the chaldean oracles
the chaldean oracles
the chaldæan oracles
attributed to zoroaster
preface by sapere aude
these oracles are considered to embody many of the principal
features of chaldæan philosophy. they have come down to us through greek
translations and were held in the greatest esteem throughout antiquity, a
sentiment which was shared alike by the early christian fathers and the later
platonists. the doctrines contained therein are attributed to zoroaster through
to which particular zoroaster is not known; historians give notices of as many
as six different individuals all bearing that name, which was probably the title
of the prince of the magi, and a generic term. the word zoroaster is by various
authorities differently derived: kircher furnishes one of the most interesting
derivations when he seeks to show that it comes from tzura = a figure, and tziur
= to fashion, ash = fire, and str = hidden; from these he gets the words
zairaster = fashioning images of hidden fire;—or tzuraster = the image of
secret things. others derive it from chaldee and greek words meaning "a
contemplator of the stars."
it is not, of course, pretended that this collection as it
stands is other than disjointed and fragmentary, and it is more than probable
that the true sense of many passages has been obscured, and even in some cases
hopelessly obliterated, by inadequate translation.
where it has been possible to do so, an attempt has been made
to, elucidate doubtful or ambiguous expressions, either by modifying the
existing translation from the greek, where deemed permissible, or by appending
annotations.
it has been suggested by some that these oracles are of greek
invention, but it has already been pointed out by stanley that picus de
mirandula assured ficinus that he had the chaldee original in his possession,
"in which those things which are faulty and defective in the greek are read
perfect and entire," and ficinus indeed states that he found this ms. upon
the death of mirandula. in addition to this, it should be noted that here and
there in the original greek version, words occur which are not of greek
extraction at all, but are hellenised chaldee. berosus is said to be the first
who introduced the writings of the chaldæans concerning astronomy and
philosophy among the greeks,* and it is certain that the traditions of chaldea
very largely influenced greek thought. taylor considers that some of these
mystical utterances are the sources whence the sublime conceptions of plate were
formed, and large commentaries were written upon them by porphyry, iamblichus,
proclus, pletho and psellus. that men of such great learning and sagacity should
have thought so highly of these oracles, is a fact which in itself should
commend then to our attention.
the term "oracles" was probably bestowed upon these
epigrammatic utterances in order to enforce the idea of their profound and
deeply mysterious nature. the chaldæans, however, had an oracle, which they
venerated as highly as the greeks did that at delphi."**
we are indebted to both psellus and pletho, for comments at
some length upon the chaldaen oracles, and the collection adduced by these
writers has been considerably enlarged by franciscus patricius, who made many
additions from proclus, hermias, simplicius, damascius, synesius, olympiodorus,
nicephorus and arnobius; his collection, which comprised some 324 oracles under
general heads, was published in latin in 1593, and constitutes the groundwork of
the later classification arrived at by taylor and cory; all of these editions
have been utilized in producing the present revise.
a certain portion of these oracles collected by psellus,
appear to be correctly attributed to a chaldæan zoroaster of very early date,
and are marked "z," following the method indicated by taylor, with one
or two exceptions. another portion is attributed to a sect of philosophers named
theurgists, who flourished during the reign of marcus antoninus, upon the
authority of proclus,*** and these are marked "t." oracles additional
to these two series and of less definite source are marked "z or t."
other oracular passages from miscellaneous authors are indicated by their names.
the printed copies of the oracles to be found in england are
the following:—
oracula magica , ludovicus tiletanus, paris, 1563.
zoroaster et ejus 320 oracula chaldaica; by franciscus patricius…
1593.
fred. morellus; zoroastris oracula. 1597. supplies about a hundred
verses.
otto heurnius; barbaricæ philosophiæ antiquitatum libri duo 1600.
johannes opsopoeus; oracula magica zoroastris 1599. this includes
commentaries of pletho and psellus in latin.
servatus gallæus; sibulliakoi chresmoi, 1688. contains a version
of the oracles.
thomas stanley. the history of the chaldaic philosophy, 1701. this
treatise contains the latin of patricius, and the commentaries of pletho and
psellus in english.
johannes alb. fabricius, bibliotheca græca, 1705–7. quotes the
oracles.
jacobus marthanus, 1689. this version contains the commentary of gemistus
pletho.
thomas taylor, the chaldæan oracles, in the monthly magazine,
and published independently, 1806.
biblioteca classica latina ; a. lemaire, volume 124, paris 1823.
isaac preston cory, ancient fragments, london, 1828. (a third
edition of this work has been published, omitting the oracles.)
phoenix, new york, 1835. a collection of curious old tracts, among
which are the oracles of zoroaster, copied from thomas taylor and i. p.
cory; with an essay by edward gibbon.
___________________________
notes:
* josephus, contra apion. i.
** stephanus, de urbibus.
*** vide his scholia on the cratylus of plato.
introduction
by l. o.
it has been believed by many, and not without good reason,
that these terse and enigmatic utterances enshrine a profound system of mystical
philosophy, but that this system demands for its full discernment a refinement
of faculty, involving, as it does, a discrete perception of immaterial essences.
it has been asserted that the chaldæan magi* preserved their
occult learning among their race by continual tradition from father to son.
diodorus says: "they learn these things, not after the same fashion as the
greeks: for amongst the chaldæans, philosophy is delivered by tradition in the
family, the son receiving it from his father, being exempted from all other
employment; and thus having their parents for their teachers, they learn all
things fully and abundantly, believing more firmly what is communicated to
them."**
the remains then of this oral tradition seems to exist in
these oracles, which should be studied in the light of the kabalah and of
egyptian theology. students are aware that the kabalah*** is susceptible of
extraordinary interpretation with the aid of the tarot, resuming as the latter
does, the very roots of egyptian theology. had a similar course been adopted by
commentators in the past, the chaldæan system expounded in these oracles would
not have been distorted in the way it has been.
the foundation upon which the whole structure of the hebrew
kabalah rests is an exposition of ten deific powers successively emanated by the
illimitable light which in their varying dispositions are considered as the key
of all things. this divine procession in the form of three triads of powers,
synthesized in a tenth, is said to be extended through four worlds, denominated
respectively atziluth, briah, yetzirah and assiah, a fourfold gradation from the
subtil to the gross. this proposition in its metaphysical roots is pantheistic,
though, if it may be so stated, mediately theistic; while the ultimate noumenon
of all phenomena is the absolute deity, whose ideation constitutes the objective
universe.
now these observations apply strictly also to the chaldæan
system.
the accompanying diagrams sufficiently indicate the harmony
and identity of the chaldæan philosophy with the hebrew kabalah. it will be
seen that the first mind and the intelligible triad, pater, potentia, or
mater, and mens, are allotted to the intelligible world of supramundane light:
the "first mind" represents the archetypal intelligence as an entity
in the bosom of the paternal depth. this concentrates by reflection into the
"second mind" representative of the divine power in the empyraean
world which is identified with the second great triad of divine powers, known as
the intelligible and at the same time intellectual triad: the Æthereal
world comprises the dual third triad denominated intellectual: while the
fourth or elementary world is governed by hypezokos, or flower of fire, the
actual builder of the world.
chaldÆan scheme.
the intelligibles
the paternal depth
world of supra-mundane light
the first mind
__________
the intelligible triad
pater: mater or potentia: mens
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
the second mind
__________
intelligibles and intellectuals
iynges
in the
synoches
empyraean world
teletarchæ
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
(the third mind.)
three cosmagogi
intellectuals
(intellectual guides inflexible.)
in the
three amilicti
ethereal world
(implacable thunders.)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
elementary world
hypezokos
the demiurgos of the
(flower of fire)
material universe
effable, essential and
elemental orders
__________
the earth-matter
kabalistic scheme.
world of atziluth
the boundless
ain suph.
or of god
the illimitable
ain suph aur
light
a radiant triangle.
___________________________________________________________________________
kether
world of briah
(crown)
divine forces
binah
chokmah
(intelligence)
(wisdom)
___________________________________________________________________________
geburah
chesed
world of yetzirah
tiphereth
or of formation
hod
netzach
yesod
___________________________________________________________________________
malkuth
world of assiah
ruled by
material form.
adonai melekh
_________
the earth-matter
chaldÆan scheme of beings.
representatives of the previous classes guiding our universe.
i. hyperarchii—archangels
ii. azonæi—unzoned gods
iii. zonæi—planetary deities.
______________
higher demons: angels
______________
human souls
______________
lower demons, elementals
fiery
airy
earthy
watery
______________
evil demons
lucifugous; the kliphoth
______________
chaldæan theology contemplated three great divisions of
supra-mundane things:—the first was eternal, without beginning or end,
being the "paternal depth," the bosom of the deity. the second was
conceived to be that mode of being having beginning but no end; the creative
world or empyræum falls under this head, abounding as it does in productions,
but its source remaining superior to these. the third and last order of divine
things had a beginning in time and will end, this is the transitory ethereal
world. seven spheres extended through these three worlds, viz., one in
the empyræum or verging from it, three in the ethereal and three in the
elementary worlds, while the whole physical realm synthesized the foregoing.
these seven spheres are not to be confounded with the seven material planets;
although the latter are the physical representatives of the former, which can
only be said to be material in the metaphysical sense of the term. psellus
professed to identify them but his suggestions are inadequate as stanley pointed
out. but stanley, although disagreeing with psellus, is nevertheless
inconsistent upon this point, for although he explains the four worlds of the
chaldæans as successively noumenal to the physical realm, he obviously
contradicts this in saying that one corporeal world is in the empyræum.
prior to the supramundane light lay the "paternal
depth," the absolute deity, containing all things "in potentia"
and eternally immanent. this is analogous to the ain suph aur of the kabalah,
three triads of three letters, expressing three triads of powers, which are
subsequently translated into objectivity, and constitute the great triadic law
under the direction of the demiurgus, or artificer of the universe.
in considering this schema, it must be remembered that the
supramundane light was regarded as the primal radiation from the paternal depth
and the archetypal noumenon of the empyræum, a universal, all-pervading—and,
to human comprehension—ultimate essence. the empyræum again, is a somewhat
grosser though still highly subtilized fire and creative source, in its turn the
noumenon of the formative or ethereal world, as the latter is the noumenon of
the elementary world. through these graduated media the conceptions of the
paternal mind are ultimately fulfilled in time and space.
in some respects it is probable that the oriental mind today
is not much altered from what it was thousands of years ago, and much that now
appears to us curious and phantastic in eastern traditions, still finds
responsive echo in the hearts and minds of a vast portion of mankind. a large
number of thinkers and scientists in modern times have advocated tenets which,
while not exactly similar, are parallel, to ancient chaldæan conceptions; this
is exemplified in the notion that the operation of natural law in the universe
is controlled or operated by conscious and discriminating power which is
co-ordinate with intelligence. it is but one step further to admit that forces
are entities, to people the vast spaces of the universe with the children of
phantasy. thus history repeats itself, and the old and the new alike reflect the
multiform truth.
without entering at length into the metaphysical aspect, it
is important to notice the supremacy attributed to the "paternal
mind." the intelligence of the universe, poetically described as "energising
before energy," establishes on high the primordial types or patterns of
things which are to be, and, then inscrutably latent, vests the development of
these in the rectores mundorum, the divine regents or powers already
referred to. as it is said, "mind is with him, power with them."
the word "intelligible" is used in the platonic
sense, to denote a mode of being, power or perception, transcending intellectual
comprehension, i.e., wholly distinct from, and superior to,
ratiocination. the chaldæans recognised three modes of perception, viz.,
the testimony of the various senses, the ordinary processes of intellectual
activity, and the intelligible conceptions before referred to. each of these
operations is distinct from the others, and, moreover, conducted in separate
matrices, or vehicula. the anatomy of the soul was, however, carried much
farther than this, and, although in its ultimate radix recognised as identical
with the divinity, yet in manifested being it was conceived to be highly
complex. the oracles speak of the "paths of the soul," the tracings of
inflexible fire by which its essential parts are associated in integrity; while
its various "summits," "fountains," and "vehicula,"
are all traceable by analogy with universal principles. this latter fact is,
indeed, not the least remarkable feature of the chaldæan system. like several
of the ancient cosmogonies, the principal characteristic of which seems to have
been a certain adaptability to introversion, chaldæan metaphysics synthesize
most clearly in the human constitution.
in each of the chaldæan divine worlds a trinity of divine
powers operated, which synthetically constituted a fourth term. "in every
world," says the oracle, "a triad shineth, of which; the monad is the
ruling principle." these "monads" are the divine vice-gerents by
which the universe was conceived to be administered. each of the four worlds, viz.,
the empyræan, ethereal, elementary and material, was presided over by a supreme
power, itself in direct rapport with "the father" and
"moved by unspeakable counsels." these are clearly identical with the
kabalistic conception of the presidential heads of the four letters composing
the deity name in so many different languages. a parallel tenet is conveyed in
the oracle which runs: "there is a venerable name projected through the
worlds with a sleepless revolution." the kabalah again supplies the key to
this utterance, by regarding the four worlds as under the presidency of the four
letters of the venerable name, a certain letter of tile four being allotted to
each world, as also was a special mode of writing the four lettered name
appropriate thereto; and, indeed in that system it is taught that the order of
the elements, both macrocosmic and microcosmic, on every plane, is directly
controlled by the "revolution of the name." that name is associated
with the Æthers of the elements and is thus considered as a universal law; it
is the power which marshals the creative host, summed up in the demiurgus,
hypezokos, or flower of fire.
reference may here be made to the psychic anatomy of the
human being according to plato. he places the intellect in the head; the soul
endowed with some of the passions, such as fortitude, in the heart; while
another soul, of which the appetites, desires and grosser passions are its
faculties, about the stomach and the spleen.
so, the chaldæan doctrine as recorded by psellus, considered
man to be composed of three kinds of souls, which may respectively be called:
first, the intelligible, or divine soul,
second, the intellect or rational soul, and
third, the irrational, or passional soul.
this latter was regarded as subject to mutation, to be
dissolved and perish at the death of the body.
of the intelligible, or divine soul, the oracles teach that
"it is a bright fire, which, by the power of the father, remaineth
immortal, and is mistress of life;" its power may be dimly apprehended
through regenerate phantasy and when the sphere of the intellect has ceased to
respond to the images of the passional nature.
concerning the rational soul, the chaldæans taught that it
was possible for it to assimilate itself unto the divinity on the one hand, or
the irrational soul on the other. "things divine," we read,
"cannot be obtained by mortals whose intellect is directed to the body
alone, but those only who are stripped of their garments, arrive at the
summit."
to the three souls to which reference has been made, the
chaldæans moreover allotted three distinct vehicles: that of the divine soul
was immortal, that: of the rational soul by approximation became so; while to
the irrational soul was allotted what was called "the image," that is,
the astral form of the physical body.
physical life thus integrates three special modes of
activity, which upon the dissolution of the body are respectively involved in
the web of fate consequent upon incarnate energies in three different destinies.
the oracles urge men to devote themselves to things divine,
and not to give way to the promptings of the irrational soul, for, to such as
fail herein, it is significantly said, "thy vessel the beasts of the earth
shall inhabit."
the chaldæans assigned the place of the image, the vehicle
of the irrational soul, to the lunar sphere; it is probable that by the lunar
sphere was meant something more than the orb of the moon, the whole sublunary
region, of which the terrestrial earth is, as it were, the centre. at death, the
rational soul rose above the lunar influence, provided always the past permitted
that happy release, great importance was attributed to the way in which the
physical life was passed during the sojourn of the soul in the tenement of
flesh, and frequent are the exhortations to rise to communion with those divine
powers, to which nought but the highest theurgy can pretend.
"let the immortal depth of your soul lead you,"
says an oracle, "but earnestly raise your eyes upwards." taylor
comments upon this in the following beautiful passage: "by the eyes are to
be understood all the gnostic powers of the soul, for when these are extended
the soul becomes replete. with a more excellent life and divine illumination;
and is, as it were, raised above itself."
of the chaldæan magi it might be truly said that they
"among dreams did first discriminate the truthful vision!" for they
were certainly endowed with a far reaching perception both mental and spiritual;
attentive to images, and fired with mystic fervours, they mere something more
than mere theorists, but were also practical exemplars of the philosophy they
taught. life on the plains of chaldæa, with its mild nights and jewelled skies,
tended to foster the interior unfoldment; in early life the disciples of the
magi learnt to resolve the bonds of proscription and enter the immeasurable
region. one oracle assures us that, "the girders of the soul, which give
her; breathing, are easy to be unloosed," and elsewhere we read of the
"melody of the ether" and of the "lunar clashings,"
experiences which testify to the reality of their occult methods.
the oracles assert that the impressions of characters and
other divine visions appear in the ether. the chaldæan philosophy recognized
the ethers of the elements as the subtil media through which the operation of
the grosser elements is effected—by the grosser elements i mean what we know
as earth, air, water and fire—the principles of dryness and moisture, of heat
and cold. these subtil ethers are really the elements of the ancients, and seem
at an early period to have been connected with the chaldæan astrology, as the
signs of the zodiac were connected with them. the twelve signs of the zodiac are
permutations of the ethers of the elements—four elements with three variations
each; and according to the preponderance of one or another elemental condition
in the constitution of the individual, so were his natural inclinations deduced
therefrom, thus when in the astrological jargon it was said that a man had aries
rising, he was said to be of a fiery nature, his natural tendencies being
active, energetic and fiery, for in the constitution of such a one the fiery
ether predominates. and these ethers were stimulated, or endowed with a certain
kind of vibration, by their presidents, the planets; these latter being thus
suspended in orderly disposed zones. unto the planets, too, colour and sound
were also attributed; the planetary colours are connected with the ethers, and
each of the planetary forces was said to have special dominion over, or affinity
with, one or other of the zodiacal constellations. communion with the
hierarchies of these constellations formed part of the chaldæan theurgy, and in
a curious fragment it is said: "if thou often invokest it" (the
celestial constellation called the lion) "then when no longer is visible
unto thee the vault of the heavens, when the stars have lost their light the
lamp of the moon is veiled, the earth abideth not, and around thee darts the
lightning flame, then all things will appear to thee in the form of a
lion!" the chaldæans, like the egyptians, appear to have had a highly
developed appreciation of colours, an evidence of their psychic susceptibility.
the use of bright colours engenders the recognition of subsisting variety and
stimulates that perception of the mind which energizes through imagination, or
the operation of images. the chaldæan method of contemplation appears to have
been to identify the self with the object of contemplation; this is of course
identical with the process of indian yoga, and is an idea which appears replete
with suggestion; as it is written "he assimilates the images to himself
casting them around his own form." but we are told, "all divine
natures are incorporeal, but bodies are bound in them for your sakes."
the subtil ethers, of which i have spoken, served is their
turn as it were for the garment of the divine light; for the oracles teach that
beyond these again "a solar world and endless light subsist!" this
divine light was the object of all veneration. do not think that what was
intended thereby was the solar light we know: "the inerratic sphere of the
starless above" is an unmistakable expression and therein "the more
true sun" has place: theosophists will appreciate the significance of
"the more true sun," for according to the secret doctrine the
sun we see is but the physical vehicle of a more transcendent splendour.
some strong souls were able to reach up to the light by their
own power: "the mortal who approaches the fire shall have light from the
divinity, and unto the persevering mortal the blessed immortals are swift."
but what of those of a lesser stature? were they, by inability, precluded from
such illumination? "others," we read, "even when asleep, he makes
fruitful from his own strength." that is to say, some men acquire divine
knowledge through communion with divinity in sleep. this idea has given rise to
some of the most magnificent contributions to later literature; it has since
been thoroughly elaborated by porphyry and synesius. the eleventh book of the metamorphoses
of apuleius and the vision of scipio ably vindicate this; and, although
no doubt every christian has beard that "he giveth unto his beloved in
sleep," few, indeed, realise the possibility underlying that conception.
what, it may be asked, were the views of the chaldæans with
respect to terrestrial life: was it a spirit of pessimism, which led them to
hold this in light: esteem? or, should we not rather say that the keynote of
their philosophy was an immense spiritual optimism? it appeals to me that the
latter is the more true interpretation. they realised that beyond the confines
of matter lay a more perfect existence, a truer realm of which terrestrial
administration is but a too often travestied reflection. they sought, as we seek
now, the good, the beautiful and the true, but they did not hasten to the outer
in the thirst for sensation, but with a finer perception realised the true
utopia to be within.
and the first step in that admirable progress was a return to
the simple life; hardly, indeed, a return, for most of the magi were thus
brought up from birth." **** the hardihood
engendered by the rugged life, coupled with that wisdom which directed their
association, rendered these children of nature peculiarly receptive of nature's
truths. "stoop not down," says the oracle, "to the darkly
splendid world, for a precipice lieth beneath the earth, a descent of seven
steps, and therein is established the throne of an evil and fatal force. stoop
not down unto that darkly splendid world, defile not thy brilliant flame with
the earthly dress of matter, stoop not down for its splendour is but seeming, it
is but the habitation of the sons of the unhappy." no more beautiful
formulation of the great truth that the exterior and sensuous life is death to
the highest energies of the soul could possibly have been uttered: but to such
as by purification and the practice of virtue rendered themselves worthy,
encouragement was given, for, we read, "the higher powers build up the body
of the holy man."
the law of karma was as much a feature of the chaldæan
philosophy as it is of the theosophy of today: from a passage in ficinus,
we read, "the soul perpetually runs and passes through all things in a
certain space of time, which being performed it is presently compelled to pass
back again through all things and unfold a similar web of generation in the
world, according to zoroaster, who thinks that as often as the same causes
return, the same effects will in like manner return."
this is of course the explanation of the proverb that
"history repeats itself" and is very far from the superstitious view
of fate. here each one receives his deserts according to merit or demerit, and
these are the bonds of life; but the oracles say, "enlarge not thy
destiny," and they urge men to "explore the river of the soul, so that
although you have become a servant to body, you may again rise to the order from
which you descended, joining works to sacred reason!"
to this end we are commended to learn the intelligible which
exists beyond the mind, that divine portion of the being which exists beyond
intellect: and this it is only possible to grasp with the flower of the mind.
"understand the intelligible with the extended flame of an extended
intellect." to zoroaster also was attributed the utterance "who knows
himself knows all things in himself;" while it is elsewhere suggested that
"the paternal mind has sowed symbols in the soul," but such priceless
knowledge was possible only to the theurgists who, we are told, "fall not
so as to be ranked with the herd that are in subjection to fate." the
divine light cannot radiate in an imperfect microcosm, even as the clouds
obscure the sun; for of such as make ascent to the most divine of speculations
in a confused and disordered manner, with unhallowed lips, or unwashed feet, the
progressions are imperfect, the impulses are vain and the paths are dark.
although destiny, our destiny, may be "written in the
stars" yet it was the mission of the divine soul to raise the human soul
above the circle of necessity, and the oracles give victory to that masterly
will, which
"hews the wall with might of magic,
breaks the palisade in pieces,
hews to atoms seven pickets …
speaks the master words of knowledge!"
the means taken to that consummation consisted in the
training of the will and the elevation of the imagination, a divine power which
controls consciousness: "relieve yourself to be above body, and you
are," says the oracle; it might have added "then shall regenerate
phantasy disclose the symbols of the soul." but it is said "on
beholding yourself fear!" i.e., the imperfect self.
everything must be viewed as ideal by him who would
understand the ultimate perfection.
will is the grand agent in the mystic progress; its rule is
all potent over the nervous system. by will the fleeting vision is fixed on tile
treacherous waves of the astral light; by will the consciousness is impelled to
commune with the divinity: vet there is not one will, but three wills—the
wills, namely, of the divine, the rational and irrational souls—to harmonize
these is the difficulty.
it is selfishness which impedes the radiation of thought, and
attaches to body. this is scientifically true and irrespective of sentiment, the
selfishness which reaches beyond the necessities of body is pure vulgarity.
a picture which to the cultured eye beautifully portrays a
given subject, nevertheless appears to the savage a confused patchwork of
streaks, so the extended perceptions of a citizen of the universe are not
grasped by those whose thoughts dwell within the sphere of the personal life.
the road to the summum bonum lies therefore through
self-sacrifice, the sacrifice of the lower to the higher, for behind that higher
self lies the concealed form of the antient of days, the synthetical being of
divine humanity.
these things are grasped by soul; the song of the soul is
alone heard in the adytum of god-nourished silence!
___________________________
notes:
* this powerful guild was
the guardian of chaldæan philosophy, which exceeded the bounds of their
country, and diffused itself into persia and arabia that borders upon it; for
which reason the learning of the chaldæans, persians and arabians is
comprehended under the general title of chaldæan.
**diodorus, lib. i.
***vide kabalah denudata, by macgregor mathers.
****they renounced rich attire and the wearing of gold, their raiment was
white upon occasion; their beds the ground, and their food nothing but herbs,
cheese and bread.
the oracles of zoroaster.
___________
cause. god.
father. mind. fire
monad. dyad. triad.
1. but god is he having the head of the hawk. the same is
the first, incorruptible, eternal, unbegotten, indivisible, dissimilar: the
dispenser of all good; indestructible; the best of the good, the wisest of the
wise; he is the father of equity and justice, self-taught, physical, perfect,
and wise—he who inspires the sacred philosophy.
– eusebius. præparatio evangelica, liber. i., chap.
x,
this oracle does not appear in either of the ancient
collections, nor in the group of oracles given by any of the mediaeval
occultists. cory seems to have been the first to discover it in the voluminous
writings of eusebius, who attributes the authorship to the persian zoroaster.
___________
2. theurgists assert that he is a god and celebrate him as
both older and younger, as a circulating and eternal god, as understanding the
whole number of all things moving in the world, and moreover infinite through
his power and energizing a spiral force.
– proclus on the timæus of plato, 244. z. or t.
the egyptian pantheon had an elder and a younger horus—a
god—son of osiris and isis. taylor suggests that he refers to kronos, time, or
chronos as the later platonists wrote the name. kronos, or saturnus, of the
romans, was son of uranos and gaia, husband of rhea, father of zeus.
___________
3. the god of the universe, eternal, limitless, both young
and old, having a spiral force.
cory includes this oracle in his collection, but he gives no
authority for it. lobek doubted its authenticity.
___________
4. for the eternal Æon* —according to the oracle— is
the cause of never failing life, of unwearied power and unsluggish energy.
– taylor.—t.
* "for the first Æeon,
the eternal one," or as taylor gives, "eternity."
___________
5. hence the inscrutable god is called silent by the
divine ones, and is said to consent with mind, and to be known to human souls
through the power of the mind alone.
– proclus in theologiam platonis, 321. t.
inscrutable. taylor gives "stable;" perhaps
"incomprehensible" is better.
6. the chaldæans call the god dionysos (or bacchus), iao
in the phoenician tongue (instead of the intelligible light), and he is also
called sabaoth,* signifying that he is above the seven poles, that is the
demiurgos.
– lydus, de mensibus, 83. t.
* this word is chaldee, tzbaut, meaning hosts; but there is
also a word shboh, meaning "the seven."
7. containing all things in the one summit of his own
hyparxis, he himself subsists wholly beyond.
– proclus in theologiam platonis, 212. t.
hyparxis, is generally deemed to mean
"subsistence." hupar is reality as distinct from appearance; huparche
is a beginning.
8. measuring and bounding all things.
– proclus in theologiam platonis, 386. t.
"thus he speaks the words," is omitted by taylor
and cory, but present in the greek.
9. for nothing imperfect emanates from the paternal
principle,
– psellus, 38 ; pletho. z.
this implies—but only from a succedent emanation.
10. the father effused not fear, but he infused
persuasion.
– pletho. z,
11. the father hath apprehended himself and hath not
restricted his fire to his own intellectual power.
– psellus, 30; pletho, 33. z:
taylor gives:—"the father hath hastily withdrawn
himself, but hath not shut up his own fire in his intellectual power."
the greek text has no word "hastily," and as to
"withdrawn—arpazo means, grasp of snatch, but also "apprehend with
the mind."
12. such is the mind which is energized before energy,
while yet it had not gone forth, but abode in the paternal depth, and in the
adytum of god nourished silence.
– proc. in tim., 167. t.
13. all things have issued from that one fire. the father
perfected all things, and delivered them over to the second mind, whom all
nations of men call the first.
– psellus, 24; pletho, 30. z.
14. the second mind conducts the empyrean. world .
– damascius, de principiis. t.
15. what the intelligible saith, it saith by
understanding.
– psellus, 35. z.
16. power is with them, but mind is from him.
– proclus in platonis theologiam, 365. t.
17. the mind of the father riding on the subtle guiders,
which glitter with the tracings of inflexible and relentless fire.
– proclus on the cratylus of plato.
18. …after the paternal conception i the soul reside, a
heat animating all things. …for he placed the intelligible in the soul, and
the soul in dull body, even so the father of gods and men placed them in us.
– proclus in tim., plat., 124. z. or t.
19. natural works co-exist with the intellectual light of
the father. for it is the soul which adorned the vast heaven, and which adorneth
it after the father, but her dominion is established on high.
– proclus in tim., 106. z. or t.
dominion, krata: some copies give kerata, horus.
20. the soul, being a brilliant fire, by the power of the
father remaineth immortal, and is mistress of life, and filleth up the many
recesses of the bosom of the world.
– psellus, 28; pletho, 11. z.
21. the channels being intermixed therein she performeth
the works of incorruptible fire.
– proclus in politica, p. 399. z. or t.
22. for not in matter did the fire which is in the first
beyond enclose his active power, but in mind; for the framer of the fiery world
is the mind of mind.
– proclus in theologiam, 333, and tim., 157. t.
23. who first sprang from mind, clothing the one fire with
the other fire, binding them together, that he might mingle the fountainous
craters, while preserving unsullied the brilliance of his own fire.
– proclus in parm. platonis. t.
24. and thence a fiery whirlwind drawing down the
brilliance of the flashing flame, penetrating the abysses of the universe; for
from thence downwards do all extend their wondrous rays.
– proclus in theologiam platonis, 171 and 172. t.
25. the monad first existed, and the paternal monad still
subsists.
– proclus in euclidem, 27. t.
26. when the monad is extended, the dyad is generated.
– proclus in euclidem, 27. t.
note that "what the pythagoreans signify by monad, duad
and triad, or plato by bound, infinite and mixed; that the oracles of the gods
intend by hyparxis, power and energy."
– damascius de principiis. taylor.
27. and beside him is seated the dyad which glitters with
intellectual sections, to govern all things, and to order everything not
ordered.
– proclus in platonis theologiam, 376. t.
28. the mind of the father said that all things should be
cut into three, whose will assented, and immediately all things were so divided.
– proclus in parmen. t.
29. the mind of the eternal father said into three,
governing all things by mind.
– proclus, timaeus of plato. t.
30. the father mingled every spirit from this triad.
– lydus, de mensibus, 20. taylor.
31. all things are supplied from the bosom of this triad.
– lydus, de mensibus, 20. taylor.
32. all things are governed and subsist in this triad.
– proclus in i. alcibiades. t.
33. for thou most know that all things bow before the
three supernals.
– damascius, de principiis. t.
34. from thence floweth forth the form of the triad, being
preexistent; not the first essence, but that whereby all things are measured.
– anon. z. or t.
35. and there appeared in it virtue and wisdom, and
multiscient truth.
– anon. z. or t.
36. for in each world shineth the triad, over which the
monad ruleth.
– damascius in parmenidem. t.
37. the first course is sacred, in the middle place
courses the sun,* in the third the earth is heated by the internal fire.
– anon. z. or t.
*jones gives sun from hellos, but some greek versions give
herios, which cory translates, air.
38. exalted upon high and animating light, fire, ether and
worlds.
– simplicius in his physica, 143. z. or t.
unattributed contents © 1997 - 1999 al billings
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