Mystics

"There is the Voice seducing us, calling us to a leap of faith like the deer plunging over the precipice. The Unborn Sphere is everywhere, as is the Hand of God, the Source, the Absolute, out of which flow the streams of faith, the sound of every bell, and the fall of every flower and leaf. Tiny things, sparrows, know the Way of Heaven. There is synesthesia and the juxtaposition of the abstract and the concrete, water turned to bird and whispering fish, satori in the splitting of the moon in a moment of sadness, the poet born again, steeped in sin and the unspeakable mystery of baptismal washing in every tradition. Everywhere too is the cross and sacrament, gratitude for the holocaust of dust and ashes, the tornado-like union of life and death in resurrection."

"If the so-called “followers of Christ” today insist that their task in East-West dialogue means you compare yourselves to others, is this the sign of the New Horizon of bare reality? Each way should be unique, a unique way to the very him, to himself, not to man in general."

"In every religion it is the same—each one is unique. Shakyamuni Buddha and Dogen Zenji and others—each is unique. The sutra—the canonical Scripture—in other traditions is another kind of revelation. Don’t compare! Don’t say, “I am superior.” Learn other mystical currents. We should adore by Spirit and bare reality. Don’t condemn! Don’t compare!"

"Father James Campbell, an American Dominican, loved to tell of his meeting with Oshida. He had been a bomber pilot in the Second World War and repented of his collusion in this violence. He went to Japan to ask for forgiveness and there met Oshida. James expressed his sorrow at his sin; Oshida laughed and said that he had been in the anti-aircraft artillery and he repented that he had not shot down James! There followed laughter and the tumbling down of all barriers. Two people face-to-face, naked and unafraid."

"It is true, even in Buddhism, there is pain, vain talk about ‘enlightenment’ as though enlightenment were a uniform one could put on. And then there is the problem of the koan. Buddhists and Western followers of Buddhism are attached to the koan because they lack any real sign of tradition. If they do not have sub-currents it is better for them to disappear. The koan is the occasion to cut us off. “If you have faith, you can move mountains” (Matthew 17:20) is a koan. It cuts through! The bonzes do not know the reason for the koan. Therefore the bonzes cannot satisfy. A flower can be a koan. A great master, Gutei, made a koan of his finger."

"And when you recite the words of the prayer that I have written for you, be careful not just to repeat them, but let your very self become these words. For there is no advantage in the reciting unless the word actually becomes embodied in you and becomes a deed, with the result that you are seen in the world to be a man of God—to whom glory, honour and exaltation is fitting, for eternal ages, amen."

"For God is silence, and in silence is he sung by means of that psalmody which is worthy of Him. I am not speaking of the silence of the tongue, for if someone merely keeps his tongue silent, without knowing how to sing in mind and spirit, then he is simply unoccupied and becomes filled with evil thoughts: he is just keeping an exterior silence and he does not know how to sing in an interior way, seeing that the tongue of his ‘hidden man’ has not yet learnt to stretch itself out even to babble. You should look on the spiritual infant that is within you in the same way as you do on an ordinary child or infant: just as the tongue placed in an infant’s mouth is still because it does not yet know speech or the right movements for speaking, so it is with that interior tongue of the mind; it will be still from all speech and from all thought: it will simply be placed there, ready to learn the first babblings of spiritual utterance."

"It is in spirit and in mind, then, that he says that one should pray and sing to God; he does not say anything at all about the tongue. The reason is that this spiritual prayer is more interior than the tongue, more deeply interiorized than anything on the lips, more interiorized than any words or vocal song. When someone prays this kind of prayer he has sunk deeper than all speech, and he stands where spiritual beings and angels are to be found; like them, he utters ‘holy’ without any words. But if he cease from this kind of prayer and re-commence the prayer of vocal song, then he is outside the region of the angels and he becomes an ordinary man again."

"Thus there is a silence of the tongue,"

"Do not imagine, brother, that prayer consists solely of words, or that it can be learnt by means of words. No, the truth of the matter, you should understand, is that spiritual prayer does not reach fullness as a result of either learning or the repetition of words. For it is not to a man that you are praying, before whom you can repeat a well-composed speech: it is to Him who is Spirit that you are directing the movements of your prayer. You should pray therefore in spirit, seeing that He is Spirit."

"While the superior rejoiced and was delighted with Romanos' obedience, zeal and propriety, in his mind Romanos pined away, desiring that he might again abandon the tumult of the world, and that he might live in a a deserted place far from men, like the turtle­dove which loves solitude. He had learned about Paroria where a monastery was being built by a great man before God, Gregory of Sinai, who brought souls to God each day by the music of his words and the example of his life. Romanos was engrossed in planning a departure and wished he had wings so that he could fly through the air and get there as quickly as possible. So great a yearning did word of that holy man inspire in him, as I have heard him relate. From that time on then, while Zagora held his body, the wilderness of Paroria possessed his soul. Just as the thirstiest deer seeks the fountainhead he thirsted, and he asked God that he might go to Paroria."

"Abba John of the Thebaid said, 'First of all the monk must gain humility; for it is the first commandment of the Lord who said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."' (Matt. 5.3)"

"Each one of us must seek God alone, Straining towards him both by reason And by renouncing our own will For the sake of the longed-for union with God."

"Whoever resigns himself in love, Lives with greater freedom than anyone. Such a person lives without anxious care, For God cannot lose what is his own."

"As for the rational mind, it, too, should die to itself and live to God; Not looking for its own rights, Nor for promotion, Nor any of the prizes of this world. And let it not be turned back on itself, But totally turned to God."

"God, who is the Prince of Wisdom, Is of himself ever ready To communicate to all created minds The overflowing rays of his supernal Wisdom."

"No one, therefore, can love God too much, But on the contrary, the more fervently he loves him, The better and the holier he becomes."

"Living the Inhabitation is not an extraordinary thing, but the logical consequence of our Baptism."

"Make the indwelling (of the three divine Persons in me) the centre of my life."

"[Christ's pain] is ours as all things belong to us and Him together. We take this supreme gift from the Master and bring it back to Him in the bosom of the Trinity... so that through Him it may be presented to the Father and become precious in His eyes. Then the pain of a small soul becomes again the pain of Christ, of the humanised Word, and is transformed into a source of grace... for many souls."

"After the transition from tenacious adolescent atheism to an unconditional and persevering surrender to God, Itala faced the ascent to the mountain of holiness by overcoming every psychological and spiritual obstacle...In addition to prayer and advice, Itala, despite her less than florid financial circumstances, was generous with charity. In Blessed Itala Mela, the Church leaves behind a message of confidence in the possibility of the laity not only to live Christian holiness to the full, but also to be creators and protagonists of the cultural and spiritual renewal of society. (Angelo Amato)"

"Never forget that in our soul is the dwelling place of the Most Holy Trinity, as in a new heaven. We often strive to unite ourselves with God by complicated means and do not think that we always have within us, as long as we are in a state of grace, the divine Guest....... If among our occupations we would often collect ourselves for a single moment within ourselves and make contact with a single thought with the Most Holy Trinity, who deigns to sanctify our hearts, we would soon discover infinite treasures."

"I loved everyone with deep tenderness."

"To live the Inhabitation is to live one's Baptism. It would be a grave error to believe that calling souls to nourish their lives with this adorable mystery is to call them to a special "devotion": it is rather an invitation to live by the grace that Baptism has given them, to penetrate the divine reality promised to us by Jesus: Veniemus et apud eum mansionem faciemus."

"The Church and the State leadership in Russia cooperated in the crime of aggression, and share the responsibility for the resulting crimes, like the shocking abduction of Ukrainian children. They have provoked enormous suffering not only to the Ukrainian people, but also to the Russians, who count more than 100,000 casualties, and the responsibility for terrible atrocities."

"On January 12, 2026, the press bureau of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued one of the more unusual ever to emanate from a state organ, lurid even by contemporary Russian standards, concerning His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. … The SVR’s allegation of schismatic activity on the part of Bartholomew I refers primarily to the “,” or decree, signed by the Ecumenical Patriarch on January 5, 2019, granting (self-governance) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a move which caused the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Yet the tomos was hardly without justification. … There could be no more complete repudiation of the Russkiy Mir than Patriarch Bartholomew’s pained reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine—“This is the theology that the sister Church of Russia began to teach, trying to justify an unjust, unholy, unprovoked, diabolical war against a sovereign and independent country”—and his tomos granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine."

"We are convinced that the Russian people, at least our Christian Orthodox brothers, can not agree with what is happening to the detriment of their neighboring Ukrainian people"

"What is happening in Ukraine is a tragedy, it is a disgrace that will stigmatize for ever those who caused it, those who turned out to have no fear of God."

"The situation created in the N.W.F.P. and the Punjab had become serious. Riots broke out first in N.W.F.P. and thereafter spread to the whole of the Punjab. On our way to Kashmir (in May 1947) we stopped at Lahore and from there went up to Rawalpindi. We found intense apprehension among the Hindus because the Muslim leaders were openly and boastfully talking of using violence against the Hindus. In the Rawalpindi district, we found widespread destruction. Every Hindu and Sikh public building in that city had been turned into a refugee camp. We saw a house where the children from the village had collected and which had been set on fire. We saw the bones of the little ones. “In a village called Thoa Khalsa, after a prolonged fight between Hindus and Sikhs on one side and Muslims on the other, when all men belonging to the Sikh and Hindu com- munities were killed, seventy-four women and girls and children decided to save their honour by jumping into the well of a house where they had all collected for safety. Led by the wife of the owner of the house, Smt- Lajwanti, all of them jumped into the well after reciting japji. We were shown the well and given photographs showing it full of dead bodies. ““We were informed that when some local leaders ap- proached a highly-placed British official for protection, he said, “Go to Gandhi, he will come to your help."

"On the 24th (October 1946) Diwali was to be celebrated by the Hindus as ‘“‘Dark’”? Diwali, a mourning day, in sympathy with the sufferers in Bengal. In Chapra a local Muslim leader exhorted his followers to ‘rejoice’ by illuminating their houses. On the 25th when a meeting was held by the Hindus to protest against the happenings in Bengal, riots broke out’ in all their intensity and ferocity and raged for five days... 76 ‘Communal tension had been growing for some time past. The Muslim League, infuriated at the success of the Congress Ministry, had let loose- insidious propaganda of ‘atrocities’ committed on the Muslim minority in the Congress- governed provinces. They also published a mendacious report called the ‘Pirpur Report’ which helped to inflame the sentiments of both Hindus and Muslims. “Also, during the ‘Quit India’ movement there was a great upheaval in Bihar. At that time the attitude of the Muslim League was such that the general opinion was that it stood as a ‘barrier to the freedom struggle.’ This had made the Muslims unpopular. “ “In Calcutta riots, as we have seen, at first the Muslims had the upper hand. The labouring class of Hindus from Bihar had greatly suffered at the hands of Muslim rioters. They brought with them harrowing accounts of their experience. This excited the anger of the Hindus. At this time a pamphlet purporting to have been issued by some League leader was distributed in Bihar. It contained instructions ‘to kill the Hindus,’ Hindus believed that the Muslims were planning some mischief in Bihar. On top of this, an unfortunate incident occurred in Muzaffarpur towards the end of September. It was reported that a Hindu girl abducted from Calcutta was brought to Bihar and kept confined in the house of a local Muslim, The Hindus tried to persuade him to release the girl. Failing in this, the crowd went to search the house. But they found that the man had disappeared along with the girl. At this the crowd lost control and wreaked vengeance on the local Muslims by looting and burning their houses and killing some of them, So far as the League Government in Bengalwas concerned, it had helped the Muslim rioters. It roused itself only when the Hindus took action on their own. In Bihar the Hindus being in the majority did not wait to be attacked by the Muslims.’’ “The Viceroy no more prevented the Central Government from acting on the plea of provincial autonomy... When we re- buked the people for what they had done they did fee] ashamed. The police repeatedly resorted to firing to quell the rioting .... Those who raided Muslim houses were not accompanied by sadhus and sannyasis; they were not fighting a jihad as the Muslims were doing in Calcutta, Noakhali and in the North. It was collective revenge coupled with the apprehension that if they did not take the offensive there would be no protection for them.... While the Hindus in Noakhali would not get encouragement from Gandhiji’s visit to return to their homes, the same cannot be said of the Muslims in Bihar... At Gandhiji’s suggestion, at many places the Hindus went to the camps and brought back Muslims to their village homes. Hindus contributed funds to the the rehabilitation of Muslim refugees. Hindu women donated their ornaments to Gandhiji for the purpose and fed and looked after Muslims, “The work of relief and rehabilitation that was going on was now placed under a Muslim Minister, Abdul Qayum Ansari, Gandhiji’s work was, however, made difficult by the attitude of the Muslim League workers. The Government of Bihar, as a gesture of goodwill, had handed over the camps to be run by the volunteers of the League. Soon the camps became the hot-beds of intrigue, and the work of rehabilitation was hampered greatly as they prevailed upon the refugees not to go back to their homes. The Muslim League Ministry of Bengal also did all in its power to prevent the Muslim refugees from returning to their homes in Bihar. They wanted to draw as large a number of Bihari refugees as possible to Bengal in order to settle them in the bordering districts where the Hindus were in a majority.’’"

"“The Working Committee met in a tense atmosphere. Everybody felt depressed at the prospect of the partition of the country. The Viceroy’s proposals were accepted without much discussion. Asa matter of fact, Jawaharlal and Vallabh- bhai were already committed to the acceptance of the proposals. There was no critical examination. For instance, in Sind where there was a League Ministry, the decision of accession to Pakistan was left to the Assembly. In the North-West Frontier Province, where there was a Congress Ministry in office, this decision was not left to the Assembly, but there was to be a referendum of the people to ascertain anew their pre- ference. Again, while the Sylhet district of Assam having a Muslim majority was carved out of the province for ascertaining the will of the people, the same choice was denied to the district of Tharparkar in Sind on the borders of Rajasthan where there was a Hindu majority. It was quite natural for our foreign masters to ignore all these inconsistencies in order to favour the League; one cannot understand why we of the Working Committee did not even draw their attention to these important details.’’7"

"‘There was strong opposition to the Tesoy) tion headed by Purushottham Das Tandon, but Gandhiji himgai¢ advised the members to accept the decision of the Working Committee, though he personally thought no good would come, out of it. He asked them to trust their leaders. The Tesolution might not have been passed but for Gandhiji’s advice.’’8"

"The tense situation in Delhi during those days has been described by Kripalani : ‘‘Soon after the partition, the atmosphere in Delhi had grown more tense as refugees in thousands poured in from West Punjab. They brought with them gruesome tales of their sufferings in Pakistan-whole villages devastated, women dishonoured, carried away, distributed as “‘booty,’” sometimes openly sold. Infants-in-arms and children were speared to death in cold blood. Wives came without their husbands, husbands without their wives and children without their parents. There were innumerable conversions. Arson and loot were rampant. Attacks were made on refugee convoys and refugee trains on the route. Many were killed and many more reached Delhi having been wounded on the way. The Muslims who fled in panic to Pakistan on account of rioting in some parts of Northern India fared no better. As the biggest migration of population recorded in history was in progress, a most dangerous situation arose in the capital. Every fourth person in Delhi was a Hindu or Sikh refugee from Pakistan. They were furious not only against the Muslims who were at the root of partition but also against the Congress for agreeing to it. “To make matters worse, there were, rumours of a coup d’etat on the part of the Muslims to seize the administration of the capital. The fact that the Muslims had collected arms gave credence to the rumours. Searches of Muslim houses by the police had revealed dumps of bombs, arms and ammunition. Sten-guns, Bren-guns, mortars and wireless transmitters were seized and secret miniature factories for the manufacture of the same were uncovered. At a number of places these weapons were actually used by the Muslims in pitched battles. The Sikh and Hindu refugees and many of the non-Muslim residents had no faith in the ability of the Government to afford them protection from any attack from the Muslims. Some even doubted whether the Government would take action against the Muslims. --- Riots broke out in Delhi on September 4, 1947. The Government immediately went into action. “The task of the Government in quelling the riots was made difficult as the bulk of the police was Muslim. A number of them in their uniform and with arms had deserted. The loyalty of the test was doubtful. The Government had to bring police and military forces from other provinces.’’"

"“A transfer of population which Gandhiji and other leaders wanted to avoid took place automatically .in the case of the Punjab and the Frontier and Sind on account of these fresh riots. This unfortunately we had not anticipated. Hindu refugees from these places poured into India. They were killed, robbed and looted in transit. Muslims from India going to Pakistan were subjected to similar barbarities.’’?"

"It is nothing unusual for countries to criticize each other in their internal and external policy. Nobody takes this criticism to be interference in the internal affairs of the country. If it were so, the hard criticism that is being leveled by China itself against Yugoslavia would be considered interference in the internal affairs of the country. But in the Communist world there are two standards of judgement—one for themselves and the other for others with whom they think they are in opposition."

"Recently we have entered into a treaty with China. I feel that China, after it had gone Communist, committed an act of aggression against Tibet. The plea is that China had the ancient right of suzerainty. This right was out of date, old and antiquated. It was never exercised in fact. It had lapsed by the flux of time. Even if it had not lapsed, it is not right in these days of democracy by which our Communist friends swear, by which the Chinese swear, to talk of this ancient suzerainty and exercise it in a new form in a country which had and has nothing to do with China."

"It is also well-known that in the new map of China other border territories like Nepal, Sikkim, etc., figure. This gives us an idea of the aggressive designs of China. Let us see what the Chinese themselves did in the Korean War. As soon as the U.N. troops, or more correctly the American troops, reached the borders of China, it felt insecure and it immediately joined the Korean War. I do not say that because China conquered Tibet, we should have gone to war with it,... But this does not mean that we should recognize the claim of China on Tibet. We must know that it is an act of aggression against a foreign nation."

"Yet our efforts to save it [China and its goodwill] will only result in this that they will not give us credit for good intentions. They will only give us credit for cowardice. It will never appear to a bully that you are doing things out of your goodness; it will only appear to him that you are frightened."

"In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Western Christian Church, through its Popes, was also aware of the existence of a Mysterious Spiritual Abode and Brotherhood in the heart of Asia, headed by the then famous Prester John, as this Great Spirit called himself. This Prester John, from time to time, sent admonishing and warning notes to the Popes and other heads of the Church. According to historical records, one of the Popes sent an embassy to Prester John in Central Asia. One can well imagine the purpose of such an embassy, and, of course, after diverse misfortunes and vicissitudes, this embassy returned, unable to find the Spiritual Citadel. Yet Prester John continued to send his admonishing notes."

"After some boasting concerning the absence of poverty, crime, and falsehood in his country and about the pomp and wealth with which he goes forth to war, Prester John then comes to the description of his palace, which is similar to that which the Apostle Thomas built for Gundaphorus, King of India. Its gates of sardonyx mixed with cornucerastis (horn of the horned serpents) prevent the secret introduction of poison; a couch of sapphire keeps John chaste; the square before the palace where judicial duels are held is paved with onyx "in order that the courage of the fighters may be increased by the virtue of the stone." Near this square is a magic mirror which reveals all plots in the provinces subject to Prester John or inadjacent lands.- In some manuscripts...is a description of another palace which before Prester John's birth his father was instructed in a dream to build for his son. One feature of it is that no matter how hungry one maybe on entering it, he always comes out feeling as full as if he had partaken of a sumptuous banquet."

"In the extraordinary accounts of Prester John, which are first met in the twelfth century and were added to with succeeding centuries and which had great currency from the start, as the number of extant manuscripts shows, the natural marvels of India vie in impressiveness and wonderment with the power of Prester John himself and with the miracles of the Apostle Thomas. p. 252 He was of the ancient progeny of the Magi mentioned in the Gospel, ruled the same races as they, and enjoyed such glory and abundance that he was said to use only an emerald scepter. p.253"

"There are some little stones which eagles often bring to Prester John's territories and which worn on the finger preserve or restore the sight, or if consecrated with a lawful incantation, make one invisible and dispel envy and hatred and promote concord. After a description of a sea of sand in which there are various kinds of edible fish and a river of tones, Prester John soon mentions the worms which in his language are called salamanders, who cannot live except in fire, and from whose skins he has robes made which can be cleansed only by fire."

"The Divine Will contains the creative strenght. From within God's one single "Fiat" came out billions and billions of stars. From the Fiat Mihi" of the Mother of God, from which Redemption had its origin, came out billions and billions of acts of grace, which communicate themselves to souls. These acts of grace are more beautiful, more resplendent and more varied than billions of stars! The Divine Fiat is full of life, and in fact It is life itself, and alla lives and things come out from within the Fiat. From the Fiat of God, Creation came out, and in each created thing can be seen the imprint of that Fiat. From the "Fiat Mihi" of the Blessed Virgin, pronounced in the Divine Will with the same power of the Fiat of Creation, Redemption came forth. Therefore everything that concerns the Redemption bears the imprint of her "Fiat Mihi".Even the very Humanity of her Son, His steps, works and words, were sealed with Mary's "Fiat Mihi". (p. 107)"

"Creatures had a Celestial Father, but the Divine love was not content. In its delirium of love it wanted them to have a Celestial Mother as well as a terrestrial Mother. In that way, even if the loving care and tenderness of the Celestial Paternity would not be enough to make creatures to love Him, the caring and tenderness of a Celestial and human Mother would lead them to abandon themselves in her arms. By letting themselves be conquered by her love, a link of connection would form to banish any distance, fear or apprehension, in order to love the One Who had formed her love of them, and in order to be loved Himself. For this, the most astonishing portents were needed, along with a love that never says "enough" and only a God can do."

"As regards the teaching of the Order it has been inherited through a valid and unbroken succession; it is the custodian of things hitherto regarded as lost; its vocation is to bring errant wanderers to the light of virtuous and true knowledge; it has never designed that all men should accept its teaching"

"“From small beginnings unto greater ends” is an old, it may be, an honoured adage. Hereof is the Mystery of the Rosy Cross in origin, history and development. At the last close of all, there is something that remains to be intimated, and it is of two kinds: (1) There is that which is left over for want of available materials, and here it is an open question whether there is any way in which our knowledge is likely to be extended, unless it be in respect of accidents and minima, in days to come; (2) There is something which belongs to the Holy Assembly, is reserved thereto and can be found only by those who are without when he who is now a Stranger at the Gate receives that call which takes him across the threshold. But this is of the spirit, is indeed the inward life, and not matter of history. Benedict Dominus Deus noster qui dedit nobis signum . For those who know or can discover the authorised battery of the Rite, it may happen that the door will open and that he — Ostiarius Magnus — by whom they are admitted will be Christian Rosy Cross, who after witnessing the Hermetic Marriage left the Palace of the King, expecting that next day he should be Door Keeper. Introilus Apertus est ad Occlusum Regis Palatium. The ways indeed are many, but the Gate is one. V ale te, Fratres. Ch XXIV"

"As after the zeal of research and the satisfaction of learning displayed in a memorable pageant, Cornelius Agrippa became convinced that the sciences of his period were vain, including his own, so was he disillusionised in matters of official religion. But he did not become a protestant. His position is comparable to that of Paracelsus, who wished Luther and the chaos of reformers well, believing doubtless that something would evolve therefrom, but he did not join the reformers."

"The Golden and Rosy Cross, understood in the secret circles ns the Cosmic Cross of the Order, symbolizing universal manifestation, with the manifested Christ in the centre as the power and the grace of all things. The motto is: Ego sum flos campi et lilium convallium. This emblem appears on the title-page of Geheime Figures, issued at Altona in 1785, and is characteristic of the theosophical spirit which permeates the whole work. It was attached evidently to a ribbon or collar, and is probably the reverse side of a Cross shewn in another plate, described as of fine gold and said to have been worn by each Brother on his breast. The inscription on the reverse is the well-known salutation of the Order which was repeated on exposing the symbol: Benedictus Dominus Deus noster qui dedit nobis signum. Beneath this inscription the signs of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are written about a six-pointed star, having the Sun in its centre. (preface)"

"A tract entitled Clypeum Veritatis, otherwise The Shield of Truth, which appeared early in 1618, is a typical deliberation on the pro et contra side, and I am taking it out of due order as it connects with the next tract. It claims (i) to deal with everything which “hereunto has been set forth openly, either for or against the Most Honourable and Blessed Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross,” and (2) to exhibit once and for all that which zealous disciples may expect confidently therefrom. The author in this case also was Irenaeus Agnostus, who subscribes himself (1) as writing from Tunis on February 21 of the year mentioned, (2) by special command of the glorious Brotherhood, he being (3) its “unworthy notary” through- out Germany. It affirms (1) that our highest good and way to the blessed life lies in the knowledge of God; (2) that the man who is devoted to the word of God is ever proceeding further in the quest of wisdom; and (3) that learning must be maintained for the propagation of celestial doctrine. (Development of Rosicrucian Literature)"

"Not only are great subjects encircled, for the most part by an external penumbra which, in comparison with them- selves, is a region of trifles, but the subjects themselves, when approached, not so much in an unserious spirit as in the mood of the light mind, seem, under such auspices, to abdicate their proper office and to manifest on their fantastic side. They enter to this extent the region of comedy, and as he must be a cross-grained poet who cannot be diverted by the skilful parody of his own work, so it is in no sense outside the law that the true mystic-— who is saved by many things, including a sense of humour — should be the first perhaps to appreciate the motley appear- ance of his own interests, when seen under the reflections of travesty. (Chapter XXII, A Kabalistic Order of the Rose-Croix)"