The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (53 page)

252 the path of truth

to point toward it. Symbols become increasingly important with more advanced spiri-

tual practices, and so it is important that you cultivate the habit of seeing things symbolically. This requires a deeper than ordinary kind of sight, which we may call
symbolic seeing
. We have to see through the surface, the exterior reality of a thing, to see its inner reality—not the physical interior, but the divine logos within, which points to its cause.”

Hypatia tells her students that symbolic seeing is aided by “purity of the heart” (the nous), which turns you away from superficial matters and attunes your nous, your intuitive mind, to the image of the Forms in the material world. Don’t limit your contemplation to things that are obviously sacred, such as religious symbols, or to glorious sunsets, majestic mountains, ancient redwoods, and wild stallions. Practice contemplating all things—even those that are uninspiring or unappealing—and seeing how they embody Ideals that point back to The One. Suspend your habitual reaction, as would a scientist or artist. George Herbert (1593–1633) described this penetrating vision in these verses from
The Elixir
: Teach me, my God and King,

In all things thee to see,

And what I do in any thing,

To do it as for thee.

A man that looks on glass,

On it may stay his eye;

Or if he pleaseth, through it pass,

And then the heav’n espy.284

Seeing The One in All Things:
In the same way as we can see a drawn or cutout triangle as an imperfect image of the Form Triangle, or a particular just act as

a reflection of Ideal Justice, so we can see all existing objects or processes as

images pointing to their source of Being. However, because this exercise is in-

tended to purify the noetic soul, rather than the rational soul, we do not want

to limit ourselves to literal representations of an Idea. We want to practice

symbolic seeing. Therefore, pick a focus as before, but select one that captures

your attention.

the path of truth 253

Seeing The One in All Things (continued):
Quiet your body and lower soul, and let your imagination lead you from the focus to significant Ideas. Don’t let your

mind wander, but keep drawing it back to the focus. You will begin to form

a connected complex of Ideas associated with the focus. This is the begin-

ning of your comprehension of the symbolic meaning of the focus. Some of

this meaning will be personal, arising from your personal unconscious, but

some of it will be universal, arising from the collective unconscious. In this

way you begin to map the Ideas in the Cosmic Nous—read God’s mind, if

you will—and prepare yourself for illumination. You can never really capture

a symbol in words—indeed the value of symbols lies in the fact that they tran-

scend words—but you should record some of your strongest impressions in

your journal. Draw pictures or write poetry, if you can express yourself better

that way. Come back to the same focus from time to time, and you will deepen

your understanding of its symbolic significance.

Hypatia resumes her exposition. “When you have concentrated your soul into its

nous in order to contemplate the Cosmic Nous, you will be practicing the third degree of virtue, the
Contemplative Virtues
. In other words, the Contemplative Virtues refer to your spiritualized soul turning toward Spirit. This practice is still at the level of the soul, since this contemplation takes place in time, but it is directed toward the eternal Forms in the Cosmic Nous.

“The cardinal virtues have a new meaning at this higher level:
wisdom
consists in contemplating the Beings or Ideas in the Cosmic Nous,
justice
consists in the soul fulfilling its natural function, which is to act in accord with the Forms in the Cosmic Nous (that is, the gods),
self-control
is orientation of the soul toward the Cosmic Nous, and
fortitude
is impassiveness or tranquility of the soul, for the Cosmic Nous is impassive, and in this way the soul makes itself like the Nous. But I see that our lunch is prepared, and we must attend to our bodies, so let’s eat.”

Interlude—The Five Things285

After lunch Hypatia and her disciples settle themselves into their chairs; the stu-

dents take up their tablets and styluses. Almost immediately Aedesia raises her hand.

254 the path of truth

“Teacher,” she begins, “over lunch Hermias and I were discussing the Five Things

that Plato mentions, but we have them all mixed up. Can you explain them to us?”

“Certainly, for they are quite relevant to the Ascent by Truth. In his
Seventh Letter
, the divine Plato describes Five Things that are necessary to the philosophical understanding of anything. The First Thing is the object’s
name
(for example, ‘circle’). The Second Thing is its verbal
definition
(
logos
), such as ‘a circle is that which is everywhere equidistant from the extremities to the center’.286 The Third Thing is the object’s image, for example, any physical circle, whether drawn on paper, painted on a surface, stamped or molded out of metal, or made in any other way.

“These Three are necessary prerequisites to
conceptual knowledge
of the object, which is the Fourth Thing, and by systematic exploration of the Three, by persistent questioning and answering, the Fourth is finally discovered.

“Plato explains that the knowledge of any object forms an integrated whole, which

cannot be adequately expressed in words. For words are ambiguous, definitions are

incomplete or ambiguous (because made of words), and images are imperfect. There-

fore, Plato says, he never wrote down his most important doctrines, but taught them

orally. In his
Seventh Letter
he wrote:

There does not exist, nor will there ever exist, any treatise of mine dealing with [the highest truth]. For it does not at all admit of verbal expression like other studies, but, as a result of continued application to the subject itself and communion therewith, it is brought to birth in the soul on a sudden, as light that is kindled by a leaping spark, and thereafter nourishes itself.287

“Plato’s dialogs only hint at the highest truths of philosophy, which cannot, in any case, be expressed in words. That is why I have invited you for this private instruction.

“In spite of their limitations, a thorough investigation of the Four, ascending and

descending through them, is required before you can obtain the Fifth, which is an intuitive understanding of the eternal Form, its Being. After much diligent philosophical investigation, the Fifth may be revealed, as by a bolt of lightning, if the philosopher is awake and the eyes of her soul are open. As Plato says,

At last, in a flash, understanding of each blazes up, and the nous, as it exerts all its powers to the limit of human capacity, is flooded with light.288

“Nevertheless, Plato teaches that investigation of the Four is not sufficient for winning the Fifth. You must be intellectually prepared and receptive, but this will be insuf-the path of truth 255

ficient without a natural affinity to the Idea. For example, you will never be illuminated by the Idea of Justice, nor be able to identify with it, if you don’t have a natural, inborn affinity to justice, or if you have been so corrupted to destroy your receptivity to the Form. Therefore a moral character, rooted in nature as well as nurture, is the foundation of illumination, which is why purification precedes illumination, in the Mysteries as well as in philosophy.

“In summary, the Five are Name, Definition, Image, Knowledge, and Idea. The first

two things (name, definition) are the purview of dialectics, which makes use of dis-

cursive reasoning. The third thing, the image, corresponds to the contemplation of

nature, which makes use of symbolic inner and outer vision, which transcends lan-

guage. These Three lead to the Fourth, which is conceptual knowledge of the Forms,

but this falls short of the Fifth, whereby you are illuminated by intuitive understanding of the Forms and identification with them. Thus purification opens the way toward

illumination.

“Dialectics and physics can ascend the ladder of Being, but they cannot enter the

non-being of the Indeterminate Mind or reach The One. Thus through dialectical and

contemplative exercises the master who has achieved union can prepare you for the

final leap, and sometimes you can prepare yourself, but the leap itself must be accomplished by other means. This brings us to the threshold of Illumination.”

Illumination

Everyone takes a deep breath, and Hypatia drinks a little water before she con-

tinues. “This afternoon I will explain the last two stages in the Philosophical Ascent, Illumination and Perfection. If Purification is a kind of death—a separation of the soul from the body—then Illumination is a kind of resurrection or apotheosis, in which the soul ascends to the Cosmic Nous or Angelic Mind, taking its place among the other

eternal Beings.

“Corresponding to Illumination is the fourth degree of the virtues, called the
Exemplary Virtues
in reference to the ‘Exemplars’, that is, the Forms or Ideas. These virtues focus on your nous, which is an image of the Cosmic Nous, and on its faculty of intuition or direct, noetic knowing. Your mind turns toward the Forms of virtue—or authentic

being—that reside in the Cosmic Nous, which are the formal causes of the virtues at

the lower levels. Having directed your mind toward these higher virtues, you await

their illumination.

“The Exemplary Virtues, which you should cultivate, may be summarized as fol-

lows:
wisdom
consists of intuition and noetic cognition;
self-control
is turning toward 256 the path of truth

your inner self;
justice
is fulfilling your natural function, that is, living a human life; and
fortitude
is your soul’s perseverance in remaining concentrated in your nous and separate from your body and the lower parts of your soul, that is, in maintaining its spiritual purity. These virtues support the spiritual practices of Illumination.289