praxis
Spiritual Ascent
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
1,124 passages · 18 traditions
neoplatonism246
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter III
“In the first place, therefore, you say, “ it must be granted that there are Gods .” Thus to speak, however, is not right on this subject. For an innate knowledge of the Gods is coexistent with our very essence; and this knowledge is superio…”
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter Va
“In the next place, let us direct our attention to the solution of your inquiries.
There is, therefore, the good itself which is beyond essence, and there is that good which subsists according to essence; I mean the essence which is most an…”
◆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 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 XIb
“[31] Things of this kind, therefore, are introduced for the sake of our soul, and of the diminution of the evils which adhere to it 55 through generation, and of a solution and liberation from its bonds.
On this account, also, they are ver…”
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XII
“You also say, “ that invocations are directed to the Gods as to beings that are passive, so that not only dæmons are passive, but likewise the Gods .” This, however, is not the case. For the illumination which takes place through invocation…”
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XVII
“We will exchange, therefore, this division for the doubt which may be adduced by you against the present opinion. “ For ,” it may be said by you, “ how, conformably to what we assert, can the sun and moon, and the visible natures in the hea…”
◆Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XIXa
“In the next place, therefore, we shall answer your question, “ What it is which conjoins the Gods that have a body in the heavens with the incorporeal Gods.
” What this is, therefore, is evident from what has been before said.
For 72 if t…”
Show all 246 →egyptian145
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 4 (part 26)
“The Chapter of not going in to the divine block a second time.
Vignette: A man standing with his back to the block.[1] Chapter LI.
The Chapter of not walking upside down in the underworld.
Vignette: A man standing.
Chapter LII.* The Cha…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 6 (part 18)
“It reapeth the wheat, it cutteth the barley, and it giveth it unto thee.
Now, therefore, O Pepi, he that hath given unto thee life and all power and eternity and the power of speech and thy body is Ra.
Thou hast endued thyself with the fo…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 9 (part 1)
“THE ABODE OF THE BLESSED.
The Egyptian heaven.
The gods of the Egyptians dwelt in a heaven with their ka's , and khu's , and shadows, and there they received the blessed dead to dwell with them.
This heaven was situated in the sky, which…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 14 (part 2)
“The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines of the papyrus.
2.
The god Khepera is usually represented with a beetle for a head; and the scarab, or beetle, was sacred to him.
The name means "to become, to turn, to roll," and the abstrac…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 16 (part 3)
“The palettes of the Egyptian scribe were rectangular, and were made of wood, stone, basalt, ivory (see Nos.
5512a, 5513, 5525a, and 12,779, etc., in the British Museum).
They measure from 10 to 17 inches in length, and from 2 to 3 inches…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 16 (part 4)
“, "Moulder"), who uniteth (or formeth) and strengtheneth my limbs." Khnemu was called "builder of men, maker of the gods, the father from the beginning; creator of things which are," etc.
4 British Museum papyrus No.
9901 has "place of ha…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 18 (part 1)
“PLATES V.
AND VI.
Vignettes: The funereal procession to the tomb; running the length of the two plates.
In the centre of Plate V.
the mummy of the dead man is seen lying in a chest or shrine mounted on a boat with runners, which is draw…”
◆The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 18 (part 11)
“He shall (5) enter into the Fields of Aaru in peace, to learn the bidding of him who dwelleth in Tattu; (6) there shall wheat and barley be given unto him; there shall he flourish as he did upon (7) earth; and he shall do whatsoever pleaset…”
Show all 145 →gnosticism133
◆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 1j
“In the world these are the true people.
They are the attendants of the bridal chamber.
POWER AND WEAKNESS In this world, power and weakness mingle when man and woman have sex.
Joining is different in the eternal realm, though we use the…”
◆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 1
“And he said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 7
“Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man."…”
◆Gospel of Thomas | Logion 9
“Jesus said, "Now the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered them. Some fell on the road; the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on the rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not produce ears. And others fel…”
Show all 133 →western_esoteric125
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolismj
“The Encyclopædia Britannica makes the following statement concerning the Mithraic and Christian Mysteries: "The fraternal and democratic spirit of the first communities, and their humble origin; the identification of the object of adoration…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolismy
“The mystics of Eleusis also laid stress upon the evil of suicide, explaining that there was a profound mystery concerning this crime of which they could not speak, but warning their disciples that a great sorrow comes to all who take their…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolismz
“The secret exercises for spiritual unfoldment given to disciples of the higher degrees are unknown, but there is every reason to believe that they were similar to the Brahmanic Mysteries, since it is known that the Eleusinian ceremonies wer…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolism{
“Because this vast host was not prepared for the highest spiritual and mystical doctrines, a division necessarily took place within the society itself.
The higher teachings were given to only a limited number of initiates who, because of su…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquityg
“At the first gate the great crown is removed from her head, at the second gate the earrings from her ears, at the third gate the necklace from her neck, at the fourth gate the ornaments from her breast, at the fifth gate the girdle from her…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistusf
“It is doubtful that the deity called Thoth by the Egyptians was originally Hermes, but the two personalities were blended together and it is now impossible to separate them.
Thoth was called "The Lord of the Divine Books" and "Scribe of th…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistusi
“Knowing only the body which is subject to death, they believe in death because they worship that substance which is the cause and reality of death." Then Hermes asked how the righteous and wise pass to God, to which Poimandres replied: "Tha…”
◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistusj
“"Then, being naked of all the accumulations of the seven Rings, the soul comes to the Eighth Sphere, namely, the ring of the fixed stars.
Here, freed of all illusion, it dwells in the Light and sings praises to the Father in a voice which…”
Show all 125 →christian_mysticism124
◆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 10, Section 1c
“It is spoken of by ail the Christian Mystics as the root of our being, or as the spark, or the Synteresis, etc.
Our perfection consists in this ultimate reality, which is each man’s self, shining through his whole being and transforming it…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1a
“51 CHAPTER I Dionysius the Presbyter, to his fellow-Presbyter Timothy.
45 45 The name of St.
Paul’s companion is intended to give colour to the writer’s pseudonym.
See Introduction, p.
1; cf.
iii.
2.
What is the purpose of the discou…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1b
“For even as things which are intellectually discerned 52 52 i.
e.
The Transcendent Truths which are beyond ordinary knowledge.
νοητά .
The word νοῦς = Mind in the sense not merely of abstract intellect but of the spiritual personality.…”
◆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 1, Section 1d
“And we press upwards to those beams which in the Holy Scripture shine upon us; wherefrom we gain the light which leads us unto 55 the Divine praises 64 64 πρὸς τοὺς θεαρχικοὺς ὕμνους.
Either (1) “leads us to declare the Divine praises”; or…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1f
“And in all the other Divine enlightenments which the occult Tradition of our inspired teachers hath, by mystic Interpretation, accordant with the Scriptures, bestowed upon us, we also have been initiated: apprehending these things in the pr…”
◆Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 1, Section 1g
“But if It is greater than all Reason and all knowledge, and hath Its firm abode altogether beyond Mind and Being, and circumscribes, compacts, embraces and anticipates all things 87 87 παντῶν .
.
.
προληπτική—i.e.
contains them eternall…”
Show all 124 →renaissance_hermeticism84
◆Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter I — How Magicians Collect Virtues from the Three-Fold World is Declared in these Three Books | Chapter I, Section 1
“CHAPTER I. How Magicians Collect Virtues from the Three-Fold World is Declared in these Three Books . Seeing there is a Three-fold World—Elementary, Celestial and Intellectual—and every inferior is governed by its superior, and receiveth th…”
◆Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LX — Of Madness, and Divinations which are made when men are awake, and of the Power of a Melancholy Humor, by which Spirits are sometimes induced into Men's Bodies | Chapter LX, Section 1b
“And this thing, they think, happens under a three-fold difference, according to a three-fold apprehension of the soul, viz., imaginative, rational, and mental; they say, therefore, that when the mind is forced with a melancholy humor, nothi…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | INTRODUCTIONh
“The primal idea of Pythagoras, which Bruno worked out to a more distinct development is this: numbers are the beginning of things; in other words numbers are the cause of the existence of material things; they are not final, but are always…”
◆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 Dialoguee
“What power or spell of herb or magic art Can tear thee from the centre of my heart, Since he, who with an ever-growing zest, Tormenting most, yet most does make me blest?
How can I of this weight unburdened be, If pain the cure, and joy th…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueg
“"Steals it from me," he says of Jealousy, not simply in order that it may not be present to me; removing it from my eyesight, but in order that good may not be good, but an acute evil; sweet, not sweet, but an agonized longing; while the he…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguea
“.
Tansillo.
Now begins the enthusiast to display the affections and uncover the wounds which are for a sign in his body, and in substance or essence in his soul, and he says thus: 9.
Of Love the standard-bearer I; My hopes are ice, and g…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueb
“It is not a fury of black bile which sends him drifting outside of judgment, reason, and acts of prudence, and tossed by the discordant tempest, like those who, having violated certain laws of the divine Adrastia, are condemned to be scourg…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguec
“Here he shows his love not to be like that of the butterfly, of the stag, and of the unicorn, who would flee away if they had knowledge of the fire, of the arrow, and of the snares, and who have no other sense than that of pleasure; but he…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguee
“Others esteem him unhappy through this appearance of an evil destiny, as being condemned to these pangs, for he will never cease from acknowledging the obligation he is under to love, nor cease from rendering thanks to him because he has pr…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguee
“She dispatches the armed thoughts, which, solicited and urged by disagreement with the inferior nature, are sent to recall the heart.
The soul instructs them how they should conduct themselves, so that, being allured and attracted by the o…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguef
“Hence it follows that not less do we desire to see things unknown and unseen than those known and seen.
And from this it does not follow that the desire does not proceed from cognition, and that we desire something that is not known; but I…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueh
“Heaven the second gift denies, To him who does the first despise.
With these and similar reasons the soul, taking part with the weakest, seeks to recall the thoughts to the care of the body.
And these, although late, come and show themsel…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguej
“This I understand right well, and also that which you would infer about the principal intention; that is to say, that these are the degrees of the loves, of the affections, and of the enthusiasms, according to the degrees of greater and les…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueh
“That legend contains all the meaning of the thing in so far as it can be explained, for it means that he turns and is turned, that is to say movement present and accomplished.
Cic.
Excellent!
And therefore those circles which so ill expl…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguei
“It seems to me, that it means that his particular intelligence is to the universal intelligence ever the same—that is to say, the one is ever illuminated by the other, over the whole hemisphere; notwithstanding that to the inferior powers,…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguej
“So also is the hemisphere of this earth ever equally irradiated, although from the watery surfaces she from time to time sends her splendours unequally to the moon,—which like innumerable other stars we consider as another earth—in the same…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguel
“Here are shown the pains and troubles which beset love, principally love of a low kind, which is no other than the forge of Vulcan, that smith who makes the bolts of Jove which torment offending souls.
For ill-ordered love has in itself th…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueq
“Nec Veneris fructu caret is, qui vitat amorem, Sed potius, quæ sunt, sine poena, commoda sumit.
Cic.
What is meant by the meridian of the heart?
Tans.
That part or region of the will which is highest and most exalted, and where it becom…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueg
“Wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine, but we cannot even think of them without detracting from, rather than adding to the glory of them; so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is, that man, in the pre…”
◆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 Dialoguel
“Besides which, because he does not believe that all which is not, could not be, he prays the divine light, that by its beauty, which ought not to be entirely concealed, at least according to the capacity of whoever beholds it, and by his lo…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguen
“So much so that whatsoever you might add thereto would appear to me superfluous.
IX.
Ces.
Let us see what is here represented by those two radiating arrows upon a target around which is written: Vicit instans.
Mar.
The continual strugg…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogueo
“Because those lights which made present the illuminating, acting intellect and sun of intelligence found easy ingress through his eyes; that of Truth (the intellect of Truth?) through the door of the intellectual faculty; that of Goodness (…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguep
“Well do I remember having seen it expressed in the sonnet.
But let us read it first.
50.
Eager to find the much desired food, The eagle towards the sky spreads out his wings And warns of his approach both bird and beast, The third flight…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguer
“But where the entire affection is all turned towards God, that is towards the Idea of Ideas, from the light of intelligible things, the mind becomes exalted to the super-essential unity, and, all love, all one, it feels itself no longer sol…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialogues
“Weary and hoarse I yield me, impotent, And seek no more to elude my destiny, Or make endeavour to escape my death: Let every other life to me be null, And let not the extremest torment fail, Which my hard fate for me prescribed.
Type of my…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguee
“Now, it must be said that the outcome of the mind is that alone which is always by it desired, sought for, and embraced, and that which is more enjoyed than anything else, with which it is filled, comforted and becomes better,—that is Truth…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogued
“Why rather stay a pilgrim here below Than open through the air and us a way?
No spark of fire from that heart Goes out through the wide atmosphere.
Body of dust and ashes is not seen, Nor water-laden smoke ascends on high.
All is contain…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguee
“This alone I will not leave (unsaid) that it is not without reason that the affection of the heart is said to be the infinite sea by the apprehension of the eyes.[X] For the object of the mind being infinite, and no definite object being pr…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguef
“Here the eyes imprint upon the heart, that is upon the intelligence, and rouse in the will an infinite torment of love, where there is no pain because nothing is sought which is not obtained; but it is happiness, because that which is there…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueg
“The eyes, when they move (the heart), are dry, because they perform the office of a looking-glass, and of a representer; when they are moved, however, they become troubled and perturbed, because they perform the office of a diligent execute…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueb
“By her finally, they were treated in such a manner that, blind and homeless, with great labour having ploughed the seas, passed over rivers, overcome mountains, traversed plains for the space of ten years, and at the end of which time havin…”
◆The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguec
“Too long, too long our limbs Have wandered o'er the terrene globe, So that to us it seems As if the shrewd wild beast, With false and flattering hopes, Our bosoms has encumbered with her wiles.
Wretched henceforth, we see, though late, the…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part 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 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 Dialoguef
“One thing is certain, that he who loves wisely in youth will in age not go astray.
But derision is for those of mature age, into whose hands Love puts the alphabet.
Cic.
Tell me now why Fate is called blind and bad.
Tans.
Again, blind…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguec
“I can very well conceive, from what you have said, the condition of that heroic enthusiast, who says, "My hopes are ice and my desires are glowing," because he is not in the temperance of mediocrity, but, in the excess of contradictions, hi…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogued
“So that, finding himself thus ascending and descending, he feels within his soul the greatest dissension that is possible to be felt, and he remains in a state of confusion through this rebellion of the senses, which urge him thither where…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguee
“Herein he proves that his love is truly heroic; because he proposes to himself as the chief aim, not corporeal beauty, but rather the grace of the spirit, and the inclination of the affections in which, rather than in the beauty of the body…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguea
“.
Tansillo .
There are several varieties of enthusiasts, which may all be reduced to two kinds.
While some only display blindness, stupidity, and irrational impetuosity, which tend towards savage madness, others by divine abstraction bec…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogued
“In this disposition, I believe, was the Nolano when he said: 14.
Woe's me!
my fury forces me To union with the bad within, And makes it seem a love supreme and good.
Wearied, my soul cares nought That I opposing counsels entertain, And w…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguef
“Fitly, therefore, this rapture of heroic enthusiasm feeds on such "high emprise." For the object is infinite, and in action most simple, and our intellectual power cannot apprehend the infinite except in speech or in a certain manner of spe…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueg
“Such over-boldness rarely grief escapes." "Fear not the utmost ruin then," I said, "Cleave confident the clouds and die content, That heaven has destined thee to such illustrious death." Cic .
I understand when you say: "Enough that thou h…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialogueh
“In which generation finding themselves once more through the changes which permutably succeed, they return again to the superior forms.
Cic .
So that they mean, that souls are impelled by the necessity of fate, and have no proper counsel…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguea
“.
Tansillo .
Thus is described the discourse of heroic love, in all which tends to its own object, which is the highest good; and heroic intellect, which devotes itself to the study of its own object, which is the primal verity, or absolu…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueb
“He forms intelligible conceptions in his own way and proportions them to his capacity, so that they are received according to the manner of the recipient.
Tans.
And does he hunt through the operation of the will, by the act of which he co…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguec
“Whence he says, "Come not back to me till thou art mine," and not unworthily may I say with that other— Thou has left me, oh, my heart, And thou, light of my eyes, art no more with me.
Here he describes the death of the soul, which by the…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogued
“To be infinite, it must be infinitely pursued with that form of pursuit which is not incited physically, but metaphysically, and is not from imperfect to perfect, but goes circulating through the grades of perfection to arrive at that infin…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueg
“Behold me, miserable one, deprived of heart, abandoned of thoughts, left by hope, I, who had fixed my all in them.
Nothing is left to me but the sense of my poverty, my unhappiness and misery; why does not this too leave me?
Why does not…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguei
“And amongst men the same thing is seen, according as some resemble one species of brute beast and some another: these having something of the quadruped, and those of birds, and, may be, some affinity, which I will not explain, but through w…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguek
“Destiny, when, shall I that mountain mount, Which, blissful to the high gates bringing, bring, Where those rare beauties I shall counting, count, When he my pain with comfort comforting, Who my disjointed members joined, And leaves my dying…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguea
“.
I.
Cic .
Now show me how I may be able for myself to consider the conditions of these enthusiasts, through that which appears in the order of the warfare here described.
Tans .
Behold how they carry the ensign of their affections or…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguec
“It means that enthusiast, signified by the naked child as simple, pure, and exposed to all the accidents of Nature and of fortune, who at the same time by the force of thought, constructs castles in the air, and amongst other things a tower…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogued
“Be it far from me to make complaint of love, Love, without whom I will not happy be, And though through him these weary toils I bear.
Yet what is given my will shall not reject.
Be clear the sky or dark, burning or cold, To that one ph[oe…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguee
“The degrees of contemplation are like the degrees of light, which exist not at all in the darkness, slightly in shade, more in colours, according to their orders, from one opposite which is black to the other which is white; but more fully…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguef
“I understand it all; but what is the meaning of, "May I be happy in this governance and with these bonds, and may that light not cease?" Tans.
He means, and he proves, that every sort of love, the greater its dominion and the surer its hol…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguen
“Of necessity, one is according to the sum of the other, seeing that where things are finite it may result in this, that it is more wise than beautiful or good, more good and beautiful than wise, more wise and good than powerful, and more po…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialogueo
“For love, while it is finite, contented, and fixed in a certain measure, is not in the form of the species of divine beauty, but as it goes on with ever higher aspirations, it may be said to verge towards the infinite.
Cic.
.
How is brea…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguep
“So wills my fate; But blazing every hour From their meridian they burn the afflicted heart.
[A] Quando il sen d'oriente il giorno sgombra.
Cic.
This tablet expresses with greater truth than perspicacity the sense of the figure.
Tans.
.…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | PREFACE
“. The second part of "The Heroic Enthusiasts" which I am now sending to the press is on the same subject as the first, namely the struggles of the soul in its upward progress towards purification and freedom, and the author makes use of low…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguec
“And I will say, because to me this pain Is dearer than all other pleasures are.
Mar.
In reference to this I told you that although one should be attached to corporeal and external beauty yet he may honourably and worthily be so attached;…”
◇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 Dialoguee
“For nothing is produced absolutely from a homœogeneous (pacifico) principle, but all from opposite principles, through the victory and dominion of one part of the opposites, and there is no pleasure of generation on one side without the pai…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguef
“But Providence wills that these, instead of rising to the sky, should go together to the shades of Orcus, so that naught is the glory of him who extols and of him who is extolled; for the one has woven a statue of straw, or carved the trunk…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguej
“So that the continual movement of one part supposes and carries with it the movement of the whole, in such a way that the attraction of the posterior parts is consequent upon the repulsion of the anterior parts; thus the movement of the sup…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | First Dialoguem
“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguea
“Maricondo.
Here you see a flaming yoke enveloped in knots round which is written: Levius aura; which means that Divine love does not weigh down, nor carry his servant captive and enslaved to the lowest depths, but raises him, supports him…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogueb
“Now why should we force ourselves to corrupt the state of nature which has separated the universe into things major and minor, superior and inferior, illustrious and obscure, worthy and unworthy, not only outside ourselves but also inside i…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguec
“Therefore in this present time it is proper that noble spirits equipped with truth and enlightened with the Divine intelligence, should arm themselves against dense ignorance by climbing up to the high rock and tower of contemplation.[L] [L…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialogued
“The long life of Archimedes, of Euclid, of Priscian, of Donato, and others, who were found up to their death occupied with numbers, lines, diction, concordances, writings, dialectics, syllogisms, forms, methods, systems of science, organs,…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Second Dialoguef
“[P] Number is, as the great writer (Balzac) thought, an Entity, and at the same time, a Breath emanating from what he called God, and what we call the ALL, the breath which alone could organize the physical Kosmos.—("The Secret Doctrine.")…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Third Dialoguec
“First, because such an impediment cannot exist in action, if (equally?) violent opposition is not put into action;[U] second, because in so far as the waters are actually in the eyes, they can give passage to the heat as to the light; for,…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguea
“.
Interlocutors : Severing.
Minutolo.
Sev.
You will see the origin of the nine blind men, who state nine reasons and special causes of their blindness, and yet they all agree in one general reason and one common enthusiasm.[AB] [AB] May…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguec
“Besides which he considers that his blindness is not from constitution, but from habit, and is peculiar to himself, because the luminous fire which kindles the soul in the pupil, was for too long a time and with too much force, repressed an…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogued
“Therefore, in the sistine he would have space made for him to pass; for if anybody should be touched by his fires he would become such that he would have no more feeling of the flames of hell, for their heat would be to him as cold snow.
6…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguee
“Thou sayest well that no natural impulse or power is without strong reason; it is in fact the same rule of nature which orders things.
So far, it is a thing most true and most certain to well-disposed intellects, that the human soul, whate…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueg
“The fifth results from the disproportion of the means of our cognition to the knowable; seeing that in order to contemplate Divine things, the eyes must be opened by means of images, analogies and other reasonings which by the Peripatetics…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialogueh
“All which you have explained where it says: "When will the bright spark of the visual ray Darting, spring through each veiling obstacle." But let us return.
The sixth, represented in the following, is caused only by the imbecility and unre…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fourth Dialoguei
“As he who looks aloft sometimes is overcome by the majesty.[AG] Besides, when he comes to penetrate the Divine species, he passes it like a ray.
Whence say the theologians that the Divine word is more penetrating than sharp point of sword…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguea
“.
Interlocutors : Laodomia.
Giulia.
Lao.
Some other time, oh my sister, thou wilt hear what happened to those nine blind men, who were at first nine most beautiful and amorous youths, who being so inspired by the loveliness of your face…”
◇The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) | Fifth Dialoguee
“"The sun is equal to thy chiefest nymph, By virtue of the everlasting laws, And pauses alternating, Amongst my stars she's equal to the sun." [AJ] Plato says that [Greek: Theos] is derived from the verb [Greek: Theein], to move, to run, as…”
← Collapseplatonism73
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1b
“I thought that in going to the other world he could not be without a divine call, and that he would be happy, if any man ever was, when he arrived there, and therefore I did not pity him as might seem natural at such a time.
But neither co…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1d
“Socrates replied: And have you, Cebes and Simmias, who are acquainted with Philolaus, never heard him speak of this?
I never understood him, Socrates.
My words, too, are only an echo; but I am very willing to say what I have heard: and in…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1e
“And I rather imagine that Cebes is referring to you; he thinks that you are too ready to leave us, and too ready to leave the gods who, as you acknowledge, are our good rulers.
Yes, replied Socrates; there is reason in that.
And this indi…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1f
“And being dead is the attainment of this separation; when the soul exists in herself, and is parted from the body and the body is parted from the soul-that is death?
Exactly: that and nothing else, he replied.
And what do you say of anoth…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1g
“And he attains to the knowledge of them in their highest purity who goes to each of them with the mind alone, not allowing when in the act of thought the intrusion or introduction of sight or any other sense in the company of reason, but wi…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1h
“And now that the hour of departure is appointed to me, this is the hope with which I depart, and not I only, but every man who believes that he has his mind purified.
Certainly, replied Simmias.
And what is purification but the separation…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1i
“They are temperate because they are intemperate-which may seem to be a contradiction, but is nevertheless the sort of thing which happens with this foolish temperance.
For there are pleasures which they must have, and are afraid of losing;…”
◆Plato: Phaedo | Section 1k
“That is clear, he replied.
Then the inference is, that our souls are in the world below?
That is true.
And one of the two processes or generations is visible-for surely the act of dying is visible?
Surely, he said.
And may not the othe…”
Show all 73 →greek_mystery42
◆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 | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 10)
“For in this solemnity grass is carried about, enwrapping the kernels of olives, attended with figs, all kinds of pulse, oaken boughs or acorns, the fruit of the strawberry, wheat, and barley, a mass of dried figs, cakes composed from the me…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 11)
“As the husbandman, therefore, performs sacred rites, by presenting handfuls of pulse and fruits, so ought we to sacrifice our purest thoughts, and other goods of the soul, thanking the divinities for the sublime contemplations they afford u…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 15)
“For the generative causes of things, are contained by similitude in their effects; and in causes themselves their progeny subsist, comprehended in perfect union and consent.
Hence the celestial orbs impart a copious defluxion of good to th…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Front Matter, p. 4 (part 16)
“This heated paper we may compare to a certain relation of inferiors to superiors; and its approximation to the lamp, to the opportune use of things according to time, place, and matter.
But the procession of fire in the paper aptly represe…”
◆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 XXXVII. THE CURETES +
“XXXVII. TO THE CURETES + . The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. Brass-beating Salians, ministers of Mars, Who guard his arms the instruments of wars p. 168 Whose blessed frames, heav'n, earth, and sea compose, And from whose breath all animals…”
◆Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXV. THE MUSES (part 1)
“LXXV.
TO THE MUSES.
The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE.
Daughters of Jove, dire-sounding and divine, 1 Renown'd Pierian, sweetly speaking Nine; p.
206 To those whose breasts your sacred furies fire Much-form'd, the objects of supreme desi…”
Show all 42 →buddhism41
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1b
“70-75.' I do not deny that this may have been the traditional interpretation, at all events since the days of Buddhaghosa, but the very legend quoted by Buddhaghosa in illustration of this verse shows that its simpler and purely moral inter…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1d
“He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he suffers more when going on the evil path.
18.
The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both.
He is happy when he thinks of the good he has…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter I, Section 1e
“It is the negative of the fourth Nidâna, the so-called Upâdâna, which Köppen has well explained by Anhänglichkeit, 'taking to the world, loving the world.' Köppen, Die Religion des Buddha, p.
610.
Cf.
Suttanipâta, v.
470 .]…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter II, Section 1a
“p.
9 CHAPTER II.
ON EARNESTNESS [1] .
21.
Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvâ n a), thoughtlessness the path of death.
Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.
22.
Those who are…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter II, Section 1b
“A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in earnestness, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, [25.
Childers explains this island again as the state of an Arhat (arahatta-phalam).
28.
Cf.
Childers, Dictionary, Preface, p.
xiv.
See Vinaya,…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter III, Section 1b
“That s ru means 'to run,' and is in fact a merely dialectic variety of sru, has been proved by Burnouf, while Boehtlingk thinks the substitution of s for s is a mistake.
 s rava therefore, or âsrava, meant originally 'the running out towa…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter IV, Section 1a
“p.
16 CHAPTER IV.
FLOWERS [1] .
44.
Who shall overcome this earth, and the world of Yama (the lord of the departed), and the world of the gods?
Who shall find out the plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds out the (right)…”
◆The Dhammapada | Chapter IV, Section 1b
“The flower-arrows of Mâra, the tempter, are borrowed from Kâma, the Hindu god of love.
For a similar expression see Lalita-vistara, ed.
Calc.
p.
40, l.
20, mâyâmarî k isad ri sâ vidyutphenopamâ s k apalâ h .
It is on account of this p…”
Show all 41 →jewish_mysticism37
◆The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) | 1h
“35: "Ye shall not do iniquity in judgment, in dimension, in weight, and in measure." (Where these four are mystically intimated.) 37.
(There is one) rigorous judgment (of severity),another that is not rigorous (that is, of the kingdom).
T…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Page 3 (part 7)
“xix as Burkitt says, "most of the most convincing proofs that the Greek text of Enoch is a translation from a Semitic language fit equally well with a Hebrew or an Aramaic original"; his opinion is that Aramaic was the original language, "b…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XIV (part 2)
“None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him.
22.
The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh H…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XX
“XX. Name and Functions of the Seven Archangels . CHAPTER XX. 1. And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. 2. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus. 3. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XXI
“XXI. Preliminary and final place of punishment of the fallen angels (stars) . CHAPTER XXI. 1. And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. 2. And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XXII (part 1)
“XXII.
Sheol, or the Underworld .
CHAPTER XXII.
1.
And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈ another ⌉ great and high mountain [ and ] of hard rock.
E 2 And there was in it †four† hollow places, deep and wide an…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XXIII
“p. 50 XXIII. The Fire that deals with the Luminaries of Heaven . CHAPTER XXIII. 1. From thence I went to another place to the west of the ends of the earth. 2. And I saw a ⌈⌈ burning ⌉⌉ fire which ran without resting, and paused not from it…”
◆The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) | Chapter XXIV
“XXIV. XXV. The Seven Mountains in the North-West and the Tree of Life . CHAPTER XXIV. 1. ⌈⌈ And from thence I went to another place of the earth ⌉⌉ , and he showed me a mountain range of fire which burnt ⌈⌈ day and night ⌉⌉ . 2. And I went…”
Show all 37 →hermeticism21
◆Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres | Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
◆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 5: The Discourse of Hermes to Asclepius | Section 1c
“And for this cause hath He all names, in that they are one Father's.
And for this cause hath He Himself no nome, in that He's Father of [them] all.
Who, then, may sing Thee praise of Thee, or [praise] to Thee?
Whither, again, am I to tur…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1b
“For It doth will to be, and It is both Itself and most of all by reason of Itself.
Indeed, all other things beside are just bacause of It; for the distinctive feature of the Good is "that it should be known".
Such is the Good, O Tat.
Tat…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1e
“And for this cause is water poured around earth, to be a guard and wall, to keep the blazing of the fire away.
But mind, the swiftest thing of all divine outthinkings, and swifter than all elements, hath for its body fire.
For mind being…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1c
“All things incorporeal when in a body are subject unto passion, and in the proper sense they are [themselves] all passions.
For every thing that moves itself is incorporeal; while every thing that's moved is body.
Incorporeals are further…”
◆Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1e
“Observe this too, my son; that each one of the other lives inhabiteth one portion of the Cosmos - aquatic creatures water, terrene earth, and aery creatures air; while man doth use all these - earth, water air [and] fire; he seeth Heaven, t…”
Show all 21 →mandaean15
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 3
“Then all of the priests arose and said to Old Father Zakhriā, [they
said] in reproach: "Be at rest and keep thy seat, Old Father, and let the
calm of the Good (pl.) rest upon thee. Old p. 39 Father, if there were no dreams
in Judća, then wo…”
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 4
“Yahyā proclaims in the nights, Yōhānā on the Night's
evenings. 4
YAHYĀ proclaims in the nights and says: "Through my Father's discourses
I give light and through the praise of the Man, my creator, I have freed my
soul from the world and fr…”
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 9
“JOHN AND THE BAPTISM OF JESUS (§ 30).
Yahyā proclaims in the nights, Yōhānā on the Night's
evenings.
YAHYĀ proclaims in the nights.—Glory rises over the worlds.
Who told Yeshu (Eshu)? Who told Yeshu Messiah, son of Miryam, who told
Yeshu…”
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 10
“"A blind man who writes a letter: a villain who has become virtuous. He
abandoned wantonness and abandoned theft and reached unto faith in almighty
Life.
"A desolate house who ascends again to the height: one of position who
has become hum…”
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Portents at John's Birth | Section 12
“Thereon they 3 fashioned for Yahyā a wife out of thee, thou Region of the Faithful. 4 From the first conception were Handan and Sharrath born. From the middle
conception were Birhām and R'himath-Haiyē born. From the last conception were
Nṣa…”
◆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 6
“"Go, go," says she unto them, "ye fools, ye abortions, 4 ye who were not of the world. 5 I am no woman who is
stripped for wantoning; and it is not that I have fallen in love with a man.
Stripped am I not for returning to you and for again…”
◆Gnostic John the Baptizer — Some Typical Extracts | Section 4
“But I made answer unto them: "O ye fishers, who lap up your filth, no
fisher am I who fishes for fish, and I was not formed for an eater of filth.
A Fisher am I of souls who bear witness to Life. A Poor Fisher am I who calls
to the souls, c…”
Show all 15 →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 II
“The Oilman and his Parrot. An oilman possessed a parrot which used to amuse him with its agreeable prattle, and to watch his shop when he went out. One day, when the parrot was alone in the shop, a cat upset one of the oil-jars. When the oi…”
◆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 Vd
“But the light that lights the heart is the Light of God, Which is distinct from the light of reason and sense.
At night there is no light, and colors are not seen; Hence we know what light is by its opposite, darkness.
At night no colors…”
Show all 13 →finnic8
◆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 Xb
“From her temples beams the moonlight, From her breast, the gleam of sunshine, From her forehead shines the rainbow, On her neck, the seven starlets, And the Great Bear from her shoulder.
"Ilmarinen, worthy brother, Thou the only skilful bl…”
◆The Kalevala | Rune XVg
“God anoints his faithful children, With the honey of his wisdom, When they feel the pangs of sorrow, When they meet the powers of evil.
Dip thy winglets in this honey, Steep thy plumage in His sweetness, Hither bring the all-sufficient Bal…”
◆The Kalevala | Rune XVIe
“In Manala lived a woman, In the kingdom of Tuoni, Evil witch and toothless wizard, Spinner of the threads of iron, Moulder of the bands of copper, Weaver of a hundred fish-nets, Of a thousand nets of copper, Spinning in the days of summer,…”
◆The Kalevala | Rune XIXd
“Quick the giant fish endangered, Darts and flounders in the river, Dragging down the mighty eagle, Lashing up the very bottom To the surface of the river; When the mighty bird uprising Leaves the wounded pike in water, Soars aloft on worste…”
◆The Kalevala | Rune XIXe
“Tell me is the maiden ready, Wilt thou give the bride affianced?
Spake the hostess of Pohyola: "I will give to thee my daughter, Will prepare my snow-white virgin, For the suitor, Ilmarinen; Thou hast won the Maid of Beauty, Bride is she o…”
◆The Kalevala | Rune XXVIIIa
“MOTHER'S COUNSEL.
Ahti, hero of the Islands, Wild magician, Lemminkainen, Also known as Kaukomieli, Hastened from the great carousal, From the banquet-halls of Louhi, From the ever-darksome Northland, From the dismal Sariola.
Stormful str…”
◆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…”
taoism8
◆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 33
“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.…”
◆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 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 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 123 (part 1)
“p.
164 THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-DZE.
BOOK I.
PART I.
SECTION I.
Hsiâo-yâo Yû, or 'Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease 1 .' 1.
In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Khwän 2 ,--I do not know how many lî in size.
It changes…”
◇The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 128 (part 4)
“245 got It, and by It dwelt in the Dark Palace.
Yü-khiang 1 got It, and by It was set on the North Pole.
Hsî Wang-mû 2 got It, and by It had her seat in (the palace of) Shâo-kwang.
No one knows Its beginning; no one knows Its end.
Phäng…”
◇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…”
celtic5
◆The Mabinogion | Tale THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAINc
“The man looked upon me, and he smiled and said, ‘If I did not fear to distress thee too much, I would show thee that which thou seekest.’ Upon this I became anxious and sorrowful, and when the man perceived it, he said, ‘If thou wouldest ra…”
◆The Mabinogion | Tale PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWCx
“And her figure was very thin and spare, except her feet and her legs, which were of huge size.
And she greeted Arthur and all his household except Peredur.
And to Peredur she spoke harsh and angry words.
“Peredur, I greet thee not, seein…”
◆The Mabinogion | Tale THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIGa
“Maxen Wledig was emperor of Rome, and he was a comelier man, and a better and a wiser than any emperor that had been before him.
And one day he held a council of kings, and he said to his friends, “I desire to go to-morrow to hunt.” And th…”
◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINc
“Elphin of notable qualities, Be not displeased at thy misfortune; Although reclined thus weak in my bag, There lies a virtue in my tongue.
While I continue thy protector Thou hast not much to fear; Remembering the names of the Trinity, Non…”
◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINg
“And so, when the bards and the heralds came to cry largess, and to proclaim the power of the king and his strength, at the moment that they passed by the corner wherein he was crouching, Taliesin pouted out his lips after them, and played “…”
mesopotamian3
◆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…”
◆Adapa and the Food of Life | Section 1b
“Adapa, For whom art thou clad in a mourning garment?" In the country two gods have vanished; therefore am I clad In mourning garments." "Who are the two gods, who have vanished from the land?" "Tammuz and Gishzida." They looked at one anoth…”
◇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…”
norse1
◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1m
“I ween that I hung | on the windy tree, Hung there for nights full nine; With the spear I was wounded, | and offered I was To Othin, myself to myself, On the tree that none | may ever know What root beneath it runs.
[138.
In the manuscrip…”