MEDITATION ON MEMORY LOCI IN THE
GOLDEN FIGURE
View the Golden Figure
This figure provides an initial step for the
rational mind as it becomes disposed to understand the difficult
and subtle parts of Raymond's Art. And it is like a prime alphabet, and
a visible instrument used by the imagination and intellect to remove that
ignorance which negates the human intellect's natural disposition to understand
things.
And to address the human intellect as it lies
open like a clear table, where few, if any scientific concepts at
all are portrayed, I am making the visible figure shown here, to facilitate
initial learning for those who have not known other lofty sciences, and
to have it as a single prime object showing all parts of universal
being in united order, for there can be no science of non being.
Note that the Figure shown here is not the
true Figure, but is meant to be sublimated (without physically looking
at the Figure, and even in its absence) from the imaginary picture that
remains of it, up to the intellectual level. Imagine, from this flat
circular Figure, the very greatest spherical body that can naturally exist,
like the sky all the way to its outermost surface, as shown in the Figure;
by considering it from the center towards the circumference and rising
all the way up to the Prime Golden Link, through which the intellect, with
the senses and the imagination, perceives this whole world as one single
sensible and imaginable being, manifested in glorious order.
And the universe was discovered in this way
by all the sages of ancient times, as will be seen, God willing, in many
places further on in this book. Now the virtue of eyesight does not reach
beyond the starry sky. But the imagination, whose power surpasses all the
senses, in the absence of any particular act of the senses, and in the
absence of anything presented to the sentient being, can imagine things
larger or smaller than what was seen and alter what was seen by the eye
into another shape and color. Thus, it can act above the senses, for no
particular sense can either enlarge or decrease the Figure, its size, color
etc.
And although the eyesight cannot penetrate
beyond the starry sky, a greater sky is perceived to exist above and beyond
the starry sky, through the virtue of the imagination elevated above the
senses. And this is because it perceives an extrasensory, imaginary body
above and beyond the starry sky; even though its virtue does not rise above
this ultimate sky, for above and beyond its outermost surface there is
no more body, nor any physical locality or place containing anything, or
contained by anything.
Now the intellect has its real spiritual existence
above physical imagination, and so it is truer, more actual, more powerful
and far reaching as a human faculty which goes where imagination fails
to reach. And as the imagination is immediately subjected to it, it elevates
it as much as it can, by producing a fantastic being or chimera and reaching
to things that never existed for the senses. But the intellect cannot carry
the imagination either into the void or beyond the physical level . And
this is where the virtue of imagination fails, and is overtaken by the
intellect, and rightly so, for being spirit, intellect reaches to spiritual
being beyond the physical planes.
And whereas through imagination, the intellect
reaches to the physical being of nature, and whereas physical nature has
less form, less actuality, less nobility and is a lesser being than spiritual
being, the intellect reaches spirit and substance in an extrasensory and
extra imaginary way, as sense and imagination cannot go beyond the accidents,
and extrasensory imagination cannot go beyond the physical senses or beyond
the three dimensions of space. The nine accidents beyond which the senses
cannot go, are: Quantity, Quality, Relation, Action, Passion, Time, Situation,
Habit, Space.
And gold is more precious than any other color,
and its substance more precious than any other physical substance, and
as the eyesight distinguishes and elects the precious, neat, pure, beautiful
and delightful color of gold incomparably above other colors, so does the
intellect rise aloft, elevating incomparably above the choice of sense,
the separate spiritual substances which dwell above all the heavenly bodies.
And thus the first circle contacted by the
intellect, which is of a less pure and neat golden color, represents reality
in a comparative way, which is not a true representation, but only meant
to facilitate learning about the nature of the rational soul as it dwells
in the lowest of the spiritual horizons, where compounded with the body,
it is apt to receive the disturbances of human flesh weighing it
down. So the soul is immediately joined to the body, and above it, so that
it can be aware of its own lesser nature, and of physical nature as well.
And by the same token, the body which is directly in contact with the soul,
is the body of heaven, or the astral body, which is a more spiritual, more
formal, less compounded and subtler body. And so it is elevated above the
visible body, and as a spiritual body it is greater and less compounded,
and simpler than the bodies below it. For these reasons it is elevated
above the heavens and closer to the spiritual entities that it is joined
to.
Above this circle there is another, neater
and purer golden circle, and through its purity and neatness the angels,
or simply separated substances, nobler intelligences in no way bound to
physical nature are elevated, by their greater nobility, to a higher degree
of dignity than the rational soul.
And the purest and most perfect gold
of all, a gold of absolute purity, dwells infinitely and incomparably above
the lower forms of gold, which stand far below it, as likenesses are inferior
in their dignity to the thing they represent. As there is a real
difference between an image appearing in a mirror, and the thing that it
represents, likewise, and infinitely more so, there is a difference between
this purest gold of all and the other kinds of gold. As perfectly pure
gold is different from a dye made with gall, which is only a very remote
likeness of gold, so does God reach above all other things in his holiness
and infinite dignity.
Consequently, if among visible objects
and among all kinds of beings, even the most base and vile, a natural order
is found, rising in orderly fashion through the simple comparative degrees
of great, greater and greatest, (as in inanimate bodies, where one stone
can be naturally more dignified that another through its beauty, or virtue,
or both; and also in inanimate artificial bodies, such as metals; and likewise
in vegetation, plants, trees; and among more or less evolved animals as
well). Among humans, the simple order of greater and greatest is discerned
by reason. And in the world of human activities, this can be observed
in the respective worlds of the laity and the clergy and the way that they
follow a certain order, as if compelled by some kind of necessity.
And the same concept can be stated in
other words, namely that in each and every class of being, something
primordial and supreme can be found, to which all other things of its own
kind are reduced. So in this way, throughout the whole universe, a most
natural and necessary order is found, among the positive, comparative and
superlative degrees. The necessity of this order is visibly demonstrated
by the orderly disposition of the elements, each in its place, ascending
and descending along a vertical axis.
The argument of Priscian, when applied
to natural things, is a true and necessary one, although it is ignored
by many, who do not know how to detect the natural order of things. They
do not know how to face things as they really are, but prefer to cast a
confused glance at only a few items, without considering likenesses and
without finding any differences, and without making any orderly comparisons
according to the majority, equality and minority that exist among all classes
of natural beings. They easily jump to conclusions, and make pronouncements,
as they deem that anything that they do not know, must be equally unknown
to everyone else. Moreover, they suppose that no one else can possibly
know or understand anything that they do not themselves know or understand,
and that no one else can rise anywhere above the level of knowledge that
they have achieved. And this class of individuals can be aptly described
as being obstinate purely for the sake of obstinacy.
Others remain obstinate in believing
in some true authorities, whose true meaning they have not basically understood,
because they prefer narratives and stories, to intellectual debate.
These folks have no scientific background, and as they realize their shortcoming,
they are less likely to remain obstinate.
Others still, remain obstinate in their
false principles from false authorities, having been brought up and nourished
and imbibed with sayings handed down from their predecessors. And these
people do not want to understand anything that could make them improve
their behavior, and refuse to suppose that anything could be different
from what they say it is. It is boring to live and to contend with such
people, and difficult to extirpate them from their persistent obstinacy,
the only way is to gradually lead them along by applauding them from time
to time, when they do happen to say something right. If they were truly
rational human beings, wouldn't they want to know the truth! But
they suppose that they already know enough, if not everything, and see
others, at all times, as ignorant.
But let us come back to our previous
thread of thought, and let us say that where sensual knowledge fails, the
imagination takes over by reaching beyond the senses, and when the imagination
fails, the intellect takes over and reaches above the imagination by attaining
truths through rational discourse. Now in the same way, and much better,
as a healthy and open eye, in the presence of an object set at a proper
distance and in the proper light, so that no other color or object interferes,
must see and cannot help seeing, thus, and much more so, an intellect that
is naturally well disposed in a naturally well disposed human body, in
the presence of its object, namely of a self evident statement or of some
demonstration whose principles are clearly obvious to all, must understand
the truth of these things, and cannot fail to understand it.
Now as the truth of true statements presented
to the intellect depends on the truth of objects existing outside the intellect
or soul, and whereas that which exists in the intellect is not the object
itself, but a likeness or a species of that object, if this species is
truly governed by the object, the intellect truly attains the object by
directing the true species or likeness to its appropriate object. And in
this manner, it attains its object much better than the thing reflected
in a mirror is perceived, supposing that the mirror is straight, clean
and flat and of the right colors. Therefore a statement that states the
truth about an object in this way, can be rightly said to express the truth
regarding the object, at least to the extent that it is possible
to make a statement about anything by referring to the likeness which represents
it.
From all this, it is obvious that a stone
or a thing is not in the intellect, even though it is an object of
the intellect. It is only a species or likeness abstracted by the active
intellect, and it is self evident that this species is something far removed
from the truth of the externally existing object. So it is clear that intellectual
truth manifestly depends on real truth. This is why any statement containing
the reality of a thing is said to be true, if it affirms this reality,
and false if it negates it. It is also clear that our own affirmations
do not add anything new to the reality of the object, nor can they modify
it.
And from all this, it is clearly obvious
that a real object contains more real truth that does anything that the
intellect can draw from it. Reasoning can vary, as it can freely affirm
or deny, and can announce or express things differently from what is in
the mind, which is commonly known as lying, and the thing or the object
does not change but permanently remains in its true reality. And
the real thing, in its truth, surpasses and transcends the truth understood
about it by the intellect, to the extent that a likeness differs from the
thing that it represents, as the intellect does not reach to the real object,
and the real object does not reach out to the intellect, but only the species
through which it understands. And there is yet another degree of distance,
because the intellect, as it uses the species that it holds within itself
as a sign or likeness of the object or of the thing objectified by it,
this sign that is held in the human mind cannot be expressed or pronounced
unless it be through a further sign of this impression or likeness that
exists in the soul, namely through a meaningful vocal expression, which
designates the mental concept, and thus, voice is a second sign following
upon the first. An in this way, the likeness of a thing begins
to emanate from the thing itself, and then it is multiplied as the active
intellect attracts it, until the sign is finally imprinted in the passive
intellect. And after this, from the passive intellect, the sign of the
mental concept and not the concept itself, is reproduced as
it is carried by the voice that expresses it, and it stands as far away
from the sign first received in the passive intellect, to the same distance
at which any likeness stands from the real thing it simulates.
As a meaning is received in the ear through
a vocal sign or meaning, and subsequently imprinted upon the mind or the
passive intellect of the listener, it is imprinted upon two things. First,
in the speaker, from the immediate likeness or species of the external
object. Secondly, it is received by the listener through some sign which
conveys the meaning or the concept that the speaker has in mind; and this
mental concept was previously the immediate species or likeness of the
external object, and now this originally conceived species or sign is detected
by the listener through a sign that is not taken straight from the object,
but from a species previously derived from it. And this second sign is
carried by the speaker's voice all the way to the ears of the listener,
and the listener attracts the meaning of the voice and knows that
this meaning comes from an object, namely through the distance of two intervening
steps, as explained. However, as the listener refers and directs the meaning
of the voice to the real object from which it first arose, then, if this
meaning is properly expressed by the voice that conveys its intimate sense,
it is sufficient to provide for a good understanding of what is meant.
Now we cannot cannot understand things any better than this, as we cannot
always carry them around with us or even point them out with our hands.
We can only designate them with meaningful vocal expressions, and these
are merely signs of yet other signs previously imprinted on the passive
intellect.
The expression of meaning therefore presupposes
understanding, and understanding presupposes being. And understanding depends
on real things, and the conveying of meanings depends on the intellect,
or on the act of understanding. Therefore it is most necessary to express
mental concepts with the vocal signs that convey the most intimate reality
of the object in the most intimate and vehement manner. Thus we can see
at this point, how necessary it is to have a good knowledge of what is
said when naming things and using vocabularies, for clearing up doubtful
questions both substantial and accidental. Accidents do play a large role
in knowing what things are, so that terminological disputes can be avoided.
This is why anyone ignorant of the meanings of words, can easily go astray
in their logic, the cause of their errors lies in the fallacies which are
latent in words. And it follows, that even though all voices do not sound
the same, nonetheless, when their meanings are understood, the meanings
do not stray from the things meant by them.
Coming back again to the Figure, or
to the root from which we have digressed to make the above useful comments,
let us now consider the order of the universe. And first, as we descend
from the top in orderly fashion, let us see how creatures descend from
GOD in an immediate way, following their greater likeness to GOD, and then
let us descend from greater likenesses to lesser ones, and from more subtle,
pure and lucid likenesses to ones which are less subtle, pure and lucid,
and thus proceed through a process of involution through the spiritual
planes, until finally we arrive at a nature which is simply of another
order, namely physical nature.
The involution of created spiritual substance
takes place in the rational soul, which stands at the lowest horizon of
intelligences, as the dregs of spiritual being with respect to the angels
above it, as it is seen to be in touch with physical nature, without being
physical in itself , but only endowed with an aptitude for entering into
composition with a body, and as one of two parts of a compound, to produce
thereby a third entity. Thus the rational soul is one one hand, lowest
in the scale of intelligences, and on the other hand, it stands immediately
above, and in continuous contact with the body of heaven, or the universal
astral body. Therefore the rational soul is in touch with this prime universal
body, which is subtler than any of the heavenly bodies.
And from this ninth heaven, and from
the prime mobile sphere, the spheres descend in their successive involutionary
order, although they all consist of one and the same celestial or
astral nature, homogeneous through the whole natural body of heaven down
to the sphere of the Moon, which is more lumpy and gross than the spheres
above it, as can be seen by looking closely at the body of the Moon, which
is not uniform, but covered with stains and blemishes. For the lunar sphere
is tinged with the likeness of the spheres immediately below it, namely
the elements with their perturbations and impurities, generation and decay,
all signified by the waxing and waning of moonlight.
Next, in descending order comes the sphere
of things subject to generation and decay, the confused disturbance and
chaos of the elements, which likewise follows an order based on the nature
of each element. Now fire is the element possessing the highest level of
form, subtlety, rarity, actuality, and purity, and the least amount of
physical matter, and it belongs in the first closest region to the heavens,
as the element which comes nearest to reaching celestial nature. Fire is
luminous, and extremely light, which gives it a natural tendency to rise
toward the clarity and light of heaven; thus it belongs to the uppermost
sphere closest to the heavens where it is joined to the concavity of the
lunar sphere.
After fire, in descending order comes
air, which is more gross and less pure than fire. Thus it belongs below
fire, and being lighter and more pure and subtle than water, it is found
above water. And water is more subtle, pure and beautiful than earth, so
it is above earth; and as water is more gross, compact and material than
air, it is placed beneath air. And earth, as the dregs and involution of
the other elements is the most gross, thick, and impure of them all, and
the elements can be considered as the dregs of astral bodies. Astral bodies
can be considered, comparatively, as the dregs of the intelligences. And
the intelligences are clean, pure creatures, sublimated above every kind
of uncleanness. As intelligences descend through involution, their
dregs are found in the rational spirit, which does not exist as an end
in itself, and has no purpose on its own, and only finds rest in
man, for whom it is ultimately meant.
And as said above, GOD the Holy One projects
away from Himself the effects which He derives from Himself, by putting
a distance between Himself, and the things least similar to Him. And He
has situated a place for the damned, in the nether abyss of earth, in the
midst of the collective uncleanness of all creatures, in a place which
is at the greatest distance from GOD, measured in every direction. And
He has called His creatures back to Himself from the lowest element and
from the place found furthest away from Him; having created them or caused
them all to exist for Himself through the grace and generosity of His love.
And so that His operations do not proceed in vain, He set a gradual ascending
order among creatures, where they can finally and perfectly achieve the
end of perfection for which they have been ordained, and find rest in this
end. And thus, GOD has bestowed virtues on creatures, through which
their orderly ascent to their creator can be detected, for they have been
created by the creator in a descending order, as stated above.
Therefore, let every creature rejoice and exult
in Him, as creatures cannot possibly be ordained for a greater and more
perfect purpose. And let the rational creatures rejoice and exult most
of all, because they can understand and know this truth; and most of all
man, as he is the medium through which this orderly ascent back to Godhead
takes place, and as such, man is the focal point of all creation.
And this return to the Source takes place within
a sphere full of disturbances, confusion and chaos, contrariety and corruption.
As compared to other, higher creatures, it may seem like a divine condemnation;
but such is not the case. Rather, it is a just action on GOD's part, whereby
in his infinite wisdom, He creates the worlds for himself, and for making
himself and his operations manifest, so that through his operations, GOD
the supreme operator can make himself known, and reveal through his operations
the purpose and final perfection of his divine work, which has, no doubt,
been meant for rational creatures. He created confusion, so that
order could better and more perfectly shine forth in contrast. He has placed
order among similar and dissimilar things in the world, to create a medium
for cognition and clear awareness and removal of doubt. And the reason
why He has introduced into this place of exile, decay and confusion, this
most excellent operation, and many other super excellent and supremely
dignified operations, was to compensate for the exaltation and lofty situation
of the higher creatures. Now He created all creatures equally with the
same love, each and every one destined to one and the same end, and in
this end, his entire effect, or world, is made perfect.
What a marvelous and supernatural, infinite
operation it was, to create out of nothingness a great work, like the sensible
world with its intelligences; and to make two things that are so naturally
remote, and naturally so distant from each other, like spiritual nature
which is GOD's greater likeness, and physical nature below it, which is
entirely, essentially and naturally diverse and separated from spiritual
nature. And also, within physical nature, to create two things so essentially
different in nature, as are the perpetual celestial cycles, and the corruptible
things made of elements?
Even more marvelous, was the conjunction or
union of two such distant and diverse natural extremes, as the body, which
is entirely subject do decay, and spirit, which can neither be generated
nor corrupted, in such an entirely perfect composition, as to produce from
them one, singular and natural substantial being, which is neither of the
two said things, but something essentially different, while each of the
two yet remain intensively what they are in themeselves, without any corruption
of their own natures either in composition or in simplicity, and all this
in the present valley of tears?
And the most marvelous of all, was to see infinite
being assume finite being in such a manner, as to make a single substantial
being without any composition, as each of the two remains what it was,
what it is, and what it shall be; through this operation GOD became everything
while making everything over to himself, as He made the creator into a
creature, and the creature into the creator! Is it any wonder, for rational
man to desire most ardently and fervently to know about this?
I do not intend to deal here with the things
that I have just mentioned, nor to delve into their causes, so as to leave
some room for wonderment and thirst for knowledge. However, I do intend
to delve into the source and origin of all knowable causes, as there can
be no science if the principles are ignored. And since the principles of
knowledge are identical to the principles of being, and being precedes
knowing, we can first gaze upon the world as it is in its goodness, and
in its greatness, and admire its order and beauty. As we admire the world
in this, and many other ways, which we cannot grasp or comprehend through
the senses and imagination, we are moved by reason to say that the world
is not its own cause. If the world had existed before coming into existence,
it would have existed even before existing, and it would have existed even
then, when it did not exist, and thus it would have both existed, and not
existed at the same time, which is simply an impossibility.
Therefore, we say that the world has a cause,
and a maker. Should not an effect that is so good, so great, so durable,
so powerful, with such wisdom and instinct, such will and appetite,
such virtue, such truth, delight and glory, should not such an effect optimally
have a maker Who has always been, and now is supremely good, great and
durable, powerful, wise, willing, virtuous, true and glorious, eminently
above and beyond the effect produced by Him?
Didn't Aristotle, the philosopher, in the beginning
of "The Heavens and the World" clearly declare, that all things
are threefold, and can be divided into three dimensions? And all
the Pythagoreans likewise say, that all reality is encompassed by three
dimensions, namely the end, the middle and the beginning; and this number
applies to all things, and signifies the threefoldness of all things. And
the Philosopher immediately goes on to say: "And so, having taken these
three from nature as (so to speak) laws of it, we make further use of the
number three in the worship of one God, our Creator, Who eminently
possesses all the properties of all created things".
Therefore, as any effect as such must necessarily
be finite, since it precedes nothing else, but proceeds from something
else, so any effect is either nothing at all, or something that follows
upon something else. Therefore it must necessarily follow, that the being
which stands above effects and fininteness, must itself be infinite, otherwise
it would not stand above finite being. So whatever stands above and beyond
finite being, must either be infinite, or nothing at all. Therefore, infinite
goodness stands eminently above created goodness, through its infinite
magnitude, duration, power, wisdom, will, virtue, truth and glory.
This is really the original location, in which
and from which Raymond Lull first began to contemplate, as can be seen
in his Biography, and seek out the true causes of all knowable truths.
And the Lord by divine grace, suddenly , through an unknown shepherd
who told him many great and wonderful things about the Creator and his
creatures, totally enlightened his intellect. And from that moment on,
he never stopped inquiring and writing, so that GOD might act through him
as an instrument, and so that by GOD's action, and with the Art given by
GOD as an instrument, he could extirpate the errors, opinions and falsehoods
that have always existed, and still exist in this rational world,
by the grace of GOD and with pure and simple truth applied with the Art.
How sad it is to see in our times, that whatever
is said to be most true and necessary, is also most deeply ignored, and
most remotely hidden away from the wise of this world! How many periods
of history have passed in their ceaseless search, and nonetheless truth
is still more and more a matter of opinion, without anyone daring to stand
up and determine, or assert the truth, or say anything more than: "Here
is what others think of it", and this is where it stops. And these errors
exist for a cause: namely ignorance of causes, or the principles of causality.
But to be called wise, or knowledgeable, you must be able to use your intellectual
virtue with assurance on your own for attaining difficult subjects and
their causes. And we consider that we really know something, once we are
sure of its causes. Knowing something is nothing more nor less than knowing
the causes of its effect, in a way that cannot possibly be otherwise.
As Proclus put it so well in the beginning
of his Book on Causes, "The prime cause has greater influence on its effect,
and is more of a cause than the immediate, or secondary cause, for whatever
is the cause of another cause, is also the cause of what is further caused,
and so we can say that 'whatever operation is performed by a second cause,
is performed by the first cause to an even higher degree'. For the
first cause operates from a more elevated and sublime level. And when the
second cause is removed from what it has caused, the prime cause is not
removed, because the prime cause adheres to a thing more greatly and more
vehemently than does the immediate cause; and the effect of a cause cannot
be caused without the participation of the prime cause. And this is because
while the second cause is not producing any effect in an object, the higher
prime cause influences the object with its virtue adhering vehemently to
it and serving it". And he gives the example of rational man: the first
cause produces being, the second cause: life, and the third cause: reason.
He says: "If reason is removed from a man, what is left is no longer a
man, but merely a living, breathing and sentient being. And if life is
taken away, then although no longer alive, the thing still has being, and
being is not removed from it, since a cause is not removed by removing
the effect it has caused."
To next page, and the
rest of the Introduction
.
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