MOR essays shall be called Woman because she was toker: ut of Man,” Gap, 2223" “Yp this Uiceness;" then, could ever have been said bad chery nat aleescy been an archetype of this polrity in God~that is 10 say, of course en principie, for we axc act speakirg of a composition in diviniz™ The Carsten doctrine, moreovse, Ike the indian, snvleaget an ukinaae = tunion of the divided princip'es, these where “there is neither male nor fera’e: for ye are all one (Ske. eh Bhéa] in Christ Jens” (Gal. 328)" ‘That is wher? itis no longer « question of this man ar tha: wos, But only of ther Universal Mop of whom Bockme says that “this charmpion pr lion is no man or ncauan, but he is both” (Signature Rerun: 3143) 1 it ke objected, finally, that cll this cexual phraseology i¢ a sore of hetorie and not to be tixea fterally, we sty thet while itis not « mater of rhetoric in any “Tierarp” sense, - is 2 matter of analogy and sym- bolisu: as is explcie in both paserges from the Brhadirenyake Upenijad cited above, itis net a ques:ion of a men and a wou in fest, nor of any axistence, bu of dhe faius of Unig which is “as Ht wore (ytha) shar oF man abd woman closely erabracee.” Our whole iatemtiox has beer 10 indicate thet sn odequate symbolism of this sort bas been universally terapleyed in the vremmo.s ane ortbode tradition auch suas yes fslyy ‘within the linils of the prescnt ertcle, to shove in rhar i hos been employed in the Hinéu and Christan forms of be wansmited sevelaion 2140 Lying exeetures, having heen il then bbeatal we parted osasder, and non wb the remy and oe thers forse me mass on the ou pass ace ikewire Ermales on the athe par? (Hezacs, 14978). TOL te pace poe of Joba (cited by Baynes, t, A Costs Growie Toei, pal, far, the Packer, the Mater, and ‘he Son, tke serfect Powes"s and Bavttaag, “AL tat desared to be One, Pur cae Moun’ aie he Pate aod dhe Chil ae his al” [Gal ib is cited by Se Thomas, Sem, Thee? 1934 af 2, in ilusteation of bie mam cotement, “ibe jee of God slong sp a sees sine 5 n the za, fwherin is ny seul wistustion’, One quod ganar, generar es conarrt Sunt. Fheod «48x 34 3) 2G Two Passages in Dante's Paradieo 1 hag ww for some vime Deen Lully reangaieed thet Tams anafosies ave of singaler value for an uncerstonding of Dante's Divine Contrasdie, act only in connection vith the basic form of the narrative! but as re- ipeds the methods by whic the theses ate cormmunticated.* And this ‘would hold good, eatirely apart from ve eonsideration of any prodlems “influence” that aight be considered from che more restric:ed point 10? view of licerary hisory. Ir has been justly reared by Hl. A. Welfson Uta the ancdiacval Arabic, Ucbievr, and Latin “philosophical literatures ners in fact one philocephe expressed in different languages, translatable almost literally into one snorher:"* Again, i t's is tr, it is not merely 4 cult of jros_mity and influeace nor, o& the other hend, of a paralcl avelopraenr, bur sevanse “Hhiman estore is a unified! whole, and in the varions cultures one finds rie dies af one spiritual language.™ because “a great universal line of metaphysics is evident among all poo ITs eaey wat ft pbted in Spm, X1 (939)—30) | Sce ial Asn 7 econ, ta Restate muna on te Dine Cometic (Magi tna) and he abled wasocen ov #0 Sinden, en ede Sis orety Cd ee Pinig Vall Lenguasie cre Dine «de “Pll Ame” (Roms vat): Rete Godman Ease de Dac (Day sps)t dems “Le Longe steer de Duna eg Tile PAonsr® Ged Stgtay Sona on oes Eatoag Le Voie Pe TENA ap}, ad KAN (ess). Toda aod ote cytes hee an ade aga ce ny eDane eV S00 Gre dete Sot! elas LR) a “Le Tye non “tie cee Ste” sts Sa Canes dor Croat nal ay Dune Pipes Vig, sano a Bane Yd Other aps (Loto, se), Mat ek "see ie mnt up i hae he ae he Toi and at ie Bboy of spzes, Cambie, Mi (1930, pti Fret Handbach er Mdatinnetor Detar (tin, 98 2MAJOR ESSAYS ples"® Without going teo fer afield in tme or space—and one cull go be least as fae 25 Sumeria and Chino—it will suffice for peeseat purposes to say that what is affirmed by Wolfson for Arabic, Hebeew, and Latia will be o° equal validity if Sanskrit ip added co the lst. Tn zecent yeers 1 aave repeatedly draven station 19 clic sciashebe oetrnal ard evea verbal epivalerts that can be demonstrated in modtae- 1 Tarin and Vedic Indien tceditional ltercture, ia eespect to which oszowing were assumed, prioriy would hive 10 be abuwed t0 the Vedic side; bat borrowing i¢ nor sssumed, As these equivalences are not Ikely to he familiar to avy presert scaders, a few will be cited here; and sulking as they enay be, they ace merely surples of runtess bers of the same sort. ‘We find it ssid, for example, in connection with the orthodox doctrine (of Chuik’s to Suths, etecnel and temporal, that “on rhe part of the chile there ie but one “lstion in reality, thouyl tie be :wo in expect (Sune, Theol unsyy ai 3), aL “Ti bie ia Mary ghorly wae rn God Deiter pleasing than Fis nativity of her in she fexa” CEekhar, Bvans ed 1yit8). And inasmuch ae Christ's Alizrioy is in any cesta “vital opers tHoa from a canjeant ingle (@ grincigio canjenery),* ands “steraal fin does uot depend upon a texapora. mo:her” (Sea#. Theol. 27.20 snd sigs ad 2), it follows tha: Cherise is monhered jt eteanity m0 ks thea in time; the mother in eetnicy, lickhart's “Mary ghostly,” being evidently “that civine ratare by which the Father begets" (Sumy. Theol reaese). “That natte, o wit, which created all others” (Si, Augestire, De minitate xtvg)—Namara raturans, Cocatsix universal, Deus, ins ranch as essence and ualuse aye one ’n Hin, io the Supreme Identity, rls ie che unity ef the ennjeinr prireiples, Finally, inasmuch as the divine life is enevectfu, sheie ie evidently Lut one act of generation, though there be “two ia aspect, comrespondirg to the two relations in tie yatcuts, as vousidered by the intslle:” (Sve Thon 71355 ad 3). Te is, thea, Latin Chistian doctrine that there is one generation, but two mothers Ingically distinguishable. ‘The exact equivalent of this in the fewes. possible words, occurs in the Gopatie Brthmena tsi, “3 syombs, ene act of generation (die yon! eka ‘withinam).” Ths bricE text, on che ane hand, resus the fasilin Vedic docttine ofthe hirwother- thoi o€ Aged wan is demiti-—as, for example, in RV aut and 1%, ‘became the son of two machers ... he was quickened in unlike worabs.” and RV <1¢g1-g where Night, “When she hcth conceived for ras Sup’s Sh Sates, "Die shchincibehe Meraphgslk und thre Velousdenbeit mit dee abundlindischen elie fr Rechte wad Sook phiiasophis, WXVIN {538}, 9. DANTE’S PARADISO quickening, yielés the womb ro [her sister] Dawa!'and, on the other, te the der varive dazma of he dal motherhood (or a'te-natively motker- hood and fosier motherhood) by which she etcenal Avata- is manifested in Vaisnavism, Baddhism, acd Jainism, where by asomewraat materialized ormaletion the divine child is arnally reaneterred fram the wine af rhe spiritual power to that of che temporal powers represenied respectively by the queens Devinanc& and ‘Tisla.* du ADianigs, the partern of she Sacrfies performed ia imitation of what was done in the beginning is dsscibed as “without beginning or end. ‘That which is its beginaing is abo ite end, that ogsia which ie it end is also is beginning, they da nat d'scriminate which is anterin~ and which poseerion” with which say be compared Beethius, De conseltione philo scphiae >, prose 6, “is it possible that you who know the begining of ell Udings should no: also know their end?*; Sum, Than 120326 “the ene fof a thng corresponds 10 its Leginuing"; Eckhart (Eons ethy 1, 24). the frst beginning js because af the last end” and Dante, Poradiio seere.2o, 39, né prima né boscia... sana distinzione in essorire, ‘The definition ef a personal as distinguished from an: animal nature iw AA maa, viz. “A person (purasa) in most endowed with understanding. Ihe specs what has been discriminated, he draws distinctions, he knows the morrow, be Knows what is etd is not mundane, and by che snort] seoks the immortal” while “ar for the other eatle, theirs is a valid perception merely aecorditg to hunger and thirst, they do not speck ‘what has been diseriminated,” er, is a8 awarly as possible identical with the clesscal definition in Becth'us, Contre Ketychen 11: “There is no petson of an ox or any other of the animals whic dnavb ané unreasoning live life of sense along, but we say there is a person of a zuun, of God, for an angel... chere 1s Ao person of a man af animal or general.” “SHE Wao 1 is the principal of all names applied t9 God,” says St Tobe of Damascus (De jide arehodoxa 1): s0 wee ig He nwo he Jatd incl of os “nex” With toapeet to tae “thought of God,” which “is not attsinable by argument” (KU mg), that “His 9 that thought by ‘whom it is unthought, and if he thinks i, then he des not understand” corcesponds to Dionysus (De mystica thealogice 1): “Which not to sce ‘1 know is realy to aoe and know,” and Ep. ad Cains Mon: “If any. fone secing God understood what he saw, he saw nac God himself, but ‘one of hose things thet are Cod’ Tn woonection with the Immaculate Conception, St. ‘Thomas (Sten Sf. orter pales, er Gxouuraswany, “he Conquerors Lite im \atae Foingng," JISOA, M1 (2958), 332 28MAJOR ESSAYS Pheol. uta ad x) seovarlze that while jn this exze the Spirius entered the material forma without means, in normal generation “the power af tke soul, which is in the semen, throug the Spirit enclosed fashions tae body.” This cortesgonds ap: only to the kriel fo: of RV vnng.ag, “The Spisit ie the forhor'e part, vaimon” af the boriy (aod pices sont vésah),” bu. wxoxe exglictly © SUB maos, “It is inasnouch as the Breath-oF-life inhabits the exsended seed, that he [ho Js us bz bun] Lakes shay Guede Ayer ses tune pre Elia wth a: sambiavaat)”” and Kaus. Up. i, “Ic is as Lie Breatl: Grae) that th: Inteligizing Spirivas (prejléemen) grasps ond ezeets the body.” ‘sum. Theol. 145.1 “Ceeation, which is the emarecion ef all being, is from nonheing, whic) is nothing (Crestio, ace est emus otis esse, ert ex nom cate, quod est ibid)” combined with 1248, “The knowledge of God is the cause of things. For the kaoseledge of God is to all crearares what the knowledge of the artificer is 0 things mace bey his ert (icur scien artes se hubet ed artfcita)” and with the dectne of the Spint az the animat-ng powee ir the act of generation, swhother human or divine (see @>ove)—all this is repcesented in a biieier Fovmslating of the Bg Veda The RV xxsa: “The Mzece of the Spieitual power ke as « blacksmith with his bellows welded all there generations of tht Angel inthe 3x'mal_ acon, being was begoxen Grose: uxbtag,” where “Blacksmil”™ (urna, “maser.” “werkman’), ke Tvayy (the “Cazpenter,* who in the Ry ede “hews by intellect [omanace takgai]." ia the sense of the Schalosi~ per eerhurn in intel. era concepiuny, predicated of ue aniler i Sana, Theol 1436) aod Visvakearman ("Allanaker,” later the patron sspect of deity with respect vo the erafs end wershiped as such in their Feser_ mysteries), one sponds 20 Deus sicut artiex in Schulssic imagery; sue “welded wth fir dollows” (semedbareie) alludes to the “blast” of the Spirit, the snimating Gale (vate, saju) by which the Soa himself is “aroused” (Agsi, vejicab, RV’ 1654, v.63, ew.) and “ace w blaze” (dhars toni, RV 1247), “when Vita blows upon his fame” (RV 130), “chat Gale, thy Spintus that dhuaders through che universe” (atma te deat, exe, RY wihz2), “Vayu, spiration of the Angels, whose sound is kreard indeed, though his form is nover seen” (RV x68.) “this image of che Maser Blsksmith sth his fellows amend Massers Sion, Theol. tage: *Spiinal waths are tong y taught vnder the keness of vere ings?” Tice by ao means without food and sulcatus tat Jee wae called he Son of tal tarpantes” lay fadsed) there rt See!” Whe Che WHE TE wrought By the Miser Carpenter mt DANES PARADISE ‘The most gercrat Scholawic definition of sin, cf any kind, is a¢ fol toms, “Sia % u departure from the order to che end” (Sun. Theol. panic and 2 ad 2}, and in cennecton with he antistc sia, St. Thomas fn to explain that it is sin proper to the ar “if an arist prodvce Fed thing, while newline to poxcuce smethicy geod: of prodece something good while intending to procuce something bad.” In KU sista, be who chooses what be likes mest ( in what is dunt lovely Crepse) So al “deviate roan the ene” Ciivrte hat); in SB ra6. certain oect of the rite is wrongly done, “that would be asin (apariddi}? just a Hf on were to do one “hing while intending, to do anotters ut if one vere w say oue Ging while iatzading 1 say ‘otic; o¢ if one were to go one way while intending to go another.” In Sam. Theol a2035 ad x: “These chings are scid ta be under the sun which art geaerated ond corrupted accorliay to the sun's snove- men” and a1 (Gupp.) 9. # ad 1: “The state of glory is not under the san.” In $B 113.37, “He who glows [the Sun] is this Desth [an essentil ame of deity ab éntra)"s axcordingly, all creatures ew Elin are moral but disc beyond Lim are Angels (or “Geds") who are alives and x5.145 “Bxerything hitherseard from the Sun is in the grasp of Death (rary ipsa)” ‘There i:ay ais be cited a paix of examples of carlier origin on the Bu ropean side. Matt. ro:tt, “prudentes sicat serpeatel, eb simplices sieut columbae,” exrrspones i RV xfza ahimadya anegaul. Again, whereas in Gen, 2:21-22 God “too one of his [Adain's) ribs... And the rib whieh the Lord Cod had eakea from man, made he a womcm” and 4:20, “Adam called his wife's neme Foes hecanse she was the anether cf all living.” so also in the Rg Vede the name of Manu’s daughter is Ae "RB" (Gar dar Aw arse midnaot), who under snodner nae, Hay is he mother “througa whom he [Manu] generated rhis ace of men” ($3. Hic10), Manu being ia the Hindu tzadition che archetype and progzai- tor of men an the same way as Adama sn the Hebrew tradition, the condi- on of incest ‘m beta farmnlations depending 0% the “blood relationship” Gmitna) of the oviginal parents. A singie Islamic example may 9: added. Wheress St, Angustins, Con- Festoss wt, has, wich reference ro created things, “A being they have, Decause they are from Thee: and yet no being, becuse: what Thon art Shey are not.” and Sum. Theoly 4.16, “All beings apart from God are ‘not cheir own being, buc beings by pectiipation,” we find in Jémef, Le- reyas) rather 1 UAE deve tra apenas, defied by MonserwUltame #5 “9 mise ones 25MAJOR ESSAvE i “Tarth lacks tre Being, yor éepends thereon—Whoxt are true Not merely could ether doctrinal and verbal parallels of this sort be cid almost af iafinitem™—eg., in connection with suca matters a: Exeexslarisn,"* Transuhwantiation, and Tots ihilry hr eile equiva lencies could be ever. more casily demonstrated in che domain uf visual symbolism,* 2 mods of comamcnica‘ion chat even more than verbal sym- Sollee the characteristic iieaa of ezeditional merapaysis, Por uxsumple, there has oftca bccn brought cut the common vakucy vf the Christian rose and Indian Joeue as representations of the ground of all manifest tio, the suppor. of being whem ir proceeds ar seems to proceed ‘rom being to bocerning. The case of musical foru: is Uke same: “An example ‘of the tenacity with which the susie of a cule survives is afforded in the West by Catholic church wusic which, deriving from Jewsea temple singing, sends apar: from te quite diflerect aremusic of today, like an cntatic Bleck. ‘There are similar instaness ia the East, such as chose of the Jedian Samaveda melodies. and in Japan the singing of the No dramas, which even ip the late courtly and profane environment in which we heer i has preserved its criginal liturgical significance” (Rabeit Take mann, Musil des Orients, Breslaw, 1939 pp. 9-20). It is, in toc, the case thu even she “secular” auusic af India, where nothing, indeed, can be defined as wholly secular, hos preseeved Uuat quality of endleistcss which is predicated of the licurgical chant io a passage from the Aitareya Brie ‘mana cited abeve and which is equelly sscognized in Christian slainsong. ‘The commonly accepted formula of the existence of a gult dividing Enrope froin Asia is thus fallacious in dhe veuse chat while taeve isa die sion, the dividing Line is traceable not be:ween Europe and Asia norma tively considered bt etvreen medizeval Eurcpe and Asia, on che one * Singie parallels might be refed ce “soinecease," which ie meray to sab tutte descion tor exatanaton. 1s, however, ww bekeve with Se. Avguriae (Ce divers quacatraitue vxzamucg) thet “Nothing in. tho orld happen! bf caaee” (2 preporition ith whieh the scentite will saresy quacsel [nor the teelogian, er whoe "8 Gd didnt gover ay tale vatasty the world wos be deprived of the pesfestion of causality” St, Thomas’), tree explanations, 21d nly luce, af cepened and exaes “eolncideress” ace ponies There mite ave lier (2) ¢ bonowiag on the pact of the later eave, (2) pavalel develepmet, 3) a derivation teow a camnen antercr sense Cremaraswamy, “Vee Hyemplerisea" [ig cis vlume—xo,) SCL J Baleus ts, tor sumdsien, at romain (Paris, 1934), 404 Coomere swwamy, “The Tree of fee and Oriental Pacelida” Parnaura, VIC (1938). 26 DANTE'S eawanis hand, ord modem Europe on the ether: in genetal and in principle, vaherever is true for mediaeval Europe will also be ound to be true for jc, tail vice versa AS sonar tae bearing ofall hess partes am she validiy of Chistian duisiae end svegeds: from che Hilt poi of view. the natusal con- tequence of callation will be to evoke the consideration, “Christian doe- trine, judged by Vedic standaeés, is also ortindos.” The converse rerag- ttton, dist "Vedic dosing, judged by Christian aera is ako orthedes,” fright be, 2nd w priori should be. cxpeesed, bat given the Christian ex Suumption aot only of a knowledge of the crutch (waich may br freely granted) but alo of an exrivsive possesion of this huvwledge (auch as Hindus neither elaiua for chemsehes aor grant to any otkers), all that tan be peedted for the momen: is an accep:ance of Vedic dita as “exe triasie and prodable argements" (Sie. Theol, 11.3 ad 2), just 28 St. “Theanos hime in fal, made we of Aristete, and just as St in discussing the superiority of the virgin to the married estate (Adversue Jevinisnun 1.42), actually invoked the doc:rine of dhe “Gymnoscphist of This, amongst whom: the dogins is handed down thot Buddha, the head af iets seeehing, was horn of a virgin from Fer side.” So far as the comparisons that have been. s) extersively unade as ber tween Christexity and Buddhism (in which Seld St. Jerome seems to have beer the pioneer, though the case of Johoshapha: — Bodhissttya mut ako be borne in mind), or Neoplatonian and Buddhism, arc fb question, it must be remzbered that although che parallels are real, neveitliiess deductions as to clrivetion or influence are iacecurely Jounded, inarmuch as the Buddhist doctrines are theme'ves desivative, and Christan and Neopletonic axaloyles with preDuddhis: texts eaa be Prexated mn greater namber ané with greater cogency. Hor surance, al 2 the details of che Buddha's nativity, not excluding the detail of laeeal bith, are in fac already ctaccable iu the Vedi nativitice of Indes end Agni, respectively types of the temporal and spiritual powers, elie Combined on che duel Indrigni, King-aadpricst. We maiaczin, in oeher werd, che ceaive independence of Cie Christi tradition at any one “im, whether that of Dionysus or chat of Dante, a: the sare time thae We relate all orthodox teaching, of which the Vecic expression ics merly a lle eapression, wo ous common and (ay may be adéed, though shis is not esensial to the presently senrcted argument) ultimately Superbuman sonrre. The problems are ont essential, but nly ace Aanvally, ponlems of Heraty hiszory urMAJOR ESSAYS. Enough fas now ben ssid to indicate the principles involved, and perhaps wy coavinee the reader that is may not be unreasonable to look ‘3 Sanskrit as well as in Islamic teats fer parallels to or even explanations, but not necesavily sources, of particalr idioms of thought employed by Taantr, nane af whos ideas ate ome, thawgh fe elche the ravi terching in a vernacular form of incomparable spknde splendor veri tatis, The two passages chosen lor comnent are selected ot because of thir opocinl importance, nor beeaine they cin be more easily paralcke than very many others, but as havirg presemed particular dificulies 0 commentators relying only on Kuropean sources. Baradica xxsia36 298 rea: Ces i fata ple Biance nea, sel primo acpecen dela bila gts i quel eb! apporta mane ¢ laze sor. n>, Fi, Wieksten’s version: “So blackeneth atthe first aspect the white skin of his fair daughter who br'agerh morn and leaveth evening.” We remark first tac parallel iz Lekbatt, Brans ey Jy 292; "The saul in hot pssst oF God. becomes absorbed in aims... just asthe sun will swallow xp and pin out the dawn"; [ane ti, p. 3657 “Atoned with her Crestor, the suf bats Yost ber sane, for sbe bers duss nce exist; God has abs socbed her into hie jast as the suaighe swallows up the Dawa sill 2 is _gone”|, The Poradiro tex: has boon ered “a dificult and dispeted pa sage,” although in any ease it is adunitedly the Sua who, in “ine 138, “bringeth morn and kavath evening.” Eckhar’s words elrcady indicate that the “éaughter” must be Dawa. Teis true that in Classical mythology, Dave is the sister cuter than dhe duugbter of the Suc, bu i s just ete that the Vodic tradition will be of hols. For while Dawn is sometimes there the sister cf the Sun o Fire (RV v149545 end x33), she is typically and conscantly che daughces, as well asthe bride, of the Sun, who is alt hice “ravisher® (jing), Ske is indced, from the Hindu point of view, the same as Dante’ “vingia mother, daughter of thy sox” (Paradiso xxxvia)5 the Mother of God, of Christ, by whoen “sll things were made” (Joli 13)» "for by him were all things ercated” (Col. 1:5), and as thus the Mother of ell things, one with ve in the sie sense that Christ 8 ar with Adem. Ir 's indeed, precisely as the Magna Maer dic eine Me- donna (Jeremias), tha: Uyss, Dawn, otherwise known os Saya. (the Sun “goddess,” as distinguished from Sty, the Sim “goa”), henmes the aide of Use Soni tae wallns Licberyeachichte dar TFannorte CB Sicke)e 2a DANTES FtitstD450 Vedic velecences to these events ard expecially to Dawn's destrucsion by ther lover, the Sun, who follows after her in hot pursuit (the converse OF Sekhar"s formulation cited shore), ale innumerable, In the famous fiyen of RV so, commonly employed ab an erat secret, the Sexpent Quowu (enother of the nesode of Daven aad Mother Rasth) fc “She wh ‘moves within the luminous spheres, She as his Voice (od fem.) is given to the Winged-Sun; when He suspires, then Sae expires (asve prénat a vine gloriecs bore is very rensent; “A virgin unconuclled, She cometh forth, fureware of Sun and Sacrifice and Fire” (RV vittea), but ae sone: has the Sua seught up with her -han He and She shine cur together («uubia): x0 longer shining, orivately with her ows radiance, but clothed with the Sun, She now “shines Zosth inthe bright eye 9: her Seducer” (xaz-r2)- I's often Indra asthe Sun that is spoken of as “strike ing down the chariot of Dawn" (734), whe thus becomes Tadeiut, the Queen of Heaven. but without distinction oF King and Queea This is, furthocmore, « puikication, for antrior to her procession, Dawn has been a "footless snake." opbidian ratver than angelic, Nigh: being leer ro har sieer Dawn as Likth s Fer sie precisely tm this ophician, nature that She dice when She proceeds, her Assumption then Zollowing his Ascension. Draven through the nave of the solar Wheel, She as Apals (CUnguarded” ia the sense “unwedded") iy given a sunny skin in place of her oké snake skin (vigt), and sade “fi: to be fondled” (samslitias Satyéyena Brakmana sited by Sayana). There Heaven and Barth sve embreced (amign:ed, JCB 15)"*—whicd is not « “aye” within dhe current anthropological misunderstanding of the word, bat a urion Grithuna) to be realized “within the heart's void Qrdayakats)” by she leue Cognostic (samvit) and is the “supreme beatitudc” (param by esa Gnandah, $0 x52.11), Dante's piacere eterao (Paredico x26). And all this ic significant from the point cf view of the interpretation of our Dance text, for ie has been suggeited thar the Sun's Bella figs is ‘Homanity, the Sun being “father of each mortal life” (Paradiso xxit16) ‘nd man “begotten af man and of the San” (cf. De monarehia 19 and &). There is no artinomy hers, for os we have sven, Dawn and Mother Foe 4 more deviled pcalatcu see Cocmataswamy, “The Darker Side of Naw? 935, ‘This & ia Willian Blake’ sense che “Merrie of Heaven and Hell” all the SEY pero by whi indvider f dctemned eng "bell" aX ee 8MAJOR Essave Far‘, in the some sense as Adam and Eve—is, seminally—are all men, Everyman! azd Everyzaun is che Church, the Bride of Christ, ‘Ta 2 waited with Him, Humanity, the Church, must be trensformed—in Vedic Jinguage, must shed her serpent skin and pus off evi. just sis is de scribed, nw: only in the etry of pala, fue agota ie thar of the marriage of Sixyi (RV x.9523-33), where the Bride puts off her scaly kiya ("oo tential") form, ev and irglonus and in a most felicitous (:emaneal) leenssa (“aieese of all fair forms.” as the Satyayane Drthrnane desis the ones Tisag in chi Kf from che sae of wectcheringss and 10 kead ‘lem w che sate of Blessedness™ (Cpinte ad Con. Gronde 15, 16); BC ii4z, "Be thy propery in works hy vo means in ther fring” and rg. This world is enehained by werks, save they e directed 19 che Sterificr; xo eo thy 250 ANTES AR{DISO ymlwols was not only fom the mediaewel peint of view quice legitimate, aca pended in permaited practice uncl eomonatively modern times, af which au example can be cited in the work of Calderén? 11 s ooc urseasonable, then, to suppese that both Eekart and Dance were qustated with tadisioasl cectrings~perhope iniinzry and nly orally frassmitted, or perhaps culy wot yet taved in extant docements—such as have beem cited thove apropos of if soma sol and della fglia. Our second passage occurs in Paradise svu.t30-155 oe de ii si remonen quelle virls ch 2 forma per mids In Wicksteed’s version, supplying only the capital this is “from Elin omath to the mind that power that is ferm unto the nests,” It show be hardly necessary wo point oat hat “foe” ast be taken here in its uoual Scholastic and exemplary sense, to 22 “essentia. form” (as when itis said that "the souls the form of the bedy”) and mx in the moders: vernacular sease of “zcmal form” or shapes Nows quite apart from the para.als t0 ths cired helow, it may be remarked that nests irtply birds, anc that both imply ees, 2nd shar “birds” is trad tionally a designariy of the Angels, or incellecmal subscances, wings deswting independence of local mact.ca, sad the “language of birde” shat of “angelic erammnnication”* or “birds ia a more general way say stand for the quick (in all snes of the woid) as disdnguisked {oxu the inanimate and immobile, From this point of vicw, which is in fact che right one, “nests” will be the kabica tions of che Angels and other living beings amongst the brenches 0° she Tree of Lil “nese” will sguily she phenomenal—bodily or o:berwise individually appropriated—ceviroament of the soul, end the "power thet §s form unt> che nests” will be His who nade Man in his own image aad likeness. Nevertheless, the passage las heen regarded! as obscure; che comments made by Wicksteed and Oclsnes: who asky “But why vis? Ate the nests the heavens, nestling one within che cener?” etc, are pert Slaly devious, perhape became in discussing the Jovian M cf verses 94-06, although thsy recognize thze the likeness of a bid is intended, they do 7 Ct ond Alla, "Calera x Ponité des wsdttanes" Le Voile Ps, XL ao, 498 HRY wes, Tatlin i ths swift of Beds" CE. René Ci ts oem" Le Vee 2a, XRXVI (cost), Ch Tengh: Case Peron, 287 251 9, “La LangeeMAJOR TssAys. ize Uhat it ie precicaly the likeasse af an exgle tha: ie mieanc—tbot is, the likeness of God himsel, here “exerplifed” by Jove—and cone sequently fail to sce that the “rests? are chose of beings ia tha same All shat hae hen sid ahawe ie axpliir in che Wadio rredirian, whese, morsover of the two words for “nest,” wide and &idiyay tbe foumer at once reclls Dante's midi. The geaeral significance of “nest” is defined ‘n PR aexagn: "New is eflipring, nes is cate [“gicatyscaions” “valiaed potent ality”, nest is dwelling.” Tn RV saGgaoa there occurs the image of two Kagles who comade.y eccupy the Tree of Life and are the dual asper: of the Deity, whe cn the one hand sees all things and on the vller eats of the fig:® and che image of others perched below, “whe chart with everopen eyes ther share of life™ (amrtasya bhagara anins am... abhi suaranié), taste of the honey, and beget their children,” but of whom “none cen reach the summit of the Tree who knawe. not the Father, the gycat Herdsman of the Unixerse.”® But inasmuch as Ile wane being is Contemplative (direh) has also “msde his hosee sn me that aia made ready hete (rad dhirab pakar asrdvieesa).” se find him clewhere sanken of nat anly as “nesteue"® (antdad, RV e355 ©The Sun it Vacuoe's 66, with which He surveys the whale enivene GY, usin); none san even wink Without His krowledge (RY AKG): He ones The witkings af ima" tyes el hoes all Asa nan ebay inks, or deches ¢AY. v6, 5), hich karwhdge on His part spective (ions on vedo eoruno pula diya, BY x22), Ce Lake x26, "Are aot five spacrova wld for eo Tabings, and aot one of chara ie fongotea before God? 33: even the very hare of sour head ace all nambered"s Heb. 42-13, “Por the word 9f God... fr 8 icemner of the thooghes and ines of the Acart Nsthee is there any ecearre tha is not mavifee in His ight" Sunt, Tel 20.60 ancl ad 2, "Gow! has 9 Hie slE 6 epetdatve Yahecge caly . [in which] He pouence bots apeel:t¥™ fad prance! Knowledge of all other things” Luke 744 “The Son uf nen i ame eating and drinking": Deut 9224, "Gad fs penning Ace Agni the Heavy Sea de Spiius, de Winges 3. Wh ‘rom fee below soared unto Feaven «3 He crest of eters” UR LAbss-/ Corts “eating” i our Life for mereby whe Spitius & cowed in Ab, becomes asaaenays. ‘As alan RV vars, "Seared ive bins, O Indra, we rate aur song to The": ot Pondien sem zé-pp, “So vothin the. igh the sacred creates Bying Sa" CL Pedira 34, "se who doth now 20 wing himeelé thas he my ty UD here” for which mumerous Sastre parley eouia bs zdenesd—eg, PH SCI, “The who aise to tis tof the Crear Trae, owe co they fare shen? TThoie who hove svinge Ky of, those without wangy fall down,” and sup, 103 tes3.5 SMGte Bian, “the bisds of dae aie have mei bot sole ww Bey his beak 252 DANTRS PaRabso Up. wr) but eho as the Swan (amiss) who by the Breathe of Life prmects his “ower seats” (avarars kuliyem, BU 173.22), whose owa each is as ie were 2 bird's” (eadanant yathd veh, RV wises-6): “ust tees” end “nes:ed” eocresponding @ the natcxe of the Deity who is “One ar he is yonder” end also “monifoldly present in his children” (SB ee226 17}, whence he is spaken af 35 Nesed “Seated fa man,” Nrcaksusy “Having regard for man,” and VaiSvauara, “Common ¢2 all men." “The “lower arste!” houver, are not meralp thee of the individusl substances in the sense explained cbove, but are at the sams time every fecriGcil alter, whether concrete or withia you"* on which the sacred Fire is biudled, aad tis in these senoae that “the Deity, abandoning hie golden thione, bastsas to the Falzon's seeming bisthplace, the seat by speculation wronjght" (Kono ne yonina sadarems diya hrtom binensayane iodam teva cyst, RV wx.yt), where the Palcony is as usual, che Fites the birthplace, as unaal, the Altar; the lap of Mother Earth, the Mothers vom; and the aspect of Deity (deea) referred co as has:euing is that of Sums, sip of the Tree of Lie, the “Wine” of lite and wall.ag (fy?e) Sscrfie*” We Sind cccordinaly ax elaborate symbolism of the Altar, which is the “lewer throne” of Tay, ir this very likeness of a ids nies, and even that the Altar is completed in such a manner a to be manifestly like « neo, as for example, in AB 126, where che Priest, in- woking the sacred “Fire and the Angelic Host ro he seated first on the birthplace rch in weel” (1epresented by she “strow." these words being taken from RV wras-18), proceeds with the forcula “Making an anointed nec for Savi" (che Sun as “Quickenee") and, in for, prepares “asic wore a nes: with the enclosing sticks of pitaddriew ood, bac, tus of Wool, and frageent grates” and all ofthis is really « reprecentation of fhe ear of Uke Plan, es wie ils ie alm Engh the Prey 9 pee petually reaessed. It remains only to add what is cleady implied in che words "by specu- Leto wrougne™ (hiya frtem, citer ahewe, cv in este Sendkett being St Cocmasainy, "Vedic Brempariam: 0a the kindling «f Agu “win pot ae $B wa ad x3. Paraben of fy wey of watierdaions “Mex fey vwhen te plane i Presid they drink of veey Soma, but o€ Him the Brahmans andemtnd by S102, foncocxe: es Yo cits 92 rank” (RV xds.y). “The Nyagodia is pee Solaly King Soma pars sly the temporal qnwrr chine the sembanee nf she oil power, by means ofthe eit, Pe fio, st oh Tavecaon 3 sce" (AB vtigi). The ony apn’ 2 Hlan sx by way f inition aod or (88 neCouo-n) Cox 39 “et hep forth i alate le of he 253MAJOR ESSAYS uusal synouymoosly with dydies = eontenplati}, that the kindling of ‘Agni in bis lower nests, where nil kindled He is merely latent—in other words, che bringing of God to birth who clse remains wakown— While 2 is eflecied syrabolically iw the titual of Sacifice or Miss. is ef fected by “him who understands it (ye evarm videda),” the Comprchex- sor thersof (enamwit), the Caostic (jaanin), “in the empty space of “he hheare (Hrdayadase),” “inthe bare room of the inner man (antarbhtearya Bia)" i ie an interne darkoss thar ecilhimv nated "Nov man by searke ce sacrifices attains t0 Him who quickeneth for ever” (RV yuo), boot only those in whom a last Geach of the soul has been ected and who, when they stand before the gates of heaven. and face the question, "Who art thou” ate qualifed to answer aot with aay personal or family name, hn ‘n the words, “This eho char T am is the Light, Thyself" nly these ave welesmed with the beacdiction, “Who thou at, thar am 4, ord Who 1 am, ‘Ihat ast chou: proceed” (JUB an.24), nothing then remaining of the individus., whether 28 19 “ware” or “ikenese™ (wire rapa), but only tha: Spiration (rman) that seemed indeed to have been determined, and participated, but isin fact impartible."* One thus treed, entering thrcugh tae midst af che Sun ("Lam the Way ....20 man cometh tw the Fatier, but by Me." Joba 14:6: “Only by knowing Ii docs oxe pas over dexth, there is co other Way to go there,” VS xexnsf), "ihe gate through which all things return pesfectlr ree to their supreme Eel 5iy” (Bekhant, Evans edly J, 400}, Lecowses a “Mover-atwil” (dienes rit) whose will, indeed, is no longer his own, but confused with Gods “That ie his prepor form, who hath his will! the Spirit ie his will, he hhath oo will, nor any wane” (BU nj): “be yoss up aud dowu these ‘worlds, cating what ke will, and assuraing what likeness he will” (TU susie); just as in Jol 193g, “Tas dae dove by fe if ay as enter fy he shall be saved, andi shall go in ard oct, and find pastore,” and mose cexplicly agsin in the Pistis Sophia. ‘We have sketched zbeve a gurnmary outline of the implications of the symbol “nese” in the Vedi Gnostic radition. It is true that Dante's we S-The fastidious soul sin re her endestanding on sothing da. tas nam She erszper from every mame into the mameless gathingoss . . These ae ike bowed desc.» buried and head ia dhe Godse. =» Tn this state we are a2 fren ae when we were mots fee ap the Gadhsed ia ib) omenistenc” (Bckhat Evan chy % sts sle-sha). "I would gp down ase Aaaihiation and Fieosl Deal, ley dhe Lin: Jodeneat cae and (nel me Unennihilze, and be sid and giv’ ito che bande of my own Sethocd™ (Blake) GL Bordo sins Ch ol 8 pei, sateen od Eaera Sarcama chlanea™ 234 ANTES PARADISO of che word should have been understood either from other passages (e.g Paradnro xeutcta, shere Beatsice heel? is compased to a bird that ety from irs nest at dawn (o greet she sun), or by comparison with Biblical texts such as Matt. 720 cited iz a footnote aboves but at che same time, and jus: 2¢ ip connection with the Sun, it may be taken Zor granted thae Donte, whose knowkalge of Chrstisn aud Pagan symbolism is so ex- tensive and so accurate was rors than well awace ofall the technical ssconings of the symbols he employs—technieal” because such zeus je oether employed by way of ornament, nor are they explicable at wil, fut Lelong so the vocabulary of a consisent parabolic lenguage.” We think that has beea chown chat the references of aa exponent af orto. doz Chistian princisles, writing at the end of and, a8 i= were, esnming all dic doctrine of the Middle Ages, can actually be clarified by a com- parison with those of seritures chat were curcent half the world away and three eillesnims calf in rime; and that this 99 only he explained ou die assuimptior that all these “alternative formvlasions of a common doctrine (#harme-paryaya)” are “thalee's of the ore and only language of the spiri,” branches ef one and the same “universet aad unarimous wadition,” sande dbarns, Philesophia Perencis, S. Augostine’s “Wis dom uncreate, the care now as i ever was, aad the same to be for ever more” (Conjestions 1.20) Src, for ample, te meaphpally chai despoa of che Thee: Worl in Parad ssa, ad he wean: of punto ia semzm3, sansqea, fo ei pads a a wih eI pl ld a ‘end, “punta Selo aul, > cs la prima rola ve dino. Ds gue pane ‘pnde it da ert I abi” (ret-ta cee oeomt a) cewezpondin, fe cxunple RY 1556 int ox ratRyr ants elt SClemert. Mintle waigy ‘Dophery doce sot splay Bgurative fees in the experts forsee take of bens of ison” So Theo nen, “Wascar in every cher scene things -¢vgufed by words (is wks how the rope, {Hae te thas spies by he words hive ‘hamsles a sgnieaton” Erie Ve oesly seer wo the laiguage of Chistian spmbolism at lela” 25