Taylor - Eleusianian and Bacchic Mysteries.pdf - Platonic Philosophy

"Those"reader mayBacchic Mysteries. 4Sobserve that the obscure doctrine of the Mysteries mentioned by Platoin the Phcedo, that the unpurifiedfuture state lies immerged in mire,fully explained;soul in ais beautiat the same time that ourassertion concerning their secret meaningis not less substantially confirmed.* ^In asimilar manner the same divine philosopher,in his book on the Beautiful, Ennead, L, bookvi., explains the fable of Narcissus as an emblem of one who rushes to the contemplation of sensible (phenomenal) forms as ifthey were perfect realities, when at thesame time they are nothing more than likebeautiful images appearing in water, fallacious and vain. / "Hence,"says he,as Narcissus, by catching at the shadow, plungedhimself in the stream and disappeared, sohe who is captivated by beautiful bodies,and does not depart from their embrace,is precipitated, not with his body, but with*Phceclo, 38.who instituted the Mysteries for us appear to have intimated that whoever shall arrive in Hades unpurifiedand not initiated shall lie in mud but he who arrives there;purified and initiated shall dwell with the gods. For there aremany bearers of the wand or thyrsus, but few who are inspired."