Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shī'ite Iran

«It is a long time-and we shall say this again below-since western philosophy, let us call it "official philosophy," drawn along in the wake of the positive sciences, has admitted only two sources of Knowledge (Connaitre).» — el preludio arranca por el diagnóstico: para Corbin la filosofía occidental que sigue la estela de las ciencias positivas admite desde hace mucho solo dos fuentes de conocimiento

«Yet the fact remains that between the sense perceptions and the intuitions or categories of the intellect there has remained a void.» — y entre la percepción sensible y las intuiciones o categorías del intelecto queda, según él, un vacío

«That which ought to have taken its place between the two, and which in other times and places did occupy this intermediate space, that is to say the Active Imagination, has been left to the poets.» — lo que debía ocupar ese lugar intermedio —la Imaginación activa— quedó, dice Corbin, en manos de los poetas

«For such a science it was understood that the Imagination secretes nothing but the imaginary, that is, the unreal, the mythic, the marvellous, the fictive, etc.» — para esa ciencia, señala, la Imaginación no segrega más que lo imaginario: lo irreal, lo mítico, lo maravilloso, lo ficticio

«It is a cognitive power in its own right. Its mediating faculty is to make us able to know without any reservation that region of Being which, without this mediation, would remain forbidden ground, and whose disappearance brings on a catastrophe of the Spirit, where we have by no means yet taken the measure of all the consequences.» — la tesis del preludio: la Imaginación es una potencia cognitiva por derecho propio, y su desaparición acarrea, dice Corbin, una catástrofe del Espíritu cuyas consecuencias todavía no se han medido

«It is essentially a median and mediating power, in the same way that the universe to which it is regulated and to which it gives access, is a median and mediating universe, an intermediate world between the sensible and the intellectual (intelligible), an intermediate world without which articulation between sensible and Intellectual (intelligible) is definitely blocked.» — es un poder mediano y mediador porque el universo al que da acceso también lo es; sin él, sostiene, la articulación entre lo sensible y lo inteligible queda bloqueada

«Neither the active nor the agent Imagination is thus in any sense an organ for the secretion of the imaginary, the unreal, the mythic, or the fictive.» — el límite que Corbin pone a su propia tesis: ni la Imaginación activa ni la agente son órgano de secreción de lo imaginario

«The Latin language came to our assistance, and the expression mundus imaginalis is the literal equivalent of the Arabic 'a/am al-mithal» — de dónde sale el término: el latín le presta *mundus imaginalis* como equivalente literal del árabe; la cita se corta ahí porque la frase sigue con una forma que el impreso parte por el renglón

«a key-term over which we hesitated at the time of the first edition of this book.» — y Corbin declara que ante esa palabra clave había vacilado en la primera edición del libro

«This key-term, mundus imaginalis, commands the complete network of notions appropriate to the precise level of Being and Knowl~dge which it connotes: imaginative perception, imaginative knowledge, imaginative consciousness.» — el término manda, según él, sobre una red entera de nociones: percepción imaginativa, conocimiento imaginativo, consciencia imaginativa

«While we encounter in other philosophies or systems a distrust of the Image, a degradation of all that properly belongs to the Imagination, the mundus imaginalis is its exaltation, because it is the link in whose absence the schema of the worlds is put out of joint.» — frente a las filosofías que desconfían de la Imagen, el *mundus imaginalis* es su exaltación: es el eslabón sin el cual el esquema de los mundos se desencaja

«Our authors tell us again and again that there are three worlds: 1. The p~re intellectual world ('a/am 'aqli), denoted in their theosophy as Jabarut or world of pure cherubic Intelligences. 2. The imaginal world ('a/am -mithali) known also in their theosophy as Malakut, the world of the Soul and of souls. 3. The sensible world ('a/am hissi) which is the "domain" (molk) of material things.» — los tres mundos que Corbin adjudica a sus autores: el intelectual puro o Jabarut, el imaginal o Malakut —mundo del Alma y de las almas— y el sensible o molk de las cosas materiales

«Correlatively the Forms of Being and Knowledge respectively proper to these three worlds are denoted technically as: 1. The Intellectual Forms (sowar 'aqliya). 2. The Imaginal Forms (sowar mithaliya). 3. The Sensible Forms (sowar hissiya), those which fall under sense perception.» — y las tres clases de Formas que les corresponden, con sus términos técnicos: sowar 'aqliya, sowar mithaliya y sowar hissiya

«As for the function of the mundus imaginalis and the Imaginal Forms, it is defined by their median and mediating situation between the intellectual and sensible worlds. On the one hand it immaterialises the Sensible Forms, on the other it "imaginalises" the Intellectual Forms to which it gives shape and dimension.» — la función que le adjudica: inmaterializa las Formas Sensibles y a la vez imaginaliza las Intelectuales, dándoles figura y dimensión

«The French vocabulary to be found throughout this book is thus of a rigorous precision and "sticks" closely to the Arabic technical terms as also used constantly in Persian.» — Corbin declara de dónde saca su vocabulario francés: se pega a los términos técnicos árabes, usados también constantemente en persa

«It is this median situation which imposes on the imaginative faculty a discipline which would be unthinkable where it had been degraded into "fantasy," secreting only the imaginary, the unreal, and capable of every kind of extravagance.» — la situación mediana impone a la facultad imaginativa una disciplina que sería impensable si se la degradara a fantasía

«The seriousness of the role of the Imagination is stressed by our philosophers when they state that it can be "the Tree of Blessedness" or on the contrary "the Accursed Tree" of which the Quran speaks, 1 that which means Angel or Demon in power.» — la gravedad del papel de la Imaginación, según los filósofos que Corbin expone: puede ser el Árbol de la Bienaventuranza o, al contrario, el Árbol Maldito del que habla el Corán, es decir Ángel o Demonio en potencia

«One takes the decisive step in the metaphysic of the imaginal and the Imagination when one admits with Moll~ Sadr~ Shir~zi that the imaginative power is a purely spiritual faculty independent of the physical organism and consequently surviving it.» — el paso decisivo va con nombre: según Molla Sadra Shirazi, el poder imaginativo es una facultad puramente espiritual, independiente del organismo físico y sobreviviente a él; el preludio lo escribe con la transliteración francesa, no con la del cuerpo del libro

«We shall see in the course of the texts translated here that it is the formative power of the subtle body or imaginal body (jism mithali), indeed this subtle body itself, forever inseparable from the soul, that is from the moi-esprit, from the spiritual individu» — y ese poder es, dice Corbin anunciando la segunda parte, el cuerpo sutil o imaginal mismo —jism mithali—, inseparable para siempre del alma; el impreso parte *individualité* al final del renglón y la cita se corta ahí

«The immateriality of the imaginative power was already fully affirmed by Ibn 'Arabi when he differentiated between the absolute imaginal Forms, that is to say such as subsist in the Malakut, and the "captive" imaginal Forms, that is, those immanent in the imaginative consciousness of man in this world.» — según Corbin, Ibn 'Arabi ya había afirmado la inmaterialidad del poder imaginativo al distinguir las Formas imaginales absolutas —las que subsisten en el Malakut— de las *cautivas*, inmanentes a la consciencia imaginativa del hombre en este mundo

«The former are in the world of the Soul (ame) or Malakut, epiphanies or theophanies, that is to say, imaginal manifestations of the pure Intellectual Forms of the J abarut. The latter are in their turn manifestations of the imaginal Forms of theM alakut or world of the Soul to man's imaginative consciousness.» — el reparto de esa distinción: las absolutas son epifanías o teofanías de las Formas Intelectuales puras del Jabarut, y las cautivas, manifestaciones de las imaginales a la consciencia del hombre; el troceo imprime *J abarut* y *theM alakut* partidos

«The solidarity and interdependence between the active Imagination defined as a spiritual faculty and the necessity of the mundus imaginalis as an intermediate world respond to the need of a conception which considers the worlds and the forms of Being as so many theophanies (tajalliyat ilahiya).» — la solidaridad que Corbin declara entre la Imaginación activa como facultad espiritual y la necesidad del mundo intermedio: las dos responden a una concepción que ve los mundos y las formas del ser como otras tantas teofanías

«We thus find ourselves in the presence of a number of philosophers who refuse indifferently a philosophy or a theology which lacks the element of theophany.» — de ahí, dice, un conjunto de filósofos que rechazan por igual toda filosofía o teología sin elemento teofánico

«Sohravardi and all the Ishraquiyun who follow him have always considered the "Perfect Sage" as being the Sage who gathers to himself equally the highest philosophical knowledge and the mystical experience modelled on the visionary experience of the Prophet, the night of the Mi'raj.» — según Corbin, Sohravardi y los Ishraqui-yun que lo siguen tuvieron siempre por Sabio Perfecto al que reúne el más alto saber filosófico con la experiencia mística modelada en la del Profeta la noche del Mi'raj; la transliteración es la del preludio

«Now the organ of visions, of whatever degree they may be, whether in the case of the philosophers or of the prophets, is neither the intellect nor the fleshly eyes, but the fire of that imaginatio vera of which the Burning Bush is for Sohravardi the type.» — y el órgano de las visiones, en filósofos o en profetas, no es para él ni el intelecto ni los ojos de carne, sino el fuego de la *imaginatio vera* cuyo tipo, según Sohravardi, es la Zarza Ardiente

«In the sensible form it is then the Imaginal Form itself which is from the very first and at one and the same time the perceived form and the organ of visionary perception.» — en la forma sensible, sostiene, la Forma Imaginal es a la vez la forma percibida y el órgano de la percepción visionaria: las Formas teofánicas son en esencia Formas Imaginales

«This is to say that the mundus imaginalis is the place, and consequently the world, where not only the visions of the prophets, the visions of the mystics, the visionary events which each human soul traverses at the time of his exitus from this world, the events of the lesser Resurrection and of the Greater Resurrection "take place" and have their "place," but also the gestes of the mystical epics, the symbolic acts of all the rituals of initiation, liturgies in general with all their symbols, the "composition of the ground" in various methods of prayer (oraison), the spiritual filiations whose authenticity is not within the competence of documents and archives, and equally the esoteric processus of the Alchemical Work, in connection with which the First Im~m of the Shi'ites was able to say "Alchemy is the sister of Prophecy."» — el inventario de lo que Corbin pone en ese mundo: las visiones de los profetas y de los místicos, los sucesos de la salida de este mundo, las gestas de las epopeyas místicas, los actos simbólicos de todo rito de iniciación, las filiaciones espirituales que no dependen de archivos, y el proceso esotérico de la Obra alquímica, a propósito del cual cita al Primer Imam de los chiíes

«Finally the "Biographies of Archangels" are by their nature imaginal history, since everything in them happens in the Malakut.» — y las *Biografías de los Arcángeles* son por naturaleza historia imaginal, porque todo en ellas ocurre en el Malakut

«With the loss of the imaginatio vera and of the mundus imaginalis nihilism and agnosticism begin.» — la consecuencia que declara: con la pérdida de la *imaginatio vera* y del *mundus imaginalis* empiezan el nihilismo y el agnosticismo

«It is precisely here that Philosopher and Prophet unite in one single vocation.» — el punto donde, según él, filósofo y profeta se unen en una sola vocación

«The Prophet is not a diviner of future events but the spokesman of the invisible and of the Invisible Ones, and it is this that gives its sense to a "prophetic philosophy" (hikmat nabawiya ).» — la definición de profeta que maneja: no un adivino de sucesos futuros, sino el portavoz de lo invisible y de los Invisibles, y de ahí el sentido de la *hikmat nabawiya*

«A prophetic philosophy is thus a "narrative philosophy," absolved of the dilemma which obsesses those who ask: is it myth or is it history? In other words: is it real or is it unreal? Is it fiction or is it true? A prophetic philosophy is a liberation from this pseudo-dilemma.» — por eso la llama filosofía narrativa: queda absuelta del dilema de si es mito o historia, real o irreal, ficción o verdad, que para Corbin es un pseudodilema

«The events which it describes are neither myth nor history in the ordinary sense of the words.» — sus sucesos, dice, no son ni mito ni historia en el sentido corriente de las palabras

«in the same way as the countries and the places of this history constitute an imaginal geography, that of the "celestial earth."» — y los países y lugares de esa historia constituyen una geografía imaginal: la de la tierra celeste, que da título al libro

«Access to this imaginal history is opened up for us by that hermeneutic par excellence which is denoted by the word ta'wil, which literally means to "reconduct something to its source," to its archetype, to its true reality.» — el acceso a esa historia lo abre, según Corbin, la hermenéutica llamada ta'wil, que literalmente reconduce algo a su fuente, a su arquetipo, a su realidad verdadera

«Just as for the Kabbalists, true events are the eternal relations between the ten Sephiroth, concealed beneath the accounts of the exterior happenings related by the Bible, so for the Shi'ite esoterics two-thirds of the Qura.n are to be read in their hidden and true sense (haqiqat) as narration of the drama which is played out between the Holy lmims and their antagonists from before the creation of this world.» — el paralelo que traza: como para los cabalistas los sucesos verdaderos son las relaciones eternas entre las diez sefirot ocultas bajo los relatos bíblicos, para los esotéricos chiíes dos tercios del Corán se leen en su sentido oculto como el drama entre los Imames y sus antagonistas desde antes de la creación de este mundo

«Hegel said that philosophy consists in turning the world inside out. Let us say rather that this world is here and now inside out. The ta'wil and the prophetic philosophy consist in putting it right side out once more.» — el giro que le da a la frase de Hegel: no es la filosofía la que pone el mundo del revés, es que el mundo ya está del revés, y el ta'wil consiste en volverlo a poner del derecho

«their position is exactly that of Jacob Boehme. Between the intellectual and the sensible, or expressed more precisely still, between the transcendent and hidden Deity, the Deitas abscondita, and the world of man, Boehme places an ~rrteermediary which he calls the sacred Element, a "spiritual corp<)reity" which represents the Dwelling, the Divine Presence, for our world.» — y el paralelo occidental que declara: la posición de estos teósofos místicos es exactamente la de Jacob Boehme, que entre la Deidad escondida y el mundo del hombre pone el Elemento sagrado, una corporeidad espiritual; el troceo imprime *~rrteermediary* y *corp<)reity*

«This Dwelling is Wisdom itself, Sophia. This Presence is the Shekhina of the Kabbalists.» — esa Morada es para Boehme la Sabiduría misma, Sophia, y esa Presencia es, según Corbin, la Shekhiná de los cabalistas

«as the "Soul of the World," is at the same time the imaginal locus and the organ of this Theophany. It is at once the necessary mediatrix, the Deus revelatus, between pure Divinity, for ever concealed, beyond our reach, and man's world.» — lo que Corbin llama Sophia es a la vez el lugar imaginal y el órgano de la teofanía: la mediadora necesaria, el *Deus revelatus*, entre la Divinidad pura para siempre oculta y el mundo del hombre

«This is what we have in another place called the "paradox of monotheism" and it is a constant theme in all those doctrines in the "religions of the book" which are in one way or another related to the Kabbala.» — a eso llama en otro sitio la paradoja del monoteísmo, y lo da por tema constante de las doctrinas de las religiones del libro emparentadas con la Cábala

«Equally in Jewish mysticism the Hassi dim have established a triple differentiation: there is the unknowable God, there is the place of the emanation of the Glory, which is the "countenance on high" and which even the Angels do not know; lastly there is the manifested Glory, the "countenance beneath," the only one we can contemplate.» — la triple distinción que atribuye a los hasidim: el Dios incognoscible, el lugar de la emanación de la Gloria —el semblante de arriba, que ni los ángeles conocen— y la Gloria manifestada, el semblante de abajo, único contemplable; el troceo imprime *Hassi dim* partido

«This "countenance beneath" is the Angel Metatron as "Angel of the Countenance" who is equally the Presence, the Sophia, the Soul of the World.» — y ese semblante de abajo es, según Corbin, el ángel Metatrón como Ángel del Semblante, que es igualmente la Presencia, la Sophia, el Alma del Mundo

«Now every kind of dualism which has in one way or another come out of Cartesianism or which is closely related to it has rejected the necessity of just this spiritual mediating entity.» — su cargo contra el dualismo salido del cartesianismo: rechaza justamente esa entidad espiritual mediadora

«Our western philosophy has been the theatre of what we may call the "battle for the Soul of the World." On the one hand, like "stainless knights" protecting this Soul, the Cambridge Platonists (Henry More, Ralph Cudworth); Jacob Boehme and his school with all those related to them; the "Boehmian" Newton; the Christian Kabbalists like F. C. Oetinger in whom currents of thought coming from Boehme and Swedenborg intersect. On the other, they find their antagonists: Descartes, Fr. Mersenne, Malebranche, Bayle, indubitably also Leibniz and Christian Wolff, and the list extends on down to our own days.» — el reparto de bandos que Corbin traza en esa que llama la batalla por el Alma del Mundo: de un lado los platónicos de Cambridge, Boehme y su escuela, el Newton *boehmiano* y los cabalistas cristianos como Oetinger; del otro Descartes, Mersenne, Malebranche, Bayle, Leibniz y Christian Wolff

«Is it a matter of a battle that has finally been lost, the world having lost its soul, a defeat whose consequences weigh upon our modern visions of the world without compensation? If there has been a defeat, a defeat is still not a refutation.» — y el límite con que acota su propio diagnóstico: si hubo derrota, una derrota todavía no es una refutación

«This is why we spoke above of the actuality of the themes of this book; an actuality which ranges our "Piatonists of Persia" at the side of the Cambridge Platonists.» — de ahí la actualidad que reclama para los temas del libro: pone a sus platónicos de Persia al lado de los de Cambridge

«More exactly still: this mundus imaginalis, world of Hurqalya, world of Malakut or world of Soul, is the "Celestial Earth" and the "Celestial Corporeity."» — la identificación que da título al libro: ese mundo imaginal, mundo de Hurqalya, mundo del Malakut o del Alma, es la Tierra Celeste y la Corporeidad Celeste

«Just as the Sophia is otherwise the imaginal place of the Divine Presence in our world, so the celestial Earth, present to the secret nostalgia in men's hearts, is typified in the Shi'ite gnosis by the person of Fatima the Resplendent, the daughter of the Prophet.» — y su tipificación en la gnosis chií: la Tierra celeste, presente en la nostalgia secreta de los corazones, queda tipificada en la persona de Fátima la Resplandeciente, hija del Profeta

«Fatima is the Sophia of the Shi'ite theosophy and cosmogony.» — la ecuación queda dicha sin rodeos: Fátima es la Sophia de la teosofía y la cosmogonía chiíes

«This First Emanation is typified by the primordial Muhammadic Light (Nflr mohammedi), constituted by certain figures of light, that is to say, the respective metaphysical entities known as the Fourteen Immaculate Ones. The eternal succession of their births brings with it the birth of the worlds.» — la Primera Emanación chií que introduce: la Luz mohammedí primordial, constituida por las entidades metafísicas llamadas los Catorce Inmaculados, cuya sucesión eterna de nacimientos trae consigo el nacimiento de los mundos

«The Fourteen Immaculate Ones are collectively "the Angel of the Countenance."» — y los Catorce Inmaculados son colectivamente, dice, el Ángel del Semblante

«Our authors coined a term to express this: fatimiya, an abstract noun which literally translated gives something like "fatimianite" but which the term Sophianity expresses more directly still once we have recognised in the eternal mediating person of Fatima the Resplendent, Her who is elsewhere known as Sophia.» — el término que Corbin adjudica a sus autores: *fatimiya*, que traducido literalmente daría algo como *fatimianidad* y que él prefiere verter como Sofianidad

«Of the six Archangels who surround Ohrmazd, the God of Pure Light, from whom they emanate and whose name itself means "Lord Wisdom" (Ahura Mazda in the Avesta), three are masculine and three feminine.» — el paralelo mazdeo: de los seis arcángeles que rodean a Ohrmazd —cuyo nombre, dice, significa Señor Sabiduría—, tres son masculinos y tres femeninos

«The first of these feminine Archangels bears in the Avesta the name Spenta Armaiti (in Pahlavi, that is in Middle Persian, Spandarmat; in Modern Persian, Sfandarmoz).» — la primera de esas arcángeles femeninas es Spenta Armaiti, con sus formas pahlaví y persa moderna que Corbin enumera

«indeed the Sophia of Mazdaism and the typification of Celestial Earth. Spandarmat-Sophia is the "Mistress of the Dwelling." She is the Dwelling itself, as feminine Archangel of the Earth which is Earth of Light.» — y es, sostiene, la Sophia del mazdeísmo y la tipificación de la Tierra Celeste: Señora de la Morada y Morada ella misma, como arcángel femenino de la Tierra que es Tierra de Luz

«Building on her name in Pahlavi, the abstract term spandarmatikih has been formed which we cannot translate better than by the very term "Sophianity."» — del nombre pahlaví sale el término abstracto *spandarmatikih*, que Corbin dice no poder traducir mejor que por Sofianidad

«There is also an appeal, a striking correspondence, between the terms fatimiya and spandarmatikih, which both denote a "Sophianity" typified on the one hand in the person of the feminine Archangel holy Armaiti and on the other in that of Fatima-Sophia.» — la correspondencia que declara entre *fatimiya* y *spandarmatikih*: las dos denotan una Sofianidad, tipificada en Armaiti y en Fátima-Sophia respectivamente

«To assume this Sophianity is for the human being to accede here and now to the Celestial Earth, to the world of Hllrqalya, world of "celestial corporeity," which is that of the subtle Bodies of Light.» — asumir esa Sofianidad es, para el ser humano, acceder aquí y ahora a la Tierra Celeste, al mundo de Hurqalya, el de la corporeidad celeste y los Cuerpos sutiles de Luz

«Obviously, the passage from one manifestation of Sophianity to another does not involve the material filiation of any historic causality because here plainly both manifestations are acts of the Malakllt which occur in the imaginal world.» — el límite que pone al paralelo: el paso de una manifestación de la Sofianidad a otra no supone filiación material ni causalidad histórica, porque las dos son actos del Malakut ocurridos en el mundo imaginal

«The epochs of a spiritual world make up a history sui generis, which is in its very essence imaginal history.» — por eso habla de épocas de un mundo espiritual y no de constantes de la consciencia irania: una historia *sui generis* que es en esencia historia imaginal

«We are dealing here with a "history" of the same nature as that which is witnessed when our Shi'ite philosophers identify their Twelfth Imam now with the Saoshyant or Zoroastrian eschatological Saviour, now with the Paraclete announced in St. John's Gospel.» — y el ejemplo con que la ilustra: los filósofos chiíes identificando a su Duodécimo Imam ora con el Saoshyant zoroástrico, ora con el Paráclito anunciado en el Evangelio de Juan

«These true events together with the links which unite them one to another come to pass in the subtle world of the Soul, the world of Malakut, mundus imaginalis.» — esos sucesos verdaderos y sus enlaces ocurren, dice, en el mundo sutil del Alma, mundo del Malakut, *mundus imaginalis*

«Others have spoken of the "Chronicle of Akasha" (this term denoting the subtle world). What we have in view here postulates simply the term "imaginal history."» — y deslinda su término del ajeno: otros hablaron de la Crónica del Akasha; lo que él postula es simplemente historia imaginal

«We therefore need a vocabulary other than that of history in the empirical sense of this word in order to deal with the "Chronicles of Malakut," just as Boehme needed a terminology different from that of the Peripatetic philosophers and expressed himself in the vocabulary of alchemy.» — la razón del vocabulario: hace falta uno distinto del de la historia empírica, igual que Boehme necesitó otro distinto del de los peripatéticos y se expresó en el de la alquimia

«To describe the link between the two ages respectively of Sophianity and of Celestial Earth, we have had recourse here to a musical terminology, and we turn to the sound effect produced on the organ by the playing of the progressio harmonica.» — y el que Corbin elige es musical: para describir el enlace entre las dos edades de la Sofianidad y de la Tierra Celeste recurre a la *progressio harmonica* del órgano

«All the more significant then has been the welcome given to a recent study which treats the "life after life" and presents the manifold testimonies of their actual experiences by people who, even though they had not crossed it never to return, had none the less really found themselves on the "threshold," for their deaths had already been clinically confirmed.» — lo que Corbin registra de su presente: la acogida a un estudio reciente sobre la vida después de la vida, con testimonios de personas cuya muerte estaba clínicamente confirmada y que se hallaron en el umbral sin cruzarlo del todo

«In this connection, we wish to give a caution. We have come to see for ourself, with pleasure though not unmixed with some anxiety, that the word "imaginal" as used specifically in our researches has been spreading and even gaining ground.» — la advertencia que Corbin da sobre su propio término: ha visto con placer no exento de inquietud que la palabra *imaginal* se difunde y gana terreno

«If this term is used to apply to anything other than the mundus imaginalis and the imaginal Forms as they are located in the schema of the worlds which necessitate them and legitimise them, there is a great danger that the term will be degraded and its meaning be lost.» — y el límite: si se aplica a otra cosa que al *mundus imaginalis* y a las Formas imaginales situadas en el esquema de los mundos que las exige, hay gran peligro de que el término se degrade y pierda su sentido

«It is superfluous to add-the reader will already have understood this-that the mundus imaginalis has nothing to do with what the fashion of our time calls "the civilisation of the image."» — y el deslinde final: el *mundus imaginalis* no tiene nada que ver con lo que la moda de la época llama la civilización de la imagen

«More than once since the publication of the first edition we have heard readers regretting the special difficulty of the first chapter-that on the angelology of the Avesta. We would like to suggest» — la objeción de sus lectores que Corbin consigna —la dificultad especial del primer capítulo, el de la angelología del Avesta— y su respuesta: una sola lectura no basta

«One does not penetrate into the Angelic World by housebreaking, one does not move around mentally in the world of Hurqalya by the assistance of a formal logic or of a dialectic which leads from one concept to the next by deduction.» — cómo dice que no se entra: al Mundo Angélico no se entra por allanamiento, ni se circula por Hurqalya con lógica formal ni con una dialéctica que deduzca un concepto del siguiente

«The figures of the God-Angels of the Avesta, for example, overlapping one with another as they often do, can only be grasped by generating in oneself, on the indications of the texts, a minimum of menfal vision.» — las figuras de los Dioses-Ángeles del Avesta, que se traslapan entre sí, solo se captan —dice— generando en uno mismo un mínimo de visión mental; el troceo imprime *menfal* por mental

«In fact, some of these testimonies cannot be entertained let alone understood except on the condition of having at one's immediate disposal an ontology of the mundus imaginalis and a metaphysic of the active Imagination as an organ inherent in the soul and regulated in its own right to the w0rld of "subtle corporeity."» — y la condición que les pone: algunos de esos testimonios no se dejan siquiera entender sin una ontología del *mundus imaginalis* y una metafísica de la Imaginación activa como órgano del alma; el troceo imprime *w0rld*

«One should resort here to the exemplary practice which Ibn 'Arabi himself has led us to design as the ''theophanic method of discourse" (oraison).» — y el recurso que propone es la práctica ejemplar que Ibn 'Arabi le llevó a designar como método teofánico del discurso

«But is it not frequent in the Bible for the Prophets to demand the assistance of a harp-player . in order to open the eyes of their inner vision?» — el cierre del preludio, en pregunta: ¿no piden a menudo los profetas de la Biblia la ayuda de un tañedor de arpa para abrir los ojos de su visión interior?

«It may be that the world which our authors here describe in symbolic language as the "eighth climate" will be seen by Western people as the "lost continent." Should some of them be searching for it, the Spiritual Masters whom the present book seeks to interpret will perhaps serve as their guides.» — el prólogo se abre por el octavo clima leído como continente perdido, y ofrece a los Maestros Espirituales del libro como guías de quien lo busque

«It may be that the first and last reason for this impenetrability is to be sought in the loss of the interworld, in the vanished consciousness of this assembly of universes which our authors call the "world of Hurqalya."» — la causa que Corbin propone para la impenetrabilidad entre universos reales: la pérdida del intermundo, la consciencia desvanecida de esa asamblea de universos

«It is a great and formidable adventure to be the guest of a culture to the point of communicating in its language and participating in its problems. But he who remains on the shore will never foretaste the secrets of the high seas.» — la condición que pone al lector: ser huésped de una cultura hasta comunicar en su lengua, porque quien se queda en la orilla no cata los secretos de alta mar

«Among other symptoms indicative of a "lost continent," we should note the unusual insistence with which certain contemporary theologians have taken the "immortality of the soul" as opposed to the "resurrection of the dead," as though it were a great triumph to abandon the philosophers, the impenitent Platonists, to their vain pretensions, while they themselves, as perfect realists, stand ready to condone the concessions necessary in order to "keep up with the times."» — lo que registra como síntoma de ese continente perdido: la insistencia de ciertos teólogos contemporáneos en la inmortalidad del alma contra la resurrección de los muertos

«Its most alarming symptom is the pious agnosticism that is paralyzing excellent minds and inspiring in them a panic terror before everything with the suspect aroma of "gnosis."» — y el síntoma que más le alarma: el agnosticismo piadoso que paraliza mentes excelentes y les inspira terror de pánico ante todo lo que huela a gnosis

«Let us be clear about one thing: the dilemma we have just mentioned is utterly and justifiably foreign to the thoughts and the thinkers assembled here in this book. There is no question of "demonstrating" something such as the immortality of the soul or resurrection of the dead, and above all not to someone who is denying them or rejecting the idea.» — el deslinde de su propio libro: ese dilema es ajeno a los pensadores reunidos aquí, y no se trata de demostrar la inmortalidad del alma ni la resurrección de los muertos, y menos a quien las niega

«Neither the rejection nor the hope that challenges it is a matter of theoretical proof. It has to do with the judgment which each one bears in himself of himself and thanks to which he takes on the entire responsibility for himself.» — ni el rechazo ni la esperanza que lo desafía son, según Corbin, cuestión de prueba teórica: tienen que ver con el juicio que cada uno lleva de sí mismo y por el que asume su entera responsabilidad

«the more so in that there could be no "resurrection of bodies" without a "resurrection of souls," that is, without having overcome the peril of the "second death," so clearly discerned by the most ancient Hermetism, and which» — y el encadenamiento que declara: no hay resurrección de los cuerpos sin resurrección de las almas, es decir sin haber vencido el peligro de la segunda muerte que discernió el hermetismo más antiguo

«For it is from the soul itself, from the celestial Earth of the soul, that the "spiritual flesh" is constituted-the suprasensory and at the same time perfectly concrete caro spiritualis. A "dead soul," in the sense that a soul can die, could not be its substance. This connection will be the central thought of the texts and of the authors studied in this book.» — la tesis central que anuncia: es del alma misma, de la Tierra celeste del alma, de donde se constituye la carne espiritual, esa *caro spiritualis* suprasensorial y a la vez perfectamente concreta

«These texts together form a progression from one octave to the other of the Iranian spiritual universe, repeating and amplifying the same theme.» — cómo describe la arquitectura del volumen: los textos forman una progresión de una octava a otra del universo espiritual iranio, repitiendo y amplificando el mismo tema

«First of all, we had to outline a phenomenology of Mazdean consciousness or, more exactly, of Mazdean angelology, with the personal Figures and archetypes that are its hierophanies. Then, by means of the theme studied here, we had to clear the way leading from Mazdean Iran to Islamic Iran.» — y el plan de trabajo: primero una fenomenología de la consciencia mazdea, o más exactamente de su angelología, y luego el camino que va del Irán mazdeo al Irán islámico

«The pages that have been translated here, both from Persian and Arabic, are extracts from eleven authors, who together cover the period from the twelfth century up to the present day.» — la composición de la antología, declarada por el propio Corbin: extractos de once autores, del siglo XII a la actualidad, traducidos del persa y del árabe

«Normally, the work of "diffusion" would be preceded by a preliminary study of the material, but unfortunately, in view of the rarity of works in this field, the philosopher-orientalist will in fact be bound for some time to come to take these two tasks on himself.» — el límite de método que Corbin declara: por la rareza de trabajos en el campo, el filósofo-orientalista tiene que cargar a la vez con el estudio preliminar y con la difusión

«The word "theosophy," for example, is a translation of the Arabic t£ikma iliihiya and the Persian» — cómo justifica sus términos irritantes: teosofía traduce el árabe *hikma ilahiya* y el persa *khuda-dani*, equivalentes exactos, dice, del griego *theosophia*; el troceo imprime *t£ikma iliihiya*

«The terms "esotericism" and "initiation" do not imply any exclusive claim to teach by some self-instituted authority. They refer, respectively, to hidden, suprasensory things, to the discretion which the words themselves suggest in regard to those who, not understanding, scorn them, and to the spiritual birth that causes the perception of those hidden things to open.» — y acota los otros dos: esoterismo e iniciación no implican ninguna pretensión exclusiva de enseñar desde una autoridad autoinstituida, sino lo oculto suprasensorio y el nacimiento espiritual que abre su percepción

«As for the word "ImAm," meaning "spiritual guide," this word dominates the form of Islam which will especially concern us here, namely, Shrism (also called lmiimism) and, above all, Shrite Iran.» — y el término que manda: *imam* quiere decir guía espiritual, y domina la forma del islam que le ocupa, el chiísmo o imamismo

«Actually, Iranian Islam belies the opinion according to which Islam is too often identified with an ethnic concept, with the past history of a race. Islam is primarily a religious concept.» — su objeción al lugar común: según Corbin, el islam iranio va contra la opinión que identifica el islam con un concepto étnico o con la historia de una raza

«Yet the Shrite lmAmology professed by Iran represents the supreme homage that can be paid to the Arabic Prophet and to the members of his Household. The question is one neither of race nor of nation but of religious vision.» — y su lectura de la imamología chií: el homenaje supremo al Profeta árabe y a los miembros de su Casa, cuestión ni de raza ni de nación sino de visión religiosa

«In any case, suffice it to say that the conditions of the dialogue between Christianity and Islam change completely as soon as the interlocutor represents not legalistic Islam but this spiritual Islam, whether it be that of $Ofism or of Shitite gnosis.» — la consecuencia que saca para el diálogo: las condiciones cambian por completo en cuanto el interlocutor no representa al islam legalista sino al espiritual, sea el del sufismo o el de la gnosis chií

«A Westerner usually takes the terms muslim and mu'min as synonymous. They are, however, by no means synonymous for a Shrite: one can be a muslim and profess Islam without yet (nor for that reason alone) being a mu'min, that is, a true believer, an adept of the holy ImAms and their doctrine.» — la distinción que un occidental suele borrar: para un chií *muslim* y *mu’min* no son sinónimos, porque se puede profesar el islam sin ser todavía creyente adepto de los Imames

«The only way out is to realize that the first and greatest miracle is the irruption of another world into our knowledge, an irruption that rends the fabric of our categories and their necessities, of our evidences and their norms.» — la salida que propone al dilema de historia o mito en los milagros: el primero y mayor milagro es la irrupción de otro mundo en nuestro conocimiento, que rasga la trama de nuestras categorías y de nuestras evidencias

«But it should be understood that the other world in question is one that cannot be perceived by the organ of ordinary knowledge; that it can be neither proven nor disputed by means of ordinary argumentation; that it is a world so different that it can neither be seen nor perceived except by the organ of "HnrqalyAn" perception.» — con su límite: ese otro mundo no lo percibe el órgano del conocimiento ordinario ni se prueba ni se disputa con argumentación ordinaria, sino solo por el órgano de la percepción hurqalyana

«It is the "Earth of visions," the Earth which confers on visionary apperceptions their truth, the world through which resurrection comes to pass. This is what will be re-echoed by all our authors.» — la definición que da nombre al asunto del libro: la Tierra de las visiones, la que confiere su verdad a las apercepciones visionarias y por la cual sucede la resurrección

«Indeed, this is the world in which real spiritual events "take place," real, however, not in the sense that the physical world is real, nor yet in the sense that events chronologically recorded to "make history" are real, because here the event transcends every historical materialization.» — y el modo de realidad que le atribuye: real, pero no como lo es el mundo físico ni como lo son los sucesos registrados cronológicamente, porque ahí el suceso trasciende toda materialización histórica

«It is an "external world," and yet it is not the physical world. It is a world that teaches us that it is possible to emerge from measurable space without emerging from extent» — la paradoja con que lo formula: es un mundo externo y sin embargo no es el mundo físico, y enseña que se puede salir del espacio medible sin salir de la extensión

«The latter can be translated respectively as "mystical theosophy" and "mystical gnosis,"» — y el residuo que declara: *ma‘rifa* e *‘irfan* se vierten como teosofía mística y gnosis mística, pero los equivalentes técnicos, dice, no conservan el matiz familiar del árabe; el troceo imprime *tarif*

«We cannot penetrate the "Earth of Hnrqalyl" by rational abstraction nor yet by empirical materialization; it is the place where spirit and body are one, the place where spirit, taking on a body, becomes the caro spiritualis, "spiritual corporeity."» — la definición operativa de la Tierra de Hurqalya: no se entra por abstracción racional ni por materialización empírica, porque es el lugar donde espíritu y cuerpo son uno y el espíritu, tomando cuerpo, se hace *caro spiritualis*

«We might find their brothers in soul, however, among those who have been called the Protestant Spirituales, such as Schwenckfeld, Boehme, the Berleburg circle, Oetinger, and others, whose line has been continued to the present day.» — los hermanos de alma occidentales que Corbin les asigna: los Spirituales protestantes —Schwenckfeld, Boehme, el círculo de Berleburg, Oetinger— y su línea hasta hoy

«But there is a further point to make clear: it was not our intention here, in studying the two complementary aspects, Mazdean Iran and Shrite Iran (more exactly, up to the Shaikh I school ) , to treat this theme from a historical point of view.» — la abstención declarada: no era intención suya tratar históricamente el tema de los dos Iranes, y lo aplaza para un estudio posterior

«If we try to consider what is suggested to us in the following extracts in the light of our accustomed historical dimension, we shali, with the best intentions in the world, be bound to falsify the perspective.» — y por qué: leer estos extractos en la dimensión histórica acostumbrada falsearía la perspectiva, con la mejor voluntad del mundo

«For our historical, evolutionary, and linear viewpoint is the result of a one-dimensional mental structure, which serves for determining causes inherent in this level alone, which explains things by reducing them all to this same level; it is limited to a homogeneous time and space in which it places events.» — su diagnóstico del punto de vista histórico, evolutivo y lineal: resultado de una estructura mental unidimensional que explica reduciéndolo todo al mismo plano

«Our authors see things from a different point of view. They postulate several planes of projection. The passage of time is viewed as a cycle; beings and events themselves qualitatively situate their time and space.» — frente a eso, dice, sus autores postulan varios planos de proyección: el tiempo se ve como ciclo y los seres y sucesos sitúan cualitativamente su tiempo y su espacio

«This being so, we should pay particular attention to stroctures and homologies of structure; what has to emerge is the law of their isomorphism. In comparison, discussions conducted on the level of pure historicism are almost always irritating and sterile» — de ahí el método que reclama: atender a las estructuras y homologías de estructura hasta sacar la ley de su isomorfismo; el troceo imprime *stroctures*

«For example, in Mazdaism there is the var of Virna, the "hyperborean paradise," and in $ufism and Shrism there is the Earth of Hurqalya, also in the celestial "Far North."» — el primer par de la serie de homologías que traza: el var de Yima mazdeo, paraíso hiperbóreo, y la Tierra de Hurqalya del sufismo y del chiísmo, también en el Extremo Norte celeste; el troceo imprime *Virna*

«Both in Mazdaism and in Suhrawardt's theosophy there are Angels of the Earth, Spenta Armaiti and Daena, Figures respectively representing the eternal Sophia; in Shrite gnosis we find Fatima, person of Light, Daughter of the Prophet, who is also a Figure representing Sophia and the supracelestial Earth.» — el segundo par: Spenta Armaiti y Daena como ángeles de la Tierra en el mazdeísmo y en la teosofía de Suhrawardi, y Fátima como Figura de la Sophia y de la Tierra supraceleste en la gnosis chií

«In Mazdaism there is the Saoshyant» — y el tercero: el Saoshyant mazdeo rodeado de sus compañeros y el Imam oculto rodeado de un cuerpo místico de caballeros, cuya parusía anunciará el término del Eón

«However, this should not be taken to mean that the one version and the other are purely and simply identical. The terms are not identical, but there is an analogy of relationships. Because the Figures exemplify the same archetypes, their identity lies in the function they assume in the midst of homologous wholes.» — el límite que pone a su propia serie: las dos versiones no son pura y simplemente idénticas, y los términos no lo son; lo que hay es analogía de relaciones y una identidad de función dentro de conjuntos homólogos

«To pass from one octave to a higher octave is not the same as to pass from one date in time to another, but is a progression to a height or pitch that is qualitatively different. All the elements are changed, yet the form of the melody is the same. Something in the nature of harmonic perception is needed in order to perceive a world of many dimensions.» — cómo lee el paso de una octava a otra: no es pasar de una fecha a otra sino a una altura cualitativamente distinta, donde cambian todos los elementos y la forma de la melodía es la misma

«A philosopher, to whom we were explaining the concept and function of the world of Horqalya according to our authors, remarked: "Finally, then, all phenomenology of the spirit takes» — la anécdota con que fija su tesis: a un filósofo que le preguntó si toda fenomenología del espíritu ocurre en Hurqalya, Corbin responde que parece que tiene que ser algo así

«Our authors suggest that if the past were really what we believe it to be, that is, completed and closed, it would not be the grounds of such vehement discussions.» — el argumento que atribuye a sus autores sobre el pasado: si de verdad estuviera acabado y cerrado, no sería motivo de discusiones tan vehementes

«They suggest that all our acts of understanding are so many recommencements, re-iterations of events still unconcluded. Each one of us, willy-nilly, is the initiator of events in "Hiirqalya," whether they abort in its hell or bear fruit in its paradise.» — y la consecuencia: nuestros actos de comprensión son recomienzos de sucesos aún no concluidos, y cada uno es iniciador de sucesos en Hurqalya, aborten en su infierno o fructifiquen en su paraíso

«It follows that the whole of the underlying metaphysics is that of an unceasing recurrence of the Creation ( tajaddud) ; not a metaphysics of the ens and the esse, but of the esto, of being in the imperative.» — la metafísica que se sigue: no la del *ens* y el *esse* sino la del *esto*, el ser en imperativo, en recurrencia incesante de la Creación

«Everything is strange, say our authors, when one sets foot on that Earth where the Impossible is in fact accomplished. For all our mental constructions, all our imperatives, all our wishes, even the love which is the most consubstantial with our being-all that would be nothing but metaphor without the interworld of Horqalya, the world in which our symbols are, so to speak, taken literally.» — y el cierre del prólogo: todo es extraño, dicen sus autores, cuando se pone pie en esa Tierra donde lo Imposible se cumple, y sin ese intermundo todo lo nuestro sería nada más que metáfora

«In a book entitled On the Question of the Soul, G. T. Fechner tells how on a spring morning, while a transfiguring light cast a halo over the face of the earth, he was struck not merely by the esthetic idea, but by the vision and concrete evidence that "the Earth is an Angel, such a gorgeously real Angel, so like a flower!" But, he added with melancholy, nowadays an experience like this is dismissed as imaginary. It is taken for granted that the earth is a spherical body; as for getting to know more about what it is, this is just a matter of research in the mineralogical collections.» — la confesión de Fechner con que Corbin abre el libro, y su desenlace: hoy una experiencia así se despacha por imaginaria, y de la Tierra ya solo cabe investigar en las colecciones mineralógicas

«it is nevertheless a fact that the cognitio matutina by which the Earth is revealed to our philosopher as an "Angel" is completely in accord with the doctrine and practice of the Avesta, iq which, for example, we read the following (in the ritual of the twenty-eighth day of the month) : "We are celebrating this liturgy in honor of the Earth which is an Angel.» — y el respaldo que le busca: la *cognitio matutina* por la que la Tierra se le revela a Fechner como Ángel concuerda, dice Corbin, con la doctrina y la práctica del Avesta, cuyo ritual del día veintiocho del mes celebra la liturgia en honor de la Tierra que es un Ángel

«The fact that the perception of the Earth as an Angel can be classed as imaginary, as unreal, signifies and indicates that this way of perceiving and meditating the Earth is, on the contrary, linked with a psycho-spiritual structure which we have to rediscover in order to bring out the value of the means of knowledge it offers.» — y el giro que le da a la objeción: que esa percepción se clasifique como imaginaria indica, según Corbin, que va ligada a una estructura psicoespiritual que hay que redescubrir

«Essentially this mode of perception implies an intellectual faculty that is not limited to the sole use of conceptual abstraction nor to the sensory perception of physical data.» — el requisito de ese modo de percepción: una facultad intelectual que no se limita ni a la abstracción conceptual ni a la percepción sensorial de datos físicos

«To come face to face with the Earth not as a conglomeration of physical facts but in the person of its Angel is an essenti~lly psychic event which can "take place" neither in the world of Impersonal abstract concepts nor on the plane of mere sensory data.» — la tesis del capítulo: encarar la Tierra en la persona de su Ángel y no como conglomerado de hechos físicos es un suceso psíquico que no puede ocurrir ni en el mundo de los conceptos abstractos ni en el de los datos sensoriales; el troceo imprime *essenti~lly* e *Impersonal*

«The Earth has to be perceived not by the senses, but through a primordial Image and, inasmuch as this Image carries the features of a personal figure, it will prove to "symbolize with" the very Image of itself which the soul carries in its innermost depths.» — cómo dice que se percibe: no por los sentidos sino por una Imagen primordial que, al llevar los rasgos de una figura personal, simboliza con la imagen que el alma lleva de sí misma en lo más hondo

«The perception of the Earth Angel will come about in an intermediate universe which is neither that of the Essences of philosophy nor that of the sensory data on which the work of positive science is based, but which is a universe of archetype-Images, experienced as so many personal presences.» — y dónde ocurre: en un universo intermedio que no es el de las Esencias de la filosofía ni el de los datos sensoriales, sino un universo de Imágenes-arquetipo vividas como presencias personales

«we discover that it is much less a matter of answering questions concerning essences ("what is it?") than questions concerning person~ ("who is it?" or "to whom does it correspond?"), for example, who is the Earth? who are the waters, the plants, the mountains? or, to whom do they corre» — el desplazamiento de la pregunta que Corbin propone: no tanto qué es esto como quién es, o a quién corresponde —quién es la Tierra, quiénes son las aguas, las plantas, las montañas—

«Angelology is one of the characteristic features of Zoroastrian Mazdaism, for which reason it can neither be reduced to an abstract and monolithic type of monotheism, nor invalidated by what people have tried to interpret as a return to the "ancient gods," or a restoration of pre-Zoroastrian polytheism.» — su defensa de la angelología: es rasgo característico del mazdeísmo zoroástrico, y por eso este no se deja reducir a un monoteísmo abstracto ni invalidar como retorno a los dioses antiguos

«In always wanting to know "where" things "come from" one wanders about finally in vain pursuit of a succession of hypotheses.» — su reparo al método histórico: querer saber siempre de dónde vienen las cosas acaba en la persecución vana de una sucesión de hipótesis

«The soul cannot be explained; lt h1 tlu! aoul itaelf which is the principle of every explanation» — y la inversión que propone: el alma no se explica, porque es ella el principio de toda explicación; el troceo imprime esa línea muy dañada por el OCR

«This is why, for many centuries, Mazdean piety has recognized the equivalent of its Y azatas (the "Adorable Ones") in the figures of Angels and Archangels (firishtagan in Persian). Of course, their ontological status is quite different from that of the biblical or Qur'anic angels; they are neither servants nor messengers, but rather figures homologous to the Dii-Angeli of Proclus.» — la equivalencia que registra y su límite: la piedad mazdea reconoció a sus Yazatas en los ángeles y arcángeles, pero su estatuto ontológico difiere del de los ángeles bíblicos o coránicos —no son siervos ni mensajeros— y son homólogos de los Dii-Angeli de Proclo

«On this point I am convinced that Neoplatonism (which it has long been fashionable to disparage) was infinitely closer to Iranian angelology, and to a better understanding of the theurgical and demiurgical role of its heavenly entities than the philsophical improvisations in which religious historians are apt to indulge when they are short of categories.» — y su adjudicación, en primera persona: se declara convencido de que el neoplatonismo estuvo infinitamente más cerca de la angelología irania que las improvisaciones de los historiadores de las religiones faltos de categorías; el troceo imprime *philsophical*

«The Mazdean vision divides thinkable totality into an infinite height of Light in which there dwells, for all eternity, Ohrmazd (the Avestan Ahura Mazda), the "Lord Wisdom"; and an unfathomable abyss of Darkness that conceals the Antagonist, the Counterpower of negation, disintegration, and death, Ahriman (the Avestan Angra Mainyu)» — el esquema mazdeo que resume: una altura infinita de Luz donde mora Ohrmazd, el Señor Sabiduría, y un abismo insondable de Tinieblas que oculta al Antagonista, Ahriman

«Between the Power of Light and the Counterpower of Darkness there is no common ground, no compromise of coexistence, but a merciless battle of which our Earth, together with all visible Creation, is the field» — y entre los dos, según ese esquema, ni terreno común ni compromiso de coexistencia: una batalla sin cuartel cuyo campo es nuestra Tierra

«ner's vision. He seems to have identified the face of the earth, haloed by the spring light, with the actual effigy of the Angel, when in fact the telluric glory is the liturgical creation, the hierurgy of that Earth Angel whose features are perceived as a glorified human image.» — la corrección que Corbin le hace a Fechner: parece identificar la faz de la tierra con la efigie misma del Ángel, cuando la gloria telúrica es la creación litúrgica, la hierurgia de ese Ángel de la Tierra

«So there is, among the Seven Archangels, a sort of unio mystica, which makes the divine Heptad as different from the current ways of describing monotheism as from those referring to polytheism; we would do better to speak of a kathenotheism, in the sense that each of the Figures of the Heptad can be meditated in turn as actualizing the totality of the relations common to the others.» — el término que Corbin propone para la Heptada divina: no monoteísmo ni politeísmo sino katenoteísmo, en el sentido de que cada Figura puede meditarse por turno como actualización de la totalidad de las relaciones comunes

«In the texts we can follow a certain oscillation which sometimes enhances the primacy of the Lord Wisdom among the Seven, and sometimes stresses his unio mystic a with the (six) other Powers of Light.» — y el desacuerdo interno que consigna sin armonizar: los textos oscilan entre realzar la primacía del Señor Sabiduría entre los Siete y subrayar su *unio mystica* con los otros seis Poderes de Luz

«Traditionally, in mental iconography, as also no doubt in real iconography/0 the divine Heptad is figured as divided into two groups: three Archangels represented as masculine on the right of Ohrmazd, three feminine Archangels on his left.» — el reparto de la Heptada en la iconografía mental: tres arcángeles masculinos a la derecha de Ohrmazd y tres femeninas a su izquierda

«Ohrmazd himself reunites their twofold nature, since it is said of him that he was at one and the same time the father and the mother of Creation.» — y Ohrmazd reúne, dice, la naturaleza doble, porque de él se dice que fue a la vez padre y madre de la Creación

«All the Seven together produced created beings by a liturgical act, that is, by celebrating the heavenly Liturgy.» — cómo produce esa cosmología: los Siete juntos produjeron los seres creados por un acto litúrgico, celebrando la Liturgia celeste

«As for the three feminine Archangels: Spenta Armaiti (Spendarmat, IsfandArmuz) has as her own hierurgy the Earth as a form of existence whose Image is Wisdom, and woman regarded as a being of light; to Haarvatat (integrity, KhurdAd) belong the Waters, the aquatic world in general; to Amertiit (immortality, MurdAd) belong the plants, the entire vegetable kingdom.» — y el femenino: a Spenta Armaiti le toca la Tierra como forma de existencia cuya Imagen es la Sabiduría, a Haurvatat las Aguas y a Ameretat las plantas; el troceo imprime *Haarvatat* y *Amertiit*

«These are the hierurgical relations that indicate to human beings precisely where and how to meet the invisible Powers of Light, that is, by cooperating with them for the salvation of the creatural region which is dependent on their particular providence.» — y el uso que Corbin les da: esas relaciones hierúrgicas indican dónde y cómo encontrar a los Poderes invisibles de Luz, cooperando con ellos por la salvación de la región creatural a su cargo

«In this work the supreme Archangels are helped in the first place by the many Yazatas ( lzad in Persian, literally the "Adorable Ones," who are the objects of a liturgy, a r asna); these are the Angels proper to Mazdaism, and the notion of their cooperation with the Amahraspands suggests a striking convergence with the angelology of Neoplatonism.» — la segunda fila de la jerarquía: los Yazatas, ángeles propios del mazdeísmo, cuya cooperación con los Amahraspands le parece a Corbin una convergencia notable con la angelología neoplatónica

«Among them is Zamyat, the feminine Angel of the Earth, as Dea Terrestris and telluric Glory, who cooperates with the Archangel AmertAt. Some people have regarded her as a mere doublet of Spenta Armaiti; in the end we shall see that their functions and their persons are distinct.» — y una disputa que consigna con su parte: algunos han tomado a Zamyat por mero doblete de Spenta Armaiti, y Corbin anuncia que se verá que sus funciones y sus personas son distintas

«Finally, there are the countless multitude of feminine celestial entities called Fravarti (literally, "those who have chosen," meaning those who have chosen to fight in order to come to the help of Ohrmazd) ;t7 who are at one and the same time the heavenly archetypes of beings and their respective tutelary angels;» — las Fravarti: literalmente las que han elegido —combatir en socorro de Ohrmazd—, arquetipos celestes de los seres y a la vez sus ángeles tutelares

«metaphysically they are no less necessary than the Y azatas, since without their help Ohrmazd could not have defended his creation against the destructive invasion of the demonic Powers.» — y su necesidad metafísica: sin su ayuda, según esa ontología, Ohrmazd no habría podido defender su creación de la invasión de los Poderes demoníacos

«Every physical or moral entity, every complete being or group of beings belonging to the world of Light, including Ohrmazd, the Amahraspands, and the lzads, has its Fravarti.» — la regla general que da: toda entidad física o moral del mundo de la Luz, incluidos Ohrmazd, los Amahraspands y los Izads, tiene su Fravarti

«What they announce to earthly beings is, therefore, an essentially dual structure that gives to each one a heavenly archetype or Angel, whose earthly counterpart he is.» — lo que Corbin lee en ellas: una estructura esencialmente dual que da a cada uno un arquetipo celeste o Ángel del que es la contraparte terrestre

«In this sense, there is a dualitude even more essential to Mazdean cosmology than is the dualism of Light-Darkness, which is its most commonly remembered aspect; this dualism merely expresses the dramatic phase undergone by the Creation of Light when invaded and blemished by the demonic Powers, and is a dualism which interprets this negativity without compromise, without reducing the evil to a privatio boni.» — y la distinción que sostiene contra la lectura corriente: hay en esa cosmología una *dualitud* más esencial que el dualismo Luz-Tinieblas, que solo expresa la fase dramática de la Creación invadida

«As for the essential dualitude, it conjoins one being of light with another being of light; but never can a being of light be complemented by a being of darkness, were it its own shadow: the property of bodies of light on the transfigured Earth is precisely not to "cast a shadow" and in the pleroma it is always "midday."» — la regla de la dualitud: conjunta un ser de luz con otro ser de luz, y nunca un ser de luz se completa con uno de tinieblas, ni con su propia sombra —los cuerpos de luz de la Tierra transfigurada no proyectan sombra y en el pleroma es siempre mediodía—

«This distinction is not exactly between the intelligible and the sensory, nor simply between the incorporeal and the corporeal (for the Celestial Powers have very subtle bodies of light) ;22 the distinction is rather a matter of the relationship between the invisible and the visible, the subtle and the dense, the heavenly and the earthly» — la distinción menok/getik, acotada: no es exactamente la de inteligible y sensible ni la de incorpóreo y corpóreo —los Poderes celestes tienen cuerpos sutilísimos de luz—, sino la de invisible y visible, sutil y denso

«provided it is clearly understood that the getik state (earthly, material) in itself by no means implies a degradation of being, but that it was itself, before the Ahrimanian invasion, as it will be thereafter, a glorious state of light, peace, and incorruptibility.» — con su límite explícito: el estado getik no implica de suyo degradación del ser, porque antes de la invasión ahrimánica era, y volverá a ser, estado glorioso de luz, paz e incorruptibilidad

«Every being can be thought of in its menok state, as well as in its getik state (for example, in its heavenly state, the earth is called zam; in its empirical, material, ponderable state it is called zamik, or zamin in Persian)» — y el ejemplo léxico con que lo fija: la tierra se llama *zam* en su estado celeste y *zamik* o *zamin* en el material y ponderable

«We must ask ourselves whether the invisible action of forces that have their purely physical expression in natural processes may not bring into play psychic energies that have been neglected or paralyzed by our habits, and directly touch an Imagination which, far from being arbitrary invention, corresponds to that Imagination which the alchemists called I maginatio vera and which is the astrum in homine.» — y la hipótesis que propone: que esas fuerzas pongan en juego energías psíquicas paralizadas por el hábito y toquen la Imaginación que los alquimistas llamaron *imaginatio vera* y *astrum in homine*

«The active Imagination thus induced will not produce some arbitrary, even lyrical, construction standing between us and "reality," but will, on the contrary, function directly as a faculty and organ of knowledge just as real as-if not more real» — la tesis sobre la Imaginación activa: no produce una construcción arbitraria interpuesta ante la realidad, sino que funciona como facultad y órgano de conocimiento tan real como los órganos de los sentidos, si no más

«However, it will perceive in the manner proper to it: The organ is not a sensory faculty but an archetype-Image that it possessed from the beginning; it is not something derived from any outer perception.» — con su modo propio: el órgano no es una facultad sensorial sino una Imagen-arquetipo poseída desde el principio, no derivada de percepción externa alguna

«And the property of this Image will be precisely that of effecting the transmutation of sensory data, their resolution into the purity of the subtle world, in order to restore them as symbols to be deciphered, the "key" being imprinted in the soul itself.» — y su propiedad: efectuar la transmutación de los datos sensoriales, resolverlos en la pureza del mundo sutil y devolverlos como símbolos por descifrar, con la clave impresa en el alma misma

«Of the three masculine Archangels: Vohu Manah (excellent thought, Vohuman in Pahlavi, Bahman in Persian) has undertaken the protection of the whole animal creation; Arta V ahishta (perfect existence, Artvahisht, Urdrbihisht), the government of Fire in all its different manifestations; Xshathra V airya (desirable reign, Shathrtvar, Shahrtvar), the» — el reparto de hierurgias masculinas: Vohu Manah protege toda la creación animal, Arta Vahishta gobierna el Fuego en sus distintas manifestaciones y Xshathra Vairya —cuyo dominio son los metales— cierra la terna; la frase se corta al pasar de plana

«classify this fact as imaginary, the question nonetheless remains as to what can justify an identification of what is imaginary with what is arbitrary and unreal, the question as to whether representations deriving from physical perception are the only ones to be considered as real knowledge, whether physically verifiable events alone can be evaluated as facts.» — las preguntas con que Corbin devuelve la objeción de lo imaginario: qué justifica identificar lo imaginario con lo arbitrario e irreal, y si solo lo físicamente verificable puede valer como hecho

«In iconography it is represented by the luminous halo, the Aura Gloriae, which haloes the kings and priests of the Mazdean religion, and later by transference, the figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as the heavenly figures of primitive Christian art.» — la iconografía de la Luz de Gloria que Corbin recorre: el halo luminoso de reyes y sacerdotes mazdeos y, por transferencia, el de budas y bodisatvas y el del arte cristiano primitivo

«Finally, a passage in the great Bundahishn, the Mazdean book of Genesis, fixes as precisely as one could wish the direction in which this imagery is tending, when it identifies Xvarnah, that Light which is Glory and Destiny, with the soul itself.» — y el paso que le parece decisivo: el gran Bundahishn identifica el Xvarnah —Luz que es Gloria y Destino— con el alma misma

«So this, finally and essentially, is the fundamental Image, in which and by which the soul understands itself and perceives its energies and its powers. In Mazdeism it represents what depth psychology has taught us to distinguish as the archetypal Image; here it is the Imago Animae.» — de ahí la equivalencia que propone: esa es la Imagen fundamental por la que el alma se entiende a sí misma, y representa lo que la psicología profunda enseñó a distinguir como Imagen arquetípica

«That Light of Glory, which is the archetype-Image of the Mazdean soul, is in fact the organ by which the soul perceives the world of light that is of the same nature as itself, and through which, originally and directly, the soul effects the transmutation of physical data, the very data which for us are "positive," but which for the soul would be "insignificant."» — la función que le atribuye: es el órgano por el que el alma percibe el mundo de luz de su misma naturaleza y transmuta los datos físicos que para nosotros son positivos y para ella serían insignificantes

«In short, it is by this projection of its own Image that the soul, in effecting the transmutation of the material Earth, also establishes from the beginning an Imago Terrae that reflects and announces its own Image to the soul, that is to say, an Image whose Xvarnah is also the soul's own Xvarnah.» — el mecanismo que resume: al proyectar su propia Imagen el alma establece una Imago Terrae que le devuelve su Imagen, con el mismo Xvarnah

«It is at that point -in and by this double reflection of the same Light» — y en esa doble reflexión de la misma Luz de Gloria es donde, según Corbin, el Ángel de la Tierra se revela a la vista mental

«when it is pointed out that the Amahraspand Spenta Armaiti, the feminine Archangel of earthly existence, is the "mother" of Daenii.» — el rasgo de la angelología mazdea que dice apenas ponderado hasta ahora: Spenta Armaiti, arcángel femenina de la existencia terrestre, es la madre de Daena

«DaenA is, in fact, the feminine Angel who typifies the transcendent or celestial "I"; she appears to the soul at the dawn following the third night after its departure from this world; she is its Glory and its Destiny, its Aeon.» — quién es Daena, según él: el Ángel femenino que tipifica el yo trascendente o celeste y que se aparece al alma en el alba siguiente a la tercera noche tras su partida de este mundo

«The meaning of this indication, therefore, is that the substance of the celestial "I" or Resurrection Body is engendered and formed from the celestial Earth, that is, from the Earth perceived and meditated in its Angel.» — y lo que Corbin lee en esa filiación: la sustancia del yo celeste o Cuerpo de Resurrección se engendra y se forma desde la Tierra celeste, la Tierra percibida y meditada en su Ángel

«What it also means is that the destiny of the Earth entrusted to the transfigurative power of the souls of light leads to the fulfillment of these souls, and that this is reciprocal.» — con su reciprocidad: el destino de la Tierra confiado al poder transfigurador de las almas de luz lleva al cumplimiento de esas almas, y al revés

«And such is the profound meaning of the Mazdean prayer, many times repeated in the course of the liturgies: "May we be among those who are to bring about the Transfiguration of the Earth"» — y la plegaria mazdea en que lo cifra, repetida en las liturgias: ojalá seamos de los que han de traer la Transfiguración de la Tierra

«Spenta Armaiti, who in the Pahlavi texts is interpreted as perfect Thought, silent Meditation, and whose name, excellently translated by Plutarch as Sophia, lights the path of Mazdean sophiology-Spenta Armaiti» — la traducción que Corbin apoya en Plutarco: Spenta Armaiti, interpretada en los textos pahlavíes como Pensamiento perfecto y Meditación silenciosa, es la Sophia que alumbra la sofiología mazdea

«is the "mother" of DaenA, and at the same time the one concerning whom the Mazdean believer, on his initiation at the age of fifteen, is taught to profess: "My mother is Spendarmat, Archangel of the Earth, and my father is Ohrmazd, the Lord Wisdom.» — y la profesión que se enseña al creyente mazdeo en su iniciación a los quince años: su madre es Spendarmat, arcángel de la Tierra, y su padre Ohrmazd, el Señor Sabiduría

«In what is here the principium relationis we can perceive something like a Mazdean sacramentum Terrae; in its essence, and from the very name Spenta Arrnaiti Sophia, it can be described as a geosophy, that is to say as being the Sophianic mystery of the Earth, whose consummation will be its eschatological Transfiguration ( Frash» — el nombre que Corbin le da a esa relación: algo como un *sacramentum Terrae* mazdeo, describible como geosofía —el misterio sofiánico de la Tierra— cuya consumación es el Frashkart; la palabra se parte al pasar de plana

«The perception of the Sophianic mystery of the Earth, of geosophy, obviously cannot take place in the framework of positive geography. It presupposes a visionary geography, what has been rightly called a "landscape of X -varnah," that is, a landscape prefiguring the Frashkart.» — el requisito que pone: el misterio sofiánico de la Tierra no cabe en la geografía positiva, sino que presupone una geografía visionaria, un paisaje de Xvarnah que prefigura el Frashkart

«This is not spread over profane, previously determined space, but is concentrated or concentrates a sacral space in medio mundi, in the center of the vision contemplated in the presence of the visionary soul (or of the visionary community), and this space does not need to be situated, since it is of itself situati-ve.» — y su topología: no se despliega sobre espacio profano previamente determinado, sino que concentra un espacio sacral *in medio mundi*, que no necesita ser situado porque es él mismo situativo

«Geographical features, mountains for instance, are here no longer merely physical features; they have a significance for the soul; they are psycho-cosmic aspects. The events that take place there consist in the very seeing of these aspects; they are psychic events.» — de ahí que las montañas dejen de ser rasgos físicos para volverse aspectos psicocósmicos, y que los sucesos que ahí ocurren consistan en el ver mismo de esos aspectos

«So the paradise of Yima, the paradise of the archetypes, exists in this center because it is the meeting place of the Heavenly Beings and the Earthly Beings.» — y el paraíso de Yima, paraíso de los arquetipos, existe en ese centro por ser el lugar de encuentro de los Seres Celestes y los Terrestres

«Just as a landscape of X -varnah cannot be expressed by representative art, but has essentially to do with symbolic art, so this map making does not lead to reproducing the outlines of a continent.» — el límite de la cartografía irania que va a exponer: como el paisaje de Xvarnah no cabe en arte representativo, ese mapeo no reproduce los contornos de un continente

«Rather, it shapes an instrument for meditation that makes it possible mentally to reach the center, the medium mundi, or rather to take position there directly.» — sino que forma un instrumento de meditación para alcanzar mentalmente el *medium mundi*, o más bien para tomar posición ahí directamente

«Only a visionary geography can be the scene of visionary events, because it itself takes part in them; plants, water, mountains are transmuted into symbols, that is, perceived by the organ of an Image which itself is the presence of a visionary state.» — y la razón: solo una geografía visionaria puede ser escenario de sucesos visionarios, porque participa en ellos, y plantas, aguas y montañas se transmutan en símbolos

«In the beginning, the Earth was established as a continuous whole, but, because of oppression by the demonic Powers, it was divided into seven kesh-vars [kish-var 1 ( Avestan karsh-var)» — el esquema mazdeo de la superficie terrestre: la Tierra se estableció como un todo continuo y, por la opresión de los Poderes demoníacos, quedó dividida en siete keshvars

«This word should be understood as representing something analogous to the Latin or his: these keshvars are zones of Terra firma, rather than "climates." Not only is the image not the same etymologically, but it is advisable to forestall confusion with the division into climates properly so called, which will come later.» — y el deslinde terminológico que Corbin impone: los keshvars son zonas de *terra firma*, análogas al *orbis* latino, y no *climas*, para evitar la confusión con la división en climas propiamente dicha

«There is the central keshvar, called X vaniratha (which means something like "luminous wheel") , 8' the extent of which in itself alone is equal to that of all the six other keshvars, which are arranged around it and separated one from another by the cosmic ocean that surrounds them.» — el keshvar central, Xvaniratha —*rueda luminosa*—, cuya extensión iguala por sí sola la de los otros seis, dispuestos alrededor y separados por el océano cósmico

«There is one eastern keshvar, one western keshvar, two to the north, two to the south. The keshvar on the eastern side is called Savahi; the one on the western side, Arezahi; the two keshvars to the south are Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu; the two to the north are Vourubareshti and Vourjareshti. The mythical ocean surrounding and dividing them is called Vourukasha.» — y el nomenclátor completo de los seis periféricos y del océano mítico Vourukasha que los rodea y los divide

«The names of the six keshvars that surround the central climate of X vaniratha actually correspond to mythical regions (Fig. 1). For this reason it has been possible to take North West» — la lectura del nomenclátor: los nombres de los seis keshvars periféricos corresponden a regiones míticas, lo que permitió tomarlos por topografía celeste aplicada después a localidades terrestres

«As for the significance of the names of these keshvars, we can divine it from the names of the six Saoshyants (Saviors) that correspond to them symmetrically, that is, from the names of the six heroes who, each in his own respective keshvar, will cooperate with the last of the Saoshyants in the transfiguration of the world.» — y la clave que propone para esos nombres: los de los seis Saoshyants que les corresponden simétricamente, los héroes que cooperarán en la transfiguración del mundo

«As we have just said, the arrangement of these keshvars corresponding to mythical regions does not confirm the data of positive geography, but gives shape to the Imago Terrae projected by the imaginative perception.» — el límite que Corbin repite: esa disposición no confirma los datos de la geografía positiva, sino que da forma a la Imago Terrae proyectada por la percepción imaginativa

«Airyanem Vaejah (Pahlavi Eran-Vej), the cradle or seed of the Aryans ( = Iranians) , is in X vaniratha at the center of the central keshvar. There it was that the Kayanids, the heroes of legend, were created; there, the Mazdean religion was founded and from there spread into the other keshvars; there will be born the last of the Saoshyants, who will reduce Ahriman to impotence and bring about the resurrection and the existence to come.» — qué es Airyanem Vaejah según esa cosmología: la cuna de los arios en el centro del keshvar central, donde se crearon los héroes kayánidas, se fundó la religión mazdea y nacerá el último de los Saoshyants

«This was the method of circular representation that the Iranian geographers of the Sassanid period transmitted to the Arabs; YAqOt, for instance, working from ancient data, expressly attributes this method» — la procedencia de la cartografía circular que expone: la transmitieron a los árabes los geógrafos iranios de época sasánida, y Yaqut se la atribuye expresamente a Zoroastro

«In fact, it determines a structure independent of all systems of spatial coordinates: "to posit an origin is all it requires.» — lo que hace esa estructura, según Corbin: es independiente de todo sistema de coordenadas espaciales, y le basta con poner un origen

«In contemplating this structure, one's attention converges toward the center and is always called back there, since the location, direction, and orientation of the other keshvars are determined by the center and originate from it (in order to grasp the contrast, it suffices to compare it with the cartographical method of Ptolemy, in which climates are represented by parallel belts ranging outward from the equator).» — y el contraste que traza: aquí la atención converge siempre hacia el centro, que determina lugar, dirección y orientación de los demás keshvars, frente al método de Ptolomeo con sus fajas paralelas al ecuador

«the mental process of remembering is the same: the Events took place and are remembered in £rAn-Vej, that is, at the center, which is at the same time the origin.» — el desplazamiento que propone: se sitúe donde se sitúe la historia primitiva de los iranios, el proceso mental del recuerdo es el mismo, porque los sucesos ocurrieron y se recuerdan en Eran-Vej, que es a la vez centro y origen

«The presence of the subject at the center is not a situated presence but a situati've presence. In medio mundi the soul is no longer bound to spatial coordinates. Instead of "falling into," of having to be situated in a predetermined space, the soul itself "spatializes," is always the origin of the spatial references and determines their structure.» — y la distinción que sostiene: esa presencia no es situada sino situativa, y el alma, en vez de caer en un espacio predeterminado, espacializa ella misma

«That is why we find here, not an empirical representation, but an archetypal figure.» — de ahí que lo que hay, dice, no sea una representación empírica sino una figura arquetípica

«because it is not in dispersion but in concentration that the Imago Terrae can reflect its own Image back to the soul, or reciprocally, that the soul can fix its meditation on the archetype-Image.» — y la condición que impone: solo en concentración, no en dispersión, puede la Imago Terrae devolver su Imagen al alma

«This was, for example, the meaning of the art and structure of gardens in Iran (it is known that our word paradiat originated from» — el ejemplo que trae: el arte y la estructura de los jardines en Irán, de cuya palabra meda *pairidaeza* viene, dice, nuestro *paraíso*; el troceo imprime *paradiat*

«That is why it can be said that the representation of the Earth with its seven keshvars as an archetype-Figure is an instrument for meditation. It is offered as a mandala.» — la tesis de la sección: la representación de la Tierra con sus siete keshvars como Figura-arquetipo es un instrumento de meditación, ofrecido como mandala

«It guides a movement of thought that travels, not on a syllogistic or dialectical track, but as in the way of the ta'wil, the exegesis of symbols, a spiritual exegesis leading back to the origin, which is the center,42 there precisely where the apparent can be occultated and the hidden manifested (just as in alchemy, as noted above)» — y guía, dice, un movimiento del pensamiento que no va por vía silogística ni dialéctica sino como el ta’wil, exégesis de símbolos que reconduce al origen, ahí donde lo aparente se oculta y lo oculto se manifiesta, igual que en alquimia

«This, indeed, is the real transmutation of what is written (whether in a book or in the cosmos) into symbols; what is written is raised to incandescence and the hidden significance shines through the covering, which becomes transparent.» — la operación que llama transmutación real de lo escrito, en el libro o en el cosmos: lo escrito se lleva a incandescencia y el sentido oculto traspasa la envoltura vuelta transparente

«From this point we can grasp the connection of such a cartography with the events of a visionary geography, the geography of a world that secretes its own light, like those Byzantine mosaics whose gold illumines the space they encompass, or like the icons or landscapes of some Persian school, where the red-gold background transfigures the colors; or like the paradise of Virna, in medio mundi, and also the Earth of HurqalyA, on which we shall dwell at length in the following pages.» — y el enlace que hace con la geografía visionaria: un mundo que segrega su propia luz, como los mosaicos bizantinos o los paisajes de cierta escuela persa de fondo rojo-oro

«Where did the Zoroastrian preaching take place? Where was :ErAn-Vej, since it was in :ErAn-Vej that Zarathustra had his visions and began to teach?» — la pregunta que dice haber atormentado a generaciones de orientalistas: dónde predicó Zoroastro, dónde estaba Eran-Vej

«Today most orientalists take for granted that the place of his preaching (which we can still hear in reading the Gathas ) , was in central Asia, somewhere in the upper Oxus region, at the eastern boundary of the Iranian world.» — y los dos bandos que consigna sin arbitrar: hoy la mayoría de los orientalistas da por sentado que la predicación fue en Asia central, en el alto Oxo, al este del mundo iranio

«On the other hand, this prevalent scientific certainty contradicts later Iranian traditions, of the SAsAnid and post-SAsAnid period, which would place the birth and preaching of Zarathustra on the western boundary of the Iranian world, in Azerbaijan.» — mientras que las tradiciones iranias sasánidas y possasánidas ponen el nacimiento y la predicación en Azerbaiyán, al oeste

«There have been attempts to reconcile these contradictions but always with the wish to remain on the ground of positive facts: Zarathustra was probably born in the West but his preaching probably took place in the East.» — y el arreglo intermedio que registra: Zoroastro nació probablemente en el Oeste y predicó probablemente en el Este

«A recent solution was clearly inspired by the system of the keshvars. In this case it is suggested that the sacred history of primitive Zoroastrianism took place in the East of the Iranian world; that the Zoroastrian mission then penetrated progressively toward the West of the Iranian world until one fine day the geographic orientation was simply reversed (the eastern keshvar became the western keshvar). Even the word "falsification" comes into it on the grounds that the western Magi identified the holy places of sacred history (the Arax, Mount Savalan, the holy city of Shlz) after the event, without this identification having the least "historical" value!» — la solución reciente que resume, con la palabra que la acompaña: la orientación geográfica se habría invertido y los magos occidentales habrían identificado los lugares santos a posteriori, lo que se llamó falsificación

«In reality, the term "falsification" is completely irrelevant, since these questions point in fact to the preservation of the structure of an essentially qualitative space, whose regions are ordered in relation to one another, not according to preestablished geometrical coordinates, but according to their intrinsic qualification.» — y su objeción: el término falsificación es del todo impertinente, porque lo que se conserva es la estructura de un espacio cualitativo cuyas regiones se ordenan por su cualificación intrínseca

«If there was complete transposition of .the pl~ce of historical scenes, this fact presupposes and bears witness m the first place to the possibility of a mental operation, the verification and significance of which elude positive science, which, bound as it is to material data alone, is thereby reduced to suspecting "falsification," even if unconscious.» — su diagnóstico del reparo: la transposición atestigua una operación mental cuya verificación escapa a la ciencia positiva, que por atenerse a datos materiales queda reducida a sospechar falsificación; el troceo imprime esa línea dañada

«Or rather, since this center is still and at all times the Center, there has, in the reality of the psychic event, been no real transfer (in space).» — y la consecuencia que saca: como ese centro es siempre el Centro, en la realidad del suceso psíquico no hubo traslado real en el espacio

«It is by no means our intention to relegate the sacred history of Zoroastrianism to the "realm of legend."» — la abstención que declara expresamente: no es su intención relegar la historia sagrada del zoroastrismo al reino de la leyenda

«This organ of remembrance and religious meditation is precisely the archetype-Image which, by being projected onto materially diverse geographical spaces, has been able to transmute them by bringing them back to itself as Center, in such a way that the hierophanic space is always and in each case at the center.» — lo que pone en su lugar: la Imagen-arquetipo como órgano de rememoración, que al proyectarse sobre espacios geográficos diversos los transmuta devolviéndolos a sí como Centro

«Hierophanies take place in the soul, not in things. And it is the event in the soul that situates, qualifies, and sacralizes the space in which it is imagined.» — y la fórmula con que cierra el argumento: las hierofanías ocurren en el alma, no en las cosas, y es el suceso del alma el que sitúa, cualifica y sacraliza el espacio

«There are the memorable liturgies, celebrated by Ohrmazd himself, by the celestial beings, by the legendary heroes.» — qué sucesos ocurren en Eran-Vej según esos textos: las liturgias memorables celebradas por Ohrmazd mismo, por los seres celestes y por los héroes legendarios

«It was in £rAn-Vej that Ohrmazd himself celebrated liturgies in honor of Ardvl SurA AnAhitA, "the High, the Sovereign, the Immaculate," the Angel-Goddess of the celestial Waters, in order to ask her that Zarathustra be attached to him and be his faithful prophet» — la primera: Ohrmazd celebrando liturgias en honor de Ardvi Sura Anahita, ángel-diosa de las Aguas celestes, para pedirle que Zaratustra le quedara unido como profeta fiel

«In order for the "real'' Elburz to correspond to this visionary space, for example, the active Imagination has to recapture it in its archetypal species. That is why we can leave aside here all discussion of positive material topography, and concern ourselves only with the Image, insofar as it is an organ of perception, and insofar as it is itself perceived through a psycho-geography.» — la operación que Corbin pide para el Elburz: la Imaginación activa tiene que recobrarlo en su especie arquetípica, y por eso deja de lado la topografía material y se ocupa solo de la Imagen

«Elburz has not ceased to grow during eight hundred years: two hundred years to the station of the stars, two hundred years to the station of the Moon, two hundred years to the station of the Sun, and two hundred years to that of the infinite Lights. 51 Now, these are the four degrees of the Mazdean Heaven.» — el dato que trae de la tradición: el Elburz creció ochocientos años, doscientos hasta cada una de las cuatro estaciones —estrellas, Luna, Sol y Luces infinitas—, que son los cuatro grados del Cielo mazdeo

«Elburz is therefore indeed the cosmic mountain, raised up by the supreme effort made by the Earth in order not to be separated from Heaven. It is "the resplendent mountain ... where there is neither night, nor darkness, nor sickness with a thousand deaths, nor infection created by the demons.» — y su lectura: es la montaña cósmica alzada por el esfuerzo supremo de la Tierra para no separarse del Cielo, la montaña resplandeciente sin noche ni tinieblas ni enfermedad

«And the other mountains all originate from it, as if from a gigantic tree growing and thrusting out roots from which spring other trees. The mountain system thus forms a network in which each peak is a knot.» — y el sistema orográfico que se sigue: las demás montañas nacen de ella como de un árbol gigantesco, formando una red donde cada cumbre es un nudo

«As against this, the situation of these high peaks teaches us about the Earth as an event lived by the soul, that is, it shows us in what manner the Earth has been meditated by the organ of the active Imagination.» — el giro que le da: la situación de esas cumbres enseña sobre la Tierra como suceso vivido por el alma, es decir, cómo la meditó el órgano de la Imaginación activa

«All the mountains where the active Imagination perceives a hierophany of the Xvarnah are in :Eran-Vej, in medio mundi; on them, the X varnah projects the scenes of the events experienced or foreseen, giving body to them, because the active Imagination is in itself their substance and their body, that which at the same time enacts them and experiences them.» — la regla que formula: todas las montañas donde la Imaginación activa percibe una hierofanía del Xvarnah están en Eran-Vej, *in medio mundi*, y la Imaginación es a la vez su sustancia y su cuerpo

«There is in :Eran-Vej a mountain called Hukairya (Hugar, the very high) , 54 a mountain which is as high as the stars, and from which pours down the torrent of the heavenly Waters of Ardvr Sura Anahita, "the High, the Sovereign, the Immaculate,"55 a torrent "possessing a Xvarnah as great as all the Waters together which flow upon the Earth.» — la montaña Hukairya, alta como las estrellas, de la que se despeña el torrente de las Aguas celestes de Ardvi Sura Anahita con un Xvarnah tan grande como el de todas las aguas de la Tierra juntas

«Marvelous plants and trees grow in or around this wellspring, and above all the white Haoma, "Gaokarena,"57 of which it is said: "He who partakes of it becomes immortal.» — y el Haoma blanco, Gaokarena, que crece en esa fuente y del que se dice que quien lo toma se vuelve inmortal

«That is why the Elixir of immortality will be made from this at the moment of the final Transfiguration. The tree which cures all ills and "in which are deposited the seeds of all plants,"» — de ahí, dice, se hará el Elixir de inmortalidad en el momento de la Transfiguración final, junto al árbol que cura todos los males y guarda las semillas de todas las plantas

«However, she is by no means the "Te1·ra Mater" after the manner of Cybele,» — y el deslinde que hace de Ardvi Sura: no es una *Terra Mater* al modo de Cibeles, sino más bien una Virgen de las Aguas, pura, casta, inmaculada, que recuerda a la Ártemis griega

«In :Eran-Vej, close by the mountain of Hukairya, there is a mountain of the dawns ( Ushidarena). The liturgical chant to the Angel Zamyat opens with a strophe in praise of this mountain of the dawns. It is made of ruby, of the substance of heaven; it is situated in the middle of the cosmic sea Vourukasha, into which it pours the waters it receives from Hukairya. It is the first mountain to be lighted up by the auroral fires;61 for this reason, it is the receptacle, the treasury of the dawns» — la montaña de las auroras, Ushidarena, hecha de rubí y de sustancia de cielo, primera en encenderse con los fuegos aurorales y por eso tesoro de las auroras

«It is said that "the mountain first lighted up by the rays of the dawn also enlightens the intelligence, since dawn and intelligence are one ( usha and ushi)» — y la homofonía en que la tradición apoya su otra virtud: aurora e inteligencia son una, *usha* y *ushi*

«And now the connection becomes clear: it is at the dawn that rises after the third night following death that the soul has to face the ordeal of the Chinvat Bridge.» — el enlace escatológico que declara: es en el alba que sigue a la tercera noche tras la muerte cuando el alma afronta la prueba del Puente de Chinvat

«The souls are in the light of dawn when they go to render their account; their passing takes place through the splendid dawn.» — y el dicho ritual que lo cifra: las almas están en la luz del alba cuando van a rendir cuentas

«So what is perceived here in the mountain haloed by the Glory of the dawns is not an astronomical phenomenon, but the dawn of immortality: the Imago Gloriae being projected onto the rising dawn, this dawn appears to the soul as the anticipated presence of a state already lived, that is, as the anticipation of its personal eschatology.» — la conclusión que saca: lo que se percibe en esa montaña no es un fenómeno astronómico sino el alba de la inmortalidad, anticipación de la propia escatología

«From its summit springs the Bridge of Chinvat, at the entrance to which takes place the meeting of the soul either with DaenA, its heavenly "1," or, on the contrary, with the terrible apparition that reflects nothing but an "I," mutilated and disfigured by every kind of ugliness, cut off from its celestial archetype.» — la otra cumbre, el Chakad-i-Daitik, de cuyo vértice arranca el Puente de Chinvat, donde el alma encuentra a Daena o, al contrario, la aparición terrible de un yo mutilado y cortado de su arquetipo celeste

«The perfect soul crosses the Bridge of Chinvat by the impetus of its spiritual flight and the power of its actions: it moves on towards the stars, then to the Moon, then to the Sun, and then to the infinite Lights.» — y el itinerario del alma perfecta al cruzarlo: estrellas, Luna, Sol y Luces infinitas, los mismos cuatro tramos del crecimiento del Elburz

«In fact, none of these-the dawns blazing on the mountain tops, the torrents of spring water, the plants of immortality growing in them-belong to the empirical earth accessible to the neutral verification of sensory perception.» — la advertencia que repite: ni las auroras de las cumbres, ni los torrentes, ni las plantas de inmortalidad pertenecen a la tierra empírica accesible a la verificación neutral de los sentidos

«Here we already glimpse that what the soul perceives through its Imago Terrae is actually both its own archetypal Image and the enactment of its own mental dramaturgy.» — lo que el alma percibe por su Imago Terrae es, según Corbin, a la vez su propia Imagen arquetípica y la puesta en obra de su propia dramaturgia mental

«That is why terrestrial phenomena are more than phenomena: they are the hierophanies proper to Mazdeism which, in beings and things, reveal who these beings and these things are, that is, who their heavenly person, the source of their Xvarnah, is.» — de ahí que los fenómenos terrestres sean más que fenómenos: hierofanías que revelan quiénes son esos seres, es decir cuál es su persona celeste, fuente de su Xvarnah

«The active Imagination perceives and shows to itself an Earth which is other than that Earth which is seen in ordinary sensory experience. That other Earth is the Earth irradiated and transfigured by X varnah.» — la tesis del apartado: la Imaginación activa se muestra a sí misma una Tierra distinta de la de la experiencia sensorial ordinaria, irradiada y transfigurada por el Xvarnah

«But the Light of Glory is most certainly not a material quality inherent in sensory substances, perceptible by all men without distinction; phenomenologically, we should understand it as being at the same time the Light which constitutes, haloes, and enlightens the soul, and the primordial Image of itself which the soul projects.» — con su acotación fenomenológica: la Luz de Gloria no es una cualidad material inherente a las sustancias sensibles ni perceptible por todos indistintamente

«The soul must, indeed, have an Image of itself of such a kind that, by projecting it, it can discover in its vision the figures of the Light of Glory.» — y la condición que impone: el alma ha de tener de sí una Imagen tal que, al proyectarla, pueda descubrir en su visión las figuras de la Luz de Gloria

«The Image of the Earth is revealed here in the form of an Angel, because it is imagined in the Image of the soul; their homology is revealed in the very kinship of their Angels.» — la homología con que cierra: la Imagen de la Tierra se revela en forma de Ángel porque se imagina a imagen del alma, y su parentesco se revela en el de sus Ángeles

«number-the number 2244 is alluded to in the tradition: some have been pronounced "real," others "mythical." The only thing that guides us with any certainty is the Image, which apprehends both the "real" ones and the "mythical."» — la disputa sobre las cumbres —la tradición alude al número 2 244 y unas se han dado por reales y otras por míticas— y la única guía que Corbin acepta: la Imagen, que aprehende las dos clases

«the heavenly waters of Ardvi SorA, the plants of AmertAt, all of them-the dawns, waters, and plants-are per» — la razón que da: las auroras, las aguas y las plantas se perciben en su Ángel, porque bajo la apariencia la aparición se hace visible a la Imaginación

«That is why the Mazdean phenomenology of the Earth is, properly speaking, an angelology.» — la fórmula con que Corbin cierra el argumento: la fenomenología mazdea de la Tierra es, propiamente hablando, una angelología

«Out of geographical studies, a new line of study, described as psychological geography, has developed in our day: 70 The intention is to discover the psychological factors that come into play in the conformation given to a landscape.» — la disciplina contemporánea con la que se emparenta: la geografía psicológica, que busca los factores psicológicos en juego en la conformación de un paisaje

«The phenomenological presupposition implicit in research of this kind is that the essential functions of the soul, the psyche, include the projection of a nature, a physis; conversely, each physical structure discloses the mode of psycho-spiritual activity that brings it into operation.» — y el presupuesto fenomenológico que le atribuye: entre las funciones esenciales del alma está la proyección de una *physis*, y cada estructura física revela a su vez el modo de actividad psicoespiritual que la pone en obra

«How can one represent an earthly landscape in which everything is transfigured by that Light of Glory which the soul projects onto it? When the Mazdean soul perceives that this Energy of sacral light is the power that causes the springs to gush forth, the plants to germinate, the clouds to sail by, human beings to be born, that it is the power that lights up their intelligence, endows them with» — el problema que plantea el paisaje de Xvarnah y su resolución: nada de eso cabe en pintura representativa, sino solo en un arte eminentemente simbólico

«As the earthly splendor of the divinity, the X varnah Imagined by the soul transfigures the Earth into a heavenly Earth, a glorious landscape symbolizing with the paradisal landscape of the beyond.» — y lo que hace ese Xvarnah imaginado por el alma: transfigura la Tierra en Tierra celeste, paisaje glorioso que simboliza con el paisaje paradisíaco del más allá

«Perhaps the best illustration of this which has come down to us today is to be found in a late manuscript which so far is considered unique of its kind, whose full-page paintings in fantastic colors were executed at Shiraz in southern Persia at the end of the fourteenth century» — la ilustración que Corbin da por mejor, con su reserva —*perhaps*—: un manuscrito tardío de Shiraz, tenido hasta ahora por único en su género

«And here it would be appropriate to recall the landscapes in certain Byzantine mosaics, without even pausing to consider controversial questions about material influences or historical causality.» — y la comparación que añade absteniéndose de la disputa: los paisajes de ciertos mosaicos bizantinos, sin detenerse en cuestiones controvertidas de influencia material o causalidad histórica

«The second example of imagination of the celestial Earth can be observed in that sacred botany that connects the cultivation of flowers and floral art with the liturgy.» — el segundo ejemplo de imaginación de la Tierra celeste: la botánica sagrada que enlaza el cultivo de las flores y el arte floral con la liturgia

«A characteristic feature of Mazdean angelology is to give each of its Archangels and Angels a flower as an emblem, to point out, as it were, that if one wishes mentally to contemplate each of these heavenly Figures and to become the receptacle of their Energies, then the best instrument of meditation is indeed the flower which is their respective symbol.» — el rasgo que aísla: la angelología mazdea da a cada arcángel y ángel una flor por emblema, y esa flor es el mejor instrumento de meditación para contemplarlos

«So, for each of the Archangels or Angels to whom one day of the month is respectively consecrated, and for whom that day is named, there is a corresponding flower. For Ohrmazd, myrtle. For Vohuman, white jasmine. For Artavahisht, marjoram. For Shatrlvar, the royal plant (basil) . For Spendarmat, musk (sweet basil). For KhordAt, the lily. For Amertat, that perfumed yellow flower called "campak" in Sanskrit.» — y el calendario floral completo que enumera, de los Amahraspands: mirto para Ohrmazd, jazmín blanco para Vohuman, mejorana para Artavahisht, albahaca real para Shatrivar, almizcle para Spendarmat, lirio para Khordat y la flor amarilla perfumada para Ameretat

«These flowers played an important role in ancient Zoroastrian liturgical practise; certain flowers were used for each Angel whose liturgy was being particularly celebrated. The ancient Persians, too, had a language of flowers, which was a sacred language.» — y el uso litúrgico que declara: ciertas flores servían para cada ángel cuya liturgia se celebraba, y los antiguos persas tuvieron un lenguaje de las flores que era lengua sagrada

«In their turn, the art of gardens and the cultivation of a garden thus acquire the meaning of a liturgy and a mental actualization of a vision. In this art, flowers play the part of the materia pritna for alchemical meditation.» — de ahí el sentido que atribuye al arte de los jardines: liturgia y actualización mental de una visión, donde las flores hacen de *materia prima* de la meditación alquímica; el troceo imprime *materia pritna*

«This means mentally reconstituting Paradise, keeping comPany with heavenly beings; contemplation of the flowers which are their emblems evoke psychic reactions, which transmute the forms contemPlated into energies corresponding to them; these psychic energies are finally dissolved into states of consciousness, into states of mental vision through which the heavenly Figures appear.» — y la cadena que describe: la contemplación de las flores-emblema evoca reacciones psíquicas que transmutan las formas en energías y estas se disuelven en estados de visión mental por los que aparecen las Figuras celestes

«The Earth of Visions has to be reached in med,io mundi, where real events are the uisiozs them' selves. And such, indeed, are the events described in the Recitals concerning the prophetic investiture of Zarathus» — la regla que repite: la Tierra de las Visiones se alcanza *in medio mundi*, donde los sucesos reales son las visiones mismas

«To have desire for Eran-Vej is to desire the Earth of Visions, to reach the center of the world, the celestial Earth, where the meeting with the Immortal Saints takes place.» — y su lectura: desear Eran-Vej es desear la Tierra de las Visiones, alcanzar el centro del mundo, donde ocurre el encuentro con los Santos Inmortales

«The landscapes and events are completely real, and yet they no longer depend on positive topography, nor on chronological history.» — la formulación que Corbin repite con su matiz: los paisajes y los sucesos son completamente reales y aun así no dependen de la topografía positiva ni de la historia cronológica

«An essential clue is that access to ErAn-Vej is a rupture with the laws of the physical world. A large expanse of water stands in the way of the little group; led by Zarathustra, all of them cross it without even stripping off their clothes: "As a vessel glides over the flowing waves, so did they walk on the surface of the water"» — la señal que da por esencial: el acceso a Eran-Vej rompe las leyes del mundo físico, y el grupo cruza el agua caminando sobre ella sin desvestirse

«The arrival in :ErAn-Vej, the Earth of Visions in media mundi, takes place on the last day of the year (the eve of N aw Raz; in Shi'Ite theosophy, the parousia of the hidden ImAm likewise occurs on the first day of the year, the Naw Raz)» — la fecha como signo hierofánico: la llegada a Eran-Vej ocurre el último día del año, y Corbin apunta que en la teosofía chií la parusía del Imam oculto ocurre igualmente en el Naw Ruz

«Now, each Mazdean month, as well as the whole year, is the homologue of the Aeon, the great cycle» — y por qué la fecha significa: cada mes mazdeo y el año entero son homólogos del Eón, así que la fecha anuncia el fin de un milenio y el alba de una edad nueva

«Here the dates are those of a liturgical cycle commemorating and repeating the "events in Heaven."» — la conclusión sobre las fechas: son las de un ciclo litúrgico que conmemora y repite los sucesos en el Cielo

«Thus he returns to the origin, to the archetypal world, the necessary prelude to the direct vision of the archetypal Powers of light.» — el sentido que da al regreso de Zaratustra al río Daiti donde nació: vuelve al origen, al mundo arquetípico, preludio necesario de la visión directa de los Poderes arquetípicos de luz

«Here the Zoroastrian tradition has captured so well the feeling of the psycho-spiritual importance of the event that it applies the process of the ta'wil or esoteric exegesis of the Spirituals of Islam to the external date, and leads the Event back to the spiritual reality that gives it its theme and structure.» — y lo que Corbin ve hacer a la tradición zoroástrica con ese pasaje: aplicarle el proceso del ta’wil de los espirituales del islam y reconducir el suceso a la realidad espiritual que le da tema y estructura

«The crossing of the four branches of the river DAitl is equivalent in this context to the mental achievement of the totality of the Aeon. It represents Zarathustra redivivus in the person of the three Saoshyants issued from his Xvarnah, who will bring about the transfiguration of the world» — la equivalencia que la tradición traza: cruzar los cuatro brazos del río equivale al cumplimiento mental de la totalidad del Eón, y representa a Zaratustra *redivivus* en los tres Saoshyants salidos de su Xvarnah

«And when the first theophany takes place, when the vision takes the shape of the Archangel Bahman ( Vohu Manah), of prestigious beauty, "resplendent from afar like the sun and clothed in a robe of light,"75 the Archangel orders Zarathustra to put off his dress, that is, his material body, his organs of sensory perception, and allow himself to be taken into the dazzling presence of the divine thearchy of the Seven.» — la primera teofanía: el arcángel Bahman, resplandeciente de lejos como el sol y vestido de luz, ordena a Zaratustra quitarse el vestido, es decir su cuerpo material y sus órganos de percepción sensorial

«The dialogue opens in the manner of the dialogue between Hermes and his Nous, Poimandres. The Archangel asks: ''Tell me your name, what you seek in the world, and to what you aspire.» — y el paralelo que Corbin traza: el diálogo se abre al modo del de Hermes con su Nous, Poimandres, con la pregunta por el nombre y por lo que se busca en el mundo

«Here a new detail of mystical physiology is given-as soon as Zarathustra entered the assembly of the Celestials, he no longer "sees the projection of his own shadow on the ground, because of the dazzling splendor of the Archangels"» — el detalle de fisiología mística que le importa: entrado en la asamblea de los Celestes, Zaratustra ya no ve la proyección de su sombra en el suelo

«It means that to take off the "material dress" is to foretaste the state of the Body of Light, or resurrection body, the pure diaphanous incandescence of Archangelical Lights; this pure incandescence unites with the Lights without casting a shadow, because it is itself a source of light.» — y su lectura: quitarse el vestido material es pregustar el estado del Cuerpo de Luz, incandescencia diáfana que se une a las Luces sin proyectar sombra porque es ella misma fuente de luz

«Not to cast a shadow is the property of the glorious body, is to be at the center. And the significance of all this is that the seat and organ of the events which take place in the land of :Eran-Vej is the subtle body of light.» — la conclusión del apartado: no proyectar sombra es propio del cuerpo glorioso y es estar en el centro, y el asiento y órgano de los sucesos de Eran-Vej es el cuerpo sutil de luz

«Earth: Ardvl Sura has the iris as her emblem; Da€nE, the rose with a hundred petals; Ashi Vanuhi (Ashisang), her sister, all wild flowers (or else the chrysanthemum, buphthalmus); Arshtat, the white haoma; Zamyilt, saffron» — el calendario floral de los ángeles femeninos: iris para Ardvi Sura, rosa de cien pétalos para Daena, flores silvestres para Ashi Vanuhi, haoma blanco para Arshtat y azafrán para Zamyat

«tusht-Nama (the "Book of Zoroaster") tells us about it with sublime simplicity: "\Mhen Zarathustra had reached the age of thirty, he had the desire for Eran-V€j, and set out with some companions, men and women.» — el relato de la investidura profética tal como lo trae el Zardtusht-Nama: a los treinta años Zaratustra sintió el deseo de Eran-Vej y partió con algunos compañeros, hombres y mujeres; el OCR de esta plana está dañado por la lámina contigua y la cita empieza a media palabra

«For example, Porphyry describes the retreat of Zarathustra in a grotto in the mountains of Persis, adorned with flowers and gushing springs, which provided a perfect Imago mundi80 for his meditation.» — el testimonio griego que Corbin trae para el retiro de Zaratustra: según Porfirio, una gruta en las montañas de la Pérside, adornada de flores y manantiales, *Imago mundi* perfecta para su meditación

«Dion Chrysostom mentions the high peak on which Zarathustra retired in order to "live in the way that was his own," and where a ceremony of ecstasy, invisible to the eyes of the profane, unfolds in a setting of fire and supernatural splendor.» — y el de Dión Crisóstomo: la alta cumbre donde Zaratustra se retiró a vivir a su manera, y una ceremonia de éxtasis invisible a los ojos profanos

«Retreat on the psycho-cosmic mountain actually represents an essential phase of every mysteriosophy: its final act is an ecstasy; then the heavenly Figures, as they become apparent through the organ of its own archetype-Image, are made visible to the soul.» — la generalización que hace: el retiro en la montaña psicocósmica es fase esencial de toda misteriosofía, y su acto final es un éxtasis

«And here once more it is perhaps to a Greek text that we owe an essential detail of the sacred ecstasies in £rAn-Vej; it was Agathos Daimon who directly initiated Zarathustra into wisdom. Now, earlier research allowed us to recognize Agathos Daimon as a figure homologous to that of DaenA, the celestial "1," the Anima coelestis.» — y la equivalencia que propone con su reserva: fue Agathos Daimon quien inició a Zaratustra en la sabiduría, y Corbin dice haber reconocido antes en Agathos Daimon una figura homóloga de Daena

«It is a foretaste both of the final Transfiguration of the Earth (Frashkart) and the great event of individual eschatology, the auroral meeting with the heavenly "I," the Angel DaenA, at the entrance to the Chinvat Bridge.» — la orientación escatológica que le asigna a la geografía visionaria: pregusto del Frashkart y del encuentro auroral con el yo celeste, el Ángel Daena, a la entrada del Puente de Chinvat

«That is why this visionary geography creates a mental iconography that offers a support for meditation on what we previously called geosophy, and is revealed as inseparable from eschatology, for its function is essentially to prepare the birth of the earthly human being to his celestial "I," which is DaenA, the daughter of Spenta Armaiti-Sophia.» — y su función: preparar el nacimiento del hombre terrestre a su yo celeste, Daena, hija de Spenta Armaiti-Sophia

«The very term "g~osophy" suggested here is merely a translation of the name Spenta Armaiti, the Sophia and Feminine Angel of the Earth.» — de dónde saca el término *geosofía*: es, dice, mera traducción del nombre Spenta Armaiti, la Sophia y Ángel femenino de la Tierra; el troceo imprime *g~osophy*

«What this term makes apparent from the start is the striking difference between a vague feeling (and the commonplace notion) of being a "son of the earth" on the one hand and on the other the feeling and knowledge characteristically expressed in the Mazdean profession of faith, and impressed on the adept in that context, of being a human individual who is the son of Spenta Armaiti, the feminine Archangel of the Earth.» — la diferencia que el término hace patente: entre el sentimiento vago de ser hijo de la tierra y la profesión mazdea de ser hijo de Spenta Armaiti

«The second term in the filial relationship is now no longer a man imprisoned between the boundaries of terrestrial birth and death, but a human being in his totality, including the past of his preexistence and the future of his superexistence.» — y lo que cambia con eso: el segundo término de la relación filial ya no es un hombre encerrado entre nacimiento y muerte terrestres, sino el ser humano entero, con su preexistencia y su superexistencia

«It is the consummation of a form of existence preluded in Heaven85 at the dramatic moment when the Fravartis accept to descend to the material Earth and there wage battle on the side of the Powers of Light against all the human-faced demons.» — el momento dramático en que sitúa el preludio: cuando las Fravartis aceptan descender a la Tierra material y combatir del lado de los Poderes de Luz contra los demonios de rostro humano

«Therefore the choice of the soul will also be its judge. Participating at each moment of the Aeon in the final work of the Saoshyants, each soul of light must fight for the Transfiguration of the Earth, for the expulsion of the demonic Powers from the Ohrmazdian creation.» — la consecuencia que saca: la elección del alma será también su juez, y cada alma de luz debe combatir por la Transfiguración de la Tierra

«The victory of the soul incarnated in terrestrial existence is measured by the degree of this restoration, that is, by the degree of the soul's Xvarnah, of its growth toward its celestial existence to come, of its resurrection body, the substance of which, reciprocally, is made of that celestial Earth which is its action and its work.» — y cómo se mide esa victoria: por el grado de restauración, es decir por el Xvarnah del alma y el crecimiento de su cuerpo de resurrección, cuya sustancia es esa Tierra celeste que es su obra

«For man to undertake such a work, is precisely to undertake in his own being what the Pahlavl texts call Spendarmatikih86 (an abstract noun derived from Spendarmat, the Pahlavl form of the name Spenta Armaiti) , and which we can translate as Sophianity, the Sophianic nature of Spenta Armaiti considered as Sophia (in accordance with Plutarch's translation and with the Pahlavl texts)» — el nombre de esa tarea: *Spendarmatikih*, que Corbin traduce como Sofianidad apoyándose en la traducción de Plutarco y en los textos pahlavíes

«By assuming this nature, the human being is then, in the true sense, the son of the Angel of the Earth, and so able to have a mental vision of her. The soul then awakens also to consciousness of its celestial kinship.» — y su efecto: quien asume esa naturaleza es en sentido propio hijo del Ángel de la Tierra, capaz de tener visión mental de ella, y el alma despierta a la consciencia de su parentesco celeste

«Around DaenA, who is the daughter of Spenta Armaiti and who is herself Sophia, are clustered the figures of Angel-Goddesses whose hierophanies are described in the Avesta in marvellous terms ( Chisti, Ashi Vanuhi, ArshtAt, ZamyAt, Ardvr SOrA AnahitA) , which reveal the personal forms in which exemplifications of one and the same archetype were suggested experientially to Mazdean consciousness, this archetype being the central symbol by which the totality and completeness of his being are proclaimed to man.» — el racimo de ángeles-diosas que agrupa en torno a Daena —Chisti, Ashi Vanuhi, Arshtat, Zamyat, Ardvi Sura Anahita— como ejemplificaciones de un mismo arquetipo

«It must be admitted that very few efforts have been made to bring all the Figures of Mazdean angelology into a coherent whole. Usually, people have been content merely to put together the "facts." Rarely has an effort of meditation been applied in order to comprehend these Figures, to activate their personal characteristics, to motivate their actions and interactions.» — la queja de método que dirige a sus colegas: pocos esfuerzos se han hecho por reunir las Figuras de la angelología mazdea en un conjunto coherente, y se han contentado con juntar los hechos

«This is to say that the "maternal" relationship of Spenta Armaiti with the human being finally culminates in a fulfillment wherein it is then equally true to say that DaenA is engendered in him, or to say that he is himself engendered in DaenA.» — la reciprocidad que declara: la relación materna de Spenta Armaiti con el ser humano culmina en un cumplimiento donde igual vale decir que Daena se engendra en él o que él se engendra en Daena

«Mental iconography attributes features to the person of Spenta Armaiti that relate her closely to Sophia considered as master craftsman of Yahweh's Creation.» — el paralelo bíblico que traza: la iconografía mental da a Spenta Armaiti rasgos que la emparientan con la Sophia tenida por artífice maestra de la Creación de Yahvé

«she is the "mistress of his house" and the "mother of his creatures,"88 she is the Dwelling place: "We offer this liturgy to thee who art the very Dwelling place, Spenta Armaiti.» — los títulos que le da: hija del Señor Sabiduría, señora de su casa, madre de sus criaturas, y la Morada misma a la que se ofrece la liturgia

«That in itself defines not a spatial relationship, but a personal one, the relationship thanks to which the task of the incarnated Fravartis is carried out» — y eso define, dice, no una relación espacial sino personal, la que hace posible la tarea de las Fravartis encarnadas

«It is said that of the three Amahraspands or feminine Archangels: "The creatures of Ohrmazd possess life through KhordAt (the Archangel of aquatic nature) , immortality through AmertAt (the Archangel of vegetal nature), perfect thought ( bavandak menishnih) through Spenta Armaiti.» — el reparto de dones que cita: las criaturas de Ohrmazd tienen vida por Khordat, inmortalidad por Ameretat y pensamiento perfecto por Spenta Armaiti

«As perfect thought, thought of quietude and gentleness, meditative Imagination and silent Meditation,92 the Archangel Spenta Armaiti's antagonist is the Archdemon Taromati (unruly thought, violence, uproar, oppression)» — y su antagonista: al pensamiento perfecto, Imaginación meditativa y Meditación silenciosa, se opone el archidemonio Taromati —pensamiento indisciplinado, violencia, alboroto, opresión—

«When the believer assumes this Spendarmatlklh,98 and reproduces in himself that thought of wisdom which is the essence of the Angel of the Earth, he causes Spendarmat, the daughter of Ohrmazd, to exist in his own person.» — lo que ocurre cuando el creyente asume esa Sofianidad: hace existir en su propia persona a Spendarmat, la hija de Ohrmazd

«This process in which Sophianic meditation brings the soul to its celestial "I" can be followed further thanks to the vestiges of a mystical physiology, so hard to trace in Mazdeism that no heed is paid to it, the more precious for this reason.» — la fuente que Corbin declara escasa: los vestigios de una fisiología mística tan difíciles de rastrear en el mazdeísmo que nadie repara en ellos, y por eso más preciosos

«In the vital energy of the human being, there is a Thought: therein Spenta Armaiti abides. In this Thought there is a Word: therein abides Ashi Vanuhi (the feminine angel who is Daena's sister) . And in this Thought, there is an Action: therein abides DaenA.» — el texto de esa fisiología: en la energía vital hay un Pensamiento donde mora Spenta Armaiti, en ese Pensamiento una Palabra donde mora Ashi Vanuhi, y en él una Acción donde mora Daena

«A triad of feminine Archangelic Powers is interiorized on the plane of this sacrosanct trilogy of Zoroastrianism (Thought, Word, Action)» — y su lectura: una tríada de Poderes arcangélicos femeninos interiorizada sobre la trilogía sacrosanta del zoroastrismo, Pensamiento, Palabra, Acción

«Of course, the invocation is addressed neither to a building nor to telluric matter. It is addressed to the one who precisely is the "mistress of the Dwelling place,"» — con su límite explícito: la invocación no se dirige ni a un edificio ni a la materia telúrica, sino a la que es señora de la Morada

«He is the child, not just of the Earth Mother, but of the feminine Angel of the Earth, that is, he causes the celestial» — el deslinde que hace: no es hijo de la Madre Tierra sino del Ángel femenino de la Tierra; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde dice que hace abrirse en sí mismo la Tierra celeste

«This is because in the human being it is the seat of a Power which, as it has rightly been pointed out, is homologous to that other figure called, in Manicheism, Mater Vitae, Mater Viventium, Mother of Life or Mother of the Living.» — la homología que Corbin recoge: en el ser humano esa Sofianidad es asiento de un Poder homólogo de la Mater Vitae maniquea, Madre de la Vida o de los Vivientes

«Therefore the Sophianic form of Mazdean devotion to the Angel of the Earth ultimately tends to cause the opening up in consciousness of that archetypal Image which depth psychology calls Anima, and which is the secret presence of the Eternal feminine in man.» — y a dónde tiende, según él: a que se abra en la consciencia la Imagen arquetípica que la psicología profunda llama Anima, presencia secreta de lo Eterno femenino en el hombre

«the prologue in Heaven, the choice offered to the human Fravartis ("those who have chosen") : either to remain inviolate in the celestial world, or else to descend to Earth and do battle there for the world of the Angel.» — el prólogo en el Cielo que hay que tener presente: la elección ofrecida a las Fravartis humanas, quedar inviolables en el mundo celeste o descender a la Tierra a combatir por el mundo del Ángel

«And that is indeed the paradox. The Fravartis are the celestial archetypes and tutelary angels, the Guides of all beings, both Celestial and Terrestrial.» — y la paradoja que él mismo formula: las Fravartis son arquetipos celestes y ángeles tutelares, guías de todos los seres, y sin embargo se encarnan

«Although this problem has hardly been meditated (it is of so little interest to historical science as such ) , the amplification offered by its solution can be based with certainty on the data which emerge on the level of Mazdean consciousness.» — con su reserva de método: el problema apenas se ha meditado —dice que interesa poco a la ciencia histórica— y su solución se apoya en los datos que emergen en el plano de la consciencia mazdea

«In fact, the incarnate Fravarti, the Angel-soul that has given up its "celestial" condition to confront the horror of Ahrimanian humanity, is not alone: the soul in its terrestrial condition, making common cause with all the beings of light, wages at their side its "battle for the Angel."» — la respuesta que da: la Fravarti encarnada no está sola, y el alma en condición terrestre libra al lado de los seres de luz su batalla por el Ángel

«The "Angel" is simultaneously its faith and its judge, its existence and its superexistence, its celestial paredros.» — qué es ese Ángel para el alma: a la vez su fe y su juez, su existencia y su superexistencia, su paredro celeste

«This fact will be revealed to the soul only post mortem, and that is why DaenA, the Angel of the incarnate soul (for which the Fravarti, having come "to Earth," has chosen to answer), is also called raviin-i riih, "the soul on the path," that is, the Anima coelestis which the Anima humana meets "on the path" to the Chinvat Bridge.» — y por qué Daena se llama también *ravan-i rah*, el alma en el camino: es el Anima coelestis que el Anima humana encuentra camino del Puente de Chinvat

«She herself is another figure exemplifying the archetypal Sophia; she is, likewise, the daughter of Sophia; she has also been compared more than once to the figure of Sophia in the Old Testament,98 where Wisdom is the daughter of Yahweh and the master craftsman of his creation, appearing as a splendid maiden to whom every youth with an ardent desire for knowledge plights his troth.» — el paralelo veterotestamentario que consigna: Daena comparada más de una vez con la Sophia del Antiguo Testamento, hija de Yahvé y artífice maestra de su creación

«The very name of Daena brings together several aspects that should not be fragmented or opposed to one another, but should be recaptured in the unity of her "Person."» — la advertencia de lectura que da: el nombre de Daena reúne varios aspectos que no deben fragmentarse ni oponerse, sino recobrarse en la unidad de su persona

«Etymologically (Avestan day, Sanskrit dhi), she is the visionary soul or the visionary organ of the soul, the light it throws and which makes it possible to see, and at the same time the light that is seen, the celestial figure that comes face to face with the soul at the dawn of its eternity.» — la etimología con que lo sostiene: es a la vez el alma o el órgano visionario, la luz que arroja y que hace ver, y la luz vista, la figura celeste que sale al encuentro del alma

«Daena is the vision of the celestial world as it is lived, that is, as religion and professed faith,102 and for that very reason it is the essential individuality, the transcendent celestial "1."» — y la doble acepción que junta: Daena es la visión del mundo celeste tal como se vive —es decir, la religión y la fe profesada— y por eso mismo la individualidad esencial, el yo celeste trascendente

«By the conjunction of these two aspects or ideas in her person, she proclaims that realization unfailingly corresponds to faith.» — lo que Corbin lee en esa conjunción: que la realización corresponde infaliblemente a la fe

«In this sense, because she is the archetype, the guardian Angel who guides and inspires the life of the believer, she is also his judge, 108 she who reveals to him the degree to which his earthly existence has satisfied the most personal law of his being, in the living expression of it.» — y por eso el Ángel guardián es también juez: revela en qué grado la existencia terrestre satisfizo la ley más personal del ser

«When the soul in amazement asks, "Who are you?" the maiden, more resplendent than any beauty ever glimpsed in the terrestrial world, moves toward the entrance of the Chinvat Bridge and answers: "I am your own Daena,"» — la escena que cita: el alma pregunta atónita quién eres, y la doncella más resplandeciente que ninguna belleza terrestre responde que es su propia Daena

«which means: I am in person the faith you have professed and she who inspired it in you, I am she for whom you answered and she who guided you, who comforted you and who now judges you, for I am in person the Image set before you since the birth of your being and the Image which, finally, you yourself desired» — y la paráfrasis que Corbin le añade: soy en persona la fe que profesaste y la que te la inspiró, la Imagen puesta ante ti desde el nacimiento de tu ser y la que tú mismo deseaste

«It is not in the power of a human being to destroy his celestial Ide~; but it is in his power to betray it, to separate himself from it, to have, at the entrance to the Chinvat Bridge, nothing face to face with him but the abominable and demonic caricature of his "I" delivered over to himself without a heavenly sponsor.» — el límite del poder humano según ese relato: no está en su mano destruir su Idea celeste, pero sí traicionarla y separarse de ella, y entonces solo tiene enfrente la caricatura demoníaca de su yo

«with the Kore of Hermetism, as well as with the "Virgin of Light" of Manicheism and of the gnostic book Pistis Sophia.» — los otros dos paralelos que registra con igual derecho: la Koré del hermetismo y la Virgen de Luz del maniqueísmo y del libro gnóstico Pistis Sophia

«And Daena-Sophia has "sisters," who are, as it were, her prefigurations, mediators, and heralds, from the point of view of» — las hermanas de Daena-Sophia, que Corbin presenta como prefiguraciones, mediadoras y heraldos suyos en la secuencia ideal de los sucesos visionarios

«There is the Angel Chisti, celebrated in Yasht XVI, which is specifically dedicated to Daena. Her name, too, conveys the idea of an active Light which illuminates and reveals a Form of Light.» — la primera, el Ángel Chisti, cuyo nombre conlleva la idea de una Luz activa que ilumina y revela una Forma de Luz

«It is she who confers on each being the faculty of vision, particularly on the participant in the liturgy, who by her is enabled to see and penetrate the meaning of the words and gestures of the Ritual.» — y su oficio: confiere la facultad de visión, sobre todo al participante en la liturgia, que por ella penetra el sentido de las palabras y los gestos del Ritual

«In the liturgy consecrated to Da~na, it is therefore Chisti who reveals her presence in mental vision as mediatrix for her "sister" and as the performer of this liturgy .106 She carries the oblations, she is the priestess in person.» — su papel en la liturgia consagrada a Daena: revela su presencia en visión mental como mediadora de su hermana, lleva las oblaciones y es la sacerdotisa en persona

«Since it is she who confers vision, she herself therefore is the vision that defines the features of her iconography: tall and slender, clothed in white and herself white.» — y su iconografía, que Corbin deriva de esa función: alta y esbelta, vestida de blanco y ella misma blanca

«This action places man in £ran-V~j, in medio mundi, where heavenly beings and earthly beings can communicate. As the Angel of the liturgy, Chisti is thus the mediatrix of her sister Daena, that is, the one who causes the liturgical action to become vision and anticipation of the eschatological meeting.» — lo que hace la acción litúrgica: pone al hombre *in medio mundi*, donde celestes y terrestres se comunican, y Chisti la vuelve visión y anticipación del encuentro escatológico

«The squl is again invited to experience a similar intuitive anticipation by Daena's other sister, the Angel Ashi V anuhi, who also, in the trilogy of powers described above, serves as mediatrix between Spenta Armaiti, whose "daughter" she is, and Da~na, whose "sister" she is.» — la otra hermana, Ashi Vanuhi, mediadora entre Spenta Armaiti, de quien es hija, y Daena, de quien es hermana; el troceo imprime *squl*

«she takes on the form of a proud and beautiful maiden, her girdle tied high, pure, noble; and invincible.» — su figura: doncella orgullosa y bella, con el ceñidor alto, pura, noble e invencible

«but she, like Ardvi Sor~, assumes the prerogative of extraordinary precedence, since Ohrmazd himself, Lord of the Amahraspands and of all the Y azatas, offers sacrifices» — la prerrogativa extraordinaria que Corbin le reconoce: el propio Ohrmazd ofrece sacrificios en Eran-Vej a ella y a Ardvi Sura como poseedoras y dispensadoras de Xvarnah

«The Angel-Goddess, driving her chariot of Victory, is invoked as all-powerful and as herself possessing X varnah.» — la escena del Yasht XVII: el ángel-diosa conduciendo su carro de Victoria, invocada como todopoderosa y poseedora ella misma del Xvarnah

«This Iranian Gloria Victrix is indeed the sister of the Nike of Greek statuary (those "Victories" who, principally owing to gnostic influence, were the origin of the first representations of the Angel in early Christian iconography)» — el paralelo que traza: esa Gloria Victrix irania es hermana de la Nike de la estatuaria griega, en cuyas Victorias sitúa el origen de las primeras representaciones del Ángel en la iconografía cristiana

«Then, erect on her triumphal chariot, she invites Zarathustra to approach, to mount and sit beside her: "Thou art beautiful, 0 Zarathustra, thou art very fair . . . to thy body X varnah is given and to thy soul lasting bliss. Behold, thus I proclaim it to thee.» — y la invitación que le dirige a Zaratustra desde el carro: eres bello, a tu cuerpo se le da Xvarnah y a tu alma bienaventuranza duradera

«Thus, the Angel Ashi Vanuhi possesses and bestows Xvarnah, the Light of Glory, but at the same time she herself also is the Victory, the victoria! Fire.» — la doble condición que Corbin subraya: Ashi Vanuhi posee y otorga la Luz de Gloria y a la vez es ella misma la Victoria, el Fuego victorial

«In her person are concentrated the significance both of Glory and of Destiny, the Aura Gloriae of a being of light. Thus Mithraism took her as nlx11 (in the sense of Fortuna Victrix, Gloria-Fortuna)» — y su recepción posterior: en su persona se concentran Gloria y Destino, y el mitraísmo la tomó como Nike en el sentido de Fortuna Victrix

«For this confrontation causes the soul to ask: with what "weight" did it weigh its own X varnah which was for the transfiguration of being? To what degree was it itself a Saoshyant, thus fulfilling the vow of its own prayer: "May we be among those who are to bring about the Transfiguration of the Earth"» — la pregunta que el juicio le hace al alma, según Corbin: con qué peso pesó su propio Xvarnah, en qué grado fue ella misma un Saoshyant

«The outcome of the struggle is either transfiguration or demonic disfiguration.» — y el desenlace binario que declara: transfiguración o desfiguración demoníaca

«To make the image of the Earth translucid to the figure of the Angel in an angelomorphic vision such as Fechner's, the form of the Angel must flower in the soul itself.» — la condición que pone a la visión angelomórfica de Fechner: para que la imagen de la Tierra se vuelva traslúcida a la figura del Ángel, la forma del Ángel tiene que florecer en el alma misma

«Here is where we begin to see how Zamyat, the Angel of earthly Glory, glimpsed in the flame of the dawn on the mountain tops of the landscapes of Xvarnah, is not simply a "doublet" of Spenta Armaiti.» — y la resolución de la disputa que había dejado abierta: Zamyat no es un simple doblete de Spenta Armaiti

«Zamyat is only "visible" to the soul in which and by which it becomes true that Spenta Armaiti is the "mother" of Daena-Sophia.» — porque Zamyat solo es visible al alma en la que se vuelve verdad que Spenta Armaiti es la madre de Daena-Sophia

«Giving birth to the celestial "I'' and the Transfiguration of the Earth form the cycle of what we have tried to describe here as a "geosophy."» — y el ciclo que llama geosofía: dar a luz al yo celeste y la Transfiguración de la Tierra

«Gayomart, the primordial Man, was created in .£rln-Vej, on» — el mito de Gayomart tal como lo expone: creado en Eran-Vej a orillas del Daiti, cae del lado izquierdo cuando Ahriman le hace penetrar la Muerte, y de su cuerpo de metal absoluto salen siete metales, cada uno del miembro que le corresponde

«Besides this, it gives an essential definition: Gold, as the eighth metal, and because of its preeminence, issues from the very soul (X varnah) of Gayomart and from his seed.» — y la definición que Corbin da por esencial: el Oro, octavo metal, sale del alma misma de Gayomart —de su Xvarnah— y de su simiente

«This Gold, as we know, is, in the alchemical tradition, the symbol above all others of the filius regius, of the "resurrection body," of the Self.» — con su lectura alquímica: ese Oro es en la tradición alquímica el símbolo por excelencia del *filius regius*, del cuerpo de resurrección, del Sí mismo

«Now, it is this Gold that Spenta Armaiti gathered together. For forty years120 she kept it, at the end of which time an extraordinary plant germinated from the "soil"; this plant formed the first human couple, Mahryag-Mahryanag, two beings so like one another, so closely united with each other, that the male could not be distinguished from the female, much less isolated.» — lo que sigue en el relato: Spenta Armaiti recoge ese Oro, lo guarda cuarenta años y del suelo germina una planta que forma la primera pareja humana, tan unida que no se distingue el macho de la hembra

«On these two beings, or rather on this still dual being, this androgyne, descended one and the same Xvarnah, one and the same Light of Glory, one and the same soul, which existed before the physical organism.» — y sobre ese ser todavía dual, andrógino, desciende un solo y mismo Xvarnah, una sola y misma alma, anterior al organismo físico

«What is grasped in this vision is once again the Event of pre-Adamic humanity (Adam-Eve, not yet Adam and Eve). Adamic humanity really only begins from the descendants of Mahryag and MahryAnag-when masculine and feminine, distinct from one another, will become two.» — lo que Corbin lee ahí: el suceso de una humanidad preadánica —Adán-Eva, todavía no Adán y Eva—, porque la adánica solo empieza con los descendientes de esa pareja

«The Earth that collects the "gold" of Gayomart is certainly not the earth of our ordinary physics, but the ''penon" of the Angel of the Earth, Spenta Armaiti.» — y el límite que repite: la Tierra que recoge el oro de Gayomart no es la de nuestra física ordinaria sino la persona del Ángel de la Tierra; el troceo imprime *penon*

«Neither the categories of our geology, nor those of natural embryology, are to be substituted for the mode of perception which is here properly that of "geosophy."» — la advertencia de método: ni las categorías de la geología ni las de la embriología natural sustituyen el modo de percepción propio de la geosofía

«However, since Ahriman had caused Death to enter into Gayomart, the structure of this total being, of this androgyne issuing from his Gold, that is, from his soul or Self, of which Armaiti-Sophia is the receptacle -this structure is unstable and fragile; it is not viable on the Earth, which is the prey of demonic powers.» — la fragilidad que anota en ese andrógino: por la Muerte entrada en Gayomart, su estructura es inestable y no viable en una Tierra presa de los poderes demoníacos

«Finally, by the scission of its internal dualitude, this being gives birth to its posterity, historic humanity, the condition of which is the only one we can experience, and whose emergence is therefore subsequent to the great catastrophe, to the "day after," the invasion by "Evil."» — y de la escisión de esa dualitud interna nace, dice, la humanidad histórica, la única condición que podemos experimentar, posterior a la catástrofe

«That is why the Event which took place in prehistory (Spenta Armaiti collecting the Gold or Self of Gayomart, of her own son tainted by Death) prefigures typologically the Event that is the "denouement" of history, the threshold of metahistory.» — y la tipología que traza: el suceso prehistórico prefigura el desenlace de la historia, el umbral de la metahistoria

«It would be impossible truly to understand the myth of Gayomart and to render justice to the Iranian mystery of the Anthropos if one were to isolate the figure of Gayomart from its principle.» — la advertencia con que cierra: no se entendería el mito de Gayomart ni se haría justicia al misterio iranio del Anthropos aislando su figura de su principio

«Gayomart, Zarathustra, and the final Saoshyant represent the beginning, the middle, and the end of Man and of the world» — la serie que propone: Gayomart, Zaratustra y el último Saoshyant son el principio, el medio y el fin del Hombre y de su mundo sometido a la mezcla

«Zarathustra is also primordial Man, Gayomart redrvivus, just as the last Saoshyant will be Zarathustra redivivus, and just as Mazdean gnosis anticipates the exaltation of Anthropos in the person of the Saoshyant.» — y las equivalencias que encadena: Zaratustra es Gayomart *redivivus* y el último Saoshyant será Zaratustra *redivivus*

«The image of the Saoshyant is therefore the antiphony of the Image of the Anthropos ravaged by the demonic Powers. The virgin birth, through a supernatural process, abolishes biological laws, or rather transcends the physical meaning of phenomena by going beyond the duality and opposition of masculine and feminine: a single being takes on the function of both.» — la lectura que hace del nacimiento virginal: antífona de la Imagen del Anthropos devastado, que trasciende el sentido físico de los fenómenos yendo más allá de la dualidad de masculino y femenino

«Just as the Gold issued from Gayomart was preserved by Spenta Armaiti under the protection of the Angels of the Earth, so, not the seed in the physiological meaning of the word, but the X varnah (Gold) of Zarathustra, his Aura Gloriae, was received by the Angel Neryosang, and was entrusted by him to the Glory (X varnah) of the Waters, that is, to the Angel-Goddess Ardvi Sura Anahita, "the High, the Sovereign, the Immaculate.» — y el paralelo exacto que traza: no la simiente en sentido fisiológico sino el Xvarnah de Zaratustra fue recibido por el Ángel Neryosang y confiado a la Gloria de las Aguas, Ardvi Sura Anahita

«The Zarathustrian Glory is kept by Ardvi Sura "in person," mythically in the waters of Lake Kansaoya, from which emerges the mountain of dawns, Mons Victorialis; 125 a multitude of Fravartis watch over it.» — dónde se guarda esa Gloria: míticamente en las aguas del lago Kansaoya, de donde emerge la montaña de las auroras, *Mons Victorialis*, y una multitud de Fravartis la custodia

«At the end of the twelve millennia, when our Aeon will come to an end, a maiden, acting as the earthly and visible typification of Ardvr SurA in person, will enter the waters of the mystic lake. The Light of Glory will be immanent in her body, and she will conceive "one who must master all the evil deeds of demo1111 and men.» — y el desenlace anunciado: al cabo de los doce milenios una doncella, tipificación terrestre de Ardvi Sura, entrará en las aguas del lago místico, y la Luz de Gloria será inmanente a su cuerpo

«The idea of a restored dualitude is expressed in the conjunction post mortem of the human being with DaenA, who is precisely the "daughter of Spenta Armaiti," just as the human being in his prehistoric or supra terrestrial condition is her "son."» — la restitución que anuncia: la dualitud restaurada se expresa en la conjunción *post mortem* del ser humano con Daena, hija de Spenta Armaiti, de quien él es hijo en su condición prehistórica o supraterrestre

«imaginative Reality, the world of archetype-Images, is established as mediator between the world of the pure, intelligible essences and the sensory universe. This world is the eighth keshvar, the eighth climate: the "Earth of the emerald cities," the mystical Earth of Horqalya.» — la definición que cierra el capítulo primero y abre el segundo: ese mundo de Imágenes-arquetipo, mediador entre las esencias inteligibles y el universo sensorial, es el octavo keshvar, el octavo clima, la Tierra de las ciudades de esmeralda

«Whoever is somewhat familiar with the organ knows what are referred to as "stops." Thanks to these stops, each note can cause several pipes of different lengths to "speak" simultaneously; thus, besides the fundamental note, a number of harmonic overtones can be heard. Among the contrivances that regulate them, the progressio harmonica designates a combination of stops which allows more and more overtones to be heard as one ascends toward the upper register, until at a certain pitch the fundamental note also resounds simultaneously.» — la analogía del órgano con que Corbin explica su subtítulo: la *progressio harmonica* combina registros de modo que al ascender se oyen más armónicos hasta que la nota fundamental vuelve a sonar

«This is described very briefly and without any claim to technical accuracy, but for a definite purpose. It is just that this phenomenon seems to us the parallel most helpful in understanding the subtitle of this book: "From Mazdean Iran to Shrite Iran." As a result of the connection which was effected between the old Mazdean Iran and Shrite Iran-a connection in which we shall have to pay special attention to the spiritual school that has reactivated traditional Shrite gnosis in Iranian Islam since the end of the eighteenth century-something like a progressio harmonica takes place. The higher we "ascend," the more harmonics we hear. Finally, the fundamental, which gave the preceding chapter its tonality, will become audible again.» — y cómo la aplica, con su reserva de precisión técnica: entre el viejo Irán mazdeo y el Irán chií ocurre algo como una *progressio harmonica*, y cuanto más se asciende más armónicos se oyen

«To succeed in representing it adequately, we shall probably have to give up certain of our customary categories that take only outer history into account, where everything is studied with a view to discovering major currents, deducing influences and causal explanations, trying in all ways to reduce things to a common denominator.» — y lo que pide abandonar: las categorías habituales que solo cuentan con la historia externa y buscan corrientes, influencias y explicaciones causales

«This is what has made it so difficult to discuss spiritual facts as such, especially those that took place in Iran, because spiritual facts, as such, are discontinuous and irreducible; they do not succeed one another in a homogeneous time; they are, each of them, their own time.» — su tesis sobre los hechos espirituales: son discontinuos e irreducibles, no se suceden en un tiempo homogéneo y cada uno es su propio tiempo

«On the one hand, the "time" of Suhrawardi, whose work, chronologically, belongs to our twelfth century. In it, the author pursues the aim of reviving in Islam the wisdom, the theosophia, of ancient Persia. His metaphysical outlook is dominated, on the one hand, by the motif of the Xvarnah, the Light of Glory, and by the Mazdean angelology through which he interprets the Platonic Ideas» — el primero de esos tiempos: el de Suhrawardi, que en el siglo XII persigue revivir en el islam la teosofía de la antigua Persia y cuya metafísica está dominada por el Xvarnah y por la angelología mazdea con que interpreta las Ideas platónicas

«and, on the other hand, by the "time" of Shrism, determined as to quality by the idea of the hidden ImAm and his parousia. This idea resounds like the harmonic of a fundamental note that we have already heard in the Zoroastrian idea of the eschatological Savior or Saoshyant.» — y el segundo: el del chiísmo, cualificado por la idea del Imam oculto y su parusía, que suena para Corbin como armónico de la idea zoroástrica del Saoshyant

«But neither Suhrawardi nor the Shrites are Zoroastrians. They are and intend to remain in Islam, in a spiritual Islam, to be sure, which is profoundly different from the legalistic Islam, the ofli.cial religion of the majority.» — con el límite dicho sin rodeos: ni Suhrawardi ni los chiíes son zoroastrianos; están y quieren seguir en el islam, en un islam espiritual distinto del legalista

«Our Spirituals, indeed, do not indulge in syncretism, nor do they have to attempt dialectical conciliation, because they have at their disposal a mode of perception different from the one to which we have been reduced by our one-dimensional historical consciousness.» — la defensa que hace de sus autores frente al cargo de sincretismo: no lo practican ni necesitan conciliación dialéctica, porque disponen de un modo de percepción distinto

«The bringing into play of this faculty is designated by the technical term ta'wil, which etymologically means "to bring back". the data to their origin, to their archetype, to their donor.» — el término técnico que nombra esa facultad: *ta’wil*, que etimológicamente reconduce los datos a su origen, a su arquetipo, a su donante

«Hence, the ta'wil is preeminently the hermeneutics of symbols, the ex-egesis, the bringing out of hidden spiritual meaning.» — de ahí su definición: el ta’wil es por excelencia la hermenéutica de los símbolos, la ex-égesis que saca a la luz el sentido espiritual oculto

«Without the ta'wil, Suhrawardl's Oriental Theosophy would not exist, nor yet that spiritual phenomenon in general, namely Shrite gnosis, by which the meaning of Islam is transfigured. And conversely, there would be no possibility of a ta'wil without the world of HorqalyA, which we are at present studying; that is, without the world of archetypal Images where that imaginative perception functions and is able, by transmuting the material data of external history into symbols, to penetrate to the inner meaning.» — y la dependencia recíproca que declara: sin ta’wil no habría Teosofía Oriental de Suhrawardi ni gnosis chií, y sin el mundo de Hurqalya no habría posibilidad de ta’wil

«Ta'wil presupposes the superposition of worlds and interworlds, as the correlative basis for a plurality of meanings in the same text.» — lo que el ta’wil presupone: la superposición de mundos e intermundos como base correlativa de una pluralidad de sentidos en un mismo texto

«This "technique," to be sure, was known at one time in the West. There, however, it rapidly degenerated into an artificial technique, but in fact for reasons which were extrinsic to its nature and which distorted its practice, both because it was cut off from the theosophia of which it is the correlative, and because it was deprived of spontaneity by a dogmatic authority.» — el destino occidental de esa técnica, según Corbin: se conoció y degeneró pronto en técnica artificial, por razones extrínsecas —quedó cortada de la teosofía correlativa y privada de espontaneidad por una autoridad dogmática—

«I do not believe that there is any profit in discussion aimed at reconciling the two points of view.» — y su abstención declarada: no cree que haya provecho en una discusión que busque conciliar los dos puntos de vista

«The ta'wil, without question, is a matter of harmonic perception, of hearing an identical sound (the same verse, the same !Jadith, even an entire text) on several levels simultaneously. One hears or one does not hear.» — cómo lo formula al final: el ta’wil es cuestión de percepción armónica, de oír un mismo sonido en varios niveles a la vez; se oye o no se oye

«Later in this book we shall read a few pages of Suhrawardi, the young master who died a martyr at the age of thirty-eight ( 58 7 I 1191 ) and who carne later to be called the "Master of Oriental Theosophy" (Shaikh al-IshrAq) 1 because his great aim was the renaissance of ancient Iranian wisdom.» — la presentación de Suhrawardi que da: el joven maestro muerto mártir a los treinta y ocho años, llamado luego Maestro de la Teosofía Oriental por su empeño en el renacimiento de la sabiduría irania antigua

«In the Suhrawardian doctrine, the schema of the spiritual universes appears in broad outline as follows: from the first "Victoria}" Light ( Qahir), or first Archangel emanated from the Light of Lights, whose traditional Mazdean name is Bahman ( Vohu-Manah), there issues a pleroma of innumerable beings of light, pure intelligible Lights, quite independent of any material body; this is the world of the Jabarat.» — el esquema suhrawardiano que resume: de la primera Luz victorial o primer Arcángel emanado de la Luz de las Luces sale un pleroma de luces inteligibles puras, independientes de todo cuerpo material, que es el mundo del Jabarut

«From it there emanates another pleroma of substances of light, some of which have to take upon themselves the guardianship of a material species, which is their "theurgy ," while the others have to fill the role of Souls, which for longer or shorter periods animate a material body.» — y del Jabarut, otro pleroma de sustancias de luz: unas guardan una especie material, que es su teurgia, y otras hacen de Almas que animan un cuerpo

«The first are the archetype-Angels or Angels of species, among which the Zoroastrian Amahraspands are referred to by name: Suhrawardi interprets the Platonic Ideas on the plane of this angelology.» — las primeras son los Ángeles-arquetipo o Ángeles de las especies, entre los que se nombran los Amahraspands zoroástricos: ahí, dice, Suhrawardi interpreta las Ideas platónicas

«The second are the Souls of the Spheres (Angeli coelestes) and human souls. These two categories together form the world of Malakat, and the Earth of Malakat is the celestial earth of HorqalyA.» — y las segundas, las Almas de las Esferas y las almas humanas; las dos categorías forman el mundo del Malakut, y la Tierra del Malakut es la tierra celeste de Hurqalya

«It is significant and confirmative that Suhrawardi, in his turn, employs the characteristic old Iranian term by which, as we have seen, the Avesta already designated the function of Spenta Armaiti, namely the kad bana'iya, the function of the "mistress of the house."» — el dato que Corbin da por confirmativo: Suhrawardi emplea a su vez el viejo término iranio *kad banu’iya*, la función de señora de la casa, con que el Avesta designaba a Spenta Armaiti

«As the Angel of the Earth, Isfandarmuz assumes in particular the guardianship of the natural realms in which the telluric element predominates, since the Earth is the "theurgy" of its Angel.» — la función que le toca: Isfandarmuz guarda los reinos naturales donde predomina el elemento telúrico, porque la Tierra es la teurgia de su Ángel

«The Earth is "she who receives"; as the receptacle of the influx and effects of the celestial Spheres, it assumes the feminine role with respect to the masculine.» — y la razón que da de su feminidad: la Tierra es la que recibe, receptáculo del influjo de las Esferas celestes

«Iranian Islam, whether Shrite or not, that those who specialize in the study of ancient Iran, as well as specialists in Muslim philosophy as such, sometimes seem surprised, if not annoyed, when a connection is pointed out which till then was not seen in their scheme.» — el estado de la cuestión que declara: los especialistas del Irán antiguo y los de la filosofía musulmana se sorprenden, si no se molestan, cuando se les señala una conexión que su esquema no contemplaba

«This does not mean, of course, that we can speak of "passivities" ( infitalat) in the world of Intelligibles: the femininity of the Angel of the Earth rests on the fact that she is "the one who receives," the one in whom is manifested the multitude of the effects and influences of the Cherubinic "active Intelligences" according to an ontological gradation and an intelligible structure» — la acotación que Corbin hace a su propia analogía: no cabe hablar de pasividades en el mundo de los Inteligibles, y la feminidad del Ángel de la Tierra descansa en que es la que recibe

«This simple example which we have chosen from amongst others should suffice to show how the speculative theosophy of Islamic Iran, from Suhrawardl in the twelfth century to ~adruddln Shirazi in the seventeenth century (and we should include their successors up to the present day), preserves and continues to meditate the figure of the Angel of the Earth, whose person the ancient Iranians had been taught by the Mazdean religion to recognize.» — lo que Corbin lee en ese ejemplo: de Suhrawardi en el siglo XII a Sadruddin Shirazi en el XVII, la teosofía especulativa del Irán islámico conserva y sigue meditando la figura del Ángel de la Tierra

«This figure, the Gestalt, has completely retained its identity, even though the elements of the context have changed.» — con la fórmula que le sirve de tesis: la figura, la *Gestalt*, ha conservado íntegra su identidad aunque hayan cambiado los elementos del contexto

«What is admirable is the power of the ta~wil of the spiritual hermeneutics, which is able to give value to all the symbols and "bring them back" to the archetype. This is the initiatic function which spiritual Islam assumes, in the person of the "master of Oriental theosophy," and his emulators.» — y a qué lo atribuye: al poder del ta’wil, que da valor a todos los símbolos y los reconduce al arquetipo, función iniciática que el islam espiritual asume

«But it may happen that her name is no longer pronounced, that a Figure with an entirely dif» — el caso más difícil que anuncia: que el nombre ya no se pronuncie y aparezca una Figura de nombre y contexto enteramente distintos en la que aun así se reconozcan los mismos rasgos

«As it appears, we cannot simply say that this is a Figure that is merely a new exemplification of the archetype personified by Spenta Armaiti.» — con su acotación: no cabe decir sin más que sea una nueva ejemplificación del arquetipo personificado por Spenta Armaiti

«On the height of the plane where we shall be enabled to perceive this Figure, we should rather speak of an archetype-Figure of the archetype, as though we were approaching the peak of the progressio harmonica, and that there» — sino que, dice, habría que hablar de una Figura-arquetipo del arquetipo, como en la cima de la *progressio harmonica*, donde vuelve a oírse la fundamental en el bajo

«It is the feminine Archangel of a supracelestial Earth, assuming the rank and privilege of the divine Sophia, that it is suggested we may perceive, on the level of the world of the lahut, the eternal reality of the dazzling Fatima, daughter of the Prophet, as she is meditated in Shrite gnosis, or more exactly, in that of the Shaikh I school.» — y quién es esa Figura: la arcángel femenina de una Tierra supraceleste que asume el rango de la Sophia divina, la realidad eterna de Fátima meditada en la gnosis chií y en la escuela shaikhí

«It is true, alas, that in the absence until now of a comprehensive work on Shrite doctrines, and especially those of Shaikh ism, to which we could refer, we may be suspected of a too easy acceptance of obscure allusions.» — la debilidad de su posición, declarada por él mismo: a falta de una obra de conjunto sobre las doctrinas chiíes y shaikhíes, se le puede sospechar de aceptar demasiado fácilmente alusiones oscuras

«Shrism-this word comes from the Arabic shra and designates the community of the adepts who follow the Imams of the Prophet's family-Shrism, which for five centuries has been the form of Islam in Iran, where from the beginning it had its centers of radiation, is still very little known in the West. Too often, influenced by contemporary fads, people reduce its origins to questions of political succession.» — su objeción a la lectura corriente: influidos por modas contemporáneas, se reducen demasiado a menudo los orígenes del chiísmo a cuestiones de sucesión política

«These conversations bear witness that the flowering of Shrism was essentially the flowering, or rather the resurgence, of gnosis in Islam» — lo que él ve en las conversaciones de los primeros adeptos con los Imames: que el florecimiento del chiísmo fue el resurgimiento de la gnosis en el islam

«The chief effect of this ordeal was to render the Iranian adepts of Shrite gnosis, even today, still more rigorous in their practice of the "discipline of the arcanum."» — con su consecuencia: la prueba volvió a los adeptos iranios de la gnosis chií aún más rigurosos en la disciplina del arcano

«While prophetology is an essential element of Islamic religion as such, in Shrite theosophy it is divided into prophetology and lmAmology. Beside the prophetic function, which delivers the message of the literal Revelation, there is the initiatic function, which initiates into the hidden meanings of revelations, and which is the function of the ImAm.» — la partición que Corbin declara propia de la teosofía chií: junto a la profetología, que entrega el mensaje de la Revelación literal, la imamología, función iniciática que introduce en los sentidos ocultos

«After the cycle of prophecy ( da'irat al-nubawa) that ended with Mu}:lammad, the "Seal of the Prophets," there comes the cycle of Initiation» — y la sucesión de ciclos: tras el de la profecía, cerrado con Mahoma, viene el de la Iniciación, el presente, bajo el gobierno espiritual del Duodécimo Imam, presente en los corazones e invisible a los sentidos

«The Shaikhr school, which flourished at the end of the eighteenth century under the stimulus of the lofty and strong spiritual personality of Shaikh A}:lmad A}:lsA'I (d. 1826), marked an extraordinary revival of primitive Shrite gnosis. Its literature is enormous, for the most part still in manuscript.» — la escuela shaikhí, que Corbin data a fines del siglo XVIII bajo el impulso de Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i y da por reactivación extraordinaria de la gnosis chií primitiva, con una literatura enorme todavía en gran parte manuscrita

«The twelve ImAms who assumed the initiatic function subsequent to the prophetic message of Mu}:lammad, his person, and the person of his daughter, FAtima, from whom the line of the ImAms originated, this pleroma of the "Fourteen Very-Pure" is understood and meditated not only as regards the ephemeral appearance on earth of their respective persons, but in the reality of their precosmic eternal entities.» — cómo medita esa escuela el pleroma de los Catorce Muy Puros: no solo en la aparición efímera de sus personas en la tierra, sino en la realidad de sus entidades eternas precósmicas

«Their persons are essentially theophanic; they are the Names and the divine Attributes, that which alone can be known of the divinity; they are the organs of the divinity; they are its "operant operations."» — y qué son esas personas: teofánicas, los Nombres y Atributos divinos, lo único que puede conocerse de la divinidad, sus órganos, sus operaciones operantes

«From a structural point of view, in Shrite theology, lmAmology plays the same role as Christology in Christian theology.» — la homología estructural que propone: en la teología chií la imamología juega el mismo papel que la cristología en la cristiana

«Thus, the twelve ImAms, in their theophanic persons, together With the Prophet and the resplendent FAtima, form the pleroma of the "Fourteen Very-Pure"; when meditated in their substance and their preeternal person, they assume a mode of being and a position analogous to the Aeon& of the pleroma in Valentinian gnosis.» — y el otro paralelo que traza: meditados en su persona preeterna, los Catorce Muy Puros asumen un modo de ser análogo al de los Eones del pleroma en la gnosis valentiniana

«In the Shrite theosophy of Shaikhism, another universe (as in Ibn 'Arabi), is superimposed on the above three universes: the universe of the lahut, the sphere of the deity.» — la cuarta grada que la teosofía shaikhí superpone a las tres suhrawardianas —como Ibn ‘Arabi, apunta—: el universo del *lahut*, la esfera de la deidad

«But the characteristic of Shrism and Shaikhism is to conceive this lahut explicitly as constituting the pleroma of the "Fourteen Very-Pure."» — con el rasgo que Corbin da por característico: ese *lahut* se concibe explícitamente como el pleroma de los Catorce Muy Puros

«Each octave is a new world, a new beginning, where everything is rediscovered, but at a different height, that is, in a higher mode of being.» — y la ley de la analogía musical: cada octava es un mundo nuevo donde todo se reencuentra a otra altura, en un modo de ser superior

«Shl'ite gnosis is preeminently the esotericism of Islam, and when it was made the state religion by the» — la adjudicación que hace: la gnosis chií es por excelencia el esoterismo del islam; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde dice que al hacerse religión de Estado con los safávidas se formó un clero oficial ocupado casi solo de jurisprudencia

«The fact that the beings of the supreme pleroma appeared in an order of ontological precedence corresponding to. the order in which they answered the primordial interrogation is a way, for the imaginative perception, of deciphering the structure of the pleroma as the place of the primordial theophany.» — cómo se descifra la estructura del pleroma según esa teosofía: los seres aparecieron en un orden de precedencia ontológica que corresponde al orden en que respondieron a la interrogación primordial

«Just as the· visible Heavens are created by the contemplative acts of cherubinic Intelligences emanating one from another, so the "heavens of the pleroma," in the sphere of the liihat, are brought about by theophanic acts.» — con la homología que la sostiene: los cielos visibles nacen de actos contemplativos de las Inteligencias querúbicas, y los cielos del pleroma, de actos teofánicos

«The first of the spiritual entities to answer is the first of the beings, the "inchoate being," he who will have his sensory manifestation on earth in the person of the Prophet Mul,lammad. This is why he is the supreme Heaven of the Pleroma, and the one whose homologue in the astronomical Heavens is the Sphere of Spheres, the Throne ('arsh), the Empyrean.» — el primero en responder es, según esa doctrina, el ser incoado que se manifestará en la persona del Profeta, y por eso es el Cielo supremo del Pleroma, homólogo de la Esfera de las Esferas

«After him, the second of the eternal spiritual entities to answer is the one who will be manifested on earth in the person of l:la~rat Amtr7 (that is, the First Imam, 'Alt ibn Abt-'falib, a cousin of the Prophet and the husband of Fatima) ; his homologue in the astronomical heavens is the eighth Heaven, the Heaven containing the "fortresses" or constellations of the Zodiac, the Heaven of the Fixed Stars ( K ursi) , the firmament.» — el segundo es el que se manifiesta en el Primer Imam, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, homólogo del octavo Cielo, el de las Estrellas Fijas

«Therefore, the empyrean of the pleroma is the Heaven of Prophecy ( nubawa) ; its firmament is the Heaven of Initiation ( walaya) . By virtue of that, this firmament is the Heaven of Integral Initiation; the First ImAm, in his theophanic person, recapitulates it in its totality.» — y el reparto que se sigue: el empíreo del pleroma es el Cielo de la Profecía y su firmamento el Cielo de la Iniciación, que el Primer Imam recapitula entero

«However, the totality of the Heaven of the Initiation is a conjunction of twelve Persons or primordial hypostases (the astronomical homologues of which are the twelve signs of the Zodiac ) , that is, of the spiritual entities that will be manifested on earth as the twelve ImAms.» — con su desarrollo: ese Cielo de la Iniciación es conjunción de doce Personas o hipóstasis primordiales, homólogas de los doce signos del Zodiaco, que se manifestarán como los doce Imames

«Two of them voice their response, those two to which, on earth, will correspond that pair of brothers, the young Imams, J:lasan and J:lusayn (prince of martyrs) , the sons of 'All and of Fapma; these two entities produce, respectively, the Heaven of the Sun and the Heaven of the Moon of the supreme pleroma.» — y los dos que producen el Cielo del Sol y el de la Luna del pleroma supremo: los que en la tierra corresponden a los jóvenes imames Hasan y Husayn

«Then comes the one whose epiphany on earth will be the Twelfth Imam, the hidden ImAm, 8 that is, the Imam of our time, whose person is to the Prophet Mul,lammad as the last Saoshyant, Zarathustra redivivus, is to the prophet Zarathustra himself.» — la equivalencia que Corbin superpone: el Duodécimo Imam es al Profeta lo que el último Saoshyant, Zaratustra *redivivus*, es al propio Zaratustra

«Finally there comes the response of ija~rat FAtima to complete the pleroma of the liihat and give it both its plenitude and its foundation. Thus, she is the Earth of the supreme pleroma, and this is why it can be said that on this ontological plane she is more than the celestial Earth, she is the supracelestial Earth.» — y la última respuesta, la de Fátima, que completa el pleroma y le da plenitud y fundamento: en ese plano ontológico, dice, es más que la Tierra celeste, es la Tierra supraceleste

«In other words the Heavens and the Earth of the pleroma of the liihat are related to the Heavens and the Earth of Horqalyii, about which there will be much to say later in this book, in the same way as the Heavens and the Earth of Horqalya are related to the Heavens and the Earth of the sensory world.» — la proporción que traza: los Cielos y la Tierra del pleroma del *lahut* son a los de Hurqalya lo que estos son a los del mundo sensorial

«Or again, the pleromatic person of FAtima is to the celestial Earth of HorqalyA as Spenta Armaiti is to the Mazdean Earth haloed by the light of the Xvarnah.» — y la que cierra el paralelo del libro entero: la persona pleromática de Fátima es a la Tierra celeste de Hurqalya lo que Spenta Armaiti a la Tierra mazdea aureolada por el Xvarnah

«No human being can have access to the vision of the supreme pleroma; to do so, he would need to_ "catch up with" those spiritual entities who are eternally "ahead" of the totality of creatures.» — el límite que la doctrina pone: ningún ser humano tiene acceso a la visión del pleroma supremo, porque tendría que alcanzar a entidades eternamente adelantadas a la totalidad de las criaturas

«One single atem of the supracelestial Earth projected into a million of our universes would suffice-because of its beauty, its purity, and its light-to bring them into a state of incandescent fusion.» — la imagen con que lo cifra: un solo átomo de la Tierra supraceleste proyectado en un millón de nuestros universos bastaría, por su belleza y su luz, para fundirlos en incandescencia; el troceo imprime *atem*

«The beings of the pleroma of the liihat are visible only in their apparitional forms, which are the receptacles of their theophanies.» — y cómo se los ve: los seres del pleroma solo son visibles en sus formas aparicionales, receptáculos de sus teofanías

«In other words, as we shall see, without the person of FAtima there would be neither the manifestation of the ImAmate, nor lmAmic initiation.» — la función que le adjudica: sin la persona de Fátima no habría ni manifestación del Imamato ni iniciación imámica

«Their light is the divine light itself; their transparency allows it to shine through, retaining none of it as their own ipseity.» — y cómo describe a los Catorce: su luz es la luz divina misma, y su transparencia la deja pasar sin retener nada como ipseidad propia

«Pure flaming crystals which the eye cannot gaze upon because they manifest the illuminating Sun, these "Fourteen Very-Pure" are not only the Friends and Loved Ones of God; they are the very substance of pre-eternal Love;» — cristales llameantes que el ojo no puede mirar porque manifiestan el Sol que ilumina, y no solo amigos y amados de Dios sino la sustancia misma del Amor preeterno

«This can explain, for example, their circumspect attitude, that of Shaikhism, for example, toward non-Shrite $ftfism.» — y de ahí explica Corbin la actitud circunspecta del shaikhismo hacia el sufismo no chií

«Their exemplary union is the manifestation of an eternal syzygy originating in the eternity of the pleroma of the liihilt.» — la unión de Fátima y ‘Ali leída como manifestación de una sicigia eterna originada en la eternidad del pleroma

«The First Imam and FAtima are related to each other in the same reciprocal way as th~ two first hypostases, 'Aql and Nafs, Intelligence and Soul, or in terms more familiar to us (because they go back to Philo ) : Logos and Sophia.» — y su equivalencia filosófica: Primer Imam y Fátima se relacionan como las dos primeras hipóstasis, ‘Aql y Nafs, Inteligencia y Alma, o en términos que remontan a Filón, Logos y Sophia

«The Logos ('aql), in Shaikhi doctrine is the hidden substance of every being and of every thing; it is the suprasensory calling for visible Form in order to be manifested.» — qué es el Logos en la doctrina shaikhí: la sustancia oculta de todo ser y toda cosa, lo suprasensorio que reclama Forma visible para manifestarse

«It is like the wood in which the form of the statue will appear. Better still, it is like the archetypal body, the inner astral mass of the sun, invisible to human perception, in relation to the visible Form, which is its aura, brilliance and splendor.» — con las dos imágenes que la doctrina usa: la madera en que aparecerá la forma de la estatua, y la masa astral interior del sol frente a la Forma visible que es su aura

«And this is why Fatima has be~n called by a solar name: Fatima al-Zahrii', the brilliant, resplendent FAtima.» — de ahí, dice, el nombre solar de Fátima al-Zahra, la brillante, la resplandeciente

«So one could also speak here of a cosmic Sophianity, having its source in the eternal person of FAtima-Sophia.» — y el término que Corbin propone con su condicional: cabría hablar aquí de una Sofianidad cósmica con su fuente en la persona eterna de Fátima-Sophia

«For she is the manifested Form, that is, the very soul (nafs, Anima) of the ImAms; she is the Threshold ( bab) through which the» — la primera de sus tres dignidades: es la Forma manifestada, el alma misma de los Imames, y el Umbral por el que estos derraman el don de su luz

«Thus, in the second place, she is all thinkable reality, the pleroma of meanings ( ma'iini) of all the universes, because nothing of what is can be without qualification. Qualification and meaning are on the same level of being as form, and form is precisely on the level of being of the Soul, for it is the Soul-Sophia that confers qualification and meaning.» — la segunda: es toda la realidad pensable, el pleroma de los sentidos de todos los universos, porque es el Alma-Sophia la que confiere cualificación y sentido

«That, lastly, is why her eternal Person, which is the secret of the world of the Soul, is also its manifestation ( bayiin), without which the creative Principle of the world would remain unknown and unknowable, forever hidden.» — y la tercera: su Persona eterna es la manifestación del secreto del mundo del Alma, sin la cual el Principio creador quedaría incognoscible

«Thus the degree of being of FAtima-Sophia recapitulates the whole of the degrees of knowledge, of gnosis, so very completely that the rank of the respective preeminence of the prophets in regard to their knowledge of God is measured by their knowledge of l:la~rat Fatima.» — la medida que esa doctrina fija: la preeminencia de los profetas por su conocimiento de Dios se mide por su conocimiento de Fátima

«for Fatima-Sophia is the tabula secreta» — y la identificación que la cierra: Fátima-Sophia es la *tabula secreta*, el *lawh mahfuz*

«they are the identity of love, lover, and beloved, that identity which all $Ofrs» — la identidad de amor, amante y amado que Corbin atribuye a los Catorce Muy Puros; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde dice que para los espirituales chiíes esa identidad es inaccesible a quien no esté iniciado en el secreto de la imamología

«have aspired to live, and which, according to the Shrite Spirituals, is inaccessible to anyone not initiated into the secret of lmAmology. This can explain, for example, their circumspect attitude, that of Shaikhism, for example, toward non-Shrite $ftfism.» — y de ese deslinde explica Corbin la actitud circunspecta del shaikhismo hacia el sufismo no chií

«In the Qur'an there are verses whose complete meaning cannot be understood except by means of the spiritual hermeneutic, the Shl'ite ta'wil; for example, the verse (which we translate as required by this ta'wil) in which God declares: "Yes, I swear it by the Moon, and by the night when it retires, and by the dawn when it rises, this Sign is one of the greater Signs, one of those which warn human beings"» — el verso coránico que Corbin traduce según el ta’wil chií: el juramento por la Luna, por la noche que se retira y por el alba que se alza, y el Signo entre los Signos mayores

«This Sign among the greater Signs is l:la~rat Fatima in the midst of the "Fourteen Very-Pure."» — y a quién adjudica ese Signo esa hermenéutica: a Fátima en medio de los Catorce Muy Puros

«Only the Archangel Michael receives directly part of the knowledge concealed in the tabula secreta, which indicates the rank itself and the position of Fnpma-Sophia as the heart of the transcendent spiritual world.» — el rango que la tradición le fija a partir de la *tabula secreta*: solo el arcángel Miguel recibe directamente parte del conocimiento oculto en ella, lo que indica la posición de Fátima-Sophia como corazón del mundo espiritual trascendente

«ors) reaches heights foreshadowed by Goethe at the conclusion of the second Faust: an Eternally Feminine, preceding even terrestrial woman because preceding the differentiation of male and female in the terrestrial world, just as the supracelestial Earth rules over all the Earths, celestial and terrestrial, and exists before them.» — la altura a la que Corbin dice llegar esa sofiología: un Eternamente Femenino prefigurado por Goethe al final del segundo Fausto, anterior incluso a la mujer terrestre porque precede a la diferenciación de los sexos

«Fatima-Sophia is in fact the Soul: the Soul of creation, the Soul of each creature, that is, the constitutive part of the human being that appears essentially to the imaginative consciousness in the form of a feminine being, Anima.» — y la identificación que hace: Fátima-Sophia es el Alma —de la creación y de cada criatura—, la parte del ser humano que aparece a la consciencia imaginativa en forma de ser femenino

«She is the eternally feminine in man, and that is why she is the archetype of the heavenly Earth; she is both paradise and initiation into it, for .it is she who manifests the divine names and attributes revealed in the theophanic persons of the Imams, that is, in the Heavens of the Pleroma of the liihut.» — por eso, dice, es el arquetipo de la Tierra celeste y a la vez el paraíso y la iniciación en él, porque manifiesta los nombres y atributos divinos revelados en las personas teofánicas de los Imames

«Here one begins to understand the resurgence of a theme of primitive Shrite gnosis, more exactly of IsmA'Ill gnosis, in which Fatima is called Fll#ma Flltir, Fatima the Creator (in the mascu» — el tema de la gnosis chií primitiva, más exactamente ismaelí, que ve resurgir: Fátima llamada *Fatima Fatir*, Fátima el Creador, en masculino

«In FAtima they hail the "queen of women." But in this context it suggests that we look for its meaning far beyond and above the sexual differ~ entiation which is the condition of earthly humanity, a meaning that we have to translate by something like "sovereign of feminine humanity" or "of humanity in the feminine."» — y la relectura que propone del título con que hoy se la saluda: reina de las mujeres, entendido más allá de la diferenciación sexual como soberana de la humanidad en femenino

«Indeed, we have to take feminine as meaning, in the first place, the totality of the beings of the universes of the Possible!» — con el sentido que da a ese femenino: en primer lugar, la totalidad de los seres de los universos de lo Posible

«All creatures have been created out of the Soul itself, out of the Anima of the holy Imams; they issue from the "left side" of the latter, as Eve, the Anima of Adam, was created from his left side, as the light of the Sun consists of the manifested form and the qualifications of the sun.» — la cosmogonía que expone: todas las criaturas fueron creadas del Alma misma de los Imames y salen de su costado izquierdo, como Eva del de Adán

«All creatures being formed from their soul, the ontological status of the universe of creatures in r~lation to the holy ImAms as cosmogonic powers is a feminine status.» — y la consecuencia: el estatuto ontológico del universo de las criaturas respecto de los Imames como potencias cosmogónicas es un estatuto femenino

«But at the same time the ImAms, who inaugurate on earth the cycle of Initiation into the hidden meaning of the revelations, were created from the soul of the Prophet, or rather they are the soul of the Prophet.» — y a la vez los Imames fueron creados del alma del Profeta, o más bien son el alma del Profeta

«In this sense, the ImAms are the "brides" of the Prophet. And furthermore, since Initiation is nothing but the spiritual birth of the adepts, in speaking of the "mother of the believers" in the true sense, we should understand that the real and esoteric meaning of this word "mother" refers to the ImAms. Indeed, this spiritual birth is effected through them, and the following saying of the Prophet refers to this: "I and 'All are the father and the mother of this community."» — de ahí las dos fórmulas que la doctrina saca: los Imames son las esposas del Profeta, y el sentido esotérico de *madre de los creyentes* remite a ellos, según el dicho del Profeta sobre él y ‘Ali como padre y madre de la comunidad

«The ImAms are masculine as agents of cosmogony, since creation is their soul; as authors of spiritual creation they are feminine, since they are the Soul and since the Soul is FAtima.» — la simetría con que Corbin la resuelve: los Imames son masculinos como agentes de la cosmogonía y femeninos como autores de la creación espiritual, porque son el Alma y el Alma es Fátima

«She is the theophany and she is the Initiation; she is majma~ al-nurayn, the confluence of the two lights, the light of Prophecy and the light of Initiation.» — el título que le adjudica: *majma‘ al-nurayn*, la confluencia de las dos luces, la de la Profecía y la de la Iniciación

«From this pleromatic height we can distinguish the fundamental sound emerging from the depths: namely, that which Mazdean Sophiology formulated in the idea of spendar matikih, the Sophianity with which Spenta Armaiti, the feminine Angel of the Earth invested the faithful believer.» — y la fundamental que dice oír desde esa altura: la *spendarmatikih* de la sofiología mazdea, la Sofianidad con que Spenta Armaiti invistió al creyente

«However, unlike what we found in the "Oriental theosophy" of Suhrawardi, the name of Spenta Armaiti has not been mentioned in the passages we have just analyzed and commented upon.» — el límite que Corbin declara de su propia demostración: a diferencia de lo que ocurre en Suhrawardi, el nombre de Spenta Armaiti no aparece en los pasajes que acaba de comentar

«Nevertheless, if our harmonic perception makes it possible to discern spontaneously the chord produced by the Mazdean Earth transfigured by the Light of Glory and the celestial Earth transfigured in the person of Fatima-Sophia, this concordance will be confirmed in another way.» — y de qué depende entonces: de que la percepción armónica discierna el acorde, concordancia que dice que se confirmará por otra vía

«Unfortunately, we cannot attempt here a comparative outline that would follow from the analogy suggested, on the one hand, by the relationship between Mui)ammad, FAtima, and the hidden Imam-the one whose parousia will also be a prelude to the apokatastasis-and, on the other hand, by the relationship between Zarathustra, the mother of the last Saoshyant and the last Saoshyant in person.» — la comparación que declara no poder emprender aquí: la de la relación Mahoma-Fátima-Imam oculto con la de Zaratustra, la madre del último Saoshyant y el Saoshyant

«But what needs to be pointed out, however, is that in the voluminous literature still produced nowadays in Shrite Iran, around the traditional sources dealing with the hidden ImAm, there are abundant references showing that certain Shrite theologians have a direct knowledge of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, as well as of Zoroastrian eschatology.» — lo que sí registra: en la abundante literatura chií irania sobre el Imam oculto hay referencias que muestran conocimiento directo de la Biblia y de la escatología zoroástrica

«Already in the seventeenth century, when Qutbuddln Ashkivarr, one of the most outstanding pupils of Mir DAmAd (the great master of theology in the I$fahAn school) was writing his spiritual history in three cycles (ancient Sages and prophets, figures of Sunnite Islam, portraits of Shrite Islam) , he stressed the identity of the features that mark the Person of the Zoroastrian Saoshyant, and of the attributes according to the Shi~ite faith of the Person of the Twelfth, or hidden, Imam.» — el precedente que aduce: ya en el siglo XVII Qutbuddin Ashkivari, discípulo de Mir Damad, subrayó la identidad de rasgos entre el Saoshyant zoroástrico y el Duodécimo Imam

«We are thinking especially of the pages in which the Shaikh refers10 to one of the ecstasies of Zarathustra, in the course of which Ohrmazd gives his prophet the vision of a tree with seven branches, the shadow of which reached out to every place on the Earth. The seven branches of the tree were made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, lead, steel, and iron, respectively. Ohrmazd explains to Zarathustra the meaning of each branch: each (as in the vision of Daniel ) symbolizes one of the great empires.» — la visión de Zaratustra que Karim Khan Kirmani recoge y Corbin resume: un árbol de siete ramas de oro, plata, cobre, bronce, plomo, acero y hierro, cada una un gran imperio, como en la visión de Daniel

«With the seventh branch, that is, the seventh period, inaugurated by the reign of the 'Abbiisids (indicated by their symbolic color, which is black) , catastrophes follow in rapid succession, among them the whirlwind descent of the Mongols.» — y lo que trae la séptima rama en ese relato: inaugurada por el reinado abasí, con su color simbólico negro, se encadenan las catástrofes, entre ellas la irrupción de los mongoles

«But Ohrmazd consoles Zarathustra by announcing the advent of the eschatological hero, Bahram V arjavand, who will come from the East, from Central Asia.» — el consuelo con que se cierra: el advenimiento del héroe escatológico Bahram Varjavand, que vendrá del Este, de Asia Central

«His name defines his person: Bahram is the Persian name for the planet Mars (now we have already seen that in the heavens of the pleroma of the lahut, the homologue of the Heaven of Mars is the Heaven of the Twelfth Imam); V arjavand means he who possesses the power and sovereignty of the Light of Glory, the Xvarnah.» — y la lectura del nombre: Bahram es el nombre persa del planeta Marte —cuyo homólogo pleromático es el Cielo del Duodécimo Imam— y Varjavand, el que posee el poder de la Luz de Gloria

«This, therefore, is why we read that Fatima is the theophany of the supreme pleroma, and that is why the theophanic and initiatic function of the holy ImAms is precisely their "FAtimic" degree of being (their fa#miya, which we faithfully translate as "Sophianity") , and this is how Fatima comes to be called FAtima FAtir, Fatima the Creator.» — y el nombre que se sigue: la función teofánica e iniciática de los Imames es su grado de ser fatímico, su *fatimiya*, que Corbin vierte por Sofianidad, y de ahí que Fátima se llame Fatir, la Creadora

«This has a gnostic flavor, to be sure, but that is exactly what it means to "see things in Horqalya." It means to see man and his world essentially in a vertical direction.» — lo que Corbin admite y lo que sostiene: la cosa tiene sabor gnóstico, y eso es exactamente lo que significa ver las cosas en Hurqalya, es decir ver al hombre y su mundo en dirección vertical

«The Orient-origin, which orients and magnetizes the return and reascent, is the celestial pole, the cosmic North, the "emerald rock" at the summit of the cosmic mountain of QAf, in the very place where the world of Horqalya begins; so it is not a region situated in the East on the maps, not even those old maps that place the East at the top, in place of the North.» — dónde sitúa ese Oriente-origen: el polo celeste, el Norte cósmico, la roca de esmeralda en la cima de la montaña de Qaf, y no una región del Este de los mapas

«The meaning of man and the meaning of his world are conferred upon them by this polar dimension12 and not by a linear, horizontal, and one-dimensional evolution, that famous "sense of history" which nowadays has been taken for granted, even though the terms of reference on which it is based remain entirely hypothetical.» — y su objeción al sentido de la historia: el sentido del hombre y de su mundo se lo confiere esa dimensión polar, no una evolución lineal y unidimensional cuyos términos de referencia siguen siendo hipotéticos

«The Earth of Light, the Terra Lucida of Manicheism, like that of Mandeism, is also situated in the direction of the cosmic North.» — la serie de Tierras de Luz que sitúa al Norte: la *Terra Lucida* del maniqueísmo y la del mandeísmo

«In the same way, according to the mystic fAbd al-Karrm Jili ( cf. Part Two, Art. IV), the "Earth of the souls" is a region in the far North, the only one not to have been affected by the consequences of the fall of Adam.» — y la que ‘Abd al-Karim Jili describe, según Corbin: la Tierra de las almas, región del extremo Norte, única no alcanzada por las consecuencias de la caída de Adán

«It is the abode of the "men of the Invisible," ruled by the mysterious prophet Khi?r. A characteristic feature is that its light is that of the "midnight sun," since the evening prayer is unknown there, dawn rising before the sun has set.» — con su rasgo característico: morada de los hombres del Invisible, gobernada por el profeta Khidr, cuya luz es la del sol de medianoche, porque ahí no se conoce la oración de la tarde

«And here it might be useful to look at all the symbols that converge toward the paradise of the North, the souls' Earth of Light and the castle of the Grail.» — y la convergencia que sugiere en condicional: los símbolos que apuntan al paraíso del Norte, la Tierra de Luz de las almas y el castillo del Grial

«By guiding us to the higher octave, to the pleroma of the lahut, Shaikhi theosophy has shown us how Fa~ima-Sophia is the supracelestial Earth, because she is the Soul, the Anima or manifested form of the supreme pleroma.» — el resultado que da por obtenido: la teosofía shaikhí mostró cómo Fátima-Sophia es la Tierra supraceleste por ser el Alma, la forma manifestada del pleroma supremo

«As our authors gradually help us to enter into the "eighth climate," we shall also be learning how the Anima substantiva of the adept, his "spiritual body," is the Earth of h~s Paradise.» — y lo que anuncia para lo que sigue: cómo el *anima substantiva* del adepto, su cuerpo espiritual, es la Tierra de su Paraíso

«Now this Earth of Hurqalya is where the hidden Imam lives at the present time.» — el dato que enlaza las dos mitades del libro: esa Tierra de Hurqalya es donde vive ahora el Imam oculto

«For, as we shall learn, the parousia or manifestation of th~ hidden Imam is not an external event destined suddenly to appear on the calendar of physical time; it is a disoccultation that gradually takes place as the pilgrim of the spirit, rising» — y la tesis que Corbin adelanta sobre la parusía: no es un suceso externo destinado a aparecer en el calendario del tiempo físico, sino una desocultación que ocurre a medida que el peregrino del espíritu hace advenir en sí mismo al Imam esperado

«The historian Tabarl (ninth century) has preserved for us some of the earliest information available about a mysterious region, which his description enables us to identify as the "Earth of the Emerald Cities."» — la fuente más antigua que aduce: Tabari, en el siglo IX, con la descripción que permite identificar la Tierra de las Ciudades de Esmeralda

«Two cities are situated there---Jabar~a and Jabalqa13-to which the traditions we shall study here add a third city, Horqalya; the name Horqalya is then used to designate this mystic country as a whole.» — las dos ciudades que ahí sitúa —Jabarsa y Jabalqa— y la tercera que añaden las tradiciones que va a estudiar, Hurqalya, cuyo nombre pasa a designar el país entero

«I regret not being able yet to provide a satisfactory etymology for these names; leaving aside several plausible hypotheses, we shall simply conform here to the traditional pronunciation still in use today in Iranian spiritual circles.» — la abstención que Corbin declara: lamenta no poder dar todavía una etimología satisfactoria de esos nombres y se atiene a la pronunciación tradicional en uso en los círculos espirituales iranios

«Jabar~a and Jabalqa, Tabari tells us, are two emerald cities that lie immediately beyond the mountain of Qaf. Like those of the Heavenly Jerusalem, their dimensions express quaternity, the symbol of perfection and wholeness. The surface of each is a square, the sides measuring twelve thousand parasangs.» — la descripción que atribuye a Tabari: dos ciudades de esmeralda inmediatamente más allá de la montaña de Qaf, de superficie cuadrada y doce mil parasangas de lado, como la Jerusalén celeste

«The inhabitants do not know of the existence of our Adam, nor of Iblis, the Antagonist; their food consists exclusively of vegetables; they have no need of clothing, for their faith in God makes them like the angels, although they are not angels. Since they are not differentiated by sex, they have no desire for posterity.» — y sus habitantes, según ese texto: no saben de nuestro Adán ni de Iblís, comen solo vegetales, no necesitan ropa y, al no estar diferenciados por sexo, no desean posteridad

«Lastly, all their light comes to them from the mountain of Qaf, while the minerals in their soil and the walls of their towns (like those of the archetypal paradise of Virna ) secrete their own light.» — con el rasgo que a Corbin le importa: toda su luz les viene de la montaña de Qaf, y los minerales de su suelo y los muros de sus ciudades segregan su propia luz

«Moreover, traditions specifically describe the mountain Qa.f as the mountain surrounding our universe and as formed entirely of emerald, the reflection of which produces the green color (which to us looks blue) of the celestial vault.» — y las tradiciones que describen el Qaf como la montaña que rodea el universo, formada enteramente de esmeralda, cuyo reflejo da su color verde —que a nosotros nos parece azul— a la bóveda celeste

«Or again, it is the rock ( ,akhra ) forming the keystone of the celestial vault and imagined as being composed of emerald and as casting a reflection on the mountain of Qa.f.» — o bien, en la otra versión que consigna sin arbitrar, es la roca que hace de clave de la bóveda celeste y proyecta su reflejo sobre la montaña

«What the visio smaragdina perceives here is, therefore, the cosmic mountain encircling and overhanging our earthly habitat; the cosmic mountain was also what was perceived as encompassing the visible horizon of ::Eran-Vej, in medio mundi, at the very place where the Chinvat Bridge projected from a high peak to join this cosmic mountain, whose ascent led the soul to the realm of infinite Lights.» — lo que la *visio smaragdina* percibe, según Corbin: la montaña cósmica que ciñe nuestro hábitat, la misma que cerraba el horizonte de Eran-Vej donde arrancaba el Puente de Chinvat

«Now the geographer Ya.qilt expressly .affirms that the mountain of Qa.f was once called the Elburz.17 Indeed, it is the very same ~untain which is the "mother" of all the mountains of the world; they are connected to it by subterranean branches and veins.» — el dato de Yaqut que aduce: la montaña de Qaf se llamó antes Elburz, y es la madre de todas las montañas del mundo, unidas a ella por ramas y venas subterráneas

«And it is also the one climbed by the pilgrims of the spirit -as in Suhrawardl's "Recital of the Occidental Exile," for example-to reach the emerald rock looming before them like the translucent side of a mystical Sinai.» — y la que escalan los peregrinos del espíritu —como en el Relato del exilio occidental de Suhrawardi— hasta la roca de esmeralda que se les alza como la ladera translúcida de un Sinaí místico

«Therefore, the mountain of Qaf marks the boundary between two worlds, the one visible and the other invisible to the senses. In order to penetrate into the cities hidden on its further side, the mystical pilgrim must have passed beyond the evidence of the senses and common norms, must have faced the ordeals symbolized by the long journey in the Darkness across the distances that separate him from the Earth of the emerald cities.» — la función que le asigna: la montaña de Qaf marca la frontera entre dos mundos, y para pasar al otro lado el peregrino tiene que haber dejado atrás la evidencia de los sentidos y las normas comunes

«Of course, insofar as the mountain of QAf only lends its name to the ancient Elburz, its primordial Image haa been projected» — con su acotación doble: en cuanto la montaña de Qaf presta su nombre al viejo Elburz, su Imagen primordial se proyecta también sobre espacios de geografía empírica, y en cuanto Imagen primordial marca siempre el extremo del mundo, inaccesible a los hombres

«To reach it, it would be necessary to walk for four months "in the Darkness"; that is why Alexander's progress through the region of Darkness is that of the archetypal spiritual hero, in Avicenna's "Recital of ijayy ibn Yaq~an," as well as in the ex-egesis of the Quranic Sora 18:84, describing how Alexander's Quest led him to th~ extreme Occident and the extreme Orient of the universe.» — la travesía que se requiere: cuatro meses de marcha en las Tinieblas, y por eso el avance de Alejandro por la región de la Oscuridad es el del héroe espiritual arquetípico

«In short, to penetrate into these Earths is to gain access to the intermediate climate of the "celestial souls" that move the Spheres and are preeminently endowed with pure Imagination, not depending on the senses.» — lo que significa entrar en esas Tierras, según Corbin: acceder al clima intermedio de las almas celestes que mueven las Esferas y están dotadas de Imaginación pura, no dependiente de los sentidos

«It is the "eighth climate," into which, as into :Eran-Vej, one does not penetrate with the organs of sensory perception, but by passing through the "Source of Life," at the psycho-cosmic center.» — y cómo se entra: no con los órganos de la percepción sensorial sino pasando por la Fuente de la Vida, en el centro psicocósmico

«This schema divides the totality of thinkable being into a cosmic Occident and a cosmic Orient.» — el esquema aviceniano que trae para orientarse: divide la totalidad del ser pensable en un Occidente y un Oriente cósmicos

«The "Occident" represents the sensory material world, and it is twofold: there is the "climate" of sublunar terrestrial.matter, that of our material Earth, subject to generation and dissolution; and there is the "climate" of celestial matter, that of the Spheres, consisting of an etheric substance, diaphanous and incorruptible, but still, however, deriving from the physical.» — qué es ese Occidente: doble, con el clima de la materia terrestre sublunar sujeta a generación y disolución y el de la materia celeste de las Esferas, etérea e incorruptible pero todavía física

«It is said, in fact, that in this mountain .. there is neither sun, nor moon, nor» — lo que se dice de esa montaña: que no hay en ella ni sol, ni luna, ni estrellas; la frase se corta al pasar de plana, donde Corbin la homologa con la novena Esfera ptolemaica, cielo sin constelaciones

«Now we know that in the Ptolemaic system a characteristic of the ninth Sphere, which comprises the totality of the celestial Spheres and communicates diurnal movement to them, is that it is a heaven without constellations.» — y la homologación que hace: en el sistema ptolemaico la novena Esfera, que comprende todas las demás y les comunica el movimiento diurno, es justamente un cielo sin constelaciones

«The universe thus imagined, free from misleading and perishable sensory data, is therefore a function of the pure transcendental Imagination and depends only on its categories, which are a priori archetypal Images.» — la definición que da del universo imaginado: liberado de los datos sensoriales engañosos, es función de la Imaginación trascendental pura y depende solo de sus categorías, que son Imágenes arquetípicas a priori

«That is why this universe is called talam al-mithal, the world of archetypal Images, the world of autonomous imaginative forms, or again, the world of correspondences and symbols, that is, a world symbolizing with the sensory, which it precedes, and with the intelligible, which it imitates.» — y sus nombres: ‘alam al-mithal, mundo de las Imágenes arquetípicas, de las formas imaginativas autónomas, de las correspondencias y los símbolos, que simboliza con lo sensible que precede y con lo inteligible que imita

«It is a mixed world, mediating between the sensory and the intelligible; it is the center of the worlds, or again the "intermediate Orient," between the "near» — su lugar: mundo mixto, centro de los mundos, Oriente intermedio entre el Oriente próximo del alma que despierta a sí misma y el Oriente lejano del pleroma de Inteligencias querúbicas

«Thus, as pictured by our Spirituals in their own way, it represents this intermediate kingdom between pure matter and pure Spirit, an intermediary necessary in order to validate the visionary events, the entire dramaturgy of which the soul is both the subject and the scene» — y su necesidad, según sus espirituales: un reino intermedio entre materia pura y Espíritu puro, necesario para validar los sucesos visionarios cuya dramaturgia tiene al alma por sujeto y por escena

«The premises and structural purpose of this intermediate universe, this mundus archetypus, have so far been very little analyzed.» — la deuda que Corbin declara: las premisas y la finalidad estructural de ese *mundus archetypus* se han analizado muy poco hasta ahora

«This school, still very much alive today in Iran (where its principal center is Kirman ) , 22 can give us an idea of what a purely spiritual Islam would represent for our modern times.» — y lo que espera de la escuela shaikhí, viva todavía en Irán con su centro principal en Kirman: puede dar idea de lo que sería un islam puramente espiritual para los tiempos modernos

«They tell us that while the world with extension perceptible to the senses includes selJen climates (the seven keshlJars previously mentioned), another world exists, which forms the eighth climate.» — lo que Suhrawardi y sus comentadores enseñan, según Corbin: frente al mundo de extensión sensible con sus siete climas, existe otro mundo que forma el octavo clima

«The ancient Sages were alluding to this world when they declared that besides the sensory world there is another world with shape and dimensions also extending in space, but the shape, dimensions, and extent of this other world are not identical with those we perceive in the world of physical bodies, although what exists in the sensory world has its analogue there; it is not a question of sensory dimensions, but of exemplary imaginative dimensions ( maqtidir mithiiliya)» — con la precisión que le importa: ese otro mundo tiene forma y dimensiones, pero no sensoriales, sino dimensiones imaginativas ejemplares

«So here we have a threefold universe: an intelligible universe, a sensory universe, and between the two a universe for which it is difficult in our language to find a satisfactory term.» — el problema de vocabulario que Corbin declara: entre el universo inteligible y el sensorial hay uno para el que cuesta hallar en nuestra lengua un término satisfactorio

«If we use the word Imaginable, we risk suggesting the idea of eventuality, possibility. The word must be given all the force of a technical term as designating the object proper to the imaginatilJe perception, everything that can be perceived by the Imagination, with as much reality and truth as the sensory can be perceived by the senses, or the intelligible by the intellect.» — y por qué descarta *imaginable*: arrastra la idea de eventualidad, cuando el término debe designar el objeto propio de la percepción imaginativa con tanta realidad como lo sensible para los sentidos

«Perhaps then it would be simpler to use the word lmaginatilJe, provided the term is related both to the subject who imagines and to the Image which is imagined; moreover, the latter is the Image of this subject; the imaginatilJe world is the world of the soul which is made Image by the organ of the soul, thereby revealing to it its own Image.» — la solución que propone con su reserva: quizá sea más simple decir *imaginativo*, siempre que el término se refiera a la vez al sujeto que imagina y a la Imagen imaginada

«So this is a universe which symbolizes both with corporeal substance, because it possesses shape, dimensions» — la fórmula que le da: un universo que simboliza a la vez con la sustancia corpórea, por tener forma y extensión, y con la separada, por estar hecho de luz; materia inmaterial e incorpóreo corporeizado

«There, among other marvels, are three immense cities, Jabalqa, Jabar~A, Horqalya, peopled by innumerable creatures.» — lo que ahí se sitúa: tres ciudades inmensas, Jabalqa, Jabarsa y Hurqalya, pobladas por criaturas innumerables

«thus JAbar~A and Jabalqa correspond to the terrestrial world of elementary matter, while Horqalya corresponds to the Heavens of the physical world.» — y su reparto por homología: Jabarsa y Jabalqa corresponden al mundo terrestre de la materia elemental y Hurqalya a los Cielos del mundo físico

«The world of Horqalyrr therefore contains both Heavens and an Earth, not a sensory Earth and Heavens, but Earth and Heavens in the state of exemplary Images.» — de modo que el mundo de Hurqalya contiene Cielos y Tierra, no sensoriales, sino en estado de Imágenes ejemplares

«Likewise, the Earth of Horqalya also includes all the archetypal Images of individual beings and corporeal things existing in the sensory world (so our authors ask that these archetypal Images should not be confused with the Platonic Ideas which, although designated by the plural of the same word, muthul, are pure intelligibles)» — con la advertencia que Corbin atribuye a sus autores: esas Imágenes arquetípicas no deben confundirse con las Ideas platónicas, que aun designadas por el plural de la misma palabra son puros inteligibles

«This eighth climate, this world in the subtle-state, which includes many degrees, and which is impenetrable by the sensory organs, is the real place of all psycho-spiritual events (visions, charismas, thaumaturgical actions breaching the physical laws of space and time), which are considered simply as imaginary-that is, as unreal-so long as one remains in the rational dilemma which is restricted to a choice between the two terms of banal dualism, "matter" or "spirit," corresponding to that other one: "history" or "myth."» — y su función: el octavo clima es el lugar real de todos los sucesos psicoespirituales —visiones, carismas, acciones taumatúrgicas— que se tienen por imaginarios mientras se permanece en el dilema banal entre materia y espíritu, historia o mito

«In his turn, Shaikh Al}mad Al}sA'! describes in detail the ideal topography of the E~~ of Horqalya. 27 It begins, he says, on the convex surface of the ninth Sphere» — la topografía que Corbin atribuye a Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i: la Tierra de Hurqalya empieza en la superficie convexa de la novena Esfera

«There is a discontinuity between sensory space and the spatiality proper to the archetypal world of Images, which is tra.11sspatial in relation to the first one.» — y la discontinuidad que declara: entre el espacio sensorial y la espacialidad propia del mundo de las Imágenes, que es transespacial respecto del primero

«in the same way Shaikh Al)mad situated Hurqalya both at the "high point of Time" (a'la'l-zaman) and at the lowest or first degree of eternity ( asfal al-Dahr, more exactly of the Aevum or eternal Time)» — la doble situación temporal que Shaikh Ahmad le da: en el punto más alto del Tiempo y en el grado más bajo o primero de la eternidad

«Finally, it is, therefore, an interworld, limiting and conjoining time and eternity, space and transspace, just as its immaterial matter and its celestial Earth are also the sign of its coincidentia oppositorum, 30 the conjunction of the sensory and the intelligible in the pure space of the archetype-Images.» — de donde Corbin concluye que es un intermundo que limita y conjunta tiempo y eternidad, espacio y transespacio, signo de su *coincidentia oppositorum*

«When you learn in the treatises of ancient Sages," writes Suhrawardr, "that there exists a world with dimensions and extension, other than the pleroma of Intelligences and other than the world governed by the Souls of the Spheres, a world with eo many cities that it is almost impossible to count their» — la advertencia de Suhrawardi traducida por Corbin: si en los tratados de los antiguos Sabios se lee que existe otro mundo con dimensiones y con tantas ciudades que casi no se pueden contar; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«number, do not hasten to call this a lie; it so happens that the pilgrims of the spirit contemplate this world and in it find every object of their desire.» — y su cierre, ya en la plana siguiente: que nadie se apresure a llamarlo mentira, porque los peregrinos del espíritu contemplan ese mundo y encuentran en él todo objeto de su deseo

«It is both immaterial matter and the incorporeal corporealized. It is the limit which separates» — la fórmula que le da: materia inmaterial e incorpóreo corporeizado, límite que a la vez separa y une, llamado *barzakh* en la teosofía especulativa del sufismo

«this means, in effect, that if things corresponding to all these are visible and seen in this world, here on this terrestrial Earth, it is because ultimately what we call physis and physical is but the reflection of the world of the Soul; there is no pure physics, but always the physics of some definite psychic activity.» — la consecuencia que Corbin saca de la doctrina de Sarkar Agha: lo que llamamos *physis* y físico no es más que el reflejo del mundo del Alma, y no hay física pura sino siempre la física de alguna actividad psíquica definida

«So, to become aware of it is to see the world of the Soul, to see all things as they are in the Earth of HnrqalyA, the Earth of emerald cities, it is the viaio amaragdina, which is the surrection and the resurrection of the world of the Soul.» — y lo que sigue: darse cuenta de eso es ver el mundo del Alma, ver las cosas como son en la Tierra de Hurqalya, y eso es la *visio smaragdina*; el troceo imprime *viaio amaragdina*

«That is why we were able to say that the mystical Earth of Ho.rqalya represents, as it were, the phenomenon of the Earth in its absolute state, that is, absolved from the empirical appearance displayed to the senses, and, on the other hand, the real apparition restored by the transcendental Imagination alone.» — la definición que repite: la Tierra mística de Hurqalya es el fenómeno de la Tierra en estado absoluto, absuelto de la apariencia empírica y restituido por la sola Imaginación trascendental

«Here all realities exist in the state of Images, and these Images are a priori or archetypal; in other words, they are themselves, as it were, pre-meditant, in the meditation of the soul whose world they are, for, since they are the world, that is the activity proper to this soul, they "give the measure" of this soul, express its structure and its energies.» — y qué son esas Imágenes: a priori o arquetípicas, premeditantes en la meditación del alma cuyo mundo son, y que por eso dan la medida de esa alma

«The way of seeing the Earth and the way of seeing the soul are the very same thing, the vision in which the soul perceives itself; this can be its paradise, and it can be its hell.» — la identidad que declara: el modo de ver la Tierra y el modo de ver el alma son una misma cosa, y esa visión puede ser su paraíso y puede ser su infierno

«From the clay from which Adam was created, he says, 85 or rather from the leaven of this clay, a surplus remained. From this surplus an Earth was created whose Arabic name ( Ar4 J:taqiqa) can be translated both as "Earth of True Reality" and "Earth of Real Truth."» — el relato de Ibn ‘Arabi que Corbin resume: del sobrante de la levadura del barro con que fue creado Adán se creó una Tierra cuyo nombre árabe se traduce como Tierra de la Realidad Verdadera

«It is an immense Earth, which itself includes Heavens and Earths, Paradises and Hells. A great number of things whose existence in our world has been proven rationally and validly to be impossible, nevertheless do exist without a doubt in that Earth-the prairie on which the mystical theosophists never tire of feasting their eyes.» — y cómo la describe: una Tierra inmensa que incluye Cielos y Tierras, Paraísos e Infiernos, donde existen sin duda cosas cuya existencia se ha probado racionalmente imposible en el nuestro

«And here is the point: in the whole of the universes of this Earth of Truth, God has created for each soul a universe corresponding to that soul. When the mystic contemplates this universe, it is himself (nafs, his Anima), that he is contemplating.» — el punto que a Corbin le importa de ese relato: en esa Tierra Dios creó para cada alma un universo que le corresponde, de modo que al contemplarlo el místico se contempla a sí mismo

«That is why this Earth of Truth is the place where all the Images which the soul projects on its horizon really subsist and disclose to it the presence of one or another of its states.» — de ahí que sea, dice, el lugar donde subsisten realmente las Imágenes que el alma proyecta sobre su horizonte y le descubren la presencia de tal o cual de sus estados

«This Earth of Truth is the Earth of the flowering of symbols that the rational intellect fails to penetrate, believing as it usually does that in "explaining" a symbol it has by the same token made it disappear by rendering it superfluous.» — y su reparo al intelecto racional: cree que al explicar un símbolo lo hace desaparecer volviéndolo superfluo

«That is also why this Earth is the place of visionary recitals, of prayer in dialogue; it is not, Ibn 'Arabi says, the place of mystical annihilations, of the abysses of negative theology, but the place of divine epiphanies ( tajal/iyat ilahiya) , which do not volatilize the soul nor tear it away from the vision of itself, but on the contrary help it to be at last with itself and in itself.» — lo que Ibn ‘Arabi dice de ella, según Corbin: no es el lugar de las aniquilaciones místicas ni de los abismos de la teología negativa, sino el de las epifanías divinas, que no volatilizan el alma sino que la ayudan a estar por fin consigo

«For one does not enter into it with bodies of coarse matter. The adept must know that if he happens to see there with his eyes some spiritual entity, it is because he has become qualified to clothe himself in one of those Forms assumed by Angels when they make themselves visible to nonsensory perception.» — y la condición de entrada: no se entra ahí con cuerpos de materia grosera, y quien ve una entidad espiritual es porque se ha cualificado para vestir una de las Formas que asumen los Ángeles

«This intermediate world," he says, "occupies in the macrocosm the same rank as the Imagination in the microcosm." And for this reason "it is the world through which spirits are embodied, and bodies spiritualized.» — la fórmula de Muhsin Fayz que Corbin da por la más concisa: ese mundo intermedio ocupa en el macrocosmos el mismo rango que la Imaginación en el microcosmos, y por eso es el mundo por el que los espíritus se corporeizan y los cuerpos se espiritualizan

«The intermediate world is accessible only to the active Imagination, which is at the same time the founder of its own universe and the transmuter of sensory data into symbols.» — y quién tiene acceso: solo la Imaginación activa, a la vez fundadora de su propio universo y transmutadora de los datos sensoriales en símbolos

«This Earth of Hurqalya, which the adept's meditation feeds with his own substance, is at the same time the Earth from which his meditation extracts and develops the subtle elements of his body of resurrection.» — la reciprocidad que declara: la Tierra que la meditación del adepto alimenta con su propia sustancia es la Tierra de la que esa meditación extrae los elementos sutiles de su cuerpo de resurrección

«Suhrawardt relates in one of his books38 how, during a period of overwork and spiritual ordeal brought on by meditation on the problem of Knowledge, up to then unsolved by him, one night, while still in an intermediate state between waking and sleeping, he was gratified by the apparition of the Imam of Philosophers, the Primus Magister, Aristotle.» — el primer caso que trae: Suhrawardi cuenta cómo, tras un periodo de agotamiento meditando el problema del Conocimiento, se le apareció en estado intermedio entre vigilia y sueño el Imam de los Filósofos, Aristóteles

«Elsewhere, referring to this memorable conversation, he speaks of it as an event that» — y dónde sitúa el propio Suhrawardi ese suceso: en la estación mística de Jabarsa

«Precisely, the first advice given by Aristotle's apparition to his visionary, in order to free him from the problem troubling him, from which he found no relief in philosophy books, is this: "Awake to yourself."» — el consejo con que la aparición responde, según ese relato: despierta a ti mismo

«For, with this "awakening to oneself" the whole inner experience of the lshraq expands, that is the experience of the rising of the light, of the light in its Orient. When it awakens to itself, the soul is itself this rising dawn, itself the substance of the Orient Light.» — y su lectura: con ese despertar se despliega la experiencia entera del *ishraq*, la del alba de la luz, y el alma es ella misma esa aurora naciente

«The "Earths" that it illuminates are no longer, for it, a collection of outer places and things, knowable only through descriptive science ( 'ilm rasmi); they are, for the soul, its very presence to itself, its absolute activity, which it knows through "presential science" ( 'ilm ~utjuri), that is, through this "Oriental knowledge" ('i/m ishriiqi) which can be characterized as cognitio matutina.» — lo que cambia entonces para el alma: las Tierras que ilumina dejan de ser lugares exteriores conocidos por ciencia descriptiva y pasan a ser su propia presencia a sí, conocida por ciencia presencial, la *cognitio matutina*

«Hermes is the ideal hero of this cognitio matutina. This is the second experimental datum borrowed also from Suhrawardi's works. As one can be easily convinced, the person of Hermes is there as a substitute for that of the author to thematize the personal event.» — el segundo caso, y la advertencia de lectura que Corbin le pone: Hermes es el héroe ideal de esa *cognitio matutina* y está ahí como sustituto del propio autor para tematizar el suceso personal

«One night when the sun was shining, Hermes was praying in the temple of Light. When the column of dawn burst forth, he saw an Earth being swallowed up with cities on which the divine anger had fallen, and they toppled into the abyss. Then he cried out: 'Thou who art my father, save me from being imprisoned with those who are near perdition!' And he heard a voice cry out in response: 'Grab the cable of our Irradiation and ascend to the battlements of the Throne.' So he ascended and under his feet, Lo! Earth and Heavens.» — el relato de Suhrawardi traducido por Corbin: Hermes orando de noche en el templo de la Luz ve hundirse una Tierra con sus ciudades, clama a su padre y una voz le responde que agarre el cable de la Irradiación y ascienda a las almenas del Trono

«There is the Earth, which is engulfed with its cities: it is the terrestrial Earth together with the faculties of sensory perception that apprehend it; they fall and vanish at dawn, that is, in the first gleam of the vision of ecstasy.» — los rasgos que aísla: la Tierra tragada con sus ciudades es la Tierra terrestre junto con las facultades de percepción sensorial que la aprehenden, y caen al alba

«Then the synchronism of the episodes is itself significant, confirming what we had noted in the event taking place in JAbar~A; there is a coincidence between dawn's breaking and the awakening to one's self.» — y el sincronismo que le parece significativo: la coincidencia entre el rayar del alba y el despertar a sí mismo

«For, this sun near which, at night, Hermes was praying, is his very soul which, in arising to itself, lets the empirical facts imposed upon him by his terrestrial sojourn sink back into their darkness: this sun is the spirit's "midnight sun" or "aurora borealis."» — con la identificación que propone: ese sol junto al que Hermes ora de noche es su propia alma, sol de medianoche o aurora boreal del espíritu

«Suhrawardi's commentators have devoted themselves to deciphering the meaning of this episode;42 it seems that it can be clearly interpreted without too much difficulty. The episode constitutes a case of celestial ''inner" ascension, such as are given in visionary biographies, Zarathuatra'sn as well as that of the» — cómo lo lee: un caso de ascensión celeste interior, de las que dan las biografías visionarias, la de Zaratustra entre ellas; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con la del Profeta en la noche del Mi‘raj

«Prophet of Islam during the night of the M if raj, 44 and it is such cases which have contributed to the need, particularly in Shaikhism, for the doctrine of the "spiritual body."» — y de esos casos salió, dice, la necesidad —sobre todo en el shaikhismo— de una doctrina del cuerpo espiritual

«Mention is then made of an Earth and of Heavens that Hermes, thereafter, has under his feet. Henceforth, Hermes is indeed on the Earth of HorqalyA, which implies that he has left below him all the Heavens of the physical cosmos, the "celestial Occident" of the material world.» — el segundo rasgo que aísla: la Tierra y los Cielos que Hermes tiene después bajo sus pies, lo que implica que ha dejado abajo todos los Cielos del cosmos físico, el Occidente celeste

«Rising dawn and awakening to oneself, penetration into the Earth of HfirqalyA and meeting with the celestial alter ego, these are the complementary aspects of the same event that proclaims the transmutation of the soul, its birth into the intermediary world.» — la equivalencia con que Corbin cierra el relato de Hermes: aurora naciente y despertar a sí mismo, entrada en la Tierra de Hurqalya y encuentro con el *alter ego* celeste son aspectos complementarios del mismo suceso

«It would undoubtedly take a whole book to exhaust all the allusions and meanings implied by this dramaturgy of ecstasy. In any case, it allows us to understand on what experimental data the efforts of our "Oriental" ( Ishraqr) theosophists or eofrs were based to establish in its autonomy and lofty reality this» — con la deuda que declara: haría falta un libro entero para agotar las alusiones de esa dramaturgia del éxtasis

«It had to be admitted that forms and figures of the "imaginative" world do not subsist like empirical realities of the physical world, otherwise they could rightfully be perceived by just anybody.» — la primera exclusión del estatuto ontológico que sus autores buscan: las formas del mundo imaginativo no subsisten como realidades empíricas del mundo físico, o cualquiera podría percibirlas

«It was also seen that they cannot subsist in the pure intelligible world, since they have extent and dimension, a materiality undoubtedly "immaterial" in relation to that of the sensory world, but still properly corporeal and spatial.» — ni pueden subsistir en el mundo inteligible puro, porque tienen extensión y dimensión, una materialidad inmaterial respecto de la sensorial pero propiamente corpórea

«For the same reason, they cannot have our thought alone as a substratum. And yet, they do not belong to the unreal, the void, otherwise we could neither perceive them nor have any opinion about them.» — ni tienen por sustrato nuestro solo pensamiento, ni pertenecen a lo irreal, porque entonces no podríamos percibirlas

«Thus the existence of an intermediary world ( al-falam al-khaytili al-mithtili, mundus imaginalis archetypus) appeared metaphysically necessary.» — de donde la existencia de un mundo intermedio les resultó metafísicamente necesaria

«Equally dependent on it are: the validity of visionary recitals perceiving and relating "events in Heaven," the validity of dreams, of hierophanies and symbolic rituals, the reality of places constituted by intense meditation, the reality of inspired imaginative visions, of cosmogonic relations and of theogonies, the authenticity of the spiritual meaning decipherable under the imaginative data of prophetic revelations, and so on-briefly, everything that surpasses the order of common empirical perception and is individualized in a personal vision, undemonstrable by simple recourse to the criteria of sensory knowledge or rational understanding.» — y el inventario de lo que depende de él: la validez de los relatos visionarios, de los sueños, de las hierofanías y los ritos simbólicos, la realidad de los lugares constituidos por meditación intensa y el sentido espiritual descifrable bajo los datos imaginativos de las revelaciones proféticas

«one was led to conceive a mode of being formulated as a mode of "being in suspense"» — el modo de ser al que se llegó: el ser en suspenso, en que la Imagen o la Forma es su propia materia e independiente de un sustrato en el que fuera inmanente como un accidente

«That is why we always return to the apparitional mode which is that of subsistence of the Images "in suspense" in a mirror. This was generalized in a doctrine of epiphanic places and forms ( m~iihir) , which is one of the characteristic aspects of Suhrawardi's Oriental theosophy.» — y el modelo al que se vuelve siempre: la subsistencia de las Imágenes en suspenso en un espejo, generalizada en la doctrina de los lugares y formas epifánicos que Corbin da por rasgo característico de la teosofía oriental de Suhrawardi

«The active Imagination ( takhayyul) is the mirror par excellence, the epiphanic place ( m~har) of the Images of the archetypal world. That is why its perceptions are just as real as those of the sensory faculties.» — la tesis que se sigue: la Imaginación activa es el espejo por excelencia, lugar epifánico de las Imágenes del mundo arquetípico, y por eso sus percepciones son tan reales como las de los sentidos

«Personal figures, forms, and landscapes, plants and animals that appear in it no longer obey the permanent laws of density nor the conditions of the perceptibility of the sensory world.» — y con qué límite: las figuras, paisajes, plantas y animales que ahí aparecen ya no obedecen a las leyes permanentes de la densidad ni a las condiciones de perceptibilidad del mundo sensorial

«Thus, it is in Hurqalya that Pythagoras, for example, was able to perceive the melody of the Spheres, the cosmic music-that is to say, outside of his material body and without his organs of sensory perception.» — el ejemplo que trae: en Hurqalya pudo Pitágoras percibir la melodía de las Esferas, fuera de su cuerpo material y sin órganos de percepción sensorial

«It is therefore necessary to conceive that there are sounds, for example, perfectly perceptible by the active Imagination, which are not conditioned by vibrations of the air; they constitute the archetype-Image of sound.» — y lo que esa doctrina obliga a concebir: sonidos perceptibles por la Imaginación activa que no están condicionados por vibraciones del aire y constituyen la Imagen-arquetipo del sonido

«In short, there is a whole universe of correspondences in the image of the physical world (possessing figure, color, extension, scent, resonance) that does not depend on pure physics,49 or rather, that presupposes the integration of physics as such into psycho-spiritual activity, their conjunction in an intermediate world rising above the dualism of matter and spirit, of senses and intellect.» — el resumen que da: un universo entero de correspondencias a imagen del mundo físico que no depende de la física pura, sino que presupone su integración en la actividad psicoespiritual

«Hurqalyii is the Earth of the soul, because it is the soul's vision. "To see things in Hurqalya" is to see them as they are as events of the soul, and not as constituted into autonomous material realities, with a» — la definición que fija: Hurqalya es la Tierra del alma porque es la visión del alma, y ver las cosas en Hurqalya es verlas como sucesos del alma y no como realidades materiales autónomas

«Finally, it is a way of meditating the Earth and transfiguring it by this meditation.» — y, en último término, un modo de meditar la Tierra y transfigurarla por esa meditación

«It is here below, on this very Earth, the Shaikh tells us, that one must become an inhabitant of the Earth of Hurqalya, a Hurqalyiivi.» — el imperativo que Corbin toma de Sarkar Agha: es aquí abajo, en esta misma Tierra, donde hay que volverse habitante de la Tierra de Hurqalya, un *hurqalyavi*

«It is not an outward eyent to be expected sometime in the far distant future; it is an Event that here and now is taking place in souls and slowly progresses and matures there.» — y cómo entiende la espera del Imam: no un suceso exterior aguardado en un futuro lejano, sino un suceso que aquí y ahora ocurre en las almas y madura en ellas; el troceo imprime *eyent*

«The Imam's epiphany takes place for us," the Shaikh writes, "at the very moment when our eyes open [cf. above, "the eye of the world beyond," the "barzakhi eye"], the moment we contemplate the epiphany of this reign in all the universes.» — la fórmula del Shaikh que cita: la epifanía del Imam ocurre para nosotros en el momento mismo en que se abren nuestros ojos

«Then the statement of Shaikh Al;lmad Al;lsa'I takes on its full meaning, affirming that for the Spirituals "the Imam from this very day in H urqalyii is the object of their contemplation.» — y la de Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i que le da su sentido pleno: para los espirituales, el Imam es desde hoy mismo objeto de contemplación en Hurqalya

«This is what is meant by the Sun rising (or rising again) in the West, that is the Orient, in the true sense, the corollary being the decline of the ready-made empirical evidences of the material Earth, to which the soul had declined.» — cómo lee Corbin la fórmula del Sol que se alza en el Occidente: es el Oriente en sentido verdadero, con el ocaso correlativo de las evidencias empíricas ya hechas

«Furthermore, says the Shaikh, only then "you will have contemplated Hurqalya, and rising higher than this terrestrial Earth, will you have perceived the archetype-Image and the light of your own Imam, a light which encompasses at the same time the terrestrial world and all that is contained between Jabalqa and Jabar~a.» — y lo que el Shaikh promete a quien lo logre: haber contemplado Hurqalya y percibido la Imagen-arquetipo y la luz de su propio Imam

«That being admitted, the events of this history are seen to be much more than what we ourselves call "facts"; they are visions.» — la consecuencia que saca para la historia: sus sucesos resultan mucho más que lo que llamamos hechos, porque son visiones

«The orientation of the terrestrial Earth toward the Earth of Hurqalya, toward the celestial pole, confers a polar dimension on terrestrial existence, gives it a direction not evolutionary but vertical, ascensional. The past is not behind us, but "under our feet. "» — la dimensión que esa orientación confiere: polar, no evolutiva sino vertical y ascensional, y entonces el pasado no está detrás de nosotros sino bajo nuestros pies

«Where these habits demand what we call historical facts, verifiable concrete realities, physical events witnessed and recorded, we are answered mildly by "visions."» — el choque que registra: donde nuestros hábitos piden hechos históricos y realidades concretas verificables, se nos responde apaciblemente con visiones

«One may call this docetism, but perhaps the entire East has always been profoundly docetist (there is docetism in gnosis, there is docetism in Islam, there is a Buddhist docetism, for docetism is fundamentally nothing but a "theosophical" critique of knowledge, a phenomenology of spiritual forms)» — y el nombre que él mismo se adelanta a aceptar: puede llamársele docetismo, y quizá, dice, todo Oriente ha sido siempre docetista, porque el docetismo no es en el fondo más que una crítica teosófica del conocimiento

«in its pure state, liberated from the marble, the wood, or the bronze. That is why we always return to the apparitional mode» — la imagen con que Corbin lo explica: la forma de una estatua en estado puro, liberada del mármol, la madera o el bronce, y de ahí el modo aparicional al que siempre se vuelve; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«everything that we call "history," and value as "historical," is not "seen in Hurqalya," is not an event in the Earth of Hurqalya, and therefore is devoid of religious interest and spiritual meaning.» — el reverso, dicho sin atenuar: todo lo que llamamos histórico y no es suceso en la Tierra de Hurqalya queda desprovisto de interés religioso y de sentido espiritual

«In any case, it is this idea of physics being simultaneously and essentially a psycho-spiritual activity, which makes possible something like a physics of Resurrection and a physiology of the "body of resurrection."» — la idea que Corbin da por decisiva: que la física sea a la vez y esencialmente actividad psicoespiritual es lo que hace posible algo así como una física de la Resurrección y una fisiología del cuerpo de resurrección

«It is not from the elements of the terrestrial Earth, but from the elements of the Earth of the emerald cities that the "spiritual body" originates. It is as Earth of Visions that the Earth of Hurqalya is the Earth of Resurrection.» — y la fórmula que enlaza los dos aspectos: el cuerpo espiritual no se origina de los elementos de la Tierra terrestre sino de los de la Tierra de las ciudades de esmeralda, y por ser Tierra de Visiones Hurqalya es Tierra de Resurrección

«The specific nature of the doctrine is already indicated in the terminology that leads Shaikh Al)mad to make a strict distinction between two terms currently used to designate body: there» — la distinción terminológica con que arranca la doctrina de Shaikh Ahmad, según Corbin: el cuerpo como cuerpo orgánico animado —*jasad*— y el cuerpo como masa o volumen corpóreo —*jism*—

«In our Shaikh's anthropology it is established that the human being possesses two jasad and two jism; they represent a twofold accidental body and a twofold essential body» — y el esquema que se sigue: el ser humano posee dos *jasad* y dos *jism*, un cuerpo accidental doble y un cuerpo esencial doble

«There is the first jasad, which we shall call jasad A, and which is understood as being the elemental body, material and perishable. It is the apparent body of each one of us, the one that we can see, touch, weigh, recognize. It is an accidental and perishable formation, a compound of sublunar physical elements.» — el primero: *jasad* A, el cuerpo elemental material y perecedero, el aparente que se ve, se toca y se pesa, formación accidental de elementos físicos sublunares

«There is a second jasad, which we shall call jasad B; it is hidden and occult from our sight in jasad A; it also is an elemental formation, but differs from the first in that it is not composed of perishable terrestrial elements-those, that is, of our material Earth-but of archetypal elements, the subtle elements of the "Earth of Hurqalya."» — el segundo: *jasad* B, oculto en el primero, también elemental pero compuesto de los elementos arquetípicos sutiles de la Tierra de Hurqalya

«This second jasad is, therefore, a formation belonging to the intermediate world, the world of the barzakh; consequently, it has dimensions, but, unlike the first jasad, it is not an accidental body but an essential and imperishable body; it is the subtle elemental body, the body of» — y su estatuto: formación del mundo intermedio, con dimensiones, pero cuerpo esencial e imperecedero; la frase se corta al pasar de plana, donde lo llama cuerpo elemental sutil

«One can say of it that it is the corpus supracoeleste in man.» — y el nombre latino que Corbin le da: el *corpus supracoeleste* en el hombre

«At first sight, this schema strikingly resembles what we find in the writings of the Neoplatonist, Proclus. The idea of these different bodies, in which the soul is clothed, and which correspond to different levels of being, reproduces the concept of the ox~p,aTa ( okhemata) or ''vehicles of the soul" which the Neoplatonists were so prone to meditate.» — el paralelo que traza, con su cautela —*a primera vista*—: el esquema se parece llamativamente al de Proclo, y reproduce el concepto neoplatónico de los *okhemata* o vehículos del alma

«We know the terms of the question in the case of a Proclus: a compromise had to be found not only between Plato and Aristotle, but also between the Peripatetic tendency of Neoplatonism and the Stoic psychology of the pneuma.» — el problema que Proclo tenía que resolver, según Corbin: un compromiso entre Platón y Aristóteles y entre la tendencia peripatética del neoplatonismo y la psicología estoica del *pneuma*

«Besides, two traditions concerning the "astral body" had to be reconciled, both alive in Neoplatonism. Of these traditions, one represents the astral body as attached permanently to the soul, the other represents it as acquired or assumed by the soul during the soul's descent from the upper regions, and as having to be abandoned by the soul in the course of its reascent.» — y las dos tradiciones del cuerpo astral que había que conciliar: la que lo hace adherido permanentemente al alma y la que lo hace adquirido en el descenso y abandonado en el reascenso

«Proclus succeeds here in achieving a synthesis, the homologue of which is found in the Shaikhite doctrine; for him it consists in accepting the existence of two» — la síntesis de Proclo, cuyo homólogo Corbin encuentra en la doctrina shaikhí: aceptar la existencia de dos *okhema*

«What corresponds exactly to it in Shayikh Al)mad Al)sa'I's terminology and concepts, is the jism B, which is called the archetype original, essential (jism ~li IJ,aqiqi): it is the real or essential human being, man in the true sense» — y su equivalente shaikhí: el *jism* B, el arquetipo original y esencial, el ser humano real, el hombre en sentido verdadero; el troceo imprime *Shayikh*

«or lower "pneumatic" vehicle, which is a temporary adjunct, composed of four elements: it is the subtle body or vehicle of the irrational soul; like the latter it survives the death of the body, but is destined to disappear or be reabsorbed.» — el segundo *okhema*: el vehículo pneumático inferior, añadido temporal compuesto de cuatro elementos, vehículo del alma irracional, que sobrevive a la muerte del cuerpo pero está destinado a reabsorberse

«What corresponds to it is jism A, an accidental formation issued from the Heavens of the barzakhi or hurqalyi intermediate world.» — y su equivalente: el *jism* A, formación accidental salida de los Cielos del mundo intermedio

«This question of the subtle body, of the vehicle of the soul, (Macrobius' luminosi corporis amictus, Boethius' levis currus ) 62 has persisted and will persist, will always be meditated, so it seems, as long as Neoplatonic thought survives. It reappears among the Byzantine Neoplatonists (Michael Psellos, Nicephoros Gregoras), the Cambridge Neoplatonists (Ralph Cudworth, seventeenth century) and, let us now add, among our Neoplatonists of Persia.» — la genealogía que traza para esa cuestión: persiste entre los neoplatónicos bizantinos, entre los de Cambridge, y —añade— entre sus neoplatónicos de Persia

«it can roughly be said that Shaikh Al)mad Al)sA'T proceeds simultaneously to affirm the existence of a twofold imperishable okhema ( jism B and jasad B), and of an okhema pneumatikon (jism A), a nonpermanent subtle astral body.» — la diferencia que marca: Shaikh Ahmad afirma a la vez un *okhema* imperecedero doble y un *okhema pneumatikon* no permanente

«The complication of this schema can, it seems, be attributed to the need to safeguard the exegesis of Qur'anic data concerning eschatology in general.» — y a qué atribuye esa complicación, con su reserva: a la necesidad de salvaguardar la exégesis de los datos coránicos sobre la escatología

«At that very point, the work to be done is to transmute the latter into its spiritual truth; it is not to find a way of escape into allegory and its abstract residuum, but to establish a "harqalyi physics."» — la tarea que propone en su lugar: transmutar la evidencia sensible en su verdad espiritual, y no escapar a la alegoría, sino establecer una física hurqalyí

«the personal divinity or guardian Angel to whom the adept is entrusted on initiation, and which makes the terrestrial human being the counterpart of a celestial being with whom it forms a whole. This, in terms of Mazdean theosophy, is Fravarti, Daena, the transcendent "1," the celestial alter ego.» — la nota que Corbin añade a esa serie neoplatónica: la divinidad personal o Ángel guardián a quien se confía al adepto en la iniciación y que hace del ser humano terrestre la contraparte de un ser celeste, lo que en términos mazdeos es la Fravarti, Daena, el yo trascendente

«which the demiurge has placed the soul. It is immaterial, impassible, imperishable.» — el vehículo superior de Proclo: el *proton soma* en que el demiurgo puso el alma, inmaterial, impasible, imperecedero; la cita empieza donde el impreso deja atrás el griego, que el OCR rinde ilegible

«taken literally, as they \\'ere understood by the literalist "orthodox" of Islam, presuppose that the body of terrestrial flesh, jasad A, is resurrected, or "returns" just as it was.» — lo que los datos coránicos suponen tomados literalmente, como los entendieron los literalistas ortodoxos del islam: que el cuerpo de carne terrestre resucita o vuelve tal cual era

«For philosophical meditation, this material identity has always represented an insurmountable contradiction» — y el juicio que Corbin le da: para la meditación filosófica esa identidad material ha representado siempre una contradicción insalvable, tanto más estéril, añade, cuanto que nace de una comprensión insuficiente del problema

«ishable ( jism ~li l],aqiqi) ; the spirit is never separated from it, for it is what constitutes the eternal individuality.» — el *jism* B: cuerpo sutil esencial, arquetípico e imperecedero, del que el espíritu nunca se separa porque constituye la individualidad eterna; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In effect, though jism A, the accidental astral body, is finally to disappear (like the okhema pneumatikon of the Neoplatonists) -for, while being a harqalyi jism, it is nevertheless accidental-it will be replaced by another "vehicle," subtle and permanent, which is a body at the same time elemental and essential, a body of "spiritual flesh," constituted by the subtle archetype-elements of the celestial Earth of HurqalyA.» — lo que la física hurqalyí resuelve, según Corbin: el *jism* A, accidental, desaparece como el *okhema pneumatikon* neoplatónico y lo reemplaza otro vehículo sutil y permanente, cuerpo de carne espiritual hecho de los elementos arquetípicos de la Tierra de Hurqalya

«In this way, the state of wholeness, homo totus, always comprises, as in Proclus' system, a twofold okhema. This concept is properly that of the Iranian Neoplatonists and in a way reinforces that of the Greek N eoplatonists.» — y el resultado: el estado de plenitud, *homo totus*, comporta también aquí un doble *okhema*, concepto que Corbin da por propio de los neoplatónicos iranios y que refuerza el de los griegos

«Here then, very briefly, is the Shaikhite conception of the eschatological process: everything which is accidental body (jasad A and jism A) will eventually disappear. Everything which is essential body ( jasad B, and jism B ) is assured of survival.» — el proceso escatológico shaikhí en dos renglones: todo lo que es cuerpo accidental acabará por desaparecer y todo lo que es cuerpo esencial tiene asegurada la supervivencia

«J as ad A is the coarse elemental body in which the descending soul clothed itself on reaching the terrestrial world. It is not essential, merely an accidental coating. It perishes and is decomposed, each element returning to its source and blending with it-a fact of ordinary observation.» — qué es el *jasad* A: el cuerpo elemental grosero que el alma descendente se puso al llegar al mundo terrestre, no esencial sino revestimiento accidental que perece y se descompone

«Now, what leaves this perishable body at the moment when the Angel of Death comes to gather up the soul is a twofold thing: the essential original body ( jism B, okhema symphyes) , which is the permanent basis of the eternal soul ( l;lii.mil li'l-nafs), but at this point enwrapped in that accidental subtle body ( jism A, okhema pneumatikon) in which the soul had clothed itself in the course of its descent towards the terrestrial Earth, on passing through the intermediate world of the barzakh.» — y qué sale de él cuando el Ángel de la Muerte recoge el alma: el cuerpo original esencial, envuelto en el cuerpo sutil accidental que el alma se puso al descender por el mundo intermedio

«These two jism (A and B) survive, together forming the state of eternal human individuality and experiencing in the interworld either the joy and sweetness of the "Occidental Paradise" (the flavor of this expression unexpectedly recalls the "Pure Earth" of Buddhism) or, on the contrary, the despair of a Hell immanent in itself.» — lo que esos dos *jism* experimentan en el intermundo: o la dulzura del Paraíso Occidental —cuyo sabor, apunta Corbin, recuerda inesperadamente la Tierra Pura del budismo— o la desesperación de un Infierno inmanente

«A verse in the Qur'An ( 39:68) tells of the two "blasts of the trumpet" which are to be sounded by the Angel Seraphiel. This verse gave full scope to the speculative impulse of the Shaikhl theosophists.» — el verso coránico que Corbin señala como campo de la especulación shaikhí: los dos toques de trompeta que ha de dar el Ángel Serafiel

«Each of its orifices represents the "treasure," the original matrix from which each being has come forth, in this case the jism ~li, the subtle, essential, congenital body (jism B), the archetype of human individuality.» — cómo lo leen: cada orificio de la trompeta cósmica es el tesoro, la matriz original de la que salió cada ser, es decir el *jism* B

«The first sounding of the trumpet heralds the total reabsorption of the cosmos; each being reenters its source and sleeps there during an interval whose length is expressed as four centuries of our terrestrial duration (this of course does not refer to chronology or quantitative time)» — el primer toque anuncia la reabsorción total del cosmos, y cada ser vuelve a su fuente y duerme un intervalo expresado como cuatro siglos, que Corbin acota que no remite a cronología

«The second sounding of Seraphiel's trumpet proclaims the Renewal of Creation ( tajdid al-khalq) , a new cosmic cycle that assumes the character of an apokotastisis, a restoration of all things in their absolute, paradisic purity.» — y el segundo proclama la Renovación de la Creación, un ciclo cósmico nuevo con carácter de apocatástasis

«Here Shaikhism introduces a highly original concept. This body, likewise essential, is made up of the subtle matter of the archetype-elements of the Earth of HorqalyA and is also a receptacle of the influences of the Heavens of Hurqalya; this means that it possesses organs of perception that are seventy times more noble and more subtle than those of the body of elemental flesh in which it is hidden and invisible.» — el concepto que Corbin da por muy original del shaikhismo: el *jasad* B, hecho de la materia sutil de los elementos arquetípicos de Hurqalya, posee órganos de percepción setenta veces más nobles y sutiles que los del cuerpo de carne elemental

«It has shape, extent, and dimension, and is nevertheless imperishable.» — con su rasgo paradójico: tiene forma, extensión y dimensión, y aun así es imperecedero

«The jasad hurqalyi survives, they tell us-survives "in the grave."» — y su destino, que la doctrina formula así: el *jasad hurqalyi* sobrevive *en la tumba*

«But at this point we should refer to a striking feature of one of Maeterlinck's dialogues expressing the esoteric meaning of death, when the Shadow, a few moments before becoming the Angel of him whose death it is, declares: "They look for me only in the graveyards, where I never go. I do not like corpses.» — la glosa con que Corbin lo aclara, tomada de un diálogo de Maeterlinck: la Sombra, poco antes de volverse Ángel, declara que la buscan solo en los cementerios, adonde nunca va, porque no le gustan los cadáveres

«The "grave," that is, the place where the jasad B continues to be, is not the "graveyard," but exactly the mystical Earth of HorqalyA to which it belongs, being constituted of its subtle elements» — y la conclusión: la tumba, es decir el lugar donde el *jasad* B sigue estando, no es el cementerio sino exactamente la Tierra mística de Hurqalya, de cuyos elementos sutiles está constituido

«when the trumpet sounds for the Resurrection, the essential, original body, which is the support of the eternal individuality (jiam a,ll, jism B), reappears in its unchangeable wholeness (verus homo, inadn ~aqlql)» — lo que pasa al sonar la trompeta de la Resurrección: reaparece el cuerpo original esencial que sostiene la individualidad eterna, en su integridad inmutable, el *verus homo*

«subtleness of the jism B, it does not reappear, or rather, it is completely reabsorbed into the all-luminous subtlety of jism B.» — y el destino del *jism* A: no reaparece, o más bien queda reabsorbido del todo en la sutileza toda luminosa del *jism* B, al que solo había prestado un grado de opacidad

«It is affirmed, not only that the lower okhema is stripped, but further affirms the reassumption of this other essential body, which is also a subtle vehicle, an imperishable, paradisic body, sleeping in HurqalyA, the Earth of Light whence it came.» — la ampliación que Corbin atribuye al shaikhismo: no solo se despoja el *okhema* inferior, sino que se reasume ese otro cuerpo esencial, vehículo sutil imperecedero y paradisíaco que dormía en Hurqalya, la Tierra de Luz de donde vino

«That is where the Angel took it in order to "hide" it in the terrestrial body of flesh, at the moment of conception.» — y de ahí lo tomó el Ángel, según esa doctrina, para esconderlo en el cuerpo terrestre de carne en el momento de la concepción

«Therefore, at the second sounding of the trumpet, this jasad B or hurqalyi body, the body of "spiritual flesh," is the body which the eternal, individual soul, conveyed by its original, essential, or archetypal body ( jism B ) , again puts on its transfigured terrestrial raiment of glory.» — lo que ocurre al segundo toque de trompeta: el alma individual eterna, llevada por su cuerpo arquetípico, vuelve a ponerse ese cuerpo de carne espiritual como vestidura terrestre transfigurada de gloria

«This celestial Earth, this "eighth climate," is, indeed, what preserves the future "Resurrection Body," since this Earth is its source; and for that reason also it plays the same role in the general eschatology, namely, that of "Earth of Resurrection."» — y por qué la Tierra celeste es Tierra de Resurrección: es ella la que conserva el futuro cuerpo de resurrección, porque es su fuente

«It goes without saying that "orthodox" Islam has never been able to find its way in this theosophical physics; the Shaikhis had to face difficult situations, a mass of objections, on the feebleness of which we need not dwell, since the premises remained on the very mental level which the Shaikh Is' meditation aimed to surpass.» — la disputa que Corbin consigna con su parte tomada: el islam ortodoxo nunca supo orientarse en esa física teosófica, y los shaikhíes tuvieron que afrontar muchas objeciones cuyas premisas seguían, dice, en el plano mental que su meditación quería rebasar

«We notice, then, that in this process meditation on the alchemical Work plays a capital part, and that the spiritual practice of alchemy continues in a discreet fashion even to our day in Iranian Shaikhism.» — el lugar que Corbin le da a la alquimia en esa meditación: capital, y con una práctica espiritual que dice continuada de manera discreta hasta hoy en el shaikhismo iranio

«The basic idea of alchemy for the Shaikhls67 is that it alone makes it possible to conceive the resurrection of bodies as a consequence or corollary of the survival of Spirits. It makes it possible to pass from the one to the other and gather them into a single concept.» — la idea que Corbin adjudica a los shaikhíes: solo la alquimia permite concebir la resurrección de los cuerpos como corolario de la supervivencia de los Espíritus y reunir las dos en un solo concepto

«To make this transition is to make at the same time a transposition (an "anaphora") and a transmutation, which invalidate the rationalist philosophical arguments against resurrection, because these arguments are carried on on a level lower than the level on which the question in fact arises, just as, and for the same reason, the "literalist" concepts of orthodox theologians concerning the resurrection of bodies are equally weak.» — y su efecto polémico, tal como Corbin lo formula: esa transposición invalida por igual los argumentos racionalistas contra la resurrección y los conceptos literalistas de los teólogos ortodoxos, porque unos y otros se libran en un plano más bajo que el de la cuestión

«one's first concern is to become a Hurqalyavi oneself; one must be able and one must have been initiated to see things and beings, processes and events, "in Hnrqaly!.» — la máxima de Sarkar Agha que repite: lo primero es volverse uno mismo un *hurqalyavi*, y estar iniciado para ver las cosas, los seres y los sucesos en Hurqalya

«The organ of sight is the active Imagination, which alone enters into the intermediate realm, makes the invisible within the visible visible to itself. It is thus the quinta essentia of all living, corporeal, and psychic energies.» — y el órgano de esa vista: la Imaginación activa, única que entra en el reino intermedio y se hace visible lo invisible dentro de lo visible, *quinta essentia* de todas las energías

«The Imagination is essential to the soul and consubstantial (jawharani) with it; it is an instrument of the soul, just as the hand is an instrument of the physical body. Even sensory things are known only by means of this organ, for it is to the soul what the Soul of the Heaven of Venus is to the Soul of the Heaven of the Zodiac.» — la formulación de Shaikh Ahmad que Corbin traduce: la Imaginación es esencial al alma y consustancial con ella, instrumento del alma como la mano lo es del cuerpo, y aun lo sensorial se conoce solo por ese órgano

«One can therefore also say here in Paracelsist terms that the Imagination is the "astrum in homine ," "coeleste sive supracoeleste corpus."» — y el equivalente paracelsista que Corbin le pone: la Imaginación como *astrum in homine*, cuerpo celeste o supraceleste

«And one can add likewise that the alchemical Work, because of the psychic effects it produces in him who meditates and interiorizes it, is essentially carried out "in the Earth of Horqaly~." So in that sense, it can be said of alchemy that it works with the elements of the Earth of Hnrqalyl and "transmutes" the terrestrial elements into these subtle elements.» — la consecuencia que saca: la Obra alquímica, por los efectos psíquicos que produce en quien la medita e interioriza, se cumple esencialmente en la Tierra de Hurqalya y transmuta los elementos terrestres en esos elementos sutiles

«But for this to be true, the alchemical Operation must be really perceived and mentally actualized in Hnrqalya, and it is» — con su condición: para que eso sea verdad, la Operación tiene que percibirse y actualizarse mentalmente en Hurqalya, y para eso hace falta el órgano de percepción apropiado

«Of the Operation of the Elixir ('amal al-iksir) ,"writes Shaikh Al).mad, "the Wise have made a Mirror in which they contemplate all the things of this world, whether it be a concrete reality ('ayn) or a mental reality ( ma'na) . In this mirror, the resurrection of bodies is seen to be homologous to the resurrection of spirits.» — el texto de Shaikh Ahmad que Corbin traduce: de la Operación del Elixir hicieron los Sabios un Espejo en el que contemplan todas las cosas de este mundo, y en él la resurrección de los cuerpos se ve homóloga a la de los espíritus

«The postulate is that one and the same spiritual Energy of light is just as much the constituent of the essence of what is qualified as material as it is of the essence of what is qualified as spiritual.» — el postulado que sostiene esa homología: una sola y misma Energía espiritual de luz constituye la esencia de lo que se califica de material y la de lo que se califica de espiritual

«Spirits are being-light in the fluid state ( nur wujudi dha'ib) whereas bodies are being-light but in the solidified state ( nur wujudi jamid). The difference between the two is like the difference between water and snow. Proof confirming the resurrection of the one is valid in respect of the resurrection of the other.» — y la fórmula con que se enuncia: los Espíritus son ser-luz en estado fluido y los cuerpos ser-luz en estado solidificado, y la diferencia es la que va del agua a la nieve

«Now, the final result of the alchemical Operation is exactly this coincidentia oppositorum: once a body has been treated and perfected by this Operation, it is in the state of "solid (or 'congealed,' 'frozen,' miyah jamida) liquid."» — el resultado final de la Operación, que Corbin llama *coincidentia oppositorum*: el cuerpo tratado y perfeccionado queda en estado de líquido sólido o congelado

«Let us, for example, take silica and potash, opaque, dense substances corresponding to the state of the terrestrial, elemental body (jasad A). In the first place, having been boiled and liquefied, these two substances lose their opacity and become glass (potassium silicate ) , which is transparent; in this state the outer allows the inner to be seen through it; the hidden spontaneously shows through the apparent. Certainly it is still the lithoid substance, and yet it is no longer that. This state should be meditated as corresponding to the jasad B, which is the subtle, diaphanous body composed of the elements of HorqalyA.» — el primer tema de meditación que trae: la sílice y la potasa, opacas y densas como el *jasad* A, se vuelven vidrio transparente, estado que corresponde al *jasad* B, cuerpo sutil y diáfano de los elementos de Hurqalya

«In refusion with the addition of a certain chemical, glass becomes crystal; crystal with the addition of the white Elixir turns into the "crystal which sets on fire" (a "lens")» — la segunda etapa: el vidrio se hace cristal, y el cristal con el Elixir blanco, cristal que prende fuego

«When the crystal is fused a second time with white Elixir, it becomes diamond. This is the same crystal, the same silicate in which the crystal was hidden, the same compound of mercury and sulphur, and yet it is no longer any of these.» — la tercera: fundido de nuevo con Elixir blanco, el cristal se vuelve diamante, el mismo silicato y el mismo compuesto de mercurio y azufre, y sin embargo ya no es ninguno de ellos

«And diamond, freed from crystal, freed from glass, freed from stone, corresponds to the believer's bodies in this absolute Paradise.» — y su equivalencia: el diamante, libre de cristal, de vidrio y de piedra, corresponde a los cuerpos del creyente en el Paraíso absoluto

«That, for instance, which is performed on pewter. Pewter treated with white Elixir turns into pure silver, the stage of jasad B.» — la operación paralela sobre el peltre: tratado con Elixir blanco se vuelve plata pura, la etapa del *jasad* B

«Treated with red Elixir, the silver becomes pure gold, the stage of jism A, which enters the earthly Paradise or celestial Earth. Treat~d again with red Elixir, the pewter-become-gold itself becomes Elixir, the stage of jism B, which, reunited with jasad B (the hilrqalyi body) and having assimilated the latter to its own subtlety, enters into the absolute Paradise.» — y las dos siguientes: con Elixir rojo la plata se hace oro puro —etapa del *jism* A— y el oro se hace Elixir, etapa del *jism* B, que reunido con el *jasad* B entra en el Paraíso absoluto

«Briefly, the meditation that interiorizes the transmutations accomplished in the course of the real operation engenders the spiritual body, which also is a coincidentia oppositorum. It enters into the intermediate realm, into the psychic realm of subtle bodies through the active meditant Imagination, which, by transmuting sensory processes or events into symbols, itself activates psychic energies which radically transmute the relationship between soul and body.» — el resumen que da: la meditación que interioriza esas transmutaciones engendra el cuerpo espiritual, y por la Imaginación meditante activa transmuta radicalmente la relación entre alma y cuerpo

«There is then a state, says Shaikh Al)mad, in which "bodies perceive through their very essence ( bi-dhatihii) the thoughts which are thought in the celestial world, as well as angelic Forms. Reciprocally, the Spirits dependent on these bodies perceive bodies and corporeal realities through their own essence, since their bodies, when they wish it, become spirit and their spirit, when they wish it, becomes body.» — el estado que Shaikh Ahmad describe, según Corbin: los cuerpos perciben por su propia esencia los pensamientos del mundo celeste, y sus cuerpos, cuando quieren, se vuelven espíritu y su espíritu, cuando quiere, cuerpo

«That is why the constant principle here again is: solve et coagula. The Wise, writes Shaikh Abmad, dissolve and coagulate the Stone with a part of its spirit and repeat the operation several tinies. When they have treated it three times with the white Elixir and nine times with the red Elixir, the Stone becomes a living spiritual Mineral (or metal) ( ma'dan !tayawiini rill;ulni) , which exactly translates our Latin alchemists' idea of the living Stone (lapis vivus). 76 It is a body, but its operation is spiritual: it gives life to those "metals" which are dead.» — el principio constante que repite —*solve et coagula*— y su resultado: la Piedra se vuelve Mineral vivo espiritual, lo que Corbin dice que traduce exactamente la *lapis vivus* de los alquimistas latinos, cuerpo cuya operación es espiritual

«for they have bodies in which exist all the attributes, laws, and actions of bodies, but such bodies enact the actions of Spirits and pure Intelligences; they perceive what the celestial Souls and angelic Intelligences perceive, just as the latter perceive through their own essence what Souls and bodies perceive.» — el Signo que el Shaikh manda meditar: los moradores del Paraíso tienen cuerpos con todos los atributos y leyes de los cuerpos, y esos cuerpos ejecutan las acciones de los Espíritus y las Inteligencias puras

«Bodies such as these are made from the original clay ( al-tina al-a,Iiya) of the emerald cities JAbalqA and JAba~A, and they receive the influx, no longer of the Heavens of the physical cosmos, but of the Heavens of HorqalyA.» — y de qué están hechos: del barro original de las ciudades de esmeralda Jabalqa y Jabarsa, y reciben el influjo de los Cielos de Hurqalya y no ya los del cosmos físico

«actions assume another form and inner states project visible forms. Some take the form of palaces, others the form of houris, or of flowers, plants, trees, animals, gardens, streams of running water,» — la doctrina del cuerpo de resurrección tal como Corbin la resume: allí las acciones toman otra forma y los estados interiores proyectan formas visibles —palacios, huríes, flores, plantas, árboles, animales, jardines, arroyos—

«All these forms and figures are seen and are real "outside," but they are at the same time attributes and modes of being of man. Their transfiguration is the transfiguration of man, and they form his surroundings, his celestial Earth. Hence it can be said that the action is its own reward and the reward is the action "itself. "» — con la paradoja que le importa: todas esas formas se ven y son reales *afuera* y a la vez son atributos y modos de ser del hombre, de modo que la acción es su propia recompensa

«The ontological status of this celestial Earth is thus defined in terms comparable, to take but one example, to the fundamental doctrine of Swedenborg, who constantly reminds us, in formulations which vary very little, that "things outside the Angels assume an appearance corresponding to those which are within them.» — el paralelo con Swedenborg que traza: las cosas exteriores a los Ángeles asumen una apariencia que corresponde a las que están dentro de ellos

«All things that come into the Angels' field of vision correspond to their "interior" and represent it; "they vary in accordance with these inner states, and this is why they are called 'Apparitions' ( apparentiae) , but because they issue from this source they are perceived so much more vividly and distinctly than the way in which men perceive terrestrial data, that they must rather be called 'real Apparitions' ( apparent!ae reales) since they really exist.» — y por qué Swedenborg las llama Apariciones reales: varían con los estados interiores, pero se perciben mucho más vívidamente que los datos terrestres, porque existen realmente

«And the following formulation is perhaps the essential one: "the body of each Spirit and each Angel is the form of its love.» — la fórmula que Corbin da por esencial, con su reserva: el cuerpo de cada Espíritu y de cada Ángel es la forma de su amor

«A Shaikhl saying echoes this fundamental thesis: "The paradise of the faithful gnostic is his very body and the hell of the man without faith or knowledge is likewise his body itsel» — y el dicho shaikhí que le hace eco: el paraíso del gnóstico fiel es su propio cuerpo, y el infierno del hombre sin fe ni conocimiento es igualmente su cuerpo

«Every individual rises again in the very form» — y el que condensa las meditaciones de Shaikh Ahmad sobre el cuerpo de diamante: cada individuo resucita en la forma misma que su Obra —en sentido alquímico— fijó en el fondo secreto de sí

«One can also understand how the idea of the celestial body or resurrection body expresses the idea of the human being in his totality, homus integer. By representing the human person in its transfigured state, it is henceforward far more than the physical organ of personal subjectivity in opposition to the world, since it is "its" world, its "true world," that is, not a foreign, opaque reality, but a transparency, the immediate presence of itself to itself.» — lo que Corbin lee en esa doctrina: el cuerpo de resurrección expresa al ser humano en su totalidad, *homo integer*, porque su mundo deja de ser realidad ajena y opaca y se vuelve transparencia

«From that point also we can understand how the representation of the original, spiritual body, the okhema symphyes of Neoplatonism, came to be connected with the idea of personal divinity ( idios daimon) , the guardian Angel or archetypal "I" from which the terrestrial "me" originates.» — y por qué el *okhema symphyes* neoplatónico se enlazó con la divinidad personal, el Ángel guardián o yo arquetípico del que procede el yo terrestre

«This again recalls an odd detail: Shaikh Al)mad, when asked about the origin of the name Ho.rqalyA, which has as strange and foreign a sound in Persian as in Arabic, answered that it was a word which came from the Syriac language ( silryiini) in use amongst the Sabeans of Ba~ra, or more exactly, the Mandeans.» — el detalle que Corbin registra sin arbitrar: preguntado por el origen del nombre Hurqalya, extraño en persa y en árabe, Shaikh Ahmad respondió que era palabra del siríaco en uso entre los sabeos de Basora, más exactamente los mandeos

«Now the Earth of HorqalyA, the intermediate world of exemplary Real Images, is the homologue, both in Suhrawardt's "Oriental theosophy" and in Shaikhism, of the Paradise of the archetypes of Virna, and it so happens that the close resemblance between the V ar of Virna and the "second world," or world of archetypes, of Mandeism (Mshunia Kushta) has more than once been pointed out.» — y la homología que enlaza con eso: la Tierra de Hurqalya es homóloga del Paraíso de los arquetipos de Yima, y se ha señalado más de una vez el parecido de este con el segundo mundo del mandeísmo

«And in all cases it refers to that same world in which the liberated soul, whether in momentary ecstasy or through the supreme ecstasy of death, meets its archetypal "I," its alter ego or celestial Image, and rejoices in the felicity of that encounter.» — lo que todos esos casos designan, según Corbin: el mismo mundo donde el alma liberada, en éxtasis momentáneo o en el éxtasis supremo de la muerte, encuentra su yo arquetípico

«This reunion is celebrated in a Mandean text as follows: "I go to meet my Image and my Image comes to meet me, embraces me and holds me close when I come out of captivity.» — el texto mandeo con que lo ilustra: voy al encuentro de mi Imagen y mi Imagen viene a mi encuentro, me abraza y me estrecha cuando salgo del cautiverio

«In this ancient gnostic book we find again the rapture of a similar encounter, when the young Prince, on returning to the East, his fatherland, discovers the luminous raiment he had left behind: "The garment suddenly appeared when I saw it before me like unto a mirror of myself. I saw it altogether in me and I was altogether in it, for we were two, separate one from the other and yet but one of like form.» — y el pasaje del Canto de la Perla de los Hechos de Tomás: el vestido apareció ante él como un espejo de sí mismo, y era todo él en el vestido y el vestido todo en él, dos separados y sin embargo uno solo de igual forma

«And the Gospel According to Thomas declares: "When you see your likeness, you rejoice, but when you see your Images which came into existence before you, which neither die nor are1 manifested, how much will you bear!» — y la sentencia del Evangelio según Tomás que añade: cuando ves tu semejanza te alegras, pero cuando veas tus Imágenes anteriores a ti, que ni mueren ni se manifiestan, cuánto habrás de soportar

«It became clear to us that the filiation of the celestial "I'' is verified as and when man assumes Spendarmatikih, the very nature of Spenta Armaiti, who is Wisdom-Sophia.» — el recorrido que Corbin recapitula: la filiación del yo celeste se verifica a medida que el hombre asume la *spendarmatikih*, la naturaleza misma de Spenta Armaiti

«We have since learned that the flowering of the spiritual body, which is the awakening and birth to the celestial "1," takes place in the form of a meditation that transfigures the Earth into a celestial Earth, because, reciprocally, it is said that "the clay of every faithful gnostic was taken from the Earth of his Paradise.» — y el dicho que cierra la reciprocidad: la arcilla de todo gnóstico fiel fue tomada de la Tierra de su Paraíso

«Perhaps then we can begin to see no longer only what is the celestial Earth, but who is the celestial Earth.» — con el desplazamiento de pregunta que da por resultado del libro: ya no solo qué es la Tierra celeste, sino quién es la Tierra celeste

«I would like to remind you here of the words uttered in the very last moments of his life by the great musician Richard Strauss: "Fifty years ago," he managed to say, "I wrote Death and Transfiguration ( Tod und Verkliirung)." Then, after a pause: "I was not mistaken. It is indeed that.» — el testimonio moderno con que cierra el capítulo: las palabras de Richard Strauss en sus últimos momentos, recordando que cincuenta años antes había escrito *Muerte y transfiguración* y añadiendo que no se había equivocado

«At the boundary where the boundary ceases to be a boundary and becomes a passage, there comes the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence: realization does indeed correspond to the faith professed in the innermost part of the soul.» — y lo que Corbin lee ahí: en la frontera que deja de ser frontera y se vuelve paso, la realización corresponde a la fe profesada en lo más íntimo del alma

«The triumphal solemnity of the closing chorale of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony: "0 my heart, believe! nothing art thou losing. What is yours remains, yes, remains forever, all that was thy waiting, thy love, thy struggle.» — y el otro emblema musical que trae: el coral final de la Sinfonía Resurrección de Mahler, con su promesa de que nada se pierde

«One thing alone matters in the night in which our human lives are wrapped: that the faint gleam, the fiery light, may grow which makes us able to recognize the "Promised Land," the Earth of Horqalya and its emerald cities.» — la frase con que se cierra la primera parte: una sola cosa importa en la noche que envuelve nuestras vidas, que crezca el tenue resplandor que nos hace capaces de reconocer la Tierra de Hurqalya y sus ciudades de esmeralda

«It seems the right moment now to let our Shaikhs speak for themselves, namely, those who have guided our research and our meditation on the theme of the celestial Earth, more particulady in Islamic Iran. This will at last provide the reader with a more direct contact, no doubt rarely available, since there are so few translations in this field.» — la razón que Corbin da para la segunda parte: es el momento de dejar hablar por sí mismos a los shaikhs que guiaron su investigación, y de dar al lector un contacto más directo, raro por lo escasas que son las traducciones en este campo

«The titles of the books and the names of the authors that appear in the following pages are still, with two or three exceptions, unknown in the West, save to a few specialists. Yet the question under discussion here is not, or should not be, a problem for "specialists."» — con la advertencia que la acompaña: los títulos y los nombres que siguen son todavía desconocidos en Occidente salvo para unos pocos especialistas, y sin embargo la cuestión no es —ni debería ser— un problema de especialistas

«Having access, or claiming to have access, to texts of this kind, and then wrapping oneself in pseudo mystery and in a superior way withholding any references to them is simply "closing the gate of knowledge behind one"-a procedure that Suhrawardl already denounced in so many words, condemning it as a 1ign of imposture.» — y el reproche que dirige a los que se envuelven en seudomisterio negando las referencias: cerrar tras de sí la puerta del conocimiento, procedimiento que Suhrawardi ya denunciaba como signo de impostura

«The few pages translated here are just a drop in the ocean. If at least, by making it known that these books exist, they could inspire a few people with the desire to know more about them and to set to work themselves, they would already have fulfilled a part of their objective.» — la medida que Corbin da de su propia antología: unas pocas páginas, gota en el océano, cuyo objetivo se cumpliría en parte si inspiran a algunos el deseo de saber más y ponerse a trabajar

«All the passages we have given were used as the basis for Chapter u of Part One of this book.» — y el enlace que declara entre las dos partes: todos los pasajes traducidos sirvieron de base al capítulo II de la primera parte

«Shihabuddrn Ya}:lya Suhrawardr, the Shaikh al-Ishraq-that is (as we have already recalled), the "Master of Oriental Theosophy"-was born in 548/1153 or 550/1155 in n~~hwest Iran, at Suhraward in the province of Jabal near AzerbaiJan. He died a martyr's death at Aleppo, persecuted and pros~cute? by the Doctors of the Law in 5 87 I 1191, at the age of thirty-six or thirty-eight.» — la ficha que da del primer autor de la antología: Suhrawardi, Shaikh al-Ishraq, nacido en 548/1153 o 550/1155 en el noroeste de Irán y muerto mártir en Alepo en 587/1191, perseguido por los Doctores de la Ley; el troceo imprime *n~~hwest*

«His life's work aimed to restore the theosophical wisdom of ancient Persia in Islam itself, and with the resources of the pure spiritual side of Islam. Some four centuries before the great Byzantine Gemistes Pletho, Suhrawardr's work connected the names of Plato and of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) in his metaphysic of Light, in which the Platonic Ideas are interpreted by means of the Zoroastrian angelology.» — y lo que Corbin da por su obra: restaurar en el islam mismo la sabiduría teosófica de la antigua Persia, enlazando —cuatro siglos antes que Gemisto Pletón— los nombres de Platón y de Zaratustra en una metafísica de la Luz

«In his doctrine, the word "Orient" takes on a technical meaning. In the literal sense, it is at one and the same time the geographic East, or, more precisely, the world of Iran and the hour when the horizon is lighted by the fires of dawn» — el sentido técnico que ahí toma la palabra Oriente: en sentido literal, a la vez el Este geográfico —más precisamente el mundo de Irán— y la hora en que el horizonte se enciende con los fuegos del alba

«Mu}:lytddrn ibn fArabi (born at Murcia in Andalusia, 560/ 1165; died in Damascus in 638/1240) was one of the greatest mystical visionaries and theosophists of all time, whose role in spiritual Islam a determinant factor, and of whom, without exaggeration, one can truly say that his work was gigantic.» — la ficha del segundo autor: Ibn ‘Arabi, nacido en Murcia en 560/1165 y muerto en Damasco en 638/1240, que Corbin da por uno de los mayores visionarios místicos y teósofos de todos los tiempos

«His most celebrated book is the Kitab al-futal,&at al~Makkiya (the Book of the Spiritual Conquests of Mecca), comprising some 3,000 pages printed on large in quarto. But in his doctoral thesis (a history and classification of the works of Ibn fArabr, 2 vols., Institut fran~ais de Damas, 1964), Osman Y ahya has collated 550 titles from the extant manuscripts (over 2,000 in number), each of which he has personally examined.» — con la medida de su obra: las Futuhat con unas tres mil páginas en cuarto, y las 550 obras que Osman Yahya cotejó personalmente entre más de dos mil manuscritos

«Doubtless his IshrAqi and $ufi bent is less pronounced than that of Mul)sin Fay~, but in the case of a Shrite writer one must always take into account the possibility that he is being deliberately reticent.» — la cautela de método que Corbin aplica a ‘Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji: su inclinación *ishraqi* y sufí parece menos marcada que la de Muhsin Fayz, pero en un escritor chií hay que contar siempre con la reticencia deliberada

«Mul)sin Fay~ Kashanl, together with his brother-in-law, 'Abd al-Razzaq LAhtjt, was one of the most brilliant pupils of MullA $adrA and, after him, one of the greatest lmAmite scholars during the eleventh century of the Hijra. He was born in Kashtin, where his father, MullA ShAh Murta~A, was already famed for his learning and his valuable personal library. He came to Shiraz, where he studied with the celebrated theologian Sayyid Majid of Bahrein and then with MullA $adrA, one of whose daughters he, too, married. He was a philosopher and a $l1fl, deeply Shrite, and a great admirer of Ibn 'Arabi. He wrote a great many works; there are some 120 titles in his bibliography, in Persian as well as in Arabic, dealing with all the traditional branches of Islamic science. He was also a poet; his Diwan contains some thousand verses. He died at KtishAn in 1091/1680.» — la ficha de Muhsin Fayz Kashani: discípulo brillante de Mulla Sadra, yerno suyo, filósofo y sufí profundamente chií y admirador de Ibn ‘Arabi, con unos ciento veinte títulos y un diván de mil versos

«The Shaikhi school owes its name and its origin to its founder, Shaikh Al)mad Al)sA'I, its greatest Shaikh. We have already had occasion to point out that it is the sign of a powerful revival of primitive Shrite gnosis and of the teaching contained in traditions that go back to the Holy lmlma.» — el origen de la escuela shaikhí según Corbin: debe su nombre y su origen a Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i, y es signo de un poderoso resurgimiento de la gnosis chií primitiva

«Lastly, the school has developed a doctrine of the spiritual community, that of the "Perfect Shrites," in which we can perceive--of course, in accord with the exigencies of the tonality proper to Imamism-a resonance not only of the $Ofl motif of the rijal al-ghayb, the "Men of the Invisible," but of the idea of an Ecclesia Spiritualis, upon which so many independent Spirituals in Christianity have meditated.» — la doctrina de la comunidad espiritual que Corbin destaca: la de los Chiíes Perfectos, en la que oye resonar no solo el motivo sufí de los Hombres del Invisible sino la idea de una *Ecclesia Spiritualis*

«The literalistic Orthodox have shown absolutely no understanding of all these points, among many others. If one follows the sad story of discussions and bickerings, one may well wonder whether the Orthodox made, or even could make, the slightest effort to understand the true nature of these problems. One would have to be very naive to be surprised by it. The same spiritual facts have always aroused the same human reactions.» — y su juicio sobre la disputa, sin atenuarlo: los ortodoxos literalistas no mostraron comprensión alguna, y cabe preguntarse si hicieron el menor esfuerzo por entender la naturaleza de estos problemas

«Shaikh A}:lmad A}:lsA'I (d. 1241/1826), founder of the school, was himself a native of Bahrein, but more than fifteen years of his life were spent in Iran, and it is probable that without an Iranian audience there would have been no "Shaikhism."» — el dato biográfico que Corbin subraya: Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i era natural de Bahrein, pasó más de quince años en Irán, y es probable, dice, que sin un auditorio iranio no habría habido shaikhismo

«It will not be possible here to enumerate the totality of his wo~ks (the bibliography established by Shaikh Sarkar Agha contams 132 titles, to which, alas, must be added many works which unfortunately have been lost)» — la medida de su obra y su pérdida: la bibliografía establecida por Sarkar Agha da 132 títulos, a los que hay que añadir muchas obras perdidas

«Shaikh ijajj Mubammad Karim Khan Kirmani (d. 1288/ 1870) was the second in succession to Shaikh AQ.mad Ahsa'I at the head of the Shaikh! school. Mu)J. Karim Khan was a pupil of Sayyid Ka~im Rashti, who had been the beloved disciple of the Shaikh and the first of his successors (d. 1259 I 1843) · Through his father, Karim Khan was a prince of the ~ajar family.» — la ficha del décimo autor: Karim Khan Kirmani, segundo sucesor de Shaikh Ahmad, discípulo de Sayyid Kazim Rashti y, por su padre, príncipe de la familia qayar

«In the breadth of this universal spirit, which embraces and outstrips the entire spiritual culture of his circle and his epoch, there is something of an Iranian Goethe.» — y la comparación con que Corbin lo presenta: en la amplitud de ese espíritu universal hay algo de un Goethe iranio

«The few pages that we have translated should suffice to show that the latter essentially dealt with spiritual sciences.» — y la acotación que Corbin le añade: las pocas páginas traducidas bastan para mostrar que esas ciencias eran esencialmente espirituales

«Shaikh Abu'l-Qasim Khan lbrahrmr was born in Kirman in 1314/1896, the son of Shaikh Zayn al-tAbidrn Khan and the grandson of Shaikh Mu}:l. Karim Khan. His people call him for short and with affectionate respect by the honorific title Sarkar Agha. Today he is the fifth successor of Shaikh Ahmad Al).sa'I to head the ShaikhT school.» — la ficha del undécimo autor: Abu’l-Qasim Khan Ibrahimi, nacido en Kirman en 1314/1896, llamado Sarkar Agha, quinto sucesor de Shaikh Ahmad al frente de la escuela

«And it is chiefly on this score that I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding personality of Shaikh Sarkar Agha. I have had occasion, personally, to experience his spiritual radiation on those around him and to learn things which I would never have learned from books in the course of the many conversations that by his kindness he has made possible.» — y el testimonio personal con que Corbin cierra esa semblanza: dice haber experimentado su irradiación espiritual y haber aprendido en conversación cosas que nunca habría aprendido en los libros

«We are employing this term here just as simply as they do themselves, not in any way implying some secret and vague authority to teach, which Westerners are apt to assume when they discuss these matters. It simply means the texts to which one traditionally refers when having to deal with a theme like the present one.» — el deslinde que hace del término tradicional: lo emplea con la misma sencillez que sus autores, sin implicar autoridad secreta alguna para enseñar; significa solo los textos a los que se remite tradicionalmente

«Finally, our authors turn out to be eleven in number, although this was not by intention on our part. It is probable, however, that no Twelver Shrite will accept this as the result of chance, because he will know the whereabouts of the twelfth one.» — y la broma con que cierra la introducción: sus autores resultaron ser once sin proponérselo, y ningún chií duodecimano lo tomará por azar, porque sabe dónde está el duodécimo

«There Is no true philosophy which does not reach completion in a metaphysic ~£ ecsta~y, nor mystical experience which does not. demand a serious ph» — la tesis que Corbin adjudica a esa escuela: no hay filosofía verdadera que no se corone en una metafísica del éxtasis, ni experiencia mística que no exija una seria preparación filosófica; el OCR de esta plana está muy dañado y la cita se corta donde se parte la palabra

«The authors of Iran are in the habit of repeating that this Oriental theosophy is to philosophy what $iifism is to» — y la proporción que los autores de Irán repiten: la teosofía oriental es a la filosofía lo que el sufismo a la teología escolástica, el *kalam*; la frase sigue en el renglón siguiente

«both in Persian and in Arabic, totals no less than 27 8 books; It covers not only the field of philosophy and Shrite theosophy, the spiritual hermeneutics of the Qu~'~n and th.e }Jadit~, but also an encyclopedia of the sciences: medicme, physics, optics, astronomy, theory of light, of music, of color, including alchemy and related sciences.» — el inventario de la obra de Karim Khan Kirmani: no menos de 278 libros, de la filosofía y la teosofía chií a la medicina, la física, la óptica, la astronomía, la teoría de la luz, de la música y del color, incluida la alquimia

«When you learn from the writings of the ancient Sages that there exists a world possessed of dimensions and extent, other than the pleroma of Intelligences and the world governed by the Souls of the Spheres, and that in it there are cities beyond number among which the Prophet himself mentioned Jabalqa and JAbar~a, do not hasten to proclaim it a lie, for there are pilgrims of the spirit who come to see it with their own eyes and in it find their heart's desire.» — según Suhrawardi en el Libro de las conversaciones, traducido por Corbin: si en los escritos de los antiguos Sabios se lee que hay un mundo con dimensiones y extensión, con ciudades sin número entre las que el Profeta mencionó Jabalqa y Jabarsa, que nadie se apresure a proclamarlo mentira

«As for the rabble of impostors and false priests, they will deny what you have seen even if you bring proof to expose their lie. Therefore, remain silent and . have patience, for if you come eventually to our Book of Orzental Thesophy, no doubt you will understand something of what has just been said, provided your initiator gives you guidance. If not, be a believer in wisdom.» — y el consejo con que sigue ese mismo texto: ante la turba de impostores, que negarán lo visto aunque se les traiga prueba, hay que callar y tener paciencia, y quien llegue al Libro de la teosofía oriental entenderá algo si su iniciador lo guía

«A narrative and a dream: For some time I was prey to an intense obsession. I ceaselessly practiced meditation and spiritual exercises, since the problem of knowledge assailed me with insoluble difficulties. What they say about it in books brought me no light.» — según Suhrawardi en el Libro de las elucidaciones: dice haber sido presa de una obsesión intensa, practicando sin cesar la meditación mientras el problema del conocimiento lo asaltaba con dificultades insolubles

«On one particular night I experienced a dreamlike ecstasy. Suddenly I was wrapped in gentleness; there» — y el relato de su éxtasis: una noche, envuelto en dulzura, vio un fogonazo cegador y después una luz muy diáfana con semejanza de ser humano

«I watched attentively and there he was: Helper of souls, Imam of wisdom, Primus Magister, whose form filled me with wonder and whose shining beauty dazzled me. He came toward me, greeting me so kindly that my bewilderment faded and my alarm gave way to a feeling of familiarity.» — quién era, según ese texto: el Auxiliador de las almas, Imam de la sabiduría, *Primus Magister*, cuya forma lo llenó de asombro y cuya belleza lo deslumbró

«Come back (awaken) to yourself," he said to me, "and your problem will be solved." "How so?" I asked. "Is the knowledge which you have of yourself a direct perception of yourself by yourself, or do you get it from something else?» — y el diálogo con que responde la aparición: vuelve —despierta— a ti mismo, y tu problema quedará resuelto; y luego la pregunta de si el conocimiento que tiene de sí es percepción directa de sí por sí mismo

«As for the view I personally profess concerning this problem (of knowledge) , it is mentioned in my book on the ''Oriental theosophy," but it is not possible for me to dwell upon it here explicitly, since in this book I intended to conduct my enquiry in such a way that it would not be too far from the program of the Peripatetics.» — la reserva que el propio Suhrawardi declara en ese libro: su propia posición sobre el problema del conocimiento está en su Teosofía oriental y no puede exponerla ahí, porque quiso conducir la investigación sin alejarse del programa de los peripatéticos

«Nevertheless, if one were to study this present book carefully, one would find that it is not devoid of precious things and treasures hidden under a thin veil. If the half-wit is unable to discover them, the fault is not mine.» — con su advertencia al lector: el libro no carece de cosas preciosas escondidas bajo un velo delgado, y si el mentecato no sabe hallarlas la culpa no es suya

«The surest way for the seeker to follow before studying my Oriental Theosophy is the way I mentioned in my Book of Elucidations.» — y la vía que recomienda al buscador antes de estudiar su Teosofía oriental: la que indicó en el Libro de las elucidaciones, donde relata lo ocurrido con el Imam de los dialécticos en la morada mística de Jabarsa

«On a certain night when there was sunlight, Hermes was at prayers in the temple of Light. When the "column of dawn"» — el relato de Hermes en el Libro de las elucidaciones de Suhrawardi: orando de noche en el templo de la Luz, al brotar la columna del alba vio una Tierra a punto de ser tragada con ciudades sobre las que había caído la cólera divina

«Then Hermes shouted, "You who are my father, rescue me from the enclosure of those near to perdition!" And he heard a voice shouting an answer, "Take hold of the cable of our Irradiation and climb up to the battlements of the Throne." Then he climbed up and there, beneath his feet, was an Earth and Heavens.» — y su desenlace: Hermes clama a su padre, una voz le responde que tome el cable de la Irradiación y suba a las almenas del Trono, y al subir tiene bajo sus pies una Tierra y unos Cielos

«By HERMES, the author is symbolically referring to the noble and perfect soul. His prayer is his orientation toward the other world. The night of the sun is the Presence, there and then a reality, of that to which the Soul looks forward in its spiritual efforts and in following the mystic path.» — según Shahrazuri, comentador de Suhrawardi traducido aquí por Corbin: por Hermes el autor se refiere simbólicamente al alma noble y perfecta, y su plegaria es su orientación hacia el otro mundo

«The bursting forth of the "column of dawn"6 is the epiphany of the soul outside the material body, when the divine lights and most sacred flames suddenly come upon it. Just as the column of dawn rises for us above the earthly horizon, so this column of dawn-I refer to the thinking soul-bursts forth by rising above the Earth of the body.» — y su lectura de la columna del alba: la epifanía del alma fuera del cuerpo material, que se alza sobre la Tierra del cuerpo como el alba sobre el horizonte terrestre

«The pilgrim, that is, the thinking soul which in the lightning flash of theophany, is manifested outside the 'material body, sees the Earth of his body and his cities-that is his faculties-being swallowed up together.» — de donde el peregrino, el alma pensante manifestada fuera del cuerpo material, ve tragarse a la vez la Tierra de su cuerpo y sus ciudades, que son sus facultades

«Then the mystical pilgrim, rising from the abyss of the material body toward the zenith of the Intelligence, calls on his "father," a name which refers either to the Necessary Being itself or to the archangelical Intelligence from which the soul of the mystic emanates.» — a quién adjudica Shahrazuri el *padre* del relato: o al Ser Necesario mismo o a la Inteligencia arcangélica de la que emana el alma del místico, sin decidir entre los dos

«A voice answers him, "Take hold of the cable of Irradiation," that is, speculative theosophy and practical theosophy, both of which lead to the higher worlds. "Climb up to the battlements of the Throne," to the angelic Intelligences separated from matter.» — y su lectura del cable de la Irradiación: la teosofía especulativa y la práctica, que llevan a los mundos superiores, y de las almenas del Trono: las Inteligencias angélicas separadas de la materia

«Now the ancient Sages were in the habit of referring to the spiritual entities as Spheres, because those whose light is stronger encompass the weaker, just as the celestial Spheres encompass each other.» — por qué los antiguos Sabios llamaban Esferas a las entidades espirituales, según Shahrazuri: porque las de luz más fuerte envuelven a las más débiles

«This is what Plato refers to when he says, "In a state of ecstasy I saw Spheres of light," which means Heavens which can be seen only by those who are raised from the dead, when another Earth takes the place of the Earth and when new Heavens take the place of the Heavens.» — y la sentencia de Platón que aduce: en estado de éxtasis vi Esferas de luz, que serían Cielos visibles solo a los resucitados

«It is difficult to decipher these symbols in con)unction. Our conjecture is as follows: 7 The column of dawn breaking forth is the epiphany of the lights of higher knowledge.» — según Ibn Kammuna, el otro comentador traducido aquí: descifrar esos símbolos en conjunto es difícil, y su conjetura es que la columna del alba es la epifanía de las luces del conocimiento superior

«The earth is the body, or else matter in general. The cities are the souls which have become attached to material bodies, or else the faculties which have their seat in the latter.» — y su reparto de las demás piezas: la tierra es el cuerpo o la materia en general, y las ciudades son las almas ligadas a los cuerpos o las facultades que tienen ahí su asiento

«The enclosure is the body, those close to perdition are the bodily functions.» — la última equivalencia de Ibn Kammuna: el recinto es el cuerpo y los cercanos a la perdición son las funciones corporales

«For the seeker, this way consists first of all in investigating his knowledge of himself, and» — en qué consiste esa vía, según Suhrawardi: primero en investigar su conocimiento de sí mismo; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde añade que después hay que elevarse al conocimiento de lo que está por encima de uno

«Ibn Kammuna like Shahrazfirl before him, proceeds here to allude to the ~elebrated account of ecstasy which all of our authors attribute to Plato, whereas, as we know, it comes from a spiritual autobiography in the Enneads of Plotinus» — la corrección que Corbin hace en nota a la antología: el célebre relato de éxtasis que todos sus autores atribuyen a Platón viene en realidad de una autobiografía espiritual de las Enéadas de Plotino

«Our authors know it through a passage from the Theology attributed to Aristotle, which was one of their, so to speak, "bedside books." Suhrawardi quotes the first lines in his Oriental Theosophy, and his commentator, Qutbuddin Shirazi, zealously transcribes the entire passage.» — y cómo llegó a ellos, según esa nota: por un pasaje de la Teología atribuida a Aristóteles, uno de sus libros de cabecera, que Suhrawardi cita y su comentador Qutbuddin Shirazi transcribe entero

«Our commentators do not question-and they are absolutely right-that the ~cstasy of Hermes means his entry into the interworld, that Is, the world of Hurqalya.» — y lo que Corbin les concede: no dudan —y llevan toda la razón, dice— de que el éxtasis de Hermes significa su entrada en el intermundo

«The real intention of the author m this passage raises more difficulties for me than everything which came earlier in this chapter.» — la confesión de Ibn Kammuna que Corbin traduce: la verdadera intención del autor en ese pasaje le plantea más dificultades que todo lo anterior del capítulo

«Shahrazuri did not experience ~ese difficulties; but it is true that Ibn Kammuna was not a mystic.» — y el juicio con que Corbin la comenta en nota: Shahrazuri no tuvo esas dificultades, pero es cierto que Ibn Kammuna no era místico

«Here we quote the translation of this passage by our colleague Georges Vajda. 8 There are several kinds of spiritual entities. Some of them have their dwelling place in the heaven situated above the starry» — la nota en que Corbin declara la mano ajena: la traducción de ese pasaje de la Teología es de su colega Georges Vajda, y describe un cielo con una tierra, un mar, animales, plantas y hombres celestes

«The spiritual entities which are there correspond to the human beings who are there; none of them is different from another, and there is no opposition nor disagreement between them, but each supports the other.» — y su rasgo, según ese texto: las entidades espirituales de ahí corresponden a los seres humanos que ahí están, sin diferencia, sin oposición ni desacuerdo entre ellas, sosteniéndose una a otra

«The encounter with suprasensory reality can come about through a certain way of reading a written text; it can come about from hearing a voice, without the speaker being visible. Sometimes the voice is soft, sometimes it makes one tremble, at other times it is like a gentle murmur.» — según Suhrawardi en el Libro de las conversaciones: el encuentro con la realidad suprasensible puede venir de cierto modo de leer un texto escrito o de oír una voz sin ver a quien habla, a veces suave, a veces estremecedora

«The experience of authentic raptures in the world of HorqalyA depends on the magnificent prince, Horakhsh, 9 the most sublime of those w;o have assumed a body, the greatly venerated one who, in the terminology of the Oriental theosophy, is the Supreme Face of God.» — y de quién depende esa experiencia, según el mismo texto: del príncipe Hurakhsh, el más sublime de los que han asumido cuerpo, que en la terminología de la teosofía oriental es la Faz Suprema de Dios

«It is he who sustains the meditation of the soul by lavishing light upon it, and he is witness of its contemplation.» — su oficio: sostiene la meditación del alma prodigándole luz y es testigo de su contemplación

«When the blazing light lasts long, it obliterates the form; the figures are taken away and the individual visitation is effaced. At that point one understands that what is effaced is giving way to something of a higher order» — y la regla que da: cuando la luz llameante dura, borra la forma, y entonces se entiende que lo borrado cede el paso a algo de orden superior

«We deny the right to the Peripatetics to speak about the forms and realities which become visible to the visionary contemplatives, for what is in question is a path which scarcely an~ of them has followed and even in those very few cases the mystical experience remained weak and precarious.» — el cargo que Suhrawardi hace a los peripatéticos: les niega el derecho a hablar de las formas que se hacen visibles a los contemplativos, porque casi ninguno siguió esa vía

«The follower of ~he mystical path who has received his initiation from a master with theosophical11 experience, or thanks to the special divine assistance which guides the solitary exile-the latter case being very rare-will fully understand that the Peripatetics have entirely overlooked two sublime universes which never figure in their discussions, and that there are a number of other things that remain beyond the scope of their philosophy.» — y lo que, según él, entiende quien sí la siguió: que los peripatéticos pasaron por alto dos universos sublimes que nunca figuran en sus discusiones

«In short, the theosophist who has truly attained to mystical experience is one whose material body becomes like a tunic which he sometimes casts off and at other times puts on.» — la prueba que Suhrawardi pone al teósofo: aquel cuyo cuerpo material se vuelve como una túnica que unas veces se quita y otras se pone

«No man can be numbered among the mystical theosophists so long as he has no knowledge of the most holy leaven of mystical wisdom, and so long as he has not experienced this casting off and this putting on.» — y el límite: nadie cuenta entre los teósofos místicos mientras no conozca la levadura santísima de la sabiduría mística y no haya experimentado ese quitarse y ponerse

«When it has undergone the action of light and put on the robe of auroral Light, 13 it too is able to influence and to act; it makes a sign and the sign is obeyed; it imagines and what it imagines comes to pass accordingly.» — y lo que le pasa al alma cuya sustancia es la del mundo espiritual: viste el manto de la Luz auroral y entonces hace una seña y la seña es obedecida, imagina y lo imaginado sucede

«Impostors beguile us with trickery, but the enlightened man, the perfected man, the man in love with harmony, is immune from evil and acts through the energy and with the help of the Light because he himself is the child of the world of Light.» — con el deslinde que el propio texto pone: los impostores engañan con trucos, pero el hombre iluminado obra por la energía y con la ayuda de la Luz porque es hijo del mundo de la Luz

«If that which predominates in the essential substance of the soul is the res victoria/is ( al-amr al-qahri) , then the Light of dawn rises on the soul in such a way that that part of the victoria! realities emanating from the constellations and from the Angels who are their theurgies, predominate in it. This is the suprasensory reality which the ancient Persians called X varnah ("Light of Glory," Khurrah in Persian)» — la doctrina del Xvarnah que Suhrawardi expone: cuando predomina en el alma la *res victorialis*, la Luz del alba sale sobre ella y esa realidad suprasensible es la que los antiguos persas llamaron Xvarnah

«This is something which, having arisen from astral incandescence, remains as a dominating force in the human world; he who is invested with it becomes a hero, a conqueror, a victor.» — y su efecto: quien queda investido de ella se vuelve héroe, conquistador, vencedor

«If the Light of dawn arising from the spiritual stars-pure spiritual entities of light-corresponds to the capacity of the soul in a "dimension" of desire and Jove, then what remains of the Xvarnah which penetrates it will be manifested by causing its possessor to take joy in subtle and refined things, by awakening in souls inclination and love toward him, by bringing men to sing his praises, for the splendor communicated to his being derives from the Angels and their beneficent theurgies, worthy of glorification and of love.» — la segunda modalidad que distingue: si la Luz del alba corresponde a la capacidad del alma en dimensión de deseo y de amor, el Xvarnah se manifiesta en el gusto por lo sutil y en el amor que despierta

«Finally, if there is balance and if the qualities of light received from a sublime luminary through the intermediary of the celestial prince are superabundant in him, 15 then he will become a magnificent king, surrounded by respect, favored with knowledge, perfection, and prosperity. And that alone is what is called the royal X varnah ( Kayan Khurrah)» — y la tercera: si hay equilibrio y superabundancia de cualidades de luz, el hombre se vuelve rey magnífico, y solo a eso se llama Xvarnah real, *Kayan Khurrah*

«In its plenitude this refers to the most majestic of categories, for it implies a perfect balance of light, besides the fact that the sublime Luminary is the gateway to all the greater ecstasies.» — con el porqué: en su plenitud implica un equilibrio perfecto de luz, y el Luminar sublime es la puerta de todos los éxtasis mayores

«Sometimes it is the souls of the past which induce an awakening or an inner call. Sometimes the apparition takes on human form, other times the form of a constellation» — según Suhrawardi: a veces son las almas del pasado las que inducen un despertar o una llamada interior, y a veces la aparición toma forma humana u otras veces la de una constelación; la frase se corta al pie de plana, donde una nota de Corbin da la referencia del original

«or again that of a work of art, a statue uttering words, or else a figure resembling the ikons seen in churches, likewise endowed with speech.» — y la continuación, ya en la plana siguiente: o la de una obra de arte, una estatua que profiere palabras, o una figura semejante a los iconos que se ven en las iglesias, también dotada de habla

«This is the world of autonomous Images and Forms (lit. "in suspension," that is, not mixed with any corruptible substratum, but in suspense in the way that an Image is suspended in a mirror)» — según Suhrawardi: es el mundo de las Imágenes y Formas autónomas, *en suspensión*, no mezcladas con sustrato corruptible sino suspendidas como una Imagen en un espejo

«This is the world of the subtle bodies, which alone are able to rise to heaven, whereas material bodies, made of the substance of the Elements, are fundamentally incapable of this.» — y su privilegio: solo los cuerpos sutiles pueden subir al cielo, y los materiales, hechos de la sustancia de los Elementos, son de raíz incapaces

«most of the astonishing and extraordinary things which are manifested in the case of the Prophets and the Initiates result from their reaching and entering that world, of which they know the epiphanic forms and characteristic properties.» — a qué atribuye Suhrawardi lo extraordinario de profetas e iniciados: a que alcanzan y entran en ese mundo, del que conocen las formas epifánicas y las propiedades

«We have taught you that it is impossible for images to be materially imprinted upon the eye; just as it is impossible for them to be imprinted on some place in the brain.» — según Suhrawardi en la misma obra: es imposible que las imágenes se impriman materialmente en el ojo, como es imposible que se impriman en algún lugar del cerebro

«No, they are "bodies in suspension,"20 not depending on a substratum (with which they would then be mixed, just as the color black, for example, is mixed with a black object)» — y qué son entonces: cuerpos en suspensión que no dependen de un sustrato con el que se mezclarían, como el color negro se mezcla con el objeto negro

«They certainly have places where they appear, epiphanic places (mfq:ilhir), but they are not materially contained in them.» — con la distinción que sostiene: tienen lugares donde aparecen, lugares epifánicos, pero no están materialmente contenidas en ellos

«It is a world intermediate between the world of the Intelligence and the world of the senses; its ontological plane is above the world of the senses and below the intelligible world; it is more immaterial than the first, less immaterial than the second.» — y su lugar exacto en la escala: por encima del mundo de los sentidos y por debajo del inteligible, más inmaterial que el primero y menos que el segundo

«It means that the totality of the things which exist in the higher world have their nadir and their analogue in the lower world. All these» — el secreto que Qutbuddin Shirazi dice hallar en el imperativo *entiende* de Suhrawardi: la totalidad de las cosas del mundo superior tiene su nadir y su análogo en el inferior, y por ellos se las conoce

«The purpose of all this is that you should know that the Imperfect, accidental light which is that of the sun of the sensory world is the image of the perfect substantial light., which is the sun of the world of the Intelligence, the Light of Lights.» — y a dónde lleva: a saber que la luz imperfecta y accidental del sol sensorial es la imagen de la luz sustancial perfecta, sol del mundo de la Inteligencia, la Luz de las Luces

«These autono)Dous Images and Forms are not the Platonic Ideas, for the Ideas of Plato are of pure, immutable light, whereas among the Forms in question there are some which are dark-those which torment the reprobate; these are hideous repulsive, the sight of them causes the soul suffering wherea~ others are luminous and their sweetness is tasted by the blessed and these are beautiful, resplendent Forms.» — el deslinde que Suhrawardi impone: esas Imágenes autónomas no son las Ideas platónicas, porque las Ideas son de luz pura e inmutable y entre estas Formas las hay oscuras, las que atormentan a los réprobos

«The Sages of old, such as Plato, Socrates, Empedocles and others, not only affirmed the existence of the Platonic Ideas,. which are intelligible and made of pure light, but also the existence of autonomous imaginative Forms which are not immanent in a material substratum of our world.» — según Qutbuddin Shirazi: los Sabios antiguos —Platón, Sócrates, Empédocles— afirmaron no solo las Ideas inteligibles de pura luz, sino también Formas imaginativas autónomas no inmanentes a un sustrato material de este mundo

«They affi~ed that these are separate substances» — y qué estatuto les daban: sustancias separadas, con su asiento en la facultad meditativa y en la Imaginación activa del alma como lugares epifánicos, existentes sin ser inmanentes a un sustrato

«I have witnessed in my soul some authentic and unquestionable experiences which prove that the universes are four in number: there is the world of dominant or archangelic Lights (Luces victoriales, the Jabarat); there is the world of the Lights governing bodies (the Souls, that is to say, the M alakilt) ; there is a double barzakh and there is the world of autonomous Images and Forms, some of them dark, some luminous, the first constituting the imaginative torment of the reprobate, the second the imaginative sweetness enjoyed by the blessed» — según Suhrawardi, en primera persona: dice haber presenciado en su alma experiencias auténticas que, según él, prueban que los universos son cuatro —el de las Luces arcangélicas, el de las Luces que gobiernan cuerpos, un doble *barzakh* y el de las Imágenes y Formas autónomas—

«This last world is the one we call the world of the Apparentiae reales which are independent of matter eaJam al-ashba}J, al-mujarrada); this is the universe in which the resurrection of bodies and divine apparitions are realized and where all the prophetic promises are fulfilled.» — y qué es ese último, según él: el mundo de las *apparentiae reales* independientes de la materia, donde se realizan la resurrección de los cuerpos y las apariciones divinas y se cumplen todas las promesas proféticas

«So we have to understand that the first of these universes is that of the separated intelligible Lights which have no attachment of any kind to bodies; they are the cohorts of the divine Majesty, Angels of the highest rank» — el desglose que Qutbuddin Shirazi hace de esos cuatro: el primero, el de las Luces inteligibles separadas, sin apego alguno a los cuerpos, cohortes de la Majestad divina

«The double barzakh constitutes the third universe; it is the world of bodies perceptible to the senses (because everything which has a body forms an interval, a distance, a barzakh)» — el tercero: el doble *barzakh*, mundo de los cuerpos perceptibles por los sentidos, porque todo lo que tiene cuerpo forma un intervalo, una distancia

«Finally, the fourth universe is the world of the active Imagination; this is an immense world, infinite, whose creatures are in a term-for-term correspondence with those enclosed by the sensory world in the double barzakh-tho ltlfl and the com» — y el cuarto: el mundo de la Imaginación activa, inmenso e infinito, cuyas criaturas corresponden término a término con las del mundo sensorial

«Amongst these are JabalqA and JAbar~A, two immense cities, each with a thousand gates. They are peopled by countless creatures who are not even aware that God has created terrestrial Adam and his posterity.» — lo que ese comentario dice de las dos ciudades: Jabalqa y Jabarsa, cada una con mil puertas, pobladas por criaturas incontables que ni siquiera saben que Dios creó al Adán terrestre

«This world corresponds to the sensory world: its imaginative celestial Spheres (that is to say, HorqalyA) are in perpetual movement; its Elements (that is, Jabalqa and JAbar~A) and their compounds receive fr_9lll HurqalyA the influx and at the same time the illuminations of ·the intelligible worlds.» — y su mecánica: sus Esferas celestes imaginativas —Hurqalya— están en movimiento perpetuo, y sus Elementos reciben de Hurqalya el influjo y las iluminaciones de los mundos inteligibles

«It is there that the various kinds of autonomous archetypal Images are infinitely realized, forming a hierarchy of degrees varying according to their relative subtlety or density. The individuals peopling each degree are infinite, although the degrees themselves are finite in number.» — con su jerarquía: los grados varían según su sutileza o densidad relativa, y los individuos de cada grado son infinitos aunque los grados sean finitos

«The pilgrim rising from one degree to another discovers on each higher level a subtler state, a more entrancing beauty, a more intense spirituality, a more overflowing delight. The highest of these degrees borders on that of the intelligible pure entities of light and very closely resembles it.» — y lo que el peregrino encuentra al subir: en cada nivel superior un estado más sutil, una belleza más arrebatadora, un deleite más desbordante, hasta el grado más alto, que linda con el de las puras entidades inteligibles de luz

«However, a distinction must be made between JabalqA and JAbar~A, which are two cities belonging to the world of the Elements of the» — con la distinción que Suhrawardi impone: Jabalqa y Jabarsa son dos ciudades del mundo de los Elementos del mundo de las Imágenes arquetípicas, mientras que Hurqalya, dice el mismo pasaje, está en los Cielos de ese mundo; la cita se corta donde el OCR de la plana se rompe

«Now if in the case of mirrors we accept the existence of an autonomous image, even though it is only on the surface, without depth or anything back of it, and even though that of which it is the image is an accident (for example, the accidental form of Zayd, immanent in his matter), then one will admit a fortiori the existence of a substantial quiddity, that of the archetype (substantial, in fact, since independent of ~ny substra~um_) having an accidental image (the form of Zayd 1mman~nt m his matter). Thus imperfect light is analogous to perfect hght.» — el argumento *a fortiori* de Suhrawardi: si en los espejos se admite la imagen autónoma, siendo accidental aquello de lo que es imagen, con mayor razón se admitirá la quididad sustancial del arquetipo, porque la luz imperfecta es análoga de la perfecta; el troceo imprime *hght*

«Therefore, imaginative forms exist neither in thought, since the great cannot be imprinted in the small, nor in concrete reality, otherwise anyone with normally healthy senses would be able to see them. But they are not merely nonbeing, for if so one could neither represent them to oneself» — según Qutbuddin Shirazi, comentador de Suhrawardi traducido aquí: las formas imaginativas no existen en el pensamiento, porque lo grande no cabe impreso en lo pequeño, ni en la realidad concreta, o cualquiera con sentidos sanos las vería, y tampoco son mero no-ser

«with real being and are neither in thought, nor in concrete reality, nor in the world of the Intelligences-for they are corporealized forms, not pure intelligibles-they must necessarily exist in some other region and the latter is what is called the world of the archetypal I mage and of imaginatilJe perception.» — de donde concluye que han de existir en otra región: la que se llama mundo de la Imagen arquetípica y de la percepción imaginativa

«The suprasensory realities encountered by the prophets, the Initiates, and others appear to them sometimes in the form of lines of writing, sometimes in the hearing of a voice which may be gentle and sweet and which can also be terrifying. Sometimes they see human forms of extreme beauty who speak to them in most beautiful words and converse with them intimately about the invisible world; at other times these forms appear to them like those delicate figures proceeding from the most refined art of the painters. On occasion they are shown as if in an enclosure; at other times the forms and figures appear suspended.» — según Suhrawardi: las realidades suprasensibles se presentan a profetas e iniciados como líneas de escritura, como una voz suave o aterradora, o como formas humanas de belleza extrema que conversan con ellos sobre el mundo invisible

«Everything which is perceived in dream-mountains, oceans, and • Pp. 514.0-452, para. 5256-58.» — y su argumento: cuanto se percibe en sueños —montañas, océanos, continentes, voces extraordinarias, personajes— son figuras autosubsistentes que no necesitan sustrato

«How can the brain, or one of its cavities, contain the mountains and oceans seen in a dream, whether the dream be true or false, no matter how one conceives of, or explains, this capacity?» — con la pregunta que lo cierra: cómo podría el cerebro, o una de sus cavidades, contener las montañas y los océanos vistos en un sueño

«Just as the sleeper on awakening from his dreams, or the imaginative man and the contemplative man, between the waking state and sleep, returning from their vision, leave the world of autonomous Images without having to make any movement or without having the feeling of material distance in relation to it, in the same way he who dies to this world meets the vision of the world of Light without having to make any movement because he himself is in the world of Light» — y la comparación que saca: como el durmiente deja el mundo de las Imágenes autónomas sin movimiento ni sensación de distancia material, así quien muere a este mundo encuentra la visión del mundo de Luz sin moverse, porque él mismo está en él

«The celestial Spheres give out sounds which are not caused by anything existing in our sublunar world. Moreover, we have already proven that sound is something other than the undulation of air.» — según Suhrawardi: las Esferas celestes emiten sonidos que no causa nada de nuestro mundo sublunar, y el sonido, dice tenerlo ya probado, es otra cosa que la ondulación del aire

«But if a thing is the condition of another in a certain place, it does not follow that it remains a condition for its analogue. Just as anything in general can have multiple, interchangeable causes, so also its conditions can change.» — y el principio con que lo sostiene: que algo sea condición de otra cosa en cierto lugar no implica que lo siga siendo para su análogo

«We cannot say that the tremendous terrifying sounds heard by the visionary mystics are caused by an undulation of air in the brain. For an air-wave of such force due to some disturbance in the brain is inconceivable.» — su objeción a la explicación fisiológica: no cabe decir que los sonidos terribles oídos por los místicos visionarios los cause una ondulación del aire en el cerebro

«No, what we have here is the archetypal Image of the sound, and this autonomous Form is itself a sound [Commentary: Just as the archetypal Image of man is certainly a man, and that of each thing is certainly respectively that thing]» — y qué son entonces, con la glosa que el propio volumen intercala entre corchetes: la Imagen arquetípica del sonido, que es ella misma un sonido, como la Imagen arquetípica del hombre es ciertamente un hombre

«Hail! then, to the company of all who have become mad and drunk with desire for the world of Light, with their passionate love for the majesty of the Light of Lights, and who, in their ecstasy, have become like the "Seven Very Firm Ones. " 26 Because in their case there is a lesson for those who are capable of understanding.» — y su salutación final: salve a la compañía de los enloquecidos y ebrios de deseo del mundo de la Luz, que en su éxtasis se han vuelto como los Siete Muy Firmes

«As the author mentioned in the Book of Conversations, all the Spirituals of the different peoples have affirmed the existence of these sonorities, not on the plane of Jabalqa and Jabar~a, which are cities of the world of the Elements in the universe of the archetypal Forms, but on the plane of Hurqalya, the third city, with its many marvels, the world of the celestial Spheres of the universe of archetypal Forms.» — según Qutbuddin Shirazi: todos los espirituales de los distintos pueblos afirmaron esas sonoridades, no en el plano de Jabalqa y Jabarsa sino en el de Hurqalya, la tercera ciudad, mundo de las Esferas celestes del universo de las Formas arquetípicas

«Pythagoras related that his soul rose as far as the higher world. Due to the purity of his being and to the divinatory power of his heart, he heard the melodies of the Spheres and the sonorities produced by the movements of the heavenly bodies; at the same time he became aware of the discreet resonance of the voices of their angels. Afterwards he returned to his material body. As a result of what he had heard he determined the musical relationships and perfected the science of music.» — y el relato que ese comentario atribuye a Pitágoras: su alma subió al mundo superior, oyó las melodías de las Esferas y la resonancia discreta de las voces de sus ángeles, y al volver a su cuerpo determinó las relaciones musicales

«The complete title of chapter VIII of Ibn 'Arabi's great work, Kitab al-futtl/;&izt al-Makkiya (The Book of the Spiritual Conquests of Mecca, Cairo, 1329/1911, I, 126-31), reads as follows: "On the knowledge of the Earth which was created from what remained of the leaven of Adam's clay, and which is the Earth of True Reality, mentioning the strange things and marvels it contains.» — el título completo del capítulo de las Futuhat de Ibn ‘Arabi que Corbin traduce: sobre el conocimiento de la Tierra creada de lo que quedó de la levadura del barro de Adán, que es la Tierra de la Realidad Verdadera

«Like almost every chapter in this work, ~his one opens with a fe": verses .the allusive density of which IS hard to render. The leatmotiv 1s the palm tree as a symbol of the celestial Earth.» — la advertencia de lectura que Corbin pone en su presentación: el capítulo abre con versos de densidad alusiva difícil de verter, y su leitmotiv es la palmera como símbolo de la Tierra celeste

«The celestial Earth being the inmost secret of man, as it were, his mystic Eve, what is hidden in the words with which the poet speaks to the palm tree that is its symbol begins, in its tum, to be divined.» — y la clave que propone: siendo la Tierra celeste el secreto más íntimo del hombre, su Eva mística, se adivina lo escondido en las palabras que el poeta dirige a la palmera

«0 my sister! or rather, 0 aunt! perceptible to all, thou art the feminine Imam whose secret is nevertheless unknown to us. The sons look toward thee, 0 sister of their father .... 0 aunt, tell me how the fraternal secret is revealed in thee. . . . Thou art the feminine Imam and the Imam is thy brother; and those he precedes1 are so many images drawn from himself.» — los versos de Ibn ‘Arabi traducidos por Corbin: oh hermana, o más bien tía, perceptible a todos, tú eres el Imam femenino cuyo secreto se nos escapa, y los que él precede son otras tantas imágenes sacadas de sí mismo

«The secret of the creation of the palm tree made from the remainder of the clay from which Man himself was created. And, of the clay from which his own "sister" was molded, there was still an invisible remainder, the equivalent of a 1e1ame seed, no more.» — lo que las primeras líneas del capítulo explican, según Corbin: la palmera se hizo del resto del barro del que fue creado el propio Hombre, y de aquel del que se moldeó su hermana quedó todavía un resto invisible, equivalente a una semilla de sésamo

«This means further that one can "free oneself from space without abandoning the sense of expanse.» — con la fórmula que saca: se puede liberar uno del espacio sin abandonar el sentido de la extensión

«In his turn, ~Abd al-Karim Jill (below, Art. IV) tries to make this symbol explicit: the "Earth of sesame" is Adam's sister, or rather, the daughter of his inmost secret.» — cómo lo explicita ‘Abd al-Karim Jili, según Corbin: la Tierra de sésamo es la hermana de Adán, o más bien la hija de su secreto más íntimo

«The fruit which is Adam himself sprang from a palm tree. It has no other enclosure; the grove of palm trees is nowhere else than in Adam himself. Thus they respond reciprocally and spontaneously to each other's call.» — y la reciprocidad que ese texto formula: el fruto que es Adán brotó de una palmera, y el palmeral no está en otro sitio que en Adán mismo

«Moreover, as is known, the Qur'anic revelation makes no mention of the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem; on the other hand, as though to recall or transpose some tidings of the Infancy, it alludes to the miraculous birth "under the palm tree."» — el dato que Corbin trae en su presentación: la revelación coránica no menciona el nacimiento de Jesús en Belén y alude en cambio al nacimiento milagroso bajo la palmera

«Between the "palm tree of Mary" and the palm which is "Adam's sister" taken as a symbol of the celestial Earth, the very one under which the infant Christ is born, certain Qur'anic commentaries allow us to discern the link.» — y el enlace que dice discernible en ciertos comentarios coránicos: entre la palmera de María y la palmera que es hermana de Adán, símbolo de la Tierra celeste

«Nevertheless, we should call attention again to the thematic kinship between the present text dealing with "the Earth which was created from what remained of the clay of Adam," and the text to be read later (below, Art. x, 1) making explicit "in what sense the body of the faithful believer is the Earth of his paradise.» — el parentesco temático que Corbin señala entre dos piezas de su antología: el texto de Ibn ‘Arabi sobre la Tierra creada del barro de Adán y el de Karim Khan Kirmani sobre en qué sentido el cuerpo del creyente es la Tierra de su paraíso

«And o.ne cannot imagine that there could be melodies more delightful than theirs, just as one cannot conceive that there could be a» — la comparación con que Suhrawardi cierra: no cabe imaginar melodías más deleitosas que las de las Esferas; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde las compara con el deseo de los *Angeli coelestes*

«sensory space and that which begins at the poin~ 'Yhere the directions of sensory space come to an end. For It ~s exactly there that the limitless expanse of the celestial Earth will extend.» — lo que Corbin lee en el resto de sésamo: que no hay medida común entre la extensión del espacio sensorial y la que empieza donde acaban sus direcciones, porque ahí se extiende la Tierra celeste; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«This Kafba is one dwelling among fourteen dwellings. In each of the seven Earths there is a creature like ourselves (our homologue) , so that in each of the seven Earths there is an Ibn fAbbAs who is my homologue.» — el hadiz que Ibn ‘Arabi cita, en la traducción de Corbin: esta Kaaba es una morada entre catorce, y en cada una de las siete Tierras hay una criatura homóloga nuestra, un Ibn ‘Abbas que es mi homólogo

«Let us return to the description of that Earth, with its immensity and the multitude of universes which have been constituted from it and in it. For the mystics, this Earth is where theophanies and theophanic visions take place.» — y lo que Ibn ‘Arabi dice de esa Tierra: es donde ocurren, para los místicos, las teofanías y las visiones teofánicas

«In that Earth," he tells us, "I happened one day to penetrate into a gathering which was known as the Assembly of Mercy (Maj/is al-Ra~ma). I never saw an assembly more wonderful than that one. While I was there, there came upon me suddenly a theophanic vision; far from tearing me away from myself, it made me more firmly in my own company.» — el testimonio en primera persona que Ibn ‘Arabi recoge de otro místico: en esa Tierra entró un día en la Asamblea de la Misericordia y le sobrevino una visión teofánica que, lejos de arrancarlo de sí, lo dejó más firmemente en su propia compañía

«Indeed, when such theophanic visions come to mystics in our material world while they are present to their· fleshly body they carry the ecstatic away from himself and he is annihilated before his vision; so it was in the case of the prophets, the great Initiates and all those who have experienced such ecstasies.» — y el contraste que ese testimonio traza: en el mundo material esas visiones arrebatan al extático fuera de sí y lo aniquilan ante su visión

«On the other hand, when the visionary mystic has penetrated into this Earth of which I am speaking and when a theophanic vision comes to him there, his contemplative perception is not annihilated by it, it does not tear him from his act of existing; it makes possible the coexistence in him of vision and discourse.» — mientras que, según el mismo testimonio, en esa Tierra la percepción contemplativa no queda aniquilada y hace posible la coexistencia de visión y discurso

«He also says: "In this assembly I have just recalled, I went through experiences and knew secrets that I am not able to tell because of the abscondity of the things they mean and because it is not possible to reach perception and understanding of them before seeing them for oneself as they are seen by him who has direct vision of them.» — y la abstención declarada en ese mismo relato: pasó por experiencias y supo secretos que no puede contar, porque no cabe entenderlos antes de verlos uno mismo

«In that Earth there are gardens, paradises, animals, minerals -God alone can know how many. Now, everything that is to be found on that Earth, absolutely everything, is alive and speaks, has a life analogous to that of every living being endowed with thought and speech.» — lo que Ibn ‘Arabi dice que hay ahí: jardines, paraísos, animales y minerales, y todo, absolutamente todo, está vivo y habla

«the beings there correspond to what they are here below, with the difference that in that celestial Earth things are permanent,» — con su diferencia: los seres corresponden a lo que son acá abajo, salvo que en esa Tierra celeste las cosas son permanentes, imperecederas e inmutables

«The fact is that that Earth does not allow access to any of our physical bodies made of perishable human clay; its nature is such that it will allow access only to bodies of the same quality as that of its own universe or of the world of Spirits. And so it is in their spirit and not in their material body that the mystics enter into it.» — y su condición de entrada: no admite ninguno de nuestros cuerpos físicos de barro humano perecedero, así que los místicos entran en espíritu y no en cuerpo material

«A marvelous race of forms and figures exist on that Earth, of an extraordinary nature. They keep watch over the entrances of the ways of approach lying above this world in which we are, Earth and Heaven, Paradise and Hell.» — lo que ese texto pone en los accesos: una raza maravillosa de formas y figuras que vigilan las entradas de las vías que llevan por encima de este mundo

«Whenever one of us is searching for the way of access to that Earth, the way of the Initiates of whatever category it may be, whether men or genii, Angels or dwellers in paradise-the first condition to be fulfilled is the practice of mystical gnosis and withdrawal from the material body.» — y la primera condición que exige a quien busca la vía de acceso: la práctica de la gnosis mística y el retiro del cuerpo material

«One of them hastens towards the newcomer, clothes him in a robe suitable to his rank, takes him by the hand, and walks with him over that Earth and they do in it as they will.» — lo que hace entonces una de esas Formas, según Ibn ‘Arabi: corre al recién llegado, lo viste con un manto adecuado a su rango, lo toma de la mano y camina con él por esa Tierra

«He lingers to look at the divine works of art; every stone, every tree, every village, every single thing he comes across, he may speak with, if he wishes, as a man converses with a companion.» — y lo que él puede hacer ahí: demorarse ante las obras de arte divinas y hablar, si quiere, con cada piedra, cada árbol y cada aldea que encuentra

«Certainly they speak different languages, but this Earth has the gift, peculiar to it, of conferring on whomsoever enters the ability to understand all the tongues that are spoken there.» — con el don propio de esa Tierra: confiere a quien entra la capacidad de entender todas las lenguas que ahí se hablan

«When he has attained his object and thinks of returning to his dwelling place, his companion goes with him and takes him back to the place at which he entered. There she says goodbye to him; she takes off the robe in which she had clothed him and departs from him.» — y la ceremonia del regreso: la compañera lo lleva de vuelta al punto por donde entró, le quita el manto con que lo había vestido y se aparta de él

«But by then he has gathered a mass of knowledge and indications and his knowledge of God has increased by something he had not previously envisioned.» — con lo que se lleva: una masa de conocimientos e indicaciones, y su conocimiento de Dios acrecido en algo que antes no había vislumbrado

«Then Ibn 'Arabi tells the tale of a strange thing that happened to an Iranian ~flfi, Aw}:taduddin Kirmanl (d. 624/ 1127) 12 during his adolescence; Kirmfml himself told Ibn 'Arabi about it (it will be noted that they met personally)» — la nota de Corbin que enmarca el relato siguiente: la anécdota se la contó a Ibn ‘Arabi el propio sufí iranio Awhaduddin Kirmani, y Corbin apunta que se conocieron en persona

«But the Shaikh smiled and said, "My child, I was inspired by my concern for you. Seeing how sorry you were for me, I let you do what you asked. But when you were gone, I was afraid that the Amlr would put you to shame by refusing to receive you. So I separated myself from my own corporeal habitation; I entered that of the Amlr and I sat down at his place. When you arrived, it was I who greeted you and behaved toward you as you saw. Then I returned to this habitation that you see. As a matter of fact, I don't need this drug and have no use for it.» — la explicación que el Shaikh da en ese relato: se separó de su propia morada corpórea, entró en la del Amir y se sentó en su lugar, y fue él quien saludó a su discípulo

«So here," said Ibn 'Arabi, "you see how a person was able to manifest himself in the semblance of another man. What must it be in the case of the inhabitants of that Earth of which we were speaking?» — y la conclusión que Ibn ‘Arabi saca: si una persona pudo manifestarse con la semblanza de otro hombre, qué no será en el caso de los habitantes de aquella Tierra

«The times of that Earth are qualitatively of different kinds.» — según el relato de Dhu’l-Nun Misri traducido por Corbin: los tiempos de esa Tierra son cualitativamente de distintas clases

«Every event, every person, has its own time there. One day of our earthly time may be the equivalent of a number of years.» — con su consecuencia: cada suceso y cada persona tiene ahí su propio tiempo, y un día del nuestro puede equivaler a varios años

«However, the darkness of the nights there is never a veil; it never prevents an object from being seen.» — lo que ese relato dice de sus noches: alternan con el día aunque la luz no sea la del sol físico, y su oscuridad nunca es velo ni impide ver un objeto

«There they engage in combat which is merely a game without hatred or wounds. Sea voyages are undertaken and enlivened by shipwrecks: for water is not a hostile element. It does not endanger life. They walk on its surface until they come back to shore.» — y de sus combates y travesías: el combate es juego sin odio ni heridas, y el agua no es elemento hostil, así que caminan sobre su superficie hasta volver a la orilla

«There are also earthquakes on that Earth more violent even than those on our earthly earth. Dhu'l-Nun witnessed one of ~em .. When th~ tremor died down, the kindly beings surround-Ing htm took htm by the hand and consoled him regarding one of his daughters called Fatima. "But I left her in good health with her mother," he said. "What you say is true, but this earth never trembles while one of you is with us unless he dies (and then remains definitely among us) Qr one of his relatives dies. This earthquake was the sign of the death of your daughter.» — el episodio del temblor: los seres que lo acompañaban le explican que esa tierra no tiembla mientras uno de los nuestros está con ellos salvo que muera él o muera un pariente suyo, y era el signo de la muerte de su hija

«We are bound to abbreviate all these data as far as possible, the interest of which from the viewpoint of religious phenomenology depends on the p~inciple al~eady stated, namely: on .tha! Earth every soul has Its own umverse (the palm tree, whtch IS Adam's sister); when the soul contemplates this universe, it is contemplating itself.» — la nota de Corbin que abrevia el relato y fija su principio: en esa Tierra cada alma tiene su propio universo, y al contemplarlo se contempla a sí misma

«It is in this sense that we should interpret another visi~n described by Ibn 'Arabi: that of a Ka'ba whose proportions surpass those of the temple that lies in Mecca. Those who circumambulate it were not wearing the ritual pilgrim's clothing. It had four pillars that spoke to those who walked around t!tem and initiated them into knowledge which they did not previously have.» — y la visión que Corbin manda leer así: la de una Kaaba de proporciones superiores a las del templo de La Meca, con cuatro pilares que hablaban a quienes daban vueltas en torno a ellos

«Then thirteen cities of light are mentioned as being situated in that Earth into which only the elect amongst the gnostics have access. (The Shl'ite interpretation spontaneously discerns the Prophet and the twelve Imams in these cities of light.» — con la nota en que Corbin consigna una lectura ajena sin hacerla suya: la interpretación chií discierne espontáneamente al Profeta y a los doce Imames en las trece ciudades de luz de ese relato

«the power to cause one body to exist in two different places, the power to make the accidental subsist independently of its substance and to transfer it from one substance to another, the power to make the spiritual sense subsist thanks to the spiritual sense alone (with no exoteric support)» — según Ibn ‘Arabi en la traducción de Corbin: el poder de hacer que un cuerpo exista en dos lugares distintos, de hacer subsistir lo accidental independientemente de su sustancia y de transferirlo de una sustancia a otra

«Every body assumed by the spiritual, whethe~ ange! or geme, every form or shape in which man looks upon himself In a dream, all these are subtle bodies belonging to that other Earth.» — y qué son, según ese texto, todo cuerpo asumido por lo espiritual y toda forma en que el hombre se ve a sí mismo en sueños: cuerpos sutiles pertenecientes a esa otra Tierra

«When the latter sees some particular spiritual entity with his own eyes, it means he has a special affinity with such ~n~ such a definite form among forms, that exact one which the Spirit assumes, as when the Angel Gabriel assumed for the Prophet the form of the handsome adolescent Dal;lya al-Kalbi.» — el ejemplo con que lo cierra: quien ve una entidad espiritual con sus propios ojos tiene afinidad especial con esa forma exacta, como cuando el ángel Gabriel asumió para el Profeta la forma del hermoso adolescente Dahya al-Kalbi

«The cause of this is that God laid out this Earth in the barzakh, the interworld, and fixed a location there for these subtle bodies assumed by pure spiritual beings, toward which our so~ls .themselves are transported during sleep and after death. Th1s IS why we are ourselves a part of its universe.» — la causa que da: Dios dispuso esa Tierra en el *barzakh* y fijó ahí un lugar para los cuerpos sutiles a los que nuestras almas son transportadas durante el sueño y después de la muerte

«Lastly, that Earth opens out at one extremity onto Paradise: that end of it is known as the forecourt or esplanade. And there is another extremity which is adjacent to our earthly Earth.» — y su topología: esa Tierra se abre por un extremo al Paraíso —extremo llamado atrio o esplanada— y por el otro linda con nuestra Tierra terrestre

«Suppose a man fixes his gaze on a lamp,. or on the sun, or the moon, and then half shuta hl1 eye1 10 that h11 eye» — la comparación con que Ibn ‘Arabi la explica: quien mira una lámpara y entorna los ojos ve una red de líneas de luz tendida del cuerpo luminoso a sus propios ojos

«And so the luminous body is analogous here to the location especially reserved in that Earth for such and such a form of apparition (a subtle body clothing a spiritual entity). The observer in this case represents our own world.» — cómo se aplica la comparación: el cuerpo luminoso es el lugar reservado en esa Tierra a tal forma de aparición, y el observador representa nuestro propio mundo

«Lastly, the retraction of the lines of light as they withdraw into the luminous body, as the interposition of the eyelids ceases, represents the return of the fo~s withdrawing into that Earth when your capacity to perceiVe them comes to an end.» — y el último término: la retracción de las líneas de luz representa el retorno de las formas a esa Tierra cuando cesa la capacidad de percibirlas

«There is no explanation beyond this explanation.» — con el límite que el propio texto se pone: no hay explicación más allá de esa explicación

«Know that the mundus archetypus ( al-'iilam al-mithiili, the world of the archetypal Images) 1 is a spiritual universe of luminous substance; on the one hand it has an affinity with material substance in that it is the object of perception and possesses extent· on the other hand, it has an affinity with separate intelligible sub~tance, in that its nature is that of pure light.» — según Da’ud Qaysari en el texto traducido por Corbin: el *mundus archetypus* es un universo espiritual de sustancia luminosa, afín a la sustancia material por ser objeto de percepción y tener extensión, y a la inteligible separada por ser de naturaleza de pura luz

«It is neither a compound material body, nor a separate intelligible_ s?bstan~e, because it is a barzakh, that is, an interworld, a hmit, which separates the one from the other.» — y su estatuto: ni cuerpo material compuesto ni sustancia inteligible separada, sino *barzakh*, intermundo, límite que separa a la una de la otra

«Everything which creates an interval, a barzakh, between two things, must differ from these two things, or rather, it is bound to have two dimensions ~hrou~h each of which it symbolizes with the universe to which this dimension corresponds.» — el principio general que enuncia: todo lo que crea un intervalo entre dos cosas ha de diferir de las dos, o más bien ha de tener dos dimensiones por las que simboliza con cada universo

«Therefore it is not an accidental world, as a certain thinker believed, thinking-as he did-that Image-forms could be dissociated from their substantial realities and that the same was true in regard to intelligible forms.» — la objeción que Qaysari dirige a un pensador que no nombra: no es un mundo accidental, como creyó quien pensó que las formas-Imagen podían disociarse de sus realidades sustanciales

«The truth is that substantial forms exist in each of the universes: the spiritual universe, the intelligible universe, the imaginative universe, and all these sub- .,. Extract from the commentary on the F~il~ al-l;likam of Ibn 'Arabi, ch. VII of the introduction. Bombay, 1299/1881, pp. 30 ff. and 1300/ 1882, pp. 25 ff. It is necessary to collate the two editions.» — y lo que él sostiene: en cada universo existen formas sustanciales, y todas esas realidades asumen formas correspondientes a su universo

«you will observe that the imaginative power (the lmaginatrix) which belongs to the Soul of the universe, and itself including everything included by the other imaginative powers (those of the Animae coelestes), is the substratum and epiphanic place of this interworld.» — la tesis que sigue: el poder imaginativo del Alma del universo, que incluye cuanto incluyen los demás poderes imaginativos, es el sustrato y lugar epifánico de ese intermundo

«It is called the mundus archetypus because it contains the Forms of everything existing in this world, and because it is the archetype of all the Forms of the individuals and essences existing on the plane of divine knowledge.» — por qué se llama *mundus archetypus*, según Qaysari: porque contiene las Formas de todo lo que existe en este mundo y es el arquetipo de las Formas de los individuos y esencias en el plano del conocimiento divino

«It is also called the world of the autonomous Imagination, because it is immaterial in comparison with the immanent3 imagination.» — y por qué se llama mundo de la Imaginación autónoma: porque es inmaterial en comparación con la imaginación inmanente

«There is no suprasensory reality, no spiritual entity nor Spirit, that does not have an archetypal form corresponding to its perfections, since each of them participates in the divine Name "the Revealed» — la regla que enuncia: no hay realidad suprasensible ni Espíritu que no tenga una forma arquetípica correspondiente a sus perfecciones, porque todos participan del Nombre divino el Revelado

«This is the meaning of a reliable tradition, which relates that when the Prophet saw the Angel Gabriel at the Lotus of the Limit,4 the Angel had six hundred wings; every morning and evening he entered the river of Life; he came out shaking his wings, and out of the scattered drops God created countless Angels.» — y la tradición con que la ilustra: el Profeta vio a Gabriel con seiscientas alas junto al Loto del Límite, y de las gotas que el ángel esparcía al salir del río de la Vida creó Dios ángeles innumerables

«This interworld contains the Throne ('arsh, the supreme Heaven), the Firmament (Kursi, the Heaven of the Fixed Stars), the seven Heavens and the Earths, and everything all of these contain.» — lo que ese intermundo contiene, según Qaysari: el Trono, el Firmamento, los siete Cielos y las Tierras, y cuanto todos ellos contienen

«he understands of what the Prophet's M i'riij (heavenly assumption) consisted, how it was that the Prophet had the vision of Adam in the first Heaven, the vision of John and Jesus in the second Heaven, the vision of Joseph in the third, of Idris (Enoch-Hermes) in the fourth, of Aaron in the fifth, of Moses in the sixth, and of Abraham in the seventh.» — y lo que ahí entiende el buscador: en qué consistió el Mi‘raj del Profeta y por qué vio a Adán en el primer Cielo, a Juan y a Jesús en el segundo, a José en el tercero, a Idris en el cuarto, a Aarón en el quinto, a Moisés en el sexto y a Abraham en el séptimo

«The seeker understands, on the one hand, the difference there is between what he sees in his dream and the ability of those moderately advanced in the mystical path to realize imaginatively an ascent to Heaven, and on the other hand, the difference from what is really contemplated in the spiritual world.» — con la distinción que ese texto le impone: la que va de lo que se ve en sueños, a la ascensión imaginativa de los medianamente avanzados, y a lo que se contempla realmente en el mundo espiritual

«the eyehds are slowly and gradually raised, the observer sees the network of lines of light draw back little by little and gather into the luminous body.» — el reverso de esa comparación: al levantar despacio los párpados, el observador ve la red de líneas de luz retirarse poco a poco y recogerse en el cuerpo luminoso; el troceo imprime *eyehds*

«That is why the masters of mystical vision have seen the interworld as something contiguous to the spiritual world, receiving light from it, as streams and rivers issue into the sea, and as high windows allow rays of light to enter a house.» — y la imagen con que ese texto describe el intermundo: contiguo al mundo espiritual y recibiendo luz de él como los ríos desembocan en el mar y como las ventanas altas dejan entrar los rayos en una casa

«For each of the beings existing in the world of the senses there is, respectively, a captive archetypal form perceived in the human world on the plane of the imagination, whether it be a Heaven, a star, or an Element, a mineral, a plant, or an animal, because there are a Spirit and spiritual energies for each of them, and because the Spirit participates to a certain extent in this world; otherwise, the universes would not correspond perfectly.» — la correspondencia que postula: para cada ser del mundo de los sentidos hay una forma arquetípica cautiva percibida en el plano de la imaginación, porque de otro modo los universos no se corresponderían perfectamente

«The Shaikh (Ibn fArabt), in chapter 321 of The Book of the Spiritual Conquests of Mecca, 9 demonstrates clearly that the second barzakh is different from the first. He calls the latter the "mystery of the possible," whereas he calls the former the "mystery of the impossible," in the sense that what exists in the first can be manifested in our visible world, whereas it is not possible for that which is in the second to return to the visible state, except on the Day of Judgment.» — la distinción que Qaysari toma de Ibn ‘Arabi: el segundo *barzakh* difiere del primero —al primero lo llama misterio de lo posible y al segundo misterio de lo imposible—, porque lo del primero puede manifestarse en el mundo visible y lo del segundo no, salvo el Día del Juicio

«Very few are those to whom this second barzakh is revealed. The first, on the other hand, may be revealed to a good many among us and seen with our own eyes. Such people can have knowledge of future events in the world, but not the power to discover the condition of those who have left this world.» — y su reparto: a muy pocos se revela ese segundo *barzakh*, mientras que el primero se revela a bastantes, que pueden conocer sucesos futuros pero no la condición de los que han dejado este mundo

«The theme of ch. VII ( n, 27-28) is that "the Imagination is the substance ( hayula, matter) of all the universes.» — el tema del capítulo de Jili que Corbin traduce, declarado en su presentación: la Imaginación es la sustancia, la *hayula*, de todos los universos

«one is struck, from the very beginning of the chapter, by the all-importance attributed to the imaginative power (the "Imaginatrix")-it is "the life of the Spirit of the universe, its principle, its own principle being the son of Adam.» — y lo que a Corbin le llama la atención desde el principio: el poder imaginativo llamado vida del Espíritu del universo, cuyo propio principio es el hijo de Adán

«Jill, like Ibn 'Arabi, regards the imaginative power as the very secret of cosmogony viewed as theophany, of creation as divine self-revelation.» — la adjudicación que Corbin hace en su presentación: como Ibn ‘Arabi, Jili tiene el poder imaginativo por el secreto mismo de la cosmogonía entendida como teofanía

«Since all the planes of the universe are so many theophanic acts issuing from the absolute Divine Imagination, there could be no question of reabsorbing, denying, or annihilating them without going counter to the theophanic divine Will.» — la consecuencia que Corbin extrae de esa doctrina: siendo todos los planos del universo actos teofánicos, no cabe reabsorberlos, negarlos ni aniquilarlos sin ir contra la Voluntad divina teofánica

«Imagination considered in its totality has a twofold principle, a twofold source: on the one hand, it is active configuration and , belongs to the world of superexistence (the world of absolute Imagination, the world of Malakut, the world of the Soul); on the other hand, it is the imagined image, the formed image, the perishable representation (the images held "captive" in the faculties of man in his present condition)» — la distinción que Corbin atribuye a Jili: la Imaginación tiene doble principio, como configuración activa del mundo de la superexistencia y como imagen formada y perecedera, cautiva en las facultades del hombre

«The sleep of unconsciousness means ignorance of the true nature of sensory perceptions. It means passive subjection-as though they were material-to data (empirical, historical, and so forth) created» — qué es el sueño de la inconsciencia, según esa lectura: ignorancia de la verdadera naturaleza de las percepciones sensoriales y sujeción pasiva a los datos como si fueran materiales

«By contrast, the paradisal condition is the overcoming of this slavery because one has become aware of the secret law of the universe as a theophany, and because one is in accord with that secret.» — por contraste, la condición paradisíaca: la superación de esa esclavitud por haberse hecho consciente de la ley secreta del universo como teofanía

«This consciousness, this awakening from the dogmatic sleep that was a slavery to the authority of outer things, is known as the reciprocal compresence of creator-being» — el nombre que ese texto da a ese despertar del sueño dogmático: la compresencia recíproca del ser creador y el ser creatural

«From then on, the theophanic Imagination becomes lmaginatio vera, the very secret of the power creating all the universes, and that is what it means "to be a Watcher" (an Egregoros), one of the men of al-Atraf.» — y en qué se convierte entonces la Imaginación teofánica: en *imaginatio vera*, el secreto mismo del poder que crea todos los universos, y eso es ser un Vigilante, uno de los hombres de al-A‘raf

«For ~h~ikh Mufid,. who expresses a general opinion on this point, It Is a mountam or a rampart, a place intermediate between Paradise and Hell.» — la definición que Corbin toma de Shaikh Mufid como opinión general: al-A‘raf es una montaña o una muralla, lugar intermedio entre el Paraíso y el Infierno

«The Qur'anic verses ( 7: 44 and 46) call al-A'raf the rampart where there exist men endowed with the power of physiognomic discernment, that is, they are capable of reco~izing eac~ one's inner essence from his physiognomy.» — y lo que dicen los versos coránicos: al-A‘raf es la muralla donde hay hombres capaces de discernimiento fisiognómico, que reconocen la esencia interior de cada cual por su fisonomía

«For Shi 1te theologians, these men of al-A'raf are the Fourteen Very-Pure (the Prophet, Fatima, and the twelve Imams): only he enters Paradise who is recognized by them, but they precisely can only recognize him who has himself known them.» — la lectura que Corbin atribuye a los teólogos chiíes: esos hombres son los Catorce Muy Puros, y solo entra en el Paraíso quien es reconocido por ellos, que a su vez solo pueden reconocer a quien los ha conocido

«world are the shadows of these archetypal Forms. That is why the gnostic, through intuitive physiognomy, recognizes the inner states of man according to his outer form.» — según Da’ud Qaysari: las formas percibidas en nuestro mundo son las sombras de esas Formas arquetípicas, y por eso el gnóstico reconoce por fisiognomía intuitiva los estados interiores del hombre según su forma exterior

«this slavery is exactly the condition of Hell which is a misinterpretation of, or rebellion against, theophany as such; because in the ignorance of» — y lo que Jili adjudica a esa esclavitud, según la presentación de Corbin: es exactamente la condición del Infierno, que malinterpreta la teofanía o se rebela contra ella; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«This recognition is therefore likewise a compresence, for it is ~eing known while kno~ing, that is, in the very act of knowing» — y la reciprocidad que declara: ese reconocimiento es también compresencia, un ser conocido mientras se conoce, en el acto mismo de conocer

«Al-A 'riif is the "height that overlooks," that from which and by which theophanic perception as such is possible, namely: the visionary apperception of the divine Being as He is epiphanized in each thing, with His Attributes of which each thing is a theophanic form.» — la definición que Corbin da en su presentación: al-A‘raf es la altura que domina, aquella desde la cual y por la cual es posible la percepción teofánica del Ser divino epifanizado en cada cosa

«An all-important point that follows is that our authors relate the term, al-A'raf, as a "dominant height" or "promontory," with one of the Prophet's laadith that governs the entire esoteric hermeneutic of the Quran: each verse has an exoteric aspect ( ;ahir, the literal text is recited), an esoteric aspect ( ba#n, the hidden meaning that must be understood), a definitive aspect (laadd, fixing practical conduct) and a "height of aim," which is what God aims to actualize in man and through man.» — y el hadiz con el que Corbin dice que sus autores enlazan el término: cada verso tiene un aspecto exotérico, uno esotérico, uno definitivo que fija la conducta y una altura de mira, que es lo que Dios quiere actualizar en el hombre y por el hombre

«Al-A'raf is thus the ''promontory," the height that must be attained and "realized" in order to perceive the spiritual meaning, or rather to attain it-this is just the point: to perceive, to "realize," the spiritual meaning of the Revelations, the "spiritual history" which is the invisible dimension of literal data and earthly events.» — de donde el término significa, según Corbin: el promontorio que hay que alcanzar y realizar para percibir el sentido espiritual de las Revelaciones, la historia espiritual que es la dimensión invisible de los datos literales

«This is the place known as al-Kathib, the "dune" or "regiOn of the dunes." We learn that it is a region or plane situated below al-A'raf.» — el otro lugar místico que Corbin explica con las palabras de Jili: al-Kathib, la duna o región de las dunas, plano situado por debajo de al-A‘raf

«The difference between the inhabitants of the Kathib and those of al-A'riif is that the former left our world before God had shown himself to them.» — y la diferencia que Jili marca: los de al-Kathib dejaron nuestro mundo antes de que Dios se les mostrara

«The inhabitants of al-A 'riif, on the other hand, are Spirituals to whom God manifested himself ( tajalll, theophany) before they left this world and who therefore already had a vision of Him here in this world of ours.» — mientras que los de al-A‘raf son espirituales a quienes Dios se manifestó antes de que dejaran este mundo y que ya tuvieron aquí visión de Él

«For them, there is no dwelling place beyond the world except in God, "for if one arrives in a country where a friend resides, that friend cannot let him make his home anywhere but with himself.» — con la imagen que Jili le pone: quien llega a un país donde reside un amigo no puede hacer su casa sino con él

«From that moment, it is certain that the Imagination is the principle and source of all the universes without exception.» — según ‘Abd al-Karim Jili en el texto traducido por Corbin: la Imaginación es el principio y la fuente de todos los universos sin excepción

«Now, do you not see how the Prophet perceived what is the object of sense perception as a dream, and this dream as an imagination? "Humans are asleep," he said. "It is when they die that they awake.» — y el dicho del Profeta que aduce: los humanos duermen, y es al morir cuando despiertan

«This does not mean that death produces total Awakening. For unconsciousness of God hangs over the inhabitants of the interworld (the barzakh ) as well as over the men of the Last Day, as well over the inhabitants of hell as over the inhabitants of paradise, until the Divine Being shows Himself to them in the "region of the dunes,"2 toward which the inhabitants of paradise sometimes emerge and then contemplate God.» — con el límite que Jili le pone: eso no significa que la muerte produzca el Despertar total, porque la inconsciencia de Dios pesa sobre los del intermundo y sobre los del Último Día, hasta que el Ser divino se les muestre en la región de las dunas

«That is why Imagination connects all the individuals who are in these universes. Each of the communities is connected by the imagined image in whichever universe it may happen to be.» — la función que le atribuye: la Imaginación enlaza a todos los individuos de esos universos, y cada comunidad queda enlazada por la imagen imaginada

«That is why these people are asleep, whereas one who is compresent with the Divine Presence is a Watcher, an Awakened One (an E gre goros4 ); his degree of awakening is proportionate to his reciprocal com-presence with God.» — y su criterio de vigilia: quien es compresente a la Presencia divina es un Vigilante, un Despierto, y su grado de despertar es proporcional a esa compresencia recíproca

«In their turn, the inhabitants of the interworld (the barzakh) are also sleeping people, although their sleep is lighter than that of certain people of our world. In effect, they are quite preoccupied by anguish or enjoyment, which are both something which is themselves, proceeds from themselves, and something in which they themselves are. Now that is also sleep, because they are equally inattentive and unconscious of God.» — lo que dice de los habitantes del *barzakh*: también duermen, con sueño más ligero que el de ciertos hombres de este mundo, ocupados por angustia o goce que son ellos mismos

«The same is true of the men of the Last Day, for although they stand before God for the "rendering of accounts," they are nonetheless with» — y de los del Último Día: aunque comparecen ante Dios para la rendición de cuentas, están con su rendición de cuentas y no compresentes a Dios

«Therefore, in this way, sleep is like a law of nature for all, in the sense that each inhabitant of all the universes, while being, in a certain sense, compresent with the Divine Being as such, since the Divine Being is compresent with being in its totality-He says of Himself: "He is with you wherever you are (57: 4)" -nevertheless, all are compresent with Him only in a dream, not in a state of conscious wakefulness.» — la ley general que formula: el sueño es como ley de naturaleza para todos, porque todos son compresentes al Ser divino solo en sueño y no en vigilia consciente

«That is why there is awakening and a state of wakefulness only for the inhabitants of al-A'riif and for those in the "region of the dunes."5 For they are in reciprocal compresence with God, and their degree of awakening is in proportion to the theophany that is manifested to them.» — con su única excepción: solo hay despertar para los habitantes de al-A‘raf y de la región de las dunas, en proporción a la teofanía que se les manifiesta

«Therefore, now that you have understood that the inhabitants of each of the universes are under the law of sleep, declare that all the universes are so many imagined images, for dream is the world of imagination.» — y la conclusión con que cierra ese capítulo: declara que todos los universos son otras tantas imágenes imaginadas, porque el sueño es el mundo de la imaginación

«One faithful in love, separated from his own. I have been banished from your country. I have wandered far from those like you. I have been bound to the impediments of height and depth, of length and width. I have been imprisoned in the jail of Fire and Water, of Air and Earth. 9 But now that I have severed my bonds, I start to seek an escape from the prison where I had remained» — la respuesta que da el Extranjero: fiel en el amor, separado de los suyos, desterrado, atado a los impedimentos de altura y profundidad y encarcelado en la prisión del Fuego y del Agua, del Aire y de la Tierra

«Know that the world to which you return is the world of Mystery ('iilam al-ghayb, the world of the suprasensory) . The men belonging10 to it are great in number; they are sensitively helpful; they possess powerful methods; they provide plenty of scope. He who aspires to rejoin them and to present himself to them, must don their magnificent dress and be perfumed with their soft perfume.» — lo que le dice el personaje de cabellos blancos: el mundo al que vuelve es el mundo del Misterio, y quien aspire a reunirse con sus hombres ha de vestir su magnífico traje y perfumarse con su suave perfume

«The garments can be found in the market of sesame left over as surplus from the remainder of the clay of Adam.11 As for the perfumes, they can be obtained on the Earth of the Imagination.» — y dónde se consiguen: los vestidos en el mercado del sésamo sobrante del barro de Adán, y los perfumes en la Tierra de la Imaginación

«If you prefer, you may reverse this explanation: in that case borrow the clothing from the cloth of the Imagination and the perfume from the Earth of sesame. For they are unquestionably two brothers (or two sisters) , both belong to the same world called the world of Mystery or world of the suprasensory» — con la reversibilidad que el propio texto autoriza: cabe invertir la explicación, porque las dos son hermanas y pertenecen al mismo mundo del Misterio

«That is the subtle world,' he said to me, 'a world forever imperishable, a place that does not pass away with the succession of nights and days. God created it from that clay; he selected this seed from out of the whole mould, then he invested it with an authority that extended to everything, to the great as to the humble» — la respuesta del Espíritu de la Imaginación en ese relato: es el mundo sutil, imperecedero, que Dios creó de aquel barro escogiendo la semilla del molde entero

«It is an Earth where the impossible becomes possible, where the pure figures of Imagination are contemplated with the senses.» — y su definición: una Tierra donde lo imposible se vuelve posible y las figuras puras de la Imaginación se contemplan con los sentidos

«Certainly! When your active imagination will have attained all its perfection and all its plenitude, your capacity will expand till it makes possible the impossible, till it contemplates suprasensory realities of the Imagination under a sensory mode, till it understands allusive signs and deciphers the secret of the diacritical points of letters.» — la condición que ese texto pone para llegar: que la imaginación activa alcance su perfección y su plenitud, hasta contemplar bajo modo sensorial las realidades suprasensibles y descifrar el secreto de los puntos diacríticos de las letras

«When I had penetrated into this marvelous Earth and was perfumed with its strangely sweet perfumes, when I had contemplated its marvels and strangeness, things so beautiful and so rare that they have still not entered into your thought and cannot be seen either in our world or even in our imaginable world, I sought to ascend to the world of Mystery.» — lo que el Extranjero cuenta de esa Tierra: contempló maravillas tan bellas y raras que no han entrado en el pensamiento ni pueden verse en nuestro mundo ni en nuestro mundo imaginable

«The Stranger, called by the name of Spirit, 7 journeyed until he had reached the country called the country of ra» — el segundo texto de Jili traducido por Corbin, el Viaje del Extranjero: el Extranjero, llamado con el nombre de Espíritu, viaja hasta el país que el impreso nombra con una palabra que el OCR corrompe; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, donde llama a la puerta del umbral prohibido

«but I ascertained that practice of the divine service had made him so slim that he seemed to be a pure apparition» — cómo describe el Extranjero al Shaikh que lo había guiado: la práctica del servicio divino lo había adelgazado hasta parecer pura aparición

«In spite of that, he had preserved all his inner strength and the same creative spiritual energy;16 he was just as impetuous and resolute as before, just as prompt both to sit down and to stand up, his brightness was like that of the full moon.» — y lo que conservaba: toda su fuerza interior y la misma energía espiritual creadora, con un brillo como el de la luna llena

«I am,' he said to me,18 'transcendent reality, and I am the tenuous thread that brings it very close.19 I am the secret of man in his act of existing, and I am that invisible one (al-ba/in, the absconditum, the esoteric) who is the object of worship.» — la autopresentación de Khidr en el relato de Jili traducido por Corbin: soy la realidad trascendente y el hilo tenue que la acerca, el secreto del hombre en su acto de existir y aquel invisible que es objeto de adoración

«My permanent dwelling place is the mountain of Qa£.21 My halting place is the A'riif.22 I am he who stands at the confluence of the two seas, the one who plunges into the river of the Where, the one who drinks from the source of the source. 23 I am the guide of the fish in the sea of divinity.» — y dónde dice morar: su morada permanente es la montaña de Qaf y su alto es al-A‘raf, y está en la confluencia de los dos mares, guía del pez en el mar de la divinidad

«I am the secret of the embryo, and I already bear the adolescent. I am the initiator of Moses. 25 I am the First and the Last diacritical point. 26 I am the unique Pole that is the sum of all. I am the Light that scintillates. I am the full moon rising. I am the decisive word. I am the splendor of consciences. I am the desire of the seekers.» — la serie de títulos que se atribuye: secreto del embrión, iniciador de Moisés, primer y último punto diacrítico, Polo único que es la suma de todo, luz que centellea, luna llena que asciende, palabra decisiva y deseo de los buscadores

«Only the Perfect Man ( al-insan al-kamil) , the ingathered Spirit, reaches and finds access to me. As for all the others, my rank is well above the dwelling place where they are established. They have no knowledge of me; they see no vestige of me.» — con el límite que él mismo pone: solo el Hombre Perfecto, el Espíritu recogido, llega hasta él; los demás no lo conocen ni ven vestigio suyo

«They masquerade ridiculously in my name; they paint my symbol on their cheek. Then the ignorant, the inexperienced, rests his gaze there, and he imagines that indeed to be what bears the name KhT?.r. But how is that related to me, what have I to do with that?» — y su reproche a quienes lo invocan sin conocerlo: se disfrazan ridículamente con su nombre y se pintan su símbolo en la mejilla, y el ignorante cree que eso es lo que lleva el nombre de Khidr

«Unless it is said, in truth, that this is also a drop of my ocean, or an hour of my eternity, since its reality is that of a tenuous thread among my tenuities, 27 and that the way followed by those is a way among my ways. Then, in this sense, I am also this fallacious star.» — con la reserva que él mismo añade: a no ser que se diga que también eso es una gota de su océano y que ese camino es uno de sus caminos, y en ese sentido dice ser también esa estrella falaz

«His distinctive sign,' he said to me, 'is concealed in the knowledge of the creative power, its exalted knowledge is involved in the science of the essencification of the Essences.» — la señal del que llega hasta él, según ese texto: va oculta en el conocimiento del poder creador, y su ciencia exaltada está implicada en la ciencia de la esencificación de las Esencias

«There are some among them,' he said to me, 'who are Adamites, and there are some among them who are pure spiritual entities. They form six categories differing as to rank.» — la respuesta de Khidr sobre los hombres del Invisible: unos son adamitas y otros entidades espirituales puras, y forman seis categorías de distinto rango

«The first category is the preeminent one; they are the Perfect Ones, the great Initiates who follow in the footsteps of the prophets29 and who remain invisible to the creatures of this world, because they are hidden in the Mystery which is designated as the plane on which the Merciful30 is enthroned. They are not known, they cannot be described, although they are Adamites.» — la primera categoría: los Perfectos, grandes iniciados que siguen las huellas de los profetas y permanecen invisibles porque están ocultos en el Misterio, sin ser conocidos ni descriptibles

«The second category consists of the intimates of suprasensory planes, the Spirits that inspire the hearts. 31 The spiritual Guide manifests by taking their form, in order that mortals be led by them to inner and outer perfection. They are Spirits; they are, so to speak, pure apparitional forms, in that they have the faculty of producing a visual representation of themselves. They travel, taking their departure from this visible world; they reach as far as the field of the mystery of being. Afterwards, they may pass from the hidden to the visible state. Their breath is entirely a divine service. They are the pillars of the Earth,32 keeping watch for God over the tradition and precepts.» — la segunda: los íntimos de los planos suprasensibles, Espíritus que inspiran los corazones y pueden producir una representación visual de sí mismos, pilares de la Tierra

«The third category are the Angels of inspiration and impulses who, during the night visit the Initiates and converse with the Spirituals; they do not show themselves in the world of sensory perception; they are not known by ordinary men.» — la tercera: los Ángeles de la inspiración y de los impulsos, que visitan de noche a los iniciados y no se muestran en el mundo de la percepción sensorial

«The fourth category are the men of confidential psalms throughout their ecstasy. They are perpetually out of their world. If one ever meets them, it is always in another place than where they were supposed to be found. They manifest to other men by taking form in the world of sensory perception. When the Spirituals happen to meet them on these detours, they initiate them into the mysteries of the invisible and inform them of realities kept secret.» — la cuarta: los hombres de los salmos confidenciales, perpetuamente fuera de su mundo, a quienes solo se encuentra en otro sitio del que se los suponía

«The fifth category are the men of the wild lands; they are the privileged in the world. They are a race of Adamites, they can make themselves visible to humans, then they conceal themselves. When they are addressed, they answer. Most often,» — la quinta: los hombres de las tierras salvajes, raza de adamitas que se hacen visibles y se ocultan, y que moran sobre todo en montañas, desiertos y riberas

«The sixth category are those who resemble sudden inspirations of thought, having nothing in common with demonic suggestions. They are children whose father is mental discourse and whose mother is the active imagination. No one pays any attention to what they say; their like do not inspire ardent desire. They are between the false and the true; they are both people who have lifted the Veil and people who remain in front of the Veil. "And God is the True, he is the guide on the Way" (33:4). "Near him is the archetype of the Book" ( 13:39, umm al-kitab, "the mother of the Book» — y la sexta: los que semejan inspiraciones súbitas del pensamiento, hijos de un padre que es el discurso mental y una madre que es la imaginación activa, entre lo falso y lo verdadero

«In the accounts and books of traditional history, mention is made that J abalqii is an immense city situated in the East, whereas J abar~ii is a city just as large and spacious, situated in the West, opposite Jabalqa. The masters in the hermeneutics of symbols have made this the subject of numerous commentaries.» — según Shamsuddin Muhammad Lahiji en el texto traducido por Corbin: la historia tradicional sitúa Jabalqa al Oriente y Jabarsa al Occidente, y los maestros en hermenéutica de los símbolos las han comentado abundantemente

«The idea I have myself arrived at from quite independent thought can be summarized very simply as follows, under two headings» — con la declaración de método que hace: la idea que expone la alcanzó por pensamiento del todo independiente y la resume en dos puntos

«First, Jabalqa is the mundus archetypus located to the East, and turned toward the spiritual entities; it is the interworld ( barzakh) between the suprasensory world and the world visible to the senses. It contains all the archetypes of the universe, and thus of necessity is an immense city.» — el primero: Jabalqa es el *mundus archetypus* vuelto hacia las entidades espirituales, intermundo entre lo suprasensible y lo visible, y contiene todos los arquetipos del universo

«Jabar~a, to the West, is the world of the Image, the interworld in which the Spirits dwell when they have left the world of earthly existence.» — y Jabarsa, al Occidente, el mundo de la Imagen, el intermundo donde moran los Espíritus tras dejar la existencia terrestre

«That is the very place where the Forms of all completed works exist, the Forms of all moral behavior and good and bad actions, those which have been acquired in the course of earthly existence, as witnessed by the verses of the Qur'an and our J:tadith.» — lo que ahí existe, según Lahiji: las Formas de todas las obras cumplidas, de todo comportamiento moral y de las acciones buenas y malas adquiridas en la existencia terrestre

«The structure of Jabalqa is more subtle and more pure, since that of Jabar~a, being in terms of created works and moral behavior acquired in the world of earthly existence, is to a great extent made up of forms and figures enveloped in darkness.» — y la asimetría que señala: la estructura de Jabalqa es más sutil y más pura, porque la de Jabarsa está hecha en gran parte de formas envueltas en tinieblas

«Most people take these two interworlds ( barz.akh) as being only one. However, it is important to recognize that the interworld where the Spirits are after they have been separated from earthly existence is different from the interworld which extends between the pure spiritual entities and the material bodies.» — la corrección que Lahiji hace a la opinión corriente: la mayoría toma los dos intermundos por uno solo, cuando el de los Espíritus separados de la existencia terrestre difiere del que se extiende entre las entidades espirituales puras y los cuerpos materiales

«In fact the descending degrees of being on the one hand, and the ascending degrees on the other, together form a cycle, in which the junction of the final point and the initial point can only be represented as a movement of complete revolution.» — y el argumento con que lo sostiene: los grados descendentes y los ascendentes del ser forman juntos un ciclo cuya juntura solo cabe representar como revolución completa

«The interworld preceding the sphere of earthly existence is part of the series of the descending degrees of being; with respect to earthly existence, this interworld has priority and anteriority, whereas the one succeeding earthly existence is part of the ascending degrees; with respect to earthly existence, its rank is ulterior and posterior.» — de donde el intermundo anterior a la existencia terrestre pertenece a los grados descendentes y el posterior a los ascendentes

«Besides, the forms which again rejoin the Spirits in the second interworld are the forms of their works, the resultants of their acts, of habits acquired and behavior actualized by them in the earthly world. Now this is not the case with the archetypal Forms of the first interworld» — la otra diferencia que señala: las formas que en el segundo intermundo vuelven a los Espíritus son las de sus obras y hábitos adquiridos, y no las Formas arquetípicas del primero

«On the other hand, the two interworlds have in common that they are two spiritual universes, that they have light as substance, that they are immaterial, and that they contain the autonomous Forms and Images of the universe.» — y lo que los dos tienen en común: son universos espirituales, tienen la luz por sustancia, son inmateriales y contienen las Formas e Imágenes autónomas del universo

«Shaikh Da'iid Qay~arl draws special attention to the pages of Shaikh Mul)yiddtn Ibn 'Arabi's book entitled The Spiritual Conquests of Mecca2 in which the author clearly states that there is no doubt that the second interworld is different from the first.» — la autoridad que Lahiji invoca: Da’ud Qaysari llama la atención sobre las páginas de las Futuhat donde Ibn ‘Arabi afirma que el segundo intermundo difiere del primero

«These two appellations mean that if, on the one hand, it is possible for every form or archetypal figure existing in the first interworld to be manifested in the visible world, it is, on the other hand, impossible for a Form transposed to the Recond world to come back to the visible world, unless it be in the 1aeculum ventur» — lo que significan los dos nombres, según Lahiji: toda forma del primer intermundo puede manifestarse en el mundo visible, y ninguna Forma pasada al segundo puede volver a él salvo en el siglo venidero

«Since the city of Jabalq! is the divine plane characterized by the "confluence of the two seas,''3 that is, the conftuence of the necessary mode of being and the possible mode of being» — el segundo punto de Lahiji: Jabalqa es el plano divino caracterizado por la confluencia de los dos mares, es decir del modo de ser necesario y el posible

«we can understand that in it are contained the Forms and Images of the universality of things and beings, in all their degrees: general and individual, subtle and dense, works and actions, way of being and way of doing, movement and rest.» — y lo que de ahí se sigue: contiene las Formas e Imágenes de la universalidad de las cosas en todos sus grados, generales e individuales, sutiles y densas, obras y acciones, movimiento y reposo

«We can take it that Jabalqa includes everything that was and everything that will be, and for this reason is situated in the East, because beyond it, there is the degree of the divine Ipseity in itself, without there being any solution of continuity between the two.» — por qué se sitúa al Oriente, según él: porque Jabalqa incluye todo lo que fue y será, y más allá está el grado de la Ipseidad divina, sin solución de continuidad

«The suns, the moons, and the stars, which are the divine Names, eternal qualifications and hecceities arise in the East, which is divine Ipseity, from which they project their splendor.» — con la imagen que lo cierra: los soles, lunas y estrellas que son los Nombres divinos se alzan en el Oriente que es la Ipseidad divina, de donde proyectan su esplendor

«The city of Jabarsa, on the other hand, is the world of man, the place where the universality of the contents of the divine Names and all the essences of being are manifested. Everything that dawns to the East of the divine I pseity, finally declines at the sunset of human reality and becomes hidden in the form of human existence.» — y qué es Jabarsa: el mundo del hombre, donde se manifiesta la universalidad de los contenidos de los Nombres divinos, y donde todo lo que amanece al Oriente declina en el ocaso de la realidad humana

«A poet has expressed it thus: "Should there be an Occident, here we are-become occidents of the mysteries. Should there not be an Occident, here we are-become the orients of the lights.» — el verso con que Lahiji lo remata: si hay un Occidente, henos aquí vueltos occidentes de los misterios; si no lo hay, henos aquí vueltos orientes de las luces

«to whom the Forms of the' first interworld are manifested as apparitions, and who thus have foreknowledge of events in our world. But only a very few visionaries have knowledge of the posthumous state of those who have departed from it.» — el reparto de los videntes según Lahiji: a muchos se manifiestan las Formas del primer intermundo, con la consiguiente presciencia de sucesos de nuestro mundo, y muy pocos conocen el estado póstumo de los que partieron

«Meditate conjointly the Orients and the Occidents, 4 notwithstanding that our world here below has only one of each.» — el verso del Jardín de rosas del misterio que Lahiji comenta: medita a la vez los Orientes y los Occidentes, aunque este mundo de acá abajo solo tenga uno de cada

«Know that the world of the "deity," with respect to the world of "suzerainty"5 is an Orient from which the primordial Emanation effuses on this world of suzerainty. And the world of suze» — la escala de Orientes que Lahiji despliega: el mundo de la deidad es Oriente del de la soberanía, este del intermundo de las Imágenes arquetípicas, y este del mundo sensorial

«Each of the universes in turn, each of the degrees of being, each of the individuals, is an Orient from which rises the sun of one N arne from among the divine Names.» — y su generalización: cada universo, cada grado del ser y cada individuo es un Oriente donde se alza el sol de uno de los Nombres divinos

«The human heart, because it recapitulates all the forms of the epiphanic function, possesses hundreds, even hundreds of thousands of Orients and still more, and all the stars which are the divine Names rise and shine through these Orients. But opposite each one there is also an Occident. How wondrous and strange the human heart, which no one can see, save the pilgrims of the spirit, who are the pure in heart.» — con la que cierra: el corazón humano recapitula todas las formas de la función epifánica y posee cientos de miles de Orientes, y nadie puede verlo salvo los peregrinos del espíritu

«The term spissitudo spiritualis (spiritual condensation or consistency) was suggested by Henry More in his Enchiridion metaphysicum to designate the "fourth dimension" ( quarta dimensio), the idea of which inevitably struck him once he grasped the distinction between the concepts of space (that of the locus supracoelestis) and the concept of matter.» — la nota de Corbin que encabeza el texto de Mulla Sadra: el término *spissitudo spiritualis* lo propuso Henry More en su Enchiridion metaphysicum para designar la cuarta dimensión

«It brings out a not altogether surprising affinity between the Cambridge Platonists and the Persian Platonists, to which we will return elsewhere.» — y lo que Corbin declara al adoptarlo: saca a la luz una afinidad no del todo sorprendente entre los platónicos de Cambridge y los platónicos persas

«Everything man pictures to himself, all that he really perceives, whether through intelligible or sensory perception, whether in this world or in the beyond, all these things are inseparable from man himself and cannot be dissociated from his essential "1."» — según Mulla Sadra en el texto traducido por Corbin: cuanto el hombre se representa y percibe, en este mundo o en el más allá, es inseparable de él mismo y no se deja disociar de su yo esencial

«More precisely, what is essentially the object of perception is something that exists in himself, not in something else.» — con su precisión: lo que es esencialmente objeto de percepción existe en él mismo y no en otra cosa

«But the material object is never anything but an object perceived by accident; it is actually only an outer form imitating, exemplifying the form present in the soul (its archetypal Form in the Malakilt), which is essentially the object of perception.» — y su límite: el objeto material nunca es más que objeto percibido por accidente, forma exterior que imita la Forma presente en el alma

«That is why, when perception has once or several times taken place in this manner, the soul is very often able to contemplate the form of a thing in its own world without requiring an outer material object as intermediary.» — de donde, según Mulla Sadra, tras percibir una o varias veces así, el alma suele poder contemplar la forma de una cosa en su propio mundo sin objeto material exterior

«In the post mortem state there remains no obstacle to prevent the soul from perceiving all that it feels and perceives without the intermediary of either external material data or of a corporeal organ belonging neither to the world of the soul nor to the true reality of the soul.» — y en el estado *post mortem* no queda obstáculo para que perciba sin intermediario de datos materiales externos ni de órgano corpóreo

«Of all the realities that man sees and contemplates in the world beyond, those which delight, like houris, castles, gardens, green vegetation, and streams of running water-as well as their opposites-the horrifying kinds of which Hell is composed-none of these is extrinsic to him, to the very essence of his soul, none is distinct or separated from his own act of existing.» — lo que dice de las realidades del más allá: ni las que deleitan —huríes, castillos, jardines, verdor, arroyos— ni sus contrarias son extrínsecas a la esencia misma del alma

«The substantial reality is stronger, their permanence better assured, their essence more stable, than in the case of the material forms of our sensory world which are subject to incessant renewal and change.» — con la comparación que le importa: su realidad sustancial es más fuerte y su esencia más estable que la de las formas materiales de nuestro mundo sensorial

«Let no one therefore believe he has the right to question the place, the situs, and the direction of these realities; not even to wonder whether they are on the inside or the outside of our cosmos, whether they are above the Sphere of Spheres that determines the coordinates of sensory space or whether they are included in the circles of the Heavens, or whether they are below the celestial Spheres.» — y la prohibición que impone: nadie tiene derecho a preguntar por el lugar ni la dirección de esas realidades, ni si están dentro o fuera del cosmos, por encima de la Esfera de las Esferas o por debajo

«Such questions are meaningless once it is understood that we are concerned with another realm of existence, between which and the material world there is no relation as to situs or as to dimension.» — porque, dice, esas preguntas no tienen sentido tratándose de otro régimen de existencia sin relación de sitio ni de dimensión con el mundo material

«Similarly, when it is said that Paradise is in the seventh Heaven and Hell in the lower Earth, it must be understood that it refers to something inner, something hidden under the veils of this world, for the world beyond is perpetual, eternal; its sweetness is unceasing, its fruition uninterrupted, its fruits never forbidden.» — y lo mismo con el Paraíso en el séptimo Cielo y el Infierno en la Tierra inferior: hay que entenderlo de algo interior, oculto bajo los velos de este mundo

«Everything to which man aspires, everything he desires, is instantaneously present to him, or rather one should say: to picture his desire is itself to experience the real presence of its object.» — lo que ese texto dice del más allá: cuanto el hombre desea le está instantáneamente presente, o más bien, figurarse el deseo es experimentar la presencia real de su objeto

«all that can reach man of what constitutes his retribution in the world beyond, have no other source than the ·essential "I" of man himself, formed as it is by his intentions and projects, his meditations, his innermost beliefs, his conduct. Their principle could not be in something with an existence and a situs different from his own act of existing» — y de dónde sale la retribución, según Mulla Sadra: de ninguna otra fuente que el yo esencial del hombre, formado por sus intenciones, sus meditaciones, sus creencias íntimas y su conducta

«In the other world, each body, is animated; it is alive thanks to essence; it is impossible to conceive of a body there as being without life, unlike in our world where there are bodies deprived of life and consciousness, and where living bodies never have more than an accidental and ephemeral life.» — la diferencia que marca entre los cuerpos de los dos mundos: en el otro, cada cuerpo está animado y vive por esencia, y no cabe concebirlo sin vida

«The bodies of this world receive their souls at the end of a process that makes them fit to receive them. The souls of the world beyond themselves produce their bodies in accordance with their own needs.» — y la inversión que declara: los cuerpos de este mundo reciben sus almas al cabo de un proceso, y las almas del otro producen ellas mismas sus cuerpos según sus necesidades

«Bodies and volumes are infinite in the other world, because they originate from the imaginations and perceptions of souls, which are both infinite.» — por qué los cuerpos y volúmenes son infinitos en el otro mundo, según Mulla Sadra: porque se originan de las imaginaciones y percepciones de las almas, que son infinitas

«Proofs that dimensions are necessarily finite are not valid for the other world; they are only valid for the dimensions and material spatializations of this world.» — con el límite que pone a las pruebas contrarias: las que muestran que las dimensiones son finitas valen solo para las espacializaciones materiales de este mundo

«Nevertheless, there is neither crowding nor· discomfort in that other world; no body is outside another, nor inside it.» — y la consecuencia: no hay ahí ni apiñamiento ni incomodidad, y ningún cuerpo está fuera de otro ni dentro de él

«Every human being, blessed or damned, possesses a complete universe, vaster in itself than our world, and never forming, in relation to another man's universe, as it were, a step in the same series, because each of the blessed possesses whatever proportion of the entire series he desires.» — la tesis que da: todo ser humano, bienaventurado o condenado, posee un universo completo más vasto que el nuestro, que no forma escalón en una misma serie con el de otro

«Even were the Throne, with all it contains, to enter into the secret places of Abo Y azld's heart, Abo Y azld would not notice it.» — la sentencia de Abu Yazid Bastami que ese texto cita: aunque el Trono con todo lo que contiene entrara en los lugares secretos de su corazón, Abu Yazid no lo notaría

«It is true that at the dawn of consciousness in man, the soul's perception requires the cooperation of material organs (eye, ear, and so on); it also requires that the position of objects satisfy» — la concesión que Mulla Sadra hace: en el alba de la consciencia la percepción del alma requiere la cooperación de órganos materiales y que la posición de los objetos satisfaga ciertas relaciones

«dise is the firmament (the eighth Heaven or Heaven of the constellations) , while its "roof' is the Throne of the Merciful (the Sphere of Spheres, the empyrean) . But this should not be taken as referring to the astronomical field enclosed in the space of this world, between the Heaven of the constellations and the supreme Heaven. No, we should take it as referring to that which corresponds to the esoteric plane of each Heaven, their suprasensory reality, their spiritual entity, for Paradise is interior to the suprasensory reality of Heaven.» — la interpretación que Mulla Sadra impone a un hadiz conocido sobre la Tierra del paraíso: no remite al campo astronómico encerrado en el espacio de este mundo, sino al plano esotérico de cada Cielo, porque el Paraíso es interior a la realidad suprasensible del Cielo

«An example: the violence of anger in a man produces disturbance of the blood, redness of face, swelling of the skin. Now anger is a psychic state, something that exists in the inner world of man.» — el ejemplo con que Mulla Sadra sostiene su doctrina: la violencia de la cólera produce alteración de la sangre, enrojecimiento del rostro e hinchazón de la piel, aunque la cólera sea un estado psíquico

«Well! it is the same for all the corporeal and material forms existing in the world beyond; all of them result from habits acquired by the souls, from their good or bad behavior, from the beliefs they profess, from their healthy or corrupt intentions, from everything in them that takes root through the repetition of actions and ways of doing things in this world.» — la regla general que enuncia: todas las formas corpóreas del más allá resultan de los hábitos adquiridos por las almas, de su conducta, de las creencias que profesan y de sus intenciones

«That is why, if actions are the source of behavior in this world, souls are the principles of bodies in the world beyond by their modes of being.» — con su formulación: si en este mundo las acciones son la fuente del comportamiento, en el más allá las almas son los principios de los cuerpos por sus modos de ser

«As for the matter constituting bodies in the beyond through which actions take on body and intentions take shape, that matter is nothing other than the human soul itself.» — y de qué está hecha esa materia, según él: de nada más que el alma humana misma

«Just as "material matter" ( hyle) is here the matter of which bodies and extended forms are constituted although this matter in itself does not have extent, so the human soul is the matter which, in the world beyond, constitutes the existents which there have extent and shape, although the soul in itself is a spiritual reality without extent.» — con la analogía que la explica: como la *hyle* constituye acá los cuerpos extensos sin tener ella misma extensión, así el alma constituye allá los existentes extensos sin tener extensión

«The existence of matter ( hyle) is purely potential existence; in itself it has no actual being except through corporeal forms. It is quite otherwise with the soul, which itself is actually existent, has substantial existence, and is endowed with the ability to perceive.» — la diferencia que marca: la existencia de la *hyle* es puramente potencial, y el alma en cambio es actualmente existente, con existencia sustancial y capacidad de percibir

«It begins by being in this world the form of the elemental body. Then it becomes the matter of the world beyond, for the forms of the world beyond with which it is united by a mode of union sui generis.» — y su doble oficio: empieza siendo en este mundo la forma del cuerpo elemental y luego se vuelve la materia de las formas del más allá

«Further, the soul is a spiritual, subtle matter ( miidda ru}J,aniya lalifa, spissitudo spiritualis!); it can receive forms only in a subtle suprasensory state, perceptible not to the senses of this world, but to the senses of the world beyond.» — la fórmula que da título al texto: el alma es una materia espiritual sutil —*spissitudo spiritualis*— que solo recibe formas en estado suprasensible

«Further still, material matter behaves in a passive way in relation to the forms it receives; it undergoes change, alteration, movement. In contrast, the behavior of the soul in receiving forms that become rooted in it is a conservative action, an active implication.» — y la otra asimetría: la materia material se comporta pasivamente ante las formas que recibe, y el alma, en cambio, con acción conservadora e implicación activa

«There is no incompatibility between its receptivity in regard to forms and its act of producing these same forms, since it is precisely by one and the same "reason" for its being that it simultaneously produces, and receives the forms and images produced by itself» — con la razón que da: no hay incompatibilidad entre su receptividad y su producción de las formas, porque por una misma razón de su ser las produce y las recibe

«Finally, here forms are so many perfections as regards their matters and substrata, while there the forms, born from the soul itself, are not perfections as regards the soul insofar as they are forms actualized for it.» — la última diferencia: acá las formas son perfecciones respecto de sus materias, y allá las nacidas del alma no son perfecciones suyas en cuanto formas actualizadas

«There the growing perfection of the soul consists inversely in its actualization of these forms, that is, in being such that it produces these forms itself, and makes them the object of its own knowledge.» — sino que la perfección creciente del alma consiste, a la inversa, en producir ella misma esas formas y hacerlas objeto de su propio conocimiento

«As everyone knows, the Orientals, or lshriiqiyun, affirm that wisdom can be attained only through a method of spiritual realization; they emphasize the inner effort of spiritual struggle and mystical experience. They value neither pure rational theory nor dialectics as such; one might even say that they are frankly hostile to them.» — el deslinde que Lahiji traza: los *ishraqiyun* afirman que la sabiduría solo se alcanza por realización espiritual y no valoran ni la teoría racional pura ni la dialéctica

«The Peripatetics, on the other hand, base their philosophy on rational theory and logical reasoning, and concede no value to what cannot be reduced to rational argumentation and logical reasoning.» — mientras que los peripatéticos fundan su filosofía en la teoría racional y no conceden valor a lo que no se reduzca a argumentación lógica

«The Orientals, or I shriiqiyun, are related to the Peripatetics as the ~Ofis to the scholastic theologians of Islam (the M utakallimun» — y la proporción con que lo cifra: los orientales son a los peripatéticos lo que los sufíes a los teólogos escolásticos del islam

«Briefly, the Oriental theosophists and the $ufis agree in defending in philosophy and mystical theosophy a large number of theorems which the Peripatetics and the scholastic theologians, on the grounds that they do not meet the requirements of rational theory and logical argumentation, reject. These theorems notably include the one affirming the existence of the mundus archetypus, the autonomous world of archetypal Images or Forms» — lo que, según Lahiji, defienden juntos teósofos orientales y sufíes contra peripatéticos y teólogos: entre ellos, la existencia del *mundus archetypus*

«between the intelligible world, which is the world of entirely immaterial pure Intelligences, and the sensory world, which is the world of purely material realities, there exists another universe. The beings of this intermediary universe possess shape and extent, even though they do not have "material matter."» — la tesis que ese acuerdo sostiene: entre el mundo inteligible y el sensorial hay otro universo cuyos seres poseen figura y extensión sin tener materia material

«Thus the pure Intelligences are separated both from matter and extent; purely material things are clothed with both matter and extent; the beings of the mundus archetypus are separate from matter, but endowed with extent in the same way as the forms of imaginative consciousness.» — con su escala: las Inteligencias puras están separadas de materia y de extensión, las cosas materiales tienen ambas, y los seres del *mundus archetypus* están separados de la materia pero dotados de extensión

«Nevertheless, the reality of the forms which are immanent in imaginative consciousness resides in that consciousness itself, not objectively or extramentally, whereas the reality of the world of archetypal Images is objective and extramental.» — y el deslinde que Lahiji impone: la realidad de las formas inmanentes a la consciencia imaginativa reside en esa consciencia, mientras que la del mundo de las Imágenes arquetípicas es objetiva y extramental

«Every being of the two universes, the intelligible and the sensory, has its archetypal Image in this intermediate universe, a self-subsistent Image with autonomous existence;-every creature and everything, including movement and rest, attitudes and physiognomies, flavors and perfumes, and other accidentals.» — la correspondencia que postula: todo ser de los dos universos tiene su Imagen arquetípica en ese intermedio, incluidos el movimiento y el reposo, las actitudes, los sabores y los perfumes

«The mode of existence assumed in this intermediate world by an essentially immaterial being corresponds for this same being to a kind of descent through which it becomes able to take on extent and shape. On the other hand, the mode of existence assumed in it by a material being, for this same being corresponds to an ascent» — y los dos movimientos que describe: para un ser inmaterial ese modo de existencia es un descenso que lo hace capaz de extensión, y para uno material, un ascenso que lo despoja de materia y de localización

«It may happen that a being of this autonomous world of Images makes himself visible, makes his appearance in our material world, and can be perceived in it by the outer senses.» — lo que ese texto admite: puede ocurrir que un ser del mundo autónomo de las Imágenes se haga visible en nuestro mundo material y sea percibido por los sentidos externos

«Bodies which are perfectly polished and transparent bodies, such as mirrors, still water, the atmosphere, are the places of the epiphany in our material world of the beings of the world of archetypal Images.» — y dónde: los cuerpos perfectamente pulidos y transparentes —espejos, agua quieta, la atmósfera— son los lugares de esa epifanía, y también la Imaginación del hombre

«In the same way also, the forms one sees in a dream, Angels, genii, and demons, are likewise beings belonging to this same world, who are sometimes manifest to a whole group, in such or such an epiphanic place in Air or Water.» — con su extensión a los sueños: las formas que se ven en sueños, ángeles, genios y demonios, pertenecen a ese mismo mundo y a veces se manifiestan a todo un grupo

«This is the universe by which the theosophists of that school (the I shriiqiyfln or Orientals) explain and authenticate bodily resurrection; they affirm that Paradise, Hell, and the Earth of Resurrection have their existence in this mundus archetypus, the autonomous universe of the archetypal Images.» — la función que Lahiji atribuye a ese universo: por él explican y autentican los *ishraqiyun* la resurrección corporal, situando en él el Paraíso, el Infierno y la Tierra de la Resurrección

«This is the universe in which accidents can acquire substance, in which the acts and works of man can take on consistent form and figure.» — y su propiedad: es el universo donde los accidentes pueden adquirir sustancia y donde los actos y las obras del hombre toman forma y figura consistentes

«be astonished if, in another world, anger is converted into a pure fire that inflames the heart, infects the entrails, consumes the viscera, just as it is inherent to it in this world to heat the body, accelerate the pulsation of the arteries, make the limbs tremble, consume the humours, sometimes to lead to a serious illness, even to a fatal accident.» — la pregunta que Mulla Sadra saca de ese ejemplo: por qué asombrarse de que en otro mundo la cólera se convierta en un fuego puro que inflama el corazón y consume las vísceras, si acá calienta el cuerpo y acelera el pulso

«Know that there was a school of philosophers in Islam, headed by ShihabuddJn Ya\lyl Suhrawardi, who was renowned under the title "Master of Oriental Theosophy" (Shaikh al-Ishriiq) for having created in the Islamic era the corpus of the "theosophy of the Orientals.» — según ‘Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji en el texto traducido por Corbin: hubo en el islam una escuela encabezada por Suhrawardi, célebre con el título de Maestro de la Teosofía Oriental por haber creado en la era islámica el corpus de la teosofía de los orientales

«Of course, the world of Platonic Ideas resembles this world of archetypal Images in the sense that these autonomous imaginative Forms are self-subsistent, just as the Ideas or intelligible forms are self-subsistent. In sum, the thesis of the autonomous world of archetypal Images is peculiar to the Oriental theosophists (lshraqiyiln) and to the ~iifls, and to support this thesis they refer to mystical experience.» — el parecido y el deslinde que Lahiji traza: el mundo de las Ideas platónicas se parece al de las Imágenes arquetípicas en que unas y otras son autosubsistentes, pero la tesis del mundo autónomo es propia de los *ishraqiyun* y de los sufíes, que la apoyan en la experiencia mística

«Unfortunately the idea of divisibility seemed to be limited for them to that of anatomical divisibility, and their concept of matter to that of the composite, dense, and corruptible matter of the sublunar world.» — y el diagnóstico que Corbin les hace: limitaban la divisibilidad a la anatómica y la materia a la compuesta, densa y corruptible del mundo sublunar

«With the "Oriental theosophists" the idea of the mundus archetypus presupposes the idea of "absolute matter," that is, absolved from the determinations that are peculiar to the state of matter in the terrestrial world.» — frente a lo cual, dice Corbin, la idea del *mundus archetypus* presupone la de materia absoluta, absuelta de las determinaciones propias del estado material terrestre

«This very idea of a primordial "immaterial" matter is the key to the cosmogony of Ibn 'Arabi ( nafas al-Ral)miin, the Breath of the Merciful); without it, the spissitudo spiritual is, namely, the subtle condensation of the pre» — y la nota en que Corbin la enlaza: esa idea de una materia inmaterial primordial es la clave de la cosmogonía de Ibn ‘Arabi, y sin ella la *spissitudo spiritualis* es inconcebible

«Because the power to govern bodies has been entrusted to Spirits, and because it is impossible for a direct connection to be established between spirits and bodies on account of their heterogeneous essence, God created the world of the archetypal Images as an intermediary ( barzakh ) linking the world of Spirits and the world of bodies.» — según Muhsin Fayz Kashani en el texto traducido por Corbin: como es imposible una conexión directa entre espíritus y cuerpos, de esencia heterogénea, Dios creó el mundo de las Imágenes arquetípicas como intermediario

«This archetypal world is a spiritual universe. On the one hand, it symbolizes with material substance in that it can be an object of perception, is endowed with extent, and can manifest in time and in space. On the other hand, it symbolizes with pure intelligible substance, in that it is formed of pure light and is independent of space and time.» — y su doble simbolización: con la sustancia material por ser objeto de percepción y tener extensión, y con la inteligible pura por estar formado de luz pura e independiente del espacio y del tiempo

«There is no existent thing, whether in the intelligible world or in the sensory world, whose image is not recorded in this intermediate universe. This universe, in the macrocosm, is homologous to the active Imagination in the human microcosm.» — la fórmula que Corbin citaba en la primera parte, aquí en su lugar: nada existe cuya imagen no esté registrada en ese universo intermedio, homólogo en el macrocosmos de la Imaginación activa en el microcosmos humano

«it comprises an aspect the perception of which is dependent upon the faculties having their seat in the brain, this being technically called the contiguous imagination (contiguous to the archetypal world, while remaining immanent in man)» — la distinción que Muhsin Fayz introduce: un aspecto cuya percepción depende de las facultades con asiento en el cerebro, llamado técnicamente imaginación contigua

«But it also comprises an aspect not subject to this condition, and which is called the Autonomous Imagination (the world of the M alakut)» — y otro no sujeto a esa condición, llamado Imaginación Autónoma, el mundo del Malakut

«It is through this world, and through its characteristic property, that spiritual entities are corporealized, are embodied, when they are manifested in the epiphanic forms which are the Images with which they symbolize.» — la función que le adjudica: por ese mundo se corporeizan las entidades espirituales cuando se manifiestan en las formas epifánicas con que simbolizan

«This is what is referred to in the verse telling how Gabriel "took on a body (was typified) before Maryam in the form of a human being of perfect beauty» — y los ejemplos coránicos con que lo apoya: el verso donde Gabriel toma cuerpo ante María en forma de ser humano de perfecta belleza

«The same reference is also contained in the tradition which relates that the Prophet saw the Archangel Gabriel in the guise of the adolescent DaQya al-Kalbr and heard him read a discourse clothed in words and letters.» — y la tradición del Profeta viendo a Gabriel bajo la apariencia del adolescente Dahya al-Kalbi y oyéndole leer un discurso vestido de palabras y letras

«This is the intermediate world to which those who are spiritualized (the "pneumatic ones") are carried off in their spiritual assumptions when they shed their elemental physical forms and when their Spirits put on their epiphanic spiritual form.» — adónde son llevados los espiritualizados en sus asunciones, según ese texto: a ese mundo intermedio, cuando dejan sus formas físicas elementales

«It is in the intermediate world that perfect Souls put on the apparitional forms in which they are perceived in a place other than the one where they actually are; or else appear to him to whom they wish to appear in a form different from that in which they are perceived by the senses during their earthly sojourn.» — y lo que ahí hacen las Almas perfectas: vestir las formas aparicionales con que se las percibe en un lugar distinto de aquel en que están

«That very thing can come to pass after their transfer to the other world, for then the psycho-spiritual energy is further increased by the fact that the obstacle of the body has been removed.» — con lo que ocurre después de la muerte, según él: la energía psicoespiritual aumenta al retirarse el obstáculo del cuerpo

«In short, this is the world of archetypal Images through and in which Spirits are corporealized and bodies spiritualized. Through and in this world, ways of being and moral behaviour are personalized, and supersensory realities are manifested in the form11 and figures with which they symbolize.» — el resumen con que Muhsin Fayz lo cierra: es el mundo por el que los Espíritus se corporeizan y los cuerpos se espiritualizan, y donde los modos de ser y la conducta moral se personalizan

«Again, all forms and figures immanent in our active Imagination are seen in this intermediate world, whether in dreams or in the waking state, because these forms and figures are contiguous to this archetypal world; they receive its light in the way that a ray of light penetrates into a dwelling place through skylight and lattices.» — con la imagen que lo cierra: las formas inmanentes a la Imaginación activa se ven en ese mundo intermedio porque le son contiguas y reciben su luz como el rayo entra en una casa por el tragaluz y las celosías

«So, this is an immense world, so vast that it contains not only the Forms of the immaterial substances above it, but also the material realities below it.» — la medida que le da: un mundo inmenso, tan vasto que contiene las Formas de las sustancias inmateriales que están por encima y las realidades materiales que están por debajo

«The senses and sensory perceptions rise toward it, as the supersensory' realities descend toward it. From the place it occupies it continues to gather in the fruits of each thing.» — y su oficio: los sentidos ascienden hacia él y las realidades suprasensibles descienden a él, y desde su lugar sigue recogiendo los frutos de cada cosa

«It is through this world that the truth is confirmed of the accounts of the Prophet's assumption to Heaven which mention that, in the manner of an eyewitness, he had a vision of the Angels and prophets.» — lo que ese mundo confirma, según Muhsin Fayz: la veracidad de los relatos de la asunción del Profeta, que vio como testigo ocular a los ángeles y a los profetas

«It is in this intermediate world that the Holy ImAms are present when they appear before a dying person, as related in so many traditional accounts.» — y lo demás que sitúa ahí: la presencia de los Imames ante el moribundo, la interrogación de la tumba con sus delicias y sus tormentos, y la visita del creyente a los suyos después de su muerte

«It would seem that the "descent of Jesus" (at the time of the parousia of the hidden ImAm) belongs to this category of events. In the words of Shaikh ~adQq: 10 "The descent of Jesus to the Earth is his return to this world after being carried away from this world,» — la lectura que propone del descenso de Jesús, apoyada en Shaikh Saduq: es su vuelta a este mundo después de haber sido arrebatado de él

«At the time of the parousia of the M ahdi (the 'Guide'), God will cause to come back a certain number of persons who died before; that is, a certain number from among the Initiates and adepts of the ImAm, his 'Shrites,' pure believers with pure faith, so that they may gather with him the fruit of his triumph and his invincible help and taste the joy of the epiphany of his reign.» — la tradición imámica que cita: en la parusía del Mahdi Dios hará volver a cierto número de los que murieron antes, iniciados y adeptos del Imam, para que recojan con él el fruto de su triunfo

«Among the schools that admit bodily resurrection there is one that professes that the human pneuma (the subtle body) continues to exist in this world of autonomous Images during the interval which is also called a barzakh, and which extends from the death of the individual to the Great Resurrec» — la escuela que Lahiji consigna dentro de las que admiten la resurrección corporal: la que profesa que el pneuma humano, el cuerpo sutil, subsiste en ese mundo de Imágenes autónomas durante el intervalo llamado *barzakh*

«The author then recalls a number of objections which the Peripatetics and scholastic theologians brought against the Ishriiqiyfln. It is not possible here to dwell on these technical details. Among other things, the Peripatetics of Islam persisted in objecting that every extent implies divisibility, and that every divisibility implies matter, and consequently that it is impossible for extended forms to exist without matter.» — la nota de Corbin que resume las objeciones recibidas: los peripatéticos del islam insistían en que toda extensión implica divisibilidad y toda divisibilidad materia, de modo que no puede haber formas extensas sin materia

«in the technical language of the alchemists, an m t IS case designates metallic substance, that of the seven metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, and merc» — según Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i en el texto traducido por Corbin: el término *jasad* aparece con frecuencia en la lengua técnica de los alquimistas, donde designa la sustancia metálica de los siete metales

«As for the word jism, when used without further definition, it designates that which forms volume, in the sense of volume that can be divided according to the three dimensions.» — y qué designa *jism* sin más determinación, según ese mismo texto: lo que forma volumen, en el sentido de volumen divisible según las tres dimensiones

«Sometimes it is referred to as matter ( hayala, hyle), when regarded from the point of view of its capacity to receive the forms of the species» — con la acepción que le corresponde entonces: se le llama materia, *hayula*, cuando se lo considera desde su capacidad de recibir las formas de las especies

«the word ajsad (plural of jasad, material, fleshly body) is obviously used by them as the antithesis of "Spirit," whereas the word jism (body, undefined, plural ajsam) has a much more general meaning in their terminology.» — la observación de vocabulario que Shaikh Ahmad hace sobre los Imames: usan *ajsad* como antítesis de Espíritu, mientras que *jism* tiene en su terminología un sentido mucho más general

«Now you should be informed that the human being possesses two jasad and two jism. The first jasad (jasad A, that is, the elemental terrestrial body of flesh) is the one which is made up of elem~nts that are a prey to time. This jasad, this flesh, is like a garment that a man puts on and later casts off again; this body in itself has neither enjoyment nor suffering; it is subject neither to fidelity nor to rebellion.» — el esquema que enuncia: el ser humano posee dos *jasad* y dos *jism*, y el primer *jasad* —el cuerpo elemental de carne— es como un traje que el hombre se pone y luego se quita, sin goce ni sufrimiento propios

«Do you not see how it may happen to Zayd, for instance, to be consumed by disease; he wastes away to the point where one cannot believe there is one ra#8 of flesh left on him. Yet he is certainly Zayd; he retains his identity. Spontaneously and without doubt you recognize him as still Zayd the rebel; not one particle of his rebellion has disappeared.» — el argumento de Zayd con que lo sostiene: consumido por la enfermedad hasta no dejarle una onza de carne, Zayd sigue siendo Zayd y no ha desaparecido una sola partícula de su rebeldía

«The same could be said about Zayd the faithful. Not one particle of his fidelity will have disappeared, since his fidelity has no connection whatever with that part of him which has disappeared, neither the connection of an effect with its cause, nor that of a derivative with its source -no interdependence exists of any kind whatsoever.» — y su contraparte: tampoco desaparece una partícula de la fidelidad de Zayd el fiel, porque su fidelidad no tiene conexión alguna con la parte de él que desapareció

«Inversely, if he puts on weight, Zayd remains the same Zayd; just as in the previous case when there was no decrease, so here there is no increase, so far as his essence and qualities are concerned, nor any increase of fidelity or rebellion.» — con el caso inverso: si engorda, Zayd sigue siendo el mismo, sin aumento de esencia ni de cualidades ni de fidelidad o rebeldía

«In short, this jasad, this body of flesh consisting of terrestrial Elements, is not a part of Zayd. It is homologous to the opacity that exists in silica and potash. When these are fused together, liquified, they turn into glass. The glass is certainly the same silica and the same potash that were completely dense and opaque. But after the fusion, the opacity disappeared.» — la conclusión que saca: ese cuerpo de carne no es parte de Zayd, y es homólogo de la opacidad de la sílice y la potasa, que al fundirse en vidrio desaparece

«This means that the opacity is not a property of the earth itself. The earth itself is subtle and transparent; its opacity is caused by the clash between the Elements.» — y lo que eso muestra, según él: la opacidad no es propiedad de la tierra misma, que es sutil y transparente, sino efecto del choque entre los Elementos

«When water is still and pure, you see everything in its depths. But if you stir it up, you can no longer distinguish anything in it so long as it is in movement, because of the collision between its parts and the rarefaction of the element air. What then happens when the four elemental Natures come into collision!» — con la segunda comparación: en el agua quieta se ve todo el fondo y en el agua agitada nada, y qué será cuando chocan las cuatro Naturalezas elementales

«Another comparison: a garment, for example, is an assembly of woven threads. As for the colors, these are accidentals, which are no part of it; it may be dyed in various shades, then lose them; it remains the same garment.» — y la tercera: un traje es un conjunto de hilos tejidos, y los colores son accidentes que puede tomar y perder sin dejar de ser el mismo traje

«When it is separated," he said, "it returns whence it came, just as a mixture is dissolved, and not in the way that autonomous elements in juxtaposition are separated one from another. Its form is destroyed; action and being are abolished from it, so that the composition of the mixture is itself destroyed, since it is evident that the cessation of form and being entails the disappearance of the composition itself.» — el dicho del Primer Imam que Shaikh Ahmad aduce sobre el alma animal sensitiva: al separarse vuelve de donde vino, como se disuelve una mezcla, y no como se separan elementos yuxtapuestos

«whereas the "body of celestial flesh" survives and retains its perfect "shape," as the Imam J a'far ~adiq says.» — mientras los cuerpos elementales se disuelven en sus fuentes, el cuerpo de carne celeste conserva su forma perfecta, según el Imam Ya‘far Sadiq

«This last expression means: retaining the shape which corresponds to its own conformation, that is, that the elements of the head, the neck, the chest, and so forth remain respectively each in their own place.» — con la precisión que Shaikh Ahmad le añade: conservar la forma quiere decir que los elementos de la cabeza, el cuello y el pecho siguen cada uno en su lugar

«This body (jasad B) is the reality of the human being which, without increase or decrease, survives "in the tomb" after the body of flesh made of terrestrial elements, that is to say, the opaque density and accidentals, have been separated from it and dissolved.» — la definición que da: ese cuerpo es la realidad del ser humano que sobrevive en la tumba, sin aumento ni disminución, una vez separada de él la densidad opaca y los accidentes

«When it is thus decomposed and destroyed, there is finally nothing of it to be found, so that some people affirm that the human being is annihilated.» — la objeción que él mismo consigna: al descomponerse no queda nada que hallar, y por eso algunos afirman que el ser humano queda aniquilado

«Not at all! Not so! But if we say that there is a body that survives "in the tomb," that body is nonetheless invisible to earthly beings, to the people of this world, on account of the opacity that darkens their fleshly eyes and prevents them from seeing what is not of the same kind as themselves.» — y su respuesta: ese cuerpo sobrevive aunque sea invisible para los de este mundo, por la opacidad que oscurece sus ojos de carne

«This is why the Imiim J a'far again compares this invisible body to the gold dust in the goldsmith's crucible. This, likewise, the eyes do not see. But the goldsmith, having washed it with water and purified it of the earth with which it was mixed, causes it to become visible.» — con la comparación del Imam Ya‘far que cita: es como el polvo de oro en el crisol del orfebre, que los ojos no ven hasta que el orfebre lo lava y lo purifica de la tierra

«When God wishes to bring his creatures back to life4 he causes a rain coming from the ocean situated below the Throne to spread out over the Earth, the water of this rain being colder than snow.» — lo que ocurre en la resurrección, según Shaikh Ahmad: Dios hace caer sobre la Tierra una lluvia venida del océano situado bajo el Trono, cuya agua es más fría que la nieve

«Then the face of the Earth becomes blended into a single ocean. The waves dash against one another under the vehemence of the winds. A universal refining process takes place. The members of the spiritual body ( jasad B ) of each individual join together to form an organism in perfect "shape," that is to say conforming to the structure the body had in this world; the elements of the neck are welded to the elements of the head, then to those of the bust and so forth.» — y el proceso que sigue: la faz de la Tierra se vuelve un solo océano, ocurre un refinado universal y los miembros del cuerpo espiritual de cada uno se juntan en un organismo de forma perfecta

«And in this way the spiritual body comes to birth "in the tomb" like the mushroom in its humus.» — con la imagen que le da: el cuerpo espiritual nace en la tumba como el hongo en su humus

«When the breath of Seraphiel5 causes the trumpet to vibrate, the Spirits take flight. Each Spirit flies swiftly toward its spiritual flesh ( jasad B ) ; it bursts the tomb, just as the bed of humus yields to the thrust of the mushroom.» — y lo que pasa al sonar la trompeta de Serafiel: los Espíritus alzan el vuelo, cada uno hacia su carne espiritual, y esta rompe la tumba como el humus cede al empuje del hongo

«This spiritual body coming back to life is the body which belongs to the Earth, Harqalyd. This is the body in which humans are resurrected, and with which they enter into Paradise or into Hell.» — la identificación que cierra el argumento: ese cuerpo espiritual que vuelve a la vida es el que pertenece a la Tierra de Hurqalya, y es aquel en que los humanos resucitan

«Someone will perhaps reply: "The obvious meaning of your words is in any case that this body of flesh we see here today is not resurrected. Now, such a doctrine contradicts the teaching followed by those who profess Islam in accordance with the verse from the Book: 'God will raise up all who are in the» — la objeción que Shaikh Ahmad se plantea a sí mismo: que su doctrina contradice la enseñanza de quienes profesan el islam según el verso sobre los que Dios levantará de las tumbas

«To that I answer: what I profess is precisely what the Musliman profess. For do they not say that the "bodies" in which they will be resurrected are indeed the same bodies that existed in the present earthly life, with the difference, however, that they are entirely purified from accidents and all tarnish?» — y su respuesta: lo que él profesa es exactamente lo que profesan los musulmanes, que dicen que los cuerpos de la resurrección son los mismos de esta vida pero purificados de accidentes

«As for the second ja~ad ( ja~ad B, the caro spiritual is of the Elements of the spiritual world) , this body survives, for the "clay" from which it waa conatituted survives "in the tomb,"» — y el segundo *jasad*, la *caro spiritualis* de los Elementos del mundo espiritual: sobrevive, porque el barro del que fue constituido sobrevive *en la tumba*; el troceo imprime esa línea dañada

«this elementary flesh has no connection with the Spirit, nor with fidelity or infidelity, nor with pleasure or suffering; by itself, it does not even possess the capacity to feel the one or the other. Indeed, in regard to the human being it is, as it were, a garment thrown over him. The opacity is exactly this fleshly body made of terrestrial elements ( jasad A ) , which is destroyed beyond recall.» — según Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i: la carne elemental no tiene conexión con el Espíritu, ni con la fidelidad o la infidelidad, ni con el placer o el sufrimiento, y es como un vestido echado encima

«So understand what I wish to say, for this is the way in which those traditions are to be understood which state that the bodies of the holy lmAms7 have now been "taken up to Heaven."» — y cómo manda entender las tradiciones sobre los cuerpos de los Imames llevados al Cielo

«Certainly if the body of the ImAm I:Iusayn had been exhumed soon after his burial it would still have been visible; but now no human eye would be able to see it. He is now "attendant on the Throne, contemplating his pilgrims, etc.» — con el ejemplo que da: el cuerpo del Imam Husayn habría sido visible si se lo hubiera exhumado poco después de su entierro, y hoy ningún ojo humano podría verlo

«The spiritual mean~ng of these traditions should therefore be understood as referrmg to the final separation from the terrestrial elemental bodies that constitute the carnal state, a state associated for a moment with the archetypal spiritual bodies. As soon as the latter separate from this carnal coating, they become imperceptible to the sight of ordinary humans.» — el sentido espiritual que les asigna: la separación final de los cuerpos elementales terrestres, tras la cual los cuerpos arquetípicos se vuelven imperceptibles para la vista ordinaria

«As for the two jism (that is jism A, or astral subtle body, and jism B, the supracelestial archetypal body) , the first ( jism A ) is the body in which the Spirit departs from its body of terrestrial flesh» — el reparto de los dos *jism*: el primero, cuerpo sutil astral, es aquel en que el Espíritu parte de su cuerpo de carne terrestre

«The "astral subtle body" (jism A) remains with the Spirit, whereas the Spirit is separated from its . "subtle body of spiritual flesh" ( jasad B ) at the m~men~ when death intervenes between them.» — y la separación que ocurre entonces: el cuerpo astral queda con el Espíritu, mientras el Espíritu se separa de su cuerpo sutil de carne espiritual

«The astral body Is with the Spirit in the earthly Paradise (Jannat al-dunya), situated in the West; with this astral body it enters the abode of Peace (Dar al-Salam) visits its habitation and place of origin.» — lo que sigue para el creyente: el cuerpo astral acompaña al Espíritu en el Paraíso terrestre, situado al Occidente, y con él entra en la morada de la Paz

«Then the Spirits themselves are annihilated during the interval between the "two blasts of the Trumpet." All movement of the celestial Spheres and everything, animal and vegetable, possessing spirit and soul is halted. This cosmic pause lasts "four hundred years."» — lo que ocurre entre los dos toques de trompeta, según ese texto: los Espíritus mismos quedan aniquilados y se detiene todo movimiento de las Esferas y de cuanto tiene espíritu y alma, en una pausa cósmica de cuatrocientos años

«This celestial body is, indeed, the one that formerly existed in the earthly life -none other; if it were otherwise, reward and punishment of the Spirits would have disappeared along with the first body.» — y el argumento que sostiene la identidad: ese cuerpo celeste es el que existió en la vida terrestre y no otro, porque si no la recompensa y el castigo habrían desaparecido con el primero

«However, the jism that exists during life on earth, and which is at the same time this body that we see, includes subtle and dense elements. The density that made it opaque will have been purified and destroyed. This density is what we call the first jasad ( jasad A, the elemental body of perishable flesh) . The subtle element, however, survives "in the tomb"; this is what we designate as the second jasad ( jasad B, the body of spiritual flesh )» — con la distinción que le sigue: el *jism* de la vida terrestre incluye elementos sutiles y densos, y la densidad que lo hacía opaco queda purificada y destruida

«It is in the astral body (jism A) that the spirit makes its appearance in the barzakh (the intermediate world). This astral body is the vehicle ( markab, okhema) and habitation of the Spirit until the "first sounding" of the Trumpet.» — la función del cuerpo astral: es en él donde el espíritu aparece en el *barzakh*, y es su vehículo —*markab*, *okhema*— y morada hasta el primer toque de trompeta

«When the archangel Seraphiel sounds the "Trumpet of Resurrection" (i.e., "the second blast" of the Trumpet) , the Spirit descends toward the tomb. All its treasures blend together, it penetrates into the subtle jasad ( jasad B, caro spiritualis); they are then "reassembled," that is, resuscitated.» — y lo que ocurre al segundo toque: el Espíritu desciende hacia la tumba, todos sus tesoros se funden y penetra en el *jasad* sutil, con lo que quedan reunidos, es decir resucitados

«But know that if you were able to weigh this spiritual body in the course of this present life, and if, after being weighed, it were to undergo a purification that would entirely separate it from the elemental body of perishable flesh, so that nothing would subsist save this permanent spiritual body (jasad B) that belongs to the world of HurqalyA; and supposing further that you were able then to weigh it again, you would find that it would not have diminished by even so much as the weight of a sesame seed in comparison with the result of the first weighing.» — la prueba del peso que Shaikh Ahmad propone: si se pudiera pesar ese cuerpo espiritual antes y después de la purificación, no habría disminuido ni el peso de una semilla de sésamo

«The fact is that the density that constituted the elemental fleshly body ( jasad A ) is an accident. Now accidents in no way modify the "weight" we are concerned with here; they neither increase it when they come about, nor decrease it by departing from it.» — con la razón que da: la densidad del cuerpo de carne es un accidente, y los accidentes no modifican ese peso ni al sobrevenir ni al retirarse

«In this sense it would be a mistake to picture to oneself the "resurrection body," the organ of beatitude or damnation, as something other than the body that exists in the present life, in spite of there having been a change and complete purification. Or, one should say rather that it is indeed this body, and yet it is also something other than it from the fact of having been purified, broken down, refashioned.» — y la formulación que le da: sería error figurarse el cuerpo de resurrección como otro distinto del de la vida presente, y a la vez es otro por haber sido purificado, deshecho y rehecho

«the Imam J arfar eAdiq answered someone in his entourage who was asking him about the meaning of this verse: "Be careful! they are indeed the same skins and yet each time it is something else.» — el dicho del Imam Ya‘far Sadiq sobre el verso de las pieles reemplazadas: son las mismas pieles y sin embargo cada vez es otra cosa

«do you not see that if a man takes a brick, breaks it in pieces, then puts it back into its mold, the brick will be the same and yet it will be another brick?» — y la comparación con que se lo explica a su interlocutor: quien toma un ladrillo, lo rompe y lo vuelve a poner en el molde tiene el mismo ladrillo y a la vez otro

«In this way the Imam makes it clear that the skin replacing the first skin is another one, while remaining "their skin." The differentiation is a difference in mode of being and qualification.» — la lectura que Shaikh Ahmad hace de ese dicho: la piel que reemplaza a la primera es otra sin dejar de ser su piel, y la diferencia es de modo de ser y de cualificación

«The essential nature of the tomb is that it is the resting place of the dead, the first of the stages toward the saeculum venturum. In its visible aspect and exoteric meaning, it is the abode of the material body from which life has departed. This is the ordinary opinion.» — según Shaikh Ahmad en el texto sobre el sentido esotérico de la tumba: en su aspecto visible la tumba es la morada del cuerpo material del que la vida ha partido, y esa es la opinión ordinaria

«But understood esoterically ( ta'wil) , the tomb signifies the nature of the person, his life, his inmost desire.» — y su lectura esotérica: la tumba significa la naturaleza de la persona, su vida, su deseo más íntimo

«In reality, what is in question are events that take place not in the lower temporal world, that of the thing-object, but on the higher plane of the degrees of time, that is to say in HorqalyA. And if I say "on the highest plane"-"at the highest degree of time," it is because HurqalyA is an intermediary.» — la corrección que hace a las expresiones exotéricas: los sucesos en cuestión no ocurren en el mundo temporal inferior sino en el plano superior de los grados del tiempo, en Hurqalya

«Sometimes it serves to designate the higher degree of time (.zaman) , sometimes it is used to designate the lower plane or degree of the Aevum ( dahr, eternity)» — con el doble uso del término que consigna: unas veces designa el grado superior del tiempo y otras el plano inferior del *aevum*

«of the infidel is also accompanied by this astral body when tt enters the terrestrial Hell ( N 4r al-dunya) at the rising of the» — lo que sigue para el infiel, según Shaikh Ahmad: el mismo cuerpo astral lo acompaña al Infierno terrestre al salir el sol, y al ponerse se refugia con él en el valle de Barhut y vaga de noche en el valle del Azufre

«For every soul is in direct contact with those beings and those realities of the intermediate world that correspond to its own spiritual state.» — según Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i: toda alma está en contacto directo con los seres y las realidades del mundo intermedio que corresponden a su propio estado espiritual

«As for the world HorqalyA, its meaning relates to an other world. What this word designates is the world of the barzakh or the interworld.» — la definición que da en su respuesta a Kirmani: lo que la palabra Hurqalya designa es el mundo del *barzakh*, el intermundo

«The world of Hurqalya is a material world (the world of matter in the subtle state) , which is other.» — y su estatuto, dicho sin rodeos: es un mundo material, el de la materia en estado sutil, que es otro

«As for its position, it is situated in the eighth climate.10 Its lower plane borders on the convex surface of the Sphere of Spheres, the surface that defines the directions of space. It is not itself in a dimension or direction of our space, since there is nothing beyond the convexity of the supreme celestial Sphere that defines orientations; or rather, it has no spatial beyond.» — dónde lo sitúa: en el octavo clima, con su plano inferior lindando con la superficie convexa de la Esfera de las Esferas, sin estar él mismo en dirección alguna de nuestro espacio

«The form or image at which you look in a mirror belongs to this lower plane of the world or HorqalyA.» — y el ejemplo con que lo aterriza: la forma o imagen que uno mira en un espejo pertenece a ese plano inferior del mundo de Hurqalya

«The term Ho.rqalya is used to designate the Heavens of this intermediate world, together with all the heavenly bodies they contain. When we speak of Jabalqa and Jabar~a, we mean the lower regions of this intermediate world.» — el reparto de nombres que fija: Hurqalya designa los Cielos de ese mundo intermedio con sus cuerpos celestes, y Jabalqa y Jabarsa, sus regiones inferiores

«Jabalqa is a city to the East, that is, in the direction of the beginning. Jabar~a is a city to the West, that is, in the direction of the return and ending.» — con la orientación que les da: Jabalqa al Oriente, en dirección del comienzo, y Jabarsa al Occidente, en dirección del retorno y del fin

«The Elements of this intermediate world are what constitute the second and imperishable jasad ( jasad B, the spiritual body), that is, the body whose "clay" survives invisibly "in the tomb,"» — y de qué sirven sus Elementos: constituyen el segundo *jasad*, imperecedero, cuyo barro sobrevive invisible en la tumba conservando su forma perfecta

«In the eastern part of this universe there is the "earthly Hell." In its western part, there is the "earthly Paradise," Adam's Paradise. There it is that the Spirits of faithful believers take refuge, and these are the "two gardens covered with greenery» — su geografía moral: al oriente el Infierno terrestre y al occidente el Paraíso terrestre, el de Adán, donde se refugian los Espíritus de los creyentes fieles

«There necessarily has to be an intermediary between the two worlds, a barzakh, that is, a world whose state is neither the absolutely subtle state of separate substances, nor the opaque density of the material things of our world.» — el argumento filosófico con que sostiene la existencia de ese mundo: entre el Malakut y el mundo físico tiene que haber un intermediario cuyo estado no sea ni la sutileza absoluta ni la densidad opaca

«In the absence of such a universe, there would be a leap, a hiatus in the gradation of being.» — y lo que pasaría si no lo hubiera: un salto, un hiato en la gradación del ser

«Among the philosophers, none reject these proofs, although each one expresses himself in his own way and pursues his own line.» — con la nota de acuerdo que registra: entre los filósofos ninguno rechaza esas pruebas, aunque cada cual se exprese a su manera

«know that the "material body" ( jasad) which is in the human being is in reality made up of two bodies. 27 One of them, the first one ( jasad A ) is annihilated and will not "return."» — la respuesta que da a la objeción de su corresponsal: el cuerpo material del hombre son en realidad dos, y el primero queda aniquilado y no vuelve

«On the other hand, the second material body ( jasad B, the caro spiritual is, made from the Elements of Ho.rqalya), and also the second subtle body (jism B, the supracelestial, archetypal body) will both "return."» — y los que sí vuelven: el segundo cuerpo material, la *caro spiritualis* hecha de los Elementos de Hurqalya, y el segundo cuerpo sutil, el arquetípico supraceleste

«the human being has de&eended from the suprasensory world ('iilam al-ghayb, the world of Mystery) from those archetypes or treasuries to which the following verse of the Book refers: "Nothing exists but that its treasury is in our hands ( 15: 21 ) . " Thus the human being descends into this world, the sojourn of effort and struggle, and amasses something of his own in view of the Futurum Resur» — el descenso que describe: el ser humano baja del mundo suprasensible, de los arquetipos o tesorerías, a este mundo de esfuerzo y lucha, donde acumula algo propio para la Resurrección

«Just so, in the time of the Prophet, when the Angel Gabriel descended to this world, he took on the form and appearance of the beautiful adolescent Dal).ya al-Kalbi. But when he "went back up to Heaven" this form did not accompany him on his return.» — con la comparación que trae: Gabriel tomó al descender la forma del hermoso adolescente Dahya al-Kalbi, y esa forma no lo acompañó al subir de nuevo

«He passes through the autonomous world of Forms and Images ('alam al-mithal); there the astral body ( jism A ) becomes attached to him. The latter will not "return" when the Great Resurrection takes place, because it is not a part of the essential reality of man.» — y su aplicación: al pasar por el mundo autónomo de las Formas se le adhiere el cuerpo astral, que no volverá en la Gran Resurrección porque no es parte de la realidad esencial del hombre

«It can be compared to the filth that is deposited on your clothing and which goes away "without return" when you clean it.» — con la imagen que lo cierra: es como la suciedad depositada en la ropa, que se va sin retorno cuando uno la limpia

«When, at the end of his descent, the human being has reached this lower world, then the elemental, material body the body of flesh ( jasad A ) , composed of the Elements of our sublunary world, becomes attached to him. In relation to the reality of the human being, it is an accident; it is not a constituent of his essence.» — lo que se le adhiere al final del descenso: el cuerpo elemental de carne, que respecto de la realidad del ser humano es un accidente y no constituyente de su esencia

«But, as against this, that other body ( jasad B, composed of the Elements of HilrqalyA) survives invisibly "in the tomb" until the Resurrection Day, when the Spirit (the "1"-spirit) returns to it, penetrates it, and enters its Paradise or its Hell with it.» — y lo que sobrevive: el otro cuerpo, hecho de los Elementos de Hurqalya, invisible en la tumba hasta el Día de la Resurrección, cuando el Espíritu vuelve a él y con él entra en su Paraíso o en su Infierno

«The language from which this term comes is the Syriac Language ( •arydnfya), that is, the language in use today among» — la etimología que Shaikh Ahmad propone para el término Hurqalya: viene del siríaco, la lengua en uso hoy entre los sabeos; la frase se corta al pie de plana, donde una nota de Corbin da la referencia

«the Sabeans, those whom we now call the $ubbiih (more exactly, the Man deans), most of whom, and they are many, have settled in and around Ba~ra.» — y quiénes son, según él: los que hoy llamamos *subbah*, más exactamente los mandeos, asentados en su mayoría en Basora y sus alrededores

«But as he descends from step to step, passing gradually from one plane of being to another in the course of his descent, at each step he acquire» — y lo que le ocurre en cada grada del descenso, según ese texto: a cada paso adquiere cierta mezcla con los accidentes correspondientes a ese plano; la frase se corta al pasar de plana

«Certainly it has to be broken and has to be refashioned. Thus it will be pulverized, purified of all that was not a part of it.» — según Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i sobre el cuerpo que vuelve: tiene que ser roto y rehecho, pulverizado y purificado de todo lo que no era parte de él

«The very fact of existing in this world implies its mixture with accidents, and here is exactly the obstacle to its survival.» — con la razón que da: el hecho mismo de existir en este mundo implica su mezcla con accidentes, y ahí está el obstáculo para su supervivencia

«the proof has already been given that the Spirit is the real man, he to whom one speaks, he who assumes. The visible organism of his material body is to him an abode in which he finds himself imprisoned, but into which he has been made to descend, because it is for him an instrument thanks to which he attains exoteric and esoteric knowledge.» — la tesis que repite: el Espíritu es el hombre real, y el organismo visible de su cuerpo material es una morada donde está preso y a la vez el instrumento con que alcanza el conocimiento

«So when it was resolved to send him down to this world, the nature of being necessitated the intermediary of the sensitive, vital Soul bestowed by the celestial Sphere, in order that there should be no hiatus in the gradation of being and in the Emanation.» — y por qué hizo falta el alma vital sensitiva otorgada por la Esfera celeste: para que no hubiera hiato en la gradación del ser ni en la Emanación

«When the time comes to go back to its original world, the intermediary, that is to say, the vital Soul emanated by the celestial Spheres, returns to the Souls that move the Spheres, as it were, by reversion to a mixture, just as a drop of water returns to the sea.» — y su destino al volver: el alma vital emanada de las Esferas vuelve a las Almas que las mueven, por reversión a una mezcla, como la gota vuelve al mar

«But the "!"-spirit survives, it stays awake, it does not succumb to sleep. As Imam Ja'far says: "When it returns, it returns to the state in which it began.» — mientras que el espíritu-yo sobrevive y no sucumbe al sueño, y al volver —dice el Imam Ya‘far— vuelve al estado en que empezó

«It is not a return to a mixture, but a return to a state of juxtaposition because it survives.» — con la distinción que Shaikh Ahmad sostiene: no es retorno a una mezcla sino a un estado de yuxtaposición, porque sobrevive

«Because it was sent down from the "six Treasuries,"80 it returns to them, its own cessation leads to their separation; its archetypal Image returns to the Treasury from which it descended.» — lo que ocurre al primer toque: vuelve a las seis Tesorerías de las que fue enviado, y su Imagen arquetípica vuelve a la Tesorería de la que descendió

«In the same way, its materia prima, 31 its nature, its soul, its pneuma, its intellect, return each to the Treasury from which respectively they descended.» — y con ella su *materia prima*, su naturaleza, su alma, su pneuma y su intelecto, cada uno a la Tesorería de la que descendió

«As for the proofs of what we have stated, they are contained not in one /:ladith alone, nor in tens of ftadiths, but in a multitude of traditions. However, their demonstrative value in discussion can only be understood by meditating on many of them.» — la clase de prueba que Shaikh Ahmad ofrece: no un hadiz ni decenas, sino una multitud de tradiciones cuyo valor demostrativo solo se entiende meditando muchas

«Or rather, it is a matter of letting oneself be guided by a higher wisdom, and the proof furnished by the latter can only be recognized as demonstrative thanks to special divine help, bestowed by God on hearts that have attained full maturity» — o más bien, dice, se trata de dejarse guiar por una sabiduría superior cuya prueba solo se reconoce como demostrativa por ayuda divina especial

«The source and principle of his being is, in fact, composed of five things: the intellect, the soul, the essential nature, the materia prima, the Image or archetypal Form.» — los cinco componentes que Shaikh Ahmad da como fuente y principio del ser del hombre: el intelecto, el alma, la naturaleza esencial, la *materia prima* y la Imagen o Forma arquetípica

«The intellect is in the soul. The soul, with everything it infolds, is in the incorruptible nature. All these three together are in the materia prima, again with all that is implied therein.» — con su encaje: el intelecto está en el alma, el alma en la naturaleza incorruptible, y los tres en la *materia prima*

«When the Image or archetypal Form is conjoined with the latter, then the original essential body, ( jism a,li, jism B ) is realized, 35 that is, the body which is hidden in the material, visible envelope, in the elemental body (jasad A) formed from the four sublunar Elements: fire, air, water, and earth.» — y cuándo se realiza el cuerpo esencial original: al conjuntarse la Forma arquetípica con la *materia prima*, oculto en el cuerpo elemental de los cuatro Elementos sublunares

«But the fact is that its hidden invisible element, its "innerness," survives; this is the spiritual body ( jasad B, caro spiritual is ) , which is not formed from the sublunar Elements, but from the four Elements of the world of Hurqalya, which are seventy times nobler and more precious than the Elements of the terrestrial world.» — y lo que sobrevive: su elemento oculto, el cuerpo espiritual, formado de los cuatro Elementos de Hurqalya, setenta veces más nobles que los terrestres

«when the faithful adept has given an account of himself "in the tomb,"a7 he hollows out a channel for himself between the "tomb" and the Paradise in the West through which repose and sustenance come to him.» — lo que hace el adepto fiel tras rendir cuentas en la tumba, según ese texto: se abre un canal entre la tumba y el Paraíso del Occidente por el que le llegan reposo y sustento

«As for the body that remains with the Spirit (the "1"-Spirit) at the time of the exitus, this is the essential body, the body in the true sense (the jism IJ,aqiqi, jism B ) , 88 which is composed of the materia prima and of the Image or archetypal Form ( mithal). It is the support of the incorruptible nature, the Soul and the intellect. It is the essential reality of man, of man in the true sense.» — el cuerpo que queda con el Espíritu al salir de este mundo: el cuerpo esencial, compuesto de la *materia prima* y de la Forma arquetípica, soporte de la naturaleza incorruptible, del Alma y del intelecto

«This essential body is of the same nature as the essential body of the universe: for the microcosm it is homologous to the supreme sphere, the sphere that governs and defines sp~tial orientations.» — con la homología que le da: ese cuerpo esencial es de la misma naturaleza que el cuerpo esencial del universo, y en el microcosmos es homólogo de la esfera suprema que define las orientaciones

«Its capacity to experience enjoyment of food, dnnk, touch, amorous delights, is seventy times greater than the capacity of the elemental, material body.» — y su capacidad: setenta veces mayor que la del cuerpo material elemental para el goce de la comida, la bebida, el tacto y los deleites amorosos; el troceo imprime *dnnk*

«As soon as it is drawn in, the "I" -Spirit meets its own Image, or archetypal Form,u in the first Treasury; in the second of these, it finds its materia prima; in the third, its incorruptible nature; in the fourth, its Soul; in the fifth, the pneuma; in the sixth, the intellect.» — el itinerario del espíritu-yo por las seis Tesorerías: en la primera halla su Imagen arquetípica, en la segunda su *materia prima*, en la tercera su naturaleza incorruptible, en la cuarta su Alma, en la quinta el pneuma y en la sexta el intelecto

«When these Treasuries are disassociated, the "I" -Spirit is abolished and its power to work also is abolished. It is in this sense alone that it can be said to be "annihilated" (namely, until the second "blast" of Seraphiel's Trumpet)» — y en qué sentido cabe llamarlo aniquilado: solo en el de que, disociadas las Tesorerías, queda abolido su poder de obrar hasta el segundo toque

«But no mixture fusing the component parts takes place, for such mixture applies only to the vegetable and animal souls» — con el deslinde que impone: no hay mezcla que funda las partes componentes, porque la mezcla vale solo para las almas vegetal y animal

«Therefore, these two souls, vegetable and vital, return post mortem to their source and blend with it. However, this is true only of their outer part, their "exoteric" part» — y el límite de ese retorno: las dos almas vuelven a su fuente y se mezclan con ella, pero solo en su parte exterior, exotérica

«for the inner, "esoteric" part ( bti/in) of the vegetable soul survives "in the tomb"; this inner part is the Elements of Harqalya and is that body (jasad B) which rests in "quietness and sojourns in Paradise.» — porque la parte esotérica del alma vegetal sobrevive en la tumba: es el cuerpo hecho de los Elementos de Hurqalya que reposa y mora en el Paraíso

«The elemental material body ( jasad A ) , the body of perishable ftesh, is the one that remains in the earth; its visible aspect is destroyed there.» — lo que Shaikh Ahmad dice del cuerpo elemental de carne perecedera: es el que queda en la tierra y ahí se destruye su aspecto visible

«Consider how, from silica and potash, dense and opaque, there issued a body in a transparent subtle state. The latter is unquestionably the same mineral substance, and yet it is not. It is something other.» — según Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa’i: de la sílice y la potasa, densas y opacas, sale un cuerpo en estado transparente y sutil que es indudablemente la misma sustancia mineral y a la vez no lo es

«If the Elixir of whiteness, the "philosopher's chemical'' be projected onto this fine glass, it then becomes a crystal which flames in sunlight (lens glass), because it causes the sun's rays on striking its surface, to converge.» — la etapa siguiente: proyectado el Elixir de blancura sobre el vidrio fino, este se vuelve un cristal que llamea al sol porque hace converger los rayos

«This incandescent glass is homologous to the astral body ( jism A) which accompanied the Spirit at the time of the exitus, when the latter departs from its elemental material body. It is the body with which the Spirit enters the Western Paradise, the Paradise of Adam.» — y su homólogo en la fisiología: el cristal incandescente corresponde al cuerpo astral que acompaña al Espíritu en la salida de este mundo y con el que entra en el Paraíso occidental, el de Adán

«Well then! if this sparkling crystal is melted once again and the white Elixir is again projected onto it, lo and behold! it becomes diamond ( almiis). It is still glass, and yet no-it is something other-but not so, it is certainly itself but itself after undergoing all these trials.» — la última etapa: fundido otra vez con el Elixir blanco, el cristal se vuelve diamante, que sigue siendo vidrio y a la vez es otra cosa, y a la vez es él mismo después de todas esas pruebas

«Place it on the anvil, strike it with a hammer, it will dent the anvil and the hammer but it will not break. Strike it with a piece of lead and it will break into cubiform fragments and if each cube in turn is struck with the lead it will in its turn break into cubiform fragments.» — la prueba del diamante que ese texto describe: golpeado con martillo abolla el yunque sin romperse, y golpeado con plomo se parte en fragmentos cúbicos

«That is the true sign that it really is diamond, but if it has become diamond it is also a sign that the diamond was hidden in the essential depths of the mineral substance, because, in fact, the composition of the latter is the result of two well-known principles, mercury and sulphur, according to what is established in physics.» — y lo que esa prueba significa, según Shaikh Ahmad: que el diamante estaba oculto en las honduras esenciales de la sustancia mineral, compuesta de mercurio y azufre

«Another symbol: tin. At first it is homologous to the elemental body of flesh ( jasad A ) which we know in our terrestrial world.» — el segundo símbolo alquímico que trae: el estaño, homólogo del cuerpo elemental de carne que conocemos en el mundo terrestre

«When the white Elixir is projected on it, it becomes pure silver; it is then homologous to the subtle Spiritual body ( jasad B, caro spiritualis), which survives invisibly in Horqalya.» — su primera transmutación: con el Elixir blanco se vuelve plata pura, homóloga del cuerpo espiritual sutil que sobrevive invisible en Hurqalya

«But when the red Elixir is projected on it, it becomes pure gold, and it is then homologous to the astral body ( jism A) originating in the heavens of Horqalya, which leaves the elemental body of flesh ( jasad A ) and accompanies the Spirit in its exitus, that is to say, the subtle body which returns to Adam's Paradise post mortem and tastes the delight thereof.» — la segunda: con el Elixir rojo se vuelve oro puro, homólogo del cuerpo astral que vuelve al Paraíso de Adán después de la muerte

«If the red Elixir is projected a second time, this gold itself becomes an Elixir; it is homologous to the original, essential body (jism B, corpus supra coeleste) , the one which enters the paradise of the future Aeon.» — y la tercera: con una segunda proyección de Elixir rojo, el oro se vuelve él mismo Elixir, homólogo del cuerpo esencial original que entra en el paraíso del Eón futuro

«Then this Elixir, freed from the gold, the gold freed from silver, the silver freed from tin, is homologous to the future Aeon. Many symbols of this still exist, which are well known to those who possess inner sight.» — la serie de liberaciones con que cierra: el Elixir libre del oro, el oro libre de la plata y la plata libre del estaño son homólogos del Eón futuro, y quedan muchos símbolos así, conocidos de los que tienen vista interior

«In his book, Mulla ~adra poses al~ the problems relating as a whole to the posthumous becommg of the human being, in the twofold aspect of "return" or "reversi?n" of Spirits to their original world ( ma'iid) and ~he resu~rection of bodies. He remarks that the second aspect Is not situated on the same plane--the intelligibly evident-as the first. His thought, being theosophical thought, employs rational argument as well as texts from the religious tradition. The conjunction of these is made possible by the practice of the ta'wil (the exegesis of the spiritual meaning) , whose alchemical operation is shown to be an application (to hide the apparent, to manifest the hidden). This is exactly the operation that Shaikh Al)mad Ahsi'l stresses, as in the above passage, showing correspondence between the operatio secreta artis and the physiology of the resurrection body. This correspondance even postulates an anthropology in which the theme of the "Reversion," determining future metamorphoses is antithetical to the idea of reversibility, which in general predominates in our historical points of view. Philosophical understanding, guided by the very thing which proves that spirits are imperishable and return to their original world, finds therein the evidence for the resurrection of bodies; for resurrection of bodies and reversion of Spirits taken together have one and the same cause. He who has meditated before the "Philosophers' mirror" has been able to see it with his own eyes. When I speak of the "Philosophers' mirror," I mean the operatio secreta artis, 52 that is, the operation of the Elixir, for the Philosophers have used it as a mirror in which everything existing is reflected in the same way as the return and resurrection of Spirits. As the Philosophers understand it, the demonstration can be expressed as follows: The material existence of all that exists in the world emanates from the divine Work, as light emanates from a lamp. Everyone knows that this Operation is life, consciousness, discrimination, power of choice. The closer something is to the Principle, the more powerful are these four things in it; the further something is from the Principle, the weaker these four things become in it. In the same way, the light of the» — lo que Corbin dice del libro comentado: Mulla Sadra plantea el conjunto de los problemas del devenir póstumo del ser humano, en su doble aspecto de reversión de los Espíritus y resurrección de los cuerpos

«He remarks that the second aspect Is not situated on the same plane--the intelligibly evident-as the first.» — con la observación que Corbin le atribuye: el segundo aspecto no se sitúa en el mismo plano de evidencia inteligible que el primero

«His thought, being theosophical thought, employs rational argument as well as texts from the religious tradition. The conjunction of these is made possible by the practice of the ta'wil (the exegesis of the spiritual meaning) , whose alchemical operation is shown to be an application (to hide the apparent, to manifest the hidden)» — y cómo se articulan las dos vías, según Corbin: por la práctica del ta’wil, cuya operación alquímica —ocultar lo aparente, manifestar lo oculto— es una aplicación suya

«This correspondance even postulates an anthropology in which the theme of the "Reversion," determining future metamorphoses is antithetical to the idea of reversibility, which in general predominates in our historical points of view.» — la consecuencia que Corbin saca de esa correspondencia: postula una antropología donde el tema de la Reversión es antitético de la idea de reversibilidad que domina en nuestros puntos de vista históricos

«This commentary is as original as it is important. Shaikh Abmad Al)sl'l here makes clear his standpoint in regard to» — la nota de Corbin que encabeza ese comentario: lo llama tan original como importante, y dice que ahí Shaikh Ahmad fija su posición ante la filosofía de Mulla Sadra; la frase se corta al pie de plana, donde va la referencia bibliográfica

«The soul is spiritual "matter" (madda raQiiniya), a subtle organism that can only receive Forms which are themselves in the subtle and suprasensory state, such that they are not perceptible to the physical senses, but only to the organs of psycho-spiritual perception» — según Mulla Sadra Shirazi, en el pasaje que Shaikh Ahmad comenta: el alma es materia espiritual, organismo sutil que solo puede recibir Formas en estado sutil y suprasensible

«It is correct to say that the soul is a subtle organism unable to receive any but Forms in a subtle, suprasensory state. It is equally correct to say that it canno~ be perceived by our physical senses, because the latter are soiled and paralyzed by the infirmities inherent in the e~ement~l natures of which the fleshly body is composed.» — la parte que Shaikh Ahmad le concede: es correcto decir que el alma es un organismo sutil y que no la perciben nuestros sentidos físicos, ensuciados y paralizados por las enfermedades de las naturalezas elementales

«For from that point one would be forced to negate resurrection, as the author (Mulla ~adra) appeared to be doing in certain passages referred to earlier in this book, at least judging from what the literal sense of his words appears to convey.» — con la consecuencia que le imputa: desde ahí habría que negar la resurrección, como el autor parecía hacer en ciertos pasajes, al menos a juzgar por el sentido literal de sus palabras

«We have noted that, in comparison with the doctrine of the holy Imams, what he says does not sound like the words of one professing belief in bodily resurrection.» — y el juicio que Shaikh Ahmad emite sin atenuarlo: comparado con la doctrina de los santos Imames, lo que Mulla Sadra dice no suena a palabra de quien profesa la resurrección corporal

«The fact is: to say that Matter, hyle, as such is dense and dark is not correct. No matter can be seen as necessarily dense and dark. Matter has other states.» — la objeción de fondo que le hace: no es correcto decir que la materia como tal sea densa y oscura, porque ninguna materia lo es necesariamente y la materia tiene otros estados

«The celestial Spheres, for instance, are not perceptible to our physical senses; not even the Earth, that is, the Earth untrodden by the feet of the sons of Adam (i.e., the celestial Earth, the Paradise from which Adam was exiled and whither the Spirit returns in its subtle body) , for that Earth is in the subtle state, it cannot be perceived by the eyes of this world, the eyes of flesh.» — con los ejemplos que aduce: las Esferas celestes no son perceptibles a nuestros sentidos físicos, ni tampoco la Tierra no hollada por los pies de los hijos de Adán

«Furthermore, those who live in Paradise are all bodies determined by dimensions and positions: but the fact of being such a body by no means excludes survival or perpetuity as such.» — su tesis positiva: los que viven en el Paraíso son todos cuerpos determinados por dimensiones y posiciones, y ser tal cuerpo no excluye la supervivencia ni la perpetuidad

«Certainly these spiritual bodies include no negativity, no density, no opacity, since these are concomitants of alteration and substitution, replacing what disappears by something weaker.» — con la reserva que él mismo pone: esos cuerpos espirituales no incluyen negatividad, densidad ni opacidad, que acompañan a la alteración y a la sustitución por algo más débil

«The latter are similar to those who dwell on Earth, except that they have no density, no opacity, no tendency to weaken, no tendency toward decay and annihilation.» — y la comparación que traza: los moradores del Paraíso son semejantes a los de la Tierra, salvo que no tienen densidad, ni opacidad, ni tendencia a debilitarse ni a la corrupción

«But why deny the material reality of such experience (provided the matter thereof does not descend to being the dense, dark matter of this world below)?» — y la pregunta que dirige a su adversario: por qué negar la realidad material de esa experiencia, con tal que su materia no descienda a ser la materia densa y oscura de este mundo

«Those who live in Paradise in their spiritual flesh ( jasad B ) , in their essential original body ( jism B ) , in their "!"-spirit, are certainly the same persons who were in this world below.» — la identidad que sostiene: los que viven en el Paraíso en su carne espiritual y en su cuerpo esencial son ciertamente las mismas personas que estuvieron en este mundo

«One change alone has taken place in them: accidents foreign to them, making them prey to destruction, have disappeared, darkness in them has been dispelled and has vanished.» — con el único cambio que admite: han desaparecido los accidentes ajenos que los hacían presa de la destrucción, y las tinieblas se han disipado

«Then the spiritual bodies perceive of and by themselves the spiritual realities of the J abarut as well as the pure suprasensory forms of the Malakut.» — lo que entonces ocurre: los cuerpos espirituales perciben por sí mismos las realidades espirituales del Jabarut y las formas suprasensibles del Malakut

«In fact, for their bodies to be spiritualized, to become spirits, they only have to will it; on the other hand, for their spirits to be embodied, to become bodies, they likewise have only to wish for it.» — y la reciprocidad que declara: para que sus cuerpos se espiritualicen basta que lo quieran, y lo mismo para que sus espíritus se corporeicen

«The natural Philosophers, those who practice the secret science (i.e., the Alchemists) always described their work as follows: first they dissolve the Stone, then they coagulate it with a portion of its spirit. 80 Next they dissolve the resultant, and once more coagulate it with a part of its spirit. Again they dissolve, again they coagulate, and so forth.» — el símbolo alquímico que Shaikh Ahmad trae para esa situación: los filósofos naturales disuelven la Piedra y la coagulan con una porción de su espíritu, y repiten la operación

«When they have treated the Stone, according to their established rule, three times with the white Elixir, then nine times with the red, the Stone will have become spiritual-living-mineral substance (lapis vivus)» — con la cuenta exacta que da: tratada tres veces con el Elixir blanco y nueve con el rojo, la Piedra se vuelve sustancia mineral viva y espiritual, la *lapis vivus*

«This means that in itself it remains a body, but as regards its work it has become spirit-a spirit able to "bring to life" metals» — y lo que eso significa: en sí misma sigue siendo cuerpo, y en cuanto a su obra se ha vuelto espíritu capaz de dar vida a los metales muertos

«After the first part of the operation it is already capable of bringing to life a mass one thousand times its own weight, by fusing it with its own substance. Its thirst having been quenched a second time (i.e., after the second admixture of the Elixir) , it is able to bring to life a mass two thousand times its own weight.» — la progresión cuantitativa que describe: tras la primera parte de la operación puede vivificar mil veces su peso, y tras la segunda, dos mil

«It is said that a certain Philosopher projected the Elixir three hundred times onto the Stone, and thereby vivified the equivalent of three hundred thousand times its original weight.» — con el caso que consigna sin hacerlo suyo: se dice que cierto Filósofo proyectó el Elixir trescientas veces sobre la Piedra y vivificó el equivalente de trescientas mil veces su peso original

«The quantitative increase is proportionate to the qualitative increase.» — y la ley que enuncia: el aumento cuantitativo es proporcional al cualitativo

«Such an operation would be inconceivable if it had to be carried out on inert material bodies; on the other hand, it is perfectly intelligible as soon as Spirits are in question.» — la conclusión que saca: una operación así sería inconcebible sobre cuerpos materiales inertes y es perfectamente inteligible en cuanto se trata de Espíritus

«This is why the Philosophers affirm: it is certainly a body, but its virtue and operation are spiritual.» — y la fórmula de los Filósofos que cita: es ciertamente un cuerpo, pero su virtud y su operación son espirituales