{
  "meta": {
    "schema_version": "1.1",
    "endpoint": "/api/sources/great-initiates/08-notes.json"
  },
  "work": {
    "slug": "great-initiates",
    "name": "The Great Initiates"
  },
  "parents": [],
  "chapter": {
    "num": 9,
    "slug": "08-notes",
    "title": "Notes",
    "of": 9,
    "words": 8870,
    "text": "## Notes\n\n\nNotes\n\n1. This division of mankind into four successive, primitive races was accepted by the oldest priests\nof Egypt. They are represented by four figures of different types and skin colors in the paintings of\nthe tomb of Seti I at Thebes. The red race bears the name Rot; the Asiatic race with yellow skin,\nAmu; the African race with black skin, Halasiu; the Lybico European race with white skin and blond\nhair, Tamahu -- Lenormant, History of the Peoples of the Orient, Vol. I.\n\n2. Refer to the Arabian historians, as well as Abul Ghazi, Genealogical History of the Tartars and\nworks of Mohammed Moshen, historian of the Persians. William Jones, Asiatic Researches 1.\nDiscourse on the Tartars and Persians.\n\n3. Histoire philosophique du genre humain, Vol. 1..\n\n4. All who have seen a real sleep walker have been struck by the unusual intellectual excitement\nwhich is brought about during sleep. For those who have not witnessed such a phenomenon and who\ndoubt it, we will quote a passage from the famous David Strauss. At the house of his friend, Dr.\nJustinus Kerner, he saw the famous Clairvoyant of Prevorst and describes her in the following\nmanner:\n\n\"Shortly afterward, the seer fell into a hypnotic sleep. Thus for the first time I viewed this unusual\nstate, and, I can say, in its purest and loveliest manifestation. The face bore a suffering yet exalted\nand tender expression and was as if bathed in heavenly light; the speech was pure, cadenced and\nrhythmical, a sort of recitative, an abundance of overflowing feelings which might have been\ncompared to masses of clouds, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, gliding over the soul, or better\nstill, to quiet, melancholy breezes caught up in the strings of a marvelous aeolian harp.\" (Trans. by\nR. Lindau, Biographie Generale, art. Kerner)\n\n5. Refer to the last battle between Ariovistus and Caesar in the latter's Commentaries.\n\n6. Historie philosophique du genre humain. Vol. 1.\n\n7. It is noteworthy that the Zend Avesta, the sacred book of the Parsis, while considering Zoroaster as\nthe one inspired by Ormuzd and the prophet of God's law, makes him the successor of a much more\nancient prophet. Behind the symbolism of the ancient temples one grasps here the chain of the great\n\nrevelation of mankind, uniting all true initiates. Here is the important passage:\n\n1. Zarathustra (Zoroaster) asked Ahura-Mazda (Ormuzd, God of Light): Ahura-Mazda, holy and\nmost sacred creator of all corporeal beings:\n\n2. Who is the first man with whom you spoke, Ahura-Mazda?\n\n4. Then Ahura-Mazda answered: With the noble Yima, he who was at the head of an assembly\nworthy of praises, O pure Zarathastra.\n\n13. And I said to him: Watch over the worlds which belong to me, make them fertile in your role of\nprotector.\n\n17. And I brought him the arms of victory, I who am Ahura-Mazda:\n18. A golden lance and a golden spear ...\n\n31. Then Yima raised himself up to the stars in the south, on the path which the sun takes.\n\n37. He walked over this land which he had made fertile. It was one-third larger than before.\n\n43. And the radiant Yima called together the assembly of the most virtuous men in the famous\nAiryana Vaeja, created pure. (Vendidad Sade, 2nd Fargard Trans. by Anquetil Duperron)\n\n8. The horns of the ram are found on the heads of many human figures carved on Egyptian\nmonuments. This headgear of kings and high priests is the mark of priestly and royal initiation. The\ntwo horns of the papal tiara are derived from it.\n\n9. This is how the signs of the Zodiac represent Ram's life, according to Fabre d Olivet, that thinker\nand genius who knew how to interpret the symbols of the past according to esoteric tradition: 1.\nAries, The Ram which is fleeing with head turned backward, indicates Ram's position when leaving\nhis country, his eye fixed on the land behind him. 2. The Raging Bull (Taurus) stands in the way of\nhis march, but half of his body, held fast in the mud prevents him from executing his plan; he falls\nupon his knees. These are the Celts, represented by their own symbol, who in spite of their efforts,\nfinally yield. 3. Gemini express the alliance of Ram with the Turanians. 4. Cancer, Ram's\nmeditations and inner reflections. 5. The Lion, his battles against his enemies. 6. The Winged Virgin,\nvictory. 7. The Scales, the equality of conquerors and conquered. 8. The Scorpion, rebellion and\ntreason. 9. Sagittarius, the revenge he takes. 10. Capricorn. 11. Aquarius, the Waterman. 12. The\nsign of Pisces refers to the moral side of his story.\n\nOne may find this explanation of the Zodiac both daring and strange. However, never has any\nastronomer or mythologist explained to us the origin or meaning of these mysterious signs of the\nheavenly map, adopted and revered by humanity since the beginning of our Aryan cycle. Fabre\ndOlivet's hypothesis at least has the merit of opening new and broad perspectives. I have said that\nthese signs, when read in reverse order in the Orient and in Greece, later marked the ascending steps\nnecessary to reach supreme initiation. Let us remember only the most famous of these emblems: The\nWinged Virgin meant the purity which gives victory; The Lion, moral strength; The Twins, the union\nof man and a divine spirit, together forming two invincible fighters; The subdued Bull, mastery over\nnature; The Ram, the constellation of Fire or of the universal Spirit, giving supreme initiation\nthrough the knowledge of Truth.\n\n10. The Brahmans considered the Vedas their holy books par excellence. They found in them the\nscience of sciences. The word Veda means knowledge. The scientists of Europe have been justifiably\ndrawn to these texts by a kind of fascination. At first they saw in them only a patriarchal poetry; then\nthey discovered in them not only the origin of the great Indo-European myths and our classic gods,\nbut also a wisely organized cult, a profoundly religious and metaphysical system (See Bergaigne, La\nreligion des Vedas, as well as the excellent and enlightening work of August Barth, Les religions de\nl'Inde.) The future perhaps still holds a final surprise, which will be to find in the Vedas the\ndefinition of that secret power of nature which modern science is in the process of rediscovering.\n\n11. What clearly proves that Soma represented the absolute feminine principle is the fact that the\nBrahmins later identified it with the Moon. As the Moon symbolizes the feminine principle in all\nancient religions, so the Sun symbolizes the masculine principle.\n\n12. An observation is indispensable here concerning the symbolic meaning of the legend as well as\nthe real origin of those in history who have borne the name, \"Sons of God.\" According to the secret\ndoctrine of India, which was also that of the initiates of Egypt and Greece, the human soul is the\nchild of heaven. Before it was born on earth the soul had a series of corporeal and spiritual\nexistences. The father and mother therefore only engender the body of the child, since his soul\ncomes from somewhere else. This universal law governs everything. The greatest prophets, even\nthose in whom the divine Word has spoken, cannot escape it. And, in fact, from the moment one\naccepts the pre-existence of the soul, the question of knowing the name of the father becomes\n\nsecondary. One must believe that this prophet comes from a divine world, and the real Sons of God\nprove this by their life and death. But the ancient initiates did not believe it necessary to make these\nthings known to the common people. Some of those who appeared in the world as divine envoys\nwere sons of initiates, and their mothers had frequented the temples in order to conceive chosen\nones.\n\n13. These are the genii who, in all Hindu poetry are represented as presiding over love and marriage.\n\n14. It is a definite belief in India that the great ascetics can make themselves manifest at a distance in\nvisible form, while their bodies remain plunged in a cataleptic sleep.\n\n15. In ancient India these two functions were often combined. The drivers of kings' chariots were\nimportant persons, and often were the monarchs' ministers. Examples of this abound in Hindu\npoetry.\n\n16. In Brahman initiation this means Supreme God, God-Spirit. Each of its letters corresponds to one\nof the divine qualities, that is, to one of the members of the Trinity.\n\n17. The legend of Krishna helps us to comprehend at its very source the idea of the Virgin Mother,\nof the Man-God, and of the Trinity. In India this idea appears from the first in its transparent\nsymbolism with its profound metaphysical meaning. In Book V, Chapter II the Vishnu Purana,\nhaving related the conception of Krishna by Devaki adds, \"No one could look upon Devaki because\nof the light which surrounded her, and those who saw her radiance felt troubled in mind; the gods,\ninvisible to mortals, continually sang her praises, since Vishnu was embodied in her. They would\nsay, You are that infinite, subtle Prakriti who once bore Brahma in her womb; you were then the\ngoddess of the Word, the Energy of the Creator of the Universe, and the Mother of the Vedas. O\neternal being, who contains in your substance the essence of all created things, you were identical\nwith creation; you were the sacrifice from which all that earth produces originates; you are the wood\nwhich in its rubbing engenders fire. Like Aditi, you are the mother of the gods; like Diti, you are the\nmother of the Datyas, their enemies. You are the light from which the day is born; you are humility,\nmother of true wisdom; you are the mother of Order; you are Desire from which love is born; you\nare Satisfaction from which resignation is derived; you are Intelligence, mother of Silence; you are\nPatience, mother of Courage; all the firmament and the stars are your children, all that exists\noriginates in you. You went down to earth for the salvation of the world. Have compassion on us, O\ngoddess, and show yourself kindly disposed toward the universe; be proud of bearing the god who\nsustains the world!'\" -- This passage proves that the Brahmans identified Krishna's mother with\nuniversal substance and the feminine element in nature. They made her the second member of the\ndivine trinity, of the initial unmanifest triad. The Father, Nara (Eternal Masculine); the mother, Nari\n(Eternal Feminine) and the Son, Viradi (Word-Creator), are the divine qualities. In other words, the\nintellectual element, the plastic element, the productive element. All three together constitute natura\nnaturans, to use Spinoza's term. The organic world, the living universe, natura naturata is the\nproduct of the Word-Creator who in turn is manifest in three forms: Brahma, Spirit, corresponding\nto the divine world; Vishnu, Soul, corresponding to the human world; Siva, body, corresponding to\nthe natural world. In these three worlds the male element and the female element (essence and\nsubstance) are equally active, and the Eternal Feminine is seen at the same time in terrestrial, human\nand divine nature. Isis is threefold in nature, and so is Cybele.\n\nThus it is clear that the double trinity, that of God and that of the universe, contains the elements and\nframework of a theodicy and a cosmogony. It is correct to recognize that this basis came from India.\nAll the ancient temples, all the great religions and many outstanding philosophers have adopted it.\nFrom the time of the Apostles and during the early centuries of Christianity, the Christian initiates\nrevered the female element in visible and invisible nature under the name of the Holy Spirit,\nrepresented by a dove, the symbol of feminine power in all the temples of Asia and Europe. If since\n\nthat time the Church has hidden or lost the key to its Mysteries, their meaning is still written in its\nsymbols.\n\n18. The statement of this doctrine, which later became Plato's, is found in the first book of the\nBhagavad Gita in the form of a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.\n\n19. The Vishnu-Purana, Book V, Chapters 22 and 30 speaks of this city in rather clear terms:\n\"Krishna resolved therefore to build a citadel where the tribe of Yadu would find a safe refuge, and\nwhich would be such that even women could defend it. The city of Dvarka was protected by raised\nramparts, beautified by gardens and fish ponds, and was as splendid as Amarasvati, Indra's city. In\nthis city he planted the Paryata tree, whose sweet scent perfumes the earth afar off. All those who\napproached it found themselves able to recall their previous lives.\"\n\nThis tree is evidently the symbol of divine knowledge and initiation. We find the same tree in\nChaldean tradition. From there it passed to the Hebraic Genesis. After Krishna's death the city is\nsubmerged, the tree returns to heaven, but the temple remains. If all this has an historic significance,\nfor one who knows the ultra-symbolic and discrete language of the Hindus, it means that some tyrant\nor other had the city completely destroyed and initiation became more and more secret.\n\n20. Sakia-Muni's greatness resides in his sublime charity, in his moral reform and in the social\nrevolution he brought about through overthrowing the ossified castes. But Sakia-Muni added nothing\nto the esoteric doctrine of the Brahmans; he only revealed certain parts of it. Its psychology is\nfundamentally the same, though it follows a different path. (See my article on La Legende de\nBouddha in Revue des Deux Mondes, July 1,1885)\n\nIf the Buddha is not represented in this volume, this is not because we do not recognize his place in\nthe series of the Great Initiates. Rather it is because of the special plan of this book. Each of the\nreformers or philosophers selected is intended to show the doctrine of the Mysteries in a different\naspect and at another stage in its evolution. From this viewpoint, Buddha would represent a needless\nrepetition in connection with Pythagoras, through whom I developed the doctrine of reincarnation\nand evolution of souls, on the one hand, and on the other, with Jesus Christ, who promulgated for the\nWest as well as the East, the ideal of universal Brotherhood and Love.\n\nAs for the book Esoteric Buddhism by Sinnet, which in some respects is very interesting, worthy of\nbeing read, and whose origin many people attribute to self-styled initiates still living in Tibet, it is\nimpossible for me, until otherwise informed, to see anything in it but a very clever compilation of\nBrahmanism and Buddhism, with certain ideas borrowed from the Kabbala, Paracelsus, and a few\nthoughts from modern science.\n\n21. In an inscription of the Fourth Dynasty, the Sphinx is spoken of as a monument whose origin\nwas lost in the darkness of time and which had been found by chance during the reign of this prince,\nburied in the sand of the desert, under which it was forgotten for long generations. And the Fourth\nDynasty carries us back four thousand years before Christ. Let one calculate the antiquity of the\nSphinx from this!\n\n22. \"Scientific esoteric theology,\" says Mr. Maspero, \"is monotheistic since the period of the Ancient\nEmpire. The affirmation of the fundamental unity of the Divine Being is expressed in formal terms\nand with great force in the texts which date back to this period. God is the Unique One, Who exists\nin essence, the only One Who lives in substance, the Sole Generator in heaven and on earth Who is\nnot engendered. Father, Mother and Son at the same time, He engenders, gives birth and exists\nperpetually; and those three persons, far from dividing the unity of the divine nature, contribute to its\ninfinite perfection. His attributes are immensity, eternity, independence, all-powerful will and\nboundless kindness. \"He creates his own members, who are gods,' say the old texts. Each of these\n\nsecondary gods, considered identical with the One God, can form a new type from whom other\ninferior types emanate in turn and by the same process.\" -- Histoire ancienne des peuples de\nl'Orient.\n\n23. For a long time archeologists have seen in the sarcophagus of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh the\ntomb of King Sesostus, on the testimony of Herodotus, who was not an initiate, and to whom the\nEgyptian priests hardly confided anything except trifles and folk tales. The kings of Egypt, however,\nhad their tombs elsewhere. The strange inner structure of the Pyramid proves that it was to be used\nfor initiation ceremonies and secret practices of the priests of Osiris. The Well of Truth which we\ndescribed, the ascending staircase and the room of the arcana are found there. The room called the\nKing's Chamber, which contains the sarcophagus, was the one where the adept was led on the eve of\nhis great initiation. These same arrangements were reproduced in the great temples of central and\n\nupper Egypt.\n\n24. The Vision of Hermes is found at the beginning of the Books of Hermes Trismegistus under the\nname Poimandres. Ancient Egyptian tradition has come to us only in a slightly altered Alexandrian\nform. I have tried to reconstruct this major fragment of Hermetic teaching in the setting of the higher\ninitiation and the esoteric synthesis it represents.\n\n25. These gods had other names in the Egyptian language, but in all mythologies the seven\ncosmogonic gods correspond in their meaning and attributes. They have their common root in\nancient esoteric tradition. Since Western tradition has adopted the Latin names, we use them for\ngreater clarity.\n\n26. There are Ten Sephiroth in the Kabbala. The first three represent the divine Trinity, the seven\nothers, the evolution of the universe.\n\n27. These are the Egyptian terms for this septenary constitution of man, as found in the Kabbala:\nChat, material body, Anch, vital force, Ka, the ethereal counterpart or astral body, Hati, animal soul,\nBai, rational soul, Cheybi, spiritual soul, Ku, the divine Spirit. One will find the development of\nthese fundamental ideas of esoteric doctrine in the sections on Orpheus and on Pythagoras.\n\n28. In Egyptian doctrine, man was considered as having consciousness in this life only of the animal\nsoul and rational soul, called hati and bai. The higher part of his being, the spiritual soul and divine\nSpirit, Cheybi and Ku, exist in him in the state of unconscious seed and develop after this life when\nhe himself becomes an Osiris.\n\n29. Ibrim means \"those of the other side, those beyond, those who have passed the river.\" -- Renan,\nHist. du peuple d Israel.\n\n30. Moses' Egyptian first name (Manethon, quoted by Philo).\n\n31. The Biblical account (Exodus 2:1-10) makes Moses a Jew of the tribe of Levi, found by\nPharaoh's daughter among the bulrushes of the Nile, where his nurse had placed him in order to\ntouch the princess' heart and save the child from a persecution similar to that of Herod. By contrast,\nManethon, an Egyptian priest to whom we owe the most precise information on the dynasties of the\nPharaohs, -- information confirmed today by the inscriptions on monuments, -- states that Moses was\na priest of Osiris. Strabo, who obtained his information from the same source, that is, from the\nEgyptian priests, also confirms this. The Egyptian source has more validity here than the Jewish\nsource, for the priests of Egypt had no interest in making Greeks or Romans believe that Moses was\none of them, while the national vanity of the Jews caused them to make the founder of their nation a\nman of their own blood. The Biblical account recognizes, moreover, that Moses was raised in Egypt\nand was sent by his government as inspector of the Jews of Goshen. This is the important, major fact\n\nwhich establishes the secret relation between the Mosaic religion and Egyptian initiation. Clement of\nAlexandria believed that Moses was deeply initiated into the science of Egypt, and, in effect, the\nwork of the creator of Israel would be incomprehensible without this.\n\n32. Later (Numbers 3:1) after the Exodus, Aaron and Miriam, Moses' brother and sister, according to\nthe Bible, reproached him for having married an Ethiopian. Jethro, Sephora's father, therefore was of\nthis race.\n\n33. Travelers of recent times report that Hindu fakirs have themselves buried after being plunged\ninto a cataleptic sleep, indicating the exact day when they must be disinterred. One of them, after\nthree weeks of burial, was found alive, safe and sound.\n\n34. The seven daughters of Jethro, of whom the Bible speaks (Exodus 2:16-20), evidently have a\nsymbolic meaning, like this entire account which has come to us in a legendary and completely\npopularized form: It is very unlikely that the priestly ruler of a great temple would make his\ndaughters feed his herds or reduce an Egyptian priest to the role of shepherd. The seven daughters of\nJethro symbolize seven virtues that the initiate was forced to acquire in order to open the Well of\nTruth. In the story of Agar and Ishmael, this well is called \"The Well of the Living One Who sees\nme.\"\n\n35. The true restorer of Moses' cosmogony is a man of genius almost forgotten today, to whom\nFrance will do justice when esoteric science, which is integral and religious science, is reconstructed\non its own indestructible foundations. Fabre d'Olivet could not be understood by his contemporaries,\nfor he was at least a hundred years ahead of his time. His universal outlook encompassed in equal\ndegree three faculties whose union creates transcendental intellects: intuition, analysis and synthesis.\nBorn at Ganges (Hérault) in 1767, he undertook the study of mystical doctrines of the Orient after\nhaving acquired an extensive understanding of the sciences, philosophies and literatures of the\nOccident. Count de Gébelin, through his Primitive World opened for him the first vistas of the\nsymbolic meaning of the myths of antiquity and the sacred language of the temples. In order to\nbecome initiated in the doctrines of the Orient, he learned Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic and Hebrew. In\n1815 he published his major book, The Hebraic Tongue Restored. This book includes: 1. An\nintroductory dissertation on the origin of speech; 2. A Hebrew grammar, based on new principles; 3.\nHebrew roots viewed according to etymological science; 4. A preliminary discourse; 5. A French\nand English translation of the first ten chapters of Genesis, which contain the cosmogony of Moses.\nThis translation is accompanied by a commentary of the greatest interest. I can only summarize here\nthe principles and substance of this very revealing book. It is permeated with the deepest esoteric\nspirit and is constructed according to the most rigorous scientific method. The method Fabre d Olivet\nuses to fathom the secret meaning of the Hebrew text of Genesis is a comparison of Hebrew with\nArabic, Syriac, Aramaic and Chaldean from the point of view of basic common roots, of which he\nfurnishes us an admirable lexicon supported by examples taken from all the languages, a lexicon\nwhich can serve as a key for sacred names among all peoples. Of all esoteric books on the Old\nTestament, Fabre d'Olivet's gives the surest keys. In addition, he gives an enlightening account of the\nhistory of the Bible and the apparent reasons why its hidden meaning was lost, and even today is\nutterly unknown to science and official theology.\n\nI shall say a few words about another, more recent work. This is The Mission of the Jews, by Saint-\nYves d'Alveydre (1884). Saint-Yves owes his philosophical initiation to Fabre dOlivet's books. His\ninterpretation of Genesis is essentially that of the latter's book, The Hebraic Tongue Restored; his\nmetaphysics, that of The Golden Verses of Pythagoras; his philosophy of history and the general\nsetting of his work are taken from The Philosophical History of the Human Race. (These works of\nFabre d'Olivet published by Putnam's, N.Y. 1921-9.) From these basic ideas, adding his own\nmaterials and shaping them to his liking, he constructed a new building of great richness. His\npurpose is twofold: to prove that the science and religion of Moses were the necessary result of\n\nreligious movements which preceded them in Asia and Egypt, which Fabre d'Olivet had already\nbrought to light in his brilliant works; next, to prove that the ternary government by arbitration,\ncomposed of three powers, economic, judiciary and religious or scientific, was in every age a\ncorollary of the doctrine of the initiates and a constituent part of religions long before Greece. Such\nis Saint-Yves' own idea, a pregnant idea worthy of the highest consideration. He calls it synarchy, or\ngovernment according to principles; he finds in it the social, organic law, the sole salvation of the\nfuture. It is not our task here to discuss to what extent the author has historically proved his thesis.\nSaint-Yves does not like to quote his sources, but his book, of unusual value, based upon a vast\nknowledge of esoteric science, abounds in pages of great inspiration, in great descriptions and in\nmany new ideas. My views differ from his on many points, especially in regard to the concept of\nMoses to which, in my opinion, Saint-Yves has given too great and legendary proportions. However,\nbeyond this I wish to point to the great value of this extraordinary book, to which I owe much. I\nwould refer the reader also to his Mission of the Sovereigns and True France, where Saint-Yves did\njustice, though a bit late, and in spite of himself, to his teacher, Fabre d Olivet.\n36. Spinoza's natura naturans.\n\n37. This is how Fabre d Olivet explains the name JEVE: \"This name, first of all, incorporates the sign\nindicative of life when doubled and forming the basically productive root EE. This root is never\nemployed as a noun, and is the only one which has this prerogative. From its formation, it is not only\na verb, but a unique verb from which the others are only derivatives: In short, the verb EVE, to be,\nbeing. Here (as can be seen, and as I took care to explain in my grammar) the intelligible sign VAU\n(V) is in the middle of the root of life. Moses, taking this verb par excellence to form from it the\nproper noun of the Being of beings, adds to it the sign of potential manifestation and of Eternity J\nand obtains JEVE, in which the facultative being is placed between a past without origin, and a\nfuture without end. This marvelous name, therefore, means exactly The Being who is, was and is to\nbe. (For further details, see Fabre d'Olivet, The Hebraic Tongue Restored, trnsl. by Redfield,\nPutnam's, New York, 1921 -- Ed.)\n\n38. \"Elohim is the plural of E/o, a name given to the Supreme Being by the Hebrews and Chaldeans,\nand itself derived from the root El, which pictures elevation, strength and expansive power, and\nwhich means in a universal sense, God. Hoa, that is, He, is one of the sacred names for divinity in\nHebrew, Chaldaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic.\" -- Fabre d'Olivet, The Hebraic Tongue Restored, N.Y.\n1921.\n\n39. \"Ruah Elohim: The Breath of God, figuratively indicates a movement of expansion, dilation. In a\nhieroglyphic sense it is the force opposed to that of darkness. Thus, if the word darkness\ncharacterizes a compressing power, the word ruah characterizes an expanding power. One will find\nin both words that eternal system of two opposing forces which the wise men and scientists of all\nages from Parmenides and Pythagoras to Descartes and Newton saw in nature and called by different\nnames.\" -- Fabre d Olivet, Hebrew Tongue Restored.\n\n40. Breath . . . Elohim, Light. These three names are the hieroglyphic resumé of the second and third\nverses of Genesis. The following is the transliteration of the Hebrew text of the third verse: Wa-\niaomer Aelohim iehi-aour, wa iehi aour. This is the literal translation Fabre d'Olivet gives: \"And-he-\nsaid (declaring his will) HE-The-Being-of-beings: There-shall-be light; and-there-(shall be)-became\nlight (intellectual elementizing).\" The word ROUA, meaning breath, is found in the second verse.\nThe word AOUR, which means light, is the word ROUA in reverse. The divine Breath, returning\nback upon itself, created intelligible Light.\n\n41. Genesis 2:23. Aisha, the Soul, here resembling Woman, is the wife of Aish, the Intellect\n\nresembling Man. She is taken from him, she constitutes his inseparable half, his volitional faculty.\nThe same relationship exists between Dionysus and Persephone in the Orphic Mysteries.\n\n42. In the Samaritan version of the Bible, the adjective universal, infinite, is added to Adam's name.\nTherefore this name is a matter of the human species, of the rule of man in all the heavens.\n\n43. In antiquity, words inscribed on stone were considered the most sacred of all. The hierophant of\nEleusis read to the initiates from tablets of stone, things which they swore not to repeat to anyone,\nand which were written nowhere else.\n\n44. Twice an attack on the temple of Delphi was repelled in the same circumstances. In 480 B.C. the\ntroops of Xerxes attacked it and withdrew, frightened by a storm accompanied by flames coming\nfrom the sun and the fall of great blocks of rock. -- Herodotus. In 279 B.C. the temple was again\nattacked by an invasion of Gauls and Cymri. Delphi was defended by only a small group of\nPhoceans. The barbarians attacked, but at the moment they were about to enter the temple, a storm\nbroke out and the Phoceans routed the Gauls. (See the excellent account in The History of the Gauls\nby Amedee Thierry, Book II.)\n\n45. According to the ancient tradition of the Thracians, poetry had been invented by Olen. This name\nmeans Universal Being in Phoenician. Apollo has the same root: Ap Olen or Ap Wholen means\nUniversal Father. Originally, in Delphi the Universal Being was worshipped under the name Olen.\nThe cult of Apollo was introduced by a reforming priest under the impetus of the doctrine of the\nsolar Word, which then was spreading through all the sanctuaries of India and Egypt. This reformer\nidentified the Universal Father with his double manifestation, hyperphysical light and the visible\nsun. But this reform was scarcely known outside the walls of the sanctuary. It was Orpheus who\ngave new power to the solar Word of Apollo by reviving it and vitalizing it with the Mysteries of\nDionysius. (See Fabre d'Olivet, Golden Verses of Pythagoras, trnsl. by Redfield, Putnam's N.Y.\n1925.)\n\n46. TRAKIA, according to Fabre d'Olivet is derived from the Phoenician Rakhiwe, meaning ethereal\nspace or firmament. For the poets and initiates of Greece like Pindar, Aeschylus or Plato, the name\nThrace had a symbolic sense and meant the land of pure doctrine and sacred poetry which stems\nfrom it. This word therefore had a philosophical and historical meaning for them. Philosophically it\ndesignated an intellectual sphere, the group of doctrines and traditions which trace the origin of the\nworld from a divine intelligence. Historically this name recalled the country and people where\nDorian doctrine and poetry, that vigorous offshoot of the ancient Ayran spirit had first developed to\nflowering in Greece through the sanctuary of Apollo. The use of this kind of symbolism is proved by\nsubsequent history. At Delphi was a group of Thracian priests who were the guardians of the high\ndoctrine. The Council of the Amphyctions was formerly defended by a Thracian guard, that is, a\nguard of initiate warriors. The tyranny of Sparta suppressed this incorruptible army and replaced it\nwith mercenaries of brute force. Later the verb \"to thracize\" was applied ironically to those faithful\nto the former doctrine.\n\n47. Strabo confirms positively that ancient poetry was only the language of allegory. Denys of\nHalicarnassus confirms this, stating that the mysteries of nature and the most sublime concepts of\nmorality have been hidden beneath a veil. Therefore it is not at all a mere metaphor when ancient\npoetry was called the Language of the Gods. This secret magic meaning which makes for its power\nand charm is contained in its very name. The majority of linguists have derived the word poetry from\nthe Greek verb poiein, to make, to create. This is simple etymology, and is very natural on the\nsurface, but hardly conforms with the sacred language of the temples, from which primitive poetry\ncame. It is more logical to recognize with Fabre d'Olivet that Poiesis comes from the Phoenician\nphohe (mouth, voice, language, speech) and from ish (superior being, originating being,\nfiguratively: God). The Etruscan Aes or Aesar, Gallic Aes, Scandinavian Ase, Copit Os (Lord),\nEgyptian Osiris have the same root. (See also, Wadler, Arnold: One Language, Source of All\nTongues, New York, 1948 -- Ed.)\n\n48. Bacchus with a bull's face is found in the 29th Orphic Hymn. It is a recollection of a former cult\nwhich in no way belongs to the pure tradition of Orpheus. For the latter completely purified and\ntransfigured the popular Bacchus into the celestial Dionysius, the symbol of the divine Spirit which\nevolves throughout the kingdoms of nature. We again find the infernal Bacchus of the sorceress\nBacchantes in the figure of Satan with a bull's face which the witches of the Middle Ages invoked\nand worshipped in their nocturnal revels. This is the celebrated Baphomet, of which the Church\naccused the Knights Templars of being a sect, in order to discredit them. (See Henry Milman:\nHistory of Latin Christianity, on the Knights Templars. -- Ed.)\n\n49. A Phoenician word, composed of aur, light, and rophae, healing.\n\n50. Among the numerous lost books which the Orphic writers of Greece attributed to Orpheus was\nthe Argonautics which was concerned with the great Hermetic work; Demetriad, a poem on the\nmother of the gods, to which a Cosmogony corresponded; the Holy Songs of Bacchus or The pure\nSpirit, which has as its complement a Theogony, not to mention other works such as The Veil or The\nNetwork of Souls, on the art of the Mysteries and rituals; The Book of Mutations, on chemistry and\nalchemy; The Corybantes, on terrestrial mysteries and earthquakes; the Anemoscopy, on the science\nof atmospheres, a natural and magical botany, etc....\n\n51. Pausanias tells us that every year a procession made its way from Delphi to the Valley of Tempe\nto pick the sacred laurel. This symbolic custom reminded Apollo's disciples that they were attached\nto the Orphic initiation, and that the original sign of Orpheus was the ancient, sturdy tree whose\nyoung living branches the priests of Delphi always picked.\n\nThis blending of Apollonian and Orphic tradition is to be observed in yet another manner in the\nhistory of the temples. In fact, the famous dispute between Apollo and Bacchus over the tripod of the\ntemple has no other meaning. Bacchus, says the legend, gave the tripod to his brother and withdrew\nto Parnassus. This means that Dionysus and the Orphic initiation remained the privilege of the\ninitiates, while Apollo gave his oracles to the people in general.\n\n52. The cry Evohe, which in reality was pronounced, He Vau He, was the sacred cry of all the\ninitiates of Egypt, Judea, Phoenicia, Asia Minor and Greece. The four sacred letters, pronounced in\nthe following manner: lod (EE) He, Vo, He, represented God in His eternal fusion with nature; they\nembraced the totality of Being, the Living Universe. /od (Osiris) meant Divinity, strictly speaking,\ncreative intellect, the Eternal Masculine, which is in all things, in all places and above all. He-Vau-\nHe represented the Eternal Feminine, Eve, Isis, Nature, in all the visible and invisible forms\nengendered by it. The highest initiation, that of the theogonic sciences and the theurgic arts,\ncorresponded to the letter Jod (EE). Another order of sciences corresponded to each of the letters of\nEve. Like Moses, Orpheus reserved the sciences which corresponded to the letter Jod (Jove, Zeus,\nJupiter) and the idea of the unity of God, to the initiates of the first class, seeking nevertheless to\ninterest the people in it through poetry, the arts and their living symbols. It is for this reason that the\ncry Evohe was openly proclaimed in the Festivals of Dionysus, where, besides the initiates, the\nsimple aspirants to the Mysteries were admitted.\n\nIn this appears all the difference between the work of Moses and the work of Orpheus. Both departed\nfrom Egyptian initiation and possessed the same truth, but they applied it in different ways. Moses\nseverely, jealously glorifies the Father, the male God. He entrusts its care to a sacred priesthood and\nsubjects the people to an implacable discipline without revelation. Orpheus, divinely in love with the\nExternal Feminine, with Nature, glorifies her in the name of God, who penetrates her and whom he\nwishes to make burst forth in a divine humanity. And this is why the cry Evohe became the sacred\ncry par excellence, in all the Mysteries of Greece. (On Evohe see Rudolf Steiner: Eurythmy as\nVisible Speech and Visible Song. -- Ed.)\n\n53. The Amphictyonic Oath of the allied peoples gives an idea of the grandeur and social strength of\nthis institution: \"We swear never to overthrow the Amphictionic cities, never to turn aside from the\nthings necessary to their needs, whether during peace or war. If any power dares trouble them, we\nwill move against it and we will destroy its cities. Should the impious steal the offerings from the\ntemple of Apollo, we swear that we shall use our feet, arms, voices, all our strength, against them\nand their accomplices!\"\n\n54. In transcendent mathematics, it is demonstrated algebraically that Zero multiplied by Infinity is\nequal to One. Zero, in the order of absolute ideas, means indeterminate Being. The Infinite, the\nEternal in the language of the temples, was indicated by a circle or by a serpent biting its tail, which\nmeant the Infinite moving itself. And, from the moment Infinity becomes determined, it produces all\nthe numbers it contains in its great unity and which it governs in perfect harmony.\n\nThis is the transcendent meaning of the first problem of the Pythagorean theogony, the reason which\nbrings it about that the great Monad contains all the small ones, and that all numbers originate from\nthe great Unity in movement.\n\n55. This doctrine is identical with that of the initiate St. Paul, who speaks of the spiritual body. (See\nRudolf Steiner: The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of St. Paul -- Ed.)\n\n56. One must place Fabre d Olivet (Golden Verses of Pythagoras) in the first rank of these. This\nliving concept of the forces of the universe permeating it from top to bottom has nothing to do with\nthe empty speculations of the pure metaphysicians, for example, thesis, antithesis and synthesis of\nHegel, which are simply intellectual exercises.\n\n57. Certain strange definitions in the form of metaphors which have been transmitted to us and\nwhich come from the secret teaching of the master, allow one to surmise the grandiose concept that\nPythagoras had of the Cosmos. Speaking of the constellations, he called the Great and Little Dipper:\nthe hands of Rea-Kybele. Now, Rea-Kybele esoterically means astral light returning, the divine wife\nof the universal fire, or creative spirit which, in concentrating in the solar systems, attracts the non-\nmaterial essences of beings, grasps them, and causes them to enter the cycle of lives. He also called\nthe planets the Dogs of Proserpine. This unusual expression has no meaning other than an esoteric\none. Prosperpine, the goddess of souls, was present at their incarnation into matter. Pythagoras\ntherefore called the planets Dogs of Proserpine because they keep the incarnated souls as the\nmythological Cerberus guards souls in hell.\n\n58. The law is called Karma by the Brahmans and Buddhists. (See Rudolf Steiner: The\nManifestations of Karma, 1910. -- Ed.)\n\n59. The Epiphany or vision from above; the autopsy, or direct view; the theophany, or manifestation\nof God, are so many correlative ideas and expressions which indicate the state of perfection in which\nthe initiate, having joined his soul to God, contemplates complete Truth.\n\n60. We shall cite two famous absolutely authentic events of this kind. The first took place in\nAntiquity, and the hero is the famous philosopher-magician, Apollonius of Tyana.\n\nThe Second-sight of Apollonius of Tyana. \"While these things (the assassination of the Emperor\nDomitian) were taking place in Rome, Apollonius saw them at Ephesus. Domitian was attacked by\nClement around noontime; the same day at the same hour, Apollonius was making a speech in the\ngardens near the Xystes. Suddenly he lowered his voice a little, as if he had been gripped by a\nsudden fright. He continued his speech, but his language did not have its usual power, as happens\nwith those who speak while thinking of something else. Then he became silent, like those who have\nlost the train of their thought. He cast terrified glances toward the earth, moved three or four steps\n\nforward, and cried out, Kill the tyrant!' One would have said that he saw, not the reflected image of\nthe event as in a mirror, but the event itself in all its reality. The Ephesians (for all Ephesus went to\nhear Apollonius' speeches) were struck with amazement. Apollonius stopped, like a man who waits\nto see the outcome of an uncertain event. Finally he cried out, Be of good cheer, Ephesians, the\ntyrant was killed today! What am I saying? -- Today? By Minerva! He was killed at the very instant\nI interrupted myself!' The Ephesians thought that Apollonius had lost his mind; they indeed hoped\nthat he had told the truth, nevertheless they feared that some danger would result for him from this\ndiscourse . . . But soon messengers came to announce the good news and gave testimony in favor of\nApollonius' science: for the murder of the tyrant, the day it was consummated, the hour of noon, the\nauthor of the murder whom Apollonius had encouraged, -- all these details were in perfect agreement\nwith those the gods had shown him the day of his speech to the Ephesians.\" -- Life of Apollonius by\nPhilostratus. (See Emil Bock, The Three Years for an account of Apollonius of Tyana -- Ed.)\n\nThe Second-sight of Swedenborg: The second event refers to the greatest seer of modern times. One\ncan have reservations regarding the objective reality of Swedenborg's vision, but one cannot doubt\nhis second-sight, attested to by a host of facts. The vision that Swedenborg had at thirty leagues'\ndistance from the fire of Stockholm created an uproar in the second half of the eighteenth century.\nThe famous German philosopher, Kant had an inquiry made by a friend at Gothenburg in Sweden,\nthe city where the event took place, and this is what he writes about it to one of his friends:\n\n\"The following occurrence appears to me to have the greatest weight of proof, and to place the\nassertion respecting Swedenborg's extraordinary gift beyond all possibility of doubt. In the year\n1759, toward the end of September, on Saturday, at four o'clock in the afternoon, Swedenborg\narrived at Gothenburg from England, when Mr. William Castel invited him to his house, together\nwith a party of fifteen persons. About six o'clock, Swedenborg went out and returned to the company\nquite pale and alarmed. He said that a dangerous fire had just broken out in Stockholm, at the\nSödermalm (Gothenburg is about 50 German miles -- about 500 English -- from Stockholm), and\nthat it was spreading very fast. He was restless and went out often. He said that the house of one of\nhis friends, whom he named, was already in ashes and that his own was in danger. At eight o'clock,\nafter he had been out again, he joyfully exclaimed, Thank God! The fire is extinguished, the third\ndoor from my house.' The news occasioned great commotion throughout the whole city, but\nparticularly amongst the company in which he was. It was announced to the governor the same\nevening. On Sunday morning, Swedenborg was summoned to the governor, who questioned him\nconcerning the disaster. Swedenborg described the fire precisely, how it had begun, in what manner\nit had ceased, and how long it had continued. On the same day the news spread through the city, and\nas the governor had thought it worthy of attention, the consternation was considerably increased,\nbecause many were in trouble on account of their friends and property, which might have been\ninvolved in the disaster. On Monday evening a messenger arrived at Gothenburg, who was\ndispatched by the Board of Trade during the time of the fire. In the letters brought by him, the fire\nwas described precisely in the manner stated by Swedenborg. On Tuesday morning the royal courier\narrived at the governor's with the melancholy intelligence of the fire, of the loss which it had\noccasioned, and of the houses it had damaged and ruined, not in the least differing from that which\nSwedenborg had given at the very time when it happened; for the fire was extinguished at eight\no'clock.\" -- Letter from Immanuel Kant to Charlotte von Knobloch, written at K6nigsburg. (Quoted\nin George Trobridge, Emanuel Swedenborg, Life and Teaching, page 197-8. -- Ed.)\n\n61. This idea comes logically from the human and divine ternary, from the trinity of the Microcosm\nand Macrocosm which we have discussed in the preceding chapters. The metaphysical correlative of\nDestiny, Liberty and Providence has been admirably deduced by Fabre d'Olivet in his analysis of\nThe Golden Verses of Pythagoras.\n\n62. This classification of men corresponds to the four stages of Pythagorean initiation, forming the\nbasis of all initiations up to that of the original Free Masons, who possessed a few bits of esoteric\ndoctrine. (See Fabre d'Olivet, The Golden Verses of Pythagoras.)\n\n63. This is the version of Diogenes of Laérte on Pythagoras' death. According to Dicearcus, quoted\nby Porphyrus, the master probably escaped destruction, along with Archippus and Lysis. But he\ndoubtless wandered from city to city until reaching Metapontus, where he let himself die of hunger\nin the Temple of the Muses. The inhabitants of Metapontus claim, on the other hand, that the sage,\nwelcomed by them, died peacefully in their city. They showed his house, his seat and tomb to\nCicero. It should be noted that a long time after the master's death, the cities which had persecuted\nPythagoras at the time of the change, claim the honor of having sheltered and saved him. The cities\naround the Gulf of Tarentum fought over the philosopher's ashes with the same ferocity that the\ncities of Iona struggled over the honor of having given birth to Homer.\n\n64. In the language of the temples, the term \"son of woman\" designated the lower stage of initiation,\nwoman meaning here, nature. Above these were \"sons of men\" or initiates of Spirit and Soul; \"the\nsons of the gods\" or initiates of cosmogonic science, and \"Sons of God\" or initiates of the supreme\nscience. Pythia calls the Persians \"sons of women,\" designating them thus from the nature of their\nreligion. Taken literally, her words would not have any meaning.\n\n65. \"These are still to be seen in Minerva's garden,\" said Herodotus, VII, 39. The Gallic invasion\nwhich took place two hundred years later was repelled in a similar manner. There again a storm\ngathers, lightning falls on the Gauls at intervals, the earth trembles under their feet, they see\nsupernatural appearances, and the Temple of Apollo is saved. These facts seem to prove that the\npriests of Delphi possessed the science of cosmic fire, and knew how to manipulate electricity\nthrough secret powers like the Chaldean magi. (See Amedee Thierry, Histoire des Gaulois, I, 246).\n\n66. Contemporary science would see in these facts only simple hallucinations or suggestions. The\nscience of ancient esoterism attributed both a subjective and objective value to this kind of\nphenomenon, which was frequently produced in the Mysteries. It believed in the existence of\nelemental spirits without an individualized soul and without reason. Half-conscious, they fill the\nearthly atmosphere and are in some way the souls of the elements. Magic, which is will put into\naction in the manipulation of secret powers, makes these beings visible at times. Heraclitus speaks of\nthem when he says, \"Nature, in all places is full of daemons.\" Plato calls them daemons of the\nelements, Paracelsus names them e/ementals. According to Paracelsus they are attracted by the\nmagnetic atmosphere of man, are electrified and are capable of assuming all imaginable human\nforms. The more man is given over to his passions, the more he becomes their prey without being\naware of it. The magus alone subdues them and uses them. But they constitute a sphere of deceiving\nillusions and follies which it is necessary to master and pass upon one's entrance into the spiritual\nworld. Bulwer Lytton calls them \"the guardian of the threshold\" in his unusual novel, Zanoni.\n\n67. This is the tree of dreams mentioned by Virgil in the descent of Aeneus into hell, in the sixth\nbook of the Aeneid, which reproduces the main scenes of the Mysteries of Eleusis with poetic\namplifications.\n\n68. The gold objects contained in the cist were the pine cone (symbol of fertility and generation), the\nspiral serpent (universal evolution of the soul; fall into matter and redemption by the spirit); the egg\n(recalling the sphere of divine perfection, the goal of man.)\n\n69. These mysterious words have no meaning in Greek. This proves that they are very ancient, and\n\ncome from the Orient. Wilford gives them a Sanscrit origin. Knox would come from Kansha,\nmeaning object of the greatest desire; Om from Urn, the soul of Brahma, and Pax from Pasha, tour,\n\nexchange, cycle. The supreme blessing of the hierophant of Eleusis means therefore: \"May your\ndesires be fulfilled; return to the universal Soul!\"\n\n70. How did Jesus become the Messiah? This is the original, most fundamental question in the\nconcept of the Christ, but the problem cannot be solved without intuition and without esoteric\ntradition. It is with this esoteric light, this inner flame of all religions, this central truth of all fertile\nphilosophy, that I have attempted to reconstruct the life of Jesus in broad outline, while taking into\naccount all the previous work of historical criticism which has prepared the way. As far as what\nconcerns the historical and relative value of the Gospels, I have taken the three Synoptics (Matthew,\nMark and Luke) as a basis, and John's Gospel as the arcanum of the esoteric doctrine of Christ, at the\nsame time allowing for the posterior composition and symbolic tendency of this Gospel.\n\nThe four Gospels, which must be compared with each other, are equally authentic, but in different\nways. Matthew and Mark are the valuable Gospels of the letter and fact; the public acts and speeches\nare found there. Gentle Luke lets the meaning of the Mysteries be partly seen beneath the poetic veil\nof legend. This is the Gospel of the Soul, of Woman and of Love, John unveils these mysteries. One\nfinds with him the deep foundation of the doctrine, the secret teaching, the meaning of the Promise,\nthe esoteric reserve. Clement of Alexandria, one of the rare Christian bishops who possessed the key\nof universal esoterism, has well called it \"the Gospel of the Spirit.\" John has a profound view of the\ntranscendent truths revealed by the Master and a powerful way of summarizing them. His symbol is\nthe Eagle, whose wings fly through space, and whose flaming eye observes the deepest secrets. (See\nalso Rudolf Steiner's book, Christianity as Mystical Fact and the Mysteries of Antiquity, as well as\nhis published lecture cycles on the four Gospels. Emil Bock's Studies in the Gospels and his The\nThree Years also contain useful material.--Ed.)\n\n71. Points in common between the Essenes and Pythagoreans: Prayer at sunrise; linen clothing;\nfraternal love-feasts; novitiate of one year; three stages of initiation; organization of the Order and\ncommunity of property arranged by trustees; law of silence; oath of the Mysteries; division of\nteaching into three parts: 1) science of universal principles or theogony, which Philo calls Logic; 2)\nPhysics or cosmogony; 3) morality, that is, everything that deals with man, the science to which the\nTherapeuts would be dedicated. (See also Rudolf Steiner's lecture cycle on the Gospel of Matthew\nand Bock's The Three Years-Ed.)\n\n72. Points in common between the teaching of the Essenes and that of Jesus: Love of one's neighbor\nas a first duty; prohibition of an oath in attesting to truth as a witness; hatred of the lie; humility;\ninstitution of the Supper borrowed from the love-feasts, but with an entirely new meaning, that of\nSacrifice.\n\n73. Book of Enoch, Chapters 48 and 61. This passage proves that the doctrine of the Word and the\nTrinity found in John's Gospel existed in Israel long before the time of Jesus, and came from the\ndepths of esoteric prophecy. In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, The Lord of Spirits represents the\nFather; The Elect, the Son, the Chosen One; The Other Force, the Holy Spirit.",
    "project_translation": false,
    "license": null,
    "methodology_url": null
  }
}