t4* PARACELSUS 



give it shape, and this can be projected by the impulse 

 given to it by the thought of the dying person towards 

 that person, and cause him to die. Such is especially 

 the case if a woman dies of puerperal fever,^ and if 

 such a woman wishes that the whole world should die 

 with her, an epidemic may be the consequence of her 

 poisoned imagination." 



'^ Fear, terror, passion, desire, joy, and envy are six 

 states of the mind which especially rule the imagination, 

 and consequently the world of man ; and as the mind 

 of man is the microcosmic counterpart of the universal 

 mind, the antitypes of these states are also active in 

 the imagination of the world, and the thoughts of man 

 act upon the latter as the latter acts upon him. It is 

 therefore desirable that we should govern our imagina- 

 tion and not allow it to run wild. We should attempt 

 to grasp the spirit by the power of the spirit, and not 

 by speculative fancy " ^ {Be Virtute Imaginativa). 



" Man is a twofold being, having a divine and an 

 animal nature. If he feels, and thinks, and acts as 

 divine beings should act, he is a true man ; if he feels 

 and acts like an animal, he is then an animal, and the 

 equal of those animals whose mental characteristics are 

 manifested in him. An exalted imagination caused by 

 a desire for the good raises him up ; a low imagination 

 caused by a desire for that which is low and vulgar 

 drags him down and degrades him." 



" The spirit is the master, imagination the tool, and 

 the body the plastic material. Imagination is the power 

 by which the will forms sidereal entities out of thoughts. 



1 It is well known that the corpses of women having died of puerperal 

 fever are very infectious, and dissecting wounds received in such cases 

 are especially dangerous. The passage implies that the invisible astral 

 substance may draw contagion from the poisonous body, and spread it 

 by the power of an evil will. 



2 This means that we should be able to feel the truth with our souls, 

 without reasoning about it from an objective standpoint. We should 

 realise the truth by being one with it, and not examine it as if it were 

 something strange and separate from ourselves. 



