It is this Law of Compensation to which the Kybalion refers when it says: "The measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates." The Law of Compensation is that the swing in one direction determines the swing in the opposite direction, or to the opposite pole-the one balances, or counterbalances, the other.
On the Physical Plane we see many examples of this Law.
The pendulum of the clock swings a certain distance to the right, and then an equal distance to the left.
The seasons balance each other in the same way.
The tides follow the same Law.
And the same Law is manifested in all the phenomena of Rhythm.
The pendulum, with a short swing in one direction, has but a short swing in the other; while the long swing to the right invariably means the long swing to the left.
An object hurled upward to a certain height has an equal distance to traverse on its return.
The force with which a projectile is sent upward a mile is reproduced when the projectile returns to the earth on its return journey.
This Law is constant on the Physical Plane, as reference to the standard authorities will show you.
But the Hermetists carry it still further.
They teach that a man's mental states are subject to the same Law.
The man who enjoys keenly, is subject to keen suffering; while he who feels but little pain is capable of feeling but little joy.
The pig suffers but little mentally, and enjoys but little--he is compensated.
And on the other hand, there are other animals who enjoy keenly, but whose nervous organism and temperament cause them to suffer exquisite degrees of pain and so it is with Man.
There are temperaments which permit of but low degrees of enjoyment, and equally low degrees of suffering; while there are others which permit the most intense enjoyment, but also the most intense suffering.
The rule is that the capacity for pain and pleasure, in each individual, are balanced.
The Law of Compensation is in full operation here.
But the Hermetists go still further in this matter.
They teach that before one is able to enjoy a certain degree of pleasure, he must have swung as far, proportionately, toward the other pole of feeling.
They hold, however, that the Negative is precedent to the Positive in this matter, that is to say that in experiencing a certain degree of pleasure it does not follow that he will have to "pay up for it" with a corresponding degree of pain; on the contrary, the pleasure is the Rhythmic swing, according to the Law of Compensation, for a degree of pain previously experienced either in the present life, or in a previous incarnation.
This throws a new light on the Problem of Pain.
The Hermetists regard the chain of lives as continuous, and as forming a part of one life of the individual, so that in consequence the rhythmic swing is understood in this way, while it would be without meaning unless the truth of reincarnation is admitted.
But the Hermetists claim that the Master or advanced student is able, to a great degree, to escape the swing toward Pain, by the process of Neutralization before mentioned.
By rising on to the higher plane of the Ego, much of the experience that comes to those dwelling on the lower plane is avoided and escaped.
The Law of Compensation plays an important part in the lives of men and women.
It will be noticed that one generally "pays the price" of anything he possesses or lacks.
If he has one thing, he lacks another--the balance is struck.
No one can "keep his penny and have the bit of cake" at the same time Everything has its pleasant and unpleasant sides.
The things that one gains are always paid for by the things that one loses.
The rich possess much that the poor lack, while the poor often possess things that are beyond the reach of the rich.
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.
The passage illustrates the Hermetic principle that laws manifesting on the Physical Plane also apply to Mental States and human lives.
The balance of two contrary forces as the structural law of cosmos and operation — Lévi's equilibrium, expressed in Kabbalah by the senary: the will of God in its first cause, liberty in man, mathematical equilibrium in matter; the twofold vibration required to direct the Astral Light safely.
The text emphasizes the balance of contrary forces (swing to right equals swing to left) as a structural law of the cosmos and human experience.
The Hermetic doctrine that apparent opposites are identical in nature but differ in degree — two extremes of the same scale (hot/cold, love/hate) — such that one pole can be shifted toward its opposite by a change of degree ('mental transmutation'). Distinct from opposites_transcended (a completion-state marking the path's end, not this doctrine's active technique) and magical_equilibrium (balance held BETWEEN two forces, not identity-by-degree of what looks like two forces).
The passage describes the balance between opposite poles (right/left, joy/suffering, gain/loss) as a fundamental law of compensation.
The Hermetic doctrine of a measured swing or pendulum motion between poles — action and reaction, flow and outflow, rise and fall — operating in mental, physical, and cosmic-historical registers alike. Distinct from apocatastasis (cosmic-scale eschatological restoration after vast cycles) in naming a constant, ever-present oscillation rather than a singular restorative event.
The passage explicitly defines and illustrates the Law of Rhythm as a central theme, describing it as a measured swing or pendulum motion between poles.
The text discusses the 'chain of lives' and 'previous incarnation' as necessary context for understanding the Law of Compensation regarding pleasure and pain.