75 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
75 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
SILENCE.
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Of all the Magical and Mystical Virtues, of all the Graces of the Soul,
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of all the Attainments of the Spirit, none has been so misunderstood, even
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when at all apprehended, as Silence.
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It would not be possible to enumerate the common errors: nay, it may be
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said that to think of it at all is in itself an error; for its nature is
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Pure Being, that is to say, Nothing, so that it is beyond all intellection
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or intuition. Thus then the utmost of our Essay can be only a certain
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Wardenship, as it were a Tyling of the Lodge wherein the Mystery of Silence
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may be consummated.
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For this attitude there is sound traditional authority; for Harpocrates,
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God of Silence, is called "The Lord of Defense and Protection."
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But His nature is by no means that negative and passive silence which
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the word commonly connotes; for He is the All-Wandering Spirit; the Pure
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and Perfect Knight-Errant, who answers all Enigmas, and opens the Closed
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Portal of the King's Daughter. But Silence in the vulgar sense is not the
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answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx; it is that which is created by that
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answer. For Silence is the Equilibrium of Perfection; so that Harpocrates
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is the omniform, the universal Key to every Mystery soever. The Sphinx is
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the "Puzzel or Pucelle," the Feminine Idea to which there is only one
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complement, always different in form, and always identical in essence. This
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is the signification of the Gesture of the God; it is shewn more clearly in
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His adult form as the Fool of the Tarot and as Bacchus Diphues, and without
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equivocation when He appears as Baphomet.
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When we inquire more closely into His symbolism, the first quality which
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engages our attention is doubtless His innocence. Not without deep wisdom
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is He called the twin of Horus; and this is the Aeon of Horus: it is He who
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sent forth Aiwass His minister to proclaim its advent. The Fourth Power of
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the Sphinx is Silence; to us then who aspire to this power as the crown of
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our Work, it will be of utmost value to attain His innocence in all its
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fullness. We must understand first of all that the root of Moral
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Responsibility, on which Man stupidly prides himself as distinguishing him
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from the other animals, is Restriction, which is the Word of Sin. Indeed,
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there is truth in the Hebrew fable, that the knowledge of Good and Evil
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brings forth Death. To regain Innocence is to regain Eden. We must learn to
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live without the murderous consciousness that every breath we draw swells
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the sails which bear our frail vessels to the Port of the Grave. We must
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cast our Fear by Love; seeing that Every Act is an Orgasm, their total
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issue cannot be but Birth. Also, Love is the law: thus every act must be
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Righteousness and Truth. By certain Meditations this may be understood and
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established; and this ought to be done so thoroughly that we become
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unconscious of our Sanctification, for only then is Innocence made perfect.
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This state is, in fact, a necessary condition of any proper contemplation
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of what we are accustomed to consider the first task of the Aspirant, the
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solution of the question, "What is my True Will?" For until we become
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innocent, we are certain to try to judge our Will by some Canon of what
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seems `right' or `wrong'; in other words, we are apt to criticise our Will
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from the outside, whereas True Will should spring, a fountain of Light,
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from within, and flow unchecked, seething with Love, into the Ocean of
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Life.
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This is the true idea of Silence; it is our Will which issues, perfectly
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elastic, sublimely Protean, to fill every interstice of the Universe of
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Manifestation which it meets in its course. There is no gulf too great for
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its immeasurable strength, no strait too arduous for its imperturbable
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subtlety. It fits itself with perfect precision to every need; its fluidity
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is the warrant of its fidelity. Its form is always varied by that of the
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particular imperfection which it encounters: its essence is identical in
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every event. And always the effect of its action is Perfection, that is,
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Silence; and this Perfection is ever the same, being perfect, yet ever
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different, because each case presents its own peculiar quantity and
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quality.
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It is impossible for inspiration itself to sound a dithyramb of Silence;
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for each new aspect of Harpocrates is worthy of the music of the Universe
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throughout Eternity. I have simply been led by my loyal Love of that
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strange Race among whom I find myself incarnate to indite this poor stanza
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of the infinite Epic of Harpocrates as being the facet of His fecund
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Brilliance which has refracted the most needful light upon mine own
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darkling Entrance to His shrine of fulminating, of ineffable Godhead.
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I praise the luxuriant Rapture of Innocence, the virile and
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pantomorphous Ecstasy of all-Fulfilment; I praise the Crowned and
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Conquering Child whose name is Force and Fire, whose subtlety and strength
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make sure serenity, whose Energy and Endurance accomplish the Attainment of
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the Virgin of the Absolute; who, being manifested, is the Player upon the
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sevenfold pipe, the Great God Pan, and, being withdrawn into the Perfection
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that he willed, is Silence. |