It must be Infinite in Space--it must be Everywhere, for there is no place outside of THE ALL--it cannot be otherwise than continuous in Space, without break, cessation, separation, or interruption, for there is nothing to break, separate, or interrupt its continuity, and nothing with which to "fill in the gaps." It must be Infinite in Power, or Absolute, for there is nothing to limit, restrict, restrain, confine, disturb or condition it--it is subject to no other Power, for there is no other Power.
(3) THE ALL must be IMMUTABLE, or not subject to change in its real nature, for there is nothing to work changes upon it nothing into which it could change, nor from which it could have changed.
It cannot be added to nor subtracted from; increased nor diminished; nor become greater or lesser in any respect whatsoever.
It must have always been, and must always remain, just what it is now--THE ALL--there has never been, is not now, and never will be, anything else into which it can change.
THE ALL being Infinite, Absolute, Eternal and Unchangeable it must follow that anything finite, changeable, fleeting, and conditioned cannot be THE ALL.
And as there is Nothing outside of THE ALL, in Reality, then any and all such finite things must be as Nothing in Reality.
Now do not become befogged, nor frightened--we are not trying to lead you into the Christian Science field under cover of Hermetic Philosophy.
There is a Reconciliation of this apparently contradictory state of affairs.
Be patient, we will reach it in time.
We see around us that which is called "Matter," which forms the physical foundation for all forms.
Is THE ALL merely Matter?
Not at all!
Matter cannot manifest Life or Mind, and as Life and Mind are manifested in the Universe, THE ALL cannot be Matter, for nothing rises higher than its own source--nothing is ever manifested in an effect that is not in the cause--nothing is evolved as a consequent that is not involved as an antecedent.
And then Modern Science informs us that there is really no such thing as Matter--that what we call Matter is merely "interrupted energy or force," that is, energy or force at a low rate of vibration.
As a recent writer has said "Matter has melted into Mystery." Even Material Science has abandoned the theory of Matter, and now rests on the basis of "Energy." Then is THE ALL mere Energy or Force?
Not Energy or Force as the materialists use the terms, for their energy and force are blind, mechanical things, devoid of Life or Mind.
Life and Mind can never evolve from blind Energy or Force, for the reason given a moment ago: "Nothing can rise higher than its source--nothing is evolved unless it is involved--nothing manifests in the effect, unless it is in the cause.
" And so THE ALL cannot be mere Energy or Force, for, if it were, then there would be no such things as Life and Mind in existence, and we know better than that, for we are Alive and using Mind to consider this very question, and so are those who claim that Energy or Force is Everything.
What is there then higher than Matter or Energy that we know to be existent in the Universe?
LIFE AND MIND!
Life and Mind in all their varying degrees of unfoldment!
"Then," you ask, "do you mean to tell us that THE ALL is LIFE and MIND?" Yes!
and No!
is our answer.
If you mean Life and Mind as we poor petty mortals know them, we say No!
THE ALL is not that!
"But what kind of Life and Mind do you mean?" you ask.
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The passage describes THE ALL by negation (Infinite, Immutable, not Matter, not Energy, not Life/Mind as mortals know them), using negative attributes to define the transcendent nature.
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
The description of THE ALL as 'Immutable,' 'without break, cessation, separation, or interruption,' and not subject to change aligns with the doctrine of divine simplicity.
The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.
The text states THE ALL 'must be Infinite in Space' and 'Infinite in Power,' describing a boundless reality without limits or outside.
The Hermetic doctrine that THE ALL is Mind, and the Universe is mental in nature — a created thought held in the mind of THE ALL. Distinct from unity_of_being in specifying WHAT the underlying oneness is (mind, not an unspecified single substance), and from logos (a mediating ordering word BETWEEN a transcendent God and a separate material world) in collapsing that mediation entirely — under mentalism there is no world outside mind to mediate to.
The text explicitly concludes that THE ALL must be LIFE and MIND, stating 'THE ALL is not Matter' or 'mere Energy,' but rather the source of Life and Mind, aligning with the Hermetic doctrine that the Universe is mental in nature.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The passage defines 'THE ALL' as Infinite, Absolute, Eternal, Unchangeable, and the single source from which nothing else can rise, fitting the definition of an absolutely simple, undivided first principle.
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The author acknowledges an 'apparently contradictory state of affairs' regarding finite things being 'Nothing in Reality' while existing around us, promising a reconciliation.
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The text asserts there is 'Nothing outside of THE ALL' and that finite things are 'as Nothing in Reality,' emphasizing the ultimate oneness of existence within THE ALL.
The Hermetic doctrine that nothing rests — matter, energy, mind, and spirit are a single continuum differing only in rate of vibration, from the grossest matter to the least material spirit. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (affinity resonating BETWEEN separate things) in being a claim about what constitutes any one thing in the first place, and from magical_equilibrium (Lévi's operational balancing technique, which presupposes some vibration doctrine rather than stating this general principle).
The passage references Modern Science's view that Matter is 'interrupted energy or force' at a 'low rate of vibration,' acknowledging the vibrational nature of matter even while distinguishing THE ALL from mere energy.