MEDITATIONS

 

Meditation on Heaven

 

And if you boldly grasp this conception, you will get a truer notion of Him who contains all things. There are terms which must be taken in a sense peculiar to the thing spoken of; and of this, what I am now saying is an instance. All things are in God; but things are not situated in God as in a place...

 

Think of yourself, and you will see that it is so. Bid your soul travel to any land you choose, and sooner that you can bid it go, it will be there. Bid it pass from land to ocean, and it will be there too no less quickly; it has not moved as one moves from place to place, but it is there.

 

Bid it fly up to heaven, and it will have no need of wings; nothing can bar its way, neither the fiery heat of the sun, nor the swirl of the planet-spheres; cleaving its way through all, it will fly up till it reaches the outermost of all corporeal things. And should you wish to break forth from the universe itself, and gaze on the things outside the Kosmos (if indeed there is anything outside the Kosmos), even that is permitted to you.

 

See what power, what quickness is yours. And when you yourself can do all this, cannot God do it? You must understand then that it is in this way that God contains within Himself the Kosmos, and himself, and all that is; it is as thoughts which God thinks, that all things are contained in him.

 

If then you do not make yourself equal to God, you cannot apprehend God; for like is known by like. Leap clear of the corporeal, and make yourself grow to a like expanse with that greatness which is beyond all measure..[1]

 

 

The Orbits of Reason

 

God bestowed sight on us that we might observe the orbits of reason which are in heaven, and make use of them for the revolutions of thought which are in our souls.[2]

 

Light has proved itself the source of many other boons to mankind, but pre-eminently of philosophy, the greatest boon of all. For man’s faculty of vision, led upwards by light, discerned the nature of the heavenly bodies and their harmonious movement. He saw the well-ordered circuits of the fixed stars end planets, how the former moved in unchanging orbit and all alike, while the latter sped around in two revolutions out of harmony with each other. He marked the rhythmic dances of all these, how they were marshalled by the laws of a perfect music, and the sight produced in his soul an ineffable delight and pleasure. Banqueting on sights displayed to it one after another, his soul was insatiate in beholding.[3]

 

And then as usually happens it went on to busy itself with questionings, asking what is the essence of these visible objects? Are they in nature un-originate, or had they a beginning of existence? What is the method of their movement? And what are the principles by which each is governed? It was out of the investigation of these problems that philosophy grew, than which no more perfect good has come into the life of mankind. It was with a view to that original intellectual light, which I have mentioned as belonging to the order of the incorporeal world, that He created the heavenly bodies of which our senses are aware. These are images divine and exceedingly fair, which He established in heaven as in the purest temple belonging to corporeal being.[4]

 

So many and so essential are the benefits within the scope of the constitutions and movements of the heavenly bodies. To how vast a number of other operations, methinks, do they extend! Operations obscure to us, for all things are not within the ken of mortals, yet working together for the permanence of the whole; operations which are invariably carried out under the ordinances and laws which God laid down in his universe as unalterable.[5]

 

 

Necessity of Self-Examination

 

The necessity of self-examination had been affirmed and self-examination practised by Socrates, who commenced a new era in human thought by diverting investigation from physics to morality, from the external world to man. It was also practised by the Pythagoreans and commended itself greatly to the Stoics.

 

“Every day I plead my case before myself. When the light is extinguished, and my wife, who knows my habit, keeps silence, I examine the past day, go over and weigh all my deeds and words. I hide nothing, I omit nothing; why should I hesitate to face my shortcomings when I can say, ‘Take care not to repeat them, and so I forgive you today.”[6]

 

 

 

 

Homeric Hymn to Ares

 

Self examination is prior to self knowledge. The most difficult Planetary passion to fight is Anger and its attendant violence. Here we have a very early example of such a battle for self control. The Hymn to Ares [Mars] is attributed to Homer, but whether or not it is actually by Homer is of little importance. We know it is very old, pre-Socratic at least. We must take notice that the Hymn is addressed to the Planetary god (lines 9 - 12). It seems to be an Orphic hymn from its content, as we will see when we examine it in detail in the Notes. For the reader’s convenience I will use Mars, the familiar Latinized name for Ares, in this section.

 

                                                HYMN TO MARS

 

1                                  Mars, exceeding in strength, chariot rider,

2                                  Golden-helmed, doughty in heart,

3                                  Shield-bearer, Saviour of cities,

4                                  Harnessed in bronze, strong of arm,

5                                  Unwearying, mighty with the spear,

6                                  O defence of Olympus, father of warlike Victory,

7                                  Ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious,

8                                  Leader of the righteous men, sceptred King of manliness,

9                                  Who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets

10                                In their sevenfold courses through the aether

11                                Wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above

12                                The third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men,

13                                Giver of dauntless youth

14                                Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life,

15                                And strength of war, that I may be able

16                                To drive away bitter cowardice from my head

17                                And crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul.

18                                Restrain also the keen fury of my heart

19                                Which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife.

20                                Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness

21                                To abide within the harmless laws of peace,

22                                Avoiding strife and hatred

23                                And the violent fiends of death.[7]

 

This is quite unexpected from a war-loving society such as the ancient Greeks. Normally we would expect a prayer for strength and courage in battle. Instead we have this introspective recognition of the unpleasant aspects of the planetary powers and a prayer to avert their dire consequences. It is through Self Knowledge and Temperance that one overcomes excess.

 

 

 

 

Before Sleep

 

For Porphyry writes that Pythagoras advised, chiefly to take care of two hours of the day, of that when we rise, and of that when we go to bed; of the first, to reflect on what we are to do during the day, and of the other to give ourselves an account of what we have done! And as He has said of the first;

 

            “When drowsy sleep to morning thoughts gives way,

            Think what thou hast to do the ensuing Day!”[8]

 

 

An Exercise for Self Knowledge

 

“Let not sleep ever close thy tired eyes, without thou ask thyself: What have I omitted, and what done?”

 

The first precept that Pythagoras gave to his disciples on entering the course of perfection tended to turn their thoughts upon themselves, to bring them to interrogate their actions, their thoughts, their discourse, to question the motives, to reflect in short upon their exterior movements and seek thus to Know Themselves. Knowledge of self was the most important knowledge of all, that which must conduct them to all others. I will not weary my readers by adding anything to what I have already said pertaining to the importance of this knowledge, and the extreme value set upon it by the ancients. They know unquestionably that the morals of Socrates and the philosophy of Plato were only the development of it and that an inscription in the temple of Greece, that of Delphi, commended it, after that of the Golden Mean, as the very teaching of the God whom they worshipped there; Nothing in Excess, and Know Thyself, contained in few words the doctrine of the sages, and presented for their meditation the principles upon which reposed virtue and wisdom which is its consequence.[9]

 

 

A Pythagorean Exercise

 

Well, my friend, you ask for a Method or exercise that may be used to Know-Thyself. This is almost a gift from God rather than something that can be earned by exercise, however, there is a saying of Pythagoras that comes to mind that may give us a lead in our quest. It is the one that goes;

“Let not sleep ever close thy tired eyes, without thou ask thyself: What have I omitted, and what done?”

 

Let us apply this hint, as it were, to our lives and envision the possible results of such an exercise. If upon going to bed at night one would reflect on the actions of the day, examining each to see if all was done well or not, one result would surely be an improved memory. In addition by judging each action one would learn much about one’s character, and so doing would be able to correct errors and build upon good traits. Now, commendable the exercise is, but how are we to set about to accomplish it without forgetfulness or neglect through want of a guiding structure?

 

Let us imagine a Pythagorean solution, a planned structure which will aid our memory and give us direction. Suppose Himself were to say, “Follow the structure of the Heavens, for they are the patterns of all that is here below!” “Yes Master,” we would say, and so do what we are directed to do, follow the ten-fold structure of the abode of God.

 

1. Upon retiring for the night on the dark earth, compose the mind with regular respiration.

 

2. Then, ascending to the Lunar sphere go over all Physical action during the day, did they work for the good of all or did self-interest rule?

 

3. Rise above to the sphere of Hermes (Mercury) and examine all monetary transactions; did greed or undue desire enter into the day or were all transactions necessary?

 

4. Then to Venus, there to ask about lascivious thoughts or actions, as compared to loving thoughts and actions toward the beloved?

 

5. The Sun would inquire about possible abuse of authority or disobedience of those in authority.

 

6. Mars would look into anger or inner turmoil, wasteful thoughts of revenge for assumed wrongs by others, or was the good Zealously pursued?

 

7. The sphere of Jupiter examines the use of fortune during the day, for good or not?

 

8. Saturn would make certain that you have answered yourself truthfully, and allow you the peace of mind to have a good rest.

 

9. The starry sphere of the figured patterns of the heavens would send visions of persons, animals, places and things past the mind’s eye - before the deep sleep of the dark beyond the stars envelopes you in comforting rest.

 

10. Upon awakening in the morn, descend by the same path, planning the coming day and gathering the powers of the spheres to accomplish the tasks ahead![10]