Three Books of Occult Philosophy · 164 of 186

Book III, Ch. 43: Of the power of mans soul, in the mind, reason and imagination

Mans soul consisteth of a mind, reason and imagination; the mind illuminates reason, reason floweth into the imagination: All is one soul. Reason unless it be illuminated by the mind, is not free from errour: but the mind giveth not light to reason, unless God enlighten, viz. the first light; for the first light is in God very far exceeding all understanding: wherefore it cannot be called an intelligible light; but this when it is infused into the mind, is made intellectuall, and can be understood: then when it is infused by the mind to the reason, it is made rationall, and cannot only be understood but also considered: then when it is infused by the reason into the phantasie [phantasy] of the soul, it is made not only cogitable, but also imaginable; yet it is not as yet corporeall; but when from hence it goeth into the Celestiall vehicle of the soul; it is first made corporeall, yet not manifestly sensible till it hath passed into the elementall body, either simple and Aerial, or compound, in the which the light is made manifestly visible to the eye; The Chaldean [Chaldaean] Philosophers considering this progresse of light, declare a certain wonderfull power of our mind: viz. that it may come to passe, that our mind being firmly fixed on God, may be filled with the divine power; and being so replenished with light, its beams being diffused through all the media, even to this grosse, dark, heavy, mortall body, it may endow it with abundance of light, and make it like the Stars, and equally shining, and also by the plenty of its beams and lightness lift it on high, as straw lifted up by the flame of fire, and can presently carry the body as a spirit into remote parts. So we read of Philip in the Acts of the Apostles, who baptizing the Eunuch in India, was presently found, in Azotus. The like we read of Habacuc in Daniel: so others going through the doors being shut, escaped both their keepers and imprisonment; as we read of Peter the Apostle and of Peter the Exorcist: He may the less wonder at this, who hath seen those famous melancholick men, who walk in their sleepes and passe through places even unpassible, and ascend even unaccessible places, and exercise the works of those that are awake, which they themselves being awake could not do; of the which things there is no other reason in nature, then a strong and exalted imagination: but this power is in every man, & it is in the soul of man from the root of his Creation; but it is varied in diverse men, in strength and weakness, and is encreased and diminished according to his exercise and use, by the which it is drawn forth from power into act, which thing he that rightly knoweth, can ascend by his knowledge, even untill his imaginative faculty doth transcend and is joyned with the universall power, which Alchindus, Bacon, and Gulielmus Parisiensis do call the sense of nature; Virgil the Etheriall sense, and Plato the sense of the vehicle: and his imagination is made most strong, when that etherial and Celestiall power is poured out upon it, by whose brightness it is comforted, untill it apprehend the species, notions and knowledge of true things, so that that which he thought in his mind, cometh to passe even as he thought, and it obtaineth so great power, that it can plunge, joyn and insinuate it self into the minds of men, and make them certain of his thoughts, and of his will and desire, even thorow large and remote spaces, as if they perceived a present object by their senses; and it can in little time do many things, as if they were done without time; yet these things are not granted to all, but to those whose imaginative and cogitative power is most strong and hath arrived to the end of speculation; and he is fitted to apprehend and manifest all things, by the splendour of the universall power, or intelligence and spirituall apprehension which is above him: and this is that necessary power, which everyone ought to follow and obey, who followeth the truth; if therefore now the power of the imagination is so great, that it can ininuate itself unto whom it pleaseth, being neither hindered nor let by any distance of time or place, and can sometimes draw its heavy body along with it, whither it imagineth and dreameth: There is no doubt but that the power of the mind is greater, if at any time it shall obtain its proper nature, and being no way oppressed by the allurements of the senses, shall persevere both uncorrupted and like it self; but now for example, that the souls abound with so plentifull Light of the Celestiall Stars, and hence, a very great abundance of light redoundeth into their bodies; so Moses face did shine, that the children of Israel could not behold him by reason of the brightness of his countenance; thus Socrates was transfigured, as we read, that in light he overcame the luciferous wheels of the Sun; So Zoroastes [Zoroaster] being transfigured, his body was taken up. So Eliah and Enoch ascended to heaven in a certain fiery chariot, so Paul was rapt up into the third heaven: So our bodies after the judgement of the world, shall be called Glorified, and in like manner be rapt up, and we may say by this means, shall shine as the Sun and Moon; which thing that it is possible, and hath formerly been done, Avicebron the Moore, and Avicen the Arabian and Hippocrates of Cous, and all the school of the Chaldeans [Chaldaeans] do acknowledge and confirm: Moreover it is reported in Histories, that Alexander the great being circumvented and in great danger in India, did so burn in mind, that he seemed to the Barbarians to cast forth light; the father of Theodoricus also is reported to have cast forth sparks of fire tilmugh his whole body; the same thing a wise man also delivered concerning himself, so that sparkling flames did break forth here and there even with a noise; neither is this power of the soul found in men only, but sometimes even in beasts, as in the horse of Tiberius, who seemed to send forth flames out of his mouth. But the mind is above fate in providence, therefore is not affected either with the influences of the heavenly bodies, or the qualities of naturall things; Religion therefore can only cure it; but the sensitiveness of the soul is in fate, above nature, which is in a certain manner the knot of the body and soul, and under fate, above the body; therefore it is changed by the influences of the heavenly bodies, and affected by the qualities of naturall and corporeall things: now I call the sensitiveness of the soul, that vivifying and rectifying power of the body, the originall of the senses; the soul it self doth manifest in this body its sensitive powers and perceiveth corporeall things by the body, and locally moveth the body, and governeth it in his place, and nourisheth it in a body. In this sensitiveness two most principal powers predominate; viz. one which is called the Phantasy, or imaginative or cogitative faculty, of whose power we have already spoken, where we have handled the passions of the soul: the other which is called the sense of nature, of the which also we have spoken, where we made mention of witchcraft. Man therefore by the nature of his body is under fate; the soul of man, by the sensitiveness moveth nature in Fate; but by the mind is above fate, in the order of providence; yet reason is free at its own choice; therefore the soul by reason ascendeth into the mind, where it is replenished with divine light; sometimes it descendeth into sensitiveness and is affected by the influences of the heavenly bodies, and qualities of naturall things, and is distracted by the passions and the encountring of sensible objects: sometimes the soul revolveth it selfe wholly into reason, searching out other things either by discourse, or by contemplating it self: for it is possible, that that part of the reason, which the Peripateticks call the possible Intellect, may be brought to this, that it may freely discourse and operate without conversion to his Phantasmes: for so great is the command of this reason, that as often as any thing incurreth either into the mind, or into the sensitiveness, or into nature, or into the body, it cannot passe into the soul, unless reason apply it self to it; by this means the soul perceiveth it self neither to see, nor hear, nor feel, nor that it suffereth any things by the externall senses, untill cogitative reason first apprehend it; but it appiehendeth it when it is at leisure, not when it earnestly gapeth after another thing, as we manifestly see by these who heed not those that they meet, when they more seriously think on something else. Know therefore that neither the superiour influences, nor naturall affections, nor sensations, nor passions either of the mind or body, nor any sensible thing whatsoever, can work or penetrate into the soul unless by the Judgement of reason it self. Therefore by its act, not by any extrinsecall violence, can the soul be either affected or disturbed, which thing even innumerable Martyrs have proved by their Martyrdom: So Anasarchus a Philosopher of Abdera, who, by the command of Nicocreontes a tyrant of Cyprus, being cast into a concave stone neglecting the pains of his body, while he was pounded with iron pestils [pestles], is reported to have said: pound, pound the shell of Anasarchus, thou nothing hurteth Anasarchus himself: The tyrant commanded his tongue to be cut off, but he with his own teeth did bite it off, and did spit it in the face of the Tyrant.