The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) · 25 of 49 · tr. L. Williams
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, towards which, in all times, in every state, and in whatsoever condition man finds himself, he always aspires, and for the which he despises every fatigue, attempts every study, makes no account of the body, and hates this life.
Therefore Truth is an incorporeal thing; and neither physics, metaphysics, nor mathematics can be found in the body, because we see that the eternal human essence is not in individuals, who are born and die.
It (Truth) is specific unity, said Plato, not the numerical multitude that holds the substance of things.
Therefore he called Idea one and many, movable and immovable because as incorruptible species it is intelligible and one, and as it communicates itself to matter and is subject to movement and generation, it is sensible and many.
In this second mode it has more of non-entity than of entity; seeing that it is one and another and is ever running but never diminishes.[O] In the first mode it is an entity, and true.
See now, the mathematicians take it for granted, that the true figures are not to be found in natural bodies, nor can they be there through the power either of nature or of art.
You know, besides, that the truth (reality) of supernatural substances is above matter.
We must therefore conclude that he who seeks the truth must rise above the reason of corporeal things.
Besides which it must be considered, that he who feeds has a certain natural memory of his food, especially when it is most required; it leaves in the mind the likeness and species of it, in an elevated manner, according to the elevation and glory of him who aims, and of that which is aimed at.
Hence it is that everything has, innate, the intelligence of those things which belong to the conservation of the individual and species, and furthermore its final perfection depends upon efforts to seek its food through some kind of hunting or chase.
Therefore it is necessary that the human soul should have the light, the genius, and the instruments suitable for its pursuit.
And here contemplation comes to aid, and logic, the fittest mode for the pursuit of truth, to find it, to distinguish it, and to judge of it.
So that one goes rambling amongst the wild woods of natural things, where there are many objects under shadow and mantle, for it is in a thick, dense, and deserted solitude that Truth most often has its secret cavernous retreat, all entwined with thorns and covered with bosky, rough and umbrageous plants; it is hidden, for the most part, for the most excellent and worthy reasons, buried and veiled with utmost diligence, just as we hide with the greatest care the greatest treasures, so that, sought by a great variety of hunters, of whom some are more able and expert, some less, it cannot be discovered without great labour.
Pythagoras went seeking for it with his imprints and vestiges impressed upon natural objects, which are numbers, the which display its progress, reasons, modes and operations in a certain manner, because in the number (of) multitude, the number (of) measures, and the number (of) moment or weight, the truth and Being are found in all things.[P] [O] Atteso che sempre è altro ed altro, e corre eterno per la privazione.
Themes
◆Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
'Contemplation comes to aid' alongside logic as the fittest mode for the pursuit and judgment of Truth.
All passages →◆Anamnesissoteriology
Platonic recollection: knowledge as the soul's recovery of what it knew before birth, with learning as remembering rather than acquisition.
The text mentions 'natural memory' and 'innate... intelligence,' suggesting knowledge is recovered rather than acquired.
All passages →◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
Truth is defined negatively as 'incorporeal' and not found in physics, metaphysics, or mathematics within the body.
All passages →◆Correspondencecosmology
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
Natural objects bear 'imprints and vestiges' of Truth through numbers, reflecting cosmic structure in the material.
All passages →◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
The seeker 'makes no account of the body' and 'hates this life,' demonstrating radical detachment from material existence.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The human soul is said to require 'the light' and 'genius' suitable for the pursuit of Truth.
All passages →◆Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
The Idea is described as 'one' and 'incorruptible species,' emphasizing undivided divine nature.
All passages →◆Evil As Privationtheology
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
The sensible mode of Idea is described as having 'more of non-entity than of entity,' aligning with privation theory.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The pursuit of Truth relies on 'contemplation' and 'logic' to find and distinguish it beyond ordinary corporeal reason.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The text states the human soul should possess 'the light' and 'genius' innate for its pursuit.
All passages →◆Ladder Of Lovesoteriology
Diotima's staged ascent from love of beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → beautiful pursuits → beautiful knowledge → Beauty itself; the canonical scala amoris that grounds Plotinus's On the Beautiful and Bruno's Eroici Furori — distinct from generic spiritual_ascent in that eros is the specific motive force.
The passage describes a staged ascent from natural things to Truth through 'hunting or chase,' consistent with Bruno's scala amoris.
All passages →◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
Truth is defined as 'specific unity' and the Idea is described as 'one,' reflecting the principle of undivided being.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The mind is 'filled, comforted and becomes better' by Truth, indicating a state of union with the divine object.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The Idea is described as 'one and many, movable and immovable,' using paradox to define Truth.
All passages →◆Poverty Of Spiritanthropology
Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty).
The seeker 'makes no account of the body,' reflecting a spiritual poverty or detachment from material self.
All passages →◆Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
Man 'always aspires' towards Truth which is his desired outcome, implying a return to the divine origin.
All passages →◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The seeker must 'rise above' corporeal reason and 'aspires' towards Truth in a journey of elevation.
All passages →◆Tripartite Soulanthropology
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
The text distinguishes between 'mind,' 'body,' and 'human soul' as separate functional entities.
All passages →◆Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
Truth is identified as 'specific unity' and the Idea is called 'one,' suggesting a unified ontological reality.
All passages →◇Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
[auto] The seeker 'makes no account of the body,' 'hates this life,' and must 'rise above the reason of corporeal things' to find Truth.
All passages →◇Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
[auto] Truth is explicitly described as having a 'secret cavernous retreat,' being 'hidden,' 'buried and veiled' like greatest treasures.
All passages →◇Heroic Furorpraxis
Bruno's eroici furori — a passionate, ennobling spiritual ardor that drives the soul toward divine wisdom; distinguished from base or animal passions by its orientation to infinite truth.
[auto] The passage describes the intense spiritual pursuit of Truth as a 'hunting or chase' where one despises fatigue and hates this life, aligning with Bruno's concept of ennobling ardor.
All passages →◇Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
[auto] The text cites Pythagoras seeking truth through numbers which display the progress and operations of Truth and Being in all things.
All passages →Related passages · 54 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|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…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine yearning or desire as a fundamental force driving creation and the pursuit of truth. They share a mystical perspective on the dynamic nature of the divine, though they come from different traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1
“Spenser: “He loved Himself because Himself was fair.” CE Plato’s Doctrine of ἔρως.
This Yearning is eternally fulfilled in the Trinity.
Cf.
Dante: ”O somma luce che sofa in Te sidi / sola T’ intendi e da Te intelletta / ed intendente Te…”
Both passages explore the concept of yearning or aspiration towards Truth and the divine, emphasizing the transcendent nature of these pursuits. They share a metaphysical framework that distinguishes between the corporeal and incorporeal, and the role of form in existence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1h
“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 God.
The great defect of Natural Science in the nineteenth century was its fail…”
Both passages emphasize the transcendent nature of the divine and the need to seek truth beyond the physical and temporal realms. They share a mystical perspective that transcends individual beings and attributes ultimate reality to a unified, transcendent principle.
◆christian_mysticism|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…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine essence and its relationship to the created world, emphasizing the role of forms or ideas in the structure of reality. They share a mystical perspective on the unity and manifestation of truth or divine essence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1e
“power bestowed upon all according to their worth; and because all Equality (perceived or exercised by the intellect, or possessed in the sphere of 169 reason, sensation, essence, nature, or will) is transcendently contained beforehand as an…”
Both passages explore the nature of the divine and the human quest for truth or God. They share themes of unity, the incorporeal nature of the divine, and the journey of the mind to seek the divine, which can be both outward and inward.
◆christian_mysticism|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…”
Both passages emphasize the pursuit of divine truth and union with the divine. Meister Eckhart focuses on the union with God through Christ and the divine nature, while the Second Dialogue discusses the ascent to truth through contemplation and logic, highlighting the incorporeal nature of truth.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 1 (part 9)
“I have never desired to learn any sciences, but from early youth I strove after the salvation of my soul, and thought how I might inherit or possess the kingdom of heaven.
Finding within myself a powerful contrarium , namely, the desires t…”
Both passages describe a spiritual journey where the seeker aims to transcend the limitations of the human mind and body to attain a higher truth or divine wisdom. They emphasize the need to rise above corporeal reasoning and the self to achieve a state of divine illumination or theosophy.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 3)
“This other will is the sensitivity and conceivability of the primordial will, by means of which that which is nothing finds itself to be something.
By so doing the inconceivable causeless will issues by means of that which it has eternally…”
Both passages explore the nature of divine wisdom and its relationship to the divine will or creative principle. They discuss the active and passive elements in creation, with divine wisdom serving as a mirror or reflection of the divine essence.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 13 (part 13)
“Nevertheless he has nothing (objectively), because that which is before Him is nothing in His comprehension, for it does not comprehend Him.
Likewise will this be the state of a person according to his submitted will if he entirely surrend…”
Both passages emphasize the surrender of the individual will to a higher divine reality, leading to a state of unity and power. They also discuss the transcendence of the corporeal and the pursuit of a higher truth or divine essence.
◆greek_mystery|The Golden Verses of Pythagoras|Section 12 (part 7)
“It admonishes us, therefore, rather to betake p.
90 ourselves to scientific conceptions about intellectual objects, from which a most splendid and stable purity is produced about the eye of the soul, resulting from all intellectual concept…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of rising above corporeal and sensible natures to attain higher, intellectual, or spiritual truths. They both advocate for a philosophical or contemplative approach to understanding reality, moving beyond the physical world.
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◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XVIII
“According to another division, therefore, the numerous herd [or the great mass] of men is arranged under nature, is governed by physical powers, looks downward to the works of nature, gives completion to the administration of Fate, and to t…”
Both passages discuss the distinction between those who are governed by natural, physical powers and those who rise above these to engage with higher, intellectual or spiritual realities. They also explore the different modes of worship or pursuit of truth that correspond to these different levels of existence.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 238 (part 1)
“Section 6 6.
the Intellectual Essence, wholly of the order of Ideal-form, must be taken as impassive has been already established.
But Matter also is an incorporeal, though after a mode of its own; we must examine, therefore, how this sta…”
Both passages explore the nature of authentic existence and the incorporeal nature of truth or the Intellectual Essence. They both contrast the corporeal with the incorporeal, emphasizing the higher reality of the latter.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 272
“Section 6 6. Action, thus, is set towards contemplation and an object of contemplation, so that even those whose life is in doing have seeing as their object; what they have not been able to achieve by the direct path, they hope to come at…”
Both passages discuss the concept of contemplation and the pursuit of truth or knowledge. They emphasize the inner vision and the transformation of the individual through the attainment of higher understanding, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 279
“Section 2 2.... For in any one science the reduction of the total of knowledge into its separate propositions does not shatter its unity, chipping it into unrelated fragments; in each distinct item is talent the entire body of the science,…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship with higher principles and truth. They emphasize the ascent towards a higher reality and the importance of unity and authenticity in being.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 378 (part 2)
“But what happens is the very reverse: in no pursuit to technical exercises tend to make a man less the master of his acts and states.
It is as with sense-perception; the advantage is not to the weak, the weak eye for example, but to that w…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to perception and memory, emphasizing the incorporeal nature of the soul and the active power of the mind. They share a philosophical inquiry into the nature of truth and the soul's pursuit of it, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 473
“Section 6 6. If this reasoning is valid, The Good has no scope whatever for intellection which demands something attractive from outside. The Good, then, is without Act. What Act indeed, could be vested in Activity's self? No activity has y…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the ultimate reality or the Good, emphasizing its unity and transcendence beyond intellection or corporeal things. They both explore the duality of existence and the primacy of a singular, transcendent principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 497 (part 2)
“This universe, characteristically participant in images, shows how the image differs from the authentic beings: against the variability of the one order, there stands the unchanging quality of the other, self-situate, not needing space beca…”
Both passages discuss the nature of authentic being or truth as incorporeal and unchanging, contrasting it with the mutable and corporeal. They emphasize the need to rise above physical reality to grasp these higher truths.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 558
“Section 20 20. We may thus distinguish two phases of Intellect, in one of which it may be taken as having no contact whatever with particulars and no Act upon anything; thus it is kept apart from being a particular intellect. In the same wa…”
Both passages discuss the nature of universal and particular intellect or truth, emphasizing the relationship between the universal and its manifestations in particulars. They explore the idea of potentiality and actuality, and the interplay between the universal and the specific.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 710 (part 1)
“Section 6 6.
In what sense, then, do we assert this Unity, and how is it to be adjusted to our mental processes?
Its oneness must not be entitled to that of monad and point: for these the mind abstracts extension and numerical quantity an…”
Both passages discuss the nature of ultimate reality or unity, emphasizing its transcendence, self-sufficiency, and the inability of human intellect to fully comprehend it. They share a mystical approach to describing the divine or ultimate principle.
◆platonism|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…”
Both passages emphasize the need to transcend the physical body to attain pure knowledge or truth. They share a mystical perspective that the body hinders the soul's quest for truth and wisdom, advocating for a focus on the mind or soul to achieve higher understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 3)
“Positivism as the study of the phenomenal side of life.
Of what does the "two-dimensionality" of positive philosophy consist?
The regarding of everything upon a single plane, in one physical sequence.
The streams which flow underneath th…”
Both passages explore the distinction between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds, emphasizing the limitations of empirical study and the need to transcend corporeal reasoning to grasp higher truths. They both advocate for a deeper, more spiritual understanding of reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 4)
“New forms of knowledge.
The ideas of Plotinus.
Different forms of consciousness.
Sleep (the potential state of consciousness).
Dreams (consciousness en-closed in itself, reflected from itself).
Waking consciousness (dualistic sensation…”
Both passages explore the concept of higher forms of consciousness and the pursuit of truth beyond the physical world. They discuss the limitations of conventional logic and the need for a deeper understanding that transcends ordinary perception.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 2)
“But such a procedure constitutes a departure from facts, and all such considerations of the world and of the self, to the ordinary non-philosophical mind, will not have the character of obviousness.
On the contrary the sole obvious fact re…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the distinction between subjective and objective worlds, albeit from different philosophical and mystical perspectives. They both emphasize the limitations of human perception and the need for deeper understanding beyond mere sensory experience.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 4)
“Also, all phenomena not in time, divorced from the idea of time, not taken in this or that fashion from the standpoint of before , now , after , would co-exist for us simultaneously, and all mixed up with one another, and our weak mind woul…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and cognition. Passage A discusses how our understanding of the world is constrained by the categories of space and time, while Passage B emphasizes the need to rise above corporeal reasoning to seek truth, highlighting the limitations of physical and sensory experiences in understanding reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter X (part 6)
“The mind will have to open its doors to objects each possessing such an enormous, such an infinite number of signs and characteristics that to comprehend them by means of the reason is absolutely impossible.
And if one wants to comprehend…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human reason in comprehending the true nature of reality and the concept of motion. They also touch on the idea of cycles in human progress and the pursuit of truth beyond the physical world.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 2)
“The positivistic scientist finds himself in the presence of nature almost in the position of a savage in a library of rare and valuable books.
For a savage a book is a thing of definite size and weight.
However long he may ask himself wha…”
Both passages explore the idea of hidden truths and the necessity of recognizing their existence to understand the world. They emphasize the distinction between the visible and the hidden aspects of reality, and the need for intellectual effort to uncover deeper meanings.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 3)
“Just as it is impossible for a savage to attain to an understanding of the nature of a watch by a study of its phenomenal side—the number of wheels, and the number of teeth in each gear—so also for the positivistic scientist, studying the e…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of materialistic or positivistic approaches to understanding reality and the need to look beyond the physical to grasp deeper truths. They both emphasize the inadequacy of studying only the phenomenal aspects of life and the necessity of recognizing higher, non-material dimensions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 4)
“Materialism and energetics are those "obvious" theories which cannot be true without proofs , because they cannot not have proofs if they contain even a little grain of truth.
But there are no proofs at the disposition of these theories; q…”
Both passages emphasize the primacy of the invisible or incorporeal over the visible or corporeal in understanding reality. They argue that higher phenomena (thought, truth) cannot be reduced to lower ones (physical, material) and that the invisible is the cause of the visible.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 5)
“When such a sequence touches the life of a man or that of a human society, we perceive clearly that it escapes from the "physical sphere" and returns into it.
Regarding the matter from this standpoint we see that, just as in the life of on…”
Both passages explore the interplay between the visible and invisible aspects of reality, emphasizing the need to understand the invisible to comprehend the visible. They also discuss the limitations of purely physical or corporeal explanations and the necessity of a new method or approach to grasp deeper truths.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 2)
“Studying man from one side only I should stand in the same position in relation to him as, according to Kant, we stand with relation to the world surrounding us.
We know merely the form of our knowledge of it.
The world-in-itself we do no…”
Both passages explore the distinction between the phenomenal and noumenal (or incorporeal) realms, emphasizing that true understanding transcends the physical and sensory. They both argue for the existence of a higher, non-material reality that can only be apprehended through the mind or soul.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 5)
“Let us endeavor to consider the activity of the brain and the activity of the psyche from the standpoint of the existence of those two data, the "world" and "consciousness," accepted by us at the very beginning.
If we consider the brain fr…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the mind (psyche) and the physical body (brain), suggesting that the mind transcends the physical and can exist independently of it. They also discuss the limitations of the physical body in fully expressing or reflecting the mind's true nature.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 6)
“Now we may add to this, that for this very reason we can know only about the existence of psychic lives similar to our own , and we cannot know any other at all, whether they exist or not, unless we ourselves enter their plane .
Should we…”
Both passages explore the nature of human perception and the limitations of understanding reality from a purely physical or material standpoint. They both suggest that true understanding or reality transcends the physical and requires a higher or more universal perspective.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 8)
“188 So writes Schopenhauer in his Counsels and Maxims , and indeed it is very effectively expressed, but we have no foundation whatsoever for regarding man as the summit of that which nature has created.
This is only THE HIGHEST THAT WE KN…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of human understanding. They discuss the duality of spirit and matter, the role of thought, and the challenges of expressing complex concepts within the constraints of language. However, they approach these themes from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 10)
“By trying to think out of the usual categories, by trying to look at things and at ourselves from a new angle and simultaneously from many sides, by trying to liberate our thinking from its accustomed categories of perception in space and t…”
Both passages explore the idea of perceiving a deeper reality beyond the ordinary, with Passage A discussing the discovery of new analogies and psychic life on another plane, and Passage B describing the pursuit of Truth beyond corporeal things. Both emphasize the transformation of the mind and the existence of a higher, non-material reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVI (part 11)
“All the beings assumed by us to exist in the world of many dimensions , cannot know one another, i.e., cannot know that we are binding them together in different wholes in our phenomenal world, just as in general they cannot know our phenom…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and the existence of higher or alternative realities. They discuss the idea that our current understanding is constrained and that there are deeper truths or beings beyond our immediate sensory experience.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 2)
“If in general life and feeling exist, they must exist in all.
Life and rationality make up the world.
If we consider nature from our side , from the side of phenomena, then it is necessary to say that each thing, each phenomenon , possess…”
Both passages explore the concept of an underlying reality or psyche in all things, whether it be the psyche of a mountain or the incorporeal nature of Truth. They both suggest that the true nature of things is not immediately apparent and requires a deeper understanding or contemplation to grasp.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 5)
“"In saying "I," a man means, of course, not the total complex of all these regions, but that which in a given moment is in the focus of his consciousness.
" I wish " (or more correctly, simply "wish," because man very seldom says I wish):…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness and perception, highlighting the fragmented and dynamic nature of the self and reality. They both suggest that our perception of motion and change is an illusion created by the limitations of our consciousness.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 6)
“206 everything that lies usually in the remote depths of memory, in the past; all that lies at a remote distance from him; all that lies in the future.
C.
H.
Hinton very well says, in regard to beings of other sections of the world: By t…”
Both passages explore the idea of perceiving higher realities or truths beyond ordinary human perception. They emphasize the need to develop new ways of seeing and understanding, whether through mental arrangements or contemplation, to grasp these higher realities.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 7)
“The activity of the life of such a composite being as a forest is not the same as the activity of different species of plants and animals, and the activity of the life of a species is again different from the life of separate individuals.…”
Both passages explore the concept of a higher, unifying principle or soul that underlies the visible universe. Passage A discusses the 'World-Soul' and the idea of a composite being, while Passage B delves into the pursuit of Truth as an incorporeal, unifying principle that transcends the physical world.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 8)
“Doesn't this show a singularly indigent imagination?
Isn't this brave universe made on a richer pattern, with room in it for a long hierarchy of beings?
Materialistic science makes it infinitely richer in terms, with its molecules, and et…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the spiritual and the material, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all beings and the universe. They both use analogical reasoning to bridge the gap between the physical and the metaphysical, advocating for a more holistic view of reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 9)
“In ourselves, visual consciousness goes with our eyes, tactile consciousness with our skin.
But although neither skin nor eye knows aught of the sensations of the other, they come together and figure in some sort of relation and combinatio…”
Both passages explore the concept of a higher, unifying consciousness or truth that encompasses individual experiences or entities. Passage A discusses the idea of an earth-consciousness that integrates individual human consciousnesses, while Passage B describes the pursuit of Truth as an incorporeal, unifying principle that transcends physical reality.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVIII (part 2)
“Evolutionists, followers of Darwin, say that the struggle for existence and the selection of the fittest created the mind and feeling of contemporary man—that mind and feeling SERVE LIFE, preserve the life of separate individuals and of the…”
Both passages explore the idea that individual lives and entities are manifestations of higher, rational wholes. They also discuss the limitations of human perception and understanding in grasping these higher realities.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVIII (part 3)
“In exactly the same way, our separate lives are manifestations of some great rational entity.
We find the proof of this in the fact that our lives have no other meaning at all aside from that process of acquiring knowledge performed by us.…”
Both passages explore the idea that human activities, including emotions and intellectual pursuits, are fundamentally oriented towards the acquisition of knowledge or truth. They both emphasize the unity of different aspects of human experience in this pursuit.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVIII (part 6)
“Emotions apparently the same may be united with the very small I's and with the very great and lofty I's; and so the rôle and meaning of such emotions in life may be very different.
The continual shifting of emotions, each of which calls i…”
Both passages discuss the need to transcend personal, egoistic perspectives to achieve higher knowledge or truth. Passage A emphasizes the liberation of emotions from personal elements to augment cognitive power, while Passage B discusses rising above corporeal things and personal desires to seek truth through contemplation and logic.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 3)
“We all know this, and the only thing we can do is to try not to think about the existence of these problems, to forget about them.
We do so as a rule, but this does not annihilate them.
They continue to exist, and at any given moment we m…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of conventional methods of understanding and knowledge. Passage A focuses on the limitations of scientific methods in comprehending certain aspects of reality, while Passage B emphasizes the need to rise above corporeal reasoning to seek truth. Both highlight the inadequacy of ordinary perception and methods in grasping deeper realities.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 4)
“We constantly observe the conditions of materiality in those cases in which we must create in our life a sequence of phenomena or are obliged to select , because our matter does not permit us to juxtapose in a definite interval of time more…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and knowledge within the material world and the need to transcend these limitations to achieve higher understanding. They both discuss the idea that true knowledge or truth lies beyond the physical and requires a change in perception or consciousness.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 6)
“In the objective world, indeed, this "slipping of the dewdrop into the sea" leads to the annihilation of the drop, to the absorption of it by the sea.
We have never observed another order of things in the objective world and therefore cann…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness, truth, and the relationship between the finite and the infinite. They share a mystical perspective that emphasizes the inner, subjective world and the limitations of reason in apprehending higher truths.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 8)
“Permanency also suffers no change of its nature, because it is not mingled with the unstable.
And the beautiful there is beautiful, because it does not subsist in beauty (as in a subject).
Each thing too is there p.
280 established, not…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the pursuit of truth, emphasizing the incorporeal and eternal aspects of existence. They share a mystical perspective on understanding the fundamental principles of the universe, though they come from different traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 14)
“How many arguments, how many religious struggles, how much of violence toward the thoughts of others would be rendered unnecessary and impossible if men would only understand that nobody possesses truth, but all are seeking for it, each in…”
Both passages explore the nature of ultimate reality or truth, emphasizing its ineffability and transcendence. They share a mystical approach, highlighting the limitations of human language and understanding in describing the divine or ultimate principle.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 20)
“I feel as if it must mean something, something like what the Hegelian philosophy means, if one could only lay hold of it more clearly.
Those who have ears to hear let them hear; to me the loving sense of its reality only comes in the artif…”
Both passages explore the concept of a unified, transcendent reality that is beyond the dualities and complexities of the physical world. They discuss the mystical experience of realizing this unity, though from different philosophical and religious perspectives.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 11)
“He does not come to believe merely; but he sees and knows that the cosmos, which to the self-conscious mind seems made up of dead matter, is in fact far otherwise—is in very truth a living presence.
He sees that in-stead of men being, as i…”
Both passages discuss the evolution of human consciousness and the pursuit of truth or cosmic understanding. They share a focus on the transformation of human perception and the development of higher faculties, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 14)
“The bankruptcy of materialism, i.e., "logical" systems, when it comes to organizing life on earth is now evident in the bloody epoch which we are undergoing, even to those men who but yesterday were prating of "culture" and "civilization."…”
Both passages discuss the nature and development of consciousness, emphasizing the need for conscious effort and the existence of different forms or levels of consciousness. They also critique simplistic or reductionist views of consciousness, such as purely evolutionary or materialistic explanations.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 15)
“Simple Consciousness and flashes of thought.
Animals possessing complex organisms.
Absence of consciousness of death.
Body, instincts, desires, voices of the body, emotions.
Reasoning.
Moments of self-consciousness and flashes of cosmi…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness and the pursuit of higher understanding. Passage A discusses different forms of consciousness and their roles in human and natural life, while Passage B delves into the pursuit of Truth and the elevation of the mind beyond corporeal things. Both emphasize the importance of higher forms of awareness and understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Page 29 (part 2)
“Consciousness as in sleep without dreams.
Simple consciousness.
"It pains me," but the impossibility of saying, "I am conscious that it pains me." The reflected state of consciousness.
Vision as in dreams.
The passive state of conscious…”
Both passages explore the nature of consciousness, knowledge, and the pursuit of truth, with Passage A detailing various forms of consciousness and knowledge, and Passage B discussing the incorporeal nature of truth and the human soul's pursuit of it. Both texts emphasize the elevation of the mind beyond the physical to attain higher understanding.