Six Theosophic Points, and Other Writings
14. Reason says: How can a man do this, seeing the Scripture saith (1 Cor. xv. 45; Gen. i. 28) : The first man was made a natural life, to rule over all the creatures and beings of this world. The life must therefore introduce desire into earthly quality.
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Answer. Human life is placed in a counterstroke to the divine will, in and through which counterstroke God wills; and the earthly creatures are placed in a counterstroke to human life, in and through which counterstroke man was to will. Man's will was with God's will to will, and rule over all natural and creaturely life. Not in animal but in divine essence was it to stand. Though man was placed with life in Nature, yet his nature was a temperament, and his life a mansion of divine will.
15. But because hfe must stand during this time in earthly essence, and cannot be rid of it, we must look at the threefold nature of the life according to the three principles; by which principle of the life man may plunge into the supersensible being of God, and how this may be done.
16. Christ said: Without me ye can do nothing (John XV. 5) . No man can of his own power reach the supreme ground, unless he sink his inmost ground of the first principle, according to the life's image-like nature, in the embodied grace of God; and, in accordance with the same ground, stand still from his own being in divine hope, and give himself up wholly with the will to God, in such a way that his will no longer wills to speak according to this gi-ound, save what God speaks and wills through this ground ; then he is at the highest goal.
17. If it be possible for him to stand still an hour or less from his own inner willing and speaking, then will the divine will speak into him. By which inspeaking God's will embraces his will in Himself, and speaks into the image-like, natural, external
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Reason-life; and dissolves and illuminates the earthly imagination of Reason's will, so that immediately the supersensible divine life and will buds and incentres itself in Reason's will.
18. For as little as the hfe's own will can, in selfness and will turned away from God, stand still in Nature a moment from its working, unless it sink down beyond all Nature ; so little also can the divine speaking, in the life resigned to the ground, stand still from its working.
19. For if the life stand still from its own will, it is in the abyss of Nature and creation, in the eternal, divine utterance ; and hence God speaks therein.
20. For from God's speaking the hfe has proceeded and come into body, and is nothing else than an image-hke will of God. Now if its own imagination and will stand still, the divine imagination and will arises. For whatever is will-less is with the Nothing but one thing, and is out of or beyond all Nature, which ungroundedness is God himself.
21. Seeing then the Unground or God is an eternal speaking, viz. a breathing forth of himself, the Unground accordingly is inspoken into the resigned life; for the breathing of the Unground speaks through the stationary ground of the life. For the life has arisen from the divine breathing, and is a likeness of the divine breathing, therefore one hkeness seizes the other. As we understand in the case of the life's senses, which are such an issue from the breathing of the soul, as the soul is an issue and counterstroke from the divine soul of the divine knowledge.
p. 198
14. Reason says: How can a man do this, seeing the Scripture says (1 Cor. xv. 45; Gen. i. 28) : The first man was made a natural life, to rule over all the creatures and beings of this world. The life must therefore introduce desire into earthly quality.
p. 196
Answer. Human life is placed in a counterstroke to the divine will, in and through which counterstroke God wills; and the earthly creatures are placed in a counterstroke to human life, in and through which counterstroke man was to will. Man's will was with God's will to will, and rule over all natural and creaturely life. Not in animal but in divine essence was it to stand. Though man was placed with life in Nature, yet his nature was a temperament, and his life a mansion of divine will.
15. But because hfe must stand during this time in earthly essence, and cannot be rid of it, we must look at the threefold nature of the life according to the three principles; by which principle of the life man may plunge into the supersensible being of God, and how this may be done.
16. Christ said: Without me you can do nothing (John XV. 5) . No man can of his own power reach the supreme ground, unless he sink his inmost ground of the first principle, according to the life's image-like nature, in the embodied grace of God; and, in accordance with the same ground, stand still from his own being in divine hope, and give himself up wholly with the will to God, in such a way that his will no longer wills to speak according to this gi-ound, save what God speaks and wills through this ground ; then he is at the highest goal.
17. If it be possible for him to stand still an hour or less from his own inner willing and speaking, then will the divine will speak into him. By which inspeaking God's will embraces his will in Himself, and speaks into the image-like, natural, external
p. 197
Reason-life; and dissolves and illuminates the earthly imagination of Reason's will, so that immediately the supersensible divine life and will buds and incentres itself in Reason's will.
18. For as little as the hfe's own will can, in selfness and will turned away from God, stand still in Nature a moment from its working, unless it sink down beyond all Nature ; so little also can the divine speaking, in the life resigned to the ground, stand still from its working.
19. For if the life stand still from its own will, it is in the abyss of Nature and creation, in the eternal, divine utterance ; and hence God speaks therein.
20. For from God's speaking the hfe has proceeded and come into body, and is nothing else than an image-hke will of God. Now if its own imagination and will stand still, the divine imagination and will arises. For whatever is will-less is with the Nothing but one thing, and is out of or beyond all Nature, which ungroundedness is God himself.
21. Seeing then the Unground or God is an eternal speaking, viz. a breathing forth of himself, the Unground accordingly is inspoken into the resigned life; for the breathing of the Unground speaks through the stationary ground of the life. For the life has arisen from the divine breathing, and is a likeness of the divine breathing, therefore one hkeness seizes the other. As we understand in the case of the life's senses, which are such an issue from the breathing of the soul, as the soul is an issue and counterstroke from the divine soul of the divine knowledge.
p. 198
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