DOCSLIB.ORG

Mysticism.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mysticism.Pdf MYSTICISM A STUDY IN THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS EVELYN UNDERHILL IN HONOREM OMNIUM ANIMARUM MYSTICARUM Lume è lassù, che visibile face lo Creatore a quella creatura che solo in lui vedere ha la sua pace. PAR. xxx. 100 “When love has carried us above all things . we receive in peace the Incomprehensible Light, enfolding us and penetrating us. What is this Light, if it be not a contemplation of the Infinite, and an intuition of Eternity? We behold that which we are, and we are that which we behold; because our being, without losing anything of its own personality, is united with the Divine Truth.” RUYSBROECK “Man is the meeting-point of various stages of Reality.” RUDOLPH EUCKEN 1 CONTENTS Preface to the Twelfth Edition ................................................................................................... 3 Preface to the First Edition........................................................................................................ 6 Part One: The Mystic Fact......................................................................................................... 9 I. The Point of Departure ...................................................................................................................................10 II. Mysticism and Vitalism.................................................................................................................................26 III. Mysticism and Psychology ..........................................................................................................................39 IV. The Characteristics of Mysticism................................................................................................................58 V. Mysticism and Theology...............................................................................................................................77 VI. Mysticism and Symbolism ........................................................................................................................100 VII. Mysticism and Magic ...............................................................................................................................118 Part Two: The Mystic Way..................................................................................................... 130 I. Introductory...................................................................................................................................................131 II. The Awakening of the Self..........................................................................................................................137 III. The Purification of the Self........................................................................................................................154 IV. The Illumination of the Self.......................................................................................................................179 V. Voices and Visions......................................................................................................................................205 VI. Introversion. Part I: Recollection and Quiet .............................................................................................229 VII. Introversion. Part II: Contemplation........................................................................................................251 VIII. Ecstasy and Rapture ................................................................................................................................274 IX. The Dark Night of the Soul .......................................................................................................................291 X. The Unitive Life ..........................................................................................................................................315 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................338 Appendix: Historical Sketch of Mysticism ............................................................................. 344 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 361 Bibliographical Note.............................................................................................................. 391 Index...................................................................................................................................... 395 2 PREFACE TO THE TWELFTH EDITION SINCE this book first appeared, nineteen years ago, the study of mysticism—not only in England, but also in France, Germany and Italy—has been almost completely transformed. From being regarded, whether critically or favourably, as a byway of religion, it is now more and more generally accepted by theologians, philosophers and psychologists, as representing in its intensive form the essential religious experience of man. The labours of a generation of religious psychologists—following, and to some extent superseding the pioneer work of William James—have already done much to disentangle its substance from the psycho-physical accidents which often accompany mystical apprehension. Whilst we are less eager than our predecessors to dismiss all accounts of abnormal experience as the fruit of superstition or disease, no responsible student now identifies the mystic and the ecstatic; or looks upon visionary and other “extraordinary phenomena” as either guaranteeing or discrediting the witness of the mystical saints. Even the remorseless explorations and destructive criticisms of the psycho-analytic school are now seen to have effected a useful work; throwing into relief the genuine spiritual activities of the psyche, while explaining in a naturalistic sense some of their less fortunate psycho- physical accompaniments. The philosophic and theological landscape also, with its increasing emphasis on Transcendence, its new friendliness to the concept of the Supernatural, is becoming ever more favourable to the metaphysical claims of the mystics. On one hand the prompt welcome given to the work of Rudolf Otto and Karl Barth, on the other the renewed interest in Thomist philosophy, seem to indicate a growing recognition of the distinctness and independence of the Spiritual Order. and a revival of the creaturely sense, strongly contrasting with the temper of late nineteenth-century thought. Were I, then, now planning this book for the first time, its arguments would be differently stated. More emphasis would be given (a) to the concrete, richly living yet unchanging character of the Reality over against the mystic, as the first term, cause and incentive of his experience; (b) to that paradox of utter contrast yet profound relation between the Creator and the creature, God and the soul, which makes possible his development; (c) to the predominant part played in that development by the free and prevenient action of the Supernatural—in theological language, by “grace”—as against all merely evolutionary or emergent theories of spiritual transcendence. I feel more and more that no psychological or evolutionary treatment of man’s spiritual history can be adequate which ignores the element of “given-ness” in all genuine mystical knowledge. Though the mystic Life means organic growth, its first term must be sought in ontology; in the Vision of the Principle, as St. Gregory the Great taught long ago. For the real sanction of that life does not inhere in the fugitive experiences or even the transformed personality of the subject; but in the metaphysical Object which that subject apprehends. Again, it now seems to me that a critical realism, which found room for the duality of our full human experience—the Eternal and the Successive, supernatural and natural reality—would provide a better philosophic background to the experience of the mystics than the vitalism which appeared, twenty years ago, to offer so promising a way of escape from scientific determinism. Determinism—more and more abandoned by its old friends the physicists—is no longer the chief 3 enemy to such a spiritual interpretation of life as is required by the experience of the mystics. It is rather a naturalistic monism, a shallow doctrine of immanence unbalanced by any adequate sense of transcendence, which now threatens to re-model theology in a sense which leaves no room for the noblest and purest reaches of the spiritual life. Yet in spite of the adjustments required by such a shifting at the philosophic outlook, and by nearly twenty years of further study and meditation, the final positions which seem to me to be required by the existence of mysticism remain substantially unchanged. Twenty years ago, I was already convinced that the facts of man’s spiritual experience pointed to a limited dualism; a diagram which found place for his contrasting apprehension of Absolute and Contingent, Being and Becoming, Simultaneous and Successive. Further, that these facts involved the existence in him too of a certain doubleness, a higher and lower, natural and transcendental self—something equivalent to that “Funklein” spark, or apex of the soul on which the mystics have always insisted as the instrument of their special experience. Both these opinions were then unpopular. The second, in particular, has been severely criticized by Professor Pratt and other authorities on the psychology of religion. Yet the constructive work which has
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mystical Stages and Personality Development
    MYSTICAL STAGES The Theory of Positive Disintegration by Kazimierz Dabrowski. Laurence Nixon Religion Department Dawson College E-Mail 1 E-Mail 2 MYSTICAL STAGES AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Laurence Nixon Religion Department Brandon University In what follows I want to illustrate the similarities in patterns of development found in the personal documents of mystics and the growth of personality described by the clinical psychologist, Kazimierz Dabrowski. Dabrowski has also discussed the functions of various mystical practices, such as asceticism and meditation, and of mystical experiences, in the development of personality and I will provide some concrete examples of these. Dabrowski's concept of multilevel disintegration Dabrowski (Dabrowski & Piechowski, 1977) has articulated a five-stage model of personality development. In the first stage persons are integrated around their physiological needs; in the fifth and final stage persons are integrated around an ultimate and transcendent ideal. The three intermediate stages are three levels of personality disintegration. The first of these (level II) is called unilevel disintegration, a stage characterized by ambivalence and susceptibility to pressure from others. Unilevel disintegration is followed by a process of multilevel disintegration. The shift from unilevel to spontaneous multilevel disintegration (i.e., from level II to level III) is indicated by the presence of an intrinsic hierarchy of values. Conflict takes place between satisfying biological drives and pressure from others on the one hand, and altruistic and transcendental concerns on the other. Failure to live in a manner consistent with the hierarchy of values results in self-criticism. The values hierarchy also provides a means of critically evaluating, and resisting, the expectations of others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Project Gutenberg Ebook of a History of the Reformation (Vol. 1 of 2) by Thomas M
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of A History of the Reformation (Vol. 1 of 2) by Thomas M. Lindsay This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: A History of the Reformation (Vol. 1 of 2) Author: Thomas M. Lindsay Release Date: August 29, 2012 [Ebook 40615] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION (VOL. 1 OF 2)*** International Theological Library A History of The Reformation By Thomas M. Lindsay, M.A., D.D. Principal, The United Free Church College, Glasgow In Two Volumes Volume I The Reformation in Germany From Its Beginning to the Religious Peace of Augsburg Edinburgh T. & T. Clark 1906 Contents Series Advertisement. 2 Dedication. 6 Preface. 7 Book I. On The Eve Of The Reformation. 11 Chapter I. The Papacy. 11 § 1. Claim to Universal Supremacy. 11 § 2. The Temporal Supremacy. 16 § 3. The Spiritual Supremacy. 18 Chapter II. The Political Situation. 29 § 1. The small extent of Christendom. 29 § 2. Consolidation. 30 § 3. England. 31 § 4. France. 33 § 5. Spain. 37 § 6. Germany and Italy. 41 § 7. Italy. 43 § 8. Germany. 46 Chapter III. The Renaissance. 53 § 1. The Transition from the Mediæval to the Modern World. 53 § 2. The Revival of Literature and Art. 56 § 3. Its earlier relation to Christianity. 59 § 4. The Brethren of the Common Lot.
    [Show full text]
  • The Significance of Ruusbroec's Mystical Theology
    9770-07_LouvainStud_06-1_02 21-02-2007 09:09 Pagina 19 Louvain Studies 31 (2006) 19-41 doi: 10.2143/LS.31.1.2019377 © 2006 by Louvain Studies, all rights reserved The Significance of Ruusbroec’s Mystical Theology Bernard McGinn Abstract. — This essay seeks to evaluate the impact of the thought of Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381) in the history of Western Christian mysticism. Like all mystics, Ruusbroec was shaped by both the long mystical tradition, as well as by the historical context in which he found himself. A survey of three important aspects of this context is followed by an analysis of four essential themes of Ruusbroec’s mystical theology: the proper understanding of mystical union; the role of the Trinity; essential love; and the “common life.” The essay concludes with a brief sketch of major moments in the reception of Ruusbroec’s writings down through the seven- teenth century and some reflections on his lasting significance. The conception of mysticism as a form of private, even solipsistic, religious experience, largely of a paranormal nature and at least implic- itly in conflict with the institutional and doctrinal aspects of established religion is now mostly a thing of the past. Recent scholarship on mysti- cism in Christianity and in the world religions has shown how deeply bound the mystical element is to the other strands of religion. The mys- tical aspect of the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emerges ever more strongly as a part of these traditions, that is, what has been handed on by generations of believers through teaching and prac- tice, both oral and written.
    [Show full text]
  • AN INTRODUCTION to CHURCH HISTORY: from the BEGINNINGS to 1500
    AN INTRODUCTION TO CHURCH HISTORY: from THE BEGINNINGS to 1500 COURSE TEXTBOOK This textbook is based principally on: Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, (Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 1918) Also included herein are selections and material adapted from the following sources: Chadwick, Henry The Early Church, Revised Edition. (Penguin, 1993) Deansly, Margaret, A History of the Medieval Church, 590-1500. (Routledge. London. 1989) Dysinger, Luke, “Early Christian Monasticism”, The Encyclopedia of Ancient History 2010. Logan, F. Donald, A History of the Church in the Middle Ages, (Routledge, London. 2002) Vauchez, Andre, The Spir’ty of the Medieval West from the 8th to the 12th Century, (Cistercian, 1993). 1 2 CONTENTS 1. JESUS and the HELLENISTIC WORLD 6. LEADERSHIP and LITURGY [1.1]. The General Situation; 5 [6.1]. The Hierarchical Development Of 47 [1.2]. The Jewish Background; 10 The Church . [6.2]. Public Worship And Sacred [1.3]. Jesus and the Disciples; 13 49 Seasons [[2.1]2. p.92 ] 1 2. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH [6.3]. Baptism 50 [2.1]. The Palestinian Christian [6.4]. The Eucharist. 51 Communities 15 [6.5]. Forgiveness Of Sins 52 [2.2]. Paul and Gentile Christianity 17 [6.6]. Sinners in the Church 54 [2.3]. The Close of the Apostolic Age 20 [2.4]. The Interpretation of Jesus 21 7. PERSECUTION and TRANSFORMATION 3. GENTILE CHURCH and ROMAN [7.1]. Rest And Growth, 260-303 55 EMPIRE [7.2]. Rival Religious Forces 55 [3.1]. Gentile Christianity of the Second Century 25 [7.3]. The Final Struggle 56 [7.4].
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-04210-0 — the Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West Volume 2 Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-04210-0 — The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West Volume 2 Index More Information 1191 Index Aachen (chapel), 420 advocates, 859 – 61 Aachen, Synods of (816-819), 184 , 186 – 7 , 291 , lay nobility as, 581 , 585 323 , 375 , 387 , 422 , 424 , 438 – 41 , 455 , 462 , 482 , Áed mac Bricc of Rahugh, 301 497 – 8 , 508 – 9 , 526 Ælfric of Eynsham, 511 , 513 Aaron, Bishop of Kraków, 885 Colloquy , 415 Abelard, Peter, 652 , 675 , 682 , 697 , 735 , 740 , 741 , 743 , Aelred of Rievaulx, 573 , 721 , 751 , 753 , 756 777 , 967 , 1076 Rule for a Recluse , 753 , 759 Sic et Non, 458 Æthelwold of Winchester, 426 , 507 – 17 , Abbaye- aux- Dames of Saintes (monastery), 252 – 53 534 , 539 – 40 Abbo of Fleury, 595 , 627 Agaune, Life of the Abbots of , 61 Collectio , 6 2 1 , 6 2 7 Agaune, Saint- Maurice d’ (monastery), 37 , 116 , Abraham of Kaškar, 69 181 , 244 , 248 , 292 – 3 Abraham of Pboou/ Farshut, 54 Agde, Council of (506), 750 Abraham of Quiduna, Life of, 749 , 759 Agilulf, Lombard King, 238 Adalbero of Laon, Carmen ad Rotbertum Agnes of Antioch, 889 regem , 1157 Agnes of Babenberg, 889 Acemetes (monastery), 343 – 44 Agnes of Bohemia, 893 Acta Murensia , 5 7 2 Agnes of Hereford, 907 Acts of Paul and Thecla , 43 , 99 Agnes of Meissen (or Quedlinburg), 1004 Acts of Peter , 43 Agriculture, see also property and land Acts of the Apostles , 42 animal husbandry and pastoralism, 841 – 44 Acts of Thomas , 43 in Byzantium, 354 – 56 , see also property and land Adalard of Corbie, 460 , 472 cereal production,
    [Show full text]
  • The Fragrance of the Mystical Rose
    The Fragrance of the Mystical Rose The Revelation of the Celestial Mysteries from the Enclosed Garden of God By Marilynn Hughes TÇ bâàbâà@@@@ÉyÉyÉyÉy@@@@UÉwçUÉwç gÜtäxÄ UÉÉ~ g{x bâàbâà@@@@ÉyÉyÉyÉy@@@@UÉwçUÉwç gÜtäxÄ YÉâÇwtà|ÉÇ4 http://outofbodytravel.org 2 3 The Fragrance of the Mystical Rose The Revelation of the Celestial Mysteries from the Enclosed Garden of God By Marilynn Hughes TÇ bâàbâà@@@@ÉyÉyÉyÉy@@@@UÉwçUÉwç gÜtäxÄ UÉÉ~ g{x bâàbâà@@@@ÉyÉyÉyÉy@@@@UÉwçUÉwç gÜtäxÄ YÉâÇwtà|ÉÇ4 http://outofbodytravel.org 4 Copyright 2014, Marilynn Hughes All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof in any form whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher and author, except for brief passages in connection with a review. All credits for quotations are included in the Bibliography. For information, write to: g{x bâàbâà@@@@ÉyÉyÉyÉy@@@@UÉwçUÉwç gÜtäxÄ YÉâÇwtà|ÉÇ4 http://outofbodytravel.org [email protected] If this book is unavailable from your local bookseller, it may be obtained directly from the Out-of-Body Travel Foundation by going to www.outofbodytravel.org. Having worked primarily in radio broadcasting, Marilynn Hughes spent several years as a news reporter, producer and anchor before deciding to stay at home with her three children. She's experienced, researched, written, and taught about out-of-body travel since 1987. Books by Marilynn Hughes: Come to Wisdom's Door How to Have an Out-of-Body Experience! OUTOUTOUT-OUT ---OFOFOFOF----BODYBODY EXPERIENCES What you Need to know
    [Show full text]
  • Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age
    Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age by Rudolf Steiner (Berlin, 1901) GA 7 Translated from the German by Karl E. Zimmer Introductory Comment by Paul M. Allen Steinerbooks Copyright © 1960 Rudolf Steiner Publications The authorized translation for the Western Hemisphere by agreement with the Rudolf Steiner- Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach-bei-Basel, Switzerland. This book is published in Switzerland under the title Die Mystik im Augange des neuzeitlichen Geisteslebens und ihr Verhältnis zur modernen Weltanschauung. All rights in this book are reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publishers except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles for reviews. Second Edition 1980 ISBN: 0-8334-0753-8 (Cloth Edition) Printed in the United States of America Converted into ePub format from: The Steiner e.Lib Original Cover Sheet About the Author, the People, and the Background of this Book Shortly before the beginning of the present century, Rudolf Steiner arrived in Berlin to assume the post of editor of the well-known Magazin für Litteratur which had been established by Joseph Lehmann in 1832, the year of Goethe's death. Steiner was well qualified for this position, having already edited and written commentary on the natural scientific writings of Goethe for the Kurschner and the Weimar Editions of Goethe's works, a task for which he had been originally recommended by the celebrated Goethe scholar, Karl Julius Schröer, under whom Steiner had studied at the University of Vienna. Steiner also had edited the works of Schopenhauer and Jean Paul Richter for the well-known Cotta Library of World Literature series.
    [Show full text]
  • Mystics of the Christian Tradition
    Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen MYSTICS OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION From divine visions to self-tortures, some strange mystical experiences have shaped the Christian tradition as we know it. Full of colorful detail, Mystics of the Christian Tradition examines the mystical experiences that have determined the history of Christianity over two thousand years, and reveals the often sexual nature of these encounters with the divine. In this fascinating account, Fanning reveals how God’s direct revelation to St. Fran- cis of Assisi led to his living with lepers and kissing their sores, and describes the mystical life of Margery Kempe who “took weeping to new decibel levels.” Through presenting the lives of almost a hundred mystics, this broad survey invites us to consider what it means to be a mystic and to explore how people such as Joan of Arc had their lives deter- mined by divine visions. Mystics of the Christian Tradition is a comprehensive guide to discovering what mysticism means and who the mystics of the Christian tradition actually were. This lively and authoritative introduction to mysticism is a valuable survey for students and the general reader alike. Steven Fanning is Associate Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of A Bishop and His World Before the Gregorian Reform, Hubert of An- gers, 1006–1047 (1988), as well as almost a dozen articles on late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Mystics of the Christian Tradition 22 February 2001 09:18:47 Color profile: Disabled Composite
    [Show full text]
  • SYMONDS RARE BOOKS Highlights from Our Collection Manuscripts
    SYMONDS RARE BOOKS Highlights From Our Collection Manuscripts, Autographs, Incunables, Books and Artworks from the 15th to the 19th Century Foreword Please, take a moment to look at this fine selection of exquisite manuscripts, autographs, incunables, books and artworks from the 15th to the 19th century. Here you will find a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible (item n. 6); a mid-15th century sumptuously illuminated breviary of the Augustinian Abbey of Saint-Loup (item n. 1); an autograph poem by William Wordsworth (item n. 3) and a fine contemporary portrait of Charles Dickens (item n. 16). Thomas J. Symonds December 2020 Symonds Rare Books, Ltd. Phone: +44 (0)7984062299 Email: [email protected] Website: https://symondsrarebooks.co.uk/ Instagram: @symonds_rare_books 2 Manuscripts 3 1. [ANON.], Book of Prayers in German Germany (Rhineland, possibly Cologne), after 1461. £ 25,000 Illuminated manuscript on vellum. Small 8vo., 9.8 x 7.4 cm. (writing-space 6.5 x 4.3 cm.); 197 leaves (5 blanks), fols. [i–xvi]8, [xvii]7 (of 8: fol. [xvii]2 lost or cancelled), [xviii]–[xxiii]8, [xxiv]6 (of 8: 2 blanks cancelled at end), [xxv]8; two flyleaves cut from a thirteenth-century manuscript. 13 lines to a page, written in dark brown ink in a German cursive book hand; rubrics in dark red, capitals touched in red, flourished initials in red and blue sometimes with contrasting penwork; five large illuminated initials with floral borders, 8 lines high on fol. 1 (somewhat rubbed), 3 lines high on fol. 5, and 4 lines high on fols.
    [Show full text]
  • CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE Suada- Syzygus by James Strong & John Mcclintock
    THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY REFERENCE CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE Suada- Syzygus by James Strong & John McClintock To the Students of the Words, Works and Ways of God: Welcome to the AGES Digital Library. We trust your experience with this and other volumes in the Library fulfills our motto and vision which is our commitment to you: MAKING THE WORDS OF THE WISE AVAILABLE TO ALL — INEXPENSIVELY. AGES Software Rio, WI USA Version 1.0 © 2000 2 Suada the Roman personification of persuasion; the Greek Peitho. Suadela the diminutive of SUADA SEE SUADA (q.v.). Su’äh (Heb. jiWs, Su’ach, sweeping [Gesen.], oriches [Fürst]; Sept. Soue>), first named of the eleven “sons” of Zophah an Asherite (<130736>1 Chronicles 7:36). B.C. apparently cir. 1020. Suares (or Suarez), Joseph Marie a French prelate and antiquarian, was born July 5, 1599, at Avignon, and educated at his native place. Having embraced the ecclesiastical state, he became the coadjutor of his uncle Francisco Suarez (q.v.) as provost of the cathedral; and afterwards went to Rome, where cardinal Barberini gave him charge of his library. Having received several additional honors, he was at length promoted by Urban VIII, in 1633, to the bishopric of Vaison, in which capacity: he attacked Calvinism; but he finally resigned in favor of his brother Charles, and retired to Rome, where he died, Dec. 7, 1677. His antiquarian writings are enumerated in Hoefer, Nouv. Biog, Géneralé, s.v. His brother CHARLES JOSEPH, born at Avignon in 1618, became priest in 1641, succeeded to the bishopric of Vaison, in 1666, and died there Nov.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Bruegel and Esoteric Tradition
    PETER BRUEGEL AND ESOTERIC TRADITION Contents i Summary vii Declaration and Statements ix Foreword 1 Introduction 1. Bruegel in the view of art historians 7 Introduction 2. The Numbering at Bethlehem 29 Part I: The Perennial Philosophy Chapter 1. Theory of the Perennial Philosophy and Esotericism Modern Writers on the Perennial Philosophy 72 Esotericism 82 Chapter 2. Lineaments of the Perennial Philosophy in the Hellenistic World Hellenic and Hellenistic Origins 87 Plotinus 90 Plotinian Psychology 92 Plotinian Cosmology 97 Man the Microsom 105 Iamblichus 109 i Chapter 3. Lineaments of the Perennial Philosophy in the Christian World The Primitive Church 111 Origen 113 Symbol of the Seed in John’s Gospel 116 Spiritual Freedom and the Church as Institution 119 Early Appearance of ‘Heresy’ 122 Pagan Traditions in Christianity 122 Esoteric Symbolism in the New Testament 126 The Church Institutionalised 129 Gnostics 130 Chapter 4. Lineaments of the Perennial Philosophy: Gnosticism and Christian Platonism Montanism 132 Gnosticism: The Way of Self Knowledge 138 Spiritual Exercises 141 The Tradition in the West: Dionysius the Areopagite 145 Origins of the Cathars: Paulicians, Montanists and Bogomils 148 ii Chapter 5. Lineaments of the Perennial Philosophy: Mysticism in the Late Middle Ages 13th century Followers of Erigena 153 The Brethren of the Free Spirit 155 Devotio Moderna 157 [08] Meister Eckhart and the Rhineland Mystics 158 The Friends of God 163 Meditation 164 John Tauler, 1300-1360 166 Henry Suso, 1296-1366 157 Theologica and Imitatio Christi 167 The Brotherhood of the Common Life 181 Chapter 6. Lineaments of the Perennial Philosophy: Renaissance Mysticism Italy and Renaissance Mysticism 184 Solario’s portrait of Longoni 185 Renaissance Esotericism 189 Perennial Philosophy and Renaissance Mysticism 193 Hermeticism 196 Recapitulation: The Esoteric Way of Self-Knowledge 200 Application of Sacred Tradition in Practice 201 iii Chapter 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Spotlights Medieval Mysticism
    Spotlight on Medieval Mysticism Hermes, Suso, Lull, and Lichtenberger at DR. JÖRN GÜNTHER · RARE BOOKS AG Manuskripte und seltene Bücher Basel / Stalden Hermes Trismegistus, De Potestate et Sapientia Dei. Translated from Greek into Latin by Marsilio Ficino. Treviso, Gerardus de Lisa de Flandria, 18 December 1471. 1st edition, 204 x 132 mm, 56 leaves Hermeticism is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition that is primarily based on writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Under the title De potestate et sapientia Dei, this book, printed in 1471, is the very rare, first edition of the Hermetic works I-XIV rediscovered only some fifteen years earlier. Also called Pimander after the first treatise, the texts reveal divine mysteries attributed to Thoth, the philosopher-king and priest of ancient Egypt. This god of wisdom and patron of astrology and alchemy, who is called ‘thrice greatest’, was thought to have been a contemporary of Moses. In the Corpus Hermeticum – dialogues mixing Platonism with Gnostic, Hebraic, Mithraic, and ancient Egyptian traditions – philosophy is put to the service of religious concepts. Pimander, the first Hermetic treatise, tells the story of the Creation similar to that in Genesis, but in the form of a dialogue between Hermes and Pimander, the divine. Hermes in his sleep asks to know God and suddenly sees in Pimander a great light, then darkness. To live according to the mystery of God, Pimander tells Hermes he must live a pure and holy life, and ‘at death, the immortal element of man will ascend and return to the sphere of God whence it came …’ The texts found favour in humanist circles and soon exerted great influence.
    [Show full text]