Sermons (CH II-IX), and discusses the Hermetic view of knowledge and its role in the lives and afterlives of human beings.
The attentive re…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1d
“Now it is units that give birth to number and increase it, and, being decomposed, are taken back again into themselves.
Matter is one; and this whole Cosmos - the mighty God and image of the mightier One, both with Him unified, and the con…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat | Section 1a
“The Secret Sermon on the Mountain <This dialogue is in many ways the culmination of the whole Corpus, summing up the theory of the Hermetic system at the same time as it provides an intriguing glimpse at the practice.
The focus of the dial…”
◆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…”
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◆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 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 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) | 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) | 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 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 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 Dialoguek
“Equally, to be heard by the Divine, is precisely to listen to it, and to be favoured by it, is the same as to offer to it; for from the one immoveable and the same, proceed thoughts uncertain and certain, desires ardent and appeased, and re…”
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◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Life and Philosophy of Pythagorash
“This fifth element, or ether, was called by the Hindus akasa .
It was closely correlated with the hypothetical ether of modern science, and was the interpenetrative substance permeating all of the other elements and acting as a common solv…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIV (part 4)
“He hears "the voices of stones," understands the whisperings of ancient walls, of tumuli, of mountains, rivers, woods and plains.
He hears " the voice of the silence ," understands the psychological difference between silences, knows that…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 12)
“"The cause of all things is neither soul nor intellect; nor has it imagination, opinion, or reason, or intelligence; nor is it reason or intelligence; nor is it spoken or thought.
It is neither number, nor order, nor magnitude, nor littlen…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXII (part 14)
“How many arguments, how many religious struggles, how much of violence toward the thoughts of others would be rendered unnecessary and impossible if men would only understand that nobody possesses truth, but all are seeking for it, each in…”
◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XXIII (part 7)
“It was in the early spring, at the beginning of his thirty-sixth year.
He and two friends had spent the evening reading Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Browning, and especially Whitman.
They parted at midnight and he had a long drive in a han…”
◆Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi) | 6. Magical Equilibriumd
“It is a fatal and inevitable operation, directed and made still more calamitous by elementary spirits and suffering souls, whose restless wills seek out sympathies in our weakness and tempt us, but not so much to destroy us as to win friend…”
◆Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) | 1. Preparationsc
““But how act?” Rise daily at the same hour, and that early; bathe at a spring before daybreak, and in all seasons; never wear soiled clothes: wash them yourself at need; practise voluntary privations, that you may be better able to bear tho…”
◆Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) | 13. Necromancyd
“Every evening at the same hour we must shut ourselves in the chamber consecrated to the memory of the lamented person, using only one small light, such as that of a funeral lamp or taper.
This light should be placed behind us, the portrait…”
Show all 13 →buddhism10
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter VI, Section 1a
“p.
23 CHAPTER VI.
THE WISE MAN (PA ND ITA).
76.
If you see an intelligent man who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows what is to be avoided, and administers reproofs, follow that wise man; it will be better, not wo…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter VII, Section 1a
“p.
27 CHAPTER VII.
THE VENERABLE (ARHAT).
90.
There is no suffering for him who has finished his journey, and abandoned grief, who has freed himself on all sides, and thrown off all fetters.
91.
They depart with their thoughts well-co…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter VII, Section 1b
“Without the hints given by the commentator, we should probably take the three similes of this verse in their natural sense, as illustrating the imperturbable state of an Arahanta, or venerable person.
The earth is always represented as an…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter VIII, Section 1a
“p.
31 CHAPTER VIII.
THE THOUSANDS.
100.
Even though a speech be a thousand (of words), but made up of senseless words, one word of sense is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.
101.
Even though a Gâthâ (poem) be a thousand…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter XIV, Section 1b
“527, 528 of his 'Lotus.' He prefers sa k ittaparidamanam, which Csoma translated by 'the mind must be brought under entire subjection' (sva k ittaparidamanam), and the late Dr.
Mill by 'proprii intellectus subjugatio.' But his own MS.
of…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter XIX, Section 1b
“(See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, II, 700.) The Chinese Shamen and the Tungusian Shamen come from the same source, though the latter has sometimes been doubted.
See Schott, Über die doppelte Bedeutung des Wortes Schamane, in the Philo…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter XXV, Section 1a
“p.
85 CHAPTER XXV.
THE BHIKSHU (MENDICANT).
360.
Restraint in the eye is good, good is restraint in the ear, in the nose restraint is good, good is restraint in the tongue.
361.
In the body restraint is good, good is restraint in spee…”
◆Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter) | Section 1a
“THE VA G RA KKH EDIKÂ OR DIAMOND-CUTTER.
ADORATION to the blessed Ârya-pra gñ â-pâramitâ (perfection of wisdom).
I.
Thus it was heard by me: At one time Bhagavat (the blessed Buddha) dwelt in S râvastî, in the grove of G eta[1], in the g…”
Show all 10 →norse5
◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1b
“Hail to the giver!
| a guest has come; Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be who, | with swords shall try The proof of his might to make.
[1.
This stanza is quoted by Snorri, the second line being omitted in most of the Prose…”
◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1c
“Gunnloth : the daughter of the giant Suttung, from whom Othin won the mead of poetry.
For this episode see stanzas 104-110.
14.
Fjalar : apparently another name for Suttung.
This stanza, and probably 13, seem to have been inserted as il…”
◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1f
“Fire for men | is the fairest gift, And power to see the sun; Health as well, | if a man may have it, And a life not stained with sin.
69.
All wretched is no man, | though never so sick; Some from their sons have joy, Some win it from kin…”
◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1j
“On his ring swore Othin | the oath, methinks; Who now his troth shall trust?
Suttung's betrayal | he sought with drink, And Gunnloth to grief he left.
* * * 111.
It is time to chant | from the chanter's stool; By the wells of Urth I was,…”
◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1n
“Of Byleist (or Byleipt) no more is known.
52.
Surt : the ruler of the fire-world.
The scourge of branches : fire.
This is one of the relatively rare instances in the Eddic poems of the type of poetic diction which characterizes the skal…”
jewish_mysticism4
◆The Greater Holy Assembly (Idra Rabba Qadisha) | Idra Rabba, Chapter 1 (part 1)
“p.
109 HADRA RBA QDIShA (HA IDRA RABBA QADISHA); OR, THE GREATER HOLY ASSEMBLY.
CHAPTER I.
THE INGRESS AND THE PREFACE.
1.
TRADITION.--Rabbi Schimeon spake unto his companions, and said: "How long shall we abide in the condition of one…”
◆The Lesser Holy Assembly (Idra Zuta Qadisha) | Idra Zuta, Chapter 1 (part 1)
“CHAPTER VIII.
CONCERNING THE FOREHEAD OF MACROPROSOPUS.
87.
THE forehead of His skull is the acceptation of acceptations, whereunto is opposed the acceptation of Microprosopus, like as it is written, Exod.
xxviii.
38: "And it shall be…”
◆Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation) | Section 1a
“Wescott, tr.
(1887) CHAPTER 1 1.
In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths of wisdom did JAH the Lord of Hosts engrave his name: God of the armies of Israel, ever-living God, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on high, who i…”
◇The Greater Holy Assembly (Idra Rabba Qadisha) | Idra Rabba, Chapter 1 (part 2)
“1 12.
"For it is written, Deut.
xxxiii.
29: 'Blessed art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee?' Also it is written, Exod.
xv.
11: 'Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Tetragrammaton?'" 2 13.
He called Rabbi Eleazer, his son, and…”
celtic3
◆The Mabinogion | Tale PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWCf
““Tell me, my soul,” said the man, “which of the youths thinkest thou plays best.” “I think,” said Peredur, “that the yellow-haired youth could draw blood from the other, if he chose.” “Arise thou, my life, and take the cudgel and the shield…”
◆The Mabinogion | Tale PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWCl
“And in the morning he arose, and when he went forth, behold a shower of snow had fallen the night before, and a hawk had killed a wild fowl in front of the cell.
And the noise of the horse scared the hawk away, and a raven alighted upon th…”
◆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…”
sufism3
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY VIa
“Omar and the Ambassador.
The hare, having delivered his companions from the tyranny of the lion, in the manner just described, proceeds to improve the occasion by exhorting them to engage in a greater and more arduous warfare, viz., the st…”
◆The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY IXd
“I knew of myself what ye thought, But I desired that ye should speak it; As this boasting of yours is very improper, So shall my mercy be shown to prevail over my wrath: O angels, in order to show forth that prevailing, I inspired that pret…”
◆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…”
egyptian2
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 43 (part 66)
“141.
2.
Ibid.
, p.
149.
3 Ibid.
, p.
172.] {p.
lxxxix} God and the gods.
The passages from the pyramid of Pepi show at once the difference between neter as God, and the "gods" neteru ; the other passages, which might be multiplied…”
◇The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 39 (part 3)
“8258, mottled glass buckle having the loop inlaid with blue composition; No.
8259, red faïence double buckle, pierced lengthwise for threading in a necklace.] deceased] he shall be among those who follow Osiris Un-nefer, triumphant.
The g…”
gnosticism2
◆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…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 90
“Jesus said, "Come unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is mild, and you will find repose for yourselves."…”
finnic1
◆The Kalevala | Rune Lf
“In thy years, for greater follies, Greater sins and misdemeanors, Thou wert not unjustly punished.
In thy former years of trouble, When thou gavest thine own brother, For thy selfish life a ransom, Thus to save thee from destruction, Then…”
platonism1
◆Plato: Symposium | Section 1
“Yet at a festival he was the only person who had any real powers of enjoyment; though not willing to drink, he could if compelled beat us all at that,-wonderful to relate!
no human being had ever seen Socrates drunk; and his powers, if I a…”