,,the ,,heroic ,,enthusiasts 7,,gli ,,eroici ,,furori7 ,an ,ethical ,poem ,,by ,,giordano ,,bruno ,,part ,,the ,,second ,,translated ,,by ,l4 ,,williams ,,london ,,bernard ,,quaritch ,,piccadilly #ahhi ,,london3 ,g4 ,,norman ,,and ,,son1 ,,printers1 ,,hart ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden4 ,,preface4 ,the second part of ,the ,heroic ,enthusiasts which ,i am now sending to the press is on the same subject as the first1 namely the struggles of the soul in its upward progress towards purification and freedom1 and the author makes use of lower things to picture and suggest the higher4 ,the aim of the ,heroic ,enthusiast is to get at the ,truth and to see the ,light1 and he considers that all the trials and sufferings of this life1 are the cords which draw the soul upwards1 and the spur which quickens the mind and purifies the will4 ,the blindness of the soul may signify the descent into the material body1 and visit the various kingdoms may be an allusion to the soul passing through the mineral1 vegetable1 and animal kingdoms before it arrives at man4 ,it is interesting to note that in the first part of ,the ,heroic ,enthusiasts 7page #abb71 ,bruno makes a distinct allusion to the power of steam1 and in the second part1 one might almost think1 that in using the number nine in connexion with the blind men1 he intended a reference to electricity1 for we read in ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 by ,h4,p4 ,blavatsky1 ,there exists an universal agent unique of all forms and of life1 that is called ,od1 ,ob1 and ,aour1 active and passive1 positive and negative1 like day and night2 it is the first light in creation2 and the first light of the primordial ,elo-him--the ,a-dam1--male and female1 or1 7scientifically7 ,electricity and ,life4 ,its universal value is nine1 for it is the ninth letter of the alphabet and the ninth door of the fifty portals or gateways1 that lead to the concealed mysteries of being4444 ,od is the pure life-giving ,light or magnetic fluid4 ,the notices of the press upon the first half of this work1 were for the most part such1 as to lead me to hope that the appearance of the second part will meet with a favourable reception4 ,when ,i first began this translation little was known about ,giordano ,bruno except through the valuable works of ,sig4 ,berti and ,sig4 ,levi1 and since then ,mrs4 ,firth has given us a life of the ,nolan1 written in ,english1 and several able articles in the magazines have been published1 in one of which1 by ,c4,e4 ,plumptre 7,westminster ,review1 ,august1 #ahhi71 an interesting parallel is drawn between ,shelley and ,bruno4 ,i will close this short notice with a sentence from an article in the ,nineteenth ,century1 ,september1 #ahhi1 entitled ,criticism as a trade4 ,there is probably no author who does not feel how much he owes to the writers who have reviewed his books1 whether he has occasion to acknowledge it or not4 ,it is humiliating to find how many errors remain in writings that seemed comparatively free from them4 ,everyone who knows his subject1 and has any modesty1 is aware that there are defects in his work which his own eye has not seen2 and he is more than grateful for the correction of every error that is pointed out to him by an honest censor4 ,if this is the case with authors who produce original work1 it may be still more aptly said of translators1 especially of those who attempt to translate books so full of difficulties as those presented in the works of ,giordano ,bruno4 ,l4 ,,williams4 ,,second ,,part ,,of ,,the ,,heroic ,,enthusiasts4 ,first ,dialogue4 ,interlocutors3 ,,cesarino4 ,,maricondo4 #a4 ,,ces4 ,it is said that the best and most excellent things are in the world when the whole universe responds from every part1 perfectly1 to those things2 and this it is said takes place as the planets arrive at ,aries1 being when that one of the eighth sphere again reaches the upper invisible firmament1 where is also the other ,zodiac2,a and low and evil things prevail when the opposite disposition and order supervene1 and thus through the power of change comes the continual mutation of like and unlike1 from one opposite to another4 ,the revolution then of the great year of the world is that space of time in which1 through the most diverse customs and effects1 and by the most opposite and contrary means1 it returns to the same again4 ,as we see in particular years such as that of the sun1 where the beginning of an opposite tendency is the end of one year1 and the end of this is the beginning of that4 ,therefore now that we have been in the dregs of the sciences1 which have brought forth the dregs of opinions1 which are the cause of the dregs of customs and of works1 we may certainly expect to return to the better condition4 ,a ,astronomers distinguish between a fixed and intellectual zodiac2 and the movable and visible zodiac4 ,according to the former1 ,aries still stands as the first of the signs2 that is to say1 the first thirty degrees of the zodiacal circle1 reckoning from the equinoctial point in spring1 are allotted to ,aries in the intellectual zodiac4444 ,astronomers generally choose to reckon by the fixed and intellectual zodiac4--7,drummond's ,oedipus ,judaicus47 ,,maricondo4 ,know1 my brother1 that this succession and order of things is most true and most certain2 but as regards ourselves in all ordinary conditions whatever1 the present afflicts more than the past1 nor can these two together console1 but only the future1 which is always in hope and expectation as you may see designated in this figure which is taken from the ancient ,egyptians1 who made a certain statue which is a bust1 upon which they placed three heads1 one of a wolf which looks behind1 one of a lion with the face turned half round1 and the third of a dog who looks straight before him2 to signify that things of the past afflict by means of thoughts1 but not so much as things of the present which actually torment1 while the future ever promises something better2 therefore behold the wolf that howls1 the lion that roars and the dog that barks 7applause74 ,,ces4 ,what means that legend that is written above8 ,,mar4 ,see1 that above the wolf is ,lam1 above the lion ,modo1 above the dog ,praeterea1 which are words signifying the three parts of time4 ,,ces4 ,now read the tablet4 ,,mar4 ,i will do so4 #da4 ,a wolf1 a lion1 and a dog appear ,at dawn1 at midday1 and dark night4 ,that which ,i spent1 retain and for myself procure1 ,so much was given1 is given1 and may be given2 ,for that which ,i did1 ,i do1 and have to do4 ,in the past1 in the present and in the future1 ,i do repent1 torment myself and re-assure1 ,for the loss1 in suffering and in expectation4 ,with sour1 with bitter and with sweet ,experience1 the fruits1 and hope1 ,threatens1 afflict1 and comforts me4 ,the age ,i lived1 do live and am to live1 ,affrights me1 shakes me and upholds ,in absence1 presence and in prospect4 ,much1 too much and sufficient ,of the past1 of now1 and of to come1 ,put me in fear1 in anguish and in hope4 ,,ces4 ,this is precisely the humour of a furious lover1 though the same may be said of nearly all mortals who are seriously affected in any way4 ,we cannot say that this accords with all conditions in a general way1 but only with those mortals who were1 and who are1 wretched4 ,so that to him who sought a kingdom and obtained it1 belongs the fear of losing the same2 and to one who has laboured to secure the fruits of love1 such as the special grace of the beloved1 belongs the tooth of jealousy and suspicion4 ,thus1 too1 with the states of the world2 when we find ourselves in darkness and in adversity we may surely prophecy light and prosperity1 and when we are in a state of happiness and discipline1 doubtless we have to expect the advent of ignorance and distress4 ,as in the case of ,hermes ,trismegistus1 who1 seeing ,egypt in all the splendour of the sciences and of occultism1 so that he considered that men were consorting with gods and spirits and were in consequence most pious1 he made that prophetic lament to ,asclepios1 saying that the darkness of new religions and cults must follow1 and that of the then present things nothing would remain but idle tales and matter for condemnation4 ,so the ,hebrews1 when they were slaves in ,egypt1 and banished to the deserts1 were comforted by their prophets with the hope of liberty and the re-acquisition of their country2 when they were in authority and tranquillity they were menaced with dispersion and captivity4 ,and as in these days there is no evil nor injury to which we are not subject1 so there is no good nor honour that we may not promise ourselves4 ,thus does it happen to all the other generations and states1 the which1 if they endure and be not destroyed entirely by the force of vicissitude1 it is inevitable that from evil they come to good1 from good to evil1 from low estate to high1 from high to low1 out of obscurity into splendour1 out of splendour into obscurity1 for this is the natural order of things2 outside of which order1 if another should be found which destroys or corrects it1 ,i should believe it and not dispute it1 for ,i reason with none other than a natural spirit4,b ,b ,as in long-drawn systole and long-drawn diastole1 must the period of ,faith1 alternate with the period of ,denial2 must the vernal growth1 the summer luxuriance of all ,opinions1 ,spiritual ,representations and ,creations1 be followed by1 and again follow the autumnal decay1 the winter dissolution4--7,sartor ,resartus47 ,,mar4 ,we know that you are not a theologian but a philosopher1 and that you treat of philosophy and not of theology4 ,,ces4 ,it is so4 ,but let us see what follows4 ,,ii4 ,,ces4 ,i see a smoking thurible1 supported by an arm1 and the legend which says3 ,illius aram1 and then the following3-- #db4 ,now who shall say the breath of my desire ,of high and holy worship is demeaned ,if decked in divers forms ornate she come ,through vows ,i offer to the shrine of ,fame8 ,and if another work should call1 and lead me on1 ,who would aver that more it might beseem ,if that1 of ,heaven so loved and eulogized1 ,should hold me not in its captivity4 ,leave1 oh leave me1 every other wish1 ,cease1 fretting thoughts1 and give me peace2 ,why draw me forth from looking at the sun1 ,from looking at the sun that ,i so love4 ,you ask in pity1 wherefore lookest thou ,on that1 on which to look is thy undoing8 ,wherefore so captivated by that light8 ,and ,i will say1 because to me this pain ,is dearer than all other pleasures are4 ,,mar4 ,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 attached2 provided that1 through this material beauty1 which is a glittering ray of spiritual form and action1 of which it is the trace and shadow1 he comes to raise himself to the consideration and worship of divine beauty1 light and majesty2 so that1 from these visible things his heart becomes exalted towards those things which are more excellent in themselves and grateful to the purified soul1 in so far as they are removed from matter and sense4 ,ah me6 he will say1 if beauty so shadowy1 so dim1 so fugitive1 painted on the surface of bodily matter pleases me so much1 and moves my affections so much1 and stamps upon my spirit ,i know not what of reverence for majesty1 captivates me1 softly binds me1 and draws me1 so that ,i find nothing that comes within the senses that satisfies me so much1--how will it be with the substantially1 originally1 primitively beautiful8 ,how will it be with my soul1 the divine intellect1 and the law of nature8 ,it is right1 then1 that the contemplation of this vestige of light lead me1 through the purification of my soul1 to the imitation1 and to conformity and participation in that which is more worthy and higher1 into which ,i am transformed and unto which ,i unite myself3 for ,i am certain that nature1 which has placed this beauty before my eyes and has gifted me with an interior sense1 through which ,i am able to infer a deeper and incomparably greater beauty1 wills that ,i be promoted to the altitude and eminence of more excellent kinds4 ,nor do ,i believe that my true divinity1 as she shows herself to me in symbols and vestiges1 will scorn me if in symbols and vestiges ,i honour her and sacrifice to her2 as my heart and affections are always so ordered as to look higher4 ,for who may he be1 that can honour in essence and real substance1 if in such manner he cannot understand it8 ,it is in and through ,symbols that man1 consciously or unconsciously1 lives1 works1 and has his being4 ,for is not a ,symbol ever1 to him who has eyes for it1 some dimmer or clearer revelation1 of the ,godlike8--7,sartor ,resartus47 ,,ces4 ,right well do you demonstrate how1 to men of heroic spirit1 all things turn to good and how they are able to turn captivity into greater liberty1 and the being vanquished into an occasion for greater victory4 ,well dost thou know that the love of corporeal beauty to those who are well disposed1 not only does not keep them back from higher enterprises1 but rather does it lend wings to arrive at these1 when the necessity for love is converted into a study of the virtuous1 through which the lover is forced into those conditions in which he is worthy of the thing loved and perchance of even a still higher1 better and more beautiful thing2 so that he comes to be either contented to have gained that which he desires1 or so satisfied with its own beauty1 that he can despise that of others1 which comes to be1 by him1 vanquished and overcome1 so that he either remains tranquil1 or else he aspires to things more excellent and grand4 ,and so will the heroic spirit ever go on trying until it becomes raised to the desire of divine beauty itself1 without similitude1 figure1 symbol1 or kind1 if it be possible1 and what is more one knows that he will reach that height4 ,,mar4 ,you see1 ,cesarino1 how this enthusiast is justified in his anger against those who reproach him with being in captivity to a low beauty1 to which he dedicates his vows1 and attributes these forms1 so that he is deaf to those voices which call him to nobler enterprises3 for these low things are derived from those1 and are dependent upon them1 so that through these you may gain access to those1 according to their own degrees4 ,these1 if they be not ,god1 are things divine1 are living images of ,him1 in the which1 if ,he sees ,himself adored1 ,he is not offended4 ,for we have a charge from the supernal spirit which says3 ,adorate sgabellum pedum eius4 ,and in another place a divine messenger says3 ,adorabimus ubi steterunt pedes eius4 ,,ces4 ,god1 the divine beauty1 and splendour shines and is in all things2 and therefore it does not appear to me an error to admire ,him in all things1 according to the way in which we have communion with them4 ,error it would surely be if we should give to another the honour due to ,him alone4 ,but what means the enthusiast when he says1 ,leave1 leave me1 every other wish8 ,,mar4 ,that he banishes every thought presented to him by different objects1 which have not the power to move him and which would rob him of the sight of the sun which comes to him through that window more than through others4 ,,ces4 ,why1 importuned by thoughts1 does he continually gaze at that splendour which destroys him1 and yet does not satisfy him1 as it torments him ever so fiercely8 ,,mar4 ,because all our consolations in this state of controversy are not without their discouragements1 however vast those consolations may be4 ,just as the fear of a king for the loss of his kingdom1 is greater than that of a mendicant who is in peril of losing ten farthings2 and more important is the care of a prince over a republic1 than that of a rustic over a herd of swine2 as perchance the pleasures and delights of the one are greater than the pleasures and delights of the other4 ,therefore the loving and aspiring higher1 brings with it greater glory and majesty1 with more care1 thought1 and pain3 ,i mean in this state1 where the one opposite is always joined to the other1 finding the greatest contrariety always in the same genus1 and consequently about the same subject1 although the opposites cannot be together4 ,and thus proportionally in the love of the supernal ,eros1 as the ,epicurean poet declares of vulgar and animal desire when he says3-- ,fluctuat incertis erroribus ardor amantum1 ,nec constat1 quid primum oculis1 manibusque fruantur3 ,quod petiere1 premunt arte1 faciuntque dolorem ,corporis1 et dentes inlidunt saepe labellis1 ,osculaque adfigunt1 quia non est pura voluptas1 ,et stimuli subsunt1 qui instigant laedere id ipsum1 ,quodcunque est1 rabies1 unde illa haec germina surgunt4 ,sed leviter poenas frangit ,venus inter amorem1 ,blandaque refraenat morsus admixta voluptas2 ,namque in eo spes est1 unde est ardoris origo1 ,restingui quoque posse ab eodem corpore flammam4 ,behold1 then1 with what condiments the skill and art of nature works1 so that one is wasted with the pleasure of that which destroys him1 is happy in the midst of torment1 and tormented in the midst of all the satisfactions4 ,for nothing is produced absolutely from a homoeogeneous 7pacifico7 principle1 but all from opposite principles1 through the victory and dominion of one part of the opposites1 and there is no pleasure of generation on one side without the pain of corruption on the other3 and where these things which are generated and corrupted are joined together and as it were compose the same subject1 the feeling of delight and of sadness are found together2 so that it comes to be called more easily delight than sadness1 if it happens that this predominates1 and solicits the senses with greater force4 ,,iii4 ,,ces4 ,now let us take into consideration the following image which is that of a phoenix1 which burns in the sun1 and the smoke from which almost obscures the brightness of that by which it is set on fire1 and here is the motto which says3 ,neque simile1 nec par mar4 #dc4 ,,mar43 ,this phoenix set on fire by the bright sun1 ,which slowly1 slowly to extinction goes1 ,the while she1 girt with splendour burning lies2 ,yields to her star antagonistic fief ,through that which towards the sky to ,heaven ascends4 ,black smoke1 and sombre fog of murky hue ,concealing thus his radiance from our eyes1 ,and veiling that which makes her burn and shine4 ,and so my soul1 illumined and inflamed ,by radiance divine1 would fain display ,the brightness of her own effulgent thought2 ,the lofty concept of her song sends forth4 ,in words which do but hide the glorious light1 ,c,while ,i dissolve and melt and am destroyed4 ,ah me6 this lowering cloud1 this smoky fire of words ,abases that which it would elevate4 ,c ,but not till the whole personality of the man is dissolved and melted--not until it is held by the divine fragment which has created it1 as a mere subject for the grave experiment and experience--not until the whole nature has yielded and become subject unto its higher self1 can the bloom open4--7,light on the ,path47 ,,ces4 ,this fellow then says that as this phoenix set on fire by the sun and accustomed to light and flame comes to send upwards that smoke which obscures him who has rendered her so luminous1 so he1 the inflamed and illuminated enthusiast1 through that which he does in praise of such an illustrious subject which has warmed his heart and which shines in his thought1 comes rather to conceal it than to render it light for light1 sending forth that smoke the effect of the flame1 in which the substance of himself is resolved4 ,,mar4 ,i1 without weighing and comparing the studies of that fellow1 repeat what ,i said to you the other day1 that praise is one of the greatest oblations that human affection can offer to an object4 ,and leaving on one side the proposition of the ,divine1 tell me1 who would have known of ,achilles1 ,ulysses1 and all the other ,greek and ,trojan chiefs8 ,who would have heard of all those great soldiers1 the wise and the heroes of the earth1 if they had not been placed amongst the stars and deified by the oblation of praise which has lighted the fire on the altar of the heart of illustrious poets and other singers1 so that usually1 the sacrificant1 the victim and the sanctified deity1 all mounted to the skies1 through the hand and the vow of a worthy and lawful priest8 ,,ces4 ,well sayest thou of a worthy and lawful priest1 for the world is at present full of apostate ones1 the which1 as they are for the most part unworthy themselves1 sing the praises of other unworthy ones1 so that1 asini asinos fricant4 ,but ,providence wills that these1 instead of rising to the sky1 should go together to the shades of ,orcus1 so that naught is the glory of him who extols and of him who is extolled2 for the one has woven a statue of straw1 or carved the trunk of a tree1 or cast a piece of chalk1 and the other1 the idol of shame and infamy1 knows not that there is no need to wait for the keen tooth of the age and the scythe of ,saturn in order to be put down1 for through those self-same praises he gets buried alive then and there1 while he is being praised1 saluted1 hailed1 and presented4 ,just as it happened in a contrary way1 so that much-praised ,moecenatus1 who1 if he had had no other glory than a soul inclined to protect and favour the ,muses1 for this alone merited1 that the genius of so many illustrious poets should do him homage1 and place him in the number of the most famous heroes who have trod this earth4 ,his own studies and his own brightness made him prominent and grand1 and not the being born of a royal race1 and not the being grand secretary and councillor of ,augustus4 ,that1 ,i say1 which made him illustrious was the having made himself worthy to fulfil the promise of that poet who says3-- ,fortunati ambo1 si quid mea carmina possunt1 ,nulla dies nunquam memori vos eximet aevo1 ,dum domus ,aeneae ,capitoli immobile saxum ,accolet1 imperiumque pater romanus habebit4 ,,mar4 ,i remember what ,seneca says in certain letters where he refers to the words of ,epicurus to a friend1 which are these3 ,if the love of glory is dear to thy breast1 these letters of mine will make thee more famous and known than all those other things which thou honourest1 by which thou art honoured1 and of which thou mayest boast4 ,the same might ,homer have said if ,achilles or ,ulysses had presented themselves before him1 or ,eneas and his offspring before ,virgil2 as that moral philosopher well said2 ,domenea is more known through the letters of ,epicurus1 than all the magicians1 satraps and royalties upon whom depended his title of ,domenea and the memory of whom was lost in the depths of oblivion4 ,atticus does not survive because he was the son-in-law of ,agrippa and ancestor of ,tiberius1 but through the epistles of ,tully2 ,drusus1 the ancestor of ,csar1 would not be found amongst the number of great names if ,cicero had not inserted it4 ,many1 many years may pass over our heads1 and in all that time not many geniuses will keep their heads raised4 ,now to return to the question of this enthusiast1 who1 seeing a phoenix set on fire by the sun1 calls to mind his own cares1 and laments that like the phoenix he sends1 in exchange for the light and heat received1 a sluggish smoke from the holocaust of his melted substance4 ,wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine1 but we cannot even think of them without detracting from1 rather than adding to the glory of them2 so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is1 that man1 in the presence of other men1 should rather praise himself for his earnestness and courage1 than give praise to anything1 as complete and perfected action2 seeing that no such thing can be expected where there is progress towards the infinite1 where unity and infinity are the same thing and cannot be followed by the other number1 because there is no unity from another unity1 nor is there number from another number and unity1 because they are not the same absolute and infinite4 ,therefore was it well said by a theologian that as the fountain of light far exceeds not only our intellects1 but also the divine1 it is decorous that one should not discourse with words1 but that with silence alone it should be magnified4,d ,d ,now1 it may be asked1 what is the state of a man who followeth the true ,light to the utmost of his power8 ,i answer truly1 it will never be declared aright1 for he who is not such a man1 can neither understand nor know it1 and he who is1 knoweth it indeed2 but he cannot utter it1 for it is unspeakable4--7,theologia ,germanica47 ,,ces4 ,not1 verily1 with such silence as that of the brutes who are in the likeness and image of men1 but of those whose silence is more exalted than all the cries and noise and screams of those who may be heard4,e ,e ,speech is of time1 silence is of eternity4--7,sartor ,resartus47 ,,iv4 ,,mar4 ,let us go on and see what the rest means4 ,,ces4 ,say1 if you have seen and considered it1 what is the meaning of this fire in the form of a heart with four wings1 two of which have eyes and the whole is girt with luminous rays and has round about it this question3 ,nitimur incassum8 ,,mar4 ,i remember well1 that it signifies the state of the mind1 heart and spirit and eyes of the enthusiast1 but read the sonnet6 #dd4 ,f,splendour divine1 to which this mind aspires1 ,the intellect alone cannot unveil4 ,the heart1 which those high thoughts would animate1 ,makes not itself their lord2 nor spirit1 which ,should cease from pleasure for a space1 ,can ever from those heights withdraw4 ,the eyes which should be closed at night in sleep1 ,awake remain1 open1 and full of tears4 ,ah me1 my lights6 where are the zeal and art ,with which to tranquillize the afflicted sense8 ,tell me my soul2 what time and in what place ,shall ,i thy deep transcendent woe assuage8 ,and thou my heart1 what solace can ,i bring ,as compensation to thy heavy pain8 ,when1 oh unquiet and perturbed mind1 ,wilt thou the soul for debt and dole receive ,with heart1 with spirit and the sorrowing eyes8 ,f ,let no one suppose that we may attain to this true light and perfect knowledge by hearsay1 or by reading and study1 nor yet by high skill and great learning4--7,theologia ,germanica47 ,the mind which aspires to the divine splendour flees from the society of the crowd and retires from the multitude of subjects1 as much as from the community of studies1 opinions and sentences2 seeing that the peril of contracting vices and illusions is greater1 according to the number of persons with whom one is allied4 ,in the public shows1 said the moral philosopher1 by means of pleasure1 vices are more easily engendered4 ,if one aspires to the supreme splendour1 let him retire as much as he can1 from union and support1 into himself 7,di sorte che non sia simile a molti1 per che son molti2 e non sia nemico di molti per che son dissimili71 so that he be not like unto many1 because they are many2 and be not adverse to many1 because they are dissimilar2 if it be possible1 let him retain the one and the other2 otherwise he will incline to that which seems to him best4 ,let him associate either with those whom he can make better or with those through whom he may be made better1 through brightness which he may impart to those or that he may receive from them4 ,let him be content with one ideal rather than with the inept multitude4 ,nor will he hold that he has gained little1 when he has become such an one who is wise unto himself1 remembering what ,democritus says3 ,unus mihi pro populo est1 et populus pro uno2 and what ,epicurus said to a companion of his studies1 writing to him3 ,haec tibi1 non multis6 ,satis enim magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus4 ,the mind1 then1 which aspires high1 leaves1 for the first thing1 caring about the crowd1 considering that that divine light despises striving and is only to be found where there is intelligence1 and yet not every intelligence1 but that which is amongst the few1 the chief1 the first among the first1 the principal one4 ,,ces4 ,how do you mean that the mind aspires high8 ,for example1 by looking at the stars8 ,at the empyreal heaven above the ether8 ,,mar4 ,certainly not6 but by plunging into the depths of the mind1 for which there is no great need to open the eyes to the sky1 to raise the hands1 to direct the steps to the temple1 nor sing to the ears of statues in order to be the better heard1 but to come into the inner self believing that1 ,god is near1 present and within1 more fully than man himself1,g being soul of souls1 life of lives1 essence of essences3 for that which you see above or below1 or round about1 or however you please to say it1 of the stars1 are bodies1 are created things1 similar to this globe on which we are1 and in which the divinity is present neither more nor less than he is in this globe of ours or in ourselves4 ,this is how1 then1 one must begin to withdraw oneself from the multitude into oneself4 ,one ought to arrive at such a point to despise and not to overestimate every labour1 so that1 the more the desires and the vices contend with each other inwardly and the vicious enemies dispute outwardly1 so much the more should one breathe and rise1 and with spirit1 if possible1 surmount this steep hill4 ,here there is no need for other arms and shield than the majesty of an unconquered soul and a tolerant spirit1 which maintains the quality and meaning of that life which proceeds from science and is regulated by the art of considering attentively things low and high1 divine and human1 in the which consists that highest good1 and in reference to this1 a moral philosopher wrote to ,lucillus that one must not linger between ,scylla and ,charybdis1 penetrate the wilds of ,candavia and the ,apennines or lose oneself in the sandy plains1 because the road is as sure and as blythe as ,nature herself could make it4 ,it is not1 says he1 gold and silver that makes one like ,god1 because these are not treasure to ,him2 nor vestments1 for ,god is naked2 nor ostentation and fame1 for ,he shows ,himself to few1 and perhaps not one knows ,him1 and certainly many1 and more than many1 have a bad opinion of ,him4 ,not all the various conditions of things which we usually admire1 for not those things of which we desire to have copies1 make one rich1 but the contempt for those things4 ,g ,for1 in this 7degree71 ,god cannot be tasted1 felt1 seen1 because he is more ourselves than ourselves1 is not distinct from us4--7,spiritual ,torrents47 ,,ces4 ,well4 ,but tell me in what manner will this fellow tranquillize the senses1 assuage the woes of the spirit1 compensate the heart and give its just debts to the mind1 so that with this aspiration of his he come not to say3 ,nitimur incassum8 ,,mar4 ,he will be present in the body in such wise that the best part of himself will be absent from it1 and will join himself by an indissoluble sacrament to divine things1 in such a way that he will not feel either love or hatred of things mortal4 ,considering himself as master1 and that he ought not to be servant and slave to his body1 which he would regard only as the prison which holds his liberty in confinement1 the glue which smears his wings1 chains which bind fast his hands1 stocks which fix his feet1 veil which hides his view4 ,let him not be servant1 captive1 ensnared1 chained1 idle1 stolid and blind1 for the body which he himself abandons cannot tyrannize over him1 so that thus1 the spirit in a certain degree comes before him as the corporeal world1 and matter is subject to the divinity and to nature4 ,thus will he become strong against fortune1 magnanimous towards injuries1 intrepid towards poverty1 disease and persecution4 ,,ces4 ,well is the heroic enthusiast instructed6 ,v4 ,,ces4 ,close by is to be seen that which follows4 ,see the wheel of time1 which moves round its own centre1 and there is the legend3 ,manens moveor4 ,what do you mean by that8 ,,mar4 ,this means that movement is circular where motion concurs with rest1 seeing that in orbicular motion upon its own axis and about its own centre is understood rest and stability according to right movement1 or1 rest of the whole and movement of the parts2 and from the parts which move in a circle is understood two different kinds of motion1 inasmuch as some parts rise to the summit and others from the summit descend to the base successively2 others reach the medium differences1 and others the extremes of high and low4 ,and all this seems to me suitably expressed in the following3 #de4 ,that which keeps my heart both open and concealed1 ,beauty imprints and honesty dispels2 ,zeal holds me fast2 all other care comes to me ,by that same path whence all care to the soul doth come3 ,seek ,i myself from pain to disengage1 ,hope sustains me then1 whoso scourges1 tires2--7altrui rigor mi lassa7 ,love doth exalt and reverence abase me ,what time ,i yearn towards the highest good4 ,high thoughts1 holy desires1 and mind intent ,upon the labours and the cunning of the heart ,towards the immense divine immortal object1 ,so do1 that ,i be joined1 united1 fed1 ,that ,i lament no more2 that reason1 sense1 attend1 ,discourse and penetrate to other things4 ,so that the continual movement of one part supposes and carries with it the movement of the whole1 in such a way that the attraction of the posterior parts is consequent upon the repulsion of the anterior parts2 thus the movement of the superior parts results of necessity from that of the inferior1 and from the raising of one opposite power1 follows the depression of the other opposite4 ,therefore the heart1 which signifies all the affections generally1 comes to be concealed and open1 held by zeal1 raised by magnificent thoughts1 sustained by hope1 weakened by fear1 and in this state and condition will it ever be seen and found4 ,,vi4 ,,ces4 ,that is all well4 ,let us come to that which follows4 ,i see a ship floating on the waves2 its ropes are attached to the shore and there is the legend3 ,fluctuat in portu4 ,deliberate about the signification of this1 and when you are decided about it1 explain4 ,,mar4 ,both the legend and the figure have a certain connexion with the present legend and figure1 as may be easily understood1 if one considers it a little4 ,but let us read the sonnet4 #df4 ,if ,i by gods1 by heroes and by men ,be re-assured1 so that ,i not despair1 ,nor fear1 pain1 nor the impediments ,of death of body1 joy and happiness1 ,yet must ,i learn to suffer and to feel4 ,and that ,i may my pathways clearly see1 ,let doubts arise1 and dolour1 and the woe ,of vanished hopes1 of joy and all delight4 ,but if he should behold1 should grant1 and should attend ,my thoughts1 my wishes1 and my reasoning1 ,who makes them so uncertain1 hot1 and vague1 ,such dear conceits1 such acts and speech1 ,will not be given nor done to him1 who stays ,from birth1 through life1 to death in sheltered home4 ,non d1 non fa1 non ha qualunque stassi ,de l'orto1 vita e morte a le magioni4 ,from what we have considered and said in the preceding discourses one is able to understand these sentiments1 especially where it is shown that the sense of low things is diminished and annulled whenever the superior powers are strongly intent upon a more elevated and heroic object4 ,the power of contemplation is so great1 as is noted by ,jamblichus1 that it happens sometimes1 not only that the soul ceases from inferior acts1 but that it leaves the body entirely4 ,the which ,i will not understand otherwise than in such various ways as are explained in the book of thirty seals1 wherein are produced so many methods of contraction1 of which some infamously1 others heroically operate1 that one learns not to fear death1 suffers not pain of body1 feels not the hindrances of pleasures3 wherefore the hope1 the joy1 and the delight of the superior spirit are of so intense a kind that they extinguish all those passions which may have their origin in doubt1 in pain and all kinds of sadness4 ,,ces4 ,but what is that1 of which he requests that it consider those thoughts which it has rendered so uncertain1 fulfil those desires which it has made so ardent1 and listen to those discourses which it has rendered so vague8 ,,mar4 ,he means the ,object1 which he beholds when it makes itself present2 for to see the ,divine is to be seen by it1 as to see the sun concurs with the being seen of the sun4 ,equally1 to be heard by the ,divine1 is precisely to listen to it1 and to be favoured by it1 is the same as to offer to it2 for from the one immoveable and the same1 proceed thoughts uncertain and certain1 desires ardent and appeased1 and reasonings valid and vain1 according as the man worthily or unworthily puts them before himself1 with the intellect1 the affections and actions4 ,as that same pilot may be said to be the cause of the sinking or of the safety of the ship1 according as he is present in it or absent from it2 with this difference1 that the pilot through his defectiveness or his efficiency ruins or saves the ship2 but the ,divine potency which is all in all does not proffer or withhold except through assimilation or rejection by oneself4,h ,h ,ask1 and it shall be given you2 seek1 and ye shall find2 knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4--7,st4 ,matthew47 ,,vii4 ,,mar4 ,it seems to me that the following figure is closely connected and linked with the above2 there are two stars in the form of two radiant eyes1 with the legend3 ,mors et vita4 ,,ces4 ,read the sonnet6 ,,mar4 ,i will do so3 #dg4 ,writ by the hand of ,love may each behold ,upon my face the story of my woes4 ,but thou1 so that thy pride no curb may know1 ,and ,i1 unhappy one1 eternally might rest1 ,thou dost torment1 by hiding from my view ,those lovely lights beneath the beauteous lids4 ,therefore the troubled sky's no more serene1 ,nor hostile baleful shadows fall away4 ,by thine own beauty1 by this love of mine 7,so great that e'en with this it may compare71 ,render thyself1 oh ,goddess1 unto pity6 ,prolong no more this all-unmeasured woe1 ,ill-timed reward for such a love as this4 ,let not such rigour with such splendour mate ,if it import thee that ,i live6 ,open1 oh lady1 the portals of thine eyes1 ,and look on me if thou wouldst give me death6 ,here1 the face upon which the story of his woes appears is the soul2 in so far as it is open to receive those superior gifts1 for the which it has a potential aptitude1 without the fulness of perfection and act which waits for the dew of heaven4 ,thus was it well said3 ,anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi2 and again3 ,os meum operui2 and again3 ,spiritum1 quia mandata tua desiderabam4 ,then pride which knows no curb is said in metaphor and similitude1 as ,god is sometimes said to be jealous1 angry1 or that ,he sleeps1 and that signifies the difficulty with which ,he grants so much even as to show his shoulders1 which is the making himself known by means of posterior things and effects4 ,so the lights are covered with the eyelids1 the troubled sky of the human mind does not clear itself by the removal of the metaphors and enigmas4 ,besides which1 because he does not believe that all which is not1 could not be1 he prays the divine light1 that by its beauty1 which ought not to be entirely concealed1 at least according to the capacity of whoever beholds it1 and by his love1 which1 perchance1 is equal to so much beauty 7equal1 he means1 of the beauty1 in so far as he can comprehend it7 that it surrender itself to pity1 that is1 that it should do as those who are compassionate1 and who from being capricious and gloomy become gracious and affable and that it prolong not the evil which results from that privation1 and not allow that its splendour1 for which it is so much desired1 should appear greater than that love by means of which it communicates itself1 seeing that in it all the perfections are not only equal but are also the same4 ,in fine1 he begs that it will no further sadden by privation1 for it can kill with the glance of its eyes and can also with those same give him life4 ,,ces4 ,does he mean that death of lovers1 which comes from intense joy1 called by the ,kabalists1 mors osculi1 which same is eternal life1 which a man may anticipate in this life and enjoy in eternity8 ,,mar4 ,he does4 ,,viii4 ,,mar4 ,it is time to proceed to the consideration of the following design1 similar to those previously brought forward1 and with which it has a certain affinity4 ,there is an eagle1 which with two wings cleaves the sky2 but ,i do not know how much and in what manner it comes to be retarded by the weight of a stone which is tied to its leg4 ,there is the legend3 ,scinditur incertum4 ,it is certain that it signifies the multitude1 number and character 7volgo7 of the powers of the soul1 to exemplify which1 that verse is taken3 ,scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus4 ,the whole of which character 7volgo7 in general is divided into two factions2 although subordinate to these1 others are not wanting1 of which some appeal to the high intelligence and splendour of rectitude1 while others incite and force in a certain manner to the low1 to the uncleanness of voluptuousness and compliance with natural desires4 ,therefore says the sonnet3 #dh4 ,i would do well--to me 'tis not allowed4 ,with me my sun is not1 although ,i be with him1 ,for being with him1 ,i'm no more with myself3 ,the farther from myself--the nearer unto him2 ,the nearer unto him1 the farther from myself4 ,once to enjoy1 doth cost me many tears1 ,and seeking happiness1 ,i meet with woe4 ,for that ,i look aloft1 so blind am ,i4 ,that ,i may gain my love1 ,i lose myself4 ,through bitter joy1 and through sweet pain1 ,weighted with lead1 ,i rise towards the sky4 ,necessity withholds1 goodness conducts me on1 ,fate sinks me down1 and counsel raises me1 ,desire spurs me1 fear keeps me in check4 ,care kindles and the peril backward draws4 ,tell me1 what power or what subterfuge ,can give me peace and bring me from this strife1 ,if one repels1 the other draws me on4 ,the ascension goes on in the soul through the power and appulsion in the wings1 which are the intellect1 or intellectual will upon which she naturally depends and through which she fixes her gaze toward ,god1 as to the highest good1 and primal truth1 as to absolute goodness and beauty4 ,thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively1 and progressively towards its end and perfection1 as ,empedocles well said1 and from which sentence ,i think may be inferred that which the ,nolan said in this octave3 ,the sun must turn and reach his starting-point1 ,each wandering light must go towards its source1 ,that which is earth to earth itself reverts1 ,the rivers from the sea to sea return1 ,and thither1 whence desires have life and grow ,must they aspire as to revered divinity1 ,so every thought born of my lady fair ,comes back perforce to her1 my goddess dear4 ,the intellectual power is never at rest1 it is never satisfied with any comprehended truth1 but ever proceeds on and on towards that truth which is not comprehended4 ,so also the will which follows the apprehension1 we see that it is never satisfied with anything finite4 ,in consequence of this1 the essence of the soul is always referred to the source of its substance and entity4 ,then as to the natural powers1 by means of which it is turned to the protection and government of matter1 to which it allies itself1 and by appulsion benefits and communicates of its perfection to inferior things1 through the likeness which it has to the ,divine1 which in its benignity communicates itself or produces infinitely1 i4e4 imparts existence to the universal infinite and to the innumerable worlds in it1 or1 finitely1 produces this universe alone1 subject to our eyes and our common reason4 ,thus then in the one sole essence of the soul are found these two kinds of powers1 and as they are used for one's own good and for the good of others1 it follows that they are depicted with a pair of wings1 by means of which it is potent towards the object of the primal and immaterial potencies1 and with a heavy stone1 through which it is active and efficacious towards the objects of the secondary and material potencies4 ,whence it follows that the entire affection of the enthusiast is bifold1 divided1 harassed1 and placed in a position to incline itself more easily downwards than to force itself upwards3 seeing that the soul finds itself in a low and hostile country1 and reaches the far-off region of its more natural home where its powers are the weakest4 ,,ces4 ,do you think that this difficulty can be overcome8 ,,mar4 ,perfectly well2 but the beginning is most difficult1 and according as we make more and more fruitful progress in contemplation we arrive at a greater and greater facility4 ,as happens to whoever flys up high1 the more he rises above the earth the more air he has beneath to uphold him1 and consequently the less he is affected by gravitation2 he may even rise so high that he cannot1 without the labour of cleaving the air1 return downwards1 although one might imagine it were more easy to cleave the air downwards towards the earth than to rise on high towards the stars4 ,,ces4 ,so that with progress of this kind a greater and greater facility is acquired for mounting on high8 ,,mar4 ,so it is2 therefore well said ,tansillo3-- ,the more ,i feel the air beneath my feet ,so much the more towards the wind ,i bend ,my swiftest pinions ,and spurn the world and up towards ,heaven ,i go4 ,as every part of bodies and of their elements1 the nearer they come to their natural place1 the greater the impetus and force with which they move1 until at last1 whether they will or not1 they must prevail4 ,that which we see then in the parts of bodies and in the bodies themselves we ought also to allow of intellectual things towards their proper objects1 as their proper places1 countries1 and ends4 ,whence you may easily comprehend the entire significance of the figure1 the legend1 and the verses4 ,,ces4 ,so much so that whatsoever you might add thereto would appear to me superfluous4 ,,ix4 ,,ces4 ,let us see what is here represented by those two radiating arrows upon a target around which is written3 ,vicit instans4 ,,mar4 ,the continual struggle in the soul of the enthusiast1 the which1 in consequence of the long familiarity which it had with matter was hard and incapable of being penetrated by the rays of the splendour of the ,divine intelligence and the species of the ,divine goodness2 during which time1 he says that the heart was enamelled with diamond1 that is1 the affection was hard and not capable of being heated and penetrated1 and it rejected the blows of love which assailed it on innumerable sides4 ,that is1 it did not feel itself wounded by those wounds of eternal life of which the ,psalmist speaks when he says3 ,vulnerasti cor meum1 o dilecta1 vulnerasti cor meum4 ,the which wounds are not from iron or other material through the vigour and strength of nerves1 but are darts of ,diana1 or of ,phoebus1 that is1 either from the goddess of the deserts--of contemplation of truth1 that is1 from ,diana1 who is the order of the second intelligences1 which transfer the splendour received from the first and communicate it to the others1 who are deprived of a more open vision2 or else from the principal god ,apollo1 who with his own1 and not a borrowed splendour1 sends his darts1 that is1 his rays1 so many and from such innumerable points1 which are all the species of things1 which are indications of ,divine goodness1 intelligence1 beauty1 and wisdom1 according to the various degrees1 from the simple comprehension1 to the becoming heroic enthusiasts2 because the adamantine subject does not reflect from its surface the impression of the light1 but1 destroyed and overcome by the heat and light1 it becomes in substance luminous--all light--so that it is penetrated within the affection and conception4 ,this is not immediately1 at the beginning of generation1 when the soul comes forth fresh from the intoxication of ,lethe1 and drenched with the waves of forgetfulness and confusion1 so that the spirit comes into captivity to the body1 and is put into the condition of growth2 but little by little1 it goes on digesting1 so as to become fitted for the action of the sensitive faculty1 until1 through the rational and discursive faculty1 it comes to a purer intellectual one1 so that it can present itself to the mind1 without feeling itself befogged by the exhalations of that humour1 which1 through the exercise of contemplation1 has been saved from putrefaction in the stomach and is duly digested4 ,in this state1 the present enthusiast shows himself to have remained thirty years1 during which time he had not reached that purity of conception which would make him a suitable habitation for the wandering species1 which offering themselves to all1 equally1 knock1 ever at the door of the intelligence4 ,at last1 ,love1 who in various ways and at different times had assaulted him as it were in vain--as the light and heat of the sun are said to be useless to those who are in the opaque depths and bowels of the earth--having located itself in those sacred lights1 that is having shown forth the ,divine ,beauty through two intelligible species the which bound his intellect through the reasoning of ,truth and warmed his affections through the reasoning of ,goodness2 while the material and sensitive desires became superseded1 which aforetime used1 as it were1 to triumph1 remaining intact1 notwithstanding the excellence of the soul4 ,because those lights which made present the illuminating1 acting intellect and sun of intelligence found easy ingress through his eyes2 that of ,truth 7the intellect of ,truth87 through the door of the intellectual faculty2 that of ,goodness 7intellect of ,goodness87 through the door of the appetitive faculty1 to the heart1 that is1 the substance of the general affection4 ,this was that double ray1 which came as from the hand of an irate warrior1 who showed himself1 now1 as ready and as bold1 as aforetime he had appeared weak and negligent4,i ,then1 when he first felt warmed and illuminated in his conception1 was that victorious point and moment of which it is said3 ,vicit instans4 ,i ,he takes it by assault1 without offering battle3 the heart is unable to resist him4--7,spiritual ,torrents47 ,thus you can understand the sense of the following figure1 legend and sonnet1 which says3-- #di4 ,i fought with all my strength1 'gainst ,love ,divine ,when he assailed with blows from every side ,this cold1 enamelled1 adamantine heart1 ,whence my desires defeated his intent4 ,at last1 one day1 'twas as the heavens had willed4 ,encamped ,i found him in those holy lights ,which1 through mine own alone1 of all the rest ,an easy entrance to my heart could find4 ',twas then upon me fell that double bolt1 ,flung as from hand of irate warrior ,who had for thirty years besieged in vain4 ,he marked that place and strongly there he held1 ,planted the trophy there1 and evermore ,he holds my fleet wings in restrainment4 ,meanwhile since then with more solemnity of preparation ,the anger and the ire of my sweet enemy ,cease not to wound my heart4 ,rare moment was that2 the end of the beginning and perfection of victory2 rare were those two species which amongst all others found easy entrance1 seeing that they contain in themselves the efficacy and the virtue of all the others2 for what higher and more excellent form can present itself than that of the beauty1 goodness and truth1 which are the source of every other truth1 beauty1 and goodness8 ,he marked that place--that is1 took possession of the affections1 noted them1 and impressed upon them his own character2 and strongly there he held2 he confirmed and established them and sanctified them so that he can never again lose them2 for it is not possible that one should turn to love any other thing when once he has conceived in his mind the ,divine ,beauty1 and it is as impossible that he can do other than love it1 as it is impossible that his desires should fall otherwise than towards good1 or species of good4 ,therefore his inclination is in the highest degree towards the primal good4 ,so again1 the wings1 which used to be so fleet to go downwards with the weight of matter1 are kept in restrainment1 and the sweet augers which are the efficacious assaults of the gracious enemy1 who has been for so long time kept back1 and excluded1 a stranger and a pilgrim1 never cease to wound1 soliciting the affections and awakening thought4 ,but now1 the sole and entire possessor and disposer of the soul1 for she neither wills nor wishes to will other1 nor is she pleased1 nor will she that any other please her1 whence he often says3-- ,dolci ire1 guerra dolce1 dolci dardi1 ,dolci mie piaghe1 miei dolci dolori6 ,x4 ,,ces4 ,it would seem that we have nothing more to consider upon this proposition4 ,let us see now1 how this quiver and bow of ,eros display the sparks around1 and the knot of the string1 which hangs down with the legend1 which is3 ,subito1 clam4 ,,mar4 ,well do ,i remember having seen it expressed in the sonnet4 ,but let us read it first4 #ej4 ,eager to find the much desired food1 ,the eagle towards the sky spreads out his wings ,and warns of his approach both bird and beast1 ,the third flight bringing him upon the prey4 ,and the fierce lion roaring from his lair ,spreads horror all around and mortal fear2 ,and all wild beasts1 admonished and forewarned1 ,fly to the caves and cheat his cruel jaw4 ,the whale1 ere he the dumb ,protean herd ,hungry pursues1 sends forth his nuncio1 ,from caves of ,thetys spouts his water forth4 ,lions and eagles of the earth and sky1 ,and whales1 lords of the seas1 come not with treachery1 ,but the assaults of ,love come stealing secretly4 ,the animal kingdom is divided into three1 and is composed of various elements3 the earth1 the water1 the air1 and there are three species--beasts1 fishes1 and birds4 ,into three kinds are the principles of nature settled and defined1 in the air the eagle1 on earth the lion1 in the water the whale2 of the which1 each one1 as it displays more strength and command over the others1 makes a show of magnanimous action1 or apparently magnanimous4 ,therefore it is observed1 that the lion1 before he starts on the hunt trumpets forth his roar1 which resounds through the whole forest1 like to the poetical description of the fury-hunter4 ,at saeva e speculis tempus dea nacta nocendi1 ,ardua tecta petit1 stabuli et de culmine summo ,pastorale canit signum1 cornuque recurvo ,tartaream intendit vocem1 qua protinus omne ,contremuit nemus1 et silvae intonuere profundae4 ,the eagle again1 before he proceeds to his venery1 first rises straight from the nest in a perpendicular line upwards1 and generally speaking at the third time he swoops from above with greater impetus and swiftness than if he were flying in a direct line1 so that at the time when he is gaining the greatest velocity of flight1 he is able also to speculate upon his success with the prey1 and after three inspections he knows whether he will succeed or fail4 ,,ces4 ,can one imagine why1 if at the first his prey presents itself before his eyes1 he does not instantly pounce upon it8 ,,mar4 ,no2 unless it be to see whether anything better1 or more easily taken1 comes to sight4 ,at the same time ,i do not believe that this is always so1 but most often it is4 ,but to return4 ,of the whale it is manifest that1 being such a huge animal1 he cannot divide the waters without making his presence known through the repulsion of the waves1 besides which there are several species of this fish1 that when they move or breathe1 spout forth a windy tempest of water4 ,thus from these three principal species of animals1 the inferior kinds have warning to enable them to get away1 so that they do not conduct themselves as deceivers and traitors4 ,but ,love1 who is stronger and greater and who has supreme dominion in heaven1 on earth1 and in the seas1 and who in comparison ought perhaps to show greater magnanimity1 as he also has more power1 does nothing of the kind1 but assaults and wounds suddenly and swiftly4 ,labitur totas furor in medullas1 ,igne furtivo populante venas1 ,nec habet latum data plaga frontem2 ,sed vorat tectas penitas medullas1 ,virginum ignoto ferit igne pectus4 ,as you perceive1 the tragic poet calls him a furtive fire1 an unknown flame4 ,solomon calls it furtive waters4 ,samuel named it the whisper of a gentle wind4 ,the which three significations show with what sweetness1 gentleness1 and astuteness1 in seas1 on earth1 in sky1 does this fellow come and tyrannize over the whole universe4 ,,ces4 ,there is no vaster empire1 no worse tyranny1 no better dominion1 no more necessary magistracy1 nothing more sweet and dear1 no food to be found more hard and bitter1 no deity more violent1 no god more pleasing1 no agent more treacherous and false1 no author more regal and faithful1 and1 in fine1 it seems to me that ,love is all and does all1 of him all may be said1 and all may refer itself to him4 ,,mar4 ,you say well4 ,love then1 as he who works chiefly through the sight1 which is the most spiritual of all the senses1 and which reaches swiftly the known ends of the earth1 and without stretch of time takes in the whole horizon of the visible1 comes to be quick1 furtive1 sudden and instantaneous4 ,besides which1 we must remember what the ancients say1 that ,love precedes all the other gods1 and therefore it is no use to imagine that ,saturn shows him the way except by following him4 ,now must we find out1 whether ,love appears and makes himself known externally1 whether his home is the soul itself1 his bed the heart itself1 and whether he consists of the same composition as our own substance1 the same impulse as our own powers4 ,finally everything naturally desires the beautiful and the good1 and therefore it is useless to argue and discuss1 because the affection informs and confirms itself1 and in one instant desire joins itself to the desirable1 as the sight to the visible4 ,,xi4 ,,ces4 ,let us see here1 what is the meaning of that burning arrow1 around which is the legend3 ,cui nova plaga loco8 ,explain what part does this seek to wound8 ,,mar4 ,read the sonnet which says3-- #ea4 ,that all the ears of corn that may be reaped ,in burning ,apuleia1 or sunbrowned ,lybia1 ,with all that they unto the winds entrust1 ,or that the rays from the great planet sent1 ,should number those sad pains of my glad soul1 ,which she from those two burning stars receives ,with mournful joy in sweetest agony1 ,forbid me ,sense and ,reason to believe4 ,what would'st thou more1 sweet foe8 ,what wish is that which moves thee still to hurt1 ,since this my heart of but one wound is made8 ,so that there lies no part that now may be ,by thee or others printed1 stabbed1 or pierced1 ,turn thee aside1 turn otherwhere thy bow1 ,for thou dost waste thy powers1 oh beauteous god6 ,in slaying him who lies already dead4 ,the meaning of all this is metaphorical1 like the rest1 and may be understood in the same sense as that4 ,here the number of darts which have wounded and do wound the heart1 signify the innumerable individuals and species of things1 in which shine the splendour of ,divine ,beauty1 according to their degrees1 and whence the affection for the good1 well proposed and well apprehended warms us4 ,the which through the causes of potentiality and actuality1 of possibility and of effect1 crucify and console1 give the sense of sweetness and also make the bitter to be felt4 ,but where the entire affection is all turned towards ,god1 that is towards the ,idea of ,ideas1 from the light of intelligible things1 the mind becomes exalted to the super-essential unity1 and1 all love1 all one1 it feels itself no longer solicited by various objects1 which distract it1 but is one sole wound1 in the which the whole affection concurs and which comes to be one and the same affection4 ,then there is no love or desire of any particular thing1 that can urge1 nor even present itself before the will2 for there is nothing more straight than the straight1 nothing more beautiful than beauty1 nothing better than goodness1 nothing can be found larger than size1 nor anything lighter than that light which with its presence darkens and obliterates all lights4 ,,ces4 ,to the perfect1 if it be perfect1 there is nothing that can be added2 therefore the will is not capable of any other desire1 when that which is of the perfect is present with it1 highest and best4 ,therefore ,i understand the conclusion where he says to ,love1 ,turn otherwhere thy bow1 and wherefore should he try to kill him who is already dead1 that is1 he1 who has no more life nor sense about other things1 so that he cannot be stabbed or pierced or become exposed to other species4 ,and this lament proceeds from him1 who having tasted of the highest unity1 desires to be in all things severed and withdrawn from the multitude4 ,,mar4 ,you understand quite well4 ,,xii4 ,,ces4 ,now here is a boy in a boat1 which little by little is being submerged in the tempestuous waves1 and he1 languid and tired1 has abandoned the oars2 around it the legend ,fronti nulla1 fides4 ,there is no doubt that this signifies that he was induced1 by the serene aspect of the waters1 to venture on the treacherous sea1 which having suddenly become troubled1 the boy1 in mortal fear1 and in his impotence to still the tempest1 has lost his head1 his hope1 and the power of his arm4 ,but let us see the rest3-- #eb4 ,oh1 gentle boy1 that from the shore didst loose ,the baby bark1 and to the slender oar ,didst set thy unskilled hand2 lured by the sea6 ,late hast thou seen the evil of thy plight4 ,see there the traitor rolls his fatal waves1 ,the prow of thy frail bark1 now sinks1 now mounts4 ,the soul borne down with anxious cares ,prevaileth not against the swollen floods4 ,thy oars thou yieldst to thy fierce enemy1 ,waiting for death with calm collected thought1 ,with eyelids closed1 lest thou shouldst see him come4 ,if thee no friendly aid should quickly reach ,thou surely must the full result soon feel1 ,of thy inquisitive temerity4 ,my cruel fate is like unto thine own1 ,for ,i too1 lured1 enticed by ,love1 must feel1 ,the rigour keen of this most treacherous one4 ,in what manner and why ,love is a traitor and deceiver we have just seen2 but as ,i see the following without figure or legend1 ,i believe that it must have connection with the above4 ,therefore let us go on and read it4 #ec4 ,methought to leave the shelter of my port1 ,and from maturer studies rest awhile3 ,when1 looking round me to enjoy my ease1 ,sudden ,i saw those unrelenting fates4 ,these have inflamed me with so ardent fires4 ,vainly ,i strive some safer shores to reach1 ,vainly from pitying hands invoke some aid1 ,and swift deliverance from my enemies4 ,weary and hoarse ,i yield me1 impotent1 ,and seek no more to elude my destiny1 ,or make endeavour to escape my death3 ,let every other life to me be null1 ,and let not the extremest torment fail1 ,which my hard fate for me prescribed4 ,type of my own deep ills1 ,is that which thou for pastime didst entrust ,to hostile breast4 ,oh1 careless boy4 ,here ,i would not pretend to understand or determine all that the enthusiast means4 ,yet there is well expressed the strange condition of a soul cast down by the knowledge of the difficulty of the operation1 the amount of the labour1 the vastness of the work on one side1 and on the other the ignorance1 want of knowledge of the way1 weakness of nerves and peril of death4 ,he has no knowledge suitable to the business1 he does not know where and how to turn1 no place of flight or refuge presents itself2 and he sees that1 from every side1 the waves threaten1 with frightful1 fatal impetus4 ,ignoranti portum1 nullus suus ventus est4 ,behold him1 who has committed himself indeed to fortuitous things1 and has brought upon himself trouble1 prison1 ruin1 and drowning4 ,see how fortune deludes us1 and that which we put carefully into her hands1 she either breaks or lets it fall from her hands1 or causes it to be removed by the violence of another1 or suffocates and poisons1 or taints with suspicion1 fear1 and jealousy to the great hurt and ruin of the possessor4 ,fortunae au ulla putatis dona carcere dolis8 ,for strength which cannot give proof of itself is dissipated2 magnanimity1 which cannot prevail1 is naught1 and vain is study without results2 he sees the effects of the fear of evil1 which is worse than evil itself4 ,peior est morte timor ipse mortis4 ,he already suffers1 through fear1 that which he fears to suffer1 terror in the limbs1 imbecility in the nerves1 tremors in the body1 anxiety of the spirit1 and that which has not yet appeared becomes present to him1 and is certainly worse than whatsoever may happen4 ,what can be more stupid than to be in pain about future things and absent ones which at present are not felt8 ,,ces4 ,these considerations are on the surface and belong to the external of the figure4 ,but the proposition of the heroic enthusiast1 ,i think1 deals with the imbecility of human nature 7ingegno7 which1 intent on the ,divine undertaking1 finds itself all at once engulphed in the abyss of incomprehensible excellence1 and the sense and the imagination become confused and absorbed1 and not knowing how to pass on1 nor to go back1 nor where to turn1 vanishes and loses itself as a drop of water vanishes in the sea1 or as a small spirit1 becomes attenuated1 losing its own substance in the space and immensity of the atmosphere4 ,,mar4 ,well4 ,but let us go towards our chamber and talk as we go1 for it is night4 ,second ,dialogue ,,maricondo4 ,here you see a flaming yoke enveloped in knots round which is written3 ,levius aura2 which means that ,divine love does not weigh down1 nor carry his servant captive and enslaved to the lowest depths1 but raises him1 supports him and magnifies him above all liberty whatsoever4 ,,ces4 ,prithee1 let us read the sonnet1 so that we may consider the sense of it in due order with propriety and brevity4 ,,mar4 ,it says thus3-- #ed4 ,she who my mind to other love did move1 ,to whom all others vile and vain appear1 ,in whom alone is sovereign beauty seen1 ,and excellence ,divine is manifest4 ,she from the forest coming1 ,i beheld1 ,huntress of myself1 beloved ,artemis1 ',midst beauteous nymphs1 with air of nascent bells4 ,then said ,i unto ,love3 ,see1 ,i am hers4 ,and he to me3 ,oh1 happy lover thou6 ,delectable companion of thy fate6 ,that she alone of all the numberless1 ,that hold within their bosom life and death1 ,who most with virtues high the world adorns1 ,thou didst obtain1 through will and destiny1 ,within the ,court of ,love4 ,so happy thou in thy captivity ,thou enviest not the liberty of man or ,god4 ,see how contented he is under that yoke1 that marriage which has joined him to her whom he saw issuing from the forest1 from the desert1 from the woods1 that is1 from parts removed from the crowd1 and from the conversation of the vulgar who have but small enlightenment4 ,diana1 the splendour of the intelligible species1 and huntress2 because with her beauty and grace she first wounded him1 and then bound him and holds him in her power1 more contented than otherwise he could possibly have been4 ,he speaks of her amidst beauteous nymphs1 that is1 the multitude of other species1 forms and ideas1 and air of bells1 that is the genius and the spirit which displayed itself at ,nola1 which lies on the plain of the ,campanian horizon4,j ,he acknowledges her1 and she1 more than any other1 is praised by ,love1 who considers him so fortunate1 because amongst all those present or absent to mortal eyes1 she does more highly adorn the world1 and makes man glorious and beautiful4 ,hence he says that his mind is raised towards the highest love1 and that it learns to consider every other goddess1 that is1 the care or observation of every other kind1 as vile and vain4,k ,now1 in saying that she has roused his mind to high love1 he takes occasion to magnify the heart through the thoughts1 desires and works1 as much as possible1 and 7to say7 that we ought not to be entertained with low things which are beneath our faculties1 as happens to those who1 through avarice or through negligence1 or indolence1 become in this brief life attached to unworthy things4 ,j ,does he allude to the fact that bells were first used in ,christian ,churches at ,nola8--7,tr47 ,k ,the delights which are perceived in things corporeal are vile2 for every delight is such that it becomes viler the more it proceeds to external things1 and happier1 the more it proceeds to things internal4--7,spiritual ,torrents47 ,,ces4 ,there must be artisans1 mechanics1 agriculturists1 servants1 trotters1 ignoble1 low1 poor1 pedants and such like1 for otherwise there could not be philosophers1 meditators1 cultivators of souls1 masters1 captains1 nobles1 illustrious ones1 rich1 wise1 and the rest who may be heroes like to gods4 ,now why should we force ourselves to corrupt the state of nature which has separated the universe into things major and minor1 superior and inferior1 illustrious and obscure1 worthy and unworthy1 not only outside ourselves but also inside in the substance of us1 even to that part of us which is said to be immaterial8 ,so of the intelligences3 some are low1 others are pre-eminent1 some serve and some obey1 some command and govern4 ,i believe1 however1 that this ought not to be brought forward as an example1 so that subjects wishing to be superiors1 and the ignoble to equal the noble1 the order of things would become perverted and confounded1 so that a sort of neutrality would supervene1 and a brutal equality1 such as is found in certain deserts and uncultured republics4 ,do you not see what damage has been done to science through this3 i4e4 pedants wishing to be philosophers2 to treat of natural things1 and mix themselves with and decide about things ,divine8 ,who does not see how much evil has happened1 and does happen1 through the mind having been moved through similar facts to exalted affections8 ,who is there1 of good sense1 who cannot see what a fine thing ,aristotle made of it1 when1 being a master of belles lettres at ,alexandria1 he set himself to oppose and make war against the ,pythagorean doctrine1 and that of natural philosophy2 seeking by means of his logical ratiocination to propose definitions and notions1 certain fifth entities and other abortive portions of fantastical cogitations1 as principles and substance of things1 more anxious about the esteem of the vulgar stupid crowd1 which is influenced and governed by sophisms and appearances which are found in the superficies of things rather than by the ,truth1 which is occult and hidden in the substance of them1 and is the substance itself of them8 ,he roused his mind1 not to make himself a mediator1 but judge and censor of things which he had never studied1 nor well understood4 ,thus in our day1 that little which ,aristotle can bring1 is peculiar for its inventive reasoning1 its suggestiveness1 its metaphysics1 and is useful for other pedants1 who work with the same ,sursum corda1 who institute new dialectics and modes of forming the reason 7judgment87 which are as much viler than those of ,aristotle1 as may be the philosophy of ,aristotle is incomparably viler than that of the ancients4 ,and it has been caused by this1 that certain grammarians having grown old in the birching of children1 and in anatomizing phrases and words1 have sought to rouse the mind to the formation of new logic and metaphysics1 judging and sentencing those which they had never studied nor understood3 as also these by the approbation of the ignorant multitude1 with whose mind they have most affinity1 can easily demolish the humanities and ratiocination of ,aristotle1 as the latter was the executioner of the ,divine philosophies of others4 ,see1 then1 what it comes to1 if all should aspire to the sacred splendour1 and yet are occupied about things low and vain4 ,,mar4 ,ride1 si sapis1 o puella1 ride1 ,pelignus1 puto1 dixerat poeta2 ,sed non dixerat omnibus puellis2 ,et si dixerat omnibus puellis1 ,non dixit tibi4 ,tu puella non es4 ,thus the ,sursum corda is not the measure for all2 but for those that have wings4 ,we see that pedantry has never been held in such esteem for the government of the world as in our times1 and it offers as many paths of the true intelligible species and objects of infallible and sole truth as there are individual pedants4 ,therefore in this present time it is proper that noble spirits equipped with truth and enlightened with the ,divine intelligence1 should arm themselves against dense ignorance by climbing up to the high rock and tower of contemplation4,l ,l ,if meditation be a nobler thing ,than action1 wherefore1 then1 great ,ke'sava6 ,dost thou impel me to this dreadful fight8 --7,song ,celestial47 ,to them it is seemly that they hold every other object as vile and vain4 ,nor should these spend their time in light and vain things2 for time flies with infinite velocity2 the present rushes by with the same swiftness with which the future draws near4 ,that which we have lived is nothing2 that which we live is a point2 that which we have to live is not yet a point1 but may be a point which1 together1 shall be and shall have been4 ,and with all this we crowd our memories with genealogies3 this one is intent upon the deciphering of writings1 that other is occupied in multiplying childish sophisms1 and we shall see1 for example1 a volume full of3 ,cor est fons vitae4 ,nix est alba1 ergo cornix est fons vitae alba1 and one prattles about the noun2 was it first1 or the verb2 the other1 whether the sea was first or the springs2 again1 another tries to revive obsolete vocabularies which1 because they were once used and approved by some old writer1 must now be exalted to the stars4 ,yet another takes his stand upon the false or the true orthography1 and so on1 with various similar nonsense only worthy of contempt4 ,they fast1 they become thin and emaciated1 they scourge the skin1 and lengthen the beard1 they rot1 and in these things they place the anchor of their highest good4 ,they despise fortune1 and put up these as shield and refuge against the strokes of fate4 ,with such-like most vile thoughts they think to mount to the stars1 to be equal to gods1 and to understand the good and the beautiful which philosophy promises4 ,,ces4 ,a grand thing1 indeed1 that time1 which does not suffice for necessary things1 however carefully we use it1 should come to be chiefly consumed about superfluous things1 and things vile and shameful4 ,is it not rather a thing to laugh at than to praise in ,archimedes1 that at the time when the city was in confusion1 everything in ruins1 fire broken out in his room1 enemies there at his back who had it in their power to make him lose his brain1 his life1 his art2 that he1 meanwhile1 having abandoned all desire or intention of saving his life1 lost it while he was inquiring1 perhaps1 into the proportion of the curve to the straight line1 of the diameter to the circle1 or other similar mathesis1 as suitable for youth1 as it were unsuitable for one who1 being old1 should be intent upon things more worthy of being put as the end of human desires8 ,,mar4 ,in connection with this ,i like what you said just now1 that there must be all sorts of persons in the world1 and that the number of the imperfect1 the ugly1 the poor1 the unworthy and the villanous1 should be the greater1 and1 in short1 it ought not to be otherwise than as it is4 ,the long life of ,archimedes1 of ,euclid1 of ,priscian1 of ,donato1 and others1 who were found up to their death occupied with numbers1 lines1 diction1 concordances1 writings1 dialectics1 syllogisms1 forms1 methods1 systems of science1 organs1 and other preambles1 is ordained for the service of youth1 so that they may learn to receive the fruits of the mature age of those 7sages7 and be full of the same even in their green age1 so that when they are older they may be fit and ready to arrive without hindrance to higher things4 ,,ces4 ,i am not wrong in the proposition ,i moved just now when ,i spoke of those who make it their study to appropriate to themselves the place and the fame of the ancients with new works which are neither better nor worse than those already existing1 and spend their life in considering how to turn wheat into tares1,m and find the work of their life in the elaboration of those studies which are suited for children and are generally profitable to no one1 not even to themselves4 ,m ,e spendono la vita su le considerazioni da mettere avanti lana di capra1 o l'ombra de l'asino4 ,,mar4 ,but enough has been said about those who neither can nor dare to have their mind roused to highest love4 ,let us now come to the consideration of the voluntary captivity and of the pleasant yoke under the dominion of the said ,diana2 that yoke1 ,i say1 without which1 the soul is impotent to rise to that height from which it fell1 and which renders it light and agile1 while the noose renders it more active and disengaged4 ,,ces4 ,speak on then6 ,,mar4 ,to begin1 to continue1 and to conclude in order2 ,i consider that all which lives must feed itself and nourish itself in a manner suitable to the way in which it lives4 ,therefore1 nothing squares with the intellectual nature but the intellectual1 as with the body nothing but the corporeal2 seeing that nourishment is taken for no other reason1 but that it should go to the substance of him who is to be nourished4 ,as then the body does not transmute into spirit1 nor the spirit into body1--for every transmutation takes place1 when matter1 which was in one form1 comes to be in another1,n--so the spirit and the body are not the same matter2 in that that1 which was subject to one should come to be subject to the other4 ,n ,carlyle says1 ,for matter1 were it never so despicable1 is spirit3 were it never so honourable1 can it be more8--7,sartor ,resartus47 ,,ces4 ,surely1 if the soul should be nourished with body1 it would carry itself better there1 where the fecundity of the material is1 7as ,jamblichus argues72 so that when a large fat body presents itself1 we should imagine that it were the habitation of a strong soul1 firm1 ready and heroic1 and we should say3 ,oh1 fat soul1 oh1 fecund spirit1 oh1 fine nature1 oh1 divine intelligence1 oh1 clear mind1 oh1 blessed repast1 fit to spread before lions1 or verily for a banquet for dogs4 ,on the other hand1 an old man shrivelled1 weak1 of failing strength1 would be held to be of little savour and of small account4 ,but go on4 ,,mar4 ,now1 it must be said that the outcome of the mind is that alone which is always by it desired1 sought for1 and embraced1 and that which is more enjoyed than anything else1 with which it is filled1 comforted and becomes better1--that is ,truth1 towards which1 in all times1 in every state1 and in whatsoever condition man finds himself1 he always aspires1 and for the which he despises every fatigue1 attempts every study1 makes no account of the body1 and hates this life4 ,therefore ,truth is an incorporeal thing2 and neither physics1 metaphysics1 nor mathematics can be found in the body1 because we see that the eternal human essence is not in individuals1 who are born and die4 ,it 7,truth7 is specific unity1 said ,plato1 not the numerical multitude that holds the substance of things4 ,therefore he called ,idea one and many1 movable and immovable because as incorruptible species it is intelligible and one1 and as it communicates itself to matter and is subject to movement and generation1 it is sensible and many4 ,in this second mode it has more of non-entity than of entity2 seeing that it is one and another and is ever running but never diminishes4,o ,in the first mode it is an entity1 and true4 ,see now1 the mathematicians take it for granted1 that the true figures are not to be found in natural bodies1 nor can they be there through the power either of nature or of art4 ,you know1 besides1 that the truth 7reality7 of supernatural substances is above matter4 ,we must therefore conclude that he who seeks the truth must rise above the reason of corporeal things4 ,besides which it must be considered1 that he who feeds has a certain natural memory of his food1 especially when it is most required2 it leaves in the mind the likeness and species of it1 in an elevated manner1 according to the elevation and glory of him who aims1 and of that which is aimed at4 ,hence it is that everything has1 innate1 the intelligence of those things which belong to the conservation of the individual and species1 and furthermore its final perfection depends upon efforts to seek its food through some kind of hunting or chase4 ,therefore it is necessary that the human soul should have the light1 the genius1 and the instruments suitable for its pursuit4 ,and here contemplation comes to aid1 and logic1 the fittest mode for the pursuit of truth1 to find it1 to distinguish it1 and to judge of it4 ,so that one goes rambling amongst the wild woods of natural things1 where there are many objects under shadow and mantle1 for it is in a thick1 dense1 and deserted solitude that ,truth most often has its secret cavernous retreat1 all entwined with thorns and covered with bosky1 rough and umbrageous plants2 it is hidden1 for the most part1 for the most excellent and worthy reasons1 buried and veiled with utmost diligence1 just as we hide with the greatest care the greatest treasures1 so that1 sought by a great variety of hunters1 of whom some are more able and expert1 some less1 it cannot be discovered without great labour4 ,pythagoras went seeking for it with his imprints and vestiges impressed upon natural objects1 which are numbers1 the which display its progress1 reasons1 modes and operations in a certain manner1 because in the number 7of7 multitude1 the number 7of7 measures1 and the number 7of7 moment or weight1 the truth and ,being are found in all things4,p ,o ,atteso che sempre altro ed altro1 e corre eterno per la privazione4 ,p ,number is1 as the great writer 7,balzac7 thought1 an ,entity1 and at the same time1 a ,breath emanating from what he called ,god1 and what we call the ,,all1 the breath which alone could organize the physical ,kosmos4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,anaxagoras and ,empedocles considered that the omnipotent and all-producing divinity fills all things1 and with them nothing was so small that it did not contain within it the occult in every respect1 although they were always progressing onwards to where it was predominant1 and where it found a more magnificent and elevated expression4 ,the ,chaldeans sought for ,truth by means of subtraction1 not knowing how to affirm anything about it2 and proceeded without these dogs of demonstrations and syllogisms1 but solely forcing themselves to penetrate by removing and digging and clearing away by means of negations of every kind and discourses both open and secret4 ,plato went twisting and turning and tearing to pieces and placing embankments so that the volatile and fugacious species should be as it were caught in a net and held behind the hedges of definitions1 and he considered that superior things were1 by participation1 and according to similitude1 reflected in those inferior1 and these in those according to their greater dignity and excellence1 and that the truth was in both the one and the other1 according to a certain analogy1 order and scale1 in which the lowest of the superior order agrees with the highest of the inferior order4 ,so that progress was from the lowest of nature to the highest1 as from evil to good1 from darkness to light1 from the simple power to the simple action4 ,aristotle boasts of being able to arrive at the desired booty by means of the imprints of tracks and vestiges1 while he believes the effects will lead to the cause1 although he1 above all others who have occupied themselves with this sort of chase1 has most deviated from the path1 so as to be able hardly to distinguish the footsteps4 ,theologians there are1 who1 nourished in certain sects1 seek the truth of nature in all her specific natural forms in which they see the eternal essence1 the specific substantial perpetuator of the eternal generation and mutation of things1 which are called after their founders and builders and above them all presides the form of forms1,q the fountain of light1 very truth of very truth1 ,god of gods1 through whom all is full of divinity1 truth1 entity1 goodness4 ,this truth is sought as a thing inaccessible1 as an object not to be objectized1 incomprehensible4 ,but yet1 to no one does it seem possible to see the sun1 the universal ,apollo1 the absolute light through supreme and most excellent species2 but only its shadow1 its ,diana1 the world1 the universe1 nature1 which is in things1 light which is in the opacity of matter1 that is to say1 so far as it shines in darkness4 ,q ,a discerning of the ,infinite in the ,finite4--7,sartor ,resartus47 ,many then wander amongst the aforesaid paths of this deserted wood1 very few are those who find the fountain of ,diana4 ,many are content to hunt for wild beasts and things less elevated1 and the greater number do not understand why1 having spread their nets to the wind1 they find their hands full of flies4 ,rare1 ,i say1 are the ,actons to whom fate has granted the power of contemplating the nude ,diana and who1 entranced with the beautiful disposition of the body of nature1 and led by those two lights1 the twin splendour of ,divine goodness and beauty become transformed into stags2 for they are no longer hunters1 but that which is hunted4 ,for the ultimate and final end of this sport1 is to arrive at the acquisition of that fugitive and wild body1 so that the thief becomes the thing stolen1 the hunter becomes the thing hunted2 in all other kinds of sport1 for special things1 the hunter possesses himself of those things1 absorbing them with the mouth of his own intelligence2 but in that ,divine and universal one1 he comes to understand to such an extent1 that he becomes of necessity included1 absorbed1 united4 ,whence1 from common1 ordinary1 civil1 and popular1 he becomes wild1 like a stag1 an inhabitant of the woods2 he lives god-like under that grandeur of the forest2 he lives in the simple chambers of the cavernous mountains1 whence he beholds the great rivers2 he vegetates intact and pure from ordinary greed1 where the speech of the ,divine converses more freely1 to which so many men have aspired who longed to taste the ,divine life while upon earth1 and who with one voice have said3 ,ecce elongavi fugiens1 et mansi in solitudine4 ,thus the dogs--thoughts of ,divine things--devour ,acton1 making him dead to the vulgar and the crowd1 loosened from the knots of perturbation of the senses1 free from the fleshly prison of matter1 whence they no longer see their ,diana as through a hole or a window1 but having thrown down the walls to the earth1 the eye opens to the view of the whole horizon4,r ,so that he sees all as one2 he sees no more by distinctions and numbers1 which1 according to the different senses1 as through various cracks1 cause to be seen and understood in confusion4 ,r ,for now we see through a glass1 darkly2 but then face to face4--7,st4 ,paul to the ,corinthians47 ,he sees ,amphitrite1 the source of all numbers1 of all species1 of all reasons1 which is the monad1 the real essence of the being of all1 and if he does not see it in its essence1 in absolute light1 he sees it in its seed1 which is like unto it1 which is its image2 for from the monad1 which is the divinity1 proceeds this monad which is nature1 the universe1 the world1 where it is beheld and reflected1 as the sun is in the moon by means of which it is illuminated2,s he finding himself in the hemisphere of intellectual substances4 ,this is that ,diana1 that one who is the same entity1 that entity which is comprehensible nature1 in which burns the sun and the splendour of the higher nature1 according to which1 unity is both the generated and the generating1 the producer and produced4 ,thus you can of yourself determine the mode1 the dignity1 and the success1 which are most worthy of the hunter and the hunted4 ,therefore the enthusiast boasts of being the prey of ,diana1 to whom he rendered himself1 and of whom he considers himself the accepted consort1 and happy as a captive and a subject4 ,why1 he envies no man 7for there is none that can have more7 or any other god that can have that species which is impossible to be obtained by an inferior nature1 and therefore is not worthy to be desired1 nor can one hunger after it4 ,s ,there is no potentiality for creation1 or self-consciousness1 in a pure ,spirit on this our plane1 unless its too homogeneous1 perfect1 because ,divine1 nature is1 so to say1 mixed with1 and strengthened by1 an essence already differentiated4 ,it is only the lower line of the ,triangle--representing the first triad that emanates from the ,universal ,monad--that can furnish this needed consciousness on the plane of differentiated ,nature4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,ces4 ,i have well understood all that you have said1 and you have more than satisfied me4 ,now it is time to return home4 ,,mar4 ,well4 ,third ,dialogue4 ,interlocutors3 ,,liberio4 ,,laodonio4 ,,lib4 ,reclining in the shade of a cypress-tree1 the enthusiast finding his mind free from other thoughts1 it happened that the heart and the eyes spoke together as if they were animals and substances of different intellects and senses1 and they made lament of that which was the beginning of his torment and which consumed his soul4 ,,lao4 ,repeat1 if you can recollect1 the reasons and the words4 ,,lib4 ,the heart began the dialogue1 which1 making itself heard by the breast1 broke into these words3 #ee4 ,first proposition of the heart to the eyes4 ,how1 eyes of mine1 can that so much torment1 ,which as an ardent fire from ye derives1 ,and which this mortal subject so afflicts ,with unrelenting burning never spared8 ,can ocean floods suffice to mitigate ,the ardour of those flames8 or slowest star ,within the frozen circle of the north ,offer umbrageous shade8 ,ye took me captive1 and the self-same hand ,doth hold me and reject me and through you ,i in the body am3 out of it with the sun4 ,i am the source of life1 yet am ,i not alive4 ,i know not what ,i am1 for ,i belong ,unto this soul2 but this soul is not mine4 ,,lao4 ,truly the hearing1 the seeing1 the knowing1 is that which kindles desire1 and therefore it is through the operation of the eyes that the heart becomes inflamed3 and the more worthy the object which is present with them the stronger is the fire1 and the more active are the flames4 ,what then1 must that kind be1 for which the heart burns in such a way that the coldest star in the ,arctic circle cannot cool it1 nor can the whole body of water of the ocean stop its burning6 ,what must be the excellence of that object that has made him an enemy to himself1 a rebel to his own soul and content with such hostility and rebellion1 although he be captive to one who despises and will have none of him6 ,but let me hear whether the eyes made a response1 and what they said4 ,,lib4 ,they1 on the other hand1 complained of the heart as being the origin and cause why they shed so many tears1 and this was the sum of their proposition4 #ef4 ,first proposition of the eyes to the heart4 ,how1 oh my heart1 do waters gush from thee ,like to the springs that bathe the ,nereids' brows ,which daily in the sun are born and die8 ,like to the double fountain of ,amphitrite1 ,which pours so great a flood across the earth1 ,that one might say1 the sum of it exceeds ,that of the stream which ,egypt inundates1 ,running its sevenfold course unto the sea4 ,nature hath given two lights ,to this small earth for governance2 ,but thou1 perverter of eternal law1 ,hast turned them into everlasting streams4 ,but ,heaven is not content to see her law ,decline before unbridled violence4 ,,lao4 ,it is certain that the heart1 grieved and stung1 causes tears to spring to the eyes1 and while these light the flames in this1 that other dims those with moisture4 ,but ,i am surprised at such exaggeration which says that the ,nereids raising their wet faces to the eastern sun1 is less than these waters 7of the eyes74 ,and more than that1 they are equal to the ocean1 not because they do pour1 but because these two springing streams can pour such1 and so much1 that compared with them the ,nile would appear a tiny stream divided into seven streamlets4,t ,t ,is this an allusion to the seven activities or changes which water goes through to produce form2 ,water being the formative power which ,fire1 itself formless and the moving power1 animates8--7,tr47 ,,lib4 ,be not surprised at that exaggeration nor at that potency without action6 ,for you will understand all1 after having heard the conclusion of their argument4 ,now listen how the heart responds to the proposition of the eyes4 ,,lao4 ,i pray you1 let me hear4 ,,lib4 #eg4 ,first response of the heart to the eyes4 ,eyes1 if an immortal flame within me burn1 ,and ,i no other am than burning fire2 ,if to come near me is to feel the blaze1 ,so that the heavens are fervid with my heat2 ,why does my blazing flame consume you not1 ,but only contrary effects you feel8 ,why saturated and not roasted ye1 ,if not of water but of fire ,i be8 ,believe ye1 oh ye blind1 ,that from such ardent burning is derived ,the double passage1 and those living founts ,have had their elements from ,vulcan8 ,as force sometimes acquires a power ,when by its contrary it is opposed4 ,you see that the heart could not persuade itself that from an opposite cause and beginning1 could proceed a force of an opposite effect4 ,so that it will not allow the possibility of it1 except through antiperistasis1 which means the strength which an opposite acquires from that which1 flying from the other1 comes to unite itself1 incorporate itself1 insphere itself1 or concentrate itself towards the individual1 through its own virtue1 which1 the farther it is removed from the dimensions 7dimensioni7 the more efficacious it becomes4 ,,lao4 ,tell me1 how did the eyes respond to the heart8 #eh4 ,first response of the eyes to the heart4 ,thy passion does confuse thee1 on my heart1 ,the path of truth thou hast entirely lost2 ,that which in us is seen--that which is hid-- ,is seed of oceans4 ,neptune1 if by fate ,his kingdom he should lose1 would find it here entire4 ,how does the burning flame from us derive ,who of the sea the double parent are8 ,so senseless thou'rt become6 ,dost thou believe the flame will pass ,and leave the doors all wet behind ,that thou may'st feel the ardour of the same8 ,as splendour through a glass1 dost thou ,believe that it through us will penetrate8 ,now ,i will not begin to philosophize about the identity of opposites which ,i have studied in the book ,de ,principio ed uno1 and ,i will suppose that which is usually received1 that the opposites in the same genus are quite separate 7distantissimi71 so that the meaning of this response is more easily learned where the eyes call themselves the seed or founts in the virtual potentiality of which is the sea2 so that if ,neptune should lose all the waters1 he could recall them into action by their own potentiality1 where they are as in the beginning1 medium and material4 ,but it is not urged as a necessity1 when they say it cannot be1 that the flame passes over to the heart through their room 7stanza e cortile7 and courtyard leaving so many waters behind1 for two reasons4 ,first1 because such an impediment cannot exist in action1 if 7equally87 violent opposition is not put into action2,u second1 because in so far as the waters are actually in the eyes1 they can give passage to the heat as to the light2 for1 experience proves that the luminous ray kindles1 by means of reflection1 any material that becomes opposed to it1 without heating the glass2 and the ray passes through a glass1 crystal or other vase1 full of water1 and heats an object placed under it1 without heating the thick intervening body4 ,as it is also true that it causes dry and dusty impressions in the caves of the deep sea4 ,therefore by analogy1 if not by the same sort of reasons1 we may see how it is possible that1 through the lubricant and dark passage of the eyes1 the affection may be kindled and inflamed by that light1 the which for the same reason cannot be in the middle4,v ,as the light of the sun1 according to other reasoning1 is in the middle air1 or again in the nearer sense1 and again in the common sense1 or again in the intellect1 notwithstanding that from one mode proceeds the other mode of being4 ,u ,prima1 per che tal impedimento in atto non puo essere se non posti in atto tali oltraggiosi ripari4 ,does this mean that the opposites which are called into action must be equal in power8--7,translator47 ,if1 when fire is ascending again to its proper sphere1 it should meet with obstacles1 such as a bit of wood or of straw1 it would resume its former activity1 and consume this obstacle or hindrance2 and the greater the resistance1 the more its activity would be increased4444 ,you will observe that the obstacle which the fire meets with would serve only to increase its velocity1 by giving it a new ardour to overcome all obstacles in joining itself to its centre4--7,spiritual ,torrents1 ,lady ,guion47 ,v ,nel mezzo4 ,,lao4 ,are there any more discourses8 ,,lib4 ,yes2 because both the one and the other are trying to find out in what way it is that it 7the heart7 contains so many flames and those 7the eyes7 so many waters4 ,the heart then makes the next proposition4 #ei4 ,second proposition of the heart to the eyes4 ,if to the foaming sea the rivers run1 ,and pour their streams into the sea's dark gulf1 ,how does the kingdom of the water-gods1 ,fed by the double torrent of these eyes1 ,increase not2 since the earth ,must lose the glorious overflow8 ,how is it that we do not see the day1 ,when from the mount ,deukalion returns8 ,where are the lengthening shores1 ,where is the torrent to put out my flame1 ,or1 failing this1 to give it greater power8 ,does drop of water ever fall to earth ,in such a way as leads me to suppose ,it is not as the senses show it8 ,it asks1 what power is this1 which is not put into action8 ,if the waters are so many1 why does ,neptune not come to tyrannize over the kingdoms of the other elements8 ,where are the inundated banks8 ,where is he who will give coolness to the ardent fire8 ,where is the drop of water by which ,i may affirm through the eyes that which the senses deny8 ,but the eyes in the same way ask another question4 #fj4 ,second proposition of the eyes to the heart4 ,if matter changed and turned to fire acquires ,the movement of a lighter element1 ,rising aloft unto the highest heaven2 ,wherefore1 ignited by the fire of love1 ,swifter than wind1 dost thou not rise and flash4 ,into the sun and be incorporate there8 ,why rather stay a pilgrim here below ,than open through the air and us a way8 ,no spark of fire from that heart ,goes out through the wide atmosphere4 ,body of dust and ashes is not seen1 ,nor water-laden smoke ascends on high4 ,all is contained entire within itself1 ,and not of flame1 is reason1 sense1 or thought4 ,,lao4 ,this proposition is neither more nor less conclusive than the other4 ,but let us come at once to the answers if there be any4 ,,lic4 ,there are some certainly and full of sap4 ,listen4 #fa4 ,second response of the heart to the eyes4 ,he is a fool1 who that alone believes1 ,which to the sense appears1 who reason scorns4 ,my flame could never wing its way above4 ,the conflagration infinite remains unseen4 ,between the eyes their waters are contained1 ,one infinite encroaches not upon another4 ,nature wills not that all should perish4 ,if so much fire's enough for so much sphere1 ,say1 say1 oh eyes1 ,what shall we do8 how act ,in order to make known1 or ,i1 or you1 ,for its deliverance1 the sad plight of the soul8 ,if one and other of us both be hid1 ,how can we move the beauteous god to pity8 ,,las4 ,if it is not true it is very well imagined3 if it is not so1 it is yet a very good excuse the one for the other2 because where there are two forces1 of the which one is not greater than the other1 the operation of both must cease1 for one resists as much as the other insists1 and one assails while the other defends4 ,if therefore the sea is infinite and the force of tears in the eyes is immense1 it never can be made apparent by speech1 nor the impetus of the fire concealed in the heart break forth1 nor can they 7the eyes7 send forth the twin torrent to the sea if the heart shelters them with equal tenacity4 ,therefore the beautiful deity cannot be expected to be pitiful towards the afflicted soul because of the exhibition of tears which distil from the eyes1 or speech which breaks forth from the breast4 ,,lib4 ,now note the answer of the eyes to this proposition3-- #fb4 ,second response of the eyes to the heart4 ,alas6 we poured into the wavy sea1 ,the strength of our two founts in vain1 ,for two opposing powers hold it concealed1 ,lest it go rolling aimlessly adown4 ,the strength unmeasured of the burning heart1 ,withholds a passage to the lofty streams2 ,barring their twofold course unto the sea1 ,nature abhors the covered ground4,w ,now say1 afflicted heart1 what canst thou bring ,to oppose against us with an equal force8 ,oh1 where is he1 will boast himself to be ,exalted by this most unhappy love1 ,if of thy pain and mine it can be said1 ,the greater they1 the less it may be seen4 ,w ,ch'il coperto terren natura aborre4 ,both these evils being infinite1 like two equally vigorous opposites they curb and suppress each other3 it could not be so if they were both finite1 seeing that a precise equality does not belong to natural things1 nor would it be so if the one were finite1 the other infinite2 for of a certainty the one would absorb the other1 and they would both be seen1 or1 at least one1 through the other4 ,beneath these sentences1 there lies hidden1 ethical and natural philosophy1 and ,i leave it to be searched for1 meditated upon and understood1 by whosoever will and can4 ,this alone ,i will not leave 7unsaid7 that it is not without reason that the affection of the heart is said to be the infinite sea by the apprehension of the eyes4,x ,for the object of the mind being infinite1 and no definite object being proposed to the intellect1 the will cannot be satisfied by a finite good1 but if besides that1 something else is found1 it is desired and sought for2 for1 as is commonly said1 the apex of the inferior species is the beginning of the superior species1 whether the degrees are taken according to the forms1 the which we cannot consider as being infinite1 or according to the modes and reasons of those1 in which way1 the highest good being infinite1 it would be supposed to be infinitely communicated1 according to the condition of the things1 over which it is diffused4 ,however1 there is no definite species of the universe4 ,i speak according to the figure and mass2 there is no definite species of the intellect2 the affections are not a definite species4 ,x ,fire1 ,flame1 ,day1 ,smoke1 ,night1 and so on 444 ,these are all names of various deities which preside over the ,cosmo-psychic ,powers4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,lao4 ,these two powers of the soul1 then1 never are nor can be perfect for the object1 if they refer to it infinitely8 ,,lib4 ,so it would be if this infinite were by negative privation or privative negation of the end1 as it is for a more positive affirmation of the end1 infinite and endless4,y ,y ,the deity is one1 because it is infinite4 ,it is triple1 because it is ever manifesting4 ,this manifestation is triple in its aspects1 for it requires1 as ,aristotle has it1 three principles for every natural body to become objective3 privation1 form and matter4 ,privation meant in the mind of the great philosopher 444 the lowest plane and world of the ,anima ,mundi4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,lao4 ,you mean1 then1 two kinds of affinity2 the one privative1 the which may be towards something which is power1 as1 infinite is darkness1 the end of which is the position of light2 the other perfecting1 which tends to the act and perfection1 as infinite is the light1 the end of which would be privation and darkness4,z ,in this1 then1 the intellect conceives the light1 the good1 the beautiful1 in so far as the horizon of its capacity extends1 and the soul1 which drinks of ,divine nectar and the fountain of eternal life in so far as its own vessel allows1 and one sees that the light is beyond the circumference of his horizon1 where it can go and penetrate more and more1 and the nectar and fount of living water is infinitely fruitful1 so that it can become ever more and more intoxicated4 ,z ,darkness adopted illumination in order to make itself visible4 ,darkness in its radical1 metaphysical basis1 is subjective and absolute light2 while the latter1 in all its seeming effulgence and glory1 is merely a mass of shadows1 as it can never be eternal1 and is simply an illusion1 or ,maya4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,lib4 ,from this it does not follow that there is imperfection in the object1 nor that there is little satisfaction in the potency1 but that the power is included in the object and beatifically absorbed by it4 ,here the eyes imprint upon the heart1 that is upon the intelligence1 and rouse in the will an infinite torment of love1 where there is no pain because nothing is sought which is not obtained2 but it is happiness1 because that which is there sought is always found1 and there is no satiety1 inasmuch as there is always appetite1 and therefore enjoyment2 in this it is not like the food of the body1 the which with satiety loses enjoyment1 has no pleasure before the enjoyment1 nor after enjoyment1 but only in the enjoyment itself1 and where it passes certain limits it comes to feel annoyance and disgust4 ,behold1 then1 in a certain analogy1 how the highest good ought to be also infinite1 in order that it should not some time turn to evil2 as food1 which is good for the body1 if it is not limited1 may come to be poison4 ,thus it is that the water of the ocean does not extinguish that flame1 and the rigour of the ,arctic circle does not mitigate that ardour4 ,therefore it is bad through 7the7 one hand1 which holds him and rejects him2 it holds him1 because it has him for its own2 it rejects him because1 flying from him1 the higher it makes itself the more he ascends upwards to it2 the more he follows it1 the further off it appears1 by reason of its high excellence1 according as it is said3 ,accedit homo ad cor altum1 et exaltabitur ,deus4 ,such blessedness of affection begins in this life1 and in this state it has its mode of being4 ,hence the heart can say that it is within with the body1 and without with the sun1 in so far as the soul with its twin faculty1 puts into operation two functions3 the one to vivify and realize the animal body1 the other to contemplate superior things2 so that it is in receptive potentiality from above1 as it is in re-active potentiality below1 towards the body4 ,the body is1 as it were1 dead1 and as it were apart from the soul1 the which is its life and its perfection2 and the soul is as it were dead1 and a thing apart from the superior illuminating intelligence1 from which the intellect is derived as to its nature and acts4 ,therefore1 the heart is said to be the beginning of life1 and not to be alive1 it is said to belong to the animating soul1 and that this does not belong to it2 because it is inflamed by ,divine love1 and finally converted into fire1 which can set on fire that which comes near it1 seeing that it has contracted into itself the divinity2 it is made god1 and consequently in its kind it can inspire others with love2 as the splendour of the sun may be seen and admired in the moon4 ,and as for that which belongs to the consideration of the eyes1 know1 that in the present discourse they have two functions2 one to impress the heart1 the other to receive the impression of the heart2 as this also has two functions1 one to receive the impressions from the eyes1 the other to impress them4 ,the eyes study the species and propose them to the heart2 the heart desires them1 and presents his desire to the eyes2 these conceive the light1 diffuse it1 and kindle the fire in the heart1 which heated and kindled1 sends its waters 7umore7 to them1 so that they may dispose of them,,aa 7digeriscano74 ,thus1 firstly1 cognition moves the affection1 and soon the affection moves the cognition4 ,the eyes1 when they move 7the heart71 are dry1 because they perform the office of a looking-glass1 and of a representer2 when they are moved1 however1 they become troubled and perturbed1 because they perform the office of a diligent executer1 seeing that with the speculating intellect1 the beautiful and the good is first seen1 then the will desires it2 and later the industrious intellect procures it1 follows it1 and seeks it4 ,tearful eyes signify the difficulty of separating the thing wished for from1 the wisher1 the which in order that it should not pall1 nor disgust1 presents itself as an infinite longing 7studio7 which ever has1 and ever seeks2 seeing that the delight of the gods is ascribed to drinking1 not to having tasted ambrosia1 and to the continual enjoyment of food and drink1 and not in being satiated and without desire for them4 ,hence they have satiety as it were in movement and apprehension1 not in quiet and comprehension2 they are not satiated without appetite1 nor are they in a state of desire1 without being in a certain way satiated4 ,,aa ,deity is an arcane1 living 7or moving7 ,,fire1 and the eternal witnesses to this unseen ,presence are ,light1 ,heat1 ,moisture1 this trinity including1 and being the cause of every phenomenon in ,nature4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,lao4 ,esuries satiata1 satietas esuriens4 ,,lib4 ,precisely so4 ,,lao3 ,from this ,i can comprehend how1 without blame1 but with great truth and understanding1 it has been said that ,divine love weeps with indescribable groans1 because having all it loves all1 and loving all has all4 ,,lib4 ,but many comments would be necessary if we would understand that ,divine love which is deity itself2 and one easily understands ,divine love1 so far as it is to be found in its effects and in the inferior nature4 ,i do not say that which from the divinity is diffused into things1 but that of things which aspires to the divinity4 ,,lao4 ,now of this and of other matters we will discourse more at our ease presently4 ,let us go4 ,fourth ,dialogue4 ,interlocutors3 ,,severino4 ,,minutolo4 ,,sev4 ,you will see the origin of the nine blind men1 who state nine reasons and special causes of their blindness1 and yet they all agree in one general reason and one common enthusiasm4,,ab ,,ab ,may one suggest an analogy between the nine months of gestation1 during which time the foetus goes through various stages and conditions to complete the individual cycle of evolution1 and the nine blind men who1 at the end of their probation1 are brought to see the light--to be born--illuminated8--7,translator47 ,,min4 ,begin with the first6 ,,sev4 ,the first of these1 notwithstanding that he is blind by nature1 yet he laments1 saying to the others that he cannot persuade himself that nature has been less courteous to them than to him2 seeing that although they do not 7now7 see1 yet they have enjoyed sight1 and have had experience of that sense1 and of the value of that faculty1 of which they have been deprived1 while he came into the world as a mole1 to be seen and not to see1 to long for the sight of that which he never had seen4 ,,min4 ,many have fallen in love through report alone4 ,,sev4 ,they have1 says he1 the happiness of retaining that ,divine image present in the mind1 so that1 although blind1 they have in imagination that which he cannot have4 ,then in the sistine he turns to his guide and begs him to lead him to some precipice1 so that he may no longer endure this contempt and persecution of nature4 ,he says then3 #fc4 ,the first blind man4 ,ye now afflicted are1 who erst were glad1 ,for ye have lost the light that once was yours1 ,yet happy1 for ye have the twin lights known4 ,these eyes ne'er lighted were1 and ne'er were quenched2 ,but a more grievous destiny is mine ,which calls for heavier lamentation4 ,who will deny that nature upon me ,has frowned more harshly than on you8 ,conduct me to the precipice1 my guide1 ,and give me peace1 for there will ,i a cure ,for this my dolour and affliction find2 ,for to be seen1 yet not to see the light1 ,like an incapable and sightless mole1 ,is to be useless and a burden on the earth4 ,now follows the other1 who1 bitten by the serpent of jealousy1 became affected in the organ of sight4 ,he wanders without any guide1 unless he has jealousy for his escort4 ,he begs some of the bystanders1 that seeing there is no remedy for his misfortune1 they should have pity upon him1 so that he should no longer feel it2 that he might become as unmanifest to himself as he is to the light1 and that they bury him together with his own misfortune4 ,he says then3 #fd4 ,the second blind man4 ,alecta has torn from out her dreadful hair1 ,the infernal worm that with a cruel bite1 ,has fiercely fastened on my soul1 ,and of my senses1 torn the chief away1 ,leaving the intellect without its guide4 ,in vain the soul some consolation seeks4 ,that spiteful1 rabid1 rancorous jealousy ,makes me go stumbling along the way4 ,if neither magic spell nor sacred plant1 ,nor virtue hid in the enchanter's stone1 ,will yield me the deliverance that ,i ask3 ,let one of you1 my friends1 be pitiful1 ,and put me out1 as are put out my eyes1 ,that they and ,i together be entombed4 ,the other follows1 who says that he became blind through having been suddenly brought out of the darkness into a great light3 accustomed to behold ordinary beauties1 a celestial beauty was suddenly presented before his eyes--a sun-god--in this manner his sight became dull and the twin lights which shine at the prow of the soul were put out3 for the eyes are like two beacons1 which guide the ship1 and this would happen to one brought up in ,cimmerian obscurity if he fixed his eyes suddenly upon the sun4 ,in the sistine he begs for free passage to ,hades1 because darkness alone is suitable to a dark condition4 ,he says3 #fe4 ,the third blind man4 ,if sudden on the sight1 the star of day ,should shed his beams on one in darkness reared1 ,nurtured beneath the black ,cimmerian sky1 ,far from the radiance of the glorious sun1 ,the double light1 the beacon of the soul ,he quenches3 then as a foe he hides4 ,thus were my eyes made dull1 inept1 ,used only1 wonted beauties to behold4 ,conduct me to the land where darkness reigns6 ,wherefore being dead1 speak ,i amidst the folk8 ,a chip of ,hell1 why do ,i mix and move ,amongst the living1 wherefore do ,i drink ,the hated air1 since all my pain ,is due to having seen the highest good8 ,the fourth blind man comes forward1 not blind for the same reason as the former one4 ,for as that one was blinded through the sudden aspect of the light1 this one is so1 from having too frequently beheld it1 or through having fixed his eyes too much upon it1 so that he has lost the sense of all other light1 but he does not consider himself to be blind through looking at that one which has blinded him3 and the same may be said of the sense of sight as of the sense of hearing1 that those whose ears are accustomed to great noises1 do not hear the lesser1 as is well known of those who live near the cataracts of the great river ,nile which fall precipitously down to the plain4 ,,min4 ,thus1 all those who have accustomed the body and the soul to things more difficult and great1 are not apt to feel annoyed by smaller difficulties4 ,so that fellow ought not to be discontented about his blindness4 ,,sev4 ,certainly not4 ,but one says1 voluntarily blind1 of one who desires that every other thing be hidden because it annoys him to be diverted from looking at that which alone he wishes to behold4 ,meanwhile he prays the passers-by to prevent his coming to mischief in any encounter1 while he goes so absorbed and captivated by one principal object4 ,,min4 ,repeat his words6 ,,sev4 ,he says3 #ff ,the fourth blind man4 ,headlong from on high1 to the abyss1 ,the cataract of the ,nile falls down and dulls the senses ,of the joyless folk to every other sound1 ,so stood ,i too1 with spirit all intent ,upon the living light1 that lights the world2 ,dead henceforth to all the lesser splendours1 ,while that light shines1 let every other thing ,be to the voluntary blind concealed4 ,i pray you save me stumbling 'mongst the stones1 ,make me aware of the wild beast1 ,show me whether up or down ,i go2 ,so that the miserable bones fall not1 ,into a low and cavernous place1 ,while ,i1 without a guide1 am stepping on4 ,to the blind man that follows1 it happens that having wept so much1 his eyes are become dim1 so that he is not able to extend the visual ray1 so as to distinguish visible objects1 nor can he see the light1 which in spite of himself1 through so many sorrows1 he at one time was able to see4 ,besides which he considers that his blindness is not from constitution1 but from habit1 and is peculiar to himself1 because the luminous fire which kindles the soul in the pupil1 was for too long a time and with too much force1 repressed and restrained by a contrary humour1 so that although he might cease from weeping1 he cannot be persuaded that this would result in the longed-for vision4 ,you will hear what he says to the throng in order that they should enable him to proceed on his way3 #fg4 ,the fifth blind man4 ,eyes of mine1 with waters ever full1 ,when will the bright spark of the visual ray1 ,darting1 spring through each veiling obstacle1 ,that ,i may see again those holy lights ,that were the alpha of my darling pain8 ,ah1 woe6 ,i fear me it is quite extinct1 ,so long oppressed and conquered by its opposite4 ,let the blind man pass on6 ,and turn your eyes upon these founts ,which overcome the others one and all4 ,should any dare dispute it with me1 ,there's one would surely answer him again2 ,that in one eye of mine an ocean is contained4 ,the sixth blind man is sightless because1 through so much weeping1 there remains no more moisture1 not even the crystalline and moisture through which1 as a diaphanous medium1 the visual ray was transmitted1 and the external light and visible species were introduced1 so that the heart became compressed because all the moist substance1 whose office it is to keep united the various parts and opposites1 was absorbed1 and the amorous affection remains without the effect of tears4 ,therefore the organ is destroyed through the victory of the other elements1 and it is consequently left without sight and without consistency of the parts of the body altogether4,,ac ,he then proposes to the bystanders that which you shall hear3 #fh4 ,the sixth blind man4 ,eyes1 no longer eyes1 fountains no longer founts1 ,ye have wept out the waters that did keep ,the body1 soul1 and spirit joined in one1 ,and thou1 reflecting crystal1 which from without ,so much unto the soul made manifest1 ,thou art consumed by the wounded heart4 ,so towards the dark and cavernous abyss1 ,i1 a blind arid man1 direct my steps4 ,ah1 pity me1 and do not hesitate ,to help my speedy going4 ,i who ,so many rivers in the dark days spread out1 ,finding my only comfort in my tears1 ,now that my streams and fountains all are dry1 ,towards profound oblivion lead the way4 ,,ac ,water is the first principle of all things2 this was the central doctrine of his system 7,thales74 ,now1 if we may believe ,aristotle1 this thought was suggested to him not so much by contemplating the illimitable ocean1 out of which1 as old cosmogonists taught1 all things had at first proceeded1 as by noticing the obvious fact1 that moisture is found in all living things1 and that if it were absent they would cease to be4 ,thales1 no doubt1 believed this humour or moisture to be1 as he said1 the essence and principle of all things4--7,encyclopdia ,metropolitana47 ,the next one avers that he has lost his sight through the intensity of the flame1 which1 proceeding from the heart1 first destroyed the eyes1 and then dried up all the remaining moisture of the substance of the lover1 so that being all melted and turned to flame1 he is no longer himself1 because the fire whose property it is to resolve all bodies into their atoms1 has converted him into impalpable dust1 whereas by virtue of water alone1 the atoms of other bodies thicken1 and are welded together to make a substantial composition4 ,yet he is not deprived of the sense of the most intense flame4 ,therefore1 in the sistine he would have space made for him to pass2 for if anybody should be touched by his fires he would become such that he would have no more feeling of the flames of hell1 for their heat would be to him as cold snow4 #fi4 ,the seventh blind man4 ,beauty1 which through the eyes rushed to the heart1 ,and formed the mighty furnace in my breast1 ,absorbing first the visual moisture2 then1 ,spouting aloft its grasping flashing flame1 ,devouring every other fluid1 ,to set the dryer element at rest1 ,has thus reduced me to a boneless dust1 ,which now to its own atoms is resolved1 ,if anguish infinite your fears should rouse ,make space1 give way1 oh peoples6 ,beware of my fierce penetrating fire1 ,for if it should invade and touch you1 ye ,would feel and know the fires of hell ,to be like winter's cold4 ,the eighth follows1 whose blindness is caused by the dart which love has caused to penetrate from the eyes to the heart4 ,hence1 he laments not only as being blind1 but furthermore because he is wounded and burnt so fiercely1 that he believes no other can be equally so4 ,the sense of it is easily expressed in this sonnet3-- #gj4 ,the eighth blind man4 ,vile onslaught1 evil struggle1 unrighteous palm1 ,fine point1 devouring fire1 strong nerve1 ,sharp wound1 impious ardour1 cruel body1 ,dart1 fire and tangle of that wayward god ,who pierced the eyes1 inflamed the heart1 bound the soul1 ,made me at once sightless1 a lover1 and a slave1 ,so that1 blind ,i have at all times1 in all ways and places1 ,the feeling of my wound1 my fire1 my noose4 ,men1 heroes1 and gods6 ,who be on earth1 or near to ,ditis or to ,jove1 ,i pray ye say1 when1 how1 and where did ye ,feel ever1 hear1 or see in any place ,woes like to these1 amongst the oppressed ,amongst the damned1 'mongst lovers8 ,finally comes the last one1 who is also mute through not having been able1 or having dared1 to say that which he most desired to say1 for fear of offending or exciting contempt1 and he is deprived of speaking of every other thing3 therefore1 it is not he who speaks1 but his guide who relates the affair1 about which ,i do not speak1 but only bring you the sense thereof3 #ga4 ,the guide of the ninth blind man4 ,happy are ye1 oh all ye sightless lovers1 ,that ye the reason of your pains can tell1 ,by virtue of your tears you can be sure ,of pure and favourable receptions4 ,amongst you all1 the latent fire of him ,whose guide ,i am1 rages most fiercely1 ,though he is mute for want of boldness ,to make known his sorrows to his deity4 ,make way6 open ye wide the way1 ,be ye benign unto this vacant face1 ,oh people full of grievous hindrances1 ,the while this harassed weary trunk ,goes knocking at the doors ,to meet a death less painful1 more profound4 ,here are mentioned nine reasons1 which are the cause that the human mind is blind as regards the ,divine object and cannot fix its eyes upon it4 ,and of these1 the first1 allegorized through the first blind man1 is the quality of its own species1 which in so far as the degree in which he finds himself admits1 he aspires certainly higher1 than he is able to comprehend4 ,,min4 ,because no natural desire is vain1 we are able to assure ourselves of a more excellent state which is suitable to the soul outside of this body1 in the which it may be possible to unite itself1 or to approach more nearly1 to its object4 ,,sev4 ,thou sayest well that no natural impulse or power is without strong reason2 it is in fact the same rule of nature which orders things4 ,so far1 it is a thing most true and most certain to well-disposed intellects1 that the human soul1 whatever it may show itself while it is in the body1 that same1 which it makes manifest in this state1 is the expression of its pilgrim existence in this region2 because it aspires to the truth and to universal good1 and is not satisfied with that which comes on account of and to the profit of its species4 ,the second1 represented by the second blind man1 proceeds from some troubled affection1 as in the question of ,love and ,jealousy1 the which is like a moth1 which has the same subject1 enemy and father1 that is1 it consumes the cloth or wood from which1 it is generated4 ,,min4 ,this does not seem to me to take place with heroic love4 ,,sev4 ,true1 according to the same reason which is seen in the lower kind of love2 but ,i mean according to another reason similar to that which happens to those who love truth and goodness1 which shows itself when they are angry against those who adulterate it1 spoil it1 or corrupt it1 or who in other ways would treat it with indignity1 as has been the case with those who have brought themselves to suffer death and pains1 and to being ignominiously treated by ignorant peoples and vulgar sects4 ,,min4 ,certainly no one truly loves the truth and the good who is not angry against the multitude2 as no one loves in the ordinary way who is not jealous and fearful about the thing loved4 ,,sev4 ,and so he comes to be really blind in many things1 and according to the common opinion he is quite infatuated and mad4 ,,min4 ,i have noted a place which says that all those are infatuated and mad1 who have sense beyond and outside of the general sense of other men4 ,but such extravagance is of two kinds1 according as one goes beyond and ascends up higher than the greater number rise or can rise1 and these are they who are inspired with ,divine enthusiasm2 or by going down lower where those are found who have greater defect of sense and of reason than the many1 and the ordinary2 but in that kind of madness1 insensibility and blindness1 will not be found the jealous hero4 ,,sev4 ,although he is told that much learning makes him mad1 yet no one can really abuse him4 ,the third1 represented by the third blind man1 proceeds from this3 that ,divine ,truth according to supernatural reasoning1 called metaphysics1 manifests itself to those few to whom it shows itself1 and does not proceed with measure of movement and time as occurs in the physical sciences1 that is1 those which are acquired by natural light1 the which1 in discoursing of a thing known to reason by means of the senses1 proceed to the knowledge of another thing1 unknown1 the which discourse is called argument2 but immediately and suddenly1 according to the method which belongs to such efficiency4,,ad ,whence a divine has said3 ,attenuati sunt oculi mei suspicientes in excelsum4 ,so that it does not require a useless lapse of time1 fatigue1 and study1 and inquisitorial act to have it1 but it is taken in quickly1 as the solar light1 without hesitation1 and makes itself present to whoever turns himself to it and opens himself to it4 ,,ad ,when somewhat of this ,perfect ,good is discovered and revealed within the soul of man1 as it were in a glance or flash1 the soul conceiveth a longing to approach unto the ,perfect ,goodness4--7,theologia ,germanica47 ,,min4 ,do you mean then1 that the student and the philosopher are not more apt to receive this light than the ignorant8 ,,sev4 ,in a certain way no1 and in a certain way yes4 ,there is no difference1 when the ,divine mind through its providence comes to communicate itself without disposition of the subject2 ,i mean to say when it communicates itself because it seeks and elects its subject2 but there is a great difference1 when it waits and would be sought1 and then according to its own good will and pleasure it makes itself to be found4 ,in this way it does not appear to all1 nor can it appear to others1 than to those who seek it4 ,hence it is said1 ,qui qurunt me1 invenient me2 and again3 ,qui sitit1 veniat et bibat6 ,,min4 ,it is not to be denied1 that the apprehension of the second manner is made in ,time4 7,comes with time87 ,,sev4 ,you do not distinguish between the disposition towards the ,divine light and the apprehension of the same4 ,certainly ,i do not deny that it requires time to dispose oneself1 discourse1 study and fatigue2 but as we say that change takes place in time1 and generation in an instant1 and as we see that with time1 the windows are opened1 but the sun enters in a moment1 so does it happen similarly in this case4 ,the fourth1 represented in the following1 is not really unworthy1 like that which results from the habit of believing in the false opinions of the vulgar1 which are very far removed from the opinions of philosophers1 and are derived from the study of vulgar philosophies1 which are by the multitude considered the more true1 the more they appeal to common sense4 ,and this habit is one of the greatest and strongest disadvantages1 because as ,alcazele and ,averroes showed1 it is like that which happens to those persons who from childhood and youth are in the habit of eating poison1 and have become such1 that it is converted into sweet and proper nutriment1 and on the other hand1 they abominate those things which are really good and sweet according to common nature2 but it is most worthy1 because it is founded upon the habit of looking at the true light2 the which habit cannot come into use for the multitude1 as we have said4 ,this blindness is heroic1 and is of such a kind that it can worthily satisfy the present heroic blind man1 who is so far from troubling himself about it that he is able to explain every other sight1 and he would crave nothing else from the community save a free passage and progress in contemplation1 for he finds himself usually hampered and blocked by obstacles and opposition4 ,the fifth results from the disproportion of the means of our cognition to the knowable2 seeing that in order to contemplate ,divine things1 the eyes must be opened by means of images1 analogies and other reasonings which by the ,peripatetics are comprehended under the name of fancies 7fantasmi72 or1 by means of ,being1 to proceed to speculate about ,essence1 by means of its effects and the knowledge of the cause2 the which means1 are so far from ensuring the attainment of such an end1 that it is easier to believe that the highest and most profound cognition of ,divine things1 is through negation and not through affirmation1 knowing that the ,divine beauty and goodness is not that which can or does fall within our conception1 but that which is above and beyond1 incomprehensible2 chiefly in that condition called by the philosopher speculation of phantoms1 and by the theologian1 vision through analogies1 reflections and enigmas1 because we see1 not the true effects and the true species of things1 or the substance of ideas1 but the shadows1 vestiges and simulacra of them1 like those who are inside the cave and have from their birth their shoulders turned away from the entrance of the light1 and their faces towards the end1 where they do not see that which is in reality1 but the shadows of that which is found substantially outside the cave4 ,therefore by the open vision which it has lost1 and knows it has lost1 a spirit similar to or better than that of ,plato weeps1 desiring exit from the cave1 whence1 not through reflexion1 but through immediate conversion he may see the light again4 ,,min4 ,it appears to me that this blind man does not refer to the difficulty which proceeds from reflective vision1 but to that which is caused through the medium between the visual power and the object4 ,,sev4 ,these two modes1 although they are distinct in the sensitive cognition1 or ocular vision1 at the same time are united together in the rational or intellectual cognition4 ,,min4 ,it seems to me that ,i have heard and read that in every vision1 the means1 or the intermediary is required between the power and the object4 ,because as by means of the light diffused in the air and the figure of the thing1 which in a certain way proceeds from that which is seen1 to that which sees1 the act of seeing is put into effect1 so in the intellectual region1 where shines the sun of the intellect1 acting between the intelligible species formed as proceeding from the object1 our intellect comes to comprehend something of the divinity1 or something inferior to it4 ,because1 as our eye1 when we see1 does not receive the light of the fire and of gold1 in substance1 but in similitude2 so the intellect1 in whatever state it is found1 does not receive the divinity substantially1 so that there should be substantially as many gods as there are intelligences1 but in similitude2 therefore they are not formally gods1 but denominatively divine1 the divinity and ,divine beauty being one1 exalted above all things4 ,,sev4 ,you say well2 but for all your well saying1 there is no need for me to retract1 because ,i have never said the contrary4 ,but ,i must declare and explain4 ,therefore1 first ,i maintain that the immediate vision1 so called and understood by us1 does not do away with that sort of medium which is the intelligible species1 nor that which is the light2 but that which is equal to the thickness and density of the crystalline or opaque intermediate body2 as happens to him who sees by means of the waters more or less turbid1 or air foggy and cloudy1 who would believe he was looking as without a medium when it was conceded to him to look through the pure air1 light and clear4 ,all which you have explained where it says3 ,when will the bright spark of the visual ray ,darting1 spring through each veiling obstacle4 ,but let us return4 ,the sixth1 represented in the following1 is caused only by the imbecility and unreality of the body1 which is in continual motion1 mutation1 and change1 the operations of which must follow the condition of its faculty1 the which is a result of the condition of its nature and being4 ,how can immobility1 reality1 entity1 truth be contained in that which is ever different1 and always makes and is made1 other and otherwise8 ,what truth1 what picture can be painted and impressed1 where the pupils of the eyes are dispersed in water1 the water into steam1 the steam into flame1 the flame into air1 and this in other and other without end3 the subject of sense and cognition turns for ever upon the wheel of mutation8 ,,min4 ,movement is change1 and that which is changeable works and operates ever differently1 because the conception and affection follow the reason and condition of the subject2 and he who sees other and other different and differently must necessarily be blind as regards that beauty which is one and alone and is the same unity and entity4 ,,sev4 ,so it is4 ,the seventh1 contained allegorically in the sentiment of the seventh blind man1 is the result of the fire of the affections1 whence some become impotent and incapable of comprehending the truth1 by making the affection precede the intellect4 ,there are those who love before they understand3 whence it happens that all things appear to them according to the colour of their affections1 whereas he who would understand the truth by means of contemplation1 ought to be perfectly pure in thought4 ,,min4 ,in truth1 one sees how much diversity there is in meditators and inquirers1 because some1 according to their habits and early fundamental discipline1 proceed by means of numbers1,,ae others by means of images1 others by means of order and disorder1 others through composition and division1 others by separation and congregation1 others by inquiry and doubt1 others by discussions and definitions1 others by interpretations and decypherings of voices1 words1 and dialects1 so that some are mathematical philosophers1 some metaphysicians1 others logicians1 others grammarians2 so there are divers contemplators1 who with different affections set themselves to study and apply the meaning of written sentences2 whence we find that the same light of truth1 expressed in the selfsame book1 serves with the same words the proposition of so numerous1 diverse1 and contrary sects4,,af ,,ae ,number is1 as the great writer 7,balzac7 thought1 an ,entity1 and1 at the same time1 a ,breath emanating from what he termed ,god1 and what we call the ,,all2 the breath which alone could organize the physical kosmos4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,,af ,as the ,bible serves as the basis for all the different ,protestant sects4 ,,sev4 ,that is to say1 that the affections are very powerful in hindering the comprehension of the ,truth1 notwithstanding that the person may not himself perceive it2 just as it happens to a stupid invalid who does not say that his mouth is bittered but that the food is bitter4 ,now that kind of blindness is expressed by him whose eyes are changed and deprived of their natural powers1 by that which the heart has given and imprinted upon it1 powerful not only to change the sense1 but besides that1 all the faculties of the soul as the present image shows4 ,according to the meaning of the eighth1 the high intelligible object has blinded the intellect1 as the high superposed sensible has corrupted the senses4 ,thus it would happen to him who should see ,jove in his majesty1 he would lose his life and in consequence his senses4 ,as he who looks aloft sometimes is overcome by the majesty4,,ag ,besides1 when he comes to penetrate the ,divine species1 he passes it like a ray4 ,whence say the theologians that the ,divine word is more penetrating than sharp point of sword or knife4 ,hence is derived the form and impression of ,his own footstep1 upon which nothing else can be imprinted and sealed4 ,therefore1 that form being there confirmed and the new strange one not being able to take its place unless the other yields1 consequently he can say1 that he has no power of taking any other1 if there is one who replaces it or scatters it through the necessary want of proportion4 ,the ninth reason is exemplified1 by the ninth who is blind through want of confidence1 through dejection of spirit1 the which is caused and brought about also by a great love which ,he fears to offend by ,his temerity4 ,whence says the ,psalm3 ,averte oculos tuos a me1 quia ipsi me avolare fecere4 ,and so he suppresses his eyes so as not to see that which most of all he desires1 as he keeps his tongue from talking with whom he most wishes to speak1 from fear that a defective look or word should humiliate him or bring him in some way into misfortune4 ,and this generally proceeds from the apprehension of the excellence of the object above its potential faculty3 whence the most profound and divine theologians say1 that ,god is more honoured and loved by silence than by words2 as one sees more by shutting the eyes to the species represented1 than by opening them1 therefore the negative theology of ,pythagoras and ,dionysius is more celebrated than the demonstrative theology of ,aristotle and the scholastic doctors4 ,,ag 444 ,gaze1 as thy lips have said1 ,on ,god ,eternal1 ,very ,god6 ,see me1 see what thou prayest6 99 99 99 99 99 ,o ,eyes of ,god6 ,o ,head6 ,my strength of soul is fled4 ,gone is heart's force1 rebuked is mind's desire6 ,when ,i behold ,thee so1 ,with awful brows a-glow1 ,with burning glance1 and lips lighted by fire1 ,fierce as those flames which shall ,consume1 at close of all1 ,earth1 ,heaven6 99 99 99 99 99 ,god is it ,i did see1 ,this unknown marvel of ,thy ,form6 but fear ,mingles with joy6 ,retake1 ,dear ,lord6 for pity's sake1 ,thine earthly shape1 which earthly eyes may bear6 --7,the ,song ,celestial47 7,sir ,edwin ,arnold's translation47 ,,min4 ,let us go2 and we will reason by the way4 ,,sev4 ,as you please4 ,fifth ,dialogue4 ,interlocutors3 ,,laodomia4 ,,giulia4 ,,lao4 ,some other time1 oh my sister1 thou wilt hear what happened to those nine blind men1 who were at first nine most beautiful and amorous youths1 who being so inspired by the loveliness of your face1 and having no hope of receiving the reward of their love1 and fearing that such despair would reduce them to final ruin1 went away from the happy ,campanian country1 and of one accord1 those who at first were rivals for your beauty1 swore not to separate until they had tried in all possible ways to find something more beautiful than you or at least equal to you2 besides which1 that they might discover that mercy and pity which they could not find in your breast armed with pride2 for they believed this was the only remedy which could bring them out of that cruel captivity4 ,the third day after their solemn departure1 as they were passing by the ,circean mount1 it pleased them to go and see those antiquities1 the cave and fane of that goddess4 ,when they were come there1 the majesty of the solitary place1 the high1 storm-beaten rocks1 the murmur of the sea waves which break amongst those caves1 and many other circumstances of the locality and the season combined1 made them feel inspired2 and one of them ,i will tell thee1 more bold than the others1 spoke these words3 ,oh might it please heaven that in these days1 as in the past more happy ages1 some wise ,circe might make herself present who1 with plants and minerals working her incantations1 would be able to curb nature4 ,i should believe that she1 however proud1 would surely be pitiful unto our woes4 ,she1 solicited by our supplications and laments1 would condescend either to give a remedy or to concede a grateful vengeance for the cruelty of our enemy4 ,hardly had he finished uttering these words than there became visible to them a palace1 which1 whoever had knowledge of human things1 could easily comprehend that it was not the work of man1 nor of nature2 the form and manner of it ,i will explain to thee another time4 ,whence1 filled with great wonder and touched by hope that some propitious deity1 who must have placed this before them1 would explain their condition and fortunes1 they said with one accord they could meet with nothing worse than death1 which they considered a less evil than to live in so much anguish4 ,therefore they entered1 not finding any door that was shut against them nor janitor who questioned them4 ,they found themselves in a very richly ornamented room1 where with royal majesty1 7as one may say1 ,apollo was found again by ,phaeton27 appears she1 who is called his daughter1 and at whose appearance they saw vanish all the figures of many other deities who ministered unto her4 ,then1 received and comforted by this gracious face1 they advanced1 and overcome by the splendour of that majesty1 they bent their knee to the earth1 and altogether1 with the diversity of tones which their various genius suggested1 they laid open their vows to the goddess4 ,by her finally1 they were treated in such a manner that1 blind and homeless1 with great labour having ploughed the seas1 passed over rivers1 overcome mountains1 traversed plains for the space of ten years1 and at the end of which time having arrived under that temperate sky of the ,british ,isles1 and come into the presence of the lovely1 graceful nymphs of ,father ,thames1 they 7the nine71 having made humble obeisance1 and the nymphs having received them with acts of purest courtesy1 one1 the principal amongst them1 who later on will be named1 with tragic and lamenting accents laid bare the common cause in this manner3 ,of those1 oh gentle ,dames1 who with closed urn1 ,present themselves1 whose hearts are pierced ,not for a fault by nature caused1 ,but through a cruel fate1 ,that in a living death1 ,does hold them fast1 we each and all are blind4 ,nine spirits are we1 wandering many years1 ,longing to know2 and many lands ,o'ertravelled1 one day were surprised ,by a sore accident1 ,to which if you attend1 ,you'll say1 oh worthy1 oh unhappy lovers6 ,an impious ,circe1 who presumes to boast ,of having for her sire this glorious sun1 ,welcomed us after many wanderings3 ,opened a certain urn1 ,with water sprinkled us1 ,and to the sprinkling added an enchantment4 ,waiting the finish of this work of hers ,we all were quiet1 mute1 attent1 ,until she said1 ,oh ye unhappy ones1 ,blind be ye all1 ,gather that fruit ,those get who fix their thoughts on things above4 ,daughter and ,mother of horror and darkness and woe ,they cried1 who sudden were struck blind1 ,it pleased you then1 so proud and harsh1 ,to treat these wretched lovers1 ,who put themselves before you1 ,ready to consecrate to you their hearts4 ,but when the sudden fury somewhat stayed1 ,which this new case had brought on them1 ,each one within himself withdrew1 ,while rage to grief gave place2 ,to her they turned for pity1 ,with chosen words companioning their tears4 ,now if it please thee1 gracious sorceress1 ,if zeal for glory chance to move thy heart1 ,or milk of kindness soften it1 ,be merciful to us1 ,and with thy magic herbs1 ,heal up the wound imprinted on our hearts4 ,if wish to succour rules thy beauteous hand1 ,make no delay1 lest some of us ,unhappy ones reach death1 ere we ,praising thy act ,can each one say1 ,so much did she torment1 yet more did heal4 ,then she replied3 ,oh curious prying minds1 ,take this my other fatal urn1 ,which my own hand may not unclose2 ,over the wide expanse of earth1 ,wander ye still1 ,search for and visit all the various kingdoms4 ,fate hath decreed1 it ne'er shall be unclosed ,till lofty wisdom1 noble chastity ,and loveliness with these combined1 ,shall set their hands to it2 ,all other efforts vain1 ,to make this fluid open to the sky4 ,then should it chance to sprinkle beauteous hands1 ,of those who come anear for remedy1 ,its god-like virtues you may prove1 ,and turning cruel pain ,into a sweet content1 ,two lovely stars upon the earth you'll see4 ,meanwhile be none of you cast down or sad1 ,although long while in deep obscurity ,all that the heavens contain remain concealed1 ,for good so great as this1 ,no pain1 however sharp1 ,can be accounted worthy of the cost4 ,that ,good to which through blindness you are led1 ,should make appear all other-having1 vile1 ,and every torment be as pleasure held1 ,who1 hoping to behold ,graces unique and rare1 ,may hold in high disdain all other lights4 ,ah1 weary ones6 ,too long1 too long our limbs ,have wandered o'er the terrene globe1 ,so that to us it seems ,as if the shrewd wild beast1 ,with false and flattering hopes1 ,our bosoms has encumbered with her wiles4 ,wretched henceforth1 we see1 though late1 the witch ,concerned to keep us all with promises 7,and for our greater hurt71 at bay2 ,for surely she believes ,no woman can be found ,beneath the roof of heaven so dowered as she4 ,now that we know that every hope is vain1 ,we yield to destiny and are content1 ,nor will withdraw from all our strivings sore2 ,and staying not our steps1 ,though trembling1 tired and vexed1 ,we languish through the days that yet are ours4 ,oh graceful nymphs1 that on the grassy banks ,of gentle ,thames do make your home1 ,do not disdain1 ye beauteous ones1 ,to try1 although in vain1 ,with those white hands of yours ,to uncover that which in our urn is hid4 ,who knows8 perchance it may be on these shores1 ,where1 with the ,nereids1 may be seen ,the rapid torrent from below ascend ,and wind again ,back to its source1 ,that heaven has destined there she shall be found4 ,one of the nymphs took the urn in her hand1 and without trying to do more offered it to one at a time1 but not one was found who dared to be the first to try 7to open it71 but all by common consent1 after simply looking at it1 referred and proposed it with respect and reverence to one alone2 who1 finally1 not so much to exhibit her own glory as to succour those unhappy ones1 and while in a sort of doubt1 the urn opened as it were spontaneously of itself4 ,but what shall ,i say to you of the applause of the nymphs8 ,how can you imagine that ,i can express the extreme joy of the nine blind men1 when1 hearing that the urn was open1 they felt themselves sprinkled with the desired waters1 they opened their eyes and saw the two suns1 and felt they had gained a double happiness2 one1 the having recovered the light they had lost1 the other that of the newly discovered light which alone could show them the image of the highest good upon earth4 ,how1 ,i say1 can you expect me to describe the joy and exulting merriment of voices of spirit and of body which they themselves all together could not express8 ,for a time it was like seeing so many furious bacchanals1 inebriated with that which they saw so plainly1 until at last1 the impetus of their fury being somewhat calmed1 they put themselves in a row4 #gc4 ,the first played the guitar and sang the following3 ,oh cliffs1 oh deeps1 oh thorns1 oh snags1 oh stones1 ,oh mounts1 oh plains1 oh valleys1 rivers1 seas1 ,how dear and sweet you show yourselves1 ,for by your aid and favour1 ,to us the sky's unveiled4 ,oh fortunate and well-directed steps1 ,the second with the mandoline played and sang3 ,oh fortunate and well-directed steps1 ,oh goddess ,circe1 oh transcendent woes1 ,with which ye did afflict us months and years2 ,they were the grace of heaven1 ,for such an end as this1 ,after such weariness and such distress4,,ah ,,ah ,for our light affliction1 which is but for a moment1 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory4--7,st4 ,paul to the ,corinthians47 ,the third with the lyre played and sang3 ,after such weariness and such distress2 ,if such a port the tempests have prescribed1 ,then is there nothing more that we can do1 ,but render thanks to heaven1 ,who closely veiled our eyes1 ,and pierced anon with such a light as this4 ,the fourth with the viola sang3 ,and pierced anon with such a light as this2 ,blindness worth more than every other sight1 ,pains sweeter far than other pleasures are1 ,for to the fairest light ,thou art thyself a guide1 ,show to the soul all lower things are null4 ,the fifth with the ,spanish drum sang3 ,showing the soul all lower things are null1 ,seasoning with hope the high thought of the mind1 ,was one who pushed us to the only path1 ,and so did show us plain1 ,the fairest work of ,god1 ,thus does a fate benign present itself4,,ai ,,ai ,the lonely sore-footed pilgrims on their way back to their home are never sure to the last moment of not losing their way in this limitless desert of illusion and matter called ,earth-life4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,the sixth with a lute sang3 ,thus does a fate benign present itself1 ,who wills not that to good1 good should succeed1 ,or pain forerunner be of pain1 ,but turning round1 the wheel1 ,now rising1 now depressed1 ,as day and night succeed alternately4 ,the seventh with the ,irish harp3 ,as day and night succeed alternately2 ,while the great mantle of the lights of night1 ,blanches the chariot of diurnal flames1 ,as ,he who governs all1 ,with everlasting laws1 ,puts down the high and raises up the low4 ,the eighth with the violin3 ,puts down the high and raises up the low1 ,he who the infinite machine sustains1 ,with swiftness1 with the medium or with slow1 ,apportioning the turning ,of this gigantic mass1 ,the hidden is unveiled and open stands4 ,the ninth with the rebeck3 ,the hidden is unveiled and open stands1 ,therefore deny not1 but admit the triumph1 ,incomparable end of all the pains ,of field and mount1 ,of pools and streams and seas1 ,of cliffs and deeps1 of thorns and snags and stones4 ,after each one in this way1 singly1 playing his instrument1 had sung his sistine1 they danced altogether in a circle and sang together in praise of the one ,nymph with the softest accents a song which ,i am not sure whether ,i can call to memory4 ,,giu4 ,i pray you1 my sister1 do not fail to let me hear so much of it as you can remember6 ,,lao4 #gd4 ,song of the ,illuminati3 ,i envy not1 oh ,jove1 the firmament1 ,said ,father ,ocean1 with the haughty brow3 ,for that ,i am content ,with that which my own empire gives to me4 ,then answered ,jove1 ,what arrogance is thine4 ,what to thy riches have been added now1 ,oh god of the mad waves1 ,to make thy foolish boasting rise so high8 ,thou hast1 said the sea-god1 in thy command1 ,the flaming sky1 where is the burning zone1 ,in which the heavenly host ,of stars and planets stand within thy sight4,,aj ,of these1 the world looks most upon the sun1 ,which1 let me tell you1 shineth not so bright1 ,as she who makes of me1 ,the god most glorious of the mighty whole4 ,and ,i contain within my bosom vast1 ,with other lands1 that1 where the happy ,thames ,goes gliding gaily on1 ,which has of graceful nymphs a lovely throng4 ,there will be found 'mongst those where all are fair1 ,will make thee lover more of sea than sky1 ,oh ,jove1 ,high ,thunderer6 ,whose sun shines pale beside the starry night4 ,then answered ,jove1 ,god of the billowy sea6 ,that one should ere be found more blest than ,i ,fate nevermore permits1 ,my treasures with thine own run parallel4 ,the sun is equal to thy chiefest nymph1 ,by virtue of the everlasting laws1 ,and pauses alternating1 ,amongst my stars she's equal to the sun4 ,,aj ,plato says that ,greek3 ,theos is derived from the verb ,greek3 ,theein1 to move1 to run1 as the first astronomers who observed the motions of the heavenly bodies called the planets ,greek3 ,theoi1 the gods4--7,the ,secret ,doctrine1 foot note1 p4 #b1 vol4 #a47 ,i believe that ,i have recalled it entirely4 ,,giu4 ,you can see that no sentence is wanting to the perfecting of the proposition1 nor rhyme to the completion of the stanzas4 ,now if ,i by the grace of heaven have received beauty1 a greater favour ,i consider is mine1 in that whatever beauty ,i may have had it has been in a certain way instrumental in causing that ,divine and only one to be found4 ,i thank the gods1 because in that time1 when ,i was so tender 7verde71 that the amorous flames could not be lighted in my breast1 by reason of my intractability1 such simple and innocent cruelty was used in order to yield more graces to my lovers than otherwise it would have been possible for them to obtain1 through any kindness of mine however great4 ,,lao4 ,as to the souls of those lovers1 ,i assure you that as they are not ungrateful to the sorceress ,circe for their blindness1 grievous thoughts1 and bitter trials1 by means of which they have reached so great a good1 so they can be no less grateful to thee4,,ak ,,giu4 ,so ,i desire and hope4 ,,ak ,for ,i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us4--7,st4 ,paul to the ,romans47 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,page #ae3 ,the last paragraph has only one double quote4 ,i think the line quoted is a single sentence1 but ,i'm not sure4 ,the line begins3 ,if the love of glory is dear to thy breast14 ,unchanged4 ,page #gh3 ,,lic is suspected of being a typo for ,,lib4 ,no other occurences4 ,unchanged4 ,page #gi3 ,,las is suspected to be a typo for ,,lao1 as this name occurs only once4 ,unchanged4 ,page #aji3 ,the term selfsame occurs only once without a hyphen4 ,unchanged4 ,footnote ,l3 ,ke'sava could not be represented with a latin-#a character4 ,the 's is an s with an acute accent above4