Section 1a

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The human Mind is described as identical to God's essence, reflecting the divine structure within the human being.

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.

The soul is described as 'depraved' and plunged into pain/pleasure upon embodiment, indicating a fall from its divine state.

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The parenthetical '(if such a thing as essence of God there be)' negates the possibility of fully defining God's essence.

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

[auto] The text describes the soul as 'depraved by pleasure and by pain' upon entering a 'compound body,' viewing embodiment as a source of ill.

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

[auto] The passage uses the metaphor of light united to the sun to describe the relationship between Mind and God.

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

[auto] The text identifies the Mind within humans as God, implying a fragment of divine essence resides in mankind.

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The passage emphasizes that the Mind knows God's essence precisely, prioritizing direct experiential knowledge over external faith.

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] By stating the Mind in men is God and likening it to light, the text suggests a luminous divine quality within the person.

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] The declaration that 'This Mind in men is God' places the divine realm directly inside the human individual.

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

[auto] The translator's note explicitly identifies the Greek word logos as central to the argument regarding Mind and reason.

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] The text explicitly describes the Mind as united to God's essentiality without separation, mirroring the union of light and sun.

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The distinction between mortal and immortal is blurred by the statement that men are mortal gods and gods are immortal men.

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The quote 'Gods are immortal men, and men are mortal gods' uses paradoxical reversal to convey spiritual truth.

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

[auto] The statement that 'some of mankind are gods' distinguishes a spiritual elite from the general population.

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The text implies that knowing the Mind is equivalent to knowing God's essence, linking self-knowledge to divine knowledge.

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

[auto] The passage explicitly states 'some of mankind are gods' and that humanity is 'nigh unto divinity,' making deification a central theme.

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The passage asserts that the Mind in men is God and is united to God's essence like light to the sun, emphasizing non-dual identity.