THOU has given me admirable instruction, O my most powerful
Mother Isis, concerning the marvellous creation of Souls by God, and I am
filled with wonder; but thou hast not yet shewn me wither souls depart when
set free from bodies. Fain would I contemplate this mystery, and thank only
thee for the initiation.
And Isis said:—Hearken, my son, for thy most necessary
enquiry holds an important place, and may not be neglected. Hear my reply.
O great and marvellous scion of the illustrious Osiris, think
not that souls on quitting the body mix themselves confusedly in the vague
immensity and become dispersed in the universal and infinite spirit, without
power to return into bodies, to preserve their identity, or to seek again
their primeval abode. Water spilt from a vase returns no more to its place
therein, it has no proper locality, it mingles itself with the mass of
waters; but it is not thus with souls, O most wise Horos. I am initiated
into the mysteries of the immortal nature; I walk in the ways of the truth,
and I will reveal all to thee without the least omission. And first I will
tell thee that water, being a body without reason, composed of myriads of
fluid particles, differs from the soul which is, my son, a personal entity,
the royal work of the hands and of the mind of God, abiding herself in
intelligence. That which proceeds from Unity, and not from multiplicity,
cannot mingle with other things, and in order that the soul may be joined to
the body, God subjects this harmonious union to Necessity.
Souls do not, then, return confusedly, nor by chance, into
one and the same place, but each is despatched into the condition which
belongs to her. And this is determined by that which the soul experiences
while yet she is in the tenement of the body, loaded with a burden contrary
to her nature. Hear: therefore, this comparison, O beloved Horos, suppose
that there should be shut up in the same prison, men, eagles, doves, swans,
hawks, swallows, sparrows, flies, serpents, lions, leopards, wolves, dogs,
hares, oxen, sheep, and certain amphibious animals, such as seals, hydras,
turtles, crocodiles, and that at the same moment all the creatures should be
liberated. All at once would escape; the men would seek cities and the
public places, the eagles the ether, where nature teaches them to live, and
doves the lower air, the hawks the higher expanse; the swallows would repair
to places frequented by men, the sparrows to the orchards, the swans to
districts where they could sing; the flies would haunt the proximity of the
ground as high only as human exhalations extend, for the property of flies
is to live on these and to flit over the surface of the earth; the lions and
leopards would flee to the mountains, the wolves to the solitudes; the dogs
would follow the track of man; the hares would betake themselves to the
woods, the oxen to the fields and meadows, the sheep to the pastures; the
serpents would seek the caves of the earth; the seals and the turtles would
rejoin their kind in the shallows and running waters, in order to enjoy,
conformably to their nature, alike the proximity of the shore and of the
deep. Each creature would return, conducted by its own interior
discernment, into the abode befitting it. Even so every soul whether human
or inhabiting the earth under other conditions, knows whither she ought to
go; unless, indeed, some son of Typhon should pretend that a bull may
subsist in the waters or a turtle in the air. If, then, even when immersed
in flesh and blood, souls do not infringe the law of order, although under
penance—for union with the body is a penance—how much more shall they
conform thereto when delivered from their bonds and set at liberty!
Now this most holy law, which extends even unto heaven, is on
this wise, O illustrious child: behold the hierarchy of souls! The expanse
between the empyrean and the moon is occupied by the Gods, the stars, and
the powers of providence. Between the moon and ourselves, my son, is the
abode of the souls. The unmeasured air, which we call the wind, has in
itself an appointed way in which it moves to refresh the earth, as I shall
by and by relate. But this movement of the air upon itself impedes not the
way of the souls, nr does it hinder them from ascending and descending
without obstacle; they flow across the air without mingling in it, or
confounding themselves therewith, as water flows over oil. This expanse, my
son, is divided into four provinces, and into sixty regions. The first
province from the earth upwards comprehends four regions, and extends as far
as certain summits or promontories, which it is unable to transcend. The
second province comprises eight regions in which the motions of the winds
arise. Be thou attentive, my son, for thou hearest the ineffable mysteries
of the earth, the heavens, and of the sacred fluid which lies between. In
the province of the winds fly the birds; above this there is no moving air
nor any creature. But the air with all the beings it contains distributes
itself into all boundaries within its reach, and into the four quarters of
the earth, while the earth cannot lift itself into the mansions of the air.
The third province comprehends sixteen regions filled with a pure and subtle
element. The fourth contains thirty-two regions, in which the air, wholly
subtle and diaphanous, allows itself to be penetrated by the element of
fire. Such is the order which, without confusion, reigns from depth to
height;—to wit, four general divisions, twelve intervals, sixty regions, and
in these dwell the souls, each according to the nature thereof. They are
indeed all of one substance, but they constitute a hierarchy; and the
further any region is removed from the earth, the loftier is the dignity of
the souls which dwell therein.
And now it remains to be explained to thee, O most glorious
Horos, what souls they are who abide in each of these regions, and this I
shall set forth, beginning by the most exalted.
The expanse which stretches between earth and heaven is
divided into regions, my son Horos, according to measure and harmony. To
these regions our ancestors have given various names; some call them zones,
others firmaments, others spheres. Therein dwell the souls who are freed
from bodies, and those who have not yet been incorporated. The stations
which they occupy correspond with their dignity. In the upper region are
the divine and royal souls; the baser souls—they who float over the surface
of the earth—are in the lowest sphere, and in the middle regions are the
souls of ordinary degree. Thus, my son, the souls destined to rule descend
from the superior zones, and when they are delivered from the body, thither
they return, or even higher still, unless indeed they have acted contrary to
the dignity of their nature and to the laws of God. For, if they have
transgressed, the Providence on high causes them to descend into the lower
regions according to the measure of their faults; and in like manner also it
conducts other souls, inferior in power and dignity, from the lower spheres
into a more exalted abode. For on high dwell two ministers of the universal
Providence; one is guardian of the souls, the other is their conductor, who
sends them forth and ordains for them bodies. The first minister guards
them, the second releases or binds them, according to the will of God.
In this wise the law of equity presides over the changes
which take place above, even as upon earth also it moulds and constructs the
vessels in which the souls are immured. This law is supplemented by two
energies, Memory and Experience. Memory directs in Nature the preservation
and maintenance of all the original types appointed in heaven; the function
of Experience is to provide every soul descending into generation with a
body appropriate thereto; so that passionate souls should have vigorous
bodies; slothful souls sluggard bodies; active souls active bodies; gentle
souls gentle bodies; powerful souls powerful bodies; cunning souls dexterous
bodies;—briefly, that every soul should have a befitting nature. For it is
not without just cause that winged creatures are clothed with feathers; that
intelligent creatures are gifted with finer senses and superior to others;
that beasts of the field are furnished with horns, with tusks, with claws,
or other weapons; that reptiles are endowed with undulating and flexible
bodies, and lest the moisture of their natures should render them feeble,
are armed wither with teeth or with pointed scales, so that they are, even
less than others, in peril of death. As for fishes, these timid souls have
allotted to them for a dwelling-place that element in which light is bereft
of its double activity, for in the water, fire neither illuminates nor
burns. Each fish, swimming by the help of his spiny fins, flies where he
wills, and his weakness is protected by the obscurity of the deep. Thus are
souls immured in bodies resembling themselves; in human shape, those souls
who have received reason; in flying creatures, souls of a wild nature; in
beasts, souls without reason, whose only law is force, in reptiles,
deceitful souls, for they attack not their prey face to face, but by ambush;
while fishes enshrine those timid souls who merit not the enjoyment of other
elements.
In every order of animals there are individuals who
transgress the laws of their being.
In what way, my Mother? said Horos.
And Isis answered: In this wise:—A man who acts against
reason, a beast which eludes necessity, a reptile which forgets its cunning,
a fish which loses its timidity, a bird which renounces freedom. Thou hast
heard what was to be said concerning the hierarchy of souls, their descent,
and the creation of bodies.
O my son, in every order of souls there are found a few royal
souls, and of divers characters: some fiery, some cold, some proud, some
gentle, some crafty, some simple, some contemplative, some active. This
diversity belongs to the regions from whence they descend into bodies. From
the royal zone the royal souls go forth, but there are many royalties; the
royalty of spirit, of the flesh, of art, of science, of the virtues.
And how, said Horos, dos thou name these royalties?
O my son, the king of souls who have hitherto existed is thy
father Osiris; the king of bodies is the prince of each nation, he who
governs. The king of wisdom is the Father of all things; the Initiator is
the thrice great Hermes; over medicine presides Asclepios, the son of
Hephaistos; force and power are under the sway of Osiris, and after him,
under thine, my son. Philosophy depends on Arnebaskenis; poetry, yet again,
on Asclepios, Imouthé's
son. So that, if thou thinkest thereon, thou wilt perceive that there are
indeed many royalties and many kings.
But the supreme royalty belongs to the highest region; lesser
kingships correspond to the spheres which bring them forth. Those who issue
from the fiery zone handle fire; those who come from the watery zone
frequent liquid spheres; from the region of art and learning those are born
who devote themselves to art and science; from the region of inactivity,
those who live in ease and idleness. All that is done and said upon earth
has its origin in the heights, from whence all essences are dispensed with
measure and equilibrium; nor is there anything which does not emanate from
above and return thither.
Explain to me this that thou sayest, O my Mother.
And Isis answered:—An evident token of these exchanges has
been stamped on all creatures by most holy Nature. The breath which we
indraw from the upper air we exhale and again inbreathe by means of the
lungs within us which perform this work. And when the way destined to
receive our breath is closed, then no longer do we remain on earth; we
depart hence. Moreover, O my glorious son, there are other accidents by
which the balance of our combination may be destroyed.
What is, then, this combination, O my Mother?
It is the union and admixture of the four elements, whence
emanates a vapour which envelops the soul, penetrates into the body and
communicates to both its own character. Thus are produced varieties among
souls and bodies. If in the composition of a body, fire dominates, then the
soul being already of an ardent nature, receives thereby an excess of heat
which renders it the more energetic and furious, and the body the more
vivacious and active. If the air dominates, the body and soul of the
creature are thereby rendered unstable, errant and restless. The domination
of the water causes the soul to be mild, affable, bland, sociable, and
easily moulded, because water blends and mixes itself readily with all other
things, dissolves them if it be abundant, moistens and penetrates them if it
be less in quantity. A body softened by too much humidity offers but a weak
resistance, a slight malady disintegrates it, and little by little dissolves
its cohesion. Again, if the earthy elements be dominant, the soul is
obtuse, because the body lacks subtlety, nor can she force a way through the
density of its organism. Therefore, the soul remains indrawn upon herself,
borne down by the burden she supports, and the body is solid, inactive, and
heavy, moving only with effort.
But if the elements be all in just equilibrium, then the
whole nature is ardent in its actions, subtle in its motions, fluent in its
sensations, and of a robust constitution. Of the predominance of air and
fire birds are born, whose nature resembles that of the elements which
generate them. Men are endowed with an abundance of fire united with but a
little air, and of water and earth equal parts. This excess of fire becomes
sagacity, seeing that intelligence is indeed a kind of flame, which consumes
not, but which penetrates. The predominance of water and earth with a
sufficient admixture of air and but little fire engenders beasts; those
endued with more fire than the rest are them are the more courageous. Water
and earth in equal quantities give birth to reptiles, which, being deprived
of fire, have neither courage nor truthfulness, while the excess of water
renders them cold, that of earth, sordid and heavy, and the lack of air
makes all their movements difficult. Much water with but little earth
produces fishes; the absence of fire and air in them causes their timidity,
and disposes them to lie hidden, while the predominance of water and earth
in their nature approximates them by natural affinity to earth dissolved in
water. Moreover, by means of the proportional increase of the elements
composing the body is the body itself increased, and its development ceases
when the full measure is attained. And so long, my beloved son, as
equilibrium is maintained in the primitive combination and in the vapours
arising therefrom, that is, so long as the normal proportion of fire, air,
earth, and water remains unchanged, the creature continues in health. But
if the elements deviate from the proportion originally determined—(I speak
not now of the growth of activities, nor of that resulting from a change of
order, but of a rupture of equilibrium whether by addition or diminution of
fire or of other elements)—then malady supervenes. And should air and fire,
whose nature is one with that of the soul itself, prevail in the conflict,
then, through the dominance of those elements, destroyers of the flesh, the
creature abandons its proper state. For the earthy element is the pabulum
of the body, and the water wherewith it is permeated contributes to
consolidate it; but it is the aerial element which confers motion, and the
fire engenders all energies. The vapours produced by the union and
combination of these elements blending with the soul, as it were by fusion,
bear her along with them, and clothe her in their own nature, whether good
or evil. So long as she remains in this natural association the soul keeps
the rank she has attained. But if a change should occur either in the
combination itself or in any of its parts or subdivision, the vapours,
altering their condition, alter likewise the relations between soul and
body; the fire and air, aspiring upward, draw with them the soul, their
sister, while the watery and terrestrial elements, which tend earthwards
like the body, weigh it down and
overwhelm it.
