Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/686

 THEOSOPHY

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THEOSOPHT

ceeded to Const antinople to ask protection and justice from St. John Chrysostom and the emperor. Theo- philus was summoned to Constantinople to answer their charges, and thus begins his connexion with the tragedy of Chrysostom, which soon took the first place in his and the pubUc interest (see John Chrysostom, Saint). At the Synod of the Oak in 403 Theophilus concluded an equitable peace with the persecuted monks, and on his return to Alexandria is said to have again received the books of Origen (Socrates, VI, 17). That Theophilus may have been really very "broad- minded ", is sho\vn by the fact that he consecrated the philosopher Synesius bishop about 410, although the latter had not yet been baptized, and had stipulated that, as bishop, he might retain his wife and adhere to his Platonic views (pre-existence of soul, allegorical explanation of the Resurrection, etc.). As a writer Theophilus did not attain much prominence. In ad- dition to his Easter letters, of which three are extant in a Latin translation by Jerome (P. L., XXII, and P. G., LXV, 5.3 sqq.), he wrote "one large volume against Origen" (Gennadius, 33), of which some frag- ments are preserved (collected in Gallandi, "Bibl. vet. patr.", VII, 801-52; P. G., LXV, 33-68; Zahn, "For- schungen zur Gesch. des neutest. Kanons", II, Er- langen, 1883, p. 234 sqq.). The Canons ascribed to Theophilus are in Pitra, "Juris eccles. Gra-cor. hist, et monum.", I (Rome, 1864), 54(i-649. Inauthentic and doubtful writings were also in circulation under Theophilus's name (Gennadius, 33: "Lcgi et tres li- bros suo nomine titulatos, sed lingua inconsonans est. Non valde credidi").

In addition to the sources already mentioned, consult; Theo- DORET, Hist, eccl., V, xxii; Sulpicius Severus, Dial., I. 6-7. in P. L., XX. 187-8; Tillemont, Memoires, XI (Paris, 1698-1712). 441-99, 633-8; Ceiluer, Hisl. generate. VII {Paris, 1729-63), 438-47; Prat, Origlne (Paris, 1907), xlviii sq.; Vincenzi. Historia crilica; qutEStiones inter Theophilum Epiphanium. Hieronymum, adversaries Origenis et inter Origenis patronos Joh, Chrysos~ tomumj Rufinum et monachos Nitrienses (Rome, 1865); Cavaiv LERA, Le schisme d'Ajitioche (Paris, 1905), 283-4; Koch. Synesius von Cyrene bei seiner Wahl u. Weihe zum Bischofia Histor. Jahrb., XXIII (1902), 751-74.

Chrys. Baur.

Theosophy, Qeoaotpia, wisdom concerning God, is a term used in general to designate the knowledge of God supposed to be obtained by the direct intuition of the Divine essence. In method it differs from theology, which is the knowledge of God obtained by revelation, and from philosophy, which is the knowl- edge of Divine things acquired by human reasoning. It is often incorrectly confounded with mysticism, for the latter is properly the thirst for the Divine, the aspiration for the invisible, and hence a natural mani- festation of the rehgious sentiment. By intuition or illumination the initiated Theosophists are con- sidered to be in harmony with the central principle of the universe. This knowledge of the secret forces of nature, of the true relation between the world and man, frees them from the ordinary limitations of human life, and gives them a peculiar power o\'er the hidden forces of the macrocosm. Their exceptional faculties are alleged as experimental proof of their superior science; they are the only guarantee of the truth of their teaching. They are said to transmit this truth by way of revelation. Thus theosophy appeals to tradition, but not in the Christian sense.

(l) India is the home of all theosophic speculation. Oltramere says that, the directive idea of Hindu civihzation is theosophic. Its development rovers a great many ages, each represented in Indian religious literature. There are formed the basic jjrinciples of theosophy. Knowledge of the occult laws in nature and in life, the intuitive method, superhuman powers, hostility to established religion are not all equally apparent in each age, but are present conjunctively or separately tlirougli the whole course of its history. The early Brahm:iiiic writings contain the germs, which have gradually developed into a rich vegetation

of ideas and behefs. These ideas are organized into systems, not however homogeneous or autonomous but mixed with other belief. Then they leave the schools to act upon the masses, either in forming a religion, e. g. Buddhism, or in penetrating popular rehgions already existing, e. g. Hinduism. Thus the Upanishads teach : that the individual soul is identical with the universal soul, hence the doctrine of advaita, i. e. non-duality; that the individual existence of the soul is a state of sufi'ering, hence the doctrine of sam- sara, i. e. metempsychosis; that the individual soul is dehvered from suffering by its reunion with the universal soul, a reunion realized by seizing the con- sciousness of identity with it, hence the doctrine of moksa, i. e. salvation. The basic doctrines of the Vedanta and Saukhya systems are monistic Panthe- ism, intuition as the supreme means to reach truth, metempsychosis, the world of sense is only a very little part of the category of things, the theory and method of salvation strictly intellectual. These systems developed from the Upamshads. The final development is the Yoga. Yoga, i. e. "one who fits himself, or exercises", refers to the exercises prac- tised to free the soul from the body, which to it is like a string to a bird. Some of these exercises were: to rid one's self of moral faults (though the masters do not agree as to what these faults are); to sit in certain painful postures, check the breath, and reduce thought to a minimum by staring at the tip of the nose; to place the soul in a particular part of the body, and so gradually acquire mastery over it, or, rather, let the soul, the true self, acquire mastery over the body; to starve and learn to subsist on air, or even without it; to concentrate thought by medita- tion, i. e. to think of nothing, Thyana, the highest state of which is the cataleptic trance samadhi, in which mind is suppressed but the soul is in full activ- ity. In this state the person is a mahatmn, i. e. master- soul and can enjoy a temporary release from the body which it leaves to go roaming about, performing wonderful feats on material nature and controlling other less powerful souls. This latter was the secret of the Yoga's real power and was supposed to be done by a transfer of soul. When the soul re-enters the body, the Yoga wakes and is like other people. By repeated exercises the soul can become so strong that it secures perpetual release from the body, thus, according to the older Yoga teaching, it fiies to heaven where it enjoys great happiness, riding in a celestial ear attended by lovely women and music; but with the latter Yogas, on breaking all bodily bonds it formed immediate absorption into the Supreme Soul.

(2) Theosophic teaching comes to the front in the third period of Greek philosophy. Hence it is found in the Jewish-Greek philosophy with the neo-Plato- nists. The theosophic atmosphere due to the influence of the Orient is plainly shown in Plotinus. The Gnostic systems reveal more theosophy than theology, and in the Jewish Kabbala is found a theosophy mixed with various forms of magic and occultism. The Renaissance brought into modern thought neo-Pla- tonism and the Kabbala, e. g. Reuchlin (d. 1492), Agrippa (d. 1535), Cardano (d. 1576), Paracelsus (d. 1.540), Weigel (d. 1.588). More important is the teaching of Jakol> Hiihme (d. 1624). He taught that th<- "etern:d du:ilisin" of God is the ultimate cause of all evil; tluit there is a "dark" negative principle in God, which evil element makes m.anifest His good- ness. Without this there would be no revelation. Further, were it not for this principle God could not know Himself. Bohme's teaching influenced Baader (q. v.), Schelling, and Hegel. Tlie.«)phic principles colour the theology of Swedenborg, and are found in the group of modern thinkers, especially neo-Hegel- ians, who claim that the existence of God is known by direct intuition or by a special faculty of the soul.