soteriology

Separation From Source

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

530 passages · 17 traditions

gnosticism130

◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1a

“(Above image of the Gospel of Thomas courtesy of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate University) Visit the Bookstore for a complete selection of translations and books about The Nag Hammadi Library The Nag Hamma…”

◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1b

“TRUTH MADE NAMES Truth made names in the world, and without them we can’t think. Truth is one and is many, teaching one thing through the many. RULERS The rulers wanted to fool us, since they saw we were connected with the good. They too…”

◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1d

“When the child is grown, however, then the father turns over all he possesses. THE LOST Those who have gone astray are those born of the spirit. And they are usually lost because of the spirit. So from one single breath of spirit the fir…”

◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1h

“Now the woman and man are one in the chamber with the bed, and those so joined will not come apart again. Eve and Adam separated because when they joined it was not in the chamber with the bed. ADAM’S SOUL The soul of Adam came into being…”

◆Gospel of Philip | Section 1m

“If we know the truth, we shall find the fruits of the truth within us. If we join it, it will fulfill us. THE STRONG AND WEAK, THE MANIFEST AND HIDDEN Now we have the manifest things of creation. We say, “The strong are they who are held…”

◆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 3

“Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and i…”

◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 11

“Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, w…”

Show all 130 →

christian_mysticism105

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 10, Section 1a

“CHAPTER X Concerning ” Omnipotent ,” ” Ancient of Days “; and also concerning ” Eternity “ and ” Time .” 1. Now ‘tis time that our Discourse should celebrate God (Whose Names are many) as “Omnipotent” and “Ancient of Days.” The former titl…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 10, Section 1b

“For where Scripture speaks of things as “eternal” it doth not always mean things that are absolutely Uncreated or verily Everlasting, Incorruptible, 171 Immortal, Invariable, and Immutable ( e.g. “Be ye lift up, ye eternal doors,” 461 461…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1h

“that which makes an individual thing to be one thing); (2) Mental or Spiritual intercourse; (3) Physical intercourse; (4) Sense perception. Here it = either (1) or (2), probably (1). limit, infinity, everything that exists. And yet since…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1b

“Plotinus says the Godhead is indivisibly divided. doth not leave Its own Unity, but, even in the act of going forth to all things, remains entirely within Itself through the excess of that all-transcendent Unity: concerning these things ‘t…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1c

“And the perfect Peace guards each several individuality unalloyed by Its providential gift of peace, keeping all things without internal or mutual discord or confusion, and establishing all things, in the power of unswerving stability, so a…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1d

“Now, since thou hast, on a previous occasion, sent me an epistle asking what I mean by Very Being Itself, Very Life Itself, Very Wisdom Itself: and since thou saidst thou couldst not understand why sometimes I call God “Life” and sometimes…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1f

“472 Contemplation, Act of Contemplation, and Object Contemplated are all united together, and so imply a fundamental Unity which exists ultimately in God. 473 Cf. p. 174, n. 3. 474 D.‘s paradox is the paradox of sanity. We must hold a…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 13, Section 1d

“And hence, when we speak of the All-Transcendent Godhead as an Unity and a Trinity, It is not an Unity or a Trinity such as can be known by us or any other creature, though to express the truth of Its utter Self-Union and Its Divine Fecundi…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 13, Section 1f

“Thus in the form “1 x 1” the first figure represents the unity underlying all numbers, the second figure represents unity as a particular number among other numbers. The first figure may thus be taken as a symbol of the Godhead, the second…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 2, Section 1g

“Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge. 203 203 Even the Differentiations finally lead us up into the Undifferenced Godhead Where they transcend themselves.…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1e

“260 260 The light permeates water but it does not permeate a stone. It passes over the stone and permeates the water beyond it. Yea, and it contributes to the birth of material bodies and brings them unto life, and nourishes them that the…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1f

“But these things are dealt with in the “Symbolic Divinity.” Here I desire to declare what is the spiritual meaning of the name “Light” as belonging to the Good. 267 267 Two worlds: (1) Nature, (2) Grace. God is revealed in both; the forme…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1h

“Hence comes the bare existence of all things, and hence their unions, 277 277 ἑνώσεις, διακρίσεις, ταὐτότητες, ἑτερότητες. their differentiations, their identities, their differences, 278 278 Hence parts are united into wholes and wholes a…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1k

“and all things are moved by a longing for the Beautiful and Good, to accomplish every outward work and form every act of will. And true reasoning will also dare to affirm that even the Creator of all things Himself yearneth after all thing…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1m

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1o

“And herein the Divine Yearning showeth especially its beginningless and endless nature, revolving in a perpetual circle for the Good, from the Good, in the Good, and to the Good, with unerring revolution, never varying its centre or directi…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1s

“And if any one says that it is productive, and that by the destruction of one thing it giveth birth to somewhat else, the true answer is that it doth not so qua destructive. Qua destructive and evil it only destroys and debases; but it tak…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1t

“For in the case of other qualities, such as heat or cold, the things which have been warmed have their being even when they lose their warmth, and many of the creatures there are which have no life or mind; and in like manner God transcende…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1v

“cannot be free from pain, nor without a feeling of ill, since there would be something causing Him trouble, yea, all things must in that case be in a state of disorder and perpetual strife; whereas the Good imparts a principle of harmony to…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1w

“For, were they such, they would not have sprung from the Good, nor have a place amongst existent creatures, nor have fallen from Goodness (being by their very nature always evil). Moreover, are they evil with respect to themselves or to ot…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1|

“Wherefore Its Providential character is shown herein: that It preserves the nature of each individual, and, in making provision for the free and independent, it hath respect unto their state, providing, both in general and in 129 particular…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1

“Intr., p. 5. 259 Here we get once more the Aristotelian classification of causes. The Good is:— (i) Formal Cause (1) immanent in the world (Order— τάξις ); (2) containing the world (Embracing Power— περιοχή ). (ii) Efficient Cause (Caus…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1

“277 ἑνώσεις, διακρίσεις, ταὐτότητες, ἑτερότητες. 278 Hence parts are united into wholes and wholes articulated into parts, and hence each thing is identical with itself and distinct from everything else. 279 e.g. Moisture interpenetrates…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 4, Section 1

“The types of things existent in the permanent spiritual world before the things were created in this transitory material world; the Platonic Ideas. There was also a Jewish belief in such a pre-existence of things. Cf. Rev. iv. 11 (R.…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1a

“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1i

“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1k

“Hence the soul possessing God is in a state of “having nothing and yet possessing all things.” Cf. Dante, cio che per l’universa si squaderna, etc. 382 Cf. Section 5. 383 i. e. The Platonic ideas of things—their ultimate essences. Bu…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1l

“This apparent hair-splitting is really of the utmost practical importance. D. is attacking the irreligious attitude in science, philosophy, and life. We must seek for all things (including our own personalities) not in themselves but in…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 7, Section 1e

“i and more especially because the Divine Reason is more simple than all simplicity, and, in the transcendence of Its Super-Essential Being, is independent of all things. 419 419 God is called Reason: (1) because He is the Giver of reason;…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 8, Section 1c

“The wise Elymas, forsooth, did not perceive this; and so is like an unskilled athlete, who (as often happens), thinking his adversary to be weak, through judging by his own estimation, misses him each time and manfully strikes at his shadow…”

◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 9, Section 1c

“For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”

◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | Ia

“THE ATTRACTIVE POWER OF GOD St John vi. 44. —“No one can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.” Our Lord Jesus Christ hath in the Gospel spoken with His own blessed lips these words, which signify, “No man can come…”

◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | Ib

“It is also a fellowship with the Devil, for everything hath fellowship with its like; and sin maketh the soul and Satan resemble each other. It is also an expulsion of Christianity, for it depriveth the sinner of all the profit that comes…”

◆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) | Va

“THE SELF-COMMUNICATION OF GOD St John xiv. 23 .—“If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” We read in the Gospels that Our Lord fed many people with five…”

◆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) | VIe

“Therefore sanctification is the best of all things, for it cleanses the soul, and illuminates the conscience, and kindles the heart, and wakens the spirit, and girds up the loins, and glorifies virtue and separates us from creatures, and un…”

◆Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | VIIc

“When a good work is done by a man, he is free of it, and through that freedom is liker and nearer to his Original than he was before. The moral task of man is a process of spiritualization. All creatures are go-betweens, and we are placed…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 1 (part 2)

“"Natural man knows nothing about the mystery of the kingdom of God, because he is outside and not within the state of divinity, as is daily proved by the action of the philosophisers who are disputing about the attributes and the will of Go…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 1 (part 4)

“Let them, therefore, again go out with their will from their wilful ignorance or malignity and enter again into the will of God." ( Menschwerdung , 3, 5.) All this goes to show that it is useless and vain to seek for divine wisdom, meaning…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 6)

“2.) "If there is to be a light, there must be a fire. The fire produces the light, and the light renders the fire manifest; it receives the nature of the fire within itself and resides in the fire." ( Mysterium , xl. 2.) "Joy enters the s…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 7)

“The light of God has also the quality of the fire, but in it the wrath is changed into love; hate and bitter pain into mild beneficence and sweet desire or satisfaction." ( Menschwerdung , i. 5–16.) "The fountain of love is a clasping and…”

◆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…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 5 (part 5)

“109 the spirit of holiness cannot enter unless unholiness is chased away. In this battle against evil the angels are always ready to assist man in an invisible manner against the temptations of the "devils," provided that he is willing to…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 5 (part 11)

“Man must know evil for the purpose of becoming able to realise the good, after which he returns to the latter; but as everything seeks for its own corresponding principle, he in whom evil has become paramount will remain in evil. p. 121 "…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 6 (part 1)

“p. 122 CHAPTER VI. THE RESTORATION OF NATURE AND THE GENERATION OF MAN. " If we speak about heaven and the birth of the elements, we are then not telling of things that are far away or foreign to us, but of that which is taking place wit…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 6 (part 2)

“"When the eternal Word moved, because of the malice of Lucifer, and for the purpose of expelling this evil guest from his residence into eternal darkness, the essence was rendered compact (coagulated). God was not willing to leave the mani…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 6 (part 5)

“But when this took place the love in the light of God broke through that heaven of division and ignited the heat." ( Aurora , xxv. 68.) "God, the eternal light and the eternal will, shines within the darkness, and the darkness has captured…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 3)

“2.) "The inner man stood in heaven; his essences were the Paradise; his body was indestructible. He knew the language of God and the angels, and the language of nature, as may be seen by Adam giving names to all creatures, to each accordin…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 4)

“28.) "In Paradise the substance of the divine world penetrated the substance belonging to time, comparable to the power of the sun penetrating a fruit growing on a tree, and endowing it with such qualities as render it lovely to the sight a…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 5)

“13.) Man can attain real similarity to God and perfect beatitude only by decisively willing to put his will into the Son, as the Heart or Light of the Father. "God has the eternal and unchangeable will to generate His Heart and his Son, an…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 9)

“If it had not been for that circumstance, he would in his selfishness even have become a devil by the power of the fire." 4 ( Stiefel , ii. 363.) "When the devil saw that lust resided in Adam, he acted still more powerfully upon the Sal-ni…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 13)

“154:1 This is the difference between life in the terrestrial and life in the celestial states of nature, that the former is differentiated into forms, each of which loves to live in the consciousness of its own illusive self— i.e. , in a s…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 14)

“159:1 Woman in all departments of life is a saviour of man. Even the most degraded woman may be a saviour for still more degraded man, by keeping alive in him a feeling for an ideal—a low ideal, it is true, but one that keeps him from sink…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 8 (part 1)

“p. 164 CHAPTER VIII. NATURE, OR THE THIRD PRINCIPLE. "The godless seeks for God outside of his own self, and the Christless sectarians seek for a personal Christ in history; but the man of God and the true Christian know God and Christ w…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 8 (part 5)

“Thus the earth is filled with hunger after the stars and after the spiritus mundi , so that they have no peace." ( Clavis , 110.) "The earth is turning around because she has both fires, the hot and the cold fire, and that which is below al…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 8 (part 6)

“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter. Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i. 9.) "But in the earth we fi…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 8 (part 7)

“The outbreathed desire—that is to say, the love of the divine power for nature, wherefrom nature and self-will have originated—is longing to get rid of the natural perverted self-will, and is destined, at the end of time, to be free of the…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 1)

“p. 180 CHAPTER IX. GENERATION. "Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit. For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 5)

“189 four states, forms, or temperaments are called the choleric, the sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholy temperament. In the choleric one is the nature and quality of the fire manifested, in the sanguine that of the air, in the phlegmatic…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 9)

“183:1 If man's imagination were not excited by the pictorial representations which the objects of the surrounding world call forth in his mind by means of his external senses, but if his mental activity were restricted to forming images by…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 3)

“It was she in whom the voice of God promised again to introduce the living, holy substance from heaven, and to generate anew and in divine power the faded image of God that was contained therein." 1 ( Grace , vii. 18.) This, however, did n…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 4)

“Therefore the Word and the bruiser of the head of the serpent did not enter into form within their souls; but it stood within the mind to oppose the devils and the kingdom of hell with those that were willing to surrender themselves to it."…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 5)

“The wrath must kill and consume the external image that has grown in the wrath, but from its death springs forth the eternal life." ( Mysterium , xxviii. 14.) "Abel, representing an antitype of Christ, who was to suffer death for humanity,…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 7)

“It is not shown that Esau became subject to Jacob, but the story represents to us a spiritual symbol, showing how the kingdom of nature in man was to become subjected and to be made to submit in humility to the kingdom p. 214 of grace; how…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 8)

“9.) "In those heathen that were highly intellectual in the light of nature the interior holy realm was mirrored, and although the true divine intelligence was closed to them, and although they beheld merely an external reflection, neverthel…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 10 (part 9)

“"All sacrificing without faith and divine desire is an p. 219 abomination before God, and does not reach the gate of divine glory; but if man enters therein with the power of faith, he surrenders to it his free will, and desires by that me…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 11 (part 4)

“"The Word of promise, which was before the Jews as an antitype, or as an image in a mirror, wherein the wrathful Father imagined and wherewith He extinguished His wrath, began to move essentially, as it had not moved from eternity; for when…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 11 (part 6)

“90.) "The living Word that dwelt within the eternal virgin attracted to itself the flesh of Mary—that is to say, the essences from the corporeal body of Mary—and thus there grew in nine months a complete human being with soul, spirit, and f…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 12 (part 2)

“1 "It was the will of God to transmute humanity, after it had become earthly, again into the celestial quality, to turn the human earth (material element) into heaven, to make out of the four elements only one, and to transform the wrath of…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 12 (part 3)

“He willingly surrendered Himself to the wrath (to the suffering caused by the lower principles that had been awakened to consciousness in consequence of the sin), and He extinguished it by His love. He came from God into this world and too…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 12 (part 6)

“253 and shedding of blood. Adam's body died on the Cross, and Christ, born of Jesus and the sanctified seed of the woman, tinctured (blessed) him with His dear blood of love." ( Stiefel , ii. 494.) "The inner man Christ took our sins upon…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 12 (part 9)

“8.) "When the earth received the blood of Christ she trembled and shook, for the wrath of God was now conquered in her, and there entered into her the living blood which had come from heaven out of the substantiality of God." ( Menschwerdun…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 12 (part 12)

“255:1 However gratifying it may be for the curious seeker in history to know whether or when such an event has actually occurred in the history of the Jewish nation, such a historical belief would be of little benefit to him if he could not…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 2)

“265 To form a correct conception of the regeneration of man, and of what kind of a being it is which is to be brought to life in us, we must learn to know what is eternity and time, light and darkness, good and evil, and especially the orig…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 3)

“To accomplish this he must rise by the aid of the divine Spirit within himself above the inferior elements within his own nature, and thus surrender his whole self-will to God, an act which is expressed in the original meaning of the word "…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 4)

“will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of My Father in heaven." It would seem self-evident that no being inferior to the Father in heaven can possibly do the will of the Father, because no one can do the will of God unl…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 5)

“First, by the severe wrath of God, the abyss and dark world, which is the centre of the created life of the soul, whose innermost root is desire. The second chain is the fiery longing of the devil for the soul, in consequence of which he t…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 6)

“Often she is deluded with sin, and everything seems to be against her. You must continually battle against the devil. Then will the pearl-tree grow like grass in storm and rain; but when it becomes big and brings forth flowers, you may th…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 7)

“27.) The first and greatest danger for the new-born being arises from pride; as is illustrated in the New Testament, for hardly is the new-born Saviour laid in the cradle, standing between the ox of self will and the ass of ignorance in the…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 8)

“A sprout grows from the earth, and thus the substance of which it is formed flies from the earth and is attracted towards the sunlight until it becomes a plant or a tree. So does the divine Sun draw the human lily, i.e. , the new man in h…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 9)

“279 free will already in the beginning (of a desire) destroys the desire, so that it does not become substantial, then is the physician (for the cure of that disease) already born, and there will not be needed such great earnestness as will…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 12)

“In the place which formerly was the seat of self-will there is now nothing, and wherever there is nothing there the love of God is solely active." ( Supernatural Life , xxviii.) "A true Christian knows himself to be a servant of God, whose…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 4)

“Each person feels that according to the quality of his Turba , one in one way and another in another. The avaricious soul, for instance, suffers from cold; the angry soul from heat; the envious soul experiences bitterness; the conceited is…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 6)

“These souls have a perverted conscience, which tortures them; their sins are always before their eyes; they see all their injustice and frivolity, their conceit and the misery which they have caused, their scorn and arrogance, but now their…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 7)

“This light moderates the action of the fiery will still active in them, the blessings of their good deeds surround them, the hope for still greater glorification is their life, and from the trouble and persecution which they have suffered t…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 9)

“The faith of the living caught that of the saints, and the faith performed the miracle. Faith can overthrow mountains. It could destroy the world, if God were so to direct it." 1 ( Forty Questions , xxvi.) In the above we have considered…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 10)

“When, then, death actually takes place, and separates the soul from the body, the poor soul will then cling to that thread and refuse to let go her hold of it, but all her essences are still deeply immersed in the wrath of God; she is tortu…”

◆The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 11)

“309 As a matter of course, no dead soul can be made alive by prayer, neither can mere lip-prayer or any empty ceremony aid the soul in freeing herself from the bonds of matter, but the living may aid the "dead," and especially the dying, by…”

◇Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation) | IIc

“No man desires anything so eagerly as God desires to bring men to the knowledge of Himself. God is always ready, but we are very unready. God is near us, but we are far from Him. God is within, and we are without. God is friendly; we ar…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 5)

“The first of these three states, being a beginning of all power and strength, originates from the quality of the Father; the second, being the source of all activity and differentiation, comes from the quality of the Son; and the third, bei…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 5 (part 7)

“2.) "Lucifer had within himself the fire and the light. He p. 113 was free. Why then did he imagine (project his consciousness) into the fire? The light and the power of God did not draw him into the fire, but the wrath of nature. Why…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 5 (part 8)

“36.) "The foundation of hell was from eternity; however, it was not manifest, but hidden until it became awakened." ( Theosophical Questions , xv. i.) p. 115 "The four lower principles without the eternal light are the abyss, the wrath of…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 5 (part 9)

“1.) "Lucifer having left the harmony of God, the holy name of God separated from him and remained in its own unity; but Lucifer remained in the qualities of the central fire which he had awakened within himself." ( Theosophical Questions ,…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 7)

“The heart of God wanted to have him in Paradise and to reside in him, for it said, 'He is my image and likeness.' The kingdom of wrath wanted him, for it said, 'He is mine; for he has issued out of my fountain, out of the eternal mind of th…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 8)

“15.) The forthcoming of the tree of temptation is not to be wondered at, because Adam was endowed with great powers, and an earthly form as a protection to him against the powers of hell. 1 "Reason (man's reasoning) says, 'Why did God perm…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 10)

“6.) God had ordered mankind not to eat from the fruits of the tree of temptation; but the devil thought of inducing them to disobey the command, and they were, moreover, p. 160 incited to do so by the spirit of the world, and by their own…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 7 (part 11)

“162 [paragraph continues] Eve, the latter was the first to be seduced to fall away from God. 1 "The lust originated in Adam, but thereupon this perverted desire began to be excited in the woman." ( Stiefel , ii. 375.) "Eve was lusting aft…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 2)

“If the soul does not do this, but imagines within herself, in her own fierce forms or states conducive to the fire-torture (passion), and not in the fountain of love, then will her self-torture arise from her harshness, acridity, and bitter…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 3)

“2.) "Many a soul in her malignity would become a devil within one hour if the external life did not prevent it, so that her complete ignition cannot take place." ( Forty Questions , xvi. 12.) "In examining our own selves we find that, on t…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 4)

“9.) "After the fall man with his interior body lived only in time; the precious gold of heavenly corporeity, which should tincture, penetrate and bless the external body, had lost its colour." 3 ( Signature , v. 8.) Moreover, the powers of…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 6)

“He could generate in a virginal state, and procreate by means of his will and out of his own substance, without any pain or laceration." ( Threefold Life , ii. 24.) "If man had withstood the temptation one human being would have been born…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 9 (part 7)

“Even in its best aspect the performance is disgusting before the sanctity of that which is divine, it having been caused by sin in consequence of primordial man's degradation, but being patiently submitted to by that which is divine in man,…”

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

“p. 198 CHAPTER X. THE CHRIST. "The inner element which holds the whole body of this world has become the eternal body of Christ; for the whole of Divinity in the word and heart of God has entered therein in eternity; and the same Divinit…”

◇The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 14 (part 5)

“"Man's own sins, his depravity and vices in rejecting God, are his hell-fire, which gnaws in him eternally. His mockeries are now before his eyes, and he does not dare to let even one good thought enter into his soul; for the good is to hi…”

← Collapse

neoplatonism96

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter Vb

“Again, however, according to another mode of considering the subject, it is necessary to ascribe to the Gods the whole of that which is united, of whatever kind it may be; that which is firmly established in itself, and which is the cause o…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VII

“Of the extremes, therefore, one is supreme, transcendent, and perfect; but the other is last in dignity, deficient, and more imperfect. And the former, indeed, is capable of accomplishing all things at once, uniformly in an instant; but the…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIIIa

“But neither must we admit that cause of the distinction of these genera which you subjoin, viz. “ that it is an arrangement with reference to different bodies; as, for instance, 39 of Gods to etherial bodies, but of dæmons to aerial bodies…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIIIb

“Hence, through these things such a corporeal-formed division as you introduce, is demonstrated to be false. It is, indeed, especially necessary not to propose any thing of this kind; but if this should appear to you to be requisite, yet yo…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter IXa

“I consider you, therefore, as asking, for it is your inquiry, “ Why, since the Gods dwell in the heavens alone, there are invocations by theurgists of terrestrial and subterranean Gods? ” For 45 what you assert in the beginning is not true…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter Xa

“After these things, you again subjoin another division for yourself, “ in which you separate the essences of the more excellent genera by the difference of passive and impassive .” But neither do I admit this division. For no one of the mo…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter Xb

“This, therefore, rather pertains to some other genus, than to that which always exists, and is suspended from the Gods, and which, in conjunction with them, observes the same order, and accomplishes the same period. Hence dæmons are impass…”

◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XIII

“Moreover, “ the pacifications of anger ” will become manifest, if we understand what the anger of the Gods is. [32] This, therefore, is not, as it appears to be to some, a certain ancient and inveterate rage, but an abandonment of the benef…”

Show all 96 →

renaissance_hermeticism46

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

“"Altiora Peto" was Bruno's motto, and to realize it he had gone forth with the pilgrim's staff in his hand, sometimes covered with the cowl of the monk, at others wearing the simple habit of a schoolmaster, or, again, clothed with the doubl…”

◆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) | INTRODUCTIONj

“The body is in the soul, the soul is in the mind, the mind is in God. The life of the soul is the true life of the man. Of all his various faculties, that which rules all, that which exalts our nature, is Thought. By means of it we rise…”

◆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 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) | 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 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…”

Show all 46 →

western_esoteric32

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolismw

“The Mysteries were the channels through which this one philosophic light was disseminated, and their initiates, resplendent with intellectual and spiritual understanding, were the perfect fruitage of the divine tree, bearing witness before…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Qabbalistic Keys to the Creation of Mane

“Philo Judæus considered Adam to represent the human mind, which could understand (and hence give names to) the creatures about it, but could not comprehend (and hence left nameless) the mystery of its own nature. Adam was also likened to t…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Qabbalistic Keys to the Creation of Manf

“The Zohar holds the concept of two Adams: the first a divine being who, stepping forth from the highest original darkness, created the second, or earthly, Adam in His own image. The higher, or celestial, man was the Causal sphere With its…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Qabbalistic Keys to the Creation of Manj

“Many of the early Church Fathers sought to establish a direct relationship between Adam and Christ, thereby obviously discounting the extremely sinful nature of man's common ancestor, since it is quite certain that when St. Augustine liken…”

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

“It is not true because our experimental knowledge is not a confused perception of a real world . It is a very acute perception of an entirely unreal world appearing round about us at the moment of our contact with the world of true causes,…”

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

“1 Behold! human beings living in a sort of underground den; they have been there from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained—the chains are arranged in such a manner as to prevent them from turning round their heads. At a…”

◆Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) | Chapter XIV (part 6)

“And at last he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him as he is in his own proper place, and not in another, and he will contemplate his nature. Certainly. And after this he will reas…”

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

“When one encounters these perversions of love, one involuntarily calls to mind the words of Zarathustra: 2 Voluptuousness: unto all hair-shirted despisers of the body, a string p. 173 and stake; and cursed as "the world" by all backworldsm…”

Show all 32 →

finnic28

◆The Kalevala | Rune Ia

“OF WAINAMOINEN. In primeval times, a maiden, Beauteous Daughter of the Ether, Passed for ages her existence In the great expanse of heaven, O'er the prairies yet enfolded. Wearisome the maiden growing, Her existence sad and hopeless, Thus…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune Ic

“Wainamoinen, old and trusty, Lingering within his dungeon Thirty summers altogether, And of winters, also thirty, Peaceful on the waste of waters, On the broad-sea's yielding bosom, Well reflected, long considered, How unborn to live and fl…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IVc

“Deck thy brow with silken ribbon, Trim with gold thy throbbing temples, And thy neck with pearly necklace, Hang the gold-cross on thy bosom, Robe thyself in pure, white linen Spun from flax of finest fiber; Wear withal the richest short-fro…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune Vc

“Finally the ancient minstrel, Mind depressed, and heart discouraged, Spake these words, immersed in sorrow: "Fool am I, and great my folly, Having neither wit nor judgment; Surely once I had some knowledge, Had some insight into wisdom, Had…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune VIIb

“What will happen if I perish, If I sink below the billows, Perish here from cold and hunger?" Thus the bird of Ether answered "Be not in the least disheartened, Place thyself between my shoulders, On my back be firmly seated, I will lift th…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune VIIc

“Thereupon she hastens homeward, Hastens to her mother's dwelling, These the words the maiden utters: "I have heard a wail from ocean, Heard a weeping from the sea-coast, On the shore some one lamenting." Louhi, hostess of Pohyola, Ancient,…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune VIId

“This the reason for my weeping; I have lived in toil and torture, Since I left my home and country, Left my native land and kindred, Came to this the land of strangers, To these unfamiliar portals. All thy trees have thorns to wound me, Al…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune XId

“If ye do not heed this order, Ye shall badly fare as maidens; I shall sing to war your suitors, Sing them under spear and broadsword, That for months, and years, and ages, Never ye will see their faces, Never hear their merry voices, Never…”

Show all 28 →

platonism21

◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1l

“But if, said Socrates, you are still incredulous, Simmias, I would ask you whether you may not agree with me when you look at the matter in another way; I mean, if you are still incredulous as to whether knowledge is recollection. Incredul…”

◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1m

“And yet from these equals, although differing from the idea of equality, you conceived and attained that idea? Very true, he said. Which might be like, or might be unlike them? Yes. But that makes no difference; whenever from seeing one…”

◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1n

“For this is clear, that when we perceived something, either by the help of sight or hearing, or some other sense, there was no difficulty in receiving from this a conception of some other thing like or unlike which had been forgotten and wh…”

◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1

“I dare say that the simile is not perfect-for I am very far from admitting that he who contemplates existence through the medium of ideas, sees them only "through a glass darkly," any more than he who sees them in their working and effects.…”

◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1

“In any way that you like; only you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you. Then he turned to us, and added with a smile: I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who have been talking and conduct…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1d

“But the non-lover has no such tormenting recollections; he has never neglected his affairs or quarrelled with his relations; he has no troubles to add up or excuse to invent; and being well rid of all these evils, why should he not freely d…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1k

“I thought that you were only halfway and were going to make a similar speech about all the advantages of accepting the non-lover. Why do you not proceed? Soc. Does not your simplicity observe that I have got out of dithyrambics into hero…”

◆Plato: Phaedrus | Section 1o

“Zeus, the mighty lord, holding the reins of a winged chariot, leads the way in heaven, ordering all and taking care of all; and there follows him the array of gods and demigods, marshalled in eleven bands; Hestia alone abides at home in the…”

Show all 21 →

greek_mystery13

◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 7)

“And although the same employment is common both to the ruler, and those who are ruled; yet the latter, if destitute of a leader, could no longer conspire together in one occupation; as the concord of the fingers and ` dancers, and the exped…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 8)

“43 these unnatural habits." As, therefore, it is not wonderful that the greatest part of those who inhabit a pestiferous region, should languish and decline, but that a very few should preserve their natural strength; so we ought not to won…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXXIII. APOLLO (part 3)

“Ζεὺς δέ τε πάντων ἐςὶ ϑεὸς, πάντων τε κεραςὴς, Πνέυμασι συζι#ων, ( ) φωναῖσι τε ἀερομικτοις· That is, "But Jupiter is the God of all, and the mingler of all things; whistling with the breathing winds and aerial voices." And this perfectly a…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXVI. MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY

“LXXVI. To MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY * . The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. THE consort I invoke of Jove divine, Source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine; p. 215 Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind, By whom the soul with inte…”

◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 1)

“LXXXVI. TO DEATH. The FUMIGATION from MANNA. HEAR me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd, Extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind. On thee, the portion of our time depends, Whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends. p. 225 Thy sl…”

◆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 4 (part 2)

“Wherein have I done amiss? What have I done? What have I omitted that I ought to have done? 43. If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it; 44. And if thou hast done any good, rejoice.…”

◆The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 10 (part 1)

“p. 53 SELECT SENTENCES OF SEXTUS THE PYTHAGOREAN 1. To neglect things of the smallest consequence, is not the least thing in human life. 2. The wise man, and the despiser of wealth, resemble God. 3. Do not investigate the name of God,…”

Show all 13 →

sufism13

◆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) | PROLOGUEb

“Knowest thou why thy mirror reflects not? Because the rust has not been scoured from its face. If it were purified from all rust and defilement, It would reflect the shining of the SUN Of GOD.6 O friends, ye have now heard this tale, Whic…”

◆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 IIIa

“The Jewish King, his Vazir, and the Christians. A certain Jewish king used to persecute the Christians, desiring to exterminate their faith. His Vazir persuaded him to try a stratagem, namely, to mutilate the Vazir himself, and expel him…”

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

“Another Tyrannical Jewish King. A certain Jewish king, the same who is referred to in the Sura "Signs of the Zodiac," I made up his mind to utterly exterminate the Christian faith, and with that view he set up a huge idol, and issued comman…”

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

“The skill taught by God to the silkworm Is a learning beyond the reach of the elephant. The earthly Adam was taught of God names, 4 So that his glory reached the seventh heaven. He laid low the name and fame of the angels, 5 Yet blind ind…”

◆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 VIIa

“The Merchant and his Clever Parrot. There was a certain merchant who kept a parrot in a cage. Being about to travel to Hindustan on business, he asked the parrot if he had any message to send to his kinsmen in that country, and the parrot…”

Show all 13 →

jewish_mysticism10

◆The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) | 1f

“[The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are divided into three classes, the three mothers as they are called, AMSh; the seven duplex letters, BGDKPRTh, so called because they are sometimes tenues and sometimes aspirates, according to whether th…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XII

“XII-XVI. Dream Vision of Enoch: his intercession for Azâzêl and the fallen Angels: and his announcement to them of their first and final doom . CHAPTER XII. 1. Before these things Enoch was hidden, and no one of the children of men knew whe…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XIII

“CHAPTER XIII. 1. And Enoch went and said: 'Azâzêl, p. 40 thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds: 2. And thou shalt not have toleration nor †request† granted to thee, because of the unrig…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XV

“CHAPTER XV. 1. And He answered and said to me, and I heard His voice: 'Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man and scribe of righteousness: approach hither and hear my voice. 2. And go, say to ⌈⌈ the Watchers of heaven ⌉⌉ , who have sent thee t…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XXXII

“CHAPTER XXXII. E 1. And after these fragrant odours, as I looked towards the north over the mountains I saw seven mountains full of choice nard and fragrant trees and cinnamon and pepper. G g 1. To the north-east I beheld seven mountains fu…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XLII

“XLII. The Dwelling-places of Wisdom and of Unrighteousness . CHAPTER XLII. 1. Wisdom found no place where she might dwell; Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens. 2 Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter LXIII

“LXIII. The unavailing Repentance of the Kings and the Mighty . CHAPTER LXIII. 1. In those days shall the mighty and the kings who possess the earth implore (Him) to grant them a little respite from His angels of punishment to whom they were…”

◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter LXXXIX (part 2)

“And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep how they lamented and cried, and besought their Lord with all their might, till that Lord of the sheep descended at the voice of the sh…”

Show all 10 →

hermeticism9

◆Corpus Hermeticum 4: The Epistles | Section 1b

“And having raised themselves so far they sight the Good; and having sighted it, they look upon their sojourn here as a mischance; and in disdain of all, both things in body and the bodiless, they speed their way unto that One and Only One.…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 6: The All-Father | Section 1b

“So then, Asclepius, the name alone of Good is found in men, the thing itself nowhere [in them], for this can never be. For no material body doth contain It - a thing bound on all sides by bad, by labors, pains, desires and passions, by err…”

◆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 1a

“That No One of Existing Things doth Perish, but Men in Error Speak of Their Changes as Destructions and as Deaths <The idea of cyclic change central to CH III, "The Sacred Sermon", also takes center stage here. A current of ancient specula…”

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

“For that the soul who hath no knowledge of the things that are, or knowledge of their nature, or of Good, is blinded by the body's passions and tossed about. This wretched soul, not knowing what she is, becomes the slave of bodies of stran…”

◆Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1a

“About The Common Mind <The "common mind" discussed in this dialogue is the same Mind which appears as a divine power in other parts of the Hermetic literature. It is identical, as well, with the "Good Daimon" whose words are quoted at seve…”

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

“<lacuna in text>, though this Sermon (Logos) on Rebirth, on which I did not comment - in order that we may not be calumniators of the All unto the multitude, to whom indeed God Himself doth will we should not. 14. Tat: Tell me, O father:…”

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

“Sing praise, my Self-control; sing thou through me, my Righteousness, the praises of the Righteous; sing thou, my Sharing-all, the praises of the All; through me sing, Truth, Truth's praises! Sing thou, O Good, the Good! O Life and Light,…”

Show all 9 →

mesopotamian8

◆Adapa and the Food of Life | Section 1a

“ADAPA AND THE FOOD OF LIFE . TABLET NO.1 He possessed intelligence . . . , His command like the command of Anu ... He (Ea) granted him a wide ear to reveal the destiny of the land, He granted him wisdom, but he did not grant him eterna…”

◆The Descent of the Goddess Ishtar into the Lower World | Section 1c

“Sprinkle Ishtar with the waters of life and take her out of my presence. Namtar went, knocked at the strong palace, Tapped on the threshold of precious stones. He brought out the Anunnaki and placed them on golden thrones, He sprinkled Is…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I — The Tyranny of Gilgamish and the Creation of Enkidu | Tablet I, Section 1d

“Drank he his fill , with the beasts did his heart delight at the water, So beheld him the courtesan-girl, the lusty great fellow, (O but) a monster (all) savage from out of the depths of the desert! "’Tis he, O girl! O, discover thy beaut…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet II — The Meeting of Gilgamish and Enkidu | Tablet II, Section 1a

“THE SECOND TABLET OF THE MEETING OF GILGAMISH AND ENKIDU. 2. While Gilgamish (thus) is the vision revealing Enkidu sitteth before the hetaera, and she [displaying her] bosom, 5. Shewing [her beauty (?)], the place of his birth he forgett…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet III — The Expedition against Humbaba | Tablet III, Section 1a

“THE THIRD TABLET. THE EXPEDITION TO THE FOREST OF CEDARS AGAINST HUMBABA. . . "He lifted up [his foot, to the door . . . . . . . . 21. (?) They raged furiously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enkidu hath not [his e…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet VII — The Death of Enkidu | Tablet VII, Section 1b

“(Aye), by the road on the passage whereof there can be no returning, Unto the Dwelling whose tenants are (ever) bereft of the daylight, Where for their food is the dust, and the mud is their sustenance: bird-like 40. Wear they a garment of…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet IX — Gilgamish in Terror of Death Seeks Eternal Life | Tablet IX, Section 1

“THE NINTH TABLET. GILGAMISH IN TERROR OF DEATH SEEKS ETERNAL LIFE. . Gilgamish bitterly wept for his comrade, (for) Enkidu, ranging Over the desert: "I, too—shall I not die like Enkidu also? 5. Sorrow hath enter’d my heart; I fear death as…”

◆Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XII — Gilgamish Enquires of the Dead | Tablet XII, Section 1c

“"Tell, O my friend, O tell, O my friend, (O) tell (me, I pr’y thee), What thou hast seen of the laws of the Underworld?" "(Nay, then,) O comrade; 90. I will not tell thee, (yea,) I will not tell thee—(for), were I to tell thee, What I have…”

taoism6

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 18

“When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships,…”

◆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 53

“If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display. The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love…”

◆Tao Te Ching | Chapter 70

“My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practise; but there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise them. There is an originating and all-comprehending (principle) in my words, and an authoritative law for t…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 124 (part 5)

“A third class held that there was such recognition, but there had not begun to be any expression of different opinions about it. p. 186 It was through the definite expression of different opinions about it that there ensued injury to (the…”

◆The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 2)

“or from Man?' Then he added 2 , 'It must be from Heaven, and not from Man. Heaven's making of this man caused him to have but one foot. In the person of man, each foot has its marrow. By this I know that his peculiarity is from Heaven, a…”

celtic5

◆The Mabinogion | Tale THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAINl

““My lord Arthur,” said Gwalchmai, “here is Owain, who has vanquished me, and will not take my arms.” “My lord,” said Owain, “it is he that has vanquished me, and he will not take my sword.” “Give me your swords,” said Arthur, “and then neit…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale BRANWEN THE DAUGHTER OF LLYRi

““And take you my head,” said he, “and bear it even unto the White Mount, in London, and bury it there, with the face towards France. And a long time will you be upon the road. In Harlech you will be feasting seven years, the birds of Rhia…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale MANAWYDDAN THE SON OF LLYRa

“HERE IS THE THIRD PORTION OF THE MABINOGI When the seven men of whom we spoke above had buried the head of Bendigeid Vran, in the White Mount in London, with its face towards France; Manawyddan gazed upon the town of London, and upon his co…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIGc

“And in the dream I beheld a maiden, and because of the maiden is there neither life, nor spirit, nor existence within me.” “Lord,” they answered, “since thou judgest us worthy to counsel thee, we will give thee counsel. And this is our cou…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINl

“And then said Taliesin, “Elphin, behold a payment and reward unto thee, for having taken me out of the weir, and for having reared me from that time until now.” And on this spot stands a pool of water, which is to this time called Pwllbair.…”

mandaean5

◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 8

“[What follows is presumably the beginning of the Letter.] Gnosis of Life 8 who is far from the height [writes]: "I have come unto thee, O Soul, whom Life has sent into this world. In robes of the Eight 9 went I into the world. I went in t…”

◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 16

“When Messiah said this, Yahyā cries aloud; tears come to him without ceasing, and he speaks: "[God] forbid that the high King of Light should look for lot in deceivers. The soul is not like the blood, that it should become heated in the bod…”

◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — The Story of the Breach with Judaism | Section 3

“Thou hast won the victory, Gnosis of Life, and helped all thy friends to victory. And Life is victorious. p. 65 THE EXILED COMMUNITY SETTLE ON THE EUPHRATES (§ 35). In the Name of Great Life, may hallowed Light be glorified. MIRYAI am…”

◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — The Story of the Breach with Judaism | Section 4

“Then made he answer unto them: "You had better not to have known, my brothers, what has become of those birds. Slingshots drove them far from me; their wings broke; torn off were they, broken off; they went hence and relied on the bird-catc…”

◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Some Typical Extracts | Section 1

“p. 71 UNDER the first two headings readers have been made acquainted with all those pieces from the Mandæan John-Book that can be held to have in any sense a historic intention. To these are now added a few extracts of such specimens of th…”

buddhism2

◆The Dhammapada | Chapter V, Section 1b

“In Manu IV, 172, where a similar sentence occurs, the commentators are equally doubtful: Nâdharma s k arito loke sadya h phalati gaur iva, 'for an evil act committed in the world does not bear fruit at once, like a cow;' or 'like the earth…”

◆The Dhammapada | Chapter XVIII, Section 1b

“On the five principal commandments which are recapitulated in verses 246 and 247, see Buddhaghosha's Parables, p. 153. 248. Cf. Mahâbhârata XII, 4055, yeshâ m v ri ttis k a sa m yatâ. See also verse 307 .] p. 62 249. The world gives…”

egyptian1

◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 5 (part 3)

“When Isis heard of this she went to Byblos, and, gaining admittance to the palace through the report of the royal maidens, she was made nurse to one of the king's sons, Instead of nursing the child in the ordinary way, Isis gave him her fin…”