the Equinox - The Hermetic Library

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THE EQUINOX
Presumably cessation of sense perception. How can we prove
our theory? By cutting away every perception, every thought-
form as it is born, until nothing thinkable is left, not even the
thought of the unknowable.
The man of science will often say “I do not know, I really
do not know where these bricks came form, or how they were
made, or who made them; but here they are; let us build a
house and live in it.” Now this indeed is a very sensible view
to take, and the result is we have some very fine houses built
by these excellent bricklayers; but strange to say, this is the
fatalist's point of view, and a fatalistic science is indeed a cruel
kind of oxymoron. As a matter of fact he is nothing of the
kind; for, when he has exhausted his supply of bricks, he starts
to look about for others, and when others cannot be found, he
takes one of the old ones and picking it to pieces tries to
discover of what it is made so that he may make more.
What is small-pox? Really, my friend, I do not know
where it came from, or what it is, or how it originated; when a
man catches it he either dies or recovers, please go away and
don't ask me ridiculous questions! Now this indeed would
not be considered a very sensible view to adopt. And why?
Simply because small-pox no longer happens to be believed in
as a malignant devil, but is, at least partially, known and
understood. Similarly, when we have gained as much knowledge
of the First Cause as we have of small-pox, we shall no
longer believe in a Benevolent God or otherwise, but shall, at
least partially, know and understand Him as He is or is-not.
“I can't learn this!” is the groan of a schoolboy and not the
exclamation of a sage. No doctor who is worth his salt will
say: “I can't tackle this disease”; he says: “I will tackle