O Thou Unconquerable One of Light, I praise Thee.
O Thou Sole s.p.a.ce of all the places of the Universe, I praise Thee.
O Thou Only Universal Mystery, I praise thee.
O Thou Only All-perfect Light, I praise Thee.
O Thou Only Wise One and Sole Wisdom, I praise Thee.
O Thou Only Intangible, I praise Thee.
O Thou True Goodness, who hast made appear all good things, I praise Thee.
O Thou True Light, who hast made all lights to shine, I praise Thee.
O Thou who sustainest all light and givest life to every soul, I praise Thee.
O Thou Repose of them [? who seek repose], I praise Thee.
O Thou [Father] of all Paternity from the beginning unto this day, I praise Thee.
They [? Thy children] search for Thee because Thou art their [Father].
Hear the prayer of [Thy children], for [Thou art He who is hidden] in every place, He who is the [Desire] of all hearts.
[1] The t.i.tle and the opening part of the work are lost.
NOTES
(1) The centre of the Universe, which is everywhere and nowhere; the ideal unity in diversity, from which all things flow out and into which all things return. Just as Jerusalem was held to be the centre of the earth, so was this "City" held to be the hidden centre of the Universe; hence it is often named "Jerusalem Above, who is the Mother of us all."
It is the principle at once of universality and individuality, the real "ground" or centre of the soul. It is called the "House of the Father"
because it is the abiding place of the Presence; the "Robe of the Son"
because it is His Body of Manifestation (_cp._ 2 Clem. xiv.); the "Power of the Mother" because it is the "Energy" by which man is reborn into Divine consciousness; and the "Image or Archetype of the Pleroma"
(the World of Eternal Ideas in their "Fullness"), because it is the Wisdom which is the basis of all consciousness.
(2) This term rather suggests the use of a vibratory formula to induce certain interior states as a practice of the School to which the Greek MS. belonged. Perhaps this may have been Ao, the meaning of which is given elsewhere as "I, because the All (or Pleroma) hath gone forth.
A, because it will turn itself back again. o, because the consummation of all consummations will take place." This may be taken to mean exoterically, ", the Incarnation of Jesus, Who is the Pleroma. A, the Crucifixion. o, the Ascension." Taken esoterically, it may mean, ", the Soul, has come forth from G.o.d into generation. A, it is started or "Initiated" on its return journey through the Life of the Cross. o, there is union with G.o.d in the Eternity of Eternities as the consummation of all things" (_cp._ note 18). The work we are studying might almost be considered an exposition of this formula, though I do not suggest that it literally is so. We begin by reading it from right to left, beginning with the G.o.d "beyond Name," that is He whose being cannot be expressed by any name, o. We pa.s.s to the Logos, the Divine Mind, He who can be named, and His Pleroma, A, from which is "started"
the Visible World by the going forth of the "Light-Spark" or "Man," .
After this we read from left to right, but this is the expounding of the mystical life, the "return," under a veil of symbolism. Ao is the great Name of G.o.d in three vowels, derived historically, no doubt, from the Great Name in Judaism, and is the counterpart of the Indian AUM.
Probably, like this latter, it was p.r.o.nounced in three ways: (1) audibly; (2) inaudibly to others, but with the lips; (3) mentally. It was a formula of a sacramental kind by which the life of the disciple was mystically identified with the Life of the Master, so that the knowledge of the real nature of the soul is given or restored by G.o.d.
During its use the mind was, of course, concentrated on its inner meanings. Various aspects of mystical truth could be expressed by its permutations; Ao, oA, Ao, etc.
(3) _Cp._ Odes of Solomon, 27: "I stretched out my hands and worshipped the Lord, for the extension of my hands is His sign, and my expansion is the Upright Tree [or Pillar]."
The Cross of Calvary was taken, by the Gnostics, to be the outward and visible sign of a concealed or Cosmic Cross, another aspect of the "City" or Monad, upon which the Logos or Light-Spark, as the "Son of Man," or the "Man," was crucified perpetually in an ineffable manner, thus communicating His Life and Light to the Universe. The substance or "strain" of this Cross is symbolised here by the Ennead or Ninefold Being, the members of which, Knowledge, Life, Hope, etc., are each in themselves Ideal Beings, Eternities, or G.o.ds. Yet these Nine, a number typical of Initiation, are also one, as the Master and the Cross are also one. The Mystery is that of an Unb.l.o.o.d.y Sacrifice once and perpetually offered and also of Divine Espousal. [See further the "Hymn of Jesus" and the "Gnostic Crucifixion" texts and commentaries by G. R. S. Mead, who renders the pa.s.sage in the text by "The Source of the Cross is the Man whom no man can comprehend."]
(4) "Twelve" seems to symbolise the Powers creative of all kinds of life in their totality, the creative imagination or raying forth power.
(5) "Truth" is another name for the Bride of the Logos, His "Great Surround" or Body. It is the Divine Concept or Conceiving Thought of the Cosmos and its processes, and hence it is also the seal of perfection or Body of Glory, the Life with which the Risen and Ascended Master is clad. While conferring character on all things, it is entirely transcendent, modeless, and "un-walled." Through it G.o.d is immanent in the Universe, hence it is also called "Mother." This is what the symbolism seems to imply.
(6) This implies the doctrine of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, of the Universe and of the individual soul as a perfect compendium thereof. All the great cosmic processes are to be found within the soul.
(7) A "name" was held to be that which manifests the innermost essence of a thing. Hence it symbolised the spiritual body or ideal vehicle of manifestation, the life clothing. The bestowal of a new name is therefore the sacramental sign of the gift of a new body or mode of life. The real and ineffable Name of G.o.d is the Concept or Conceiving Thought referred to in note 5. But this is the Name "Mother" or "Bride" of the Logos, Providence. To "name" was a sacramental way of invoking a presence or "spiritual vehicle."
(8) _Cp._ Codex Akhmim: "Of Him it is said, He thinketh His Image alone and beholdeth it in the Water of Pure Light which surroundeth Him. And His Thought energised and revealed herself, and stood before Him in the Light-Spark--which is the Power which existed before the All--which is the perfect Forethought of the All--the Barbelo, the aeon perfect in glory--glorifying Him, because she hath manifested herself in Him and thinketh Him (_i.e._ gives Him birth). She is the first Thought, His Image." Barbelo seems to mean "In the Four is G.o.d": in other words, it is the personified Tetragrammaton or Great Name commonly rendered by Jehovah.
(9) Kanoun. This is a flat, broad basket, originally made of rush or cane, but often manufactured in precious metals in later times. It was used in the sacrificial rites of the G.o.ds and was hence cla.s.sed among sacred things (_v._ "Basket" in Hastings" _Ency. of Rel. and Ethics_).
What it signifies exactly I am unable to say. Possibly the rites of the school, if we only knew them, would throw some light upon the question. The offerings of bread and wine at the Eucharist may have been made in the Kanoun. Sometimes in the MS. it seems to be connected with prayer.
(10) The Temple of the Pleromata or Fullnesses seems to be pictured as being in the manner of that in Jerusalem. The aeons of the Inner s.p.a.ce correspond to the Holy of Holies, the aeons of the Middle s.p.a.ce to the Holy Place, and the aeons of the Outer s.p.a.ce to the Court. The various aeons and their powers now described seem to be those of the Inner s.p.a.ce. "aeon" and "s.p.a.ce" are practically equivalent terms, only aeon is on the Mind or Spiritual side of things, s.p.a.ce or Extension (Topos) is on the Life or Body side of things. "s.p.a.ce" is purely the s.p.a.ce of mind. It is a Spiritual Body with many members, each of which is a G.o.d, having his own individual consciousness and being, and yet partaking perfectly and wholly of a common consciousness or life. Each aeon is a mighty Hierarchy in himself, and his "topos" is a Church or Holy a.s.sembly. The ideal union of these s.p.a.ces is in the Monad or Indivisible Point, which is therefore the Church of Churches, the Body of the Man whom no man can comprehend.
(11) Setheus and the twelve three-faced Paternities seem to be the paradigms, or heavenly patterns, of the Sun, the signs of the Zodiac, and the thirty-six Decans. He is the Invisible Sun of Righteousness behind the visible flame which measures time. In other words, he is the symbol of the aeon of aeons, the aeon _par excellence_. What time is to the ordinary mundane mind that Setheus is to the Alone-begotten and the Monad, whose ineffable union he encompa.s.ses. For he is the manifested Sun of Eternity, ?. The Monad is the Indivisible Point within the circle or sphere, and the Light-Spark or Logos is within the Point, while Setheus himself is, strictly speaking, the circle or sphere, the well-known symbol of Eternity. All the aeons are found in the "topos" of Setheus, as their divinity is not innate, but comes from conscious partic.i.p.ation, hence the name aeon. I suggest the name "Setheus" is formed from that of the G.o.d Seth, who was a solar deity in some Egyptian traditions. No doubt the differentiation of the name is intentional.
The twelve Paternities about the head are referable to the rays, to the creative powers, the "Divine Imaginings" of the Mystic Sun in their totality.
(12) Schmidt thinks that the name "Nicotheos"--"the Victor G.o.d"--is a t.i.tle of Christ, and that a quotation is given from some lost Apocalypse, called, perhaps, "The Apocalypse of Nicotheos." The whole pa.s.sage seems to be a definite appeal to the experiences of attained mystics concerning the Dark Ray. The "Perfect" was a technical name, applied to those whose initiation or start had been consummated or perfected. Having been regenerated, they were "G.o.ds" or "aeons,"
conscious of their kinship with the Pleromata. Each was now a hierarchy in himself, a race, as it were. The pa.s.sage is probably by a later hand.
(13) _Cp._ Pseudo Dionysius Myst. Theol.:
"The super-unknown, the super-luminous and loftiest height wherein the simple and absolute and unchangeable mysteries are cloaked in the super-lucent darkness of hidden mystic silence, which super-shines most super-brightly in the blackest night, and in the altogether intangible and unseen, superfills the eyeless understanding with super-beautiful brightnesses. And thou, dear Timothy, in thy intent and practice of the mystical contemplations, leave behind both thy senses and thy intellectual operations, and all things known by sense and intellect, and set thyself, as far as may be, to unite thyself in unknowing with Him who is above all being and knowledge; for by being purely free and absolute, out of self and all things, thou shalt be led up to the _Ray of the Divine Darkness_, stripped and loosed of all."
The above version is by Dom John Chapman, O.S.B., who says that this pa.s.sage was "cited throughout the Middle Ages as the _locus cla.s.sicus_ for method of contemplation." This is, except for our text, the earliest mention of the "Dark Ray" in literature. Evidently Pseudo Dionysius did not invent the term himself, but followed a much older Christian tradition. This fact is important for the history of Christian mysticism.
(14) This seems to imply a doctrine of pre-existence. Perhaps the pa.s.sage is related to John 17:16: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.... As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so sent I them into the world."
(15) _Cp._ Psalm 68:17 (R.V.): "The chariots of G.o.d are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands. The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the sanctuary."
(16) Further descriptions of this, "the oldest of the aeons," are given later on. From these it will be gathered that the crown is the Crown of Life, and that the twelve gates are also twelve deeps or firmaments, over each of which a Paternity presides. She is called the Indivisible One, either "Point," "Atom," or perhaps even "Body" or "Raiment." As she is both the Spouse and Mother of the Light-Spark within the aeon, I have generally called her the Indivisible Queen.
(17) Mr Mead suggests that Phosilampes may be a mystery name of Basilides. Has a commentary on the Gospel of St John been used here, or a commentary on the prologue by Basilides [containing perhaps the teachings of the alleged instructor of Basilides, Glaucias, whose name, rather suggesting the "shining one," may equal "Phosilampes"], which interpreted "In the beginning" as meaning "In the First Concept or in the Monad was the Word"?
(18) This repet.i.tion of the Seven Vowels gives the following meanings to them:--AAA = Living of Living Ones, HHH = Holy of Holy Ones, EEE = Being of Beings, III = Father of Fatherhoods, OOO = G.o.d of G.o.ds, YYY=Lord of Lords, OOO = s.p.a.ce of s.p.a.ces or aeon of aeons. The High and Holy One, together with His Bride and Mother, the "Universal Church or First Concept," are one in and with the Eternity that they inhabit.
Hence "Thou art the House and the Dweller in the House." Time (aeon) and s.p.a.ce (Topos) are here one, or different aspects of the same mode of being.
(19) _Cp._ "The Mind unto Hermes," 16: "The Cosmos is all-formed [Pantomorphos]--not having forms external to itself, but changing them, itself within itself"; also the "Perfect Sermon," xix. 3: "The thirty-six, who have the name of Horoscopes, are in the self-same s.p.a.ce as the fixed stars; of these the essence chief or Prince is he whom they call Pantomorph and Omniform, who fashioneth the various forms for various species." The Pantomorphic Body is the Augoeides or Astroeides, the ray-like or star-like glory (not to be confused with the "astral body" of modern theosophy). _Cp._ Origen, Ep. 38 ad Pammach: "Another body, a spiritual and aetherial one, is promised us: a body that is not subject to physical touch, nor seen by physical eyes, nor burdened with weight, and which shall be metamorphosed according to the variety of regions in which it shall be.... In that spiritual body the whole of us will see, the whole hear, the whole serve as hands, the whole as feet." The Star-body is the body of Resurrection and Ascension. _Cp._ Mark 16:12: "He was manifested in _another form_ unto two of them." Also it was the body of "the universal" descent, that which transmitted the aeons from the Pleroma or Ideal World to the Sensible World, hence it was considered to be "scattered" or in a state of latency, or of mystical death in normal man. To awaken it, to gather it together, or to "raise it from the dead," was one of the first objects of the mystics, who followed the way of the Gnosis. Its partial resurgence was the first great step in the processes of the Apotheosis. It was the possession of this body, in some degree, which distinguished a man as "spiritual" from the psychic and "hylic" men. The Astroeides included the "natural" body in its consummation, under a great trans.m.u.tation, for it was the "Wisdom"
at the basis of material nature.
I have transferred the account of the "City of the Man" from where it stands, at the end of the MS., to this place, as it seems more intelligible here, and the exact order has been obscured by the confusion of the leaves.
(20) _Cp._ "Poemandres," 15: "He [the Man], beholding the form like to himself existing in her, in her water, loved it and willed to live in it: and with the will came act, and so he vivified the form devoid of reason. And Nature took the object of her love and wound herself completely round him, and they were intermingled, for they were lovers.... Thus, though above the Harmony (or Fate sphere), within the Harmony he [The Man] hath become a slave, ... and though he is sleepless from a sleepless Sire, yet is he overcome by sleep."
This is the Mystery of the concealment of G.o.d in Nature, a mystery that was sometimes presented under the symbol of a self-scattering, sometimes under the symbol of a magical sleep, or mystic death.
(21) "The Earth that brought forth the G.o.d" is the "ground of the individual soul," and is also the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Universe, the Hidden Sanctuary where the "Man" is raised from mystical death or is reborn. No doubt the symbolism is drawn from Egyptian sources.