'" Before any such yearning can be properly
directed, the goal must first be determined. The higher stage, in fact,
consists in practically realizing what the first steps have placed
within one's comprehension. In short, contemplation, in its true sense,
is to recognize the truth of Eliphas Levi's saying:--
To believe without knowing is weakness; to believe, because one knows,
is power.
The Elixir of Life not only gives the preliminary steps in the ladder of
contemplation but also tells the reader how to realize the higher
stages. It traces, by the process of contemplation as it were, the
relation of man, "the known," the manifested, the phenomenon, to "the
unknown," the unmanifested, the noumenon. It shows the student what
ideal to contemplate and how to rise up to it. It places before him the
nature of the inner capacities of man and how to develop them. To a
superficial reader, this may, perhaps, appear as the acme of
selfishness. Reflection will, however, show the contrary to be the
case. For it teaches the student that to comprehend the noumenal, he
must identify himself with Nature.
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