Three Books of Occult Philosophy · 165 of 186

Book III, Ch. 44: Of the degrees of souls, and their destruction, or Immortality

The minde, because it is from God, or from the intelligible world, is therefore immortal and eternal; but reason is long-lived by the benefit of its celestial original from the Heaven; but the sensitive because it is from the bosome of the matter and dependeth on sublunary nature, is subject to destruction and corruption: therefore the soul by its minde is immortall, by its Reason long-lived in its etherial vehicle, but resolvable unless it be restored in the circuit of its new body; therefore it is not immortal, unless it be united to an immortal mind: therefore the sensitiveness of the soul or the sensitive or animal soul, because it is produced out of the bosome of a corporeal matter, the body being resolved, perisheth together with it, or the shadow thereof remaineth not long in the vapours of its resolved body, partaking nothing of immortality, unless it be also united to a more sublimed power; therefore the soul which is united to the minde, is called the Soul standing not falling; but all men obtain not this minde, because (as Hermes saith) God would propound it as it were a prize and reward of the souls, which they that shall neglect, being without minde, spotted with corporeall senses, and made like to irrational creatures, are allotted to the same destruction with them, as Ecclesiastes saith: there is the same destruction of man and beasts, and the condition of both is equall; as man dieth, so also they dye [die], yea they have all one breath, so that man hath no preheminence [preeminence] over a beast; thus far he. Hence many Theologians think, that the souls of men of this kinde have no immortality after they have left their body, but an hope of the resurrection only, when all men shall be restored. Austin relateth that this was the heresie [heresy] of the Arabians, who affirmed that the souls perished together with their bodies; and in the day of judgement did arise again with them; whosoever therefore being upheld by the divine grace have obtained a mind, these according to the proportion of their works become immortal (as Hermes saith) having comprehended all things by their understanding, which are in the earth, and in the sea, and in the Heavens, and if there be any thing besides these above heaven, so that they behold even goodness it self: but they who have lived a middle life, though they have not obtained the divine intelligence, but a certain rationall intelligence of it; these mens souls, when they shall depart from their bodies, are bound over to certain secret receptacles, where they are affected with sensifive powers, and are exercised in a certain kind of act; and by imagination, and the irascible & concupiscible vertues, do either extreamly rejoyce [rejoice], or greivously [grievously] lament. Of which opinion Saint Austin also was, in his book which he wrote of the spirit and soul; The wise men of the Indians, Persians, AEgyptians & Chaldeans [Chaldaeans] have delivered, that this soul superviveth much longer then its body, yet that it is not made altogether immortal, unless by Transmigration. But our Theologians do philosophize far otherwise concerning these things, that although there be the same common originall and beginning of all souls, yet they are distinguished by the creator with divers degrees, not only accidentall, but also intrinsecall, founded in their very essence, by the which one soul differeth from another, by that which is proper to it self; which opinion John Scotus also holdeth, and the Parisian Theologians have so decreed in their articles; Hence the wise man saith, I was an ingenuous child, and obtaihed a good soul, viz. a better then many others; and according to this inequality of souls, every one is capable in their degree, of their charge; which gift is freely given by God, as we read in the Gospel, that he gave to one five Talents, to another two, to another one, to every one according to his vertue; and the Apostle saith, he hath given some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists and Doctors, for the consummation of the Saints in the work of the Ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; for there are (saith Origen) certain invisible perfections, to the which are committed those things which are dispensed here upon earth, in which there is no small difference, as also is required in the men; wherefore some one attaineth the highest degree of wisdome and dignity; another little differeth from beasts, & feeding beasts is made half a beast; another aboundeth in vertues and in wealth; another hath even little or nothing, & oftentimes that little which he hath is taken away from him, & given to him that hath; and this is the divine justice in the distribution of gifts, that they may correspond to the vertues of every receiver, to whom also rewards are given according to their works: that what proportion there is, of gifts to gifts, and of deserts to deserts, there may be the same proportion of rewards to rewards; to conclude, we must know this, that every noble soul hath a fourfold operation; First divine, by the Image of the divine propriety; the second intellectual, by formality of Participation with the intelligences; the third rational, by the perfection of its proper essential essence; the fourth animal or natural, by communion with the body and these Inferior things; So that there is no work in this whole world so admirable, so excellent, so wonderfull, which the soul of man, being associated to his Image of divinity, which the Magitians [magicians] call a soul, standing and not falling, cannot accomplish by its own power without any externall help: Therefore the form of all Magical power is from the soul of man standing and not falling.