Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/111

 V] ^lYSTERIES AND SYMBOUSM 93 the fact symbolized, allegorical interpretation. These mental processes are of dominant moulding influence upon the personalities of those with whom they con- stitute usual modes of thinking ; and Jhey are very representative of at least one side of the personalities of the men of the Empire from the fourth century, and of the mediaeval personality in general, and of the difference between it and the classic personality. They do not, however, originate with Christianity, but have their roots in the Hellenism and Judaism and Orien- talism of the later pre-Christian centuries. Before noticing the course of these three mental processes, recall for an instant the reasoning of the Areopagite. The Celestial Hierarchy was an attempt to set forth something of the mysteries of the King- dom of Heaven, that is, of the mystery of God and His relations to mankind. The Ecclesiastical Hier- archy was the symbol on earth of the Celestial Hier- archy. But the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, in every branch, is more than symbol; it is mystery, and magic-mystery, and represents a magically wrought manifestation of the Celestial Hierarchy on Earth, a magically wrought presence of the divine and spiritual within material objects and human acts. The three sacraments embody and produce the effect of the divine and spiritual; from symbols they have magi- cally become that which they symbolize. And, of course, the Areopagite uses allegorical interpretation of Scripture wherever it suits his purpose. All this makes his work so representative and so influential. The secret of the Eleusinian and other pagan mys- teries has been kept so well that there have been