Fundamental Symbols: The Universal Language of Sacred Science

«All that exists, in whatever mode this may be, necessarily participates in universal principles, and nothing exists except by participation in these principles, which are the eternal and immutable essences contained in the permanent actuality of the Divine Intellect. Consequently, it can be said that all things, however contingent they may be in themselves, express or represent these principles in their own way and according to their order of existence, for otherwise they would be purely and simply nothingness. Thus, from one order to another, all things are linked together and correspond, to come together in total and universal harmony, for harmony is nothing other than the reflection of principial unity in the manifested world; and it is this correspondence which is the veritable basis of symbolism.» — el epígrafe del volumen, tomado de otro libro de Guénon, Autorité spirituelle et pouvoir temporel: la correspondencia entre órdenes es la base del simbolismo, y lo es porque nada existe sino por participación en los principios universales

«M odern civilisation appears in history as a veritable anomaly; of all those we know about, our own is the only one which has developed in a purely material sense, and is also the only one which is not supported by any principle of a higher order.» — abre el capítulo 1, La reforma de la mentalidad moderna, llamando anomalía a la civilización moderna: única en desarrollarse en sentido puramente material y única sin principio de orden superior. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo, de ahí la eme separada

«This material development which has been pursued for several centuries now, and at an ever accelerating pace, has been accompanied by an intellectual regression which this same material progress is quite unable to neutralize.» — al desarrollo material de varios siglos le opone una regresión intelectual que, sostiene, ese mismo progreso no alcanza a neutralizar

«for we refuse to give the name intellectuality to what is currently so called today, namely, the cultivation of the experimental sciences in view of the practical applications to which these sciences lend themselves.» — y acota de inmediato qué entiende por intelectualidad: no el cultivo de las ciencias experimentales con vistas a sus aplicaciones prácticas, sino lo que también llamaría espiritualidad

«A single example will allow us to measure the extent of this regression: the Summa Theologica of St Thomas was, in its time, a manual for the use of students. Today, where are the students who would be capable of fathoming and assimilating it?» — el ejemplo con que mide esa regresión: la Summa Theologica de Santo Tomás fue en su tiempo un manual para estudiantes

«It is the loss or the forgetting of genuine intellectuality which has made possible two errors, apparently in opposition but in reality correlative and complementary; rationalism and sentimentalism.» — adjudica a la pérdida de la intelectualidad genuina dos errores que declara solo aparentemente opuestos: racionalismo y sentimentalismo

«Once all purely intellectual knowledge had come to be denied or ignored as it has been since Descartes, the end was logically bound to be in positivism and agnosticism together with all manner of ‘scientistic’ aberrations» — data en Descartes el momento en que se niega o se ignora todo conocimiento puramente intelectual, y de ahí deriva el positivismo y el agnosticismo

«The notion of truth, after having been reduced to nothing more than a mere representation of sensible reality, is finally identified with utility by pragmatism, which amounts purely and simply to its suppression.» — el último tramo de esa serie: reducida la verdad a representación de lo sensible, el pragmatismo la identifica con la utilidad, lo que para él equivale a suprimirla

«the contempt and repugnance that other peoples, especially Orientals, feel with regard to Westerners stem in large part from the fact that Westerners generally appear to them to be men without tradition, without religion, which in their eyes is a real monstrosity.» — explica el desprecio de otros pueblos hacia los occidentales por aparecer como hombres sin tradición y sin religión

«An Oriental cannot admit a social organisation which does not rest upon traditional principles: for a Muslim, to take one example, legislation in its entirety is no more than a mere appendage of religion.» — y lo ejemplifica con el musulmán, para quien —dice— la legislación entera no es más que un apéndice de la religión

«Religion is now looked upon as nothing more than a social fact: instead of having the entire social order attached to it, religion is, on the contrary, no longer regarded as anything but just one element among those that constitute the social order, if indeed it is still allowed to hold there any place at all, and how many Catholics, alas, without the least difficulty, accept this way of viewing things.» — describe la inversión que denuncia: en vez de sostener el orden social entero, la religión pasa a ser un elemento más dentro de él, y señala que muchos católicos lo aceptan sin dificultad

«A blind eye must not be turned to the fact that even those who believe themselves to be sincerely religious have nothing, for the most part, but a greatly diminished idea of religion.» — extiende el diagnóstico a los propios creyentes sinceros, a quienes atribuye una idea muy disminuida de la religión

«It has hardly any actual influence on their behaviour or on their thought; it is as if separated from the rest of their existence.» — la separación que constata entre la religión y el resto de la existencia de quien la profesa

«Practically, believers and unbelievers behave in almost the same way; for many Catholics, the affirmation of the supernatural has no more than a completely theoretical value, and they would be quite embarrassed to have to take note of a miracle.» — lo lleva hasta el milagro: para muchos católicos, dice, la afirmación de lo sobrenatural tiene valor solo teórico

«On the other hand, religion for most people is only an affair of sentiment, without any intellectual import.» — y nombra la otra mitad del cuadro: la religión reducida a asunto de sentimiento, sin alcance intelectual

«The function of doctrine is diminished as much as possible, despite the fact that it is the essential from which everything else ought to be but a logical consequence.» — objeta la disminución de la doctrina, que él tiene por lo esencial y no por una consecuencia

«In this respect Protestantism, which is on its way to becoming no more than a ‘moralisin' pure and simple, is very representative of the tendencies of the modern mind.» — toma al protestantismo, que ve volviéndose puro moralismo, como el caso más representativo de esas tendencias

«would be a great mistake to believe that Catholicism itself is not affected by these same tendencies, not in its principle, certainly, but in the way in which it is ordinarily presented.» — y no exime al catolicismo, con el límite dicho en la misma frase: no en su principio, sino en el modo en que se lo suele presentar

«Under the pretext of making it acceptable to the contemporary mentality, the most disturbing concessions are made, concessions that encourage what on the contrary should be energetically fought against.» — llama concesiones inquietantes a lo que se hace en nombre de volverlo aceptable a la mentalidad contemporánea

«We will not insist on the blindness of those who, under the pretext of ‘tolerance', make themselves unconscious accomplices of counterfeits of religion, the hidden intentions of which they are far from suspecting.» — y a quienes invocan la tolerancia les imputa complicidad inconsciente con falsificaciones de la religión

«is there not a ceaseless use of such expressions as ‘religion of patriotism’, ‘religion of science’, or ‘religion of duty?» — el abuso de la palabra religión que señala, con tres ejemplos: religión del patriotismo, de la ciencia, del deber

«This is not simply carelessness in language; rather such abuses are symptomatic of the confusion that permeates the modern world. For in truth, language is a faithful representation of states of mind, and such expressions are incompatible with the true sense of religion.» — y lo que lee en ese uso: no descuido de lenguaje sino síntoma de confusión, porque tiene la lengua por representación fiel de los estados de ánimo

«We wish to speak of the weakness of doctrinal teaching, which is replaced almost entirely by vague moral and sentimental considerations.» — nombra el punto que le importa: la enseñanza doctrinal sustituida casi por completo por consideraciones morales y sentimentales

«These developments may please some, but at the same time they can only rebuff and estrange those with any intellectual aspirations, of whom there are still some in our time in spite of everything.» — con la consecuencia que le atribuye: aleja a quienes conservan aspiraciones intelectuales, de los que dice que todavía quedan

«It is certainly wrong to claim, as we have often heard it claimed that nobody could understand an exposition of pure doctrine.» — niega la objeción corriente de que nadie entendería una exposición de doctrina pura

«First of all, why wish to remain on the lowest level on the pretext that it is that of the greatest number, as if it were necessary always to consider quantity rather than quality?» — y le opone dos preguntas: por qué quedarse en el nivel más bajo por ser el del mayor número, y si eso no es consecuencia del espíritu democrático que tiene por rasgo de la mentalidad moderna

«Should it not be recognized that even those who would not understand everything would nevertheless derive a perhaps greater benefit from doctrinal exposition than might be supposed?» — sostiene que aun quien no lo entendiera todo sacaría de una exposición doctrinal más provecho del que se supone

«We think that what is important above all else is precisely the restoration of true intellectuality and with it the sense of doctrine and of tradition.» — enuncia lo que propone como remedio: restaurar la intelectualidad verdadera y con ella el sentido de la doctrina y de la tradición

«It is high time to show that religion is something other than a matter of sentimental devotion, something other than mere moral precepts, or the consolations available to souls weakened by suffering, and that one can find in it that ‘solid nourishment' of which St Paul speaks in the Epistle to the Hebrews.» — y cierra apelando al alimento sólido de que habla San Pablo en la Epístola a los Hebreos, para separar la religión de la devoción sentimental y del precepto moral

«We know well enough that this goes against certain fixed habits that are difficult to throw off; but nevertheless, it is not a question of innovation far from it—but on the contrary of returning to the tradition that has been strayed from, of finding again what has been all too willingly lost.» — niega que su propuesta sea innovación: la llama vuelta a la tradición de la que se apartaron

«Would this not be better than making the most unjustified concessions to the modern mind, such as are to be found, for example, in so many apologetical works that strive to reconcile dogma with all that is most hypothetical and least well founded in current science, an effort that has to be repeated all over again» — objeta las obras apologéticas que concilian el dogma con lo más hipotético de la ciencia corriente, y señala que ese esfuerzo hay que rehacerlo cada vez; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y sigue preguntando qué pasa cuando esas teorías se reemplazan por otras

«whenever these so-called scientific theories are replaced by others? It would, however, be quite easy to show that religion and science are not really in conflict, for the simple reason that they do not concern the same domain.» — y enuncia su propia salida: religión y ciencia no están en conflicto real porque no tratan el mismo dominio

«Why is there no perception of the danger of even seeming to seek corroboration, in what is most changeable and most uncertain, for doctrine that concerns immutable and unchangeable truths?» — el peligro que señala en esa conciliación: buscar corroboración en lo más cambiante para una doctrina de verdades inmutables

«And what is one to think of those Catholic theologians who are so affected by the ‘scientistic’ mentality that they feel obliged to take into account, in more or less large measure, the results of modem exegesis and ‘textual criticism', when it would be so easy, for anyone who had just a reasonably sure doctrinal foundation, to show their inanity?» — y a los teólogos católicos les imputa dejarse afectar por la mentalidad cientificista al contar con los resultados de la exégesis moderna y la crítica textual

«How can one not see that the so-called ‘science of religions', such as it taught in the universities, has never been anything else in reality but an instrument ofwar directed against religion and, more generally, against all that may still subsist of the traditional spirit, which those who are guiding the modem world in a direction that can only end in catastrophe naturally want to» — lo que le adjudica a la ciencia de las religiones enseñada en las universidades: instrumento de guerra contra la religión y contra lo que subsista del espíritu tradicional; el troceo imprime *ofwar* pegado y *as it taught* sin el verbo, las dos cosas artefacto de OCR

«now to conclude with a question that is of especial interest to us in this domain, why is there so much more or less avowed hostility towards symbolism? Assuredly, because it is a mode of expression that has become entirely foreign to the modem mentality, and because man is naturally prone to distrust what he does not understand.» — explica la hostilidad hacia el simbolismo por ser un modo de expresión ajeno a la mentalidad moderna, y por la desconfianza natural ante lo que no se entiende

«Symbolism is the means best adapted to the teaching of higher religious and metaphysical truths, that is, of all that the modem mind spurns or neglects.» — y le adjudica al símbolo el papel de medio mejor adaptado para enseñar las verdades religiosas y metafísicas superiores

«Symbolism is entirely contrary to rationalism, and all its adversaries behave, some without even being aware of it, as true rationalists.» — opone simbolismo y racionalismo, y llama racionalistas de hecho a sus adversarios, incluso a los que no lo saben

«For our part, we think that if symbolism is not understood today, this is one more reason to insist upon it, expounding as completely as possible the real significance of traditional symbols by restoring to them all their intellectual meaning instead of making them simply a theme of sentimental exhortations—for which, moreover, the use of symbolism is quite pointless.» — declara su propio programa: exponer el significado real de los símbolos tradicionales devolviéndoles su sentido intelectual, en lugar de hacer de ellos tema de exhortación sentimental

«This reform of the modem mentality, with all that it implies, namely the restoration of true intellectuality and of traditional doctrine, which for us are inseparable from one another» — define la reforma que propone como restauración de la intelectualidad verdadera y de la doctrina tradicional, que declara inseparables. El troceo imprime *modem* por moderna, artefacto de OCR

«that can be proposed for the activity of a society such as the Society for the Intellectual Propagation of the Sacred Heart, so much the more in that all the efforts accomplished in this direction will necessarily be orientated towards the Heart of the Incarnate Word, the spiritual Sun and Centre of the World, ‘in which are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and science’, not of that empty, profane science which is the only one known to most of our contemporaries, but of the veritable sacred science which opens, to those who study it in the proper way, unsuspected and truly unlimited horizons.» — cierra el capítulo 1 dirigiendo esa tarea a la Society for the Intellectual Propagation of the Sacred Heart y orientándola al Corazón del Verbo Encarnado, y separa la ciencia profana de la ciencia sagrada verdadera

«is frequently affirmed that Spirit is not other than Atma, but nevertheless there are instances when this same Spirit seems to be identified only with Buddhi.» — abre el capítulo 2, Espíritu e Intelecto, con la contradicción aparente que se plantea: el Espíritu se afirma idéntico a Atma y a veces se identifica solo con Buddhi

«It would be insufficient to see in this a simple question of terminology, for if such were the case one might as well go further and accept indiscriminately the many more or less vague and incorrect meanings commonly given to the word ‘spirit’, instead of carefully avoiding them, as we have always endeavoured to do;» — y niega que sea cuestión de terminología, porque admitirlo llevaría a aceptar los sentidos vagos e incorrectos que se dan a la palabra espíritu

«the only too evident inadequacy of western languages for expressing metaphysical ideas is no reason, to say the least, for not taking all the precautions necessary to avoid confusions.» — reconoce la inadecuación de las lenguas occidentales para expresar ideas metafísicas y la usa como razón para más precaución, no para menos

«What justifies these two uses of the same word—let us state it at the outset—is the correspondence which exists between different levels of reality and which makes possible the transposition of certain terms from one of these levels to another.» — la clave con que resuelve el problema: la correspondencia entre niveles de realidad, que permite transponer ciertos términos de un nivel a otro

«The case in question is comparable to that of the word ‘essence’, which can also be used in several different ways. Insofar as it is the correlative of ‘substance’, and from the point of view of universal manifestation, it designates Purusha in relation to Prakriti.» — el paralelo que traza con la palabra esencia, correlativa de sustancia y que desde la manifestación universal designa a Purusha frente a Prakriti

«Similarly, one can speak of the essence of a being as complementary to its substance, but one can also designate as essence that which constitutes the ultimate, immutable and unconditioned reality of that being; and the reason is that the first is in the final analysis nothing other than the expression of the second in regard to manifestation.» — y el doble uso que admite: esencia como complemento de la sustancia y esencia como realidad última del ser, siendo la primera expresión de la segunda en la manifestación

«Thus, as long as it is a question of the constitutive principles of a being in its conditioned states, what is called spirit, as for example in the ternary ‘spirit, soul and body’, can no longer be the unconditioned Atma, but only that which most directly represents it in manifestation.» — aplica la distinción al ternario espíritu, alma y cuerpo: ahí el espíritu ya no es Atma incondicionado sino lo que lo representa más directamente

«Strictly speaking, therefore, the spirit in this sense can only be the first and loftiest of all manifested principles, that is, Buddhi.» — y lo identifica: en ese sentido estricto el espíritu es Buddhi, el primero y más alto de los principios manifestados

«even though the gunas are inherent in Prakriti, sattwa can only be considered as a spiritual (or ‘spiritualising’) tendency because it is the tendency that orients the being towards the higher states.» — por qué llama espiritual a sattwa aunque los gunas sean inherentes a Prakriti: por ser la tendencia que orienta al ser hacia los estados superiores

«Intellect itself can also be transposed, in the same way as the spirit, for it is generally considered altogether admissible to speak of the ‘Divine Intellect’.» — extiende la transposición al Intelecto, y la apoya en que se admite hablar del Intelecto Divino

«The Intellect, therefore, is never individualised; furthermore, this corresponds to what is expressed, considering now more particularly the corporeal world, when it is said that whatever the appearances may be, the Spirit is never ‘incarnated’, which» — sostiene que el Intelecto nunca se individualiza y, del lado corporal, que el Espíritu nunca se encarna cualesquiera sean las apariencias

«must be emphasized is the essentially supra-individual nature of the pure Intellect. Moreover, it is only what belongs to this superhuman order that can be called truly transcendent, since» — insiste en la naturaleza supraindividual del Intelecto puro y reserva el nombre de trascendente para lo que pertenece a ese orden suprahumano

«Not only does Buddhi, insofar as it is the first of the productions of Prakriti, constitute the link between all the states of manifestation, but from another angle and looking at things from a principial viewpoint, Buddhi appears as the luminous ray emanating from the Spiritual Sun, which is Atma itself.» — la imagen con que resuelve el problema del capítulo 2: Buddhi como rayo luminoso emanado del Sol Espiritual, que es Atma

«One can say, therefore, that Buddhi is also the first manifestation of Atma 5 even though it must be clearly understood that Atma itself remains unmanifest, not being affected or modified by any contingency.» — y la acotación que le pone en la misma frase: Buddhi es la primera manifestación de Atma, pero Atma permanece no manifestado y sin ser afectado por contingencia alguna

«Now light is essentially one and Is not of a different nature in the Sun and in the Sun’s rays, which are not distinct from it except in an illusory mode as far as the Sun itself is concerned (although this distinction is none the less real for the eye which perceives the rays and which here represents the being situated within manifestation).» — desarrolla la imagen: la luz es una en el Sol y en sus rayos, y la distinción es ilusoria del lado del Sol aunque real para el ojo que percibe los rayos, que representa al ser dentro de la manifestación

«By reason of this essential ‘connaturality’, Buddhi, in the final analysis, is not other than the expression of Atma in the manifested order.» — la conclusión que saca de esa connaturalidad: Buddhi no es sino la expresión de Atma en el orden manifestado

«Light is the traditional symbol of the very nature of the Spirit: we have remarked elsewhere that one also finds, in this respect, the expressions ‘spiritual light' and ‘intelligible light', as if they were in some way synonymous which, again, obviously implies an assimilation between Spirit and Intellect.» — en nota, apoya la asimilación entre Espíritu e Intelecto en el uso indistinto de las expresiones luz espiritual y luz inteligible

«The immediate conclusion which results from these considerations is that as long as the being is not only in the human state but in any manifested state whatsoever, individual or supra-individual, there can be for him no real difference between Spirit and Intellect, nor consequently between true spirituality and true intellectuality.» — la conclusión del capítulo 2: mientras el ser esté en cualquier estado manifestado no hay para él diferencia real entre Espíritu e Intelecto ni entre espiritualidad e intelectualidad verdaderas

«In other words, in order to reach the final and supreme goal, there is for such a being no other way than the ray itself by which the being is attached to the Spiritual Sim.» — y la consecuencia práctica: no hay otra vía al fin supremo que el rayo mismo por el que el ser está unido al Sol Espiritual. El troceo imprime *Sim* por Sun, artefacto de OCR

«Whatever the apparent diversity of ways that exist at the outset, they all must be united sooner or later in this one ‘axial’ way, and when the being has followed this way to its end, he ‘will enter into his own Self’, from which he had never departed except by illusion.» — y lo que dice de la diversidad de vías: todas se unen tarde o temprano en la única vía axial, cuyo término es entrar en el propio Sí Mismo, del que solo se salió por ilusión

«For the Self, which analogically is called Spirit, Essence, or some other choice of name, is identical with the Absolute Reality in which all is contained, that is, with supreme and unconditioned Atma.» — cierra identificando el Sí Mismo —lo que llama analógicamente Espíritu o Esencia— con la Realidad Absoluta, con Atma supremo e incondicionado

«We will note at the outset that, in this respect also, standpoints can be taken at different levels, according to whether one stops short at the consideration of Being alone or whether one goes beyond Being. Needless to say, when theologians consider the Divine Intellect or the Word as the ‘place of Possibilities’, they have in view possibilities of manifestation only, which as such are comprised in Being. The transposition which permits the passage from Being to the Supreme Principle no longer pertains to the domain of theology, but solely to pure metaphysics.» — abre el capítulo 3, Las Ideas Eternas, separando dos niveles: cuando los teólogos llaman al Verbo lugar de las Posibilidades hablan solo de posibilidades de manifestación, y el paso del Ser al Principio Supremo lo adjudica ya no a la teología sino a la metafísica pura

«It might be asked if this conception of the Divine Intellect and that of the ‘intelligible world’ of Plato are identical; or, in other words, whether the ‘Ideas' understood in a Platonic sense, are the same as those contained eternally in the Word. It is clearly a question of the ‘archetypes’ of manifested beings in both cases.» — plantea si el Intelecto Divino y el mundo inteligible de Platón son lo mismo, y reconoce que en los dos casos se trata de los arquetipos de los seres manifestados

«But if such is the case, the Platonic ‘ideas’ cannot strictly be called ‘eternal’, because this word cannot be applied to anything that belongs to manifestation, even at its loftiest degree and at the level closest to the Principle, while the ideas contained in the Word are necessarily eternal as He is, everything in the Principial order being absolutely permanent and admitting no kind of succession» — de ahí niega que las ideas platónicas puedan llamarse eternas en rigor, porque la palabra no se aplica a nada que pertenezca a la manifestación, mientras las ideas contenidas en el Verbo sí lo son

«Notwithstanding this, it seems to us probable that the passage from one of these points of view to the other must always have remained possible for Plato himself, as indeed it is in reality. We will not insist on this further, however, preferring to leave to others the task of examining this question more closely, the interest of which is after all more historical than doctrinal.» — y matiza sin cerrar: tiene por probable que el propio Platón pudiera pasar de un punto de vista al otro, y deja la cuestión a otros por tenerla más histórica que doctrinal

«What is rather strange is that some people seem to consider the eternal ideas as mere ‘virtualities’ in relation to the manifested beings of which these ideas are actually the principial archetypes. There is an illusion here which is no doubt due to the profane distinction between the ‘possible’ and the ‘real’» — objeta a quienes toman las ideas eternas por meras virtualidades, y atribuye esa lectura a la distinción profana entre lo posible y lo real

«In fact, there can be nothing virtual whatsoever in the Principle, but on the contrary, only the permanent actuality of all things in an ‘eternal present’: and it is this actuality which constitutes the sole basis of all existence.» — su enmienda: en el Principio no hay nada virtual sino la actualidad permanente de todas las cosas en un presente eterno, y en esa actualidad funda toda existencia

«Nevertheless, there are those who carry the mistake so far that they seem to look on the eternal ideas only as kinds of images—which, let it be noted in passing, implies yet another contradiction, that of seeking to introduce something of a formal nature even into the Principle—images that have, with manifested beings themselves, a relation that is no more real than would be their image reflected in a mirror. That is, strictly speaking, a complete reversal of the relationship of the Principle with manifestation, and it is too obvious to need further explanation.» — y el error que juzga más grave todavía: mirar las ideas eternas como imágenes, lo que introduciría algo formal en el Principio e invertiría la relación entre Principio y manifestación

«Perhaps It Is not without interest to mention that the 'idea’ or the 'archetype', considered at the level of supraformal manifestation and in relation to each being, corresponds in fact, despite the different mode of expression, to the Catholic conception of the ‘guardian angel'.» — en nota, empareja el arquetipo considerado en la manifestación supraformal con la concepción católica del ángel de la guarda, y declara que el modo de expresión difiere

«We do not distinguish here between the domain of Being and That which is beyond, for it is obvious that possibilities of manifestation, viewed especially as they are contained in Being, do not really differ in any way from these same possibilities in so far as they are contained along with all others in Total Possibility. All the difference is only in the viewpoint or 'level' at which one places oneself, according to whether or not one considers these possibilities in relation to manifestation itself.» — en nota, declara que no distingue aquí entre el dominio del Ser y lo que está más allá, porque la diferencia está solo en el punto de vista o nivel en que uno se coloca

«To maintain the contrary amounts to severing all links between the manifested being and the Principle; and if at the same time a real existence be attributed to this being, this existence is and cannot be anything other than independent of the Principle so that, as we have said on another occasion ,4 it all inevitably ends in the error of ‘association’.» — y lo que le imputa a la tesis contraria: cortar todo vínculo entre el ser manifestado y el Principio, con lo que atribuirle existencia real acaba en el error que llama de asociación

«If the ‘participation’ and the asserted ‘virtuality’ ofthe eternal ideas should both be admitted at the same time, that would be yet another contradiction. In fact, what is virtual is in no way our reality in the Principle, but only the consciousness we have of it as manifested beings, which obviously is something altogether different;» — señala la contradicción de admitir a la vez la participación y la supuesta virtualidad, y precisa qué es lo virtual: no nuestra realidad en el Principio sino la conciencia que de ella tenemos como seres manifestados; el troceo imprime *ofthe* pegado, artefacto de OCR

«it is only by metaphysical realisation that our consciousness ofour true being, which is beyond and above all becoming, can be made effective, that is, actualised into the consciousness not of something that might pass from ‘potency’ to ‘act’, but rather of that which we are principially and eternally, and this in the most absolutely real sense possible.» — y a la realización metafísica le adjudica actualizar esa conciencia, no como paso de la potencia al acto sino como conciencia de lo que se es principial y eternamente

«Returning, then, to the representation we used previously, it can be said that the Divine Intellect is the Spiritual Sun, while the manifested intellect is a ray5 of the Sun; and there can be no more discontinuity between the Principle and manifestation than there is between the Sun and its rays» — vuelve a la imagen solar para el intelecto manifestado y niega que haya más discontinuidad entre Principio y manifestación que entre el Sol y sus rayos

«It is by the Intellect, therefore, that every being in all its states of manifestation, is attached directly to the Principle, and this is because the Principle, insofar as it eternally contains the ‘truth’ of all beings, is itself not other than the Divine Intellect» — y cierra el capítulo 3: por el Intelecto está todo ser unido directamente al Principio, porque el Principio, en cuanto contiene eternamente la verdad de todos los seres, no es otro que el Intelecto Divino

«It would seem, however, at least at first glance, that the ‘intelligible world’ corresponds to supraformal manifestation rather than to pure Being;» — y su respuesta, con la reserva puesta por delante: a primera vista el mundo inteligible correspondería a la manifestación supraformal más que al Ser puro, es decir, en términos hindúes, a Buddhi antes que a Atma

«The idea in question here is the very principle ofthe being: it is that which gives it all its reality and without which it would be only nothingness» — lo que él sostiene en su lugar: la idea es el principio mismo del ser y lo que le da toda su realidad. El troceo imprime *ofthe* pegado, artefacto de OCR

«First of all, symbolism seems to us to be quite specially adapted to the needs of human nature, which is not exclusively intellectual but which needs a sensory basis from which to rise to higher levels.» — abre el capítulo 4, Palabra y símbolo, con la razón antropológica: el símbolo se adapta a una naturaleza humana que no es solo intelectual y necesita base sensible

«The human composite must be taken as it is, simultaneously one and multiple in its real complexity; this is what tends to be forgotten ever since Descartes claimed to establish a radical and absolute separation between soul and body.» — y le imputa a Descartes el olvido del compuesto humano al trazar una separación radical entre alma y cuerpo

«Pure intelligences which are nothing other than intelligence certainly need no outward form and no expression in order to understand the truth, nor do they need them even for communicating to other pure intelligences what has been understood in the measure that this is communicable; but it is not so for man.» — el contraste con que lo sostiene: las inteligencias puras no necesitan forma exterior para entender ni para comunicar; el hombre sí

«every expression, every formulation, whatever it may be, is a symbol of the thought which it expresses outwardly. In this sense, language itself is nothing other than symbolism.» — amplía el término hasta el lenguaje mismo: toda expresión es símbolo del pensamiento que expresa, y en ese sentido la lengua ya es simbolismo

«There can be no opposition, therefore, between the use of words and the use of figurative symbols; rather, these two modes of expression should be complementary one to another (moreover, they may in fact be combined, for primitively writing is ideographic and sometimes, as in China, it has always retained this characteristic).» — de ahí niega oposición entre palabras y símbolos figurativos, y los declara complementarios, con la escritura ideográfica —la china, dice— como caso donde se combinan

«Consequently, if one is not content merely to note a difference and ifone wishes to speak of superiority, this superiority, whatever some may claim, will lie with synthetic symbolism which opens the way to truly unlim ited conceptual possibilities. Language, on the contrary, fraught as it is with more definite and less supple meanings, always sets more or less narrow limits for the understanding.» — y de ahí adjudica la superioridad al simbolismo sintético frente a un lenguaje que fija límites al entendimiento. El troceo parte *unlim ited* con un espacio, artefacto de OCR

«Therefore let no one say that symbolism is good only for the common man;» — niega que el símbolo sirva solo para el hombre común

«it would be true to say the opposite; or better still, symbolism is equally good for all, because it helps everyone to understand the truth in question more or less completely and more or less profoundly, each according to the nature of his intellectual possibilities.» — y sostiene lo contrario: el símbolo sirve igual a todos, cada quien según sus posibilidades intelectuales

«It is thus that the highest truths, which would not be communicable or transmissible by any other means, can be communicated up to a certain point when they are, so to speak, incorporated in symbols which will hide them for many, no doubt, but which will manifest them in all their splendour to the eyes of those who can see.» — la doble función que le atribuye al símbolo: oculta para muchos las verdades más altas y las manifiesta a quienes pueden ver

«Does this amount to saying that the use of symbols is a necessity? A distinction must be made here: as such and in an absolute way, no outward form is necessary; all are equally contingent and accidental in relation to that which they express or represent.» — se plantea si el símbolo es necesario y distingue: en sentido absoluto ninguna forma exterior lo es, todas son contingentes respecto de lo que expresan

«Thus, according to the teachings of the Hindus, any figure, a statue for example which symbolizes this or that aspect of the Divinity, must be considered only as a ‘support’, a reference point for meditation.» — y lo apoya en la enseñanza que atribuye a los hindúes: la estatua que simboliza un aspecto de la Divinidad es solo un soporte, un punto de referencia para la meditación

«A Vedic text makes a comparison in this respect which perfectly clarifies the function of symbols and of outward forms in general: these forms are like the horse which enables a man to make a journey more rapidly and with much less trouble than if he had to go on foot.» — la comparación que atribuye a un texto védico: las formas exteriores son como el caballo que permite hacer el viaje más rápido y con menos fatiga

«If he could avail himself of a horse it would indeed be a mistake to refuse it on the pretext that it is more worthy not to have recourse to any aid. Do not the detractors of symbolism act precisely in this way? And though there is never an absolute impossibility of making the journey on foot, however long and difficult it be, there may none the less exist a truly practical impossibility of reaching the goal in this way.» — y lo que saca de la comparación contra los detractores del símbolo: el viaje a pie nunca es absolutamente imposible, pero puede serlo en la práctica

«It is thus with rites and symbols: they are not necessary in an absolute sense; but they are, as it were, indispensable by a necessity of convenience or expediency, given the conditions of human nature» — el estatuto que fija para ritos y símbolos: no necesarios en sentido absoluto, indispensables por necesidad de conveniencia dadas las condiciones de la naturaleza humana

«But it is not enough to consider symbolism from the human side as we have been doing up to this point. To be fully understood, it must be looked at as well, if one may say so, from the divine side. Already, once it be accepted that symbolism has its basis in the very nature of beings and things, that it is in perfect conformity with the laws of this nature, and if it be borne in mind that natural laws are basically only an expression and as it were an exteriorisation of the divine Will—does this not authorize us to affirm that symbolism is of ‘non-human’ origin, as the Hindus say; or in other words, that its principle goes further back and higher than humanity?» — pasa al otro lado del asunto: si el simbolismo se funda en la naturaleza de los seres y las leyes naturales son exteriorización de la Voluntad divina, sostiene que su origen es no humano, como dice de los hindúes

«The Word, the Logos, is at once Thought and Word; in Himself, He is the Divine Intellect, which is the ‘place of possibilities': in relation to us. He is manifested or expressed by Creation, in which are realised in actual existence certain of those possibilities which, as essences, are contained in Him from all eternity.» — con el arranque del evangelio de San Juan por delante, identifica el Verbo con el Intelecto Divino, lugar de las posibilidades, manifestado hacia nosotros por la Creación

«Creation is the work of the Word; it is also, and by this very fact, His manifestation, his outward affirmation; and this is why the world is like a divine language for those who know how to understand it: Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei (The heavens declare the glory of God, Ps. xix: 2).» — y de ahí deriva la lectura del mundo como lenguaje divino, con el salmo Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei como apoyo

«The philosopher Berkeley was not wrong, therefore, when he said that the world is ‘the language that the infinite Spirit speaks to finite spirits'; but he was wrong to believe that this language is only a collection of arbitrary signs, for in reality there is nothing arbitrary even in human language, every signification at the origin necessarily having its basis in some natural conformity or harmony between the sign and the signified.» — le concede a Berkeley que el mundo sea el lenguaje que el Espíritu infinito habla a los espíritus finitos, y le objeta tener ese lenguaje por colección de signos arbitrarios: sostiene que ni en la lengua humana hay arbitrariedad de origen

«It is because Adam had received from God the knowledge of the nature of all living beings that he was able to give them their names (Genesis n: 19, 20); and all the ancient traditions are in agreement that the true name of a being is one with its nature or its very essence.» — apoya esa conformidad natural en el nombramiento de los vivientes por Adán, y en el acuerdo que atribuye a todas las tradiciones antiguas: el nombre verdadero de un ser es uno con su esencia. El troceo imprime *Genesis n* por el numeral romano, artefacto de OCR

«If the Word is Thought inwardly and Word outwardly, and if the world is the result of the Divine Word offered at the beginning of time, then nature in its entirety can be taken as a symbol of supernatural reality.» — la conclusión del capítulo: si el mundo resulta del Verbo proferido, la naturaleza entera puede tomarse por símbolo de la realidad sobrenatural

«Let us call attention to the error ofthe modem ‘naturalistic’ interpretations of ancient traditional doctrines, interpretations which purely and simply reverse the hierarchy of relationships between the different orders of reality. For example, symbols or myths have never had the function of representing the movement of the stars.» — objeta las interpretaciones naturalistas modernas de las doctrinas tradicionales por invertir la jerarquía entre los órdenes de realidad, y niega que los mitos hayan tenido por función representar el movimiento de los astros

«The truth, rather, is that one often finds therein figures that are inspired by these movements and destined to express analogically something altogether different, because the laws of the movements of the heavens express physically the metaphysical principles on which they depend.» — y da la vuelta a la relación: las figuras inspiradas en esos movimientos expresan analógicamente otra cosa, porque las leyes del cielo expresan físicamente los principios metafísicos de que dependen

«The lower can symbolise the higher, but the inverse is impossible. Moreover, if the symbol was not itself nearer the sensible order than what it represents, how could it fulfil the function for which it is destined?» — la regla de sentido único que enuncia, con su razón: lo inferior simboliza lo superior y no al revés, porque el símbolo tiene que estar más cerca del orden sensible que lo representado

«Generally speaking, the form of language is analytical and ‘discursive’, as is human reason of which it is the true and fitting instrument and the flow of which it reproduces as exactly as possible. On the contrary, symbolism in the strict sense is essentially synthetic and thereby as it were intuitive, which makes it more apt than language to serve as a support for intellectual intuition which is above reason, and» — la distinción que traza: el lenguaje es analítico y discursivo, instrumento propio de la razón, y el símbolo sintético e intuitivo, más apto como soporte de la intuición intelectual que está por encima de la razón; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y sigue deslindando esa intuición de la inferior que invocan los filósofos contemporáneos

«These considerations could be developed almost indefinitely, but we prefer to leave to each one the responsibility of making this development by an effort of personal reflection, for nothing could be more profitable.» — cierra el capítulo 4 dejando el desarrollo a la reflexión personal del lector

«Moreover, words can express only imperfectly what there is question of here.» — y reconoce el límite de su propio medio: las palabras expresan solo imperfectamente aquello de lo que trata

«The Divine Word is expressed in Creation, we said, and this is comparable, analogically speaking and bearing in mind all due proportions, to thought being expressed in forms (there is no longer need here to distinguish between language and symbolism in this strict sense) which at one and the same time veil and manifest it.» — la analogía con que remata: el Verbo se expresa en la Creación como el pensamiento en formas que a la vez lo velan y lo manifiestan

«The primordial revelation which is, like Creation, a work of the Word, is itself incorporated, so to speak, in symbols which have been transmitted from age to age ever since the origin of humanity: and this process, too, is analogous to that of Creation itself.» — y de ahí la revelación primordial incorporada en símbolos transmitidos de edad en edad desde el origen de la humanidad

«If symbolism in its essence conforms strictly to the ‘divine plan’, and if the Sacred Heart is the centre of the being, both really and symbolically, this symbol of the Heart, itself or in its equivalents, must occupy a central place» — el lugar que reclama para el símbolo del Corazón, por ser el centro del ser a la vez real y simbólicamente

«Monsieur Charbonneau-Lassay very aptly calls our attention to the legend of the Holy Grail as something belonging to what might be called the ‘prehistory of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus’, namely, the Grail legend which was committed to writing in the twelfth century, though in its origins it is much earlier, being in reality a Christian adaptation» — abre el capítulo 5 tomando de Charbonneau-Lassay la leyenda del Santo Grial como prehistoria del Corazón eucarístico, puesta por escrito en el siglo XII pero de origen muy anterior

«It is this vase taken as symbol of the heart and standing for it in ancient Egyptian ideography, which made us think immediately of the Holy Grail, the more so because in the case of the Grail, beyond the general sense of the symbol (considered simultaneously under both its divine and human aspects), we see also a special and very much more direct relationship with the Heart of Christ himself.» — el eslabón que declara: el vaso que en la ideografía egipcia antigua vale por el corazón lo remite al Grial, que además tiene relación directa con el Corazón de Cristo

«Indeed, the Holy Grail is the cup which contains the precious blood of Christ and which even holds it twice, having been used first at the Last Supper and then when Joseph of Arimathea collected in it the blood and water which flowed from the wound opened in the Redeemer’s side, the wound made by the centurion’s lance.» — y precisa por qué: el Grial contiene dos veces la sangre de Cristo, en la Última Cena y cuando José de Arimatea recoge en él la sangre y el agua de la herida de la lanza

«It is to be regretted that we can know so little about the precise form of that tradition as it existed prior to Christianity, and the same applies to all that can be known of Celtic doctrine, for which oral teaching was always the sole means of transmission.» — declara el límite de lo que puede saberse de la forma precristiana de esa tradición, y lo atribuye a que la enseñanza céltica fue siempre oral

«But there is enough inter-religious concordance to enable us at least to establish the significance of the chief symbols which figured in those doctrines, and it is this after all which is most essential.» — y lo que sí da por alcanzable: fijar el sentido de los símbolos principales por concordancia entre religiones

«What it says of the origin of the Grail is particularly worthy of attention: angels had fashioned the cup from an emerald which dropped from the forehead of Lucifer at the time of his fall.» — el origen que la leyenda da a la copa: labrada por ángeles de una esmeralda caída de la frente de Lucifer

«The legend goes on to say that the Grail was entrusted to Adam in the earthly Paradise but that at the time of his fall, Adam in turn lost it as he could not cany it with him when he was driven out from Eden;» — y su pérdida: confiado a Adán en el Paraíso terrestre, lo pierde al no poder llevarlo consigo. El troceo imprime *cany* por carry, artefacto de OCR

«Man, separated from his original Centre by his own fault, finds himself henceforth confined to the temporal sphere; he can no longer regain the single point from which all things are contemplated from the aspect of eternity.» — la lectura que hace de esa pérdida: separado por su propia falta del Centro, el hombre queda confinado a lo temporal y ya no alcanza el punto único desde donde todo se contempla bajo el aspecto de la eternidad

«The terrestrial Paradise was, in fact, the true ‘Centre of the World’, which is everywhere symbolically assimilated to the Divine Heart; and can it not be said that Adam, as long as he was in Eden, truly lived in the Heart of God?» — y la equivalencia que propone: el Paraíso terrestre como Centro del Mundo asimilado al Corazón Divino, de modo que Adán, mientras estuvo en Edén, vivía en el Corazón de Dios

«Furthermore the legend does not say where or by whom the Grail was preserved until the time of Christ, or how its transmission was assured; but the admittedly Celtic origin of the legend points to the probability that the Druids had a part in this, and that they must be numbered among the regular maintainers of the Primordial Tradition.» — señala el silencio de la leyenda sobre quién guardó el Grial hasta Cristo, y del origen céltico saca como probable —no como cierto— que los druidas tuvieran parte y contaran entre los guardianes regulares de la Tradición Primordial

«Does this not show sufficiently well that the Grail (or that which is thus represented) already had, prior to Christianity and even from all time, the closest ofconnections with the Divine Heart and with Emmanuel, 3 that is, with the manifestation of the Eternal Word in the bosom of terrestrial humanity, a manifestation which might be virtual or real, according to the times, but which was always present?» — sostiene que el Grial tenía ya antes del cristianismo la relación más estrecha con el Corazón Divino y con Emmanuel, es decir con la manifestación del Verbo Eterno en la humanidad terrestre. El troceo imprime *ofconnections* pegado, artefacto de OCR

«That being so, cannot one see in the number of twelve Apostles one sign, among a multitude of others, of the perfect conformity of Christianity with the Primordial Tradition, to which the name ‘prechristianity’ is so exactly suited?» — y lee en el número de los doce apóstoles un signo de conformidad del cristianismo con la Tradición Primordial, a la que llama precristianismo

«Naturally, we cannot claim that these all too hasty notes constitute a complete study of a question so little known as this, and we must limit ourselves here to mere indications.» — la reserva con que cierra el capítulo 5: niega que sus notas constituyan un estudio completo y las llama meras indicaciones

«We are well aware that in all this there are considerations which, at first glance, may be somewhat surprising to those unfamiliar with ancient traditions and the habitual modes of their symbolic expression.» — y anticipa la extrañeza de quien no esté familiarizado con las tradiciones antiguas y sus modos de expresión simbólica

«a ‘round table of jasper which represents the Heart of our Lord’, while at the same time there is mention of ‘a garden which is the Holy Sacrament of the Altar’, and which with its ‘four fountains of living water’, is mysteriously identified with the Earthly Paradise.» — el testimonio que recoge de una mesa redonda de jaspe que representa el Corazón del Señor, junto a un jardín con cuatro fuentes de agua viva identificado con el Paraíso terrestre

«by one of the verbal assimilations which often play a far from negligible part in symbolism (assimilations which may have more profound reasons than might be imagined at first glance), the Grail is a vase (grasale ) and a book (gradale or graduale).» — la ambigüedad verbal que registra en el nombre mismo: el Grial es vaso y libro, y llama a esas asimilaciones verbales parte no desdeñable del simbolismo

«In some variants of the legend these two meanings are quite closely linked, for the book then becomes an inscription made by Christ or by an angel on the cup itself.» — y cómo se anudan las dos lecturas en algunas variantes, donde el libro es una inscripción hecha por Cristo o por un ángel sobre la copa

«For the moment we are not going to draw any conclusion from this, though there are connections easy to establish between the ‘Book of Life’ and certain elements of Apocalyptic symbolism.» — deja la conclusión en suspenso, apuntando la relación entre el Libro de la Vida y el simbolismo apocalíptico

«In addition, the legend associates other objects with the Grail, and in particular a lance which, in the Christian adaptation, is none other than that of the centurion Longinus; but strange though it may seem, the lance, or one of its equivalents, already existed as a symbol complementary to the cup in ancient traditions.» — la lanza que la adaptación cristiana identifica con la del centurión Longino, y que él sostiene ya existía como símbolo complementario de la copa en tradiciones antiguas

«On the other hand, with the Greeks, the lance of Achilles was believed to heal wounds that it had caused; and the Medieval legend attributes precisely the same virtue to the lance of the Passion. And this brings to mind another similarity of the same kind: in the myth of Adonis (whose name, moreover, signifies ‘the Lord’), when the hero is mortally gored by the tusk of a wild boar (here representing the lance), 8 his blood flowing out onto the earth, gives birth to a flower.» — las dos concordancias que alinea: la lanza de Aquiles que cura las heridas que causa, con la misma virtud atribuida a la lanza de la Pasión, y el mito de Adonis, cuya sangre da nacimiento a una flor

«but whatever the multiple meanings that nearly all symbols have to offer, it all fits together in perfect harmony, and this very multiplicity, far from being a disadvantage or defect, is on the contrary, for him who can understand it, one of the chief advantages of symbolism as a language that is much less narrowly limited than ordinary speech.» — y hace de la polisemia una ventaja y no un defecto: por ella el símbolo resulta lengua menos limitada que el habla ordinaria

«To bring these notes to a close, we will mention several symbols which, in different traditions, are sometimes substituted for that of the cup and which are ultimately identical with it. This is not a departure from our subject, for the Grail itself—as is clear from all we have just said—originally had no other signification than that which the sacred vase has wherever it is to be» — anuncia la serie de equivalentes de la copa y niega que sea digresión, porque el Grial no tuvo en origen otro sentido que el del vaso sagrado; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y sigue con el ejemplo de la copa védica

«found, as for example, in the East, the sacrificial cup containing the Vedic Soma (or the Mazdean Haoma), that extraordinary ‘prefiguration' of the Eucharist to which we may perhaps return on some other occasion . 10 What is meant by Soma is the ‘draught of immortality’ (the Amrita of the Hindus, Ambrosia of the Greeks—two words etymologically similar) which confers or restores, for those who receive it with the requisite preparations, the ‘sense of eternity' which has already been mentioned.» — el primer equivalente: la copa del Soma védico o del Haoma mazdeo, que llama prefiguración de la Eucaristía, y el Soma como bebida de inmortalidad emparentada con la Amrita hindú y la Ambrosía griega

«One of the symbols we wish to speak of is the triangle with the point directed downwards; it is a kind of schematic representation of the sacrificial cup and it is to be found in this sense in certain yantras or geometrical symbols of India. On the other hand, what is very remarkable from our point of view, is that the same figure is also a symbol of the heart, the shape of which it represents in a simplified form. The ‘triangle of the heart’ is a common expression in the eastern traditions.» — el segundo: el triángulo con la punta hacia abajo, esquema de la copa en ciertos yantras de la India y a la vez figura del corazón, con el triángulo del corazón como expresión corriente en Oriente

«This leads to another question of interest: the representation of the heart inscribed in a down pointing triangle is in itself altogether legitimate, whether it be a question of the human or of the Divine Heart, and it has, in fact, a considerable significance when it is related to emblems used by certain Christian Hermetic groups in the Middle Ages, whose intentions were always fully orthodox.» — declara legítima la figura del corazón inscrito en el triángulo invertido y la relaciona con emblemas de grupos herméticos cristianos medievales, a los que atribuye intención ortodoxa

«If, in modem times, some have sought to give a blasphemous meaning to such a figure, this is because, consciously or not, they have altered the primary sense of the symbols to the point of reversing their normal value. This is a phenomenon of which one can cite many examples, and which finds its explanation in the fact that certain symbols are actually susceptible of a double interpretation and have, as it were, two opposite faces. The serpent for example, and also the lion, can they not signify, as the case may be, both Christ and Satan? We cannot expound here a general theory on this subject, which would lead us too far afield; but it goes without saying that there is something in all this that makes the manipulation of symbols very delicate, and also that this point requires special attention when it is a question of discovering the real meaning of certain emblems and of interpreting them correctly.» — el sentido blasfemo moderno de esa figura lo explica por inversión del sentido primero, y de ahí saca que ciertos símbolos admiten doble interpretación —la serpiente y el león valen por Cristo y por Satán— lo que vuelve delicada su manipulación

«Another symbol which is frequently the equivalent of the cup is a floral symbol: in fact, does not the flower, by its form, evoke the idea of a ‘receptacle’? And does not one speak of the ‘calix’ of a flower? In the East, the symbolic flower par excellence, is the lotus. In the West, it is most often the rose that plays the same part.» — el tercer equivalente: la flor, por evocar un receptáculo, con el loto en Oriente y la rosa en Occidente

«We do not say. of course, that this is the only signification of either the rose or the lotus: on the contrary, we have already indicated another one in this same chapter.» — y acota que no adjudica a la rosa ni al loto un sentido único, remitiendo al otro que ya dio en el mismo capítulo

«But the cup symbolism is certainly to be seen in the design embroidered on an altar canon of the Abbey of Fontevrault, where the rose is placed at the foot of a lance along which flow drops of blood. This rose appears there in association with the lance exactly as the cup does elsewhere, and it seems indeed to be collecting the drops of blood rather than to be developing from a transformation of one» — el bordado del canon de altar de la abadía de Fontevrault, donde la rosa al pie de una lanza recoge las gotas de sangre como en otras partes lo hace la copa

«But the two meanings are complements rather than opposites, for the drops, in falling on the rose, vivify it and make it bloom. They are the ‘celestial dew’, the image so often used in connection with the idea of the Redemption, or with the kindred ideas of regeneration and resurrection;» — y armoniza las dos lecturas sin descartar ninguna: las gotas que caen sobre la rosa la vivifican, y las llama rocío celeste ligado a la Redención

«On the other hand, since the Rose-Cross has been mentioned in connection with the seal of Luther, 12 we will say that this Hermetic emblem was at first specifically Christian, whatever false and more or less ‘naturalistic’ interpretations have been given it, from the eighteenth century onwards; and is it not remarkable that in this figure, the rose occupies the centre of the cross, the very place of the Sacred Heart?» — sostiene que la Rosa-Cruz fue en su origen emblema específicamente cristiano, atribuye las lecturas naturalistas al siglo XVIII en adelante, y señala que la rosa ocupa en la figura el lugar del Sagrado Corazón

«There is still at least one more symbolic equivalent of the cup: this is the lunar crescent; but a full explanation of this would require developments which are quite outside the subject of the present study.» — nombra un equivalente más de la copa, la luna creciente, y declara que explicarlo excede el estudio

«When one finds such agreement everywhere, is this not more than a mere indication of the existence of a primordial tradition?» — la conclusión que saca de todas esas concordancias: las tiene por indicio de una tradición primordial

«And how can it be explained that in most cases, those who feel obliged to admit this primordial tradition in principle thereafter think no more about it, and in fact reason as if it had never existed, or at least as if nothing of it had been preserved» — y objeta a quienes admiten esa tradición en principio y luego razonan como si nunca hubiera existido

«Besides, a little unprejudiced research suffices to reveal on all sides the signs of this essential doctrinal unity, the consciousness of which has at times been obscured among men but which has never entirely disappeared. And as this search progresses, the points of comparison multiply as if of themselves, and new proofs appear at every moment.» — sostiene que basta investigar sin prejuicio para hallar los signos de esa unidad doctrinal, cuya conciencia dice oscurecida a veces pero nunca desaparecida del todo

«Certainly, the querite et invenietis (seek and ye shall find) of the Gospel is not a vain saying.» — y cierra el capítulo 5 con el querite et invenietis del Evangelio

«Now M. Charbonneau-Lassay (in Regnabit, January 1925) has called attention to 'a mould [or press] for altar» — el testimonio material que toma de Charbonneau-Lassay, en Regnabit de enero de 1925; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, que reemite la misma plana

«breads, of the twelfth century, on which is represented blood from the wounds of the Crucified falling in little drops which are transformed into roses, and in a stained glass window of the thirteenth century cathedral of Angers, the divine blood, flowing in rivulets, also spreads out taking the form of roses’.» — y lo que ese testimonio describe: un molde de hostias del siglo XII y un vitral de la catedral de Angers del siglo XIII donde la sangre de las llagas se transforma en rosas

«We will add here a few words in answer to an objection that was made to our view of the relationship between the Holy Grail and the Sacred Heart, even though the reply already given at the time seems to us fully satisfactory.» — el addendum del capítulo 5 responde a una objeción a su equiparación entre Grial y Sagrado Corazón

«It is of little importance that Chrestien de Troyes and Robert de Boron did not see in the ancient legend (of which they were only the adapters) all the significance contained in it. This significance was really there, nevertheless, and we claim only to have made it explicit without introducing anything ‘modern’ whatsoever into our interpretation.» — concede que Chrestien de Troyes y Robert de Boron pudieron no ver todo el sentido de la leyenda que adaptaron, y niega haber introducido nada moderno: dice solo haberlo explicitado

«It is quite difficult, moreover, to say exactly what the writers of the twelfth century saw or did not see in the legend; and given that they only played the part of mere ‘transmitters’, we readily agree that they did not see all that was seen by those who inspired them, that is, the real custodians of the traditional doctrine.» — y distingue dos figuras: los escritores del siglo XII como meros transmisores, y detrás de ellos los custodios reales de la doctrina tradicional que los inspiraron

«On the other hand, as regards the Celts, we were careful to recall the precautions that are necessary when one wishes to speak of them, given the absence of any written documents. But why should it be supposed, despite the contrary indications that are nevertheless available, that the Celts were less favoured than the other ancient peoples?» — declara la precaución obligada al hablar de los celtas por falta de documentos escritos, y a la vez objeta que se los suponga menos favorecidos que los demás pueblos antiguos

«We see everywhere, and not in Egypt alone, the symbolic assimilation established between the heart and the cup or vase. Everywhere the heart is looked on as the centre of the being, a centre that is both divine and human in the multiple applications to which» — la generalidad que reclama para la equiparación entre corazón y copa, y para el corazón como centro del ser a la vez divino y humano

«We hope to show in other studies not only that the Centre of the World is in fact to be identified with the Heart of Christ, but also that this identity was plainly indicated in ancient doctrines.» — anuncia lo que se propone mostrar en otra parte: la identidad del Centro del Mundo con el Corazón de Cristo, ya indicada, sostiene, en las doctrinas antiguas

«But it must be said yet again that historical facts themselves, like all the rest, are ‘translations’, into their own particular ‘language’, of higher realities, and conform to the law of correspondence we have just alluded to, a law which alone makes possible the explanation of certain ‘prefigurations’.» — la regla con que trata la historia: los hechos históricos son traducciones de realidades superiores en su lenguaje propio, y solo esa ley de correspondencia explica las prefiguraciones

«But who would dare to maintain that the eternal Word and His historical, earthly and human manifestation are not really one and the same Christ under different aspects?» — y la identidad que sostiene entre el Verbo eterno y su manifestación histórica, terrestre y humana, como un mismo Cristo bajo aspectos distintos

«We touch here on the relationships between the temporal and the timeless, and perhaps it is not appropriate to insist further on this; for these are precisely those things which symbolism alone can express in the measure that they are expressible.» — y donde se detiene: en la relación entre lo temporal y lo intemporal, que declara expresable solo por el símbolo y en la medida en que lo sea

«In any case, it is enough to know how to read the symbols in order to find in them all that we ourselves have found; but alas, in our age especially, not everyone knows how to read them.» — cierra el addendum poniendo la condición en el lector: basta saber leer los símbolos, y dice que no todos saben

«Likewise, we could have shown the relationships with another very widely used symbol, that of the egg, which signifies resurrection and Immortality and to which we may have occasion to return.» — y el otro equivalente que menciona en la misma nota: el huevo, que hace significar resurrección e inmortalidad

«On the other hand, we note that the cup in the Tarot cards (the origin of which is quite mysterious) has been replaced by the heart in ordinary playing cards, which is another indication of the equivalence of the two symbols.» — el indicio que toma de la baraja: la copa del tarot sustituida por el corazón en los naipes ordinarios

«Arthur Edward Waite has published a work on the legends of the Holy Grail 1 that is imposing in its dimensions and by the amount of research» — abre el capítulo 6, El Santo Grial, con el libro de Arthur Edward Waite sobre las leyendas del Grial, del que reconoce dimensiones y volumen de investigación

«It must be added that Waite did not intend to produce a work of erudition only, and he is to be commended for this. We are in entire agreement with him on the minimal value of all work that does not go beyond this point of view, and of which the interest can only be ‘documentary’.» — le concede no haber querido hacer obra de mera erudición, y declara acuerdo con él en el poco valor de lo que no pasa de lo documental

«Waite intended to clarify the real and ‘inner’ significance of the symbolism of the Holy Grail and of the ‘quest’. Unfortunately, we feel bound to say that this aspect of his work is the one which seems least satisfactory.» — nombra el propósito de Waite —aclarar el sentido interior del simbolismo del Grial y de la búsqueda— y dice que es justamente el aspecto que le parece menos satisfactorio

«The conclusions he reaches are even rather disappointing, especially if one thinks of all the work done in order to reach them,» — y juzga decepcionantes sus conclusiones, sobre todo medidas contra el trabajo invertido

«We do not think we would be doing Waite any injustice if we say that his work is somewhat one-sighted2 or, as might be said in French, ‘partial’. It might not be rigorously exact, and in any case we do not mean by this that the author intended to be partial.» — llama parcial a la obra de Waite y en la misma frase niega atribuirle intención de serlo

«That the Grail legend is Christian is incontestable, and Waite is right in affirming it. But does this prevent it from being something else at the same time?» — le concede que la leyenda del Grial es cristiana y pregunta si eso impide que sea otra cosa a la vez

«Those who are aware of the fundamental unity of all traditions will not see any incompatibility whatsoever in this possibility.» — y resuelve la pregunta con su principio: quien reconoce la unidad fundamental de todas las tradiciones no ve incompatibilidad

«But Waite, for his part, is somehow bent on seeing only that which is specifically Christian, thus enclosing himself within a particular tradition, whose relations with other traditions, precisely through its ‘inward’ dimension, seem to escape him.» — le imputa encerrarse en una tradición particular al ver solo lo específicamente cristiano, y perderse por eso las relaciones con otras tradiciones

«Not that he denies the existence of elements from another source, probably prior to Christianity, for this would go against the evidence: but he allows them only a very mediocre importance and seems to consider them as accidentals,» — y acota la imputación: Waite no niega los elementos anteriores al cristianismo, les da importancia mediocre y los toma por accidentales

«He thus looks on these elements as deriving from what is commonly known as ‘folklore’, so called not always with disdain as the word itself might suggest, but rather to satisfy a certain ‘fashion’ of our time and without always taking into account the intentions that are implied therein.» — señala que Waite los remite al folclore, y que la palabra se usa por moda de la época sin reparar en lo que implica

«The very conception of ‘folklore’, as commonly understood, rests on a radically false idea, namely that there are ‘popular creations’, spontaneous» — objeta la idea misma de folclore por reposar en la de creaciones populares espontáneas; el tramo se corta ante la llamada a nota y sigue ligando esa idea a los prejuicios democráticos

«productions of the mass of the people; and one sees immediately the relationship between this perception and ‘democratic’ prejudices. As has been rightly said, ‘the profound interest of all so-called popular traditions is the fact that they are not popular in origin» — y remata la objeción: liga la idea de creación popular con los prejuicios democráticos y recoge la fórmula de que el interés de las tradiciones llamadas populares está en que no son de origen popular

«as well as things having a genuine symbolic value—all that, far from being of popular origin, is not even of human origin.» — a lo que tiene valor simbólico genuino le niega no solo origen popular sino origen humano

«What may be popular is solely the fact of survival, when these elements belong to traditional forms that are now defunct; and in this respect the term folklore takes on a meaning very near that of ‘paganism’, if we consider only the etymology of the word ‘pagan’, and not its ‘polemical’ use as a term of reproach.» — lo que sí concede al pueblo: la supervivencia de elementos de formas tradicionales ya extinguidas, con folclore acercándose ahí al sentido etimológico de pagano y no a su uso polémico

«It is thus that the people conserve, without understanding them, the debris of ancient traditions that sometimes go back to a past too remote to be dated, so that it has to be relegated to the obscure domain of ‘prehistory’; they thereby fulfil the function of a sort of more or less ‘subconscious’ collective memory, the content of which has manifestly come from elsewhere» — la función que le asigna al pueblo: memoria colectiva más o menos subconsciente que guarda sin entenderlos restos de tradiciones antiguas venidas de otra parte

«We could have recalled the Hermetic athanor, the vase where the ‘Great Work’ is effected, the name of which according to some was derived from the Greek athanatos, 'immortal'» — en nota, empareja el atanor hermético —el vaso donde se hace la Gran Obra— con la copa, y recoge la derivación de su nombre del griego athanatos, inmortal, que atribuye a algunos; el tramo se corta ante la nota entre corchetes del editor

«The invisible fire which is perpetually maintained there corresponds to the vital heat which resides in the heart.» — y la correspondencia que sigue en la misma nota: el fuego invisible mantenido en el atanor con el calor vital que reside en el corazón

«hand, the legends themselves may be older than the ‘critics' think , not necessarily because there may have been texts that are lost today, which we are scarcely more inclined to believe than Waite is, but because at first these legends may have been transmitted orally for several centimes, which is far from being an exceptional fact.» — sostiene que las leyendas pueden ser más antiguas de lo que suponen los críticos, y no por textos perdidos —cosa que dice creer tan poco como Waite— sino por transmisión oral de varios siglos. El troceo imprime *centimes* por centuries, artefacto de OCR

«For our part, we see there the mark of a ‘junction’ between two traditional forms, one ancient and the other new, the Celtic and the Christian traditions, a junction by which that which was to be saved from the first was somehow incorporated into the second.» — su propia lectura: una juntura entre dos formas tradicionales, la céltica y la cristiana, por la que lo que había que salvar de la primera se incorporó a la segunda

«Doubtless, this would have been modified up to a certain point as to its outward form, by adaptation and assimilation, but not by being transposed onto another plane, as Waite would have it, for there are equivalences between all regular traditions.» — y le objeta a Waite la idea de trasposición a otro plano: admite modificación de forma exterior por adaptación, no cambio de plano, porque tiene por equivalentes a todas las tradiciones regulares

«It might well be difficult to give an exact place and date for this junction, but that has only a secondary and mainly historical interest.» — declara secundario fechar y ubicar esa juntura, por tenerlo por interés sobre todo histórico

«Perhaps the ‘Celtic Church’ or the ‘Culdeen Church’ deserves more attention in this respect than Waite seems disposed to accord it; even its denomination suggests this; and it is not unlikely that there may have been something behind it of a different order, not religious but initiatic, for like all that relates to the links between different traditions, the junction we are speaking of here necessarily belongs to the initiatic or esoteric domain.» — propone como posible —no como probado— que detrás de la Iglesia céltica o culdea hubiera algo de orden iniciático y no religioso, y sitúa toda juntura entre tradiciones en el dominio iniciático

«Exoterism, whether religious or not, never goes beyond the limits of the traditional form to which it strictly pertains. That which surpasses these limits cannot pertain to a ‘Church’ as such; the Church can only serve as its outward ‘support’.» — la regla con que separa los dos dominios: el exoterismo no pasa de los límites de su forma tradicional, y lo que los excede no pertenece a una Iglesia sino que la usa como soporte exterior

«Another observation is likewise called for, this time on symbolism: there are symbols which are common to the most diverse and most widely separated traditional forms, not as a result of ‘borrowings’, which in many cases would be quite impossible, but because in reality they pertain to the Primordial Tradition from which these forms have issued either directly or indirectly.» — explica los símbolos comunes a formas tradicionales muy separadas por su procedencia de la Tradición Primordial, y no por préstamos, que en muchos casos declara imposibles

«It is not the assimilations of Boumouf 5 or others which are to be rejected here, but rather the naturalistic interpretations which they have sought to impose on Christianity as on everything else and which, in reality, are nowhere valid.» — acepta las asimilaciones y rechaza en cambio las interpretaciones naturalistas que se les montaron encima. El impreso da *Boumouf*, probable lectura de Burnouf; se consigna tal cual

«Doubtless it would have been otherwise if he had not been led astray by his preconceived notion that there is a sort of difference in kind between Christianity and other traditions.» — le atribuye a Waite una noción preconcebida: una diferencia de naturaleza entre el cristianismo y las demás tradiciones

«In the same way, although he very rightly rejects any application to the Grail mysteries of those theories which are bound up with so called ‘gods of vegetation’, it is regrettable that he is much less clear with regard to the mysteries of antiquity which have never had anything in common with this quite recently invented naturalism.» — le concede rechazar las teorías de los dioses de la vegetación aplicadas al Grial y le reprocha ser menos claro con los misterios de la antigüedad, que declara ajenos a ese naturalismo reciente

«The ‘gods of vegetation’ and other fictions of this kind have never existed except in the imagination ofFraser6 and those like him, whose anti-traditional intentions cannot be doubted.» — y niega existencia a esos dioses de la vegetación fuera de la imaginación de Fraser y sus semejantes, a quienes atribuye intenciones antitradicionales. El impreso da *Fraser*, probable lectura de Frazer; se consigna tal cual

«In point of fact, it seems that Waite has been more or less influenced by a certain ‘evolutionism’, a tendency that comes out into the open when he declares that what is important is much less the origin of the legend than its final state; and he appears to believe that there must have been, from the one to the other, a sort of progressive improvement.» — le imputa un evolucionismo que se le escapa al declarar que importa menos el origen de la leyenda que su estado final

«The truth is that wherever something genuinely traditional is concerned, everything must already be there from the very beginning; the later developments only serve to make it more explicit, without adding new elements from some other source.» — y le opone su propia regla: en lo tradicional todo está desde el comienzo, y los desarrollos posteriores solo explicitan sin añadir de otra fuente

«Waite seems to admit a sort of ‘spiritualisation’ by which a higher meaning might be grafted onto something that did not have it at the outset, whereas in fact, it is rather the inverse of this that generally takes place; he comes all too close here to the profane outlook of the ‘historians of religions’.» — le atribuye admitir una espiritualización injertada después sobre lo que no la tenía, y sostiene que lo corriente es lo inverso; lo acerca por ahí a la mirada profana de los historiadores de las religiones

«We find, in connection with alchemy, a striking example of this kind of reversal: he thinks that material alchemy preceded spiritual alchemy and that the latter appeared only with Kuhnrath and Jacob Boehme.» — el ejemplo con que ilustra esa inversión: que Waite tenga la alquimia material por anterior a la espiritual y date esta última en Kuhnrath y Jacob Boehme. El impreso da *Kuhnrath*, probable lectura de Khunrath; se consigna tal cual

«If he knew certain Arabic treatises which are definitely earlier than these, he would be obliged to modify his opinion simply in the light of written documents.» — y su objeción, medida en el terreno del propio Waite: ciertos tratados árabes anteriores lo obligarían a cambiar de opinión solo por documentos escritos

«We have often said, and we cannot repeat it too often: every real symbol bears its multiple meanings within itself, and this is so from its very origin: for it is not constituted as such in virtue of human convention but in virtue of the law of correspondence which links all the worlds together.» — repite el principio: todo símbolo real lleva desde el origen sus múltiples sentidos, y no por convención humana sino por la ley de correspondencia que enlaza los mundos

«Symbolism is an exact science and not a daydream in which individual fantasies can have a free run.» — y la consecuencia que saca: llama al simbolismo ciencia exacta y le niega el carácter de ensueño donde corran las fantasías individuales

«Far from bearing on the essential, these inventions serve only to hide it, intentionally or otherwise, by clothing it in misleading ‘Active’ appearances; and sometimes they hide it only too well, for when they encroach too much it becomes almost impossible to probe to the depth of the original meaning.» — lo que le adjudica a las invenciones añadidas por los adaptadores: esconden lo esencial bajo apariencias ficticias, a veces hasta volver casi imposible llegar al sentido original. El troceo imprime *Active* por fictive, artefacto de OCR

«It is not easy to answer this question with any certainty, for here too appearances can be misleading.» — declara que no es fácil decidir con certeza si un adaptador entendía lo que transmitía, porque también ahí engañan las apariencias

«Nevertheless, it is not necessarily so, for it often happens that obscurities and even contradictions may be perfectly intentional and that seemingly pointless details may have the express purpose of leading astray the attention of the profane, just as a symbol can be hidden in a more or less complicated motif of ornamentation.» — y propone la lectura contraria: oscuridades y contradicciones pueden ser intencionales, para desviar la atención del profano, como un símbolo escondido en un motivo de ornamentación

«Still less should it be concluded that this meaning is absent from his writings, which would be an error comparable to that of attributing to the ancient alchemists preoccupations only of a material order, for the sole reason that they did not deem it appropriate to spell out literally that their science was in reality of a spiritual nature.» — compara ese caso con el de los antiguos alquimistas, a quienes dice que se atribuyen preocupaciones solo materiales por no haber declarado por escrito que su ciencia era espiritual

«The fable of the ‘donkey carrying relics’ applies here as well as in many other situations.» — la fábula del asno cargado de reliquias, con que nombra al transmisor que no entiende lo que lleva

«The poet, then, will play a part analogous to that of the common people when they unwittingly conserve or transmit initiatic teaching, as we mentioned above.» — y el papel que le adjudica al poeta: análogo al del pueblo que conserva o transmite sin saberlo una enseñanza iniciática

«There would seem to be no doubt that the origins of the Grail legend are to be attributed to the transmission of traditional initiatic elements from Druidism to Christianity.» — cierra el capítulo 6 atribuyendo el origen de la leyenda del Grial a una transmisión de elementos iniciáticos del druidismo al cristianismo

«W e have previously explained the part that psychoanalysis plays in the work of subversion which, following the materialist ‘solidification’ of the world, constitutes the second phase of antitraditional action characteristic of the entire modem period» — abre el capítulo 7, Tradición e inconsciente, situando al psicoanálisis en la segunda fase de lo que llama acción antitradicional, tras la solidificación materialista del mundo. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo, de ahí la doble uve separada

«it now goes so far as to attack tradition directly under the pretext of explaining it, the present trend being to deform most dangerously the very notion of tradition itself.» — y lo que le imputa ahora: atacar la tradición con el pretexto de explicarla, deformando la noción misma

«As first conceived by Freud, psychoanalysis was limited, up to a certain point, by the materialist attitude which he was always bent on maintaining.» — le concede a Freud un límite: la actitud materialista que sostuvo acotaba hasta cierto punto su psicoanálisis

«It must be noted, for it is very significant, that for this interpretation Jung starts from a comparison he believes can be established between certain symbols and drawings done by the mentally ill:» — le atribuye a Jung partir de una comparación entre ciertos símbolos y dibujos de enfermos mentales

«What greatly aggravates matters is that Jung, in order to explain what purely individual factors cannot account for, is led to postulate the hypothesis of a so-called ‘collective unconscious’, existing in some way in or below the psychic substance of all human individuals, an ‘unconscious’ to which, so he believed, can be related indiscriminately the origin of symbols themselves and their pathological caricatures.» — y le imputa postular el inconsciente colectivo para explicar lo que los factores individuales no cubren, con el resultado de remitir a él por igual el origen de los símbolos y el de sus caricaturas patológicas

«Obviously, this term ‘unconscious’ is quite inept and what it serves to designate, in so far as it can be said to have any reality, is what psychologists more commonly call the subconscious, that is, the whole range of the lower reaches of consciousness.» — objeta el término inconsciente por inepto y lo reduce a lo que otros llaman subconsciente, las zonas bajas de la conciencia

«It is precisely this confusion that we meet again here: there cannot be the slightest doubt that the productions of the sick, observed by psychiatrists, stem from the subconscious: but all that is of the traditional order, on the contrary, and in particular symbolism, can only be related to the supraconscious, to that by which a communication is established with the suprahuman, whereas the subconscious tends on the contrary towards the infra-human.» — la distinción con que separa los dos órdenes: lo que producen los enfermos viene del subconsciente y lo tradicional del supraconsciente, que comunica con lo suprahumano mientras el subconsciente tiende a lo infrahumano

«Here lies the very source of the illusion that ends up in what we have called a ‘spirituality in reverse’, for those who let themselves be deceived by these counterfeits and who are incapable of discerning their true nature.» — y ahí sitúa el origen de lo que llama espiritualidad al revés, para quien no distingue la falsificación

«By the theory of the ‘collective unconscious’ it is thought possible to explain the fact that the symbol is ‘prior to human thought’ and that it goes beyond it.» — reconoce lo que la teoría pretende explicar: que el símbolo sea anterior al pensamiento humano y lo rebase

«The real question, which seems not even to be asked, would be to know in which direction individual thought is ‘gone beyond’, whether it is downwards, as this appeal to the so-called ‘unconscious' would seem to indicate, or upwards as, on the contrary, all traditional doctrines expressly affirm.» — y devuelve la pregunta que dice que no se hace: en qué dirección se rebasa el pensamiento individual, hacia abajo como sugiere el inconsciente o hacia arriba como afirman las doctrinas tradicionales

«We have noted in a recent article a phrase where this confusion appears as clearly as possible: ‘The interpretation of symbols ... is the open door into the Great All, that is to say the way that leads to the total light through the labyrinth of the dark underworld of our individuality’.» — la frase que cita como muestra de esa confusión, donde la interpretación de los símbolos se declara puerta al Gran Todo por el laberinto del bajo mundo de la individualidad

«It is thus that the psychoanalytic interpretation of symbols and their traditional interpretation lead in reality to diametrically opposed ends.» — y su conclusión: la interpretación psicoanalítica y la tradicional de los símbolos llevan a fines diametralmente opuestos

«Another important remark is called for: among the very diverse things that the ‘collective unconscious’ is supposed to explain, folklore must naturally be included: and this is one of the cases where the theory might have some semblance of truth.» — la concesión que hace: entre lo que el inconsciente colectivo pretende explicar está el folclore, y ahí admite que la teoría tenga alguna apariencia de verdad

«To be more exact, in this context one should speak of a kind of ‘collective memory’, which is like an image or reflection in the human domain of that ‘cosmic memory’ which corresponds to one aspect of the symbolism of the moon.» — y precisa el término que él usaría: una memoria colectiva, reflejo humano de la memoria cósmica que corresponde a un aspecto del simbolismo lunar

«In fact it is obvious that folklore, which is essentially made up of elements of extinct traditions, inevitably represents a degeneration with respect to these traditions, while being none the less the only means by which something of them could be saved.» — y su doble juicio sobre el folclore, dicho en la misma frase: degeneración respecto de las tradiciones extinguidas y único medio por el que algo de ellas pudo salvarse

«What is altogether certain is that the collective mentality, in so far as it corresponds to any reality, is reduced to nothing more than a memory, which is expressed in astrological symbolism by saying that it is of a lunar nature.» — reduce la mentalidad colectiva a memoria, y traduce eso al simbolismo astrológico llamándola de naturaleza lunar

«In other words, it may fulfil a certain function of conservation, which is precisely that of folklore: but it is totally incapable of producing or elaborating anything whatsoever, least of all something of a transcendent order as all traditional teaching is by definition.» — y le niega toda capacidad de producir o elaborar, dejándole solo la función conservadora que atribuye al folclore

«It is here that the process of subversion is immediately to be grasped, a process which consists in taking certain traditional notions and turning them back to front, as it were, by substituting the subconscious for the supraconscious, the infra-human for the supra-human.» — nombra el mecanismo que denuncia: tomar nociones tradicionales y volverlas del revés sustituyendo lo supraconsciente por lo subconsciente

«It is no longer a question, as with rationalism in all its forms, either of a brutal negation or of pure and simple ignorance of the existence of any non-human elements.» — distingue esta subversión del racionalismo: ya no se niegan ni se ignoran los elementos no humanos

«It seems to be admitted, on the contrary, that tradition actually has a non-human character, but the term non-human is given an altogether new slant.» — sino que se admite el carácter no humano de la tradición dándole al término un sesgo nuevo

«It is not necessary to go very far in the study of traditional doctrines to know that, when a ‘non-human’ element is in question, what is understood thereby, pertaining as it essentially does to supra-individual states of being, has absolutely nothing in common with a ‘collective’ factor, which in itself can only relate to the domain of the human individual, and which, moreover, by its ‘subconscious’ character, can in any case open communication only with the states of the infra-human.» — y opone la acepción tradicional: lo no humano pertenece a estados supraindividuales y nada tiene en común con un factor colectivo, que por subconsciente solo abre paso a lo infrahumano

«It is perhaps this avowal that best shows what is the fundamental intention in all this, an intention moreover which we are ready to believe is not always conscious with those who write things of this kind.» — lee ahí la intención de fondo, y acota que la cree no siempre consciente en quienes escriben así

«Is not this subversion much more dangerous than a mere negation, and will it be thought that we exaggerate 5 in saying that it helps prepare the way for a veritable ‘counter-tradition’ destined to serve as vehicle for this ‘spirituality in reverse’, the apparent and fleeting triumph of which, towards the end of the present cycle, is to be marked by the ‘reign of the Antichrist?» — y cierra el capítulo 7 preguntando si esa subversión no prepara una contratradición destinada a vehicular la espiritualidad al revés, cuyo triunfo pasajero al fin del ciclo llama reino del Anticristo

«He none the less admits that ‘it remains probable that the ancient languages flowed from a hieratic language composed by inspired men', and that ‘these languages must therefore have words expressing the essence of things and their numerical relationships’; and further, that ‘one can say as much for the divinatory arts'.» — y lo que Warrain sí concede: que las lenguas antiguas manaran de una lengua hierática compuesta por hombres inspirados, con palabras que expresan la esencia de las cosas y sus relaciones numéricas

«The same assertion is made for Arabic, and the opinion according to which Arabic had been the original language of humanity is commonly held in countries where this language is used;» — registra la misma pretensión para el árabe como lengua original de la humanidad en los países donde se habla

«but what is remarkable and what has made us think that the same applies to Hebrew, is that this popular opinion is so ill-founded and so lacking in authority that it formally contradicts the genuine traditional teaching of Islam according to which the ‘language of Adam’ was Syrian, lughah suryaniyyah, which moreover has nothing in common with the country now designated by the name Syria, nor with any of the more or less ancient» — y objeta esa opinión popular por contradecir la enseñanza tradicional del islam, que da como lengua de Adán la suryaniyyah, sin relación con el país que hoy se llama Siria

«These tongues are those which can rightly be called ‘sacred languages’; and it is precisely on the distinction that must be made between these sacred languages and the vulgar or profane tongues that the justification of the Kabbalistic methods essentially rests, as well as similar procedures that are to be found in other traditions.» — la distinción sobre la que funda todo el capítulo: lenguas sagradas frente a lenguas vulgares, y en ella la justificación de los métodos cabalísticos y de los procedimientos análogos de otras tradiciones

«We can say this: just as every secondary spiritual centre is like an image ofthe primordial and Supreme Centre, as we have explained in our study The Lord of the World, every sacred or ‘hieratic’ language can be regarded as an image or reflection of the original language, which is the sacred language par excellence.» — la analogía con que las ordena: como cada centro espiritual secundario es imagen del Centro Supremo, cada lengua sagrada es reflejo de la lengua original. El troceo imprime *ofthe* pegado, artefacto de OCR

«But there is no question of ‘fragments and deformations’ in all this; on the contrary, it concerns regular adaptations necessitated by circumstances of time and place» — niega en ese punto la lectura de Warrain: no ve fragmentos ni deformaciones sino adaptaciones regulares exigidas por las circunstancias de tiempo y lugar

«All the sacred languages, therefore, must be considered as the work of truly inspired men, apart from which they would not be apt for the function for which they are essentially destined.» — atribuye las lenguas sagradas a hombres verdaderamente inspirados, y hace de eso condición de su función

«As regards the primordial language, its origin must be ‘non-human’, like that of the Primordial Tradition itself: and every sacred language still participates in this transcendence in that it is, in its structure (al-mabam ) and in its signification (al-ma cam) a reflection of the primordial language.» — y le adjudica a la lengua primordial origen no humano, como a la Tradición Primordial, de modo que cada lengua sagrada participa de esa trascendencia en su estructura y en su significación

«Certainly, it is difficult for Westerners to grasp what sacred languages really are, for in present conditions at least they have no direct contact with any of them;» — declara difícil para los occidentales entender qué son las lenguas sagradas, por no tener contacto directo con ninguna en las condiciones presentes

«Thus, in order to master the full range of the symbolism ofletters andnumbers, it is necessary in some measure to live them in their application, even down to the circumstances ofeveryday life, as is possible» — y pone la condición de acceso: vivir el simbolismo de las letras y los números en su aplicación, hasta en las circunstancias de la vida diaria. El troceo pega *ofletters andnumbers* y *ofeveryday*, artefactos de OCR

«But it would be absolutely chimerical to claim to introduce considerations and applications of this kind into European languages, for which they are not made and in which the numerical value of letters, for example, does not exist.» — llama quimérico trasladar esas aplicaciones a las lenguas europeas, en las que —señala— las letras no tienen valor numérico

«The attempts that some have made in this order ofideas, apart from any traditional data, are therefore erroneous from the outset;» — y declara erróneos de partida los intentos hechos en ese orden fuera de todo dato tradicional. El troceo pega *ofideas*, artefacto de OCR

«In order to explain the metaphysical principles of the 'science of letters’, Muhyi d-Din ibn alcArabI, in his al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah, envisaged the universe as symbolized by a book;» — toma de Muhyi d-Din ibn al-'Arabi, en las Futuhat al-Makkiyyah, la figura del universo como libro; el impreso corta *al-‘ArabI* en el salto de renglón y la extracción une las dos mitades en *alcArabI*: la lectura es al-‘Arabī, como el propio índice del volumen lo imprime

«letters of the book are, in principle, all written simultaneously and indivisibly by the ‘divine pen’» — y el trazo con que se escribe ese libro: todas las letras a la vez e indivisiblemente, por la pluma divina

«These ‘transcendent letters’ are the eternal essences or the divine ideas; and since every letter is at the same time a number, the agreement of this teaching with Pythagorean doctrine is evident.» — identifica esas letras trascendentes con las esencias eternas o ideas divinas, y como cada letra es también número, declara evidente el acuerdo con la doctrina pitagórica

«These same ‘transcendent letters’ , which are all the creatures, after having been principially condensed in the divine omniscience have, by the divine breath, been transferred down to the lower planes and have formed and composed the manifested Universe.» — y la cosmogonía que de ahí sale: las letras, condensadas principialmente en la omnisciencia divina, bajan por el soplo divino a los planos inferiores y componen el Universo manifestado

«A comparison becomes necessary here with the part the letters also play in the cosmo-gonic doctrine of the Sepher letsirah ; the ‘science of letters’, moreover, has an almost equal importance both in the Hebrew Kabbala and in Islamic esoterism.» — empareja esa doctrina con el papel de las letras en la cosmogonía del Sepher Ietsirah, y da a la ciencia de las letras importancia casi igual en la cábala hebrea y en el esoterismo islámico

«Starting from this principle, it will be easily understood that a correspondence may be established between the letters and the different parts of the manifested Universe, and more especially with our world.» — de ahí deriva la correspondencia entre las letras y las partes del Universo manifestado

«The existence of planetary and zodiacal correspondences is, in this respect, too well known for there to be any need to insist upon it, and it is enough to note that this places the ‘science of letters’ in close relationship with astrology considered as a cosmological science.» — y liga la ciencia de las letras con la astrología entendida como ciencia cosmológica, por las correspondencias planetarias y zodiacales

«On the other hand, in virtue of the constitutive analogy of the ‘microcosm’ (al-kawn as-saghlr) with the ‘macrocosm’ (al-kawn al-kabir), these same letters correspond also to the different parts of the human organism; and in this connection we will mention in passing that there is a therapeutic application of the ‘science of letters’, each letter being used in a certain way to heal the ailments that affect particularly the corresponding organ.» — por la analogía entre microcosmo y macrocosmo hace corresponder las letras a las partes del organismo humano, y menciona una aplicación terapéutica letra por órgano

«There are also other correspondences—with the elements, the sensible qualities, the celestial spheres, etc; the letters of the Arabic alphabet, being twenty-eight in number, are similarly related to the lunar mansions.» — las demás correspondencias que enumera —elementos, cualidades sensibles, esferas celestes— y las veintiocho letras del alfabeto árabe puestas en relación con las mansiones lunares

«It follows from what we have said that the ‘science of letters’ must be considered at different levels, which can be identified with the ‘three worlds’.» — ordena la ciencia de las letras en tres niveles que identifica con los tres mundos

«In its highest sense, it is the knowledge of all things in the Principle itself, as eternal essences beyond all manifestation; in what may be called an intermediate sense, it is cosmogony, the knowledge of the production or formation of the manifested world: and finally, in its lowest sense, it is the knowledge of the virtues of names and numbers insofar as these express the nature of each being, a knowledge that by way of application makes it possible to exercise by these means and by reason of this correspondence a magical action on the beings themselves and on the events that concern them.» — y detalla los tres: conocimiento de las cosas en el Principio, cosmogonía, y conocimiento de las virtudes de nombres y números, del que dice que por aplicación permite una acción mágica sobre los seres y sobre lo que les ocurre

«In fact, according to the explanation of Ibn Khaldun, written formulas that are composed of the same elements that constitute the totality of a being have thereby the faculty of acting upon that being; and this is also why the knowledge of» — la explicación que atribuye a Ibn Jaldún: las fórmulas escritas con los mismos elementos que constituyen a un ser tienen por eso la facultad de obrar sobre él

«It must also be mentioned that the 'Book of the World' is at the same time the ‘divine Message’ (ar-risalatu l-ilahiyyah). archetype of all sacred Books, the traditional scriptures being only translations' of it into human language.» — identifica el Libro del Mundo con el Mensaje divino, arquetipo de todos los Libros sagrados, y hace de las escrituras tradicionales traducciones suyas a lengua humana

«This is expressly affirmed of the Veda and of the Qur'an.» — y nombra los dos casos donde eso se afirma expresamente: el Veda y el Corán

«The idea of the 'Eternal Gospel' also shows that this same conception is not entirely foreign to Christianity, or at least has not always been.» — y añade el Evangelio Eterno como señal de que la misma concepción no es del todo ajena al cristianismo, o al menos no lo fue siempre

«Francis Warrain. after having said that ‘the hypothesis of the Kabbalah is that the Hebrew language is the perfect language taught by God to the first man’, feels obliged to express reservations as to the ‘illusory pretension of possessing the pure elements of natural language, while in fact only fragments and deformations have come down to us'.» — abre el capítulo 8, La ciencia de las letras, con Francis Warrain, que enuncia la hipótesis cabalística del hebreo como lengua perfecta enseñada por Dios al primer hombre y en la misma frase reserva contra la pretensión de poseer sus elementos puros

«the name of a being, the expression of its own particular nature, can give one power over it.» — el principio operativo que cierra el capítulo 8: el nombre, expresión de la naturaleza propia de un ser, da poder sobre él

«It is this application of the ‘science of letters' which is habitually designated by the name sitriia.» — y el nombre que esa aplicación recibe. El troceo imprime *sitriia*, artefacto de OCR sobre la transliteración árabe

«and it is possible on the basis of this calculation to effect mutations which will have the effect of a corresponding modification in the events themselves.» — lo que atribuye al cálculo por letras: efectuar mutaciones que modifican correspondientemente los acontecimientos

«When this action is limited to the sensible world, that is only the lowest degree and it is in this case that one can rightly speak of magic; but it can easily be appreciated that something of a quite different order takes place when there is any question of an action that has a repercussion in the higher worlds.» — y jerarquiza esa acción: llama magia solo al grado más bajo, el limitado al mundo sensible, y reserva otro orden para la que repercute en los mundos superiores

«There is often mention, in diverse traditions, of a mysterious language called ‘the language of the birds’—a designation that is clearly symbolic, for the very importance that is attributed to the knowledge of this language, as the prerogative of a high initiation, does not allow us to take it literally.» — abre el capítulo 9, La lengua de los pájaros, declarando simbólica la designación y negando la lectura literal, porque su conocimiento se da como prerrogativa de una iniciación alta

«We read, for example, in the Qur’an: ‘And Solomon was David’s heir. And he said, 0 mankind! Lo! we have been taught the language of the birds (ullimna mantiq at-tayr) and have been given abundance of all thi» — el testimonio coránico que aduce, con Salomón heredero de David declarando que les fue enseñada la lengua de los pájaros; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Victory over the dragon has, as its immediate consequence, the conquest of immortality, which is represented by some object the approach to which is guarded by the dragon; and this conquest essentially implies the reintegration into the centre of the human state, that is, into the point where communication is established with the higher states of the being.» — lo que hace equivaler a la victoria sobre el dragón: conquista de la inmortalidad y reintegración al centro del estado humano, punto donde se comunica con los estados superiores

«It is this communication which is represented by the understanding of the language of the birds; and in fact birds are frequently taken as symbols of the angels, that is, precisely, of the higher states.» — y la equivalencia que cierra la figura: entender la lengua de los pájaros representa esa comunicación, con los pájaros como símbolos de los ángeles

«The second verse expresses the fight of the angels against the demons, the celestial powers against the infernal powers, that is, the opposition between higher and lower states .» — lee el combate de ángeles contra demonios como oposición entre estados superiores e inferiores

«The Garuda is the eagle, and elsewhere it is replaced by other birds such as the ibis, the stork, the heron, all enemies and destroyers of reptiles» — la serie de aves que reúne bajo la misma figura del combate contra el reptil: Garuda como águila, y en otras partes el ibis, la cigüeña, la garza

«It is important to note that the symbolic opposition of bird and serpent does not apply except when the serpent is considered under its malefic aspect: on the contrary, under its benefic aspect it sometimes is united with the bird as in the case of Quetzalcohuatl of the ancient Meso-American traditions. Moreover, one also finds in Mexico the combat of the eagle with the serpent.» — y acota la oposición en la misma nota: solo vale con la serpiente en su aspecto maléfico, porque en el benéfico se une al pájaro, como en Quetzalcóhuatl de las tradiciones mesoamericanas antiguas

«As regards the association of bird and serpent, we can recall the Gospel text: 'Be ye wise as serpents and guileless as doves'» — y el texto evangélico con que apoya esa unión de pájaro y serpiente

«The same idea is contained in the word dhikr which, in Islamic esoterism, is used of rhythmic formulas that correspond exactly to Hindu mantras.» — empareja el dhikr del esoterismo islámico con los mantras hindúes como fórmulas rítmicas

«The repetition of these formulas aims at producing a harmonisation of the different elements of the being, and at causing vibrations which, by their repercussions throughout the immense hierarchy of states, are capable of opening up a communication with the higher states, which in a general way is the essential and primordial purpose of all rites.» — y la función que les asigna: armonizar los elementos del ser y producir vibraciones que abran comunicación con los estados superiores, fin que declara común a todo rito

«the ‘science of rhythm’, which admits of many applications, is the ultimate basis of all the means that can be brought into action» — y pone la ciencia del ritmo como base última de esos medios

«The word saffor ‘rank', is one of those many words which have been suggested as the origin of the word sufi and tasawwuf: and although this derivation does not seem acceptable from a purely linguistic point of view, it is none the less true, as with many other derivations of the same kind, that it represents one of the ideas really contained in these terms: for the spiritual hierarchies' are essentially identical with the degrees of initiation.» — recoge la derivación de sufi y tasawwuf desde saf, rango, la declara inaceptable en lo lingüístico y a la vez sostiene que expresa una idea realmente contenida en esos términos, porque identifica las jerarquías espirituales con los grados de iniciación. El troceo pega *saffor*, artefacto de OCR

«That is why an Islamic tradition says that Adam, in the earthly Paradise, spoke in verse, that is, in rhythmic speech;» — la tradición islámica que recoge: Adán hablaba en verso en el Paraíso terrestre, es decir en habla rítmica

«This is also why the Sacred Books are written in rhythmic language which, clearly, makes of them something quite other than the mere ‘poems’, in the purely profane sense, which the anti-traditional bias of the modem critics would have them to be.» — y de ahí que los Libros Sagrados estén en lenguaje rítmico, lo que niega que sean meros poemas en sentido profano, como sostiene que quiere la crítica moderna

«Moreover, in its origins poetry was by no means the vain ‘literature’ that it has become by a degeneration resulting from the downward march of the human cycle, and it had a truly sacred character.» — le atribuye a la poesía un carácter sagrado en su origen y explica su estado actual por degeneración ligada a la marcha descendente del ciclo humano

«In Latin, verses were called carmina, a designation relating to their use in the accomplishment of rites; for the word carmen is identical to the Sanskrit karma which must be taken here in its special sense of ‘ritual action’; 10 and the poet himself, interpreter of the ‘sacred language’ through which the divine Word appears, was votes, a word which defined him as endowed with an inspiration that was in some way prophetic.» — la prueba etimológica que aduce: carmina por su uso en los ritos, con carmen identificado al karma sánscrito como acción ritual, y el poeta como vates dotado de inspiración profética. El troceo imprime *votes* por vates, artefacto de OCR

«Later, by another degeneration, the votes was no longer anything more than a common ‘diviner’, 11 and the carmen (whence the English word 'charm') no more than a ‘spell’, that is, an operation of low magic.» — y la caída de los dos términos: el vates reducido a adivino común y el carmen a hechizo, de donde saca el inglés charm

«There again is an example of the fact that magic, even sorcery, is what subsists as the last vestige of vanished traditions.» — lo que hace de la magia y aun de la hechicería: el último vestigio que subsiste de tradiciones desaparecidas

«that the arts and sciences have become profane by just this kind of degeneration which deprives them of their traditional nature and, by way of consequence, of any higher significance.» — y extiende la misma degeneración a las artes y las ciencias, que pierden su carácter tradicional y con él toda significación superior

«The ‘auspices' (from aves spicere, ‘to observe the birds'), omens drawn from the flight and song of birds, are more closely related to the ‘language of the birds', understood hi this case in the most literal sense but nevertheless still identified with the 'language of the Gods', who were thought to manifest their will by means of these omens.» — los auspicios como caso donde la lengua de los pájaros se toma al pie de la letra y a la vez se identifica con la lengua de los Dioses, que manifestarían por ahí su voluntad. El troceo imprime *hi* por in, artefacto de OCR

«The birds thus played the part of ‘messengers’, analogous—but on a very low plane—to the part that is generally attributed to the angels (whence their very name, for this is precisely the meaning of the Greek aggelos» — y el papel que les toca, análogo al de los ángeles pero —dice— en un plano muy bajo, con la etimología griega de aggelos como mensajero

«These few indications should be enough to show how inept it is to mock at stories that speak of the ‘language of the birds’. It is all too easy and too simple to disdain as superstitions everything that one does not understand. But the ancients, for their part, knew very well what they meant when they used symbolic language.» — objeta que se ridiculicen los relatos sobre la lengua de los pájaros y sostiene que los antiguos sabían qué decían al usar lenguaje simbólico

«The real ‘superstition’, in the strictly etymological sense (quod superstat), is that which outlives itself, in short, the ‘dead letter’.» — y da su definición de superstición por la etimología: lo que sobrevive a sí mismo, la letra muerta

«We must add that if the tree is one of the chief symbols of the axis mundi, It is not the only one: the mountain is also one.» — añade la montaña al árbol como símbolo del eje del mundo

«But we must now point out that just as they all relate to the "Centre of the World”, they are not without a more or less direct link with the symbol of the heart, so that in all this we have not digressed so far from the true object of this journal as some might believe: and we are about to return to it even more directly by a final observation.» — liga esos símbolos del Centro del Mundo con el símbolo del corazón, y con eso justifica el recorrido ante el objeto declarado de la revista

«It is equally true that already now the reintegration can be considered as a possibility for certain individuals, if not in a general way: and there, we believe, is the most complete significance of the "spiritual habitat” in the Heart of Christ» — y el alcance que da a la reintegración: posible ya ahora para ciertos individuos, si no de modo general, en lo que llama la habitación espiritual en el Corazón de Cristo

«No doubt we must see in it one of those signs which are linked directly to the Primordial Tradition.» — abre el capítulo 10, La idea del Centro en las tradiciones de la antigüedad, ligando el signo del punto central directamente a la Tradición Primordial

«It is the same with the idea of the Centre, which is susceptible of a similar transposition whereby it is stripped of its spatial character, this being no longer evoked except as a symbol.» — declara transponible la idea de Centro fuera de lo espacial, con el espacio quedando solo como símbolo

«It must not be forgotten, moreover, that in either case it is always a question of symbolism: arithmetical unity is not metaphysical Unity, but only its figure,» — y la reserva que pone sobre su propio procedimiento: se trata siempre de simbolismo, y la unidad aritmética no es la Unidad metafísica sino su figura

«The simplest representation of the idea which we have been formulating is the point at the centre of a circle» — la figura más simple con que representa la idea: el punto en el centro del círculo, con el punto por el Principio y el círculo por el mundo; el tramo se corta ante la llamada a la lámina

«The point at the centre of the circle has been taken also, and probably from very ancient times, as a figure of the sun.» — y el segundo valor que registra para la misma figura, probablemente muy antiguo: el sol

«It is perhaps for this reason that most archeologists, wherever they find this symbol, claim for it an exclusively solar significance, while in reality it has a far vaster and deeper meaning.» — objeta a los arqueólogos reclamar para ese signo una significación exclusivamente solar dondequiera que lo encuentran, y le atribuye un sentido más vasto

«The relationship which exists between the centre and the circumference, or between what they respectively represent, is already indicated clearly enough by the fact that the circumference cannot exist without its centre, while the centre is entirely independent of the circumference.» — la asimetría que subraya entre centro y circunferencia: la circunferencia no existe sin el centro y el centro es enteramente independiente de ella

«Let it be noted also that the “wheel of Fortune", in the symbolism of Western antiquity, is very closely related to the 'wheel of the Law’ and also, though it may not seem so evident at first glance, to the zodiacal wheel.» — empareja la rueda de la Fortuna de la antigüedad occidental con la rueda de la Ley y con la rueda zodiacal, y admite que el tercer parentesco no salta a la vista

«It must be added that the Zodiac is also represented in the form of a wheel, naturally oftwelve spokes, and that the name given it in Sanskrit signifies literally ‘wheel of signs’, according to the primary sense of the word rashi which serves to designate the signs of the Zodiac» — el argumento que aduce para ese tercer parentesco: el Zodiaco representado como rueda de doce radios, y el nombre sánscrito que traduce por rueda de signos. El troceo pega *oftwelve*, artefacto de OCR

«In the symbolic language of India, one speaks constantly of the ‘wheel of things’ or of the ‘wheel of life’, which corresponds precisely to this signification.» — y las expresiones indias que hace corresponder con esa figura: rueda de las cosas, rueda de la vida

«In the Hindu tradition, the world is sometimes represented in the form of a lotus, in the centre of which rises Meru, the sacred mountain which symbolises the Pole.» — la figura hindú del mundo como loto con el monte Meru en el centro, montaña sagrada que hace símbolo del Polo

«The wheel has likewise a connection with various floral symbols ;4 for certain cases at least we could even have spoken of a real equivalence» — y liga la rueda con los símbolos florales, admitiendo en ciertos casos equivalencia real

«So far the Centre has been considered as prior to the circumference, which has no reality apart from the centre’s radiation; now it is to be seen in relation to the realized circumference, that is, as a symbol of the action of the Principle at the heart of creation.» — declara el giro de perspectiva del capítulo: del Centro anterior a la circunferencia al Centro como acción del Principio en el seno de la creación

«Certain schools of Muslim esoterism, which attribute to the cross a symbolic value of the highest importance, refer to the centre of this cross as the ‘divine station' (al-maqam al-ilahi), and they designate this centre as the place where all contraries are unified, where all oppositions are resolved.» — lo que atribuye a ciertas escuelas del esoterismo musulmán: el centro de la cruz llamado estación divina, lugar donde se unifican los contrarios

«The idea expressed here more particularly is, therefore, that of equilibrium; and this idea is really one with that of harmony.» — y la noción que ahí se juega: el equilibrio, que declara uno con la armonía

«There is yet a third aspect to this symbolism, linked especially to the moral point of view (though admitting of other significations also), and this is the idea of justice.» — el tercer aspecto que abre, ligado al punto de vista moral aunque no reducido a él: la justicia

«From a much more universal point of view, the Far Eastern traditions speak unceasingly of the ‘Invariable Middle’ which is the point where the ‘Activity of Heaven’ is manifested; and according to Hindu doctrine, at the centre of every being, as of every state of existence, there resides a reflection of the supreme Principle.» — amplía a lo universal con el Medio Invariable de las tradiciones extremo-orientales, donde se manifiesta la Actividad del Cielo, y con el reflejo del Principio supremo que la doctrina hindú pone en el centro de todo ser

«Equilibrium itself moreover is nothing other than the reflection in the manifested order of the absolute immutability of the Principle.» — y reduce el equilibrio a reflejo, en el orden manifestado, de la inmutabilidad absoluta del Principio

«The very name of the wheel (rota) immediately evokes the idea of rotation; and this rotation is the figure ofthe continual change to which all manifested things are subject.» — lee en el nombre mismo de la rueda la rotación, figura del cambio continuo al que están sujetas las cosas manifestadas. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«In such a movement, there is but one single point that remains fixed and immutable, and this point is the Centre.» — y el único punto que en ese movimiento queda fijo e inmutable

«The fixity of the Centre is the image of Eternity, where all things are present in perfect simultaneity.» — la fijeza del Centro como imagen de la Eternidad, donde todo está presente en simultaneidad perfecta

«the ‘unmoved mover’ of Aristotle9 which again is represented by the Centre.» — y el motor inmóvil de Aristóteles representado por ese mismo Centro

«Thus at the same time, since all that exists, all that changes or moves, has no reality apart from the immutable Principle on which it totally depends, this Principle is that which gives motion its first impulse» — de la dependencia total de lo que cambia respecto del Principio inmutable saca que ese Principio da al movimiento su primer impulso

«The Principle is, according to a Hindu expression, the ‘hitemal Co-ordinator’ (antaryaml), for it directs all things from within» — la expresión hindú que recoge, antaryamin, el Coordinador interno que dirige todas las cosas desde dentro. El troceo imprime *hitemal* por internal, artefacto de OCR

«When the sphere, terrestrial or celestial revolves round its axis, there are on that sphere two points which remain fixed: these are the poles, which are the extremities of the axis or its points of contact with the surface of the sphere; and this is why the idea of the Pole is yet another equivalent of the idea of the Centre.» — y el cuarto equivalente que suma: los polos como puntos fijos de la esfera en rotación, con lo que la idea de Polo equivale a la de Centro

«Vain attempts have been made to explain this symbol by the most fantastic theories, even to the point of seeing in it the outline of a primitive instrument for making fire.» — objeta las explicaciones que ve como fantasiosas, hasta la que reconoce en el signo el dibujo de un instrumento primitivo para hacer fuego

«Those who have been closest to the truth are they who have considered the swastika as a symbol of movement, but this interpretation is still insufficient, for it is not a question of just any movement, but of a rotation around a centre or an immutable axis;» — le concede a la lectura del swastika como símbolo del movimiento y la declara insuficiente: precisa que se trata de una rotación alrededor de un centro o eje inmutable

«nor is it necessary to see in this an intention of establishing between them any kind of opposition» — y niega que las dos orientaciones de la figura supongan oposición

«We are well aware that in certain countries and at certain times, the partisans of schisms may have deliberately given this figure an orientation contrary to the one prevailing in the circles which they themselves were breaking away from, in order to» — con la salvedad que él mismo hace: partidarios de cismas pudieron invertir deliberadamente la orientación para separarse de los medios de que salían

«The swastika is far from being exclusively an oriental symbol, as is sometimes believed.» — niega que el swastika sea símbolo exclusivamente oriental

«it is probably only in these regions that its real significance is still known, though even in Europe it has not disappeared entirely» — aunque acota que probablemente solo en esas regiones se conserva su sentido real, sin darlo por desaparecido del todo en Europa

«but perhaps what is most curious is that they give it the Sanskrit name of swastika» — y el dato que más le llama la atención: que ahí le den el nombre sánscrito de swastika

«We are not alluding here to the entirely artificial use of the swastika by certain German political groups which, quite arbitrarily, have made it a sign of antisemitism, under the pretext that this emblem belonged to the so-called "Aryan race": all this is pure fantasy.» — deslinda su tratamiento del uso del swastika por ciertos grupos políticos alemanes como signo antisemita, que llama arbitrario y pura fantasía

«We have not yet finished indicating all the meanings of the Centre. If it is first of all a point of departure, it is also a terminal point. All has come from the Centre, and all must finally return to it.» — y sigue con otro sentido del Centro: de él viene todo y a él todo debe volver

«There are, as it were, two complementary phases, the first represented by a centrifugal movement and the second by a centripetal movement.» — las dos fases complementarias en que reparte ese ciclo, centrífuga y centrípeta

«with the physiological function of the heart. In fact, the blood leaves the heart, is diffused throughout the organism which it vivifies, then returns to the heart, whose ftinction as organic centre is thus truly complete and altogether corresponds to the idea that, in a general way, we must form of the Centre in the fullness of its significance.» — y la analogía fisiológica con que lo cierra: la sangre sale del corazón, vivifica el organismo y vuelve a él. El troceo imprime *ftinction* por function, artefacto de OCR

«All beings, dependent on the Principle in all that they are, must consciously or unconsciously aspire to return to it.» — extiende la aspiración de retorno a todos los seres, con o sin conciencia de ella

«We refer to ritual orientation, which is strictly speaking the direction towards a spiritual centre, a terrestrial and perceptible image of the veritable ‘Centre of the World’.» — define la orientación ritual como dirección hacia un centro espiritual, imagen terrestre y sensible del Centro del Mundo

«The orientation of Christian churches is only a particular case of this and relates essentially to the same idea which is common to all religions.» — y hace de la orientación de las iglesias cristianas un caso particular de una idea que declara común a todas las religiones

«In Islam, this orientation (qiblah ) is as the materialisation, so to speak, of the intention (niyyah ) by which all the powers of the being must be directed towards the Divine Principle» — con el caso islámico: la qibla como materialización de la intención por la que todas las potencias del ser se dirigen al Principio Divino

«To sum up, the Centre is both the principle and the end of all things; it is, according to a well known symbolism, the alpha and the omega.» — resume: el Centro es principio y fin de todas las cosas, el alfa y el omega

«Better still, it is the beginning, the middle, and the end; and these three aspects are represented in the monosyllable AUM, to which Charbonneau-Lassay alluded as emblem of Christ and the association ofwhich with the swastika, among the signs of the monastery of the Carmelites of Loudun, seems to us particularly significant.» — y prefiere la tríada principio, medio y fin, que reconoce en el monosílabo AUM, al que Charbonneau-Lassay aludió como emblema de Cristo junto al swastika entre los signos del monasterio de las carmelitas de Loudun. El troceo pega *ofwhich*, artefacto de OCR

«In fact, this symbol, much more complete than the alpha and the omega, and susceptible of meanings which can be developed almost indefinitely, is, by one of the most astonishing concordances that one could encounter, common to the ancient Hindu tradition and to Christian esoterism of the Middle Ages; and in both cases, it is also par excellence a symbol of the Word, which is in very truth the real ‘Centre of the World’.» — y lo que saca de esa coincidencia entre la tradición hindú antigua y el esoterismo cristiano medieval: en los dos casos el AUM es símbolo del Verbo, que declara el verdadero Centro del Mundo

«I t is well known that the use of flowers in symbolism is widespread and that it is to be found in most traditions.» — abre el capítulo 11, Flores simbólicas, con la extensión del uso de las flores en el simbolismo de casi todas las tradiciones. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo, de ahí la i separada

«One of the chief meanings of floral symbolism is that which relates to the feminine or passive principle of manifestation, Prakriti or universal substance.» — y el sentido principal que le adjudica: el principio femenino o pasivo de la manifestación, Prakriti o sustancia universal

«In this respect, the flower is equivalent to a number of other symbols, among which the most important is the cup.» — empareja la flor con la copa como equivalentes en ese sentido

«Like the cup, the flower by its very form evokes the notion of ‘receptacle’, which Prakriti is as regards the influences emanating from Purusha, and one commonly speaks of the calyx [i.e., cup or chalice] of a flower.» — y la razón formal: la flor evoca por su forma un receptáculo, como lo es Prakriti respecto de las influencias de Purusha, de donde el cáliz de la flor; el inciso entre corchetes que traduce *calyx* es del aparato de esta edición inglesa

«On the other hand, the blossoming of this same flower simultaneously represents the development of manifestation itself, considered as a production of Prakriti.» — el segundo valor que le reconoce a la misma flor: el florecimiento como desarrollo de la manifestación producida por Prakriti

«This double sense is particularly clear in a case such as that of the lotus which, in the East, is the symbolic flower of flowers and which has the special characteristic of blooming on the surface of the water;» — y el caso donde ve más claro ese doble sentido: el loto, flor simbólica por excelencia en Oriente, que abre sobre la superficie del agua

«The above mentioned connection between flower and cup naturally brings to mind the symbolism of the Grail in the Western traditions.» — de la conexión entre flor y copa pasa al simbolismo del Grial en las tradiciones occidentales

«but it is nonetheless true that this lance or one of its equivalents already existed as a complementary symbol to the chalice or cup in pre-Christian traditions» — y repite que la lanza, o alguno de sus equivalentes, ya existía como símbolo complementario del cáliz en tradiciones precristianas

«The lance, in a vertical position, is one form of the ‘World Axis’ which is identical with the ‘celestial Ray’ that we just mentioned; and in this connection, it can be recalled also that the solar ray is frequently assimilated to weapons such as the lance or the arrow, though it would be out of place to dwell on these weapons here.» — identifica la lanza vertical con el Eje del Mundo y con el Rayo celeste, y recuerda la asimilación frecuente del rayo solar a armas como la lanza o la flecha

«Paul Le Cour called attention, in Atlantis (July-August 1928), to a curious symbol on the druidic stone discovered about 1800 at Suevres (Loir-et-Cher).» — abre el capítulo 12, El triple recinto de los druidas, con el símbolo que Paul Le Cour señaló en la revista Atlantis sobre una piedra drúidica hallada hacia 1800 en Suèvres

«For this symbol is, in fact, formed by three concentric squares, linked to one another by four lines at right angles» — y describe la figura: tres cuadrados concéntricos unidos por cuatro líneas en ángulo recto

«Florance thinks that the locality where the stone was found may have been the place of the Druids’ annual reunion which, according to Caesar, was situated on the borders of the land of the Carnutes.» — recoge la hipótesis de Florance de que el lugar del hallazgo fuera el de la reunión anual de los druidas que César sitúa en los confines de los carnutos

«the interpretation seems to us a little doubtful, for fines does not always signify borders, but often designates the country Itself.» — y la objeta con un argumento filológico: fines no siempre significa frontera y a menudo designa el país mismo

«On the other hand. It does not seem that anything has been found at Suevres that recalls the Omphalos» — y añade la falta de todo hallazgo en Suèvres que recuerde al ónfalo

«It is certain that like many other Celtic symbols, and especially that of the wheel, this figure remained in use until the Middle Ages, for Charbonneau-Lassay has» — sostiene que la figura, como la rueda, siguió en uso hasta la Edad Media, apoyándose en Charbonneau-Lassay

«Le Cour indicates that the symbol of the triple square is to be found also at Rome, in the cloister of San Paolo, dating from the thirteenth century, and that it was known by others in antiquity as well as by the Celts, as he himself has pointed out several times» — y los otros sitios que Le Cour registra: el claustro de San Pablo en Roma, del siglo XIII, y usos antiguos fuera del mundo celta

«It is to be seen likewise as a heraldic sign on a great escutcheon at the head of a funerary statue of a Templar, from the thirteenth century, of the commandary of Roche-en-Cloue (Vienne) and on a carved stone in the commandery of Mauleon.» — los dos testimonios templarios que suma: un escudo en una estatua funeraria del siglo XIII de la encomienda de Roche-en-Clouè y una piedra tallada en la de Mauléon

«We have yet to point out, in connection with this symbol, that one of the chief significations of the number 8 is that of “justice” and "equilibrium", ideas which, as we have shown, are directly attached to that of the Centre» — y la significación que le da al número ocho en esa figura: justicia y equilibrio, ideas que liga a la del Centro

«The interpretation of this symbol as representing a triple precinct seems to us very right, and Le Cour, in this connection, establishes a parallel with the remarks of Plato who, speaking of the mother city of the Atlanteans, describes the palace of Poseidon as built at the centre of three concentric enclosures linked together by canals which, in fact, form a figure analogous to the one here in question, though circular instead of square.» — acepta la lectura del signo como triple recinto y recoge el paralelo que Le Cour traza con el palacio de Poseidón que Platón describe en el centro de tres recintos concéntricos, circulares en vez de cuadrados

«Now what can be the significance of these three precincts? We thought at once that it must be a question of three degrees of initiation, so that, taken all together, they would have been in some way a figure of the Druid hierarchy; and the fact that this same figure is to be found elsewhere and not merely with the Celts would indicate that there were in other traditions hierarchies formed on this same model, which is perfectly normal.» — su propia hipótesis sobre los tres recintos: tres grados de iniciación, figura de la jerarquía drúidica, y jerarquías del mismo modelo en otras tradiciones donde la figura reaparece

«The division of initiation into three grades is, moreover, the most frequent partition and, we may say, the most fundamental.» — y la apoya en la frecuencia de la división iniciática en tres grados, que llama la más fundamental

«It should be noted that the explanation which we have just put forward is in no way incompatible with certain others, such as that ofLe Cour, which relates the three precincts to the three circles of existence recognized by the Celtic tradition.» — declara su explicación compatible con la de Le Cour, que remite los tres recintos a los tres círculos de existencia de la tradición céltica

«Far from being mutually exclusive, the two explanations harmonize perfectly; it can even be said that they coincide in a certain sense, for where genuine initiation is concerned, its degrees correspond to so many states of the being, and it is these states which in all traditions are described as so many different worlds, for it must be clearly understood that ‘localisation’ has only a purely symbolic character.» — y va más lejos: las hace coincidir, porque los grados de iniciación corresponden a estados del ser que las tradiciones describen como mundos, con la localización tomada en sentido puramente simbólico

«We have already explained, in connection with Dante, that the heavens are strictly speaking ‘spiritual hierarchies’, that is, degrees of initiation; 6 and it goes without saying that at the same time they relate to the degrees of universal existence, for as we said then, 7 in virtue of the constitutive analogy of the Macrocosm and Microcosm, the initiatic process rigorously reproduces the cosmogonic process.» — remite a lo dicho sobre Dante —los cielos como jerarquías espirituales, es decir grados de iniciación— y funda la doble lectura en la analogía entre macrocosmo y microcosmo, por la que el proceso iniciático reproduce el cosmogónico

«genuine initiatic interpretation is never exclusive but, on the contrary, includes within itself synthetically all other possible interpretations; and this, moreover, is why symbolism, with its multiple and superimposed senses, is the normal means of expression of all true initiatic teaching.» — la regla de lectura que enuncia: la interpretación iniciática nunca es exclusiva y comprende sintéticamente las demás, y por eso hace del símbolo el medio normal de toda enseñanza iniciática

«In this connection it should be noted that between the circular and square forms of the triple precinct figure, there is an important nuance: they relate respectively to the earthly Paradise and the celestial Jerusalem, as has been explained in one of our books» — el matiz que distingue en la figura del triple recinto: la forma circular remite al Paraíso terrestre y la cuadrada a la Jerusalén celeste

«but at the end. the circle is replaced by the square, and this indicates the realisation of what the Hermetists designated symbolically as the ‘squaring ofthe circle’.» — y lo que lee en el paso de una a otra: la cuadratura del círculo de los hermetistas. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«It must be pointed out that the Atlantean tradition is not. however, the Primordial Tradition for the present Malta Yuga and that it is itself only secondary in relation to the hyperborean tradition.» — acota la jerarquía de las tradiciones: la atlante no es la Tradición Primordial del Kali-Yuga presente y es secundaria respecto de la hiperbórea. El troceo imprime *Malta Yuga*, artefacto de OCR sobre Kali-Yuga

«in the second it would strictly speaking be the reservoir, the spiritual authority having here especially a role ofconservation. But naturally, the symbolism ofthe ‘fountain of teaching’ is applicable in both cases.» — distingue dos funciones de la autoridad espiritual, fuente y depósito, y declara aplicable a las dos el simbolismo de la fuente de la enseñanza. El troceo pega *ofconservation* y *ofthe*, artefactos de OCR

«This figure, in addition, was regarded as that of the celestial Jerusalem with its twelve gates, three on each side: and there is here an obvious relation with the meaning we have just pointed out for the square form.» — y la lectura de la misma figura como Jerusalén celeste con sus doce puertas, tres por lado

«No doubt there would be still many more relationships to consider, but we think that these several notes, incomplete as they may be, will help shed some light on the mysterious question of the triple precinct of the Druids.» — cierra el capítulo 12 declarando incompletas sus notas sobre el triple recinto

«Among the prerogatives of the orders of chivalry, and especially of the Templars, one of the best known but generally not best understood, is that of ‘guardians of the Holy Land’.» — abre el capítulo 13, Los guardianes de la Tierra Santa, con el título que llevan las órdenes de caballería y en especial los templarios, que declara conocido y mal entendido

«Admittedly, if we restrict ourselves to its most outward meaning we find an immediate explanation in the connection between these orders and the Crusades, since for Christians as well as for Jews the ‘Holy Land’ seems to designate nothing other than Palestine.» — concede el sentido más exterior, ligado a las cruzadas, donde Tierra Santa no designa sino Palestina

«Nevertheless, the question becomes more complex when we note that several oriental organisations, the initiatic character of which is not in doubt, such as the Assassins and the Druse, have also taken the same title of ‘guardians’ of the Holy Land’.» — y lo que complica esa lectura: organizaciones orientales de carácter iniciático, como los asesinos y los drusos, toman el mismo título

«In such a case it can in fact no longer be a question ofPalestine; and it is, moreover, remarkable that these organisations have quite a large number of features in common with the Western orders ofchivalry and that historically some of them have even had relations with these orders.» — de ahí concluye que ya no puede tratarse de Palestina, y suma los rasgos comunes y las relaciones históricas de esas organizaciones con las órdenes occidentales. El troceo pega *ofPalestine* y *ofchivalry*, artefactos de OCR

«We have already shown elsewhere, especially in The Lord of the World, that the expression ‘Holy Land’ has several synonyms: ‘Pure Land', ‘Land of Saints’, ‘Land of the Blessed’, ‘Land of the Living', ‘Land of Immortality’, that these equivalent designations are to be found in the traditions of all peoples, and that they always apply essentially to a spiritual centre, the location of which in a given region can, according to circumstances, be understood literally or symbolically, or simultaneously in both the one and the other sense.» — la serie de sinónimos que reúne para Tierra Santa —Tierra Pura, de los Santos, de los Bienaventurados, de los Vivientes, de la Inmortalidad— y su referencia común a un centro espiritual, cuya localización admite lectura literal, simbólica o las dos a la vez

«Every ‘Holy Land' is designated further by expressions such as ‘Centre of the World’ or ‘Heart of the World’, and this calls for some explanations, for these uniform appellations, although differently applied, can easily lead to certain confusions.» — y advierte del riesgo de esas denominaciones uniformes aplicadas a lugares distintos

«It may be noted here that there is a series of extensions given gradually to the idea of the centre in the applications of it which are successively made, so that the appellation ‘Centre of the World’ or ’Heart of the World' is finally extended to the entire Land of Israel insofar as this is considered the ‘Holy Land’; and it must be added that in the same respect it also receives, among other denominations, that of ‘Land of the Living’.» — describe la extensión gradual de la idea de centro hasta cubrir toda la tierra de Israel, que recibe además el nombre de Tierra de los Vivientes

«It is said that the ‘Land of the Living Comprises seven Lands’, and Vulliaud observes that ‘this land is Canaan in which there were seven peoples’» — y la observación que toma de Vulliaud sobre las siete tierras que comprende esa Tierra de los Vivientes, identificadas con Canaán y sus siete pueblos

«From yet another point of view, the Land of Israel, as spiritual centre, was an image of Heaven; for according to the Judaic tradition, ‘all that the Israelites do on earth is accomplished according to the pattern of what takes place in the celestial world» — la tierra de Israel como imagen del Cielo, apoyada en la fórmula que atribuye a la tradición judía: lo que los israelitas hacen en la tierra se cumple según el modelo de lo que ocurre en el mundo celeste

«The symbolism we are discussing is found especially among the Egyptians; in fact, according to Plutarch, ‘the Egyptians give their country the name Chemia9 and they compare it to a heart» — el testimonio de Plutarco sobre los egipcios, que llaman Chemia a su país y lo comparan con un corazón

«The reason given by this author is somewhat strange: ‘This country is in fact warm, humid, lying in the southern parts of the inhabited lands, extended to the South as in the body of man the heart extends to the left’» — y la razón que ese autor da, que él mismo califica de extraña: la posición meridional del país como la del corazón a la izquierda del cuerpo

«Moreover, according to Plutarch himself, the heart which represented Egypt at the same time represented Heaven: ‘The Egyptians’, he said, ‘represent Heaven, which cannot grow old as it is eternal, by a heart placed on a brazier, the flame of which maintains the vital warmth’.» — y el segundo testimonio de Plutarco: los egipcios representan el Cielo por un corazón sobre un brasero cuya llama mantiene el calor vital

«Thus, while the heart is itself represented by a vase which is not other than that which the legends of the Western Middle Ages designated as the ‘Holy Grail’, it is also simultaneously the hieroglyph of Egypt and of Heaven.» — el nudo de figuras que arma con eso: el corazón representado por el vaso que las leyendas medievales llaman Santo Grial, y a la vez jeroglífico de Egipto y del Cielo

«The conclusion to be drawn from these considerations is that there are as many particular ‘Holy Lands’ as there are regular traditional forms, since they represent the spiritual centres which correspond respectively to these different forms.» — la conclusión que saca: hay tantas Tierras Santas particulares como formas tradicionales regulares, porque cada una representa el centro espiritual de la suya

«But if the same symbolism applies uniformly to all these ‘Holy Lands’, it is because all these spiritual centres have an analogous constitution, often even in precise details, inasmuch as they are all images of one single supreme centre, which alone is the veritable ‘Centre of the World’» — y explica la uniformidad del simbolismo por la constitución análoga de esos centros, todos imágenes de un centro supremo único

«In other words, there exists a ‘Holy Land’ par excellence, prototype of all the others, seat of the Primordial» — de donde postula una Tierra Santa por excelencia, prototipo de las demás y sede de la Tradición Primordial

«It could also be said that a religion’s maintenance of 'direct communication' with this state, that is. the fact that it continues to guide its adherents to or towards that state, is both a condition and a guarantee of its 'traditional orthodoxy’.» — y el criterio que propone para la ortodoxia tradicional de una religión: mantener comunicación directa con ese estado y seguir conduciendo a él a sus fieles

«It is in fact the ‘terrestrial Paradise’ which is indeed the point of departure of every tradition, having in its centre the one wellspring from which flow the four rivers towards the four cardinal points, 14 and which is also the ‘sojourn of immortality’ as can easily be seen by referring to the first chapters of Genesis.» — pone el Paraíso terrestre como punto de partida de toda tradición, con la fuente única de la que salen los cuatro ríos hacia los cuatro puntos cardinales

«We cannot think of returning here to all the questions which concern the Supreme Centre, and which we have already treated very fully elsewhere: its conservation, in a more or less hidden way according to the period, from the beginning to the end of the cycle, that is, from the ‘terrestrial Paradise' to the ‘celestial Jerusalem’ which represent its two extreme phases:» — y las dos fases extremas entre las que sitúa la conservación del Centro Supremo a lo largo del ciclo, del Paraíso terrestre a la Jerusalén celeste

«To these figurations, we could join those which make of it a city, a citadel, a temple or a palace, according to the particular aspect under which it is envisaged:» — las figuras que suma para el mismo Centro: ciudad, ciudadela, templo o palacio según el aspecto en que se lo mire

«it is relevant to mention not only the Temple of Solomon which relates more directly to our subject, but also the triple precinct of which we have recently spoken as representing the initiatic hierarchy of certain traditional centres,» — y los dos casos que nombra: el Templo de Salomón y el triple recinto como figura de la jerarquía iniciática de ciertos centros tradicionales

«This is why the ‘fountain of instruction’ is at the same time the 'fountain of youth’ (fons iuventutis), because whoever drinks of it is emancipated from the temporal condition.» — identifica la fuente de la enseñanza con la fuente de juventud, porque quien bebe de ella queda emancipado de la condición temporal

«It must be remembered that the pilgrimage is precisely one of the figures representing initiation, so that ‘pilgrimage to the Holy Land’ is, in an esoteric sense, the same thing as the ‘search for the lost Word’ or the ‘quest for the Holy Grail’.» — y hace de la peregrinación una figura de la iniciación, con lo que peregrinar a Tierra Santa equivale en sentido esotérico a buscar la Palabra perdida o el Santo Grial

«We must now add that the symbolism of the 'Holy Land' has a double meaning: whether it may relate to the supreme Centre or to a subordinate centre, it represents not only that centre itself but also, by an association which is entirely natural, the tradition which emanates from it and which is there preserved, that is, in the first case, the Primordial Tradition, and in the second, a particular traditional form» — el doble sentido que le reconoce a Tierra Santa: el centro mismo y la tradición que emana de él y allí se conserva

«It is not without a motive that we bring together these two symbolisms, for their close resemblance shows that when one speaks of the ‘knighthood of the Holy Grail' or of the ‘guardians of the Holy Land', what must be understood by the two expressions is exactly the same thing.» — y hace equivaler caballería del Santo Grial y guardianes de la Tierra Santa

«It remains for us to explain, as far as possible, exactly what is the function of these ‘guardians’, a function which belonged in particular to the Templars» — anuncia lo que le queda por explicar: en qué consiste la función de esos guardianes, que atribuye en particular a los templarios

«In order to understand clearly what is involved, we must distinguish between the custodians of the tradition whose function is to preserve and transmit it, and those who are only recipients, in one degree or another, of a communication of the tradition and, we might say, a participation in it.» — la distinción con que la explica: custodios de la tradición, que la conservan y transmiten, y receptores, que participan de ella en grados diversos

«The first, trustees and dispensers of the doctrine, remain at the source which is strictly the centre itself.» — y el lugar de los primeros: permanecen en la fuente, que es el centro mismo

«From there, the doctrine is communicated and distributed hierarchically to the different initiatic degrees, according to the streams represented by the rivers of Pardes, or, to use the figuration which was the theme of the last chapter, by the channels which run from the inside towards the outside, linking together the successive precincts which correspond to the different degrees.» — describe la distribución jerárquica de la doctrina con las dos figuras que ya usó: los ríos del Pardés y los canales que van del interior al exterior del triple recinto

«Not all, therefore, of those who participate in the tradition have reached the same degree, nor do they fulfil the same function: it is necessary even to make a distinction between these last two things which, though corresponding in a» — y separa dos cosas que no coinciden: el grado alcanzado y la función que se cumple

«In this connection it is important to recall that in all traditions places essentially symbolise states.» — recuerda la regla que gobierna toda esta geografía: en todas las tradiciones los lugares simbolizan estados

«St Yves d'Alveydre, to designate the ‘guardians' of the supreme Centre, uses the expression 'Templars of Agartha'.» — la expresión que atribuye a Saint-Yves d'Alveydre para los guardianes del Centro supremo

«For it can happen that a man may be intellectually qualified to attain to the highest degrees but may not thereby be apt to fulfill all the functions in the initiatic organisation.» — separa grado y función dentro de la organización iniciática: quien está calificado para los grados más altos puede no ser apto para toda función

«from this point of view we will say that the ‘guardians' remain at the boundary of the spiritual centre, taken in its widest sense, or at the last precinct, by which the centre is both separated from the ‘outer world’ and placed in relationship with it.» — sitúa a los guardianes en el límite del centro espiritual, en el último recinto, que a la vez separa el centro del mundo exterior y lo pone en relación con él

«these ‘guardians’ have a double function: on the one hand, they are indeed the defenders of the ‘Holy Land’ in the sense that they bar from access to it all who lack the requisite qualifications to enter, and they constitute what we have called its ‘outer covering’, that is, they conceal it from the eyes of the profane. On the other hand, they nevertheless assure certain regular relations with the outside, as we shall explain in what follows.» — y les asigna doble función: cerrar el acceso a quien no está calificado —lo que llama envoltura exterior— y a la vez asegurar ciertas relaciones regulares con el afuera

«It is obvious that to act as defender is, to speak the language of Hinduism, a function of the Kshatriya; and all ‘chivalric’ initiation is in fact essentially adapted to the nature of men pertaining to the warrior caste, that is, the Kshatriyas. Hence the special characteristics of this initiation, the particular symbolism which it uses, and the intervention of an affective element very explicitly designated by the term ‘Love’. As we have already explained this at some length, we need not dwell on it here.» — adjudica la defensa a la función del kshatriya y hace de toda iniciación caballeresca una adaptación a la naturaleza de la casta guerrera, con el elemento afectivo designado por el término Amor

«there is something more to be considered; even though their initiation was essentially ‘chivalric’, as suited their nature and function, they had two sides to their character, being both military and religious; and it had to be so if they were, as we have many reasons to think, among the ‘guardians’ of the supreme Centre, in which spiritual authority and temporal power are reunited in their common principle, and which as it were stamps the recognisable sign or mark of this reunion on all that is directly connected with it.» — lo que añade en el caso de los templarios: iniciación caballeresca y a la vez doble carácter militar y religioso, que explica por su condición de guardianes del Centro supremo, donde autoridad espiritual y poder temporal se reúnen en su principio común

«In the Western world, where the spiritual takes a specifically religious form, the true ‘guardians of the Holy Land’, insofar as they had any ‘official’ existence, had to be knights, but knights who were monks at the same time, and in fact that indeed is what the Templars were.» — y la consecuencia que saca para Occidente, donde lo espiritual toma forma religiosa: los guardianes tenían que ser caballeros y monjes a la vez

«This brings us directly to the second function of the ‘guardians’ of the supreme Centre, a function which, as we said just now, consists in ensuring certain outward relationships and above all in maintaining the bond between the Primordial Tradition and the secondary derived traditions.» — la segunda función que les asigna: mantener el lazo entre la Tradición Primordial y las tradiciones derivadas

«That this may be so, it is necessary that for each traditional form there should be one or more organisations to all appearances within the said form,» — y la condición que eso impone: una o más organizaciones dentro de cada forma tradicional, al menos en apariencia

«It is this that explains their relations with certain Oriental organisations and especially, as is natural, with those that elsewhere played a part similar to their own.» — con lo que explica las relaciones de los templarios con organizaciones orientales de papel semejante

«These considerations make it clear, on the other hand, why the destruction of the Order ofthe Temple should have entailed for the West the rupture of regular relations with the ‘Centre of the World’; and it is precisely from the fourteenth century that the deviation inevitably resulting from this rupture must be dated,» — y lo que atribuye a la destrucción de la Orden del Temple: la ruptura de las relaciones regulares de Occidente con el Centro del Mundo, con la desviación fechada desde el siglo XIV. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«This is not to say, however, that all ties were broken with a single blow; it was possible to maintain some degree of relations for quite some time, but only in a hidden way,» — y acota la ruptura: no todos los lazos se cortaron de golpe, y algo pudo mantenerse de modo oculto

«How much longer will this situation endure? That is a question which it is not for us to answer.» — se niega a fechar el fin de esa situación

«Apart from the fact that we do not wish to hazard any prediction, the solution depends only on the West itself; for it is in returning to normal conditions and in recovering the spirit of its own tradition-if it still has in it this possibility—that the West may see open before it the way that leads to the ‘Centre of the World'.» — y pone la condición en el propio Occidente, con la reserva dicha en la misma frase: si aún le queda esa posibilidad

«Doubtless, there are more or less questionable assimilations in all this, and some of them imply real confusions; but nevertheless it may be that there are, even in the confusions themselves, one or two justifications which are not without interest from the point of view of ‘sacred geography’ and of the successive locations of certain traditional centres.» — concede que en las asimilaciones que examina hay confusiones reales, y aun así les reconoce interés para la geografía sagrada y para las localizaciones sucesivas de ciertos centros tradicionales

«and this implies that they must have preserved the knowledge of the tradition inherited from their distant predecessors, the Druids, and no doubt still others before them; for if the deductions drawn from the represented positions of the constellations are exact, the origin of these figures dates back almost three thousand years before the Christian era.» — y la datación que condiciona a la exactitud de las deducciones sobre las constelaciones representadas: casi tres mil años antes de la era cristiana, con el conocimiento heredado de los druidas y de otros anteriores

«It would also seem, according to various indications, that the Templars may have had a certain part in this conservation, which would be in conformity with their supposed connection with the 'Knights of the Round Table' and with the function which is attributed to them as ‘guardians of the Grail'.» — y propone, con las mismas reservas, una participación de los templarios en esa conservación, en línea con su vínculo supuesto con los caballeros de la Mesa Redonda

«the author maintains, is the prototype of the Round Table; and in fact, this Table, around which sit twelve principal personages, is well and truly bound up with a representation of the zodiacal cycle.» — en el capítulo 14, La tierra del Sol, recoge la tesis del autor del zodiaco de Glastonbury: ese trazado sería el prototipo de la Mesa Redonda, y él le concede la relación de la Mesa de doce personajes con el ciclo zodiacal

«But this does not mean that these personages are nothing other than the constellations, which would be a much too naturalistic interpretation.» — y le pone el límite: niega que esos personajes sean solamente las constelaciones, lectura que llama demasiado naturalista

«It may be admitted that the Glastonbury tracing, at the centre of which the Pole is marked by a serpent’s head (which is clearly to be referred back to the ‘celestial Dragon ’), 6 must be assigned to a period that preceded the transfer of the Scales into the Zodiac.» — admite datar el trazado antes del traslado de la Balanza al Zodiaco, con el Polo marcado en su centro por una cabeza de serpiente que remite al Dragón celeste

«On the other hand, and this is a particularly important consideration, the symbol of the polar Scales is related to the name Tula, given originally to the Hyperborean centre of the Primordial Tradition, that centre of which the ‘stellar temple’ in question here was doubtless one of those images that were constituted, in the course of time, as seats of spiritual power emanating or derived more or less directly from this same tradition .» — y liga el símbolo de la Balanza polar con el nombre Tula, dado en origen al centro hiperbóreo de la Tradición Primordial, del que hace del templo estelar una imagen

«Thus, it seems to us very doubtful that all the legends concerning the ‘Knights of the Round Table’ and the 'quest of the Holy Grail’ could be nothing more than a ‘dramatised’ description of the stellar effigies of Glastonbury and of the topography of that region.» — declara muy dudoso que las leyendas de la Mesa Redonda y la busca del Grial sean solo una descripción dramatizada de las efigies estelares de Glastonbury

«These considerations lead us to others that are perhaps still more strange: an idea that seems at first inexplicable is that of attributing the origin of the Glastonbury Zodiac to the Phoenicians.» — y pasa a lo que llama más extraño todavía: la atribución del zodiaco de Glastonbury a los fenicios

«It is true that we are in the habit of giving them the credit for many more or less hypothetical things, but the very affirmation of their existence at such a remote time appears to us still more questionable.» — objeta esa atribución no por lo hipotético sino por la afirmación misma de la presencia fenicia en época tan remota

«In fact, according to Josephus, the capital of the primaeval Syria was Heliopolis, the ‘City of the Sun', the name of which was later given to the Egyptian city of On; and it is to the first Heliopolis, not to that of Egypt, that the cyclical symbolism of the Phoenix and its rebirths must really be related.» — la corrección que propone, apoyada en Josefo: la Heliópolis del simbolismo del Fénix es la capital de la Siria primordial, no la ciudad egipcia que después tomó el nombre

«According to Diodorus of Sicily, one of the sons of Helios or of the sun, Actis by name, founded the city of Heliopolis; and it happens that this name Actis exists as a place name in the neighborhood of Glastonbury, in conditions which place it in precise relation with the Phoenix, into which according to other allusions this 'prince of Heliopolis’ had himself been transformed.» — y el dato de Diodoro de Sicilia sobre Actis, hijo de Helios y fundador de Heliópolis, cuyo nombre reaparece como topónimo cerca de Glastonbury en relación con el Fénix

«Naturally, the author, misled by the multiple and successive applications of the same names, believed that it was the Egyptian Heliopolis that was involved here, just as he believed that he could speak literally of the historical Phoenicians, which is all the more excusable in that the ancients of classical times had already made mistakes of the same sort often enough.» — explica el error del autor por las aplicaciones múltiples y sucesivas de unos mismos nombres, y lo excusa señalando que los antiguos ya se equivocaban igual

«Only the knowledge of the real Hyperborean origin of these traditions, which he seems not to suspect, makes it possible to re-establish the real meaning of all these designations.» — y pone la condición para restablecer el sentido: conocer el origen hiperbóreo de esas tradiciones, que dice que el autor no sospecha

«In the Zodiac of Glastonbury, the sign of Aquarius or the Water-bearer is represented in a rather unexpected way by a bird in which the author rightly thinks that he recognises the Phoenix; this bird carries an object which is none other than the ‘cup of immortality’, the Grail itself, and the comparison which is made with the Hindu Garuda is certainly quite right» — le da la razón al autor al reconocer el Fénix en el ave que figura Acuario, y añade que lleva la copa de inmortalidad, el Grial, con la comparación con el Garuda hindú

«There is also the figure of another bird which is more difficult to interpret exactly, and which perhaps takes the place of the sign of the Scales, though in any case its position is nearer to the Pole than to the Zodiac, as one of its wings even corresponds to the stars of the Great Bear which, after what has already been said, can only confirm this suspicion.» — la segunda ave, que declara más difícil de interpretar: quizá ocupe el lugar de la Balanza, y su posición está más cerca del Polo que del Zodiaco, con un ala sobre las estrellas de la Osa Mayor

«As to the nature of this bird, there are two hypotheses: that it is a dove, which in fact could have some relationship with the symbolism of the Grail: and that it is a goose, or rather a swan brooding over the World Egg, that is, an equivalent of the Hindu Hamsa.» — y deja abiertas las dos hipótesis sobre esa ave: paloma, ligada al Grial, u oca o más bien cisne empollando el Huevo del Mundo, equivalente del Hamsa hindú

«The bringing together of the two figures of Hamsa and Garuda is also quite normal, for they are sometimes even combined in the figure of a single bird, from which the two-headed heraldic eagle seems to have originated even though this eagle takes the form of a double Garuda; a Hamsa-Garuda would naturally have the heads of a swan and of an eagle.» — en nota, junta Hamsa y Garuda en una sola ave y de ahí hace derivar el águila bicéfala heráldica

«This allocation is not peculiar to India; many examples of it are to be found among the most diverse peoples; and most often each cardinal point is placed in correspondence with one of the elements and one of the seasons, as well as with an emblematic colour of the caste there located.» — y generaliza el reparto fuera de la India, con cada punto cardinal en correspondencia con un elemento, una estación y un color emblemático de la casta

«In India, the Brahmins occupied the North, the Kshatriyas the East, Vaisyas the South, and Shudras the West. There was in this way a division into ‘quarters' in the strict sense of the term which originally and obviously designated a quarter, that is, one fourth of a city, even though in modem usage this signification seems to have been forgotten more or less completely.» — el reparto indio que consigna —brahmanes al Norte, kshatriyas al Este, vaishyas al Sur, shudras al Oeste— y el sentido primero de cuarto de ciudad que ahí tiene la palabra

«It goes without saying that this repartition is closely related to the more general question of orientation which, as is well known, played an important part in all the ancient traditional civilisations, for a city as a whole as well as for each particular edifice.» — liga ese reparto con la orientación, a la que atribuye papel importante en todas las civilizaciones tradicionales antiguas

«Hocart is at a loss, however, to explain the proper localisation of each of the four castes. 2 His confusion ultimately stems from nothing but his error of considering the royal caste, the Kshatriyas, as the highest.» — y le imputa a Hocart no poder explicar la localización de cada casta por tener a los kshatriyas por la casta más alta

«N a book on castes, A. M. Hocart calls attention to the fact that ‘in the organisation of the city, the four groups are located at the different cardinal points inside the quadrangular or circular precinct’.» — abre el capítulo 15, El Zodiaco y los puntos cardinales, con la observación de A. M. Hocart sobre los cuatro grupos situados en los puntos cardinales del recinto de la ciudad. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo y la ene inicial se pierde con ella

«On the contrary, there is no difficulty if we keep to the normal order, that is, if we begin with the caste which really is the highest, the Brahmins.» — y sostiene que la dificultad desaparece si se parte de los brahmanes como casta más alta

«These reasons are based essentially on the fact that the traditional plan of the city is an image of the Zodiac; and this brings us straight back to the correspondence of the cardinal points with the seasons: as we have explained elsewhere, the winter solstice corresponds to the North, the vernal equinox to the East, the summer solstice to the South, and the autumnal equinox to the West.» — funda el reparto en el plano tradicional de la ciudad como imagen del Zodiaco, con los cuatro puntos cardinales en correspondencia con las estaciones

«No doubt it was for analogous reasons that the ancient astrologers drew their horoscopes in a square form in which each side was likewise occupied by three zodiacal signs;4 we will come again to this disposition in what follows.» — y remite a la misma razón el horóscopo cuadrado de los astrólogos antiguos, con tres signos zodiacales por lado

«It will now be clear that the distribution of the castes in the city follows exactly the march of the annual cycle, which normally begins at the winter solstice.» — hace seguir la distribución de las castas la marcha del ciclo anual, que da por empezado en el solsticio de invierno

«It is true that certain traditions make the year begin at another solstitial or equinoctial point, but these cases involve traditional forms with a more particular relationship to certain secondary cyclical periods.» — y acota que otras tradiciones empiezan el año en otro punto solsticial o equinoccial, remitiéndolas a periodos cíclicos secundarios

«On the other hand, the North, which is considered as the uppermost point ( uttara ) and which thus marks the starting point ofthe tradition, pertains quite naturally to the Brahmins.» — adjudica el Norte a los brahmanes por ser el punto más alto, uttara, y marcar el punto de partida de la tradición. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«By comparing these two positions it can be quite legitimately inferred that, while the character of the priesthood is ‘polar’, that of the royalty is ‘solar’, which many other symbolic considerations would confirm still further; and perhaps» — y la inferencia que saca comparando las dos posiciones: carácter polar del sacerdocio y solar de la realeza

«All this is perfectly logical, therefore, on the one condition that there be no mistake as to the point of departure; and in order to justify more thoroughly what has been said about the 'zodiacal' nature of the traditional layout of cities, we will now cite several facts which show that if their division responds mainly to the quaternary division of the cycle, there are cases where a twelvefold subdivision was clearly indicated.» — pone toda la construcción bajo una condición —no equivocar el punto de partida— y anuncia los casos donde la división cuaternaria del ciclo se subdivide en doce

«It goes without saying that it is necessary to take into account the difference of the traditional forms, which require diverse adaptations, but the principle of the division is no less the same.» — y salva las diferencias entre formas tradicionales sin renunciar al principio de la división

«Moreover, and this is the point that must be emphasized here, there was superimposed on this division into quarters, a division into ‘tribes’, that is, according to the etymological sense of the word, a ternary division.» — el dato que subraya: sobre la división en cuartos se superpone una división en tribus, que por etimología es ternaria

«Another example is that of the Hebrews, which Hocart himself cites, though he does not seem to take note of the importance of the_number twelve.» — y el segundo caso, el hebreo, que Hocart cita sin reparar —dice— en la importancia del número doce

«Judah camped to the East, Ruben to the South, Ephraim to the West, and Dan to the North.» — el reparto de las cuatro tribus principales del campamento por puntos cardinales

«Nevertheless, on at least one point there is a very clear similarity with the disposition adopted in India, for the royal tribe, that ofJudah, also was placed to the East.» — la coincidencia que señala con la India: la tribu real, la de Judá, también al Este. El troceo pega *ofJudah*, artefacto de OCR

«Its situation in the inner part of the camp can be explained by the fact that it was expressly attached to the service of a single sanctuary which at first was the Tabernacle, the normal position of which was at the centre.» — y la diferencia: la tribu sacerdotal de Leví queda en el interior del campamento por su adscripción al santuario único, el Tabernáculo, cuya posición normal era el centro

«However that may be, all that concerns us in the present instance is the fact that the twelve tribes were distributed by threes on the four sides of a quadrilateral facing towards the four cardinal points; and it is generally known that there was, in fact, a symbolic correspondence between the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, which leaves no doubt as to the nature and significance of the distribution in question.» — lo que retiene del caso: las doce tribus repartidas de tres en tres sobre los cuatro lados de un cuadrilátero orientado, con la correspondencia sabida entre las doce tribus de Israel y los doce signos del Zodiaco

«If reference is now made to the apocalyptic description of the ‘celestial Jerusalem’, is is easy to see that its plan exactly reproduces that of the camp of the Hebrews of which we have just spoken; and at the same time, this plan is also identical to the square horoscope mentioned above.» — y hace coincidir el plano apocalíptico de la Jerusalén celeste con el del campamento hebreo y con el horóscopo cuadrado

«It is obvious that these twelve gates correspond moreover to the twelve zodiacal signs, the four chief gates, that is, those in the middle of each of the four sides, corresponding to the solstitial and equinoctial signs; and the twelve aspects of the Sun relate to each of the signs, that is, to the twelve Mityas of the Hindu tradition, appearing under the form of the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life which, placed at the centre of the city, ‘gives its fruits each month’, that is, precisely according to the successive positions of the Sun in the Zodiac in the course of the annual cycle.» — lee las doce puertas como los doce signos, las cuatro principales como los solsticiales y equinocciales, y los doce Aditya de la tradición hindú como los doce frutos del Árbol de la Vida que da fruto cada mes. El troceo imprime *Mityas*, artefacto de OCR

«This city, ‘descending from heaven to earth’, thus represents clearly enough, at least in one of its significations, the projection of the celestial ‘archetype’ into the constitution of the terrestrial city: and no doubt enough has already been said to show that this ‘archetype’ is symbolised essentially by the Zodiac.» — y cierra el capítulo 15: la ciudad que baja del cielo a la tierra proyecta el arquetipo celeste sobre la ciudad terrestre, y ese arquetipo lo simboliza el Zodiaco

«It is no doubt less well known that they also had another formula for their oaths, namely ‘by the square of four’; between the two formulas there is an obvious relationship; for the number four is their common base.» — abre el capítulo 16, La Tetraktys y el cuadrado de cuatro, con la segunda fórmula de juramento pitagórica, por el cuadrado de cuatro, emparentada con la primera por tener el cuatro como base común

«This implies, among other things, that the Pythagorean doctrine had to be put forward in a mode that was more ‘cosmological’ than purely metaphysical, nor is that an exceptional case when Western traditions are concerned, for we have already had cause to make an analogous remark about Hermetism.» — y lo que de ahí infiere: la doctrina pitagórica expuesta en modo cosmológico más que metafísico, como ya observó del hermetismo

«The reason for this deduction, which may seem strange at first to those who are unaccustomed to the use of numerical symbolism, is that the quaternary is always and everywhere considered as the number of universal manifestation.» — la razón que da: el cuaternario es en todas partes el número de la manifestación universal

«In this respect, it therefore marks the very starting point of cosmology, while the numbers that precede it, one, two and three, are strictly related to ontology.» — y el corte que traza en la serie: el cuatro abre la cosmología y el uno, el dos y el tres pertenecen a la ontología

«We will not develop just now the different points of view from which these terms can be understood; they could be said, for example, to correspond to the four ‘worlds’ of the Hebrew Kabbala, which also have their exact equivalents in Islamic esoterism.» — empareja los cuatro términos con los cuatro mundos de la cábala hebrea y con sus equivalentes en el esoterismo islámico

«What concerns us for the moment is that the quaternary thus constituted is held to be presupposed by manifestation, in the sense that the presence of all its terms is necessary for the complete development of the possibilities which manifestation comprises; and this moreover is said to be why, in the order of manifested things, the mark of the quaternary, we might say its ‘signature’, is always especially noticeable—whence, for example, the four elements» — y lo que llama la firma del cuaternario en el orden de las cosas manifestadas, con los cuatro elementos como ejemplo

«This ‘schema’, in its geometric form, is one of the most widespread symbols, one of those which are truly common to all traditions: it is the circle divided into four equal parts by a cross formed from two diameters at right» — la figura que declara común a todas las tradiciones: el círculo dividido en cuatro por una cruz de dos diámetros perpendiculares

«In fact the quaternary is represented geometrically in its ‘static’ aspect by the square, but in its ‘dynamic’ aspect, as here, by the cross; and the cross, when it turns around its own centre, engenders the circumference which, with the centre, represents the denary which itself, as we have already said, is the complete numerical cycle.» — distingue los dos aspectos del cuaternario: estático en el cuadrado, dinámico en la cruz, que al girar sobre su centro engendra la circunferencia y con el centro da el denario

«This is what is called the ‘circling of the square’, the geometric representation of what is represented arithmetically by the formula 1 + 2 + 3 + 4=10.» — nombra esa operación circulatura del cuadrado y le da su equivalente aritmético

«Inversely, the Hermetic problem of the ‘squaring of the circle’ (an expression so often misunderstood) is nothing other than what is represented by the fourfold division of the circle implicit from the start by two diameters at right angles.» — y reduce el problema hermético de la cuadratura del círculo —expresión que dice a menudo mal entendida— a la división cuádruple del círculo

«This will be expressed numerically by the same formula, but written inversely; 10 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4, to show that all the development of manifestation is thus brought back to the fundamental quaternary.» — con la misma fórmula escrita al revés, para mostrar que todo el desarrollo de la manifestación vuelve al cuaternario fundamental

«The triangular numbers, of course, are those numbers obtained by adding the consecutive whole numbers from unity to each of the successive terms of the series.» — define los números triangulares como suma de los enteros consecutivos desde la unidad

«Unity itself is the first triangular number, as it is also the first square number; for being the principle and the origin of the series of whole numbers it must also be the principle and origin of all the other series that are derived from it.» — y hace de la unidad el primer número triangular y el primer cuadrado, por ser principio de la serie de los enteros

«The second triangular number is 1 + 2 = 3, which shows, moreover, that once unity has produced the binary by its own polarisation, the immediate result is the ternary; and the geometric representation of this is obvious: 1 corresponds to the summit of the triangle, 2 to the extremities of the base, and the triangle itself taken as a whole is naturally the figure of the number 3.» — el segundo triangular, con la unidad polarizándose en binario y dando de inmediato el ternario, y su lectura geométrica en el triángulo

«If we then consider the three terms of the ternary as having an independent existence, this sum gives the third triangular number: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6.» — el tercero, el senario, tomados los tres términos del ternario como existencias independientes

«This senary number, being the double of the ternary, can be said to imply a new ternary which is a reflection of the first, as in the well-known symbol of the ‘seal of Solomon’; but this could give rise to other considerations which would be outside our present subject.» — y lo que ve en el senario: un ternario nuevo reflejo del primero, como en el sello de Salomón, sin desarrollarlo por quedar fuera del asunto

«Continuing the series, the fourth triangular number is: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10, namely, the Tetraktys : and one sees by this, as we have already explained, that the quaternary in a sense contains all the numbers because it contains the denary—whence the formula of the Tao-te-King that we have cited elsewhere, ‘one has produced two, two has produced three, three has produced all the numbers’, which amounts to saying once again that all manifestation is as it were enveloped within the quaternary, or, inversely, that the quaternary constitutes the whole basis of manifestation’s integral development.» — el cuarto triangular es la Tetraktys, y de ahí que el cuaternario contenga todos los números por contener el denario, con la fórmula del Tao-te-King citada como apoyo

«In this connection, let us also note in passing, that it is because 9 and not 10 is the number of the circumference that its division is normally calculated in multiples of 9 (90 degrees for the quadrant and subsequently 360 degrees for the entire circumference) which is moreover directly related to the whole question of ‘cyclic numbers’.» — y de ahí explica que la circunferencia se divida en múltiplos de nueve, con los noventa grados del cuadrante y los trescientos sesenta del total

«If we consider the sides themselves as measured by the number of these elements, the result is that the sides of the triangle and those of the square will be equal.» — la igualdad de los lados del triángulo y del cuadrado cuando se los mide por el número de sus elementos

«the triangle and the square as such, this combination is a geometrical figure of the septenary inasmuch as this is the sum of the ternary and the quaternary: 3 + 4 = 7.» — y la figura del septenario que resulta de combinarlos, por ser suma del ternario y el cuaternario

«To limit ourselves to what especially concerns us here, suffice it to say that in the correspondence of triangular and square numbers, the first must be related to a higher domain than the second, from which it can be inferred that in Pythagorean symbolism the Tetraktys must have had a function higher than that of the square of four; and in fact, all that is known of that symbolism would seem to indicate that this was indeed the case.» — la inferencia que saca de la correspondencia entre números triangulares y cuadrados: la Tetraktys tendría en el simbolismo pitagórico función más alta que el cuadrado de cuatro

«The two numbers 10 and 16, contained respectively in the triangle and in the square, have 26 as their sum: and this number 26 is the total numerical value of the letters forming the Hebrew tetragrammaton yodh, he, vau, he.» — la suma veintiséis del triángulo y el cuadrado, que hace coincidir con el valor numérico del tetragrámaton hebreo

«What is more 10 is the value of the first letter (yodh ) and 1 6 is that of all the three other letters he, vau and he.» — y el reparto interno de esa suma entre la primera letra y las tres restantes

«This division of the tetragrammaton is perfectly normal and the correspondence of its two parts is again very significant: the Tetraktys is thus identified with the yodh in the triangle while the rest of the tetragrammaton is inscribed in the square placed beneath it.» — con lo que identifica la Tetraktys con el yod en el triángulo y el resto del tetragrámaton con el cuadrado inferior

«On the other hand, the triangle and the square both contain four lines made up of points: and if only to call attention again to the concordances of the different traditional sciences, it is to be noted, though this has no more than a secondary importance, that four lines made up of points are to be found in the diagrams of geomancy, diagrams which by the quaternary combination of 1 and 2 are of the number of 16 = 42 ; and geomancy, as the name indicates, stands in special relation to the earth which, according to the Far Eastern tradition, is symbolised by the square.» — la concordancia que añade con la geomancia, cuyas figuras de cuatro líneas de puntos dan dieciséis, y que por su nombre pone en relación con la tierra, simbolizada por el cuadrado en la tradición extremo-oriental

«Finally, if we consider the solid forms in three dimensional geometry that correspond to the plane figures in question here, the cube corresponds to the square, and the figure that corresponds to the triangle is the quadrangular pyramid with the upper face of the cube as its base.» — pasa a los sólidos: el cubo por el cuadrado y la pirámide cuadrangular por el triángulo, apoyada en la cara superior del cubo

«The whole forms what Masonic symbolism designates as the ‘pointed cubic stone’ and which, in the Hermetic interpretation, is considered to be a figure of the ‘philosopher’s stone’.» — y nombra la figura entera: la piedra cúbica puntiaguda del simbolismo masónico, que la interpretación hermética toma por figura de la piedra filosofal

«This feature has often intrigued specialists in Masonic symbolism, the greater number of whom have been unable to offer any satisfactory explanation whatsoever.» — señala que los especialistas del simbolismo masónico no han dado explicación satisfactoria de ese rasgo

«It will be noted that in this disposition, despite the difference of geometric forms, we have the equivalent of the already explained representation of the denary by the circle,» — señala la equivalencia entre esa disposición y la del denario por el círculo, pese a la diferencia de formas geométricas: también ahí el uno corresponde al centro y el nueve a la circunferencia

«of the Hebrew letter caph; and in fact it is there that the real solution is to be found.» — la clave que él propone para el jeroglífico del Polo del capítulo 17: la letra hebrea caph

«The most general sense attached to the letter in question, either in Hebrew or in Arabic, is that of strength or power (in Arabic, quwwah) which may be either of the physical or spiritual order as the case may be; and it is to this meaning, very directly, that the symbolism of a weapon such as the axe corresponds.» — y el sentido que le da en hebreo y en árabe, fuerza o potencia, física o espiritual, al que hace corresponder el simbolismo del hacha

«In the present instance it is obviously a spiritual power that is symbolised, for the axe is placed in direct relationship, not with the cube, but with the pyramid: and this brings to mind what we have already explained elsewhere about the equivalence of the axe and the vajra (lightning) which is likewise above all a sign of the spiritual power.» — decide por el poder espiritual, porque el hacha se relaciona con la pirámide y no con el cubo, y recuerda la equivalencia entre el hacha y el vajra

«This position, therefore, seems to indicate the highest spiritual power active in the world, that is, what all traditions designate as the Pole; and in the same connection let us not forget the axial significance of symbolic arms in general and of the axe in particular, which is manifestly in perfect accord with such an interpretation.» — lee en esa posición el poder espiritual más alto activo en el mundo, que las tradiciones llaman el Polo, apoyado en el valor axial de las armas simbólicas

«What is especially to be noted is that the very name of the letter qaf is also, in the Arabic tradition, the name of the sacred or polar Mountain.» — y el dato que más subraya: en la tradición árabe qaf es también el nombre de la Montaña sagrada o polar

«Now qaf is the numeric equivalent of maqam, (holy place or station), 2 an equivalence that defines this point as the ‘Place’, par excellence, that is, the single point that remains fixed and invariable in all the revolutions of the world.» — la equivalencia numérica de qaf con maqam, que le sirve para definir ese punto como el Lugar por excelencia, único fijo en todas las revoluciones del mundo

«The letter qaf is moreover the first letter of the Arabic name of the Pole, Qutb, and as such it can stand for the whole word, as initials are often made to do; 3 but there are still other concordances which are no less striking.» — y la segunda concordancia: qaf como inicial de Qutb, el Polo, capaz de valer por la palabra entera

«It is thus that the letter mlm, for example, may serve to designate the Mahdi.» — el caso paralelo que aduce, la letra mim por el Mahdi. El troceo imprime *mlm*, artefacto de OCR

«‘centre’) of the supreme Pole (called al-Qutb al-Ghawth, in order to distinguish him from the seven Aqtab or secondary and subordinate Poles)4 is described symbolically as situated between heaven and earth, at a point that is exactly over the Kabah which, precisely, has the form of a cube and which is itselfone of the representations of the ‘Centre of the World’.» — sitúa el centro del Polo supremo entre cielo y tierra, sobre la Kaaba, que tiene forma cúbica y es una de las representaciones del Centro del Mundo; distingue ese Polo de los siete Aqtab subordinados. El troceo pega *itselfone*, artefacto de OCR

«We can thus consider the pyramid, which is invisible because it is of a purely spiritual nature, as rising above this cube which for its part is visible because it relates to the world of the elements, marked by the quaternary number; and at the same time, this cube, on which rests the base of the pyramid or of the hierarchy that it figures with the Qutb at its summit, is also by its form a symbol of perfect stability.» — y la figura entera: la pirámide invisible por espiritual sobre el cubo visible del mundo de los elementos, con el Qutb en la cúspide y el cubo como símbolo de estabilidad perfecta

«The supreme Qutb is attended by the two Imams of the right and of the left, and the ternary thus formed is represented in the pyramid by the triangularity of each of its faces.» — el ternario del Qutb con los dos imames de la derecha y de la izquierda, representado en la triangularidad de cada cara de la pirámide

«On the other hand, the unity and the binary which constitute this ternary correspond to the letters alif and ba, according to the respective numerical values of these letters.» — y la lectura de ese ternario por las letras alif y ba según sus valores numéricos

«In connection with this last point, let it be added that the letter alif is considered as being especially ‘polar’ (qutbaniyyah ); its name and the word Qutb are numerically equivalent: alif =1 + 30 -I- 80 =111; Qutb = 100 + 9 + 2 = 111.» — la equivalencia numérica que calcula entre alif y Qutb, los dos en ciento once

«This number 111 represents unity expressed in the three worlds, which is a perfectly apt way of describing the very function of the Pole.» — y lo que lee en esa cifra: la unidad expresada en los tres mundos, que declara descripción exacta de la función del Polo

«There must therefore be something else in all this, and that becomes still more evident as soon as we take note of the existence of similar words or expressions elsewhere—so much so that we feel impelled in the natural course to find out what symbolic meaning such expressions may really have.» — abre el capítulo 18, Las cabezas negras, negándose a dar por explicada la expresión y buscando su sentido simbólico por su reaparición en otras partes

«On the other hand, some have thought that the ‘black people’ were strictly speaking the masses of the people to whom the colour black would have been attributed just as it is in India to the Shudras, and with the same sense of indistinction and anonymity; but it seems that it is really the entire Chinese people who are thus designated, without any distinction being made between the masses and the elite, and if this was the case, then the symbolism in question could no longer apply.» — recoge la lectura de gente negra como la masa del pueblo, a la manera del color de los shudras en la India, y la acota: si designa al pueblo chino entero sin distinguir masa y élite, ese simbolismo ya no aplica

«It is not, therefore, to this lower sense of the colour black that we should refer here, but rather to its higher sense, for as we have explained on other occasions, black has a double symbolism, in the same way that anonymity, to which we have just alluded in connection with the mass of the people, has likewise two opposite meanings.» — y decide por el sentido superior del negro, apoyado en el doble simbolismo del color y en el doble sentido del anonimato

«The orientalists, who for the most part deliberately ignore all symbolism, wish to explain these terms of ‘black people’ and ‘black heads’ as designating ‘people with black hair’.» — objeta a los orientalistas explicar esas expresiones como gente de cabello negro, y les imputa ignorar deliberadamente todo simbolismo

«It could therefore be said that the centre is ‘white’ from the outside and in relation to the manifestation that proceeds from it, while inwardly and in itself it is ‘black’; and this point of view is naturally that of the beings who, for reasons such as we have mentioned, are symbolically situated in the centre itself.» — la fórmula con que resuelve el color: el centro es blanco hacia fuera, respecto de la manifestación que procede de él, y negro hacia dentro, que es el punto de vista de quien está en el centro

«and as such the colour black, understood in its higher sense, is truly apt for it.» — y cierra dando por apropiado el negro en su sentido superior para ese centro

«First of all, it is to be noted that in a very old catechism of the Companion grade,4 the question: ‘What does that G denote?’, is answered, ‘Geometry, or the Fifth Science’» — abre el capítulo 19, La letra G y el swastika, con la respuesta de un catecismo antiguo del grado de Compañero: la G denota la Geometría, quinta ciencia

«that is, the science that ranks fifth in the traditional enumeration of the ‘seven liberal arts’, the esoteric transposition of which in medieval initiations we have pointed out on other occasions» — y sitúa esa quinta ciencia en la enumeración tradicional de las siete artes liberales, cuya transposición esotérica en las iniciaciones medievales dice haber señalado en otra parte

«This interpretation in no way contradicts the affirmation that the same letter ‘stands for God’, God being specially designated in that grade as ‘The Great Geometer of the Universe’: and on the other hand, what gives it all its importance is that in the oldest manuscripts of operative Masonry, ‘Geometry’ is constantly identified with masonry itself.» — declara compatibles las dos lecturas de la G —Geometría y Dios como Gran Geómetra del Universo— y apoya la primera en que los manuscritos más viejos de la masonería operativa identifican geometría y masonería

«not in itself be considered a true symbol inasmuch as it belongs to modem languages that have nothing sacred or traditional about them: but it ‘stands for God’ according to the English Masonic rituals, and is in fact the initial letter of the word God itself.» — y la reserva que pone sobre la letra: no la tiene por símbolo verdadero, por pertenecer a una lengua moderna sin carácter sagrado, aunque los rituales masónicos ingleses la hagan valer por God

«Besides, as we shall now see, it appears that the letter G, as the first letter of the word Geometry, has assumed the place ofgamma (T), its Greek equivalent, which the very origin of the word 'Geometry' sufficiently justifies (and here, at least, a modem language is no longer involved).» — y resuelve esa objeción haciendo que la G ocupe el lugar de la gamma griega, por el origen de la palabra Geometry. El troceo pega *ofgamma*, artefacto de OCR

«Now, before going further, it might be asked if this does not contradict what was said about G being a substitute for the Hebrew yodh, or at least—for this substitution did in fact take place» — se plantea si eso contradice lo dicho sobre la G como sustituto del yod hebreo

«The author of a work on Masonic symbolism saw fit to address to us a somewhat discourteous criticism on this point, as if we were responsible for this phonetic assimilation: nevertheless, we are not—anymore than we are» — registra la crítica que le hizo el autor de una obra sobre simbolismo masónico, que llama poco cortés, y niega ser responsable de esa asimilación fonética

«Let everyone think what he likes of the value of such parallels (and there are still others), but we are obliged in any case to take note of them, at least historically.» — y deja el juicio sobre esos paralelos a cada quien, reservándose la obligación de consignarlos al menos históricamente

«All the considerations which some have sought to extract from the form of the letter G (its likeness to a knot, to the alchemical symbol for salt, etc.) are manifestly quite artificial and even fanciful. They have not the least relationship with any recognized meanings of this letter, and they are not based on any authentic data.» — llama artificiales y aun fantasiosas las lecturas sacadas de la forma de la letra G, como su parecido con un nudo o con el signo alquímico de la sal

«But the whole question is seen in a quite different light by those who, like ourselves, refuse for more than one reason to consider this grade as the product of a ‘speculative’ elaboration of the eighteenth century, and who see in it a kind of ‘condensation’ of the content of certain higher grades of operative Masonry, contrived to fill as far as possible a gap due to the ignorance ofthe founders ofthe Great Lodge ofEngland regarding these grades.» — declara su propia posición sobre ese grado: niega que sea elaboración especulativa del siglo XVIII y lo ve como condensación de grados altos de la masonería operativa, hecha para llenar un hueco que atribuye a la ignorancia de los fundadores de la Gran Logia de Inglaterra. El troceo pega *ofthe*, *offounders* y *ofEngland*, artefactos de OCR

«It becomes then a question of the superimposition of two different meanings that by no means exclude one another, something that is in no way exceptional in symbolism.» — y hace de las dos lecturas una superposición de sentidos que no se excluyen, cosa que declara corriente en el simbolismo

«Furthermore (which no one seems to have noticed up to this point), the two interpretations, respectively through Greek and through Hebrew, are in perfect agreement with the specific character of the two corresponding grades, ‘pythagorean' for the second and ‘solomonian’ for the third; and perhaps, after all, it is especially here that we find what is necessary for an understanding of what is really involved.» — la concordancia que dice no advertida hasta ahí: la lectura griega y la hebrea corresponden al carácter pitagórico del segundo grado y salomónico del tercero

«Let us now return to the ‘geometric’ interpretation of the grade of Companion, and what we have said so far is not the most interesting part of that interpretation as regards the symbolism of operative Masonry.» — anuncia lo que le importa de la lectura geométrica del grado de Compañero para el simbolismo de la masonería operativa

«In the same catechism that was cited above, the following kind of enigma is also to be found: ‘By letters four and science five, this G aright doth stand in due art and proportion ’.» — el enigma que cita del mismo catecismo, con sus cuatro letras y su ciencia quinta

«As to the significance of ‘letters four’, at first sight and by symmetry we might be tempted to suppose that there is a mistake and that ‘letter’ must be read in the singular, so that it would be a question of the ‘fourth letter’, that is, in the Greek alphabet, the letter delta.» — la primera lectura que considera para las cuatro letras: una errata por cuarta letra, es decir la delta griega

«which in fact is interesting symbolically by its triangular form; but since that explanation would have the great defect of showing no intelligible relationship with the letter G, it is much more likely that it is really a question of ‘four letters' and that the irregular expression sciencefive, instead offifth science, has been placed there intentionally to make the statement yet more enigmatic.» — y la descarta por no guardar relación inteligible con la G, con lo que prefiere leer cuatro letras y tener por deliberada la torpeza de la expresión

«Now the point that might seem to be the most obscure is this: why are four letters spoken of, or if it is really still a question ofthe initial letter of the word Geometry, why must it be quadrupled to stand aright in due art and proportion?» — y formula la pregunta que le queda: por qué la inicial de Geometry habría de cuadruplicarse

«In fact, four gammas joined together at right angles form the swastika , ‘symbol, as is also the letter G, of the Pole Star which is itself the symbol, and for the operative Mason, the actual throne of the hidden central Sun of the Universe, Yah', 8 which obviously calls to mind very closely the Tai-i of the Far Eastern tradition.» — la respuesta que da: cuatro gammas unidas en ángulo recto forman el swastika, símbolo de la Estrella Polar, trono del Sol central oculto del Universo, que empareja con el Tai-i extremo-oriental

«It is well to note further that the bent part of the arms of the swastika is considered in this context as representing the Great Bear seen in four different positions in the course of its revolution around the Pole Star, to which the centre where the four gammas are united naturally corresponds, and that these four positions are related to the cardinal points and the four seasons; and it is well known how important the Great Bear is in all the traditions in which polar symbolism plays a part.» — y la lectura de los brazos doblados como la Osa Mayor en cuatro posiciones de su giro alrededor de la Polar, ligadas a los puntos cardinales y a las cuatro estaciones

«If we consider that all this pertains to a symbolism which may truly be called ‘ecumenical’ and which by that very fact indicates a rather direct link with the Primordial Tradition, we can understand without difficulty why the ‘polar theory has always been one of the greatest secrets of the true master Masons'.» — llama ecuménico a ese simbolismo y lo liga a la Tradición Primordial, con lo que explica que la teoría polar figure entre los mayores secretos de los maestros masones

«It might perhaps be objected that the unpublished information given by the Speculative Mason about the swastika comes from Clement Stretton and that it is said that he was the chief author of a ‘restoration' of the operative rituals in which certain elements, lost as the result of circumstances never completely clarified, would have been replaced by borrowings from speculative rituals, borrowings which cannot be guaranteed to conform with what existed of old.» — se plantea la objeción de que ese dato inédito sobre el swastika venga de Clement Stretton, a quien se atribuye una restauración de los rituales operativos con préstamos de los especulativos

«But this objection is pointless in the present case because it is a question of something of which there is no trace whatsoever in speculative Masonry.» — y la responde: de eso no hay rastro en la masonería especulativa, de modo que no puede ser préstamo

«It will be noted that the ‘Grand Architect of the Universe’ is identified here with Christ (and thus with the Logos), himself placed in relationship with the ‘cornerstone’ understood according to the sense that we have explained» — la identificación que registra del Gran Arquitecto del Universo con Cristo, y por ahí con el Logos, puesto en relación con la piedra angular

«The ‘pinnacle of the Temple’ (note the curious resemblance of this word with the Hebrew pirmah which signifies 'angle') is naturally the summit or the most elevated point and as such it is the equivalent of that which is the ‘key of the arch’ (Keystone) in Arch Masonry.» — y el pináculo del Templo como punto más alto, equivalente de la clave del arco de la masonería del Arco Real, con el parecido que señala entre pinnacle y el hebreo pinnah, ángulo. El troceo imprime *pirmah*, artefacto de OCR

«It would need a whole volume to treat this subject rally with all its complex and multiple significations, and to call attention to its links with a great number of analogous figures that are to be found in other traditions» — abre el capítulo 20, Algunos aspectos del simbolismo de Jano, declarando que el asunto pediría un volumen entero. El troceo imprime *rally* por fully, artefacto de OCR

«Meanwhile, it seemed of interest to bring together certain aspects of the symbolism in question, and in particular to reconsider more thoroughly than we have ever yet been able to do how it is that Janus is sometimes connected with Christ, in a way that may seem strange at first sight but which is none the less perfectly justified.» — y anuncia lo que sí se propone: examinar por qué se conecta a Jano con Cristo, cosa que llama extraña a primera vista y a la vez justificada

«Christ, also, like the ancient Janus, holds the royal sceptre to which he is entitled by his Heavenly Father as well as by his earthly ancestry; and his other hand holds the key to the eternal secrets, the key» — y lo que describe de esa figura: el cetro real por su ascendencia celeste y terrestre, y en la otra mano la llave de los secretos eternos

«The most common interpretation of the two faces of Janus is that which considers them as representing respectively the past and the future. This interpretation, although very incomplete, is nevertheless exact from a certain point of view.» — recoge la lectura corriente de las dos caras como pasado y futuro, y la llama muy incompleta aunque exacta desde cierto punto de vista

«It must be added that such is not the case with the emblem of Luchon: we have only to look at it closely to see beyond doubt that it is a portrayal of Janus the androgyne or Janus-Jana ;» — y exceptúa el emblema de Luchon, en el que reconoce a Jano andrógino

«Whenever the symbolism of Janus relates to time, it is important to remember that between the past which is no longer and the future which is not yet, the true face of Janus, that which looks at the present, is neither one nor the other of those that we can see.» — lo que le importa de la figura: entre el pasado que ya no es y el futuro que aún no es, la cara verdadera de Jano, la del presente, no es ninguna de las visibles

«This third face is, in fact, invisible because the present in its temporal manifestation is but an ungraspable instant: 7 but when one rises above the conditions of this transitory and contingent manifestation, the present, on the contrary, contains all reality.» — y por qué esa tercera cara es invisible: el presente temporal es un instante inasible, pero por encima de esa manifestación contingente el presente contiene toda la realidad

«It is also for this reason that certain languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, do not have a verbal form that corresponds to the present.» — el dato lingüístico con que lo apoya: hebreo y árabe carecen de forma verbal de presente

«The third face of Janus, in another symbolism, that of the Hindu tradition, corresponds to the frontal eye ofShiva, which is also invisible, not being represented by any corporeal organ, and which represents the ‘sense of eternity’.» — empareja esa tercera cara con el ojo frontal de Shiva, también invisible por no tener órgano corporal, que hace representar el sentido de la eternidad. El troceo pega *ofShiva*, artefacto de OCR

«It is said that a glance from this third eye reduces everything to ashes, that is, it destroys all manifestation.» — y lo que se dice de su mirada: reduce todo a cenizas, es decir destruye toda manifestación

«But when succession is transmuted into simultaneity, all things remain in the eternal present, so that the apparent destruction is really a transformation in the most rigorously etymological sense of this word.» — y su lectura de esa destrucción: transmutada la sucesión en simultaneidad, lo que parece destrucción es transformación en sentido riguroso

«These few considerations make it easy to understand that Janus truly represents him who is not only the ‘Master of the triple time’ (a designation which is also applied to Shiva in the Hindu doctrine), 8 but also, and before all else, the ‘Lord of Eternity’.» — de ahí hace de Jano no solo el Maestro del tiempo triple, título que la doctrina hindú da a Shiva, sino ante todo el Señor de la Eternidad

«‘Christ’, as Charbonneau-Lassay wrote further in this connection, ‘dominates the past and the future; coetemal with his Father, he is like his Father, the “Ancient of Days”: “in the beginning was the Word”, says St John.» — la formulación que cita de Charbonneau-Lassay: Cristo domina pasado y futuro y es como su Padre el Anciano de los Días

«He Himself proclaimed Himself as the beginning and the end of all: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”.» — y el alfa y el omega con que la misma cita cierra

«These are those of the solstitial gates, Janua Cali and Janua Inferni, corresponding respectively to the winter and summer solstices, that is, to the two extreme points in the course of the sun in its annual cycle, for Janus, as ‘Master of time’, is the Janitor who opens and closes this cycle.» — identifica las dos llaves de Jano con las puertas solsticiales, Janua Caeli y Janua Inferni, y hace de él el portero que abre y cierra el ciclo anual

«the silver key is that of the terrestrial Paradise, and the gold key that of the celestial Paradise.» — y el reparto de las dos llaves entre el Paraíso terrestre y el celeste

«These same keys were one of the attributes of the sovereign pontificate to which the function of ‘hierophant’ was essentially attached.» — las hace atributo del pontificado soberano al que iba unida la función de hierofante

«the barque, which was also a symbol of Janus , 14 they have remained among the chief emblems of the papacy: and the Gospel words concerning the ‘power of the keys’ are in perfect accord with the ancient traditions, all rising from the great primordial tradition.» — y las liga, junto con la barca, a los emblemas del papado, poniendo las palabras evangélicas sobre el poder de las llaves en acuerdo con las tradiciones antiguas

«In fact, a curious document expressly representing Christ in the form of Janus was published several years ago by Charbonneau-Lassay in Regnabit» — el documento en que se apoya: la representación de Cristo en forma de Jano publicada por Charbonneau-Lassay en Regnabit

«Dante, in fact, assigns to the Emperor and to the Pope the functions of leading humanity respectively to the ‘terrestrial Paradise’ and to the ‘celestial Paradise’.» — el reparto que atribuye a Dante entre el Emperador y el Papa, que conducen a la humanidad al Paraíso terrestre y al celeste

«Moreover, in virtue of a certain astronomical symbolism which seems to have been common to all the ancient peoples, there are also very close links between the two interpretations according to which the keys of Janus were either those of the solstitial gates or those of the ‘greater mysteries’ and of the ‘lesser mysteries’.» — y liga por un simbolismo astronómico que declara común a los pueblos antiguos las dos lecturas de las llaves de Jano: puertas solsticiales y misterios mayores y menores

«The symbolism we are alluding to is that of the zodiacal cycle, and it is not without reason that this cycle, with its two ascending and descending halves which begin respectively at the two solstices of winter and summer, should be represented on the portals of so many medieval churches.» — nombra ese simbolismo, el ciclo zodiacal con sus mitades ascendente y descendente, y lo reconoce en los pórticos de tantas iglesias medievales

«We see here another meaning of the two faces of Janus: he is the ‘Master of the two ways’ to which the solsticial gates give access, these two ways of the right and of the left (for there we find again that other symbolism indicated above) which the Pythagoreans represented» — y otro sentido de las dos caras: Jano como Maestro de las dos vías, la de la derecha y la de la izquierda, a las que dan acceso las puertas solsticiales

«Finally, like the doorways by which one has access to them, these two ways are, in a sense, those of the heavens and of the hells; 18 and it will be noted that the two sides to which they correspond, right and left, are those whereto the eject and the damned are separated in the representations of the Last Judgement which are also so frequently to be found, by a most significant coincidence, on the portals of churches but not in any other part of the edifice.» — y la coincidencia que subraya: esas dos vías son las de los cielos y los infiernos, y a derecha e izquierda se separan elegidos y condenados en los Juicios Finales de los pórticos, no en otra parte del edificio

«It sometimes seems that what is represented on the right in certain cases is on the left in others, and vice versa. It happens, furthermore, that this contradiction is only apparent, for one must always seek the reference point by which right or left is determined.» — registra la inversión aparente de derecha e izquierda entre casos, y la resuelve exigiendo fijar antes el punto de referencia

«When the contradiction is real it is explained by certain very complex cyclical conceptions which influence the correspondences under consideration.» — y admite contradicciones reales, que remite a concepciones cíclicas muy complejas

«We note this only to avoid covering up a difficulty which ought to be taken into account in order to interpret correctly a large number of» — y declara por qué las consigna en vez de pasarlas por alto: para no tapar una dificultad que hay que tomar en cuenta; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk

«In order to understand adequately all the importance of this symbolism, it must be remembered that in virtue of the analogy of each part of the Universe with the whole, there is correspondence between the laws of all the cycles, of whatever order they may be, so that the annual cycle, for example, can be taken as a reduced and therefore more accessible image of the great cosmic cycles (and an expression such as that of the ‘Great Year’ indicates this clearly enough), and as a summary, so to speak, of the whole process of universal manifestation itself.» — funda la lectura de los ciclos en la analogía de cada parte del Universo con el todo, con el ciclo anual como imagen reducida de los grandes ciclos cósmicos

«It is this, moreover, which gives astrology all its significance as a strictly cosmological science.» — y en esa correspondencia funda el sentido de la astrología como ciencia estrictamente cosmológica

«If this be applied more particularly to a cycle of individual manifestation such as that of existence in the human state, it will be easy to understand why the two solstitial gates are traditionally designated as the ‘gate of men’ and the ’gate of the gods’.» — aplicado al ciclo individual, explica los nombres tradicionales de las dos puertas solsticiales: puerta de los hombres y puerta de los dioses

«The ‘gate of men', corresponding likewise to the summer solstice and to the zodiacal sign of Cancer, is the entry into individual manifestation.» — la primera, en el solsticio de verano y en Cáncer, como entrada en la manifestación individual

«The ‘gate of the gods', corresponding in the same way to the winter solstice and to the zodiacal sign of Capricorn, is the exit from this same individual manifestation and the passage to the higher states, in that the gods» — y la segunda, en el solsticio de invierno y en Capricornio, como salida de esa manifestación y paso a los estados superiores

«If we consider the distribution of zodiacal signs according to the four elemental trigons, we see that the sign of Cancer corresponds to the ‘depth of the waters’, that is, in the cosmogonic sense, to the embryonic setting in which are deposited the seeds of the manifested world.» — sitúa Cáncer en el trígono acuático y lo hace corresponder al medio embrionario donde se depositan las semillas del mundo manifestado

«These seeds correspond. in the ‘macrocosmic’ order, to the Brahmanda or ‘World Egg’; and in the ‘microcosmic’ order, to the pinda, formal prototype of the individuality pre-existing in subtle mode from the origin of the cyclic manifestation as constituting one of the possibilities which must be developed in the course of that manifestation.» — y reparte esas semillas en los dos órdenes: el Brahmanda o Huevo del Mundo en el macrocosmo y el pinda, prototipo formal de la individualidad, en el microcosmo

«This can be related also to the fact that this same sign of Cancer is the domicile of the Moon of which the relation with the Waters is well known and which, like the Waters themselves, represents the passive and plastic principle of manifestation: the sphere of the Moon is in fact the ‘world of formation’, or the domain of the elaboration of forms in the subtle state, the starting point of individual existence.» — y suma el domicilio lunar de Cáncer: la esfera de la Luna como mundo de la formación, donde se elaboran las formas en estado sutil

«the seed is seen in the state of half development, which is precisely the subtle state; it is thus a question not of the corporeal embryo but of the above-mentioned formal prototype, the existence of which is situated in the psychic domain or ‘intermediary world’.» — lee en el signo astrológico de Cáncer la semilla a medio desarrollo, que identifica con el prototipo formal del dominio psíquico y no con el embrión corporal

«Moreover, its representation is that of the Sanskrit u, a spiral element which, in the akshara or sacred monosyllable Om, constitutes the intermediary term between the point (m), representing principial non-manifestation, and the straight line (a), representing the complete development of manifestation in the gross or corporeal state.» — y empareja ese elemento espiral con la u sánscrita del monosílabo Om, término intermedio entre el punto de la no manifestación y la línea recta del desarrollo completo

«In addition, the seed is double here, placed in two positions, the one the inverse of the other and thus representing two complementary terms.» — señala que la semilla está doblada en dos posiciones inversas, con lo que figura dos términos complementarios

«This is the yang and the yin of the Far Eastern tradition where the yin-yang symbol which unites them has in fact a similar form.» — y los identifica con el yang y el yin, cuyo símbolo extremo-oriental tiene forma semejante

«This symbol, as representative of the cyclic revolutions, the phases of which are bound up with alternating predominance of yang and of yin, is not unconnected with other figures of great importance from the traditional point of view, such as the swastika,» — y liga ese símbolo, por representar las revoluciones cíclicas con predominio alterno de yang y yin, con otras figuras como el swastika

«It is well to recall in this connection that the point is the primordial principle of all geometrical figures as the non-manifest is of the states of manifestation and that, being supra formal and ‘without dimensions’, it is. in its own order, true indivisible unity, which makes it a natural symbol of pure Being.» — recuerda por qué el punto sirve de símbolo del Ser puro: es principio de toda figura geométrica como lo no manifestado lo es de los estados de manifestación, y sin dimensiones es unidad indivisible

«This spherical form is that of the complete being which is in a state of virtuality in the original seed and which has to be reconstituted in its actual plenitude at the term of the development of the individual cycle.» — y la forma esférica como la del ser completo, virtual en la semilla original y por reconstituir al término del ciclo individual

«The affirmation of the perpetuity of the Veda must be linked directly to the cosmological theory of the primordiality of sound (shabda ) among the sensible qualities (as the quality that belongs to ether. Akasha, which is the first of the elements); and this theory must itself be related to that of ‘creation by the Word' in the Western traditions.» — liga la perpetuidad del Veda con la primordialidad del sonido entre las cualidades sensibles, por ser la cualidad propia del éter, y esa teoría con la creación por el Verbo de las tradiciones occidentales

«The Primordial sound is the divine Word ‘by which all things were made'.» — y la identificación que cierra: el sonido primordial es el Verbo divino por el que todo fue hecho

«At this stage, keeping to the same schematic representation, we will have a figure that can be described as the turning round of the conch, as it opens to allow the seed to escape along the straight line now oriented in a vertical downward direction which is that of the development of manifestation starting from its unmanifested principle.» — la figura con que representa el paso a la manifestación: la concha que gira y se abre para dejar salir la semilla por una recta orientada verticalmente hacia abajo

«The second position is symbolised by the rainbow, appearing ‘in the clouds’, that is, in the region of the Upper Waters, at the moment which marks the re-establishment of order and the restoration of all things, whereas during the catyclysm, the ark floated on the ocean of the Lower Waters.» — y la segunda posición, figurada por el arco iris en las Aguas superiores, frente al arca que flota durante el cataclismo sobre las Aguas inferiores

«The rainbow is therefore the upper half of the same circumference; and the reunion of the two figures, inverse and complementary to one another, forms a single complete circular or cyclic figure, reconstituting the primordial spherical form.» — con lo que las dos figuras inversas y complementarias se reúnen en una sola circular, que reconstituye la forma esférica primordial

«Inside the Far-Eastern yin-yang the same two half circumferences are to be found, but they are displaced by a duplication of the centre representing a polarisation which is, for each state of manifestation, the analogue of what the polarisation of Sat, or pure Being, into Purusha-Prakriti is for universal manifestation.» — reconoce las mismas dos semicircunferencias en el yin-yang, desplazadas por un desdoblamiento del centro que hace análogo a la polarización de Sat en Purusha y Prakriti

«By quite a remarkable concordance, this schema is also that of the human ear, the organ of hearing which, in order to be apt for the perception of sound, has to be actually shaped in conformity with the nature of sound.» — y la concordancia que le llama la atención: el mismo esquema en el oído humano, conformado —dice— a la naturaleza del sonido

«The half circumference must be considered here as a morphological equivalent of the spiral element which we mentioned earlier; but in that the actualisation of the development from the initial seed-point is clearly visible.» — y declara la semicircunferencia equivalente morfológico del elemento espiral, con el desarrollo desde el punto-semilla ya visible

«These considerations have no claim to be complete, and doubtless they correspond only to some of the aspects of the sign of Cancer.» — niega que sus consideraciones sean completas y las da por parciales respecto del signo de Cáncer

«But at least they will serve, by way of example, to show that there is in traditional astrology something quite different from the ‘divinatory art' or the ‘conjectural science’ that the modern outlook supposes it to be.» — y lo que sí reclama para ellas: mostrar que la astrología tradicional es otra cosa que el arte adivinatorio o la ciencia conjetural que supone la mirada moderna

«In reality it contains all that is to be found, variously expressed, in other sciences of the same order, as we have already indicated in our study on the ‘science of letters ’, 14 and all that gives these sciences a truly initiatic value, in virtue of which they can indeed be considered as an integral part of ‘Sacred Science’.» — y la sitúa junto a la ciencia de las letras, con valor iniciático y como parte integrante de la Ciencia Sagrada

«As a matter of fact, the assimilation that the author establishes between the one and the other calls for many reservations, but there is at least a certain real relationship and the comparisons drawn from animal symbolism seem to us to be well-founded.» — abre el capítulo 22, Seth, con reservas sobre la asimilación que el autor examinado hace entre Nimrod y Seth, y a la vez concede fundamento a las comparaciones sacadas del simbolismo animal

«Let us point out first of all that namar in Hebrew, like nimr in Arabic, is strictly speaking the ‘flecked animal’, a name common to the tiger, the panther and the leopard; and we can say, even if we keep to their most outward meaning, that these animals indeed represent the ‘hunter’ that Nimrod was according to the Bible.» — el argumento filológico con que lo apoya: namar hebreo y nimr árabe designan al animal moteado —tigre, pantera, leopardo—, que representa al cazador que la Biblia hace de Nimrod

«Furthermore, in an aspect which need not be considered as unfavourable, the tiger is, like the bear in the Nordic tradition, a symbol of the Kshatriya: and the foundation of Nineveh and of the Assyrian empire by Nimrod actually seems to have been a revolt of the Kshatriyas against the authority of the Chaldean sacerdotal caste.» — y el sentido que le da, que aclara no desfavorable: el tigre como símbolo del kshatriya, con la fundación de Nínive leída como revuelta de los kshatriyas contra la casta sacerdotal caldea

«Thence the legendary relationship established between Nimrod and the Nephilim or other antediluvian ‘giants' which the Kshatriyas also represent in ancient times; and thence the epithet of ‘nimrodian’ applied to a temporal power which affirms itself as independent of the spiritual authority.» — de ahí deriva el parentesco legendario de Nimrod con los Nefilim y el epíteto nimrodiano aplicado a un poder temporal que se afirma independiente de la autoridad espiritual

«But the point that seems to give rise to the greatest difficulty is this malefic signification of the name Set or Sheth or Seth which, on the other hand, insofar as it designates the son of Adam, far from signifying destruction, on the contrary evokes the idea of stability and the restoration of order.» — y la dificultad que declara mayor: el mismo nombre Set significa destrucción y, aplicado al hijo de Adán, estabilidad y restauración del orden

«It is true that the linguists prefer to see two distinct words there, deriving from two different verbal roots: sith [shith] for the first, and sath [s/iatfi] for the second; but the distinction between these two roots seems to be quite secondary, and in any case their essential constituent elements are certainly identical.» — registra que los lingüistas separan ahí dos palabras de raíces distintas, y tiene esa distinción por secundaria porque los elementos constitutivos coinciden; los corchetes con la transliteración son del impreso y el troceo los corrompe *s/iatfi*

«But it is almost always forgotten that the serpent has a benefic aspect which, moreover, is to be found also in the symbolism of ancient Egypt, in particular under the form of the royal serpent, the ‘uraeus’ or basilisk.» — objeta que se olvide el aspecto benéfico de la serpiente, presente en el Egipto antiguo bajo la forma del uraeus real

«It is rather remarkable that the Greek name Typhon should be an anagram of Python.» — y el anagrama que señala entre Typhon y Python

«It is probable that those Gnostics called Sethians did not really differ from the 'Ophites', for whom the serpent (ophis) was the symbol of the Word and of Wisdom (Sophia).» — tiene por probable que los gnósticos llamados setianos no difirieran de los ofitas, para quienes la serpiente simbolizaba el Verbo y la Sabiduría

«It is, if one will, life and death, both produced by a power that is single in its essence but double in its manifestation.» — reduce vida y muerte a una potencia única en su esencia y doble en su manifestación

«On the subject of the double sense of symbols, it is to be noted that even the number 666 does not have an exclusively malefic significance.» — y aplica el doble sentido de los símbolos al número seiscientos sesenta y seis, al que niega significación exclusivamente maléfica

«If it is the ‘number of the Beast’, it is in the first place a solar number and, as we have said elsewhere, 14 it is that of Hakathriel or the ‘Angel of the Crown’.» — lo declara en primer lugar número solar y lo asigna a Hakathriel, el Ángel de la Corona

«In this connection, let us note that in Hebrew it is in fact the same word that signifies 'serpent' (nahash) and 'bronze' or 'copper' (nehash).» — la coincidencia hebrea que registra entre serpiente y bronce o cobre en una misma palabra

«Sorath is moreover, the anagram of sthur which signifies ‘hidden thing’.» — y el anagrama de Sorath con sthur, cosa oculta

«But if sathar signifies 'to hide’, it also signifies ‘to protect’;» — con el doble sentido de la raíz: ocultar y proteger

«Here, too, things are much less simple than they are thought to be by those who see only one aspect of a question.» — y objeta a quienes ven un solo aspecto de la cuestión

«But another animal which has no less importance in this context than the hippopotamus, strange though it may seem, is the ass, and more especially the red ass , 18 which was represented as one of the most fearful of all the entities among those which the dead had to encounter in their journey beyond the grave, or, which esoterically comes to the same, that the initiate encounters in the course of his trials.» — entre los animales del Set egipcio destaca el asno rojo, temido en el viaje de ultratumba y, esotéricamente, en las pruebas del iniciado

«Would this not be, even more than the hippopotamus, the ‘scarlet beast’ of the Apocalypse?» — y pregunta si no será ese asno rojo, más que el hipopótamo, la bestia escarlata del Apocalipsis

«In any case, one of the darkest aspects of the ‘typhonian’ mysteries was the cult of the ‘god with the ass’s head', to which, as is known, the first Christians were sometimes falsely accused of belonging.» — nombra el culto del dios con cabeza de asno entre los aspectos más oscuros de los misterios tifonianos, y señala que se acusó falsamente de él a los primeros cristianos

«We have some reasons for believing that, under one form or another, it has persisted until our own times, and some assert that it is bound to endure until the end» — y sostiene con reservas que ese culto ha persistido hasta hoy bajo una forma u otra

«From this last point, we want to draw at least one conclusion: at the decline of a civilisation, it is the most inferior side of its tradition which persists the longest, in particular the ‘magical’ side, which, moreover, contributes to the complete ruin of the tradition by the deviations it gives rise to.» — la conclusión que saca: al declinar una civilización sobrevive lo más bajo de su tradición, en particular el lado mágico, que contribuye a arruinarla del todo por las desviaciones que produce

«Magic is also the only immaterial thing of which the debris still survive from civilisations which have entirely ceased to function-witness the cases of Egypt, of Chaldea, even of Druidism; and no doubt the ‘fetishism’ of the negro peoples has a similar origin.» — y la generaliza: la magia es lo único inmaterial cuyos restos sobreviven a civilizaciones extinguidas, con Egipto, Caldea y el druidismo como casos

«Sorcery could be said to be made of the vestiges of dead civilisations.» — con la fórmula que resume ese juicio sobre la hechicería

«The root baham or abham signifies ‘to be mute' and also ‘to be hidden’.» — la raíz que da para Behemot, con sus dos sentidos de estar mudo y estar oculto

«If the general sense of Behemoth is linked to the first of these two ideas, the second can evoke more particularly the animal 'which hides under the reeds’; and here the relationship with the sense of the other root, sathar.» — y cómo enlaza el segundo sentido con el animal que se esconde entre los juncos y con la raíz sathar

«Yet another strange linguistic connection: in Arabic, ‘ass’ is himar (in Hebrew, hemor); and red is ahmar.» — la cercanía fonética árabe entre asno y rojo

«The ‘red ass’, therefore, would be, like the bronze serpent, a kind of pleonasm in phonetic symbolism.» — de donde hace del asno rojo, como de la serpiente de bronce, un pleonasmo del simbolismo fonético

«we said at that time that this kind of festival raises questions which can call for a more thorough examination.» — abre el capítulo 23, Sobre el significado de los carnavales, anunciando el examen más a fondo de esas fiestas

«the impression that emerges from them is always and above all else that of disorder, in the most complete sense of this word.» — y la impresión que declara dominante en ellas: el desorden en el sentido más completo

«We will also mention the Roman Saturnalia from which, moreover, the modem carnival seems to have been directly derived, though in fact it is no longer anything but a very diminished vestige: during these festivals, the slaves ordered the masters about, and the masters served the slaves.» — las Saturnales romanas, de las que hace derivar el carnaval moderno como vestigio disminuido, con la inversión de amos y esclavos

«Although it is commonly claimed that these festivals were a reminder of the ‘golden age’, this interpretation is clearly false: for there is no question here of any kind of ‘equality’ that could strictly be regarded as representing, insofar as is possible in present conditions, 7 the primordial indifferentiation of social functions.» — y niega la lectura corriente de esas fiestas como recuerdo de la edad de oro, porque no hay ahí igualdad que represente la indiferenciación primordial de las funciones sociales

«We must therefore see here something that relates much rather to the sinister aspect of Saturn, an aspect which certainly does not pertain to him as god of the ‘golden age’ but, on the contrary, insofar as he is now no more than the fallen god of a bygone and finished period.» — y las remite en cambio al aspecto siniestro de Saturno, no como dios de la edad de oro sino como dios caído de un periodo acabado

«Now it is just in this that the real point of such festivals lies: it is a question of somehow ‘channeling’ these tendencies, and of thus making them as inoffensive as possible by giving them an opportunity to manifest themselves, but only during very brief periods and in very well defined circumstances, and by thus enclosing this manifestation within narrow limits which it is not allowed to overstep.» — la función que les asigna: canalizar esas tendencias volviéndolas inofensivas, dándoles salida en periodos brevísimos y circunstancias muy definidas

«In this connection, the same author speaks also of 'reverse acts' and even of a ‘return to chaos', which contains at least a part of the truth: but by an astonishing confusion of ideas, he seeks to assimilate this chaos to the ‘golden age'.» — le concede al autor que examina la idea de actos invertidos y de retorno al caos, y le imputa la confusión de asimilar ese caos a la edad de oro

«That the ancient gods became demons in a certain manner is a fact quite generally established. and the attitude of the Christians towards the gods of 'paganism' is merely a particular case, but one which never seems to have been explained as it should: we cannot insist on this point here, which would lead us too far from our subject.» — da por asentado que los dioses antiguos se volvieron demonios, hace de la actitud cristiana ante los dioses del paganismo un caso particular, y declara que nunca se ha explicado como debiera

«Thus side by side with their accidentally malefic aspect, the benefic aspect always exists in spite of everything and even though it is completely unrecognised by 'men outside'.» — y sostiene que junto al aspecto maléfico accidental subsiste siempre el benéfico, aunque los de fuera no lo reconozcan

«These two facts are by no means unconnected although this connection is not generally noticed, which is all the more surprising in that there are several quite striking resemblances between such festivals and the 'witch's sabbath', where everything is done 'in reverse’.» — liga esas fiestas con el sabbat de brujas, donde todo se hace al revés, y se extraña de que la semejanza no se advierta

«a parody, we say, and a truly satanic counterfeit, for here the reversal is an exteriorization, not of the beings spirituality but, on the contrary, of its lowest possibilities» — y llama parodia y falsificación satánica a esa inversión, que exterioriza no la espiritualidad del ser sino sus posibilidades más bajas

«it is not difficult to understand that the masquerade itself seems in a way to represent an apparition of 'larvas' or of malefic spectres.» — con lo que hace de la mascarada una aparición de larvas o espectros maléficos

«In some traditional civilisations there were also special periods when, for analogous reasons, ‘wandering influences' were allowed to manifest themselves freely, all due precautions having been taken.» — registra periodos en ciertas civilizaciones tradicionales donde se dejaba manifestarse libremente a las influencias errantes, con todas las precauciones tomadas

«These influences naturally correspond in the cosmic order to what the lower psychism is in the human being; and consequently between their manifestation and that of spiritual influences there is the same inverse relationship as between the two kinds of exteriorization we have just mentioned.» — y hace corresponder esas influencias en el orden cósmico a lo que el psiquismo inferior es en el ser humano, con relación inversa respecto de las influencias espirituales

«To end this survey, we will add that if the festivals of this kind are more and more rare and ifthey even seem hardly able any longer to arouse the interest of the crowd, it is because, in a time such as our own, they have become truly pointless.» — explica la rareza creciente de esas fiestas y su falta de interés porque en un tiempo como el suyo se han vuelto sin objeto. El troceo pega *ifthey*, artefacto de OCR

«Thus although, considering only externals and from a purely ‘aesthetic’ point ofview, one might be tempted to welcome, on account of their inevitable garb of ugliness, the almost complete disappearance of these festivals, this disappearance can on the contrary be seen, by going to the roots of the matter, as an exceedingly unreassuring symptom, because it bears witness to the irruption of disorder into the whole course of existence and to its having become generalised to such a point that we could really be said to live in a sinister ‘perpetual carnival’.» — y da vuelta a la lectura estética de esa desaparición: la toma por síntoma inquietante de un desorden generalizado, un carnaval perpetuo. El troceo pega *ofview*, artefacto de OCR

«It is to be noted moreover, generally speaking, that certain aquatic animals figure above all in the symbolism of Northern peoples: to give just one example, the octopus is particularly widespread among the Scandinavians and the Celts, and is also found in archaic Greece as one of the chief motifs in Mycenian ornamentation.» — abre el capítulo 24, Aspectos del simbolismo del pez, con la preponderancia de ciertos animales acuáticos en el simbolismo de los pueblos del Norte, con el pulpo entre escandinavos, celtas y en la ornamentación micénica

«It must not be forgotten, in this connection, that Vishnu represents the divine Principle especially in its world-preserving aspect.» — y sitúa a Vishnu como el Principio divino en su aspecto conservador del mundo

«This function comes very close to that of Saviour, which is, more precisely, a particular instance of the wider function of Preserver; and it is truly as Saviour that Vishnu appears in some of his manifestations which correspond to phases of crisis in the history of the world .» — hace de la función de Salvador un caso particular de la de Conservador, y adjudica a Vishnu esa función en sus manifestaciones ligadas a crisis del mundo

«Now the idea of the Saviour is also explicitly attached to the Christian symbolism of the fish, for the last letter ofthe Greek Ichthus is interpreted as the initial ofSoter» — y liga la misma idea al simbolismo cristiano del pez, con la última letra de Ichthys leída como inicial de Soter. El troceo pega *ofthe* y *ofSoter*, artefactos de OCR

«Doubtless there is nothing surprising in this, seeing that it has to do with Christ; but there are none the less emblems which allude more directly to certain of his other attributes, and which do not formally express the function of ‘Saviour’.» — acota que en el caso de Cristo eso no sorprende, y a la vez señala que otros emblemas suyos no expresan formalmente la función de Salvador

«He announces to him that the world is going to be destroyed by flood, and he orders him to construct an ark in which the seeds of the future world are to be enclosed.» — el episodio del avatara Matsya: anuncia la destrucción por el diluvio y ordena construir el arca donde encerrar las semillas del mundo futuro

«Then, in this very same form, he himself guides the ark over the waters during the cataclysm; and this representation of the ark guided by the divine fish is all the more remarkable for having its equivalent also in Christian symbolism» — y guía él mismo el arca sobre las aguas, representación que declara notable por tener equivalente en el simbolismo cristiano

«The affirmation of the perpetuity of the Veda, moreover, is directly related to the cosmological theory of the primordiality of sound among the sensible qualities (as the quality that belongs to ether, akdsha, which is the first of the elements).» — liga la perpetuidad del Veda con la primordialidad del sonido entre las cualidades sensibles, por ser la propia del éter, primero de los elementos

«It is said that the Veda subsists perpetually, being in itself prior to all the worlds: but it is as if hidden or enveloped during the cosmic cataclysms which separate the different cycles, after which it must be manifested anew.» — y el modo de esa perpetuidad: el Veda queda velado durante los cataclismos que separan los ciclos y vuelve a manifestarse después

«Like Vishnu in India-and also under the form of a fish-the Chaldean Oannes (whom some have regarded expressly as a figure of the Christ) 13 also teaches the primordial doctrine to men, a striking example of the unity existing between traditions that are in appearance most different-a unity which would remain inexplicable if we did not admit their derivation from a common source.» — empareja al Oannes caldeo con Vishnu, los dos bajo forma de pez y los dos enseñando la doctrina primordial, y hace de esa unidad entre tradiciones dispares un argumento a favor del origen común

«not only that of the fish in general, but to be connected more especially with that of the dolphin which with the Greeks was related to the cult of Apollo 14 and had given its name to Delphi; and it is very significant that it was formally recognised that this cult came from the Hyperboreans.» — y liga ese simbolismo al del delfín, ligado entre los griegos al culto de Apolo y a Delfos, con el dato que subraya: ese culto se reconocía venido de los hiperbóreos

«The connection between Oannes and the dolphin (which, on the contrary, is not specifically indicated in the manifestation of Vishnu), is above all implicit in the close connection between the symbol of the dolphin and that of the ‘Woman of the sea’» — la conexión que declara implícita entre Oannes y el delfín, por la que liga al delfín con la Mujer del mar, y acota que en la manifestación de Vishnu no se indica

«This 'Woman of the sea' must not be confused with the mermaid, though she may sometimes be represented by a similar form.» — con la distinción que impone: no confundirla con la sirena aunque a veces tome forma parecida

«The Dea Syra is strictly speaking the 'solar Goddess', just as the primeval Syria is the ‘Land of the Sun', as we have already explained, its name being identical with Surya, the Sanskrit name for the Sun.» — y la etimología con que la lee: Dea Syra como diosa solar, y Siria primordial como Tierra del Sol, del sánscrito Surya

«In Hebrew, the two names Esther and Sushana have the same meaning and. moreover, they are numerically equivalent: both add up to 661, and the additions before each of them, of the letter he, which signifies the definite article of which the value is 5, brings the number to 666, from which some have not failed to draw more or less fantastic deductions; for our part, we mention this only as a mere curiosity.» — registra la equivalencia numérica de Esther y Sushana, que con el artículo llega a seiscientos sesenta y seis, y declara mencionarla solo como curiosidad, sin hacer suyas las deducciones que otros sacaron

«To complete these remarks, we will add that the figure of the Babylonian Ea, the ‘Lord of the Deep’, represented as half-goat and half-fish, 18 , is identical with that of the sign Capricorn in the Zodiac and may even have been its prototype.» — identifica al Ea babilonio, mitad cabra y mitad pez, con el signo de Capricornio, del que dice que pudo ser prototipo

«Now it is important to recall in this respect that in the annual cycle the sign of Capricorn corresponds to the winter solstice.» — y recuerda la correspondencia de Capricornio con el solsticio de invierno

«The symbolic opposition between the dolphin and the octopus must therefore be brought back to the opposition of the two solstitial signs of Capricorn and Cancer (in India Cancer is represented by the crab) or the Gates of Heaven and Hell, Janua Coeli and Janua Inferni ; 19 and this also explains why these same two animals are found associated in certain cases, for example under the tripod of Delphi and under the feet of the coursers that draw the solar chariot, as indicating the two extreme points reached» — reduce la oposición entre delfín y pulpo a la de los dos signos solsticiales, Capricornio y Cáncer, es decir a la Janua Coeli y la Janua Inferni, con lo que explica que los dos animales aparezcan juntos bajo el trípode de Delfos

«Also to be noted is the function attributed by the ancients to the dolphin as saviour of the shipwrecked, of which the legend of Arion offers one of the best known examples.» — y la función de salvador de náufragos que los antiguos daban al delfín, con la leyenda de Arión como ejemplo

«The function of the dolphin as guide of sanctified souls towards the 'Islands of the Blessed' also refers obviously to the Janua Caeli.» — y su papel de guía de las almas santificadas a las Islas de los Bienaventurados, que remite otra vez a la Janua Caeli

«It is important not to confuse the two signs in question with another sign, that of Pisces, the symbolism of which is different and must be related exclusively to that of the fish in general, especially in its connection with the idea of the ‘principle of life’ and of ‘fertility; (above all in the spiritual sense, like ‘posterity’ in the traditional language of the Far East).» — advierte contra confundir esos dos signos con Piscis, cuyo simbolismo remite al pez en general y a la idea de principio de vida y fecundidad, sobre todo en sentido espiritual

«Nun is the fourteenth letter of both the Arabic and the Hebrew alphabets and it has the numerical value of 50.» — abre el capítulo 25, Los misterios de la letra Nun, con su lugar y su valor numérico en los dos alfabetos

«It holds however a more particularly significant place in the Arabic alphabet of which it terminates the first half, the total number of letters being 28 instead of the 22 of the Hebrew alphabet.» — y el lugar singular que le da en el árabe: cierra la primera mitad de un alfabeto de veintiocho letras

«As for its symbolic correspondences, this letter is considered above all, in the Islamic tradition, as representing al-Hut, the whale; and this accords with the original meaning of the word nun itself which designates the whale and which also signifies ‘fish’.» — la correspondencia que le da en la tradición islámica: al-Hut, la ballena, en acuerdo con el sentido primero de la palabra nun

«It is by reason of this signification that Sayyidna Yunus (the prophet Jonah) is called Dhun-Nun.» — y de ahí el sobrenombre Dhun-Nun del profeta Jonás

«The whale also plays the same part in this respect as is played elsewhere by the dolphin, and, like the dolphin it corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Capricorn as the solstitial gate that gives access to the ‘ascending way'.» — asigna a la ballena la misma función que al delfín y la hace corresponder a Capricornio como puerta solsticial de la vía ascendente

«But its similarity with the Matsya-avatara is perhaps the most striking as is shown by the considerations drawn from the form of the letter nun, especially if they are related to the Biblical history of the prophet Jonah.» — y declara más notable todavía su semejanza con el Matsya-avatara, leída por la forma de la letra nun y por la historia bíblica de Jonás

«It is she, under diverse names such as Ishtar, Atergatis and Derceto, who appears as the consort of Oannes or of his equivalents, that is, as a complementary aspect of the same principle» — y los nombres de esa figura —Ishtar, Atargatis, Derceto— como consorte de Oannes y aspecto complementario del mismo principio, lo que la tradición hindú llamaría su Shakti

«mark the beginning ofa more restricted cycle than the Maha-Yuga; though not the same event, they are at least two analogous events, wherein the previous state of the world is destroyed in order to be replaced by a new state» — empareja el diluvio bíblico con el del Matsya-avatara sin identificarlos: los llama acontecimientos análogos en que el estado anterior del mundo se destruye para dar lugar a otro. El troceo pega *ofa*, artefacto de OCR

«Ifwe now compare with this the story of Jonah, we see that the whale, instead of simply playing the part of the fish-guide ofthe ark, is really identified with the ark itself.» — y la diferencia que encuentra en la historia de Jonás: la ballena no guía el arca, se identifica con ella. El troceo pega *Ifwe* y *ofthe*, artefactos de OCR

«Moreover, Jonah’s emergence from the belly of the whale has always been regarded as a symbol of resurrection and therefore of passage to a new state; and this must be compared, on the other hand, with the idea of ‘birth’ which, in the Hebrew Kabbala especially, is attached to the letter nun and which must be understood spiritually as a ‘new birth', that is, a regeneration of the being, individual or cosmic.» — lee la salida de Jonás como símbolo de resurrección y paso a otro estado, y la empareja con la idea de nacimiento que la cábala hebrea liga a la letra nun, entendida como nuevo nacimiento

«The new birth necessarily presupposes death to the former state, whether it be an individual or a world that is in question.» — con la condición que impone a ese nacimiento: la muerte al estado anterior, se trate de un individuo o de un mundo

«It may be noted, too, that the half-circumference, with its convexity turned downwards, is a schematic equivalent of the cup, like which it thus has, so to speak, the significance of a ‘matrix’ in which the not-yet-developed seed is enclosed and which, as we shall see in what follows, is to be identified with the lower or ‘terrestrial’ half of the World Egg» — y la lectura de la semicircunferencia con la convexidad hacia abajo como equivalente de la copa, matriz que encierra la semilla y mitad terrestre del Huevo del Mundo

«But by the concentration of all the essential possibilities of the being in one-single indestructible point, this virtuality, which may seem a transitory annihilation, immediately becomes the very seed from which will sprout forth all its developments» — y lo que ve en esa reducción a un punto único indestructible: no aniquilación sino la semilla misma de la que brotarán los desarrollos

«It should be added that the symbolism of the whale has not only a benefic aspect, but also a malefic one which, apart from general considerations related to the double meaning of symbols, is further and more especially justified by its connection both with death and with resurrection, under the guise of which every change of state appears according to whether it is viewed from the one side or the other, that is, in relation to the previous state or to the state which is to come.» — reconoce a la ballena aspecto benéfico y maléfico, y lo justifica por su doble relación con la muerte y la resurrección según se mire desde el estado anterior o desde el que viene

«The cave is both a place of burial and a place of rebirth, and in the story ofJonah the whale plays precisely this double part.» — y la caverna como lugar de sepultura y de renacimiento, doble papel que atribuye a la ballena de Jonás. El troceo pega *ofJonah*, artefacto de OCR

«But it is especially represented in the Arab tradition by the ‘daughters of the whale’ (banat al-Hut)» — y el aspecto maléfico representado en la tradición árabe por las hijas de la ballena

«We cannot insist further on this point without altogether digressing from our subject; but we must at least call attention to the fact that one finds again here an immediate connection with the end of the cycle and the change of state which follows, for this is very significant and brings added confirmation to what we have been saying.» — declara que no puede insistir sin desviarse, y retiene la conexión con el fin del ciclo y el cambio de estado que sigue

«Nun in the alphabet immediately follows rriim, which has among its principal significations that of death (al-mawt), and whose form4 represents the being completely folded up in himself, reduced in a way to a pure virtuality, to which the position of prostration corresponds ritually.» — sitúa la nun después de la mim, cuyo sentido principal es la muerte y cuya forma figura al ser plegado sobre sí mismo, con la prostración ritual como equivalente. El troceo imprime *rriim* por mim, artefacto de OCR

«It is therefore the same figure but inverted or, more exactly, two figures that are strictly complementary to one another.» — compara la na sánscrita y la nun árabe como una misma figura invertida, o dos estrictamente complementarias

«These two semicircles are also the two halves of the ‘World Egg’, the one terrestrial, in the lower waters, and the other celestial, in the upper waters; and the circular figure, which was complete at the beginning of the cycle, before the separation of the two halves, must be reconstituted at the end of the same cycle.» — y las hace las dos mitades del Huevo del Mundo, terrestre en las aguas inferiores y celeste en las superiores, con la figura circular por reconstituir al fin del ciclo

«On the other hand, the complete circular figure is also the usual symbol of the number 10.» — y la figura circular completa como símbolo habitual del número diez

«If they are joined together, the two central points naturally merge into one, and this gives a circle with the point at the centre, a figure which represents the complete cycle and which is at the same time the symbol of the Sim in astrology and that of gold in alchemy.» — al unir las dos figuras los centros se funden y resulta el círculo con el punto, que es a la vez el signo del Sol en astrología y el del oro en alquimia

«It could be said, therefore, that the reunion of the two figures in question represents the completion of the cycle, by the joining of its beginning and its end, and reference to solar symbolism makes this all the clearer inasmuch as the figure of the Sanskrit na corresponds to the rising Sun and that of the Arabic nun to the setting Sun.» — con lo que esa reunión representa el cierre del ciclo, uniendo principio y fin, y remite la na al Sol naciente y la nun al poniente

«But here, being obtained by the union of the two nun, it equals 2 x 50 = 100 = 102 , which indicates9 that it is in the ‘intermediary world’ that the junction must be brought about.» — y el cálculo con que sitúa esa juntura: la unión de las dos nun da cien, es decir el mundo intermedio

«In fact, this junction is impossible in the lower world, which is the domain of division and separativity, whereas, on the contrary, it always exists in the upper world where it is realised principiafiy in permanent and immutable mode in the eternal present.» — declara imposible esa juntura en el mundo inferior, dominio de la división, y siempre realizada en el superior, en el presente eterno

«Among the Celts the wild boar and the bear symbolised, respectively, the representatives of the spiritual authority and the temporal power, that is, the two castes of Druids and Knights, the equivalents, at least originally and in their essential attributions, of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas in India.» — abre el capítulo 26, El jabalí y el oso, adjudicando a los celtas el jabalí para la autoridad espiritual y el oso para el poder temporal, con druidas y caballeros equiparados a brahmanes y kshatriyas

«The point to be made here is that the Celtic tradition could probably be regarded as truly constituting one of the ‘links’ between the Atlantean tradition and the Hyperborean tradition, after the end of the secondary period when this Atlantean tradition represented the predominant form and, as it were, the ‘substitute’ for the original centre which was already inaccessible to the bulk of humanity.» — y propone, con reservas, la tradición céltica como eslabón entre la atlante y la hiperbórea, después de que la atlante hiciera de sustituto del centro original ya inaccesible

«Let us note first of all the importance given to the wild boar by the Hindu tradition, which is itself the direct issue of the Primordial Tradition and which expressly affirms its own Hyperborean origin in the Veda.» — apoya la lectura en la importancia del jabalí en la tradición hindú, que declara salida directa de la Tradición Primordial y que afirma en el Veda su propio origen hiperbóreo

«The wild boar (varaha ) not only figures as the third of the ten avataras of Vishnu in the present Maha-Yuga, but our entire Kalpa, that is to say, the entire cycle of manifestation of our world» — y los dos lugares del jabalí en esa tradición: tercer avatara de Vishnu en el Maha-Yuga presente y nombre del Kalpa entero

«it is no less natural that the representatives of such an authority should also have received the symbol of the wild boar as their distinctive mark and that they should have retained it during the times» — de ahí hace natural que los representantes de la autoridad espiritual tomaran el jabalí por marca distintiva

«This is why the Druids designated themselves as ‘wild boars’ even though, since symbolism always has multiple aspects, we may well have here at the same time an allusion to the isolation in which they kept themselves with regard to the outside world, the wild boar always being thought of as ‘solitary’.» — y explica que los druidas se llamaran jabalíes, sin excluir la alusión al aislamiento, porque el símbolo tiene siempre aspectos múltiples

«It must be added, furthermore, that this very isolation, which took the form, with the Celts as with the Hindus, of a forest retreat, is not unrelated to the characteristics of ‘primordiality’, of which some reflection at least has always had to be maintained in all spiritual authority worthy of the function it fulfils.» — liga ese aislamiento —retiro al bosque entre celtas e hindúes— con el carácter de primordialidad que exige a toda autoridad espiritual

«it is considered as an aspect of the Shakti of Vishnu, more especially in relation to his third descent, the boar avatara, whose ‘solar’ nature immediately identifies him with the ‘solar land’ or primeval ‘Syria’, of which we have spoken elsewhere , 4 and which is, moreover, one of the designations of the Hyperborean Tula, that is, of the primordial spiritual centre.» — toma a Varahi por aspecto de la Shakti de Vishnu en su tercer descenso, y por su naturaleza solar la identifica con la Siria primordial y con la Tula hiperbórea

«The exact equivalent of Varahl therefore is ‘Borean’, and the truth is that the customary name of ‘Hyperborean’ was used only by the Greeks at a time when they had already lost the meaning of this ancient designation.» — y la enmienda terminológica que propone: el equivalente exacto es boreal, y el uso griego de hiperbóreo es posterior a la pérdida del sentido

«It would be better, therefore, in spite of the usage that has prevailed since then, to term the Primordial Tradition not ‘Hyperborean’ but simply ‘Borean’, affirming thereby unequivocally its connection with ‘Borea’ or the ‘land of the wild boar’.» — con lo que prefiere llamar boreal y no hiperbórea a la Tradición Primordial, para dejar dicho su vínculo con la tierra del jabalí

«Another point to be made is that the root var or vri, has in Sanskrit the sense of ‘cover’, ‘to protect’ and ‘to hide’: and as the name Varuna and its Greek equivalent Ouranos show, it serves to designate the sky, not only because it covers the earth but also because it represents the higher worlds, hidden from the senses» — la raíz sánscrita var o vri con sus sentidos de cubrir, proteger y ocultar, que da Varuna y el griego Ouranos

«but strictly speaking, as far as the wild boar is concerned, it is the polar aspect that is especially important; and this results from the fact that in ancient times the wild boar represented the constellation which later became the Great Bear» — y el aspecto que declara decisivo para el jabalí: el polar, porque en la antigüedad representaba la constelación que después fue la Osa Mayor

«It may be wondered, however, if that is really the primary meaning of the expression sapta-riksha, or if, in accordance with the substitution of which we have just spoken there was not rather a kind of super-position of words etymologically distinct but brought together and even identified by the application of a certain phonetic symbolism.» — se pregunta si ese es el sentido primero de sapta-riksha o si hay una superposición de palabras etimológicamente distintas juntadas por simbolismo fonético

«The persistence of these 'seven Lights' in Masonic symbolism is to be noted; the presence of the same number of persons representing them is necessary for the constitution of a right and perfect' lodge as well as for the validity of initiatic transmission.» — registra la persistencia de las siete Luces en el simbolismo masónico, con las siete personas necesarias para constituir logia justa y perfecta y para la validez de la transmisión iniciática

«Let us note. too. that the seven stars which are spoken of at the beginning of the Apocalypse (1:16 and 20) would be. according to certain interpretations, those of the Great Bear.» — y las siete estrellas del comienzo del Apocalipsis, que ciertas interpretaciones hacen las de la Osa Mayor

«Nor is this connection between the bear and light the only case of its kind in animal symbolism, for the wolf was held to be connected with light by both Celts and Greeks , 12 whence its attribution to the solar god, Belen or Apollo.» — suma el lobo como animal ligado a la luz entre celtas y griegos, y adjudicado al dios solar Belen o Apolo

«For a certain period, the name sapta-riksha was no longer applied to the Great Bear, but to the Pleiads, which likewise comprise seven stars.» — registra el traslado del nombre sapta-riksha de la Osa Mayor a las Pléyades, que también son siete

«This transfer from a polar constellation to a zodiacal one corresponds to a passage from a solistitial to an equinoctial symbolism, implying a change in the starting point of the annual cycle as well as in the order of predominance of the cardinal points which are related to the different phases of the cycle» — y lee ese traslado como paso de un simbolismo solsticial a uno equinoccial, con cambio del punto de partida del año y del orden de los puntos cardinales

«The change here is from North to West, which is indicative of the Atlantean period; and this is clearly confirmed by the fact that, for the Greeks, the Pleiads were daughters of Atlas and as such were also called Atlantids.» — fecha ese cambio en el periodo atlante por el paso del Norte al Oeste, y lo apoya en las Pléyades como hijas de Atlas llamadas Atlántidas

«Nor indeed is it possible to do so, except by linking their diverse ‘localisations’ to the characteristics that belong to the corresponding traditional forms, as we have just done for those of the sapta-riksha.» — y la condición metodológica que pone: las localizaciones solo se determinan ligándolas a los caracteres de las formas tradicionales correspondientes

«Athenaeus, following earlier authors, reports that the boar of Calydon was white , 14 which clearly identifies him with the Shweta-varaha of the Hindu tradition» — el dato que toma de Ateneo sobre el jabalí blanco de Calidón, que identifica con el Shweta-varaha hindú

«What is no less significant, from our point of view, is that the first blow was struck by Atalanta who, it is said, had been suckled by a bear; and the presence of her name in this context might indicate that the revolt had its beginning in Atlantis itself, or at least among the heirs of» — y lo que lee en el nombre de Atalanta, amamantada por una osa: un indicio de que la revuelta empezó en la Atlántida

«It is hardly necessary to recall that white is also the colour attributed symbolically to spiritual authority, and it is also known that the Druids, in particular, wore white garments.» — el blanco como color de la autoridad espiritual, con las vestiduras blancas de los druidas

«There are also other curious parallels in this respect, as for example between the golden apples of the legend of Atalanta and those of the garden of the Hesperldes or ‘daughters of the West', who were also daughters of Atlas, as were the Pleiads.» — en nota, el paralelo entre las manzanas de oro de la leyenda de Atalanta y las del jardín de las Hespérides, hijas de Atlas como las Pléyades. El troceo imprime *Hesperldes*, artefacto de OCR

«It is moreover probable that the name Celts, like Chaldeans which is identical with it. was not originally the name of a particular people, but that of a sacerdotal caste exercising spiritual authority among different peoples.» — y en nota propone, como probable, que celtas y caldeos no fueran nombres de pueblos sino de una casta sacerdotal que ejercía la autoridad espiritual entre pueblos distintos

«Now, all this applies perfectly to spiritual centres, either because they are hidden from the eyes of the profane or because they protect the world by their invisible influence, or finally because they are, on earth, like images of the celestial world itself.» — y su aplicación a los centros espirituales: ocultos a los profanos, protectores del mundo por influencia invisible, e imágenes en la tierra del mundo celeste

«The fact that the bear is often taken symbolically in its feminine aspect, as we have just seen in the myth ofAtalanta, and as is seen also in the denominations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, is also significant, for several reasons» — señala que el oso se toma a menudo en su aspecto femenino, como en el mito de Atalanta y en los nombres de la Osa Mayor y Menor. El troceo pega *ofAtalanta*, artefacto de OCR

«In the first place, this caste normally has a ‘receptive’, or feminine part to play in its relationship with the sacerdotal caste; from which it receives not only the teaching of the traditional doctrine but also the legitimation of its own power, whence, strictly speaking, its ‘divine right’.» — y la primera razón: la casta guerrera cumple un papel receptivo, femenino, frente a la sacerdotal, de la que recibe la doctrina y la legitimación de su poder

«Then, when this same warrior caste, reversing the normal relatiqnships of subordination, claims supremacy, its predominance is generally accompanied by that of feminine elements in the symbolism of the traditional form modified by it; and sometimes, even, as a consequence of this modification, also by the institution of a feminine form of priesthood, such as that of the Celtic druidesses,» — y la segunda: cuando esa casta invierte la subordinación y reclama la supremacía, predominan los elementos femeninos del simbolismo y aun se instituye un sacerdocio femenino, como el de las druidesas

«It should be added that the two symbols of the boar and the bear do not always appear in opposition or struggle, but that in certain cases they may represent the spiritual authority and the temporal power (or the two castes of Druids and Knights) in their normal and harmonious relationships as may be seen for example in the legend of Merlin and Arthur.» — acota que jabalí y oso no siempre se oponen: en la leyenda de Merlín y Arturo figuran la autoridad espiritual y el poder temporal en relación armónica

«In fact, Merlin, the Druid, is also the boar of the forest of Broceliande, where he ends, moreover, not by being killed like the boar of Calydon, but only by being put to sleep by a feminine power; and King Arthur bears a name derived from that of the bear, arth» — y lo apoya en los nombres: Merlín como jabalí del bosque de Brocelianda, dormido por un poder femenino y no muerto como el de Calidón, y Arturo con nombre derivado del oso

«More precisely, this name is identical with that of the star Arcturus, taking into account the slight difference that is due to their respectively Celtic and Greek derivations.» — y hace ese nombre idéntico al de la estrella Arcturus, salvada la diferencia entre las derivaciones céltica y griega

«regards the respective parts played by the two currents that contributed to the formation of the Celtic tradition: at the beginning the spiritual authority and the temporal power were not separated as two differentiated functions, but were united in their common principle;» — la conclusión sobre las dos corrientes que formaron la tradición céltica: al principio autoridad espiritual y poder temporal no estaban separados sino unidos en su principio común

«and a vestige of this is still to be found in the very name of the Druids (dru-vid , ‘strength-wisdom’, these two terms being symbolised by the oak and the mistletoe ).» — y el vestigio que ve de esa unión en el nombre mismo de los druidas, que lee como fuerza-sabiduría, simbolizadas por el roble y el muérdago

«The human head may be considered as representing wisdom and the leonine body as representing strength; the head is the spiritual authority which directs, and the body is the strength which acts.» — la lectura de la figura de cabeza humana y cuerpo leonino: la cabeza como autoridad espiritual que dirige y el cuerpo como fuerza que actúa

«As for the Knights, whose symbol was the bear (or the she-bear of Atalanta), it would seem that the part of the tradition more especially destined for them comprised above all elements proceeding from the Atlantean tradition; and this distinction might even help to explain certain more or less enigmatic points of the later history of the Western traditions.» — y lo que atribuye a los caballeros: una parte de la tradición hecha sobre todo de elementos atlantes, distinción con la que dice que podrían explicarse puntos enigmáticos de la historia posterior de las tradiciones occidentales

«It seems that a relationship exists between the hail of stones which surround the thunderstruck Tower and the word Beth-el, dwelling place of the Divine, from which ‘baetyl’ is derived, a word by which the Semites designated meteorites or ‘thunderstones’.» — abre el capítulo 27, Los rayos, con la observación ajena que va a examinar: una relación entre la lluvia de piedras de la Torre fulminada y la palabra Beth-el, de donde viene betilo; el impreso corta *thunder-stones* en el salto de renglón y la extracción une las mitades en *thunderstones*, forma que el volumen escribe en otras planas con espacio

«But it seems to us that there is confusion here between several quite different things, and that a restatement of this question might be of interest.» — y su objeción: ahí se confunden cosas muy distintas, y anuncia replantear la cuestión

«First of all, it is certain that the symbolic function of meteorites or stones fallen from heaven is very important, because these are the ‘black stones’ that feature in so many different traditions, from the stone which represented Cybele or the ‘Great Goddess’ to the stone which is enshrined in the Kctbah at Mecca and which plays a part in the story of Abraham.» — concede la importancia simbólica de los meteoritos, que identifica con las piedras negras de tantas tradiciones, de la de Cibeles a la de la Kaaba

«We think not, and in particular, we see nothing to justify the supposition that such was the case with the stone to which Jacob, according to the Genesis account, gave the name of Beth-el, a name applied by extension to the place itself where he had had his vision while his head was resting on the stone.» — y niega que la piedra que Jacob llamó Beth-el fuera una de ellas, sin ver nada que lo justifique

«The baetyl strictly speaking represents the Omphalos, and as such it is a symbol of the Centre of the World, which quite naturally is identified with the ‘dwelling place of God’.» — lo que sí hace del betilo: representación del ónfalo y símbolo del Centro del Mundo, identificado con la morada de Dios

«It is thus that Jacob says: ‘And this stone which I have erected as a pillar, shall be the house of God’» — con el pasaje del Génesis en que Jacob lo dice

«Nevertheless, it is perhaps true, symbolically at least, that the idea of a ‘stone fallen from heaven’ could be applied to them in a certain sense.» — y admite, en sentido simbólico y solo hasta cierto punto, que a esas piedras pueda aplicárseles la idea de caídas del cielo

«What makes us think so is their relationship with the mysterious luz of the Hebrew tradition.» — apoyado en su relación con el misterioso luz de la tradición hebrea

«We may even recall at this point that the Grail was said to have been carved from a stone which also had fallen from heaven, and all these cases are very closely related, but we will not dwell any more on this, for fear of being led much too far from our subject» — y recuerda que el Grial se decía tallado de una piedra caída del cielo, sin seguir por ahí para no desviarse

«In fact, whether it is a question of baetyls in general, or of ‘black stones’ in particular, neither the one nor the other really have anything in common with ‘thunderbolts’; and it is on this point in particular that the remark we quoted at the outset is gravely mistaken, with a mistake which can be easily explained.» — su enmienda de fondo: ni los betilos ni las piedras negras tienen que ver con los rayos, y ahí sitúa el error del pasaje que citó al abrir

«It is indeed tempting to suppose that ‘lightning stones’ or ‘thunder stones’ must be stones fallen from heaven, aeroliths, but in reality they are not.» — reconoce la tentación de tomar las piedras de rayo por aerolitos y la niega

«They say, in fact, that thunder falls in two ways, ‘in fire’ or ‘in stone’.» — y recoge la fórmula popular de las dos caídas del trueno, en fuego o en piedra

«The truth is that the ‘lightning stones’ are stones which symbolise the lightning.» — con lo que él sostiene: son piedras que simbolizan el rayo, no piedras venidas de él

«The stone axe is the stone which shatters and splits, and this is why it represents the lightning bolt.» — y la razón de esa figura: el hacha de piedra rompe y hiende como el rayo

«the stone axe of Parashu-Rama and the stone hammer of Thor are really one and the same weapon,4 and that weapon is, moreover, the symbol of the thunderbolt.» — identifica el hacha de piedra de Parashu-Rama con el martillo de piedra de Thor como una misma arma, símbolo del rayo

«This ‘thunderbolt’ symbolism is thus of Hyperborean origin, which means that it belongs to the most ancient of all the traditions of this cycle of humanity, to what is truly the primal tradition for the present Maha-Yuga.» — y le adjudica origen hiperbóreo, es decir la tradición más antigua del ciclo presente

«the thunderbolt is associated with the idea of ‘divine paternity’, an association also to be found quite clearly in Western antiquity inasmuch as the thunderbolt is the principal attribute of Zeus Pater or Ju-piter, the ‘father of gods and men’.» — liga el rayo con la paternidad divina, con Zeus Pater o Júpiter como padre de dioses y hombres

«It would even seem that this is the Dis Pater, whose name is quite close to that of Zeus Pater, and whom the Druids, according to Caesar, said was the father of the Gallic race» — y con el Dis Pater que, según César, los druidas daban por padre de la raza gala

«Leibniz, in his Monadologie, says that ‘all created monads are bom, so to speak, by continuous Julgurations of the Divinity from moment to moment’.» — la formulación que cita de Leibniz sobre las mónadas nacidas por fulguraciones continuas de la Divinidad

«It is interesting that the thunderbolts of Jupiter are forged by Vulcan, which establishes a certain relationship between the ‘celestial fire' and the ‘subterranean fire’, a relationship which is not indicated in cases involving arms of stone.» — y lo que ve en los rayos forjados por Vulcano: una relación entre fuego celeste y fuego subterráneo que no aparece con las armas de piedra

«Not only is there an obvious connection between the mallet and the hammer which are, so to speak, two forms of the same tool, but the English Masonic historian R.F. Gould thinks that the ‘mallet of the Master’ (the symbolism of which he relates to that of the Tau because of its form) originates from the hammer of Thor.» — recoge de R. F. Gould, historiador masónico inglés, la derivación del mallete del Maestro desde el martillo de Thor, con el simbolismo del Tau por su forma

«but who in Freemasonry as it exists today could boast of actually possessing the mysterious power, one in its essence though double in its apparently contrary effects, of which this emblem is the sign?» — y objeta al estado presente de la masonería: pregunta quién podría hoy jactarse de poseer el poder que ese emblema señala

«Should we continue to hope, in spite of everything, that the day will come when this form will be revived, to respond once again to the reality which is the original point of its existence and which alone confers on it a true initiatic character?» — y deja la pregunta abierta sobre si esa forma volverá a responder a la realidad que le daría carácter iniciático

«It goes without saying that these two symbolisms, polar and solar, must never be confused and that, as we have often indicated, polar symbolism is more fundamental and in fact truly primordial; but it is none the less true that what can be called ‘transfers’ from one to the other frequently occur, for reasons which we may attempt to explain more clearly on some other occasions.» — separa el simbolismo polar del solar, declara el polar más fundamental y verdaderamente primordial, y admite transferencias frecuentes de uno a otro

«It is known that with his arrows Apollo killed the serpent Python, just as in the Vedic tradition.» — empareja la muerte de Pitón por las flechas de Apolo con el episodio védico

«Indra killed Ahi or Vritra, the counterpart of Python, with the vajra which represents the thunderbolt; and this comparison leaves no doubt whatsoever as to the original symbolical equivalence of the two weapons in question.» — donde Indra mata a Ahi o Vritra con el vajra, de lo que saca la equivalencia simbólica original entre las dos armas

«We may also recall the ‘golden arrow’ of Abaris or of Zalmoxis, which figures in the history of Pythagoras; and here it can be seen still more clearly that this symbolism is expressly related to the Hyperborean Apollo, which proves the link between his solar and polar aspects.» — y la flecha de oro de Abaris o de Zalmoxis en la historia de Pitágoras, que le sirve de prueba del enlace entre los aspectos solar y polar de Apolo

«As to the various weapons that represent the World Axis, it should be noted that they are, not always, but very often, either double-edged or with two points, one at each end.» — señala que las armas que representan el Eje del Mundo suelen ser de doble filo o de dos puntas, sin darlo por regla sin excepción

«This two-pointedness, as in the case of the vajra to which we shall have to return, must clearly be referred back to the duality of the poles, considered as two extremities of the axis, with all the correspondences which this implies and of which we have already spoken elsewhere.» — y remite esa doble punta a la dualidad de los polos como extremos del eje

«Fundamentally, then, it is always a question of a double force, single in essence but with apparently opposite effects in its manifestation, resulting from» — y reduce todo a una fuerza doble, única en esencia y de efectos aparentemente opuestos en su manifestación

«The comparison of these two weapons thus clearly shows the fundamental identity of the two forms ofsymbolism we have mentioned, of double-edged weapons and of weapons with two points» — del cotejo entre la espada de doble filo y el arma de dos puntas saca la identidad de fondo entre los dos simbolismos. El troceo pega *ofsymbolism*, artefacto de OCR

«The vajra is to be found in many different forms;» — registra la variedad de formas del vajra

«Ananda Coomaraswamy has shown10 that the usual form, with a triple point at each end, is thereby closely related to the trishula or trident» — y toma de Ananda Coomaraswamy la relación de la forma corriente, de triple punta en cada extremo, con el trishula o tridente

«Coomaraswamy has also shown that the vajra is traditionally likened to other known symbols of the World Axis» — y de él también la asimilación tradicional del vajra a otros símbolos del Eje del Mundo

«The thunderbolt, as we have already said, is held to represent a twofold power of production and destruction» — repite el doble poder que atribuye al rayo, de producción y de destrucción

«Immutability is indeed the essential characteristic of the axis around which all things revolve» — y la inmutabilidad como carácter esencial del eje en torno al cual giran las cosas

«Plato describes the World Axis as a luminous axis of diamond which is surrounded by several concentric sheaths of different dimensions and colours» — la descripción que atribuye a Platón: un eje luminoso de diamante rodeado de vainas concéntricas de dimensiones y colores distintos

«The ‘power of the points’, well known in magic and even in secular physics, is actually related to the ‘solution’ or second aspect of the double power mentioned above.» — y remite el poder de las puntas, conocido en la magia y aun en la física profana, al aspecto de solución de ese doble poder

«the ‘Gordian knot’, severed, significantly, by Alexander with his sword.» — con el nudo gordiano cortado por Alejandro como caso

«the lance of the Grail legend as well as the lance of Achilles, to which we have already compared it in this connection, had the double power of inflicting wounds and of healing them.» — y la lanza del Grial junto a la de Aquiles, con el doble poder de herir y de curar

«Finally, mention must be made of another axial symbol which is not, strictly speaking, a weapon, but which is like one in virtue of its pointed end, namely the nail.» — cierra la serie de armas axiales con el clavo, que no es arma pero lo parece por su punta

«Moreover, although it is not to be contested that there is in Islam a certain warlike aspect, this same aspect, far from being peculiar to Islam, is to be found also in most other traditions, Christianity included.» — abre el capítulo 29, La espada del islam, concediendo el aspecto guerrero del islam y negando que le sea propio, porque lo halla en la mayoría de las tradiciones, el cristianismo incluido

«Even without recalling that Christ himself saidi ‘I came not to bring peace, but a sword ’, 1 which on the whole can be understood figuratively, the history of Christianity» — y cita la palabra de Cristo sobre no traer paz sino espada, admitiendo que puede entenderse en sentido figurado

«On the other hand, the Hindu tradition itself, which certainly could not pass as particularly warlike, since it is generally reproached for being too little concerned with action, nevertheless contains this aspect also, as we can easily ascertain by reading the Bhagavad-Gita.» — y suma la tradición hindú, a la que se reprocha lo contrario, con la Bhagavad-Gita como prueba

«In both cases, moreover, whether it is the outward social order or the inward spiritual order that is involved, warfare must always be conducive tq the establishment of equilibrium and harmony (which explains why it is related to justice)» — y la función que asigna a la guerra en los dos órdenes: establecer el equilibrio y la armonía, con lo que la liga a la justicia

«This amounts to saying that the normal outcome of war, and in the final analysis the only point of war, is peace (as-salam ), which cannot be obtained truly except by submission (al-isldm) to the divine will, putting each element in its right place in order to make them all unite in the conscious realisation of one and the same plan.» — con lo que hace de la paz el desenlace normal y la única razón de la guerra, alcanzable solo por sumisión a la voluntad divina

«In the Islamic tradition, these two senses of warfare as well as the real relationship between them, are expressed as clearly as possible by a hadith of the Prophet, uttered on return from an expedition against outward enemies: ‘We have returned from the lesser holy war to the greater holy war’» — y el hadiz del Profeta con que fija la relación entre los dos sentidos de la guerra

«If outer warfare is thus only the ‘lesser holy war’, 3 while the inner war is the ‘greater holy war’, it is because the first has only a secondary importance in relation to the second, of which it is merely an outward image.» — con la jerarquía que de ahí saca: la guerra exterior es imagen y tiene importancia secundaria frente a la interior

«It therefore goes without saying that in these conditions whatever serves for outer warfare can be taken as symbol of what concerns inner warfare,4 and this is particularly so in the case of the sword.» — y por eso toma lo que sirve a la guerra exterior como símbolo de la interior, señaladamente la espada

«The wooden sword, moreover, dates back to a very remote past» — y da a la espada de madera una antigüedad muy remota

«The sword of the khatib symbolises above all the power of the word, as should be obvious to anyone, the more so in that this is a meaning generally attributed to the sword, nor is it alien to the Christian tradition either, as these texts of the Apocalypse show:» — da a la espada del jatib el sentido de poder de la palabra y niega que ese sentido sea ajeno a la tradición cristiana, con dos pasajes del Apocalipsis como prueba

«The sword issuing from the mouth obviously cannot have any other meaning, especially when the being who is thus described in these two passages is none other than the Word himself, or one of his manifestations.» — y lo funda en que quien lleva esa espada saliéndole de la boca es el Verbo mismo o una de sus manifestaciones

«In fact, the vajra also symbolises a force which, though one in its essence, is manifested under two aspects that are contrary in appearance though complementary in reality;» — repite la fórmula del vajra: una fuerza única en esencia manifestada en dos aspectos contrarios en apariencia y complementarios en realidad

«The function of the Brahmins and that of the Kshatriyas may be said to correspond to the inner and outer warfare respectively; or, according to Islamic terminology, to the ‘greater holy war’ and to the 'lesser holy war’.» — y reparte las dos guerras entre las castas: la interior a los brahmanes y la exterior a los kshatriyas

«In Japan, according to the Shinto tradition, 'the sword is derived from a lightning archetype of which it is the descendent or the hypostasis’» — y el testimonio sintoísta que aduce, con la espada derivada de un arquetipo del relámpago

«we think that such as they are, they will serve well enough to show how far from the truth it is to attribute to the sword no more than a ‘material’ significance,» — cierra el capítulo 29 negando que a la espada le corresponda una significación meramente material

«Axial symbolism brings us back to the idea of harmonisation as the goal of holy war, both in its outer and inner meanings, for the axis is the place where all oppositions are reconciled and vanish or, in other words, the place of perfect equilibrium, which the far Eastern tradition designates as the Invariable Mean.» — y devuelve la guerra santa, en sus dos sentidos, al fin de la armonización, porque el eje es el lugar donde se reconcilian las oposiciones, lo que la tradición extremo-oriental llama Medio Invariable

«Special mention must be made here of the Aegean and Cretan symbol of the double axe.» — abre el tratamiento del hacha doble egea y cretense en el capítulo 30

«We have already explained that the axe is especially a symbol of the thunderbolt and therefore a strict equivalent of the vajra» — y repite que el hacha es símbolo del rayo y equivalente estricto del vajra

«In its meaning of ‘elevation’, the name Kronos is perfectly appropriate for Saturn who, in fact, corresponds to the highest of the planetary spheres,» — lee el nombre Kronos por la idea de elevación y lo hace corresponder a Saturno, la más alta de las esferas planetarias

«it must not be forgotten that he is before all else the regent of the Golden Age, that is, of the Satya-Yuga or of the first phase of the Maha-Yuga which coincides precisely with the Hyperborean period ,4 thereby proving that Kronos is rightly identified with the god of the Hyperboreans» — y lo pone ante todo como regente de la Edad de Oro, es decir del Satya-Yuga, que hace coincidir con el periodo hiperbóreo

«It is in virtue of an analagous reversal that every ‘Land of the Gods’, seat of a spiritual centre, becomes a ‘Land of the Dead’ when this centre has disappeared.» — la inversión con que explica que toda Tierra de los Dioses se vuelva Tierra de los Muertos al desaparecer su centro espiritual

«It is likewise possible that the dissociation of the two names Kronos and Karneios which originally were one was an added motive for concentrating this malefic aspect on the name Kronos, while the benefic aspect remained attached to the name Karneios» — y propone como posible que la disociación de Kronos y Karneios concentrara el aspecto maléfico en el primero y dejara el benéfico en el segundo

«it is also true that the symbolism of the sun has in itself the two opposite aspects, vivifying and death-dealing, productive and destructive, as we have already remarked in connection with weapons that represent the ‘solar ray’.» — reconociendo que el simbolismo solar lleva en sí los dos aspectos, vivificante y mortífero

«Karneios is the god of the Karn, that is, of the ‘high place’, symbol of the sacred Mountaip of the Pole and, for the Celts, represented either by the tumulus or by the cairn or mound of stones which has retained this name.» — identifica a Karneios con el dios del karn, el lugar alto, símbolo de la Montaña sagrada del Polo, que entre los celtas es el túmulo o el cairn

«The stone, moreover, is often directly related to the cult of Apollo as can be seen for example in the Omphalos of Delphi as well as in the cubic stone which served as altar at Delos and which the oracle ordered to be doubled in size.» — y liga la piedra al culto de Apolo, con el ónfalo de Delfos y la piedra cúbica de Delos que el oráculo mandó duplicar

«On the other hand, the stone also had a particular relationship with Kronos; this is a further correspondence which we can only mention in passing, for it deserves separate treatment» — y menciona de paso una relación particular de la piedra con Kronos, que declara materia de tratamiento aparte

«For the Pythagoreans, Kronos and Rhea represented Heaven and Earth respectively: the idea of elevation is therefore found in this correspondence as well.» — la correspondencia pitagórica de Kronos y Rea con Cielo y Tierra, donde vuelve a encontrar la idea de elevación

«It is only by a later phonetic assimilation that the Greeks identified Kronos or Saturn with Chronos, Time, although the roots of the two words are really quite different.» — y data en una asimilación fonética tardía la identificación griega de Kronos con Chronos, el tiempo, cuyas raíces declara distintas

«It seems that the symbol of the scythe may also have been transferred from one to the other at that time, but this does not form part of our present subject.» — con la guadaña como símbolo posiblemente transferido en ese mismo momento, punto que deja fuera

«The ‘baetyls’, which are comparable to the Omphalos, are quite generally given a ’solar' significance; but this must have been superimposed, at a certain period, on a primitive 'polar' meaning as may well have happened in the case of Apollo himself.» — y la significación solar de los betilos, que tiene por superpuesta a un sentido polar primitivo, como en el propio Apolo

«Let us note further that Apollo is represented as the protector of water-springs (the Celtic Borvo was assimilated to him in this respect); and springs are also related to the mountain, or to the stone, which is the equivalent of the mountain in 'polar' symbolism.» — con Apolo protector de las fuentes, asimilado al Borvo celta, y las fuentes ligadas a la montaña o a la piedra que la equivale

«It is obvious that this related directly to Kameios, whose symbolic connection with horned beasts has left traces even down to the present day» — liga el altar de cuernos con Karneios, cuya conexión con los animales cornudos dice que ha dejado huellas hasta hoy. El troceo imprime *Kameios* por Karneios, artefacto de OCR

«Now at Delos, in addition to the cubic stone we have just mentioned, there was another altar called Keraton which was made entirely of the horns of bullocks and of goats solidly fitted together.» — el altar de Delos llamado Keraton, hecho enteramente de cuernos de toros y de cabras encajados

«The word ‘horn’ itself is linked with the root KRN, and the same applies to ‘crown’ which is another symbolic expression of the same ideas, for these two words (in Latin cornu and corona) are very close to one another» — y la raíz KRN que hace común a cuerno y a corona, dos expresiones simbólicas de las mismas ideas

«The crown is, needless to say, the emblem of power and the mark of an elevated rank; and an immediate correspondence with horns lies in the fact that both these and the crown are placed on the head, whence inescapably the idea of a ‘summit ’.» — con la correspondencia inmediata entre cuernos y corona: los dos se ponen en la cabeza y de ahí la idea de cumbre

«But there is still something else to be considered: in more primitive times, the crown was a circle ornamented with points in the form of rays; and horns are also held to represent luminous rays , 12 which brings us back to some of the considerations we have already put forward in connection with symbolic weapons.» — y la forma primitiva de la corona, un círculo con puntas en forma de rayos, con los cuernos también tenidos por rayos luminosos

«It is quite clear, moreover, that horns can be likened to weapons, even in the most literal sense; that is indeed why they have always and everywhere been associated with the idea of strength or of power» — y su asimilación a las armas, aun en sentido literal, de donde la asociación constante con la idea de fuerza o de poder

«The Greek word Keraunos, meaning thunderbolt, seems in fact to have been derived from the same root.» — deriva de la misma raíz el griego keraunos, rayo

«Let us note in this connection that the thunderbolt usually strikes summits and elevated places or objects.» — y lo apoya en que el rayo cae sobre cumbres y lugares elevados

«It is known that the horns he appears to carry on his brow are actually luminous rays.» — con los cuernos de Moisés leídos como rayos luminosos

«Let us add. however, that the duality of horns (and also of tusks) makes 'axial' symbolism inapplicable to them:» — y la acotación que pone: la dualidad de los cuernos hace inaplicable el simbolismo axial

«It would be easy to give many examples, from very diverse sources, of horns used as symbols of power.» — abre el capítulo 30, El simbolismo de los cuernos, con la abundancia de ejemplos del cuerno como símbolo de poder

«This interpretation is perfectly correct, though we must not exclude another fact which, if anything, completes it: Alexander, having been declared the son ofAmmon by the oracle of that god, took as his emblem the horns of the ram which was Ammon’s chief attribute :» — acepta la interpretación corriente del epíteto de Alejandro y le añade el dato que la completa: declarado hijo de Amón por el oráculo, tomó por emblema los cuernos de carnero. El troceo pega *ofAmmon*, artefacto de OCR

«It is even said that he had himself represented thus on his coinage, which in the eyes of the Greeks identified him rather with Dionysus,» — registra que se dice que así se hizo representar en sus monedas, lo que a ojos griegos lo identificaba más bien con Dioniso

«It is possible that Alexander himself was privy to this idea: but Dionysus was, nevertheless, commonly represented with horns, not of the ram but of the bull, which from the point ofview ofsymbolism is a rather important difference» — y admite como posible que Alejandro lo supiera, con la diferencia que subraya: Dioniso lleva cuernos de toro y no de carnero. El troceo pega *ofview* y *ofsymbolism*, artefactos de OCR

«It should be noted that there are in fact two main forms of horns in symbolism, those of the ram, which are ‘solar’, and those of the bull which, on the contrary, are ‘lunar’, and which recall moreover the form of the crescent itself.» — y la distinción que gobierna todo el capítulo: cuernos de carnero solares y cuernos de toro lunares, que recuerdan la forma del creciente

«but this would give rise above all to questions concerning the predominance of one form over the other in different traditions, which would lead to ‘cyclic’ considerations that we could not dream of entering into.» — y deja fuera la cuestión de cuál forma predomina en cada tradición, por llevar a consideraciones cíclicas

«It must be noted that here the idea is not confined to legitimate power only, but Is extended to all power whatsoever, malefic or benefic:» — acota que la idea de poder ligada al cuerno no se limita al poder legítimo y cubre todo poder, maléfico o benéfico

«This double meaning sometimes gives rise to a curious misunderstanding, namely that the epithet dhu l-qarnayn as applied to Alexander means that he lived two centuries.» — y el malentendido que registra: leer dhu l-qarnayn, aplicado a Alejandro, como que vivió dos siglos

«It is also possible that Alexander wore a helmet with two horns; it is known that homed helmets were used among many ancient peoples.» — y admite como posible que Alejandro llevara casco de dos cuernos, uso que atesta en muchos pueblos antiguos

«In this connection, it must be noted that many ofthe plants that have an important symbolic significance are thorny.» — señala que muchas plantas de significación simbólica importante son espinosas. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«It is to be noted also that In several places, menhirs are called ‘thorns’, whence, in Brittany and elsewhere, place-names such as Belle-Epine» — y que en varios lugares se llame espinas a los menhires, de donde topónimos como Belle-Épine

«the symbolism of the menhir, like that of the obelisk and the column, is related to the ‘solar ray' as well as to the ‘World Axis’.» — con el simbolismo del menhir, del obelisco y de la columna referido al rayo solar y al Eje del Mundo

«N a recent book , 1 W. F. Jackson Knight brings to light some interesting research of which the starting point is the sixth book of the Aeneid, where the gates to the cave of the Cumean Sibyl are described.» — abre el capítulo 31, La caverna y el laberinto, con el libro de W. F. Jackson Knight y su punto de partida en el canto sexto de la Eneida y las puertas de la caverna de la sibila de Cumas. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo y la i inicial se pierde con ella

«The author very rightly refuses to see it as a more or less pointless digression, as have some who go no further than modem ‘literary’ conceptions.» — le da la razón a Knight en negar que ese pasaje sea digresión, como sostienen quienes no pasan de concepciones literarias modernas

«On the contrary, he considers that this passage must have a real symbolic value, since it is based on the close relationship between the labyrinth and the cave, both of which are connected with the same idea of a subterranean journey.» — y en darle valor simbólico real, fundado en la relación estrecha entre el laberinto y la caverna, ligados los dos al viaje subterráneo

«According to the interpretation he gives of certain facts which, though pertaining to very different times and regions, are all in agreement, this idea had been originally linked to funerary rites and afterwards, in virtue of a certain analogy, had been transferred to initiatic rites.» — la interpretación de Knight que resume: la idea, primero ligada a los ritos funerarios, se transfirió después a los iniciáticos

«In fact, he seems to look on it merely as a product of ‘human thought’ endowed with a sort of vitality which assures it a kind of permanence through the ages, even if it sometimes exists only in a latent state.» — y la reserva que opone: Knight parece tomar la iniciación por producto del pensamiento humano dotado de una vitalidad que le da permanencia, a veces latente

«After all we have said on this subject, there is no need for us to point out yet again how inadequate such a conception is, above all in that it fails to take into account the 'supra-human’ elements which are, precisely, what constitute the essential.» — objeta esa concepción por no contar con los elementos suprahumanos, que él tiene por lo esencial

«We will insist only on this: the idea ofsubsistence in a latent state brings up the hypothesis of conservation in a ‘collective unconscious’ borrowed from certain recent psychological theories.» — y señala de dónde viene la idea de subsistencia latente: la hipótesis del inconsciente colectivo tomada de teorías psicológicas recientes. El troceo pega *ofsubsistence*, artefacto de OCR

«Whatever one may think of these, the application that is made of them here shows a complete failure to recognise the necessity of the initiatic ‘chain’, that is, of a genuine unbroken transmission.» — y lo que le imputa a esa aplicación, dejando el juicio sobre las teorías mismas aparte: desconocer la necesidad de la cadena iniciática, es decir de una transmisión efectiva e ininterrumpida

«It is true that there is another issue that must not be confused with this: it has happened sometimes that things of a strictly initiatic order have found expression through individualities who were in no way conscious of their true significance, as we have explained previously in connection with the Grail legend» — y distingue el caso que no debe confundirse con ese: que cosas de orden iniciático se expresen por individualidades que no las entienden, como dijo de la leyenda del Grial

«itself; and on the other, Virgil cannot possibly be thought ofin this way; he, just like Dante, gives us indications that are much too precise and too obviously conscious to leave us in any doubt that he must have had some initiatic affiliation.» — le atribuye a Virgilio, como a Dante, indicaciones demasiado precisas y conscientes para dudar de que tuviera afiliación iniciática. El troceo pega *ofin*, artefacto de OCR

«What is in question has nothing to do with ‘poetic inspiration’ in the modernist sense; and in this respect, Jackson Knight is too prone to share the ‘literary’ views which, on other counts, his thesis goes against.» — niega que se trate de inspiración poética en sentido modernista, y le imputa a Jackson Knight compartir en eso las miras literarias que su propia tesis contradice

«None the less, it must be acknowledged how meritorious it is for a university writer to have the courage to broach such a subject, or even to mention initiation.» — y le reconoce el mérito de que un universitario se atreva a tratar, y aun a nombrar, la iniciación

«To return now to the relationships between the funerary cave and the initiatic cave, even though these relationships certainly exist, the identification of the one with the other as to their symbolism represents only half the truth at most.» — concede la relación entre caverna funeraria y caverna iniciática y niega que identificarlas cubra más de la mitad de la verdad

«Let it be noted moreover, that even from the funerary perspective alone, the idea of deriving the symbolism from the ritual, instead of seeing on the contrary, in the ritual itself, symbolism in action, which it truly is, already involves the author in great difficulties when he is faced by the fact that the subterranean journey is almost always followed by a journey in the open air, which many traditions represent as a navigation.» — objeta el procedimiento de derivar el simbolismo del rito en vez de ver en el rito simbolismo en acto, y señala la dificultad que eso le crea al autor ante el viaje al aire libre que sigue al subterráneo

«This would indeed be inconceivable if it were only a question of a vivid description of a ritual inhumation; but it becomes perfectly comprehensible when we know that it is in reality a question of the various phases passed through by the being in the course of a navigation that is truly ‘beyond the grave’, and which in no way concerns the body which it has left behind in quitting terrestrial life.» — y su propia lectura: no una inhumación descrita al vivo sino fases de una navegación de ultratumba que nada tiene que ver con el cuerpo dejado atrás

«In fact, strictly speaking, there is only a preparation for initiation in death to the profane world, followed by the ‘descent into Hell’ which is, of course, the same thing as the journey in the subterranean world to which the cave gives access: as for initiation itself, far from being considered as a death, it is on the contrary like a ‘second birth’, as well as like a passage from darkness to light.» — y precisa el orden: la muerte al mundo profano y el descenso a los infiernos son preparación, mientras la iniciación misma es segundo nacimiento y paso de las tinieblas a la luz

«Now the place of this birth is still the cave, at least when it is there that the initiation is accomplished, in fact or symbolically; for it goes without saying that one must not generalise too widely, and that, as in the case of the labyrinth which we shall speak of later, it is not a question of something that is necessarily common to all initiatic forms without exception.» — sitúa ese nacimiento también en la caverna, con la acotación de no generalizar: no es rasgo común a todas las formas iniciáticas

«The same thing is to be seen, moreover, even exoterically, in the Christian symbolism of the Nativity, quite as clearly as in other traditions: and it is obvious that the cave as birthplace cannot have the same meaning as the cave as the place of death or burial.» — y con la Natividad cristiana como caso exotérico, separando la caverna como lugar de nacimiento de la caverna como lugar de muerte

«It may be noted however, so as at least to reconcile with each other these different and even apparently opposed aspects, that death and birth are after all two aspects of one same change of state; and» — y reconcilia los dos aspectos haciendo de muerte y nacimiento dos caras del mismo cambio de estado

«the passage from one state to another is always considered as having to be effected in darkness. 3 In that sense, the cave would be, more precisely, the very place of the passage; but this, though strictly true, is only one side of its complex symbolism.» — con el paso de un estado a otro efectuado siempre en la oscuridad, lo que hace de la caverna el lugar del paso, aunque acota que eso es solo un lado de su simbolismo complejo

«The fact that the author has not succeeded in seeing the other side of this symbolism is due very probably to the influence of the theories of certain ‘historians of religion’. Following them, he in fact admits that the cave must always be connected with ‘chthonian’ cults, doubtless for the somewhat ‘simplistic’ reason that it is situated inside the earth; but this interpretation is very far from the truth.» — atribuye la ceguera del autor al otro lado del simbolismo a la influencia de ciertos historiadores de las religiones, que ligan la caverna a los cultos ctónicos por estar dentro de la tierra, razón que llama simplista

«Nevertheless, he cannot help but realise that the initiatic cave is represented above all as an image of the world; 5 but his hypothesis prevents him from drawing the obvious conclusion, namely that the cave must form a complete whole and contain in itself the representation of heaven as well as of the earth.» — le concede haber visto la caverna iniciática como imagen del mundo, y le imputa que su hipótesis le impida sacar la consecuencia: que contenga la representación del cielo tanto como la de la tierra

«The truth is that, far from being a place of darkness, the initiatic cave is illuminated from within, and it is outside the cave that darkness reigns, the profane world naturally being likened to the ‘outer darkness’ and the ‘second birth’ being at the same time an ‘illumination’.» — y su tesis propia: la caverna iniciática está iluminada por dentro y la tiniebla queda fuera, con el mundo profano como tinieblas exteriores y el segundo nacimiento como iluminación

«If it be asked why the cave is considered in this way from the initiatic point of view, the answer is that on the one hand the cave, as symbol, is complementary to the mountain, while on the other hand the symbolism of the cave is closely related to that of the heart. We propose to treat these two essential points separately; but It is not difficult to understand, after all we have already said elsewhere, that what we are concerned with here is directly related to the representation of spiritual centres.» — y las dos razones que da: la caverna es complementaria de la montaña y su simbolismo está ligado al del corazón, con todo ello referido a la representación de los centros espirituales

«We will pass over the other questions which, however important they may be in themselves, are marginal to our present theme, such as. for example, the meaning of the ‘golden bough'.» — deja fuera otras cuestiones del libro que discute, entre ellas el sentido de la rama dorada

«On the other hand, and by reason of the analogy existing between death in the ordinary sense of the word and the initiatic death of which we have spoken elsewhere, the same symbolic description can be applied equally well to what happens to the being in either case;» — funda la asimilación entre las dos cavernas en la analogía entre la muerte en sentido ordinario y la muerte iniciática, que permite aplicar la misma descripción simbólica a los dos casos

«we have simply to remember that this ‘labyrinthine’ mode of defense was used not only against human enemies, but also against hostile psychic influences,» — la función del laberinto como defensa, no solo contra enemigos humanos sino contra influencias psíquicas hostiles

«it is very necessary to take them into account, failing which those who study the vestiges of ancient civilisations will never be able to understand the true meaning and purpose of what they record,» — y la exigencia que impone al estudioso: sin contar con esas influencias no se entiende el sentido de los vestigios de las civilizaciones antiguas

«even for what has now come to be called the domain of ‘ordinary life’ but which had then, like everything else,» — con lo que extiende esa consideración al dominio que hoy se llama vida ordinaria, que entonces tenía otro estatuto

«Indeed, contrary to what some have thought, it seems that it is not directly connected with the name labrys» — objeta la derivación del nombre laberinto desde labrys

«Jackson Knight has at least some perception of this, for he alludes to ‘men bom from stone’» — y le concede a Jackson Knight alguna percepción del asunto por su alusión a los hombres nacidos de la piedra

«it does not seem that this mode of access had always been exclusively reserved for sanctuaries situated in caves» — niega que el acceso por laberinto se reservara siempre a santuarios en cavernas

«it must be considered as giving access not only to subterranean or ‘infernal’ regions, but also to supra-terrestrial domains.» — y le da acceso no solo a regiones subterráneas o infernales sino a dominios supraterrestres

«as well as the obstacle that bars the unqualified profane from approaching it.» — con la segunda función del laberinto: obstáculo que impide acercarse al profano sin calificación

«it is nevertheless important not to confuse them especially when, as here, we are concerned more particularly with the initiatic cave.» — y la advertencia de no confundir laberinto y caverna al tratar de la caverna iniciática

«Besides, we think we have said enough to show, on the one hand, the interest of research such as that undertaken by Jackson Knight and put forward in his book, but also on the other hand, if we are to see the results in perspective and grasp their true importance, the necessity of a strictly ‘technical’ knowledge of what is involved.» — cierra el capítulo 31 reconociendo el interés de la investigación de Jackson Knight y exigiendo a la vez un conocimiento técnico del asunto para medir sus resultados

«Without such knowledge we can never achieve anything other than incomplete and hypothetical reconstructions which, even where they are not falsified by some preconceived idea, will remain as ‘dead’ as the relics on which they» — y lo que resulta sin ese conocimiento: reconstrucciones incompletas e hipotéticas, tan muertas como las reliquias en que se apoyan

«The ‘cave of the heart’ is a well known traditional expression.» — abre el capítulo 32, El corazón y la caverna, con la expresión tradicional caverna del corazón

«The Sanskrit word guha generally designates a cave, but it is used also of the internal cavity of the heart, and consequently of the heart itself.» — y la palabra sánscrita guha, que designa la caverna y también la cavidad interna del corazón

«This ‘cave of the heart’ is the vital centre in which resides not only fivatma but also unconditioned Atma, which in reality is identical with Brahma itself, as we have explained elsewhere.» — donde sitúa el centro vital en que reside no solo el jivatma sino el Atma incondicionado, idéntico a Brahma. El troceo imprime *fivatma*, artefacto de OCR

«The word guha is derived from the root guh, meaning ‘to cover’ or ‘conceal’ or ‘hide’, as does another similar root, gup, whence gupta which applies to everything of a secret character, everything that is not externally manifested.» — la etimología que da: la raíz guh, cubrir u ocultar, emparentada con gup, de donde gupta, lo secreto y no manifestado por fuera

«These ideas are related to the centre insofar as it is considered as the most inward and consequently the most hidden point.» — y liga esas ideas al centro como punto más interior y por eso más oculto

«On the other hand, it is to be noted that this hiddenness or secrecy which characterises spiritual centres or their figurative representation implies that the traditional truth itself is no longer accessible in all its fullness to all men equally, which is the sign of a period of ‘obscuration’, at least in a relative sense.» — y lee en ese ocultamiento un signo: la verdad tradicional ya no es accesible a todos por igual, lo que da por marca de un periodo de oscurecimiento, al menos relativo

«This makes it possible to ‘place’ such a symbolism in the course of the march of the cyclic process: but that is a point to which we shall have to come back to more fully in studying the relationships between the mountain and the cave, insofar as both are taken as symbols of the centre.» — con lo que ese simbolismo queda situado en la marcha del proceso cíclico, punto que remite al estudio de la montaña y la caverna

«Let us add, on the subject of this representation of the heart and the cave by an inverted triangle, that here is one of those cases in which clearly no idea of ‘black magic’ is involved, despite the all too frequent assertions of those whose knowledge of symbolism is totally insufficient.» — y niega que el triángulo invertido del corazón y la caverna implique magia negra, imputando esa afirmación a un conocimiento insuficiente del simbolismo

«it is the principle of the being, which, in this state of envelopment and with regard to manifestation, is compared to what is smallest» — y el principio del ser comparado, en ese estado de envoltura, con lo más pequeño

«there indeed lies the beginning (initium ) of this development, which is directly related to initiation in the etymological sense of this term: and it is precisely from this point of view that the cave can be considered as the place of the ‘second birth’.» — donde sitúa el initium del desarrollo, ligado a la iniciación en sentido etimológico, y por eso la caverna como lugar del segundo nacimiento

«‘Know that this Agni, who is the foundation of the eternal (principial) world, and through whom that world can be attained, is hidden in the cave (of the heart)’» — con el texto que cita sobre Agni oculto en la caverna del corazón, fundamento del mundo principial

«the distinction between individual and principle is no more than an illusory one; it only exists with regard to manifestation, but they are one in absolute reality.» — declara ilusoria la distinción entre el individuo y el Principio: existe solo respecto de la manifestación y no en la realidad absoluta

«These are the ‘two who have entered into the cave’ and who at the same time are also said to ‘dwell on the highest summit’, so that the two symbolisms of the cave and the mountain are here reunited.» — y el texto que reúne los dos simbolismos, con los dos que entraron en la caverna y que a la vez moran en la cumbre más alta

«Now, according to their literal meanings, the name Krishna denotes darkness of hue and that of Arjuna lightness, or, respectively, night and day, inasmuch as they are considered as representing the unmanifested and the manifested.» — la lectura de los nombres de Krishna y Arjuna por sus sentidos literales, oscuridad y claridad, noche y día, es decir lo no manifestado y lo manifestado

«It must be noted here that the symbolism of the tree is essentially ‘axial’, like that of the mountain; and the cave, inasmuch as it is considered as situated under the mountain or within it, is also on the axis, where in any case, whatever the point of view, the centre must always be, for it is in the centre that the individual is united with the Universal.» — y el carácter axial que da al árbol como a la montaña, con la caverna también sobre el eje por estar bajo o dentro de la montaña, porque en el centro es donde el individuo se une a lo Universal

«The Egyptian word hor, which is the name of Horns, seems to mean heart.» — registra que la palabra egipcia hor, nombre de Horus, parece significar corazón

«But the common root of all these words, including the last mentioned, is in reality HRD or KRD, which can scarcely be the case with the word hor, so that here it would be not a question of the same root but only of a sort of phonetic convergence, which is none the less striking.» — y acota que la raíz común de las otras palabras es HRD o KRD, con lo que aquí no habría misma raíz sino convergencia fonética, que aun así le parece notable

«in Hebrew, the word hor or hur, written with the letter heth, signifies cave; this does not necessarily mean that there is an etymological link between these Hebrew and Egyptian words, although strictly speaking they may have a more or less remote common origin, but however that may be, their resemblance is none the less of considerable interest, seeing that there can be no such thing as pure chance.» — y suma el hebreo hor, caverna, sin afirmar el vínculo etimológico y negando a la vez que exista el puro azar

«It must be noted however, so that we can ‘place’ them exactly in relationship to one another, that the mountain is more primordial in its significance than the cave: it is so in virtue of being outwardly visible, we might even say of being the most visible object from all sides, whereas on the contrary the cave is, as we have said, a place that is essentially hidden and closed off.» — jerarquiza los dos símbolos: la montaña es más primordial por ser visible desde todos lados, y la caverna es lugar oculto y cerrado

«It can easily be deduced from this that the representation of the spiritual centre by the mountain corresponds to the original period of terrestrial humanity, during which the truth was wholly accessible to all (whence the name Satya-Yuga, the summit of the mountain being Satya-Loka, or ‘place of truth’).» — de ahí adjudica la montaña al periodo original de la humanidad terrestre, cuando la verdad era accesible a todos, con Satya-Yuga y Satya-Loka como nombres

«By such a change, the centre did not forsake the mountain, so to speak, but only withdrew from its summit to its interior.» — y describe el cambio: el centro no abandona la montaña, se retira de la cumbre a su interior

«On the other hand, this same change is in a way a reversal by which, as we have explained elsewhere, the ‘celestial world’, indicated by the elevation of the mountain above the surface of the earth, has become in a sense the ‘subterranean world’ (though in reality it is not the celestial world that has changed but the conditions of the outer world, and consequently the relationship between the two worlds) and this reversal is represented by the respective diagrammatic figures of the mountain and of the cave, which at the same time express their complementarity.» — lee ese cambio como una inversión por la que el mundo celeste pasa a ser subterráneo, con la precisión de que lo que cambia no es el mundo celeste sino las condiciones del mundo exterior

«As has already been mentioned, the figure of the mountain, as well as that of the pyramid and the mound which are its equivalents, is a triangle with the summit pointed upwards.» — la figura de la montaña, como la de la pirámide y el túmulo: triángulo con la punta hacia arriba

«That of the cave, on the contrary, is a triangle the summit of which points downwards and which is therefore the inverse of the other.» — y la de la caverna, su inversa

«This inverted triangle is also the figure of the heart 1 and of the cup, to which the heart is generally assimilated in symbolism, as we have shown in connection the Holy Grail.» — con el triángulo invertido como figura del corazón y de la copa, según ya expuso a propósito del Santo Grial

«Let us add that these last symbols and their like refer, from a more general point of view, to the passive or feminine principle of universal manifestation or to one of its aspects, 3 while those represented by the upright triangle relate to the active or masculine principle, which all goes to bear out the complementarity in question.» — y reparte los dos triángulos entre el principio pasivo o femenino y el activo o masculino de la manifestación universal

«On the other hand, if the two triangles are placed one beneath the other, which corresponds to the position of the cave under the mountain, it will be noticed that the lower triangle can be considered as the reflection of the upper triangle;» — y puestos uno bajo otro, como la caverna bajo la montaña, hace del inferior reflejo del superior

«It may seem surprising that the inverted triangle should be represented in the figure as being smaller than the upright one whose reflection it is and whose equal in size it must therefore presumably be.» — se plantea la objeción de que el triángulo invertido aparezca menor que aquel del que es reflejo

«But such a difference of proportion is not exceptional in symbolism: thus, in the Hebrew Kabbala, the ‘Macroprosope’ or ‘Great Countenance’ has as its reflection the ‘Microprosope’ or ‘Little Countenance’.» — y la responde con el precedente cabalístico del Macroprósopo reflejado en el Microprósopo

«Moreover, in the present case there is a more special reason: as regards the relationship between the cave and the heart, we have recalled the text of the Upanishads where it is said that the Principle which resides at the ‘centre of the being’, is ‘smaller than a grain of rice, smaller than a grain of barley, smaller than a grain of mustard, smaller than a grain of millet, smaller than the seed that is in a grain of millet’, but also at the same time ‘larger than the earth, larger than the atmosphere (or the intermediate world), larger than the heavens, larger than all the worlds together’.» — y con la razón propia del caso: el texto upanishádico donde el Principio del centro del ser es a la vez más pequeño que un grano de mijo y más grande que todos los mundos juntos

«It is perfectly normal, therefore, that the first should be represented in this context by the symbol that corresponds to a primordial condition, 5 and the second by that which corresponds to a later condition of ‘obscuration’ and spiritual ‘envelopment’.» — con lo que reparte los dos símbolos entre la condición primordial y la condición posterior de oscurecimiento y envoltura espiritual

«This last consideration, as well as certain numerical considerations connected with it, has no really direct bearing on our present subject, but we will doubtless have occasion to come back to it later in the course of other studies.» — deja fuera del capítulo las consideraciones numéricas ligadas al asunto, por no tocar directamente el tema

«It will be noted, according to the same diagram, that if the mountain is replaced by the pyramid, the pyramid’s inner chamber is the exact equivalent of the cave.» — y equipara la cámara interior de la pirámide con la caverna cuando la pirámide sustituye a la montaña

«The Biblical figure of the Earthly Paradise, which is also the ‘Centre of the World’, is that of a circular precinct which may be considered as the horizontal section of an ovoid form as well as that of a spherical form.» — lee el recinto circular del Paraíso terrestre como sección horizontal de una forma ovoide tanto como esférica

«What is to be noted before all else in this respect is that the World Egg is the figure, not of the cosmos in its state of full manifestation, but of that from which its development will be accomplished;» — abre el capítulo 34, El corazón y el Huevo del Mundo, precisando que el Huevo no figura el cosmos plenamente manifestado sino aquello de lo que su desarrollo saldrá

«It only remains now to show that what is contained in the World Egg is, as we said above, really identical to what is also contained symbolically in the heart, and in the cave as well insofar as it is the equivalent of the heart.» — y anuncia lo que le queda por mostrar: que lo contenido en el Huevo del Mundo es lo mismo que contienen el corazón y la caverna

«But apart from the fact that the different names really designate only different divine attributes which, far from being separate entities, are necessarily always connected with one another, it should be noted more especially here that since gold is considered as the ‘mineral light’ and the 'sun of metals', Hiranyagarbha is defined by its very name as a fiery principle, and for this reason, together with that of its central position, it is assimilated symbolically to the Sun which, moreover, is in all traditions one of the figures of the ‘Heart of the World’.» — y la responde: los nombres designan atributos divinos no separados, y Hiranyagarbha queda definido por su nombre como principio ígneo, asimilado al Sol, figura del Corazón del Mundo en todas las tradiciones

«It is true that, in general, the luz is not spoken of as situated in the heart, or that at least the heart is just one of the different localizations which it may be given in its correspondence with the bodily organism, and that it is not this localisation that is most commonly in question; but it none the less comes into its own as one of them precisely when, in view of all that has already been said, it must do so, that is, when the luz is in immediate relation with the ‘second birth’.» — concede que el luz no suele situarse en el corazón y sostiene que esa localización es la pertinente cuando el luz entra en relación con el segundo nacimiento

«when the luz is in the heart, it is in the initial phase of its ‘germination’, which is the ‘second birth':» — con el luz en el corazón como fase inicial de su germinación, que es el segundo nacimiento

«when it is at the ‘frontal eye’, then the perfection of the human state has been attained, the reintegration into the ‘primordial state’.» — y en el ojo frontal como perfección del estado humano y reintegración al estado primordial

«Finally, when it is at the crown of the head, that signifies the passage to supra-individual states;» — y en la coronilla como paso a los estados supraindividuales

«There is no occasion to be surprised at these similarities, for the process of the ‘Great Work', understood in its true sense, is fundamentally nothing other than the very process of initiation.» — y niega que esas semejanzas sorprendan, porque identifica el proceso de la Gran Obra, entendido en su sentido verdadero, con el de la iniciación

«as well as in many other cases, the Avatara is expressly designated as Agni, while it is said that it is Brahma8 who is enveloped in the World Egg (called, for that very reason Brahmanda ) to be bom there as Hiranyagarbha.» — se plantea la objeción de que el Avatara se designe como Agni mientras es Brahma quien queda envuelto en el Huevo del Mundo para nacer allí como Hiranyagarbha

«In fact, the World Egg is central in relation to the cosmos and, at the same time, it contains in seed all that the cosmos will contain in its fully manifested state.» — el Huevo del Mundo como central respecto del cosmos y a la vez conteniendo en semilla todo lo que el cosmos contendrá manifestado

«All things are to be found in the World Egg, therefore, but in a state of ‘envelopment’ which also is represented, precisely, by the situation of the cave, as we have explained, that is, by its hiddenness and its inaccessibility.» — y el estado de envoltura en que ahí está todo, representado por lo oculto e inaccesible de la caverna

«The two halves into which the World Egg is divided, according to one of the most common aspects of its symbolism, become respectively heaven and earth.» — con las dos mitades del Huevo convertidas en cielo y tierra

«There is still another question to be considered, one that is particularly important from an initiatic point of view: we have spoken of the cave as the place of the ‘second birth’; but between this ‘second birth' and the ‘third birth’ there is an essential distinction to be made that corresponds to the distinction between initiation into the Lesser Mysteries and initiation into the Greater Mysteries.» — abre el capítulo 35 distinguiendo el segundo del tercer nacimiento, según la distinción entre Misterios Menores y Mayores

«The second birth, which can be rightly called ‘psychic regeneration’, takes place in the domain of the subtle possibilities of the human individuality.» — y sitúa el segundo, que llama regeneración psíquica, en el dominio de las posibilidades sutiles de la individualidad humana

«The third birth, on the contrary, being realised directly in the spiritual order and no longer in the psychic order, gives access to the domain of supra-individual possibilities.» — y el tercero en el orden espiritual, con acceso a las posibilidades supraindividuales

«for the cave contains only the possibilities included within the cosmos, those possibilities precisely which the initiate must pass beyond in this new phase of the development of his being, of which the ‘second birth' was only the starting point.» — porque la caverna solo contiene las posibilidades incluidas en el cosmos, que el iniciado debe rebasar en esa fase nueva

«The ‘third birth’ is necessarily preceded by the ‘second death’, which is no longer death to the profane world but truly ‘death to the cosmos’ (and also ‘in the cosmos’), and this is why the ‘extra-cosmic’ birth is always assimilated to a ‘resurrection’.» — y la segunda muerte que lo precede, que ya no es muerte al mundo profano sino muerte al cosmos, de donde el nacimiento extracósmico se asimila a una resurrección

«On the other hand, when what is outside the cave represented only the profane world or the ‘outer’ darkness, the cave then appeared as the sole illuminated place and, moreover, necessarily illuminated from within, for no light could then come to it from without.» — recuerda que mientras fuera de la caverna solo hay mundo profano, la caverna es el único lugar iluminado y por fuerza iluminado desde dentro

«Now, since ‘extra-cosmic’ possibilities have to be taken into account, the cave, despite this illumination, becomes relatively dark in reference, we do not say to whatever is outside it without distinction, but more precisely, to what is above it, beyond its vault, for there indeed is what represents the ‘extra-cosmic’ domain.» — y cómo cambia eso al contar con lo extracósmico: la caverna se vuelve relativamente oscura, no respecto de todo lo exterior sino de lo que está por encima de su bóveda

«In accordance with this new point of view, one could then consider this inner illumination as being only the reflection of a light which penetrates through the ‘roof of the world; by the ‘solar gateway’ or ‘sun door’ which is the ‘eye’ of the cosmic vault or the upper opening of the cave.» — con lo que esa iluminación interior pasa a ser reflejo de una luz que entra por la puerta solar, ojo de la bóveda cósmica

«Let us add, in this connection, that the ‘philosophical egg' which manifestly plays the part of the ‘World Egg’, is enclosed within the athanor, but that the athanor can itself be assimilated to the cosmos in both the macrocosmic and the microcosmic sense.» — y el huevo filosófico encerrado en el atanor, con el atanor asimilable al cosmos en sentido macrocósmico y microcósmico

«The cave can thus also be identified symbolically with the ‘philosophical egg’ and with the athanor according to the particular degree of development in the initiatic process that is being referred to; but in any case the fundamental meaning of the cave will not be altered in any way» — con lo que la caverna se identifica con el huevo filosófico y con el atanor según el grado del proceso iniciático, sin que su sentido de fondo cambie

«It is also to be noted that this illumination by reflection takes us back to the Platonic image of the cave, in which only shadows are seen, thanks to a light that comes from without; 6 and this light is indeed extra-cosmic, for its source is the ‘intelligible Sun’.» — y remite esa iluminación por reflejo a la caverna de Platón, con la luz venida de fuera y su fuente en el Sol inteligible

«The liberation of the prisoners and their exodus from the cave is a ‘coming into the daylight’ in which they can contemplate directly the reality of which they had hitherto seen merely a reflection.» — con la salida de los prisioneros como paso a la luz del día, donde contemplan directamente lo que veían como reflejo

«Finally, it is important to note that the two ‘births’ we have spoken of, being two successive phases of the full initiation, are also by that very fact,» — y recuerda que los dos nacimientos son fases sucesivas de una misma iniciación

«two stages on one and the same path, and that this path is essentially ‘axial’, as is also, in its symbolism, the solar ray we have just been alluding to, which indicates the spiritual ‘direction’ that the being must follow, raising himself unswervingly in order to attain in the end to his true Centre» — y dos etapas de un mismo camino que declara axial, como el rayo solar que marca la dirección espiritual hacia el Centro propio

«The question is however none the less somewhat complicated in fact owing to two different modalities of symbolism, one polar and the other solar.» — reconoce que la cuestión se complica por la coexistencia de dos modalidades del simbolismo, polar y solar

«Nevertheless, despite the references to solar symbolism which are to be found in such a connection, this ‘axial’ and ‘zenithal’ position can be said to relate more directly and doubtless more primitively to a polar symbolism.» — y adjudica la posición axial y cenital más directamente al simbolismo polar

«According to certain ‘operative’ rituals, the point in question is that from which the ‘plumb line of the Great Architect’ is suspended, marking the direction of the World Axis, and it is then identified with the pole star itself» — con los rituales operativos que hacen de ese punto el de la plomada del Gran Arquitecto, identificado con la estrella polar

«Let it be noted also that for the exit to be made in this way it is necessary that a stone of the vault be removed from this very point; and this stone, by the fact that it is at the summit, has a special and even unique function in the architectural structure, for it is of course a ‘keystone’—a point that is not without its importance, though this is not a context in which it can be dwelt on.» — y la piedra que hay que retirar de la bóveda para salir por ahí, que es la clave, punto que declara importante y deja para otra ocasión

«It seems that what we have just mentioned has only seldom been observed to the letter in initiatic rituals, though a few examples of it can nevertheless be found.» — admite que eso rara vez se observa al pie de la letra en los rituales, aunque cita que hay ejemplos

«In fact, this confusion exists in the Scottish grades just mentioned: the 'subterranean vault' there, being without 'either doors or windows', one can neither enter nor leave except by the single opening made at the summit of the vault.» — y señala la confusión en los grados escoceses, cuya bóveda subterránea sin puertas ni ventanas obliga a entrar y salir por la misma abertura

«In fact, if the cave has no way out other than this, it must serve as an entry as well as an exit, which does not conform to its symbolism.» — objeta esa disposición porque haría de la caverna entrada y salida a la vez, contra su simbolismo

«Logically, the entrance ought rather to be at a point opposite the exit, along the axis, that is, in the ground at the very centre of the cave, which would be reached by an underground route.» — y propone la entrada opuesta a la salida, por el suelo del centro de la caverna y por vía subterránea

«But such a means of entry would not be suitable for the ‘Greater Mysteries’, corresponding as it does only to the initial stage which has already long since been passed.» — con la objeción que él mismo se pone: esa entrada no convendría a los Misterios Mayores, por corresponder a una etapa ya pasada

«It must be supposed, rather, that the recipient, who has entered by this underground route to receive initiation into the ‘Lesser Mysteries’, remains in the cave thenceforth until the moment of his ‘third birth' when he leaves it once and for all by the upper opening.» — y la hipótesis que prefiere: el recipiendario entra por la vía subterránea para los Misterios Menores y permanece en la caverna hasta salir por la abertura superior

«This is admissible theoretically, but it clearly cannot be put into actual practice.» — y la reserva con que la deja: admisible en teoría, impracticable de hecho

«The one is thus strictly a ‘birth in the cosmos’ (to which the birth of the Avatara corresponds in the macrocosmic order), and consequently it is logical that it be represented as taking place entirely within the cave;» — con lo que llama al primero nacimiento en el cosmos, al que corresponde en el orden macrocósmico el nacimiento del Avatara, y lo sitúa entero dentro de la caverna

«There is in reality another solution, which implies considerations in which solar symbolism is this time predominant, although the traces of polar symbolism are still quite distinctly in evidence.» — y la salida que sí acepta, en la que predomina el simbolismo solar sin que desaparezcan las huellas del polar

«It is essential to note in this respect that the vertical axis, insofar as it joins the two poles, is obviously a north-south axis; in the passage from polar to solar symbolism, this axis must somehow be projected onto the zodiacal plane, but in a way that maintains a certain correspondence, we might even say as exact an equivalence as possible, with the primitive polar axis» — con la regla del paso de un simbolismo a otro: el eje vertical norte-sur proyectado sobre el plano zodiacal manteniendo la equivalencia con el eje polar primitivo

«They are, moreover, naturally in direct relation with the course of the sun, whose poles (in the ordinary sense ofthis word) are, on the contrary, entirely independent: and so the two symbolic modalities in question are linked, as clearly as possible, one with the other.» — y el vínculo entre las dos modalidades por la relación de los puntos solsticiales con el curso del sol. El troceo pega *ofthis*, artefacto de OCR

«All that remains to be considered now is which of these two gates corresponds to which solstice; but to be given» — deja planteada la pregunta de qué puerta corresponde a qué solsticio

«We will say only that the reason for the predominance thus attributed to the solstices or to the equinoxes depends on different cyclic periods to which these traditional forms must be more particularly attached.» — y remite la predominancia de solsticios o equinoccios a los periodos cíclicos a que se liga cada forma tradicional

«e have said that the zodiac’s two gates which are respectively the entry to and exit from the ‘cosmic cave’, and which certain traditions designate as the ‘gate of men’ and the ‘gate of the gods’, inevitably must correspond to the two solstices.» — abre el capítulo 37, Las puertas solsticiales, recordando que las dos puertas del zodiaco corresponden a los dos solsticios. La capitular queda suelta en el troceo, de ahí la doble uve perdida

«We must now state more explicitly that the first corresponds to the summer solstice, that is, to the sign of Cancer, and the second to the winter solstice, or to the sign of Capricorn.» — y precisa el reparto: la puerta de los hombres en el solsticio de verano, en Cáncer, y la de los dioses en el de invierno, en Capricornio

«In order to understand the reason for this, it is necessary to refer to the division of the annual cycle into two halves, the one ‘ascending’ and the other ‘descending’.» — para lo cual divide el ciclo anual en una mitad ascendente y otra descendente

«The first is the period of the movement of the sun towards the North ( uttarayana), going from the winter to the summer solstice; the second is that of the movement of the sun towards the South (dakshinayana ), going from the summer to the winter solstice.» — con el uttarayana como marcha del sol hacia el Norte y el dakshinayana como marcha hacia el Sur

«In the Hindu tradition, the ascendant phase relates to the (deva yarn, and the descendant phase to the pitri-yana , 2 which coincides exactly with the designations of the two gateways we have just mentioned.» — y hace coincidir esas dos fases con el deva-yana y el pitri-yana de la tradición hindú

«The ‘gate of men’ is that which gives access to the pitri-yana, and the ‘gate of the gods’ is that which gives access to the deva-yana.» — con la puerta de los hombres dando acceso al pitri-yana y la de los dioses al deva-yana

«They must therefore be respectively at the outset of the two corresponding phases, that is, the first must be at the summer solstice, and the second at the winter solstice.» — y las sitúa al comienzo de cada fase

«But in this case it is not really a question of an entry and of an exit, but of two different exits, inasmuch as the point of view is different from that which relates in a special way to the initiatic function of the cave, even though it is perfectly compatible with that function.» — y acota que desde ese punto de vista no hay entrada y salida sino dos salidas distintas, sin que eso contradiga la función iniciática de la caverna

«In fact the ‘cosmic cave’ is here considered as the place of manifestation of the being.» — porque ahí la caverna cósmica se toma como lugar de manifestación del ser

«After being manifested here in a certain state, such as the human state for example, this being will go out from it by one of the two gates according to the spiritual degree which it has reached.» — que sale por una u otra puerta según el grado espiritual alcanzado

«In one case, that of the pitri-yana, it will have to return to another state of manifestation which naturally will be represented by a re-entry into the ‘cosmic cave'.» — con el pitri-yana obligando a volver a otro estado de manifestación, es decir a reentrar en la caverna cósmica

«In the other case, on the contrary, that of the deva-yana, there is no further return to the manifested world.» — y el deva-yana sin retorno al mundo manifestado

«It should be noted that the Zodiac frequently represented on the portals of medieval churches is arranged in such a way as to indicate clearly this division of the annual cycle.» — y el zodiaco de los pórticos de iglesias medievales dispuesto de modo que esa división del año quede indicada

«We have already explained that the solstitial axis of the Zodiac, relatively vertical in relation to the equinoctial axis, must be considered as the projection, in the annual solar cycle, of the North-South polar axis.» — repite que el eje solsticial del zodiaco es la proyección del eje polar norte-sur en el ciclo solar anual

«According to the correspondence of temporal symbolism with the spatial symbolism of the cardinal points, the winter solstice is in a way the north pole of the year and the summer solstice its south pole, while the two equinoxes of spring and autumn correspond in the same way, respectively, to East and West.» — con lo que el solsticio de invierno hace de polo norte del año y el de verano de polo sur, y los equinoccios de Este y Oeste

«In Vedic symbolism, however, the gate of the deva-loka is situated to the North-east, and that of the pitri-loka to the South-west; but this must be considered only as a more explicit indication of the direction in which the course of the annual cycle moves.» — registra que el simbolismo védico pone la puerta del deva-loka al nordeste y la del pitri-loka al suroeste, y lo lee como indicación del sentido de la marcha del ciclo

«In conformity with the correspondence we have just mentioned, the ‘ascending’ period goes from North to East, then from East to South.» — con el periodo ascendente que va del Norte al Este y de ahí al Sur

«Similarly, the ‘descending’ period goes from South to West, then from West to North» — y el descendente del Sur al Oeste y de ahí al Norte

«In harmony with Christian symbolism, the birth of the Avatara takes place not only at the winter solstice but also at midnight.» — sitúa el nacimiento del Avatara en el solsticio de invierno y a medianoche, en acuerdo con el simbolismo cristiano

«On the other hand, according to Masonic symbolism, the initiatic work is accomplished 'from midday to midnight', which is no less exact if one considers this work as a movement from the ‘gate of men' to the ‘gate of the gods'.» — y lee el trabajo iniciático masónico de mediodía a medianoche como marcha de la puerta de los hombres a la de los dioses

«The objection that one might be tempted to make by reason of the 'descending' nature of this period is resolved by an application of the 'inverse sense’ of the analogy, as we shall see below.» — con la objeción del carácter descendente de ese periodo, que resuelve por el sentido inverso de la analogía

«According to the solar modality of the symbolism, this direction is that which we are speaking of here, and the circumambulation is thus accomplished with the centre (about which one constantly turns) on one’s right.» — la circunvalación solar hecha con el centro a la derecha

«In the 'polar' modality, it is accomplished in the opposite direction with the centre to one's left.» — y la polar en sentido contrario, con el centro a la izquierda

«The second case is to be found for example in the Islamic tradition.» — con la tradición islámica como caso de la segunda

«Perhaps it is not without Interest to note that the direction of these circumambulations. going respectively from left to right and from right to left, also corresponds to the direction of the script in the sacred languages of these same traditional forms.» — y la correspondencia que señala entre el sentido de esas circunvalaciones y el de la escritura en las lenguas sagradas de esas mismas formas tradicionales

«In Masonry, in its present form, the direction of the circumambulations is ‘solar’, but it seems on the contrary to have been polar’ in the ancient operative' ritual, according to which the ‘throne of Solomon' was placed to the West and not to the East.» — y el cambio que registra en la masonería: circunvalación solar en su forma presente y polar en el ritual operativo antiguo, con el trono de Salomón al Oeste

«and this gives us the exact definition of ‘the two permanent ways of the manifested world, the one light, the other dark. By the one, there is no return (from the non-manifested to the manifested); by the other, one returns again (to manifestation)’.» — la definición que retiene de las dos vías permanentes del mundo manifestado, la clara sin retorno y la oscura con él

«There remains an appearance of contradiction that still has to be resolved.» — y la contradicción aparente que declara pendiente

«The solution of this difficulty lies in the distinction that can be made between the ‘celestial' order to which the progress of the sun belongs, and the ‘terrestrial’ order to which belongs the succession of the seasons.» — que resuelve distinguiendo el orden celeste, al que pertenece la marcha del sol, del terrestre, al que pertenece la sucesión de las estaciones

«According to the general law of analogy, these two orders must be, in their very correlation, the inverse of one another, in such a way that what is highest in the one becomes the lowest in the other, and reciprocally;» — con la ley de analogía que hace inversos los dos órdenes, de modo que lo más alto en uno es lo más bajo en el otro

«it is thus that, according to the Hermetic dictum of the Emerald Table, ‘that which is above (in the celestial order) is as that which is below (in the terrestrial order)’;» — apoyada en el dicho hermético de la Tabla de Esmeralda sobre lo de arriba y lo de abajo

«or again, according to the Gospel saying, ‘the first (in the principial order) are the last (in the manifested order)’.» — y en la sentencia evangélica sobre los primeros y los últimos

«It is true, moreover, that with regard to the ‘influences’ attached to these points, it is always the North that remains ‘benefic’,» — y acota la inversión: en cuanto a las influencias ligadas a esos puntos, el Norte sigue siendo el benéfico

«It could be remarked that the clarity and obscurity respectively characterising these two ways correspond exactly to the two complementary principles yang and yin of the Far Eastern tradition.» — empareja la claridad y la oscuridad de las dos vías con el yang y el yin

«It must be added that the terrestrial world can, by transposition, be considered as representing here the whole of the cosmos» — y por transposición hace del mundo terrestre representación del cosmos entero

«From this viewpoint, it is to the ‘spiritual’ order, understood in its most exalted acceptation, to which must be applied the consideration of the ‘invertedness’ in relation not only to the world of the senses but to the cosmos in its entirety» — con lo que la inversión se aplica al orden espiritual respecto no solo del mundo sensible sino del cosmos entero

«In the first, looking at the pole star, that is, turning oneself towards the North, one has the East to the right.» — la orientación polar, de cara al Norte, con el Este a la derecha

«In the second, looking at the sun at its meridian, that is turning towards the South, one has the East to the left.» — y la solar, de cara al Sur, con el Este a la izquierda

«Thus the side given pre-eminence has been sometimes the right and sometimes the left, but in fact, it has always been the East, that is.» — de donde el lado privilegiado sea unas veces la derecha y otras la izquierda, siendo siempre el Este

«It is to this that the Sanskrit designation of the South as dakshina. or 'side of the right' refers» — con la designación sánscrita del Sur como lado de la derecha

«From this point of view, night no longer represents the absence or privation of light, but rather its principial state of non-manifestation» — y la noche leída no como privación de luz sino como su estado principial de no manifestación

«it is also in this sense that certain teachings of Islamic esoterism must be understood, according to which 'the night is preferable to the day'.» — con las enseñanzas del esoterismo islámico que prefieren la noche al día

«The expressions ‘gateway of men’ and ‘gateway of the gods’, which we have used, belong, moreover, to the Greek tradition.» — adjudica a la tradición griega las expresiones puerta de los hombres y puerta de los dioses

«Only the information on these topics that has come down to us is so fragmentary and incomplete that their interpretation can give rise to many confusions which those who have considered them in isolation and without clarifying them by comparison with other traditions have not failed to commit, as we shall see.» — y declara fragmentario e incompleto lo que de ellas ha llegado, con las confusiones que eso ha producido en quien las miró aisladas

«This is why, while the ascendant movement of the sun goes from South to North, and its descendant movement from North to South, the ascendant period of the year must be regarded, on the contrary, as being accomplished in moving from North to South and its descendant period in moving from South to North, as we have already said.» — y con eso explica que el movimiento ascendente del sol vaya del Sur al Norte mientras el periodo ascendente del año se cuenta del Norte al Sur

«It is in relation to this last viewpoint that, according to the Vedic symbolism, the gateway of the deva-loka is situated towards the North, and that of the pitri-loka towards the South, without there being in all this, despite appearances, the least contradiction with what we are now going to find elsewhere.» — desde donde sitúa la puerta védica del deva-loka al Norte y la del pitri-loka al Sur, negando contradicción con lo demás

«How far back does this go? It is impossible to know.» — declara imposible fechar el origen de esa doctrina

«It is a question of traditional knowledge concerning an initiatic reality which by the very reason of its traditional nature has not and cannot have any chronologically assignable origin.» — y le niega origen cronológico asignable por su carácter tradicional

«if the theory in question had been ‘constructed by the Pythagoreans’, how then are we to explain that it is to be found everywhere, beyond any Greek influence, and in particular in the Vedic texts which assuredly are very much earlier than Pythagoreanism?» — objeta que se atribuya la doctrina a una construcción de los pitagóricos, porque la encuentra en los textos védicos, muy anteriores

«It is a traditional teaching which was transmitted continuously down through the centuries: and the somewhat ‘late’ date at which certain authors—who invented nothing and did not claim to have done so—formulated the doctrine in writing is of little importance.» — y la declara enseñanza tradicional transmitida sin interrupción, restando importancia a la fecha en que se puso por escrito

«According to Proclus, Numenius had narrowly differentiated them: by the gate of Cancer, the fall of souls to the earth; by that of Capricorn, the ascension of souls into the ether.» — el testimonio que toma de Proclo sobre Numenio: por Cáncer la caída de las almas a la tierra, por Capricornio su ascenso al éter

«With Porphyry, on the contrary, it is said only that Cancer is to the North and favourable to the descent, and Capricorn to the South and favourable to the ascent: so that instead of being strictly subject to a “one way” path, souls would have kept a certain freedom of circulation, to go and to return.» — y el de Porfirio, que pone Cáncer al Norte y Capricornio al Sur, con lo que las almas conservarían cierta libertad de circulación

«The end of this quotation really expresses nothing but an interpretation for which the sole responsibility is Carcopino’s.» — y adjudica esa última lectura a Carcopino y no a las fuentes

«It is hardly likely that Porphyry would have wished to leave the impression of any kind of indeterminacy which, being incompatible with the rigorous nature of traditional science, would in any case be nothing but a proof of his ignorance on this point.» — niega que Porfirio quisiera dejar impresión de indeterminación, que declara incompatible con el rigor de la ciencia tradicional

«However that may be, it is obvious that Numenius only repeated the known traditional teaching on the function of the two gates.» — y sostiene que Numenio solo repetía la enseñanza tradicional sobre la función de las dos puertas

«On the other hand, if he places Cancer to the North and Capricorn to the South, as Porphyry indicated, it is because he is considering their situation in the heavens.» — y explica la disposición de Porfirio por atender a la situación de los signos en el cielo

«This is indicated quite clearly, moreover, by the fact that in what is said earlier, it is a question of the ‘tropics’, which can only have a spatial meaning, and not of the ‘solstices’, which on the contrary relate more directly to the annual cycle:» — apoyado en que el texto hable de trópicos, de sentido espacial, y no de solsticios

«and this is why the situation given here is the inverse of that given by Vedic symbolism, without it making any real difference, since we have here two equally legitimate points of view which agree perfectly once their relationship is understood.» — con lo que la disposición griega resulta inversa de la védica sin diferencia real, por ser dos puntos de vista igualmente legítimos

«Carcopino goes on to say that ‘it is difficult, in the absence of the original, to disentangle from these divergent allusions'—not really divergent except in his mind—‘the true doctrine of Numenius’, which, as we have seen, is not his own doctrine but simply the teaching reported by him, which makes it all the more important and more worthy of interest.» — le objeta a Carcopino llamar divergentes esas alusiones y hablar de la doctrina propia de Numenio, cuando lo que hay es enseñanza transmitida

«But it is evident from the context ofPorphyry that, even expounded in its most elastic form'—as if there could be ‘elasticity’ in a question that is solely a matter of exact knowledge— ‘it would remain in contradiction with those of some of his predecessors, and in particular with the system that the older Pythagoreans had based on their interpretation of verses of the Odyssey where Homer described the grotto of Ithaca’, that is, the ‘cave of the Nymphs’ which is nothing other than one of the figurations of the ‘cosmic cave’ of which we have spoken earlier.» — y le objeta hablar de forma elástica en una cuestión que declara de conocimiento exacto, con el ejemplo de la gruta de Ítaca de la Odisea leída como caverna de las Ninfas. El troceo pega *ofPorphyry*, artefacto de OCR

«First of all, it is Carcopino who on his own initiative mentions Capricorn and Cancer.» — y señala que los nombres de Capricornio y Cáncer los pone Carcopino por su cuenta

«According to Porphyry, Homer only designates the two gates by their situation to the North and the South, without indicating the corresponding zodiacal signs.» — porque Porfirio, dice, solo consigna que Homero designa las puertas por su situación al Norte y al Sur

«But as he indicates that the ‘divine’ gate is that of the South, it must be inferred that it is this one which for him corresponds to Capricorn just as for Numenius, which means that he also situates these gates according to their position in the heavens, which thus appears to have been the dominant point of view throughout the Greek tradition, even before Pythagoreanism.» — y de que Porfirio dé la puerta divina al Sur infiere que también él sitúa las puertas por su posición celeste, punto de vista que declara dominante en toda la tradición griega

«Homer, on the contrary, says that it is by the northern gate that the ‘descent’ is made, that is. the entry into the ‘cosmic cave’, or in other words, into the world of generation or of individual manifestation.» — con Homero haciendo del descenso, es decir de la entrada en la caverna cósmica, cosa de la puerta del Norte

«As to the southern gateway, it is the exit from the cosmos, and consequently it is through it that the ‘ascent’ of beings on the way to liberation is accomplished.» — y de la del Sur la salida del cosmos por donde asciende el ser hacia la liberación

«Finally, whether the situation of the two gates be looked at in relation to the movement of the sun in the heavens as in the Greek tradition, or in relation to the seasons in the annual terrestrial cycle, as in the Hindu tradition, it is clearly always Cancer which is the ‘gateway of men’ and Capricorn which is the ‘gateway of the gods’.» — y cierra fijando el reparto, se mire por el movimiento del sol como los griegos o por las estaciones como los hindúes: Cáncer puerta de los hombres y Capricornio puerta de los dioses

«There can be no variation on this point, and in fact there is none.» — y niega que haya variación posible en eso

«It is only the incomprehension of modem ‘academics’ who credit themselves with the discovery, in the various interpreters of traditional doctrines, of divergences and contradictions which are not really there at all.» — imputando las divergencias a la incomprensión de los académicos modernos, que dice que se atribuyen el hallazgo de contradicciones inexistentes

«There can be no doubt about this: in fact, Janus has given his name to the month of January ( januarius), the first month of the year, that with which it opens when it begins, as is normal at the winter solstice.» — abre el capítulo 39, El simbolismo solsticial de Jano, con el nombre de Jano en el mes de enero, primero del año, que empieza en el solsticio de invierno

«Janus has already been mentioned as ‘Master of threefold tune’ (an appellation applied likewise to Shiva by the Hindu tradition) and also as ‘Master of the two ways’, those of the right and of the left, which the Pythagoreans represented by the letter Y,» — recuerda a Jano como Maestro del tiempo triple, título que la tradición hindú da a Shiva, y como Maestro de las dos vías que los pitagóricos figuraban con la letra Y

«and which are fundamentally identical with the deva-yana and the pitri-yana; and as regards the symbolism of the two ways, it should be added that there is a third, the ‘middle way’, which leads directly to Deliverance, and to which would correspond the undrawn upper prolongation of the vertical part of the letter Y;» — e identifica esas dos vías con el deva-yana y el pitri-yana, añadiendo una tercera, la vía media que lleva directamente a la Liberación, correspondiente a la prolongación no dibujada del trazo vertical de la Y

«and what is altogether remarkable is that we have here something which, far from having disappeared with the ancient Roman civilisation, continued on without interruption into Christianity itself, and of which traces can still be found in our day, however strange that may appear to those who are ignorant about certain ‘transmissions’.» — sostiene que ese simbolismo no desapareció con la civilización romana y siguió sin interrupción dentro del cristianismo, con huellas hasta hoy

«In Christianity, the solstitial feasts of Janus became those of the two Saint Johns, and these are always celebrated at the same period, that is, within the immediate vicinity of the two solstices of winter and of summer:» — con las fiestas solsticiales de Jano convertidas en las de los dos San Juanes

«The truth is that, without there being any need to see in it the least confusion, it represents both, synthesized in the figure of a single individual, as is shown by the two sunflowers, facing in opposite directions, above his head, and corresponding to the two solstices and to the two faces of Janus.» — y la lectura que da de una figura que reúne a los dos San Juanes en un solo individuo, con dos girasoles opuestos sobre la cabeza que corresponden a los dos solsticios y a las dos caras de Jano

«The guilds moreover were made, by regular transmission, the successors of the ancient Collegia Fabrorum, and throughout the Middle Ages they maintained the same initiatic status.» — hace a los gremios sucesores por transmisión regular de los antiguos Collegia Fabrorum, con el mismo estatuto iniciático durante la Edad Media

«Masonry has likewise always kept, as one of the more explicity testimonies of its origin, the solstitial feasts consecrated to the two Saint Johns, these feasts having been consecrated to the two faces of Janus previously;» — y toma las fiestas solsticiales de los dos San Juanes como testimonio del origen de la masonería, antes consagradas a las dos caras de Jano

«Even though summer is generally considered as a joyful season and winter as a sad one, by the fact that the first represents in a way the triumph of light and the second that of darkness, the two corresponding solstices none the less have an exactly opposite significance.» — y advierte que, pese al ánimo que se asocia a cada estación, los dos solsticios tienen significación exactamente opuesta

«It may be noted, as a remarkable correspondence which has to do with the height of the Lodge, that according to the Islamic tradition, the site of a mosque is considered as consecrated not only at the surface of the earth, but from the earth to the 'seventh Heaven'.» — la correspondencia que registra con la tradición islámica sobre el sitio de una mezquita consagrado de la tierra al séptimo Cielo

«On the other hand, it is said that ‘in the Lodge of St John, temples are raised for virtue and dungeons are dug for vice’.» — y la fórmula masónica sobre los templos que se levantan y las mazmorras que se cavan en la Logia de San Juan

«This is why the summer solstice marks the start of the descending half of the year, and the winter solstice, conversely, that of its ascending half; and it is also what explains, from the point of view of its cosmic meaning, this saying of St John the Baptist, whose birth coincides with the summer solstice: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’.» — explica por el sentido cósmico la palabra de San Juan Bautista sobre crecer y menguar, con su nacimiento coincidiendo con el solsticio de verano

«Thus the name Jahanan can mean both ‘mercy of God’ and also ‘praise to God’.» — el doble sentido que da al nombre hebreo, misericordia de Dios y alabanza a Dios

«Now it is easy to appreciate that the first of these two meanings seems to agree particularly well with St John the Baptist, and the second with St John the Evangelist.» — y su reparto entre el Bautista y el Evangelista

«To this corresponds, in Vedic symbolism, the fact that the gates of the pitri-loka and of the deva-Ioka are said to be situated respectively, not exactly at the South and the North, but towards the Southwest and the Northeast.» — y la correspondencia védica de las puertas del pitri-loka y del deva-loka al suroeste y al nordeste, no al Sur y al Norte exactos

«Nevertheless, there is in this representation an anomaly, at least an apparent one: the solstitial diameter of the annual cycle, as we have explained on other occasions, must be considered as relatively vertical in relation to the equinoctial diameter, and moreover it is only so that the two halves of the cycle, going from one solstice to the other, can really be seen as ascendant and descendant, respectively, the two solstitial points then being the highest and lowest points of the circle.» — señala una anomalía al menos aparente en esa representación: el diámetro solsticial debe ser vertical respecto del equinoccial para que las dos mitades del ciclo se lean como ascendente y descendente

«We will recall again the well-known though doubtless little understood figure of ‘John who weeps and John who laughs', relating it particularly to the ideas of 'sadness' and of 'joy' mentioned above.» — y vuelve sobre la figura popular de Juan que llora y Juan que ríe, que liga a las ideas de tristeza y alegría

«This being so, the motto ne plus ultra which is related to these pillars, is seen to have a double meaning.» — le da doble sentido al lema ne plus ultra ligado a las columnas de Hércules

«It expresses not only the usual terrestrial interpretation, valid in its own order, to the effect that the pillars mark the limit beyond which, for reasons which might well make an interesting object of research, voyagers were forbidden to pass.» — el primero, terrestre, con las columnas marcando el límite que a los navegantes se prohibía pasar

«But the motto indicates at the same time, and no doubt we should say above all, that from the celestial point of view, these are the limits that the sun cannot overpass and between which, as between the two tangents mentioned just now, its annual journey is accomplished» — y el segundo, celeste, que declara principal: los límites que el sol no rebasa en su recorrido anual

«Moreover, in the Christian form of the tradition, one may say that all that concerns solstitial symbolism is also by that fact in more or less direct relationship with these two Saints.» — y liga todo el simbolismo solsticial, en la forma cristiana de la tradición, con los dos San Juanes

«Now a fact which seems little enough known, and which we mention here only as a curiosity. Is that the usual sign of the American dollar is derived from this figure.» — la curiosidad que consigna como tal: el signo del dólar derivado de esa figura de las columnas

«But here, all the importance has been given to the streamer, which originally was only an accessory and which has been changed into the letter S whose form it approximated, while the two columns which constituted the essential element were reduced to two parallel strokes, vertical like the two tangents to the circle in Masonic symbolism.» — con la banderola vuelta letra ese y las columnas reducidas a dos trazos paralelos

«This is not without a certain irony, for in fact it was precisely the discovery of America that annulled the ancient geographical relevance of the ne plus ultra.» — y la ironía que señala: fue el descubrimiento de América lo que anuló el alcance geográfico del ne plus ultra

«The first essential point to note in this respect, in connection with the symbolic and initiatic value of architectural art, is that every edifice built according to strictly traditional rules, has in its structure and in the disposition of its different parts a ‘cosmic’ meaning which can be understood in two ways in conformity with the analogical relationship between macrocosm and microcosm.» — abre el capítulo 41, El simbolismo de la cúpula, con el sentido cósmico que atribuye a todo edificio construido según reglas tradicionales, legible por la analogía entre macrocosmo y microcosmo

«It refers, that is, both to the world and to man at the same time.» — con lo que ese sentido remite a la vez al mundo y al hombre

«In the first place, this is naturally true of temples and other buildings that have a ‘sacred’ purpose in the most precise sense of this word.» — y lo aplica primero a los templos y edificios de destino sagrado

«But beyond this, it is true even for ordinary human habitations; for it must not be forgotten that in reality there is nothing ‘profane’ in wholly traditional civilisations, so much so that it is only as the result of a profound degeneration that houses have come to be built with no more in view than the purely material needs of their occupants, and that the occupants, for their part, should be content with dwellings conceived according to such narrowly and meanly utilitarian preoccupations.» — y después a la vivienda ordinaria, porque niega que en una civilización tradicional haya nada profano, y atribuye a una degeneración profunda que se construya mirando solo la necesidad material

«It goes without saying that the above mentioned ‘cosmic’ signification can be achieved in many ways, corresponding to as many points of view, which thus will give rise to different architectural ‘types’ of which some will be especially linked to this or that traditional form.» — admite que ese sentido cósmico se realice de muchas maneras, con tipos arquitectónicos ligados a formas tradicionales distintas

«But for the moment we need only consider a single one of these ‘types’ which, moreover, appears to be one of the most fundamental and which, for this very reason, is also one of the most widespread.» — y se limita a uno que declara de los más fundamentales y por eso de los más extendidos

«The structure in question consists essentially of a square base (it is of no importance in the present context whether this lower part is cubical or more or less elongated), surmounted by a dome or a cupola that is more or less rigorously hemispherical in form.» — cuya estructura describe: base cuadrada coronada por cúpula hemisférica

«Among the most typical examples, we may mention, with Coomaraswamy, the Buddhist stupa, and also the Islamic qubbah, the general form of which is exactly comparable.» — con la stupa budista y la qubba islámica como ejemplos, tomados con Coomaraswamy

«It is to be noted also that an arch, with its two rectilinear pillars and the soffit which rests on them, is really nothing other than the vertical cross section of such a structure, and in this arch, the keystone at its summit obviously corresponds to the highest part of the dome.» — y el arco como sección vertical de esa estructura, con la clave correspondiendo a la parte más alta de la cúpula

«It is easy to see, first of all, that the two parts of the structure we have just described represent earth and heaven, to which in fact the square and circular forms respectively correspond» — la lectura de las dos partes como tierra y cielo, con las formas cuadrada y circular correspondiendo a cada una

«it is not without interest to note in this connection that in China the attire of the ancient Emperors had to be round at the top and square at the bottom.» — y la correspondencia que señala con el atuendo de los antiguos emperadores chinos, redondo arriba y cuadrado abajo

«This attire, in fact, had a symbolic meaning Oust as did all the actions of their lives, which were ritually regulated) and this meaning was precisely the same as the one we are now considering in its architectural realisation» — al que atribuye el mismo sentido simbólico que a la estructura arquitectónica. El troceo imprime *Oust* por just, artefacto de OCR

«The Emperor himself, being thus clothed, represented ‘true Man', mediator between Heaven and Earth, the respective powers ofwhich he united in his own nature; and it is in exactly the same sense that a master Mason (who would also be ‘true Man' if he had effectively realised his initiation) 'is always placed between square and compass'.» — con el emperador así vestido como Hombre verdadero, mediador entre Cielo y Tierra, y el maestro masón siempre entre la escuadra y el compás. El troceo pega *ofwhich*, artefacto de OCR

«In Masonic initiation, the passage from square to arch represents a passage from ‘Earth to Heaven’ (whence the term exaltation to designate admission to the grade of Royal Arch), that is from the ‘Lesser Mysteries’ to the ‘Greater Mysteries' with, in the case of the latter, the dual ‘sacerdotal’ and ‘royal’ aspects, for the complete corresponding title is Holy (and) Royal Arch, even though, for historical reasons which need not be gone into here, the ‘sacerdotal art’ has in the end been largely supplanted by the 'royal art’.» — lee el paso de la escuadra al arco como paso de la Tierra al Cielo y de los Misterios Menores a los Mayores, y registra que el arte sacerdotal acabó suplantado en gran medida por el arte real

«let us note also one of the aspects of the symbolism of the turtle: the lower shell, which is flat, corresponds to the Earth, while the upper shell, which is rounded in the form of a dome, corresponds to Heaven.» — y el simbolismo de la tortuga, con el caparazón inferior plano por la Tierra y el superior abovedado por el Cielo

«To this general meaning another yet more precise is to be added: the whole edifice, viewed from top to bottom, represents the passage from principial Unity (to which the central point or summit of the dome corresponds, and of which the whole vault is as it were only an expansion) to the quaternary of elemental manifestation:6 inversely, from below upwards, it is the return of this manifestation to Unity.» — el sentido más preciso que añade: de arriba abajo el edificio va de la Unidad principial al cuaternario de la manifestación elemental, y a la inversa de abajo arriba

«In this connection Coomaraswamy recalls as having the same meaning, the Vedic symbolism of the three Ribhus who, from the single cup ( patra ) of Twashtri made four cups (and it goes without saying that the form of the cup is hemispherical, like that of the dome).» — con el simbolismo védico de los tres Ribhus que de la copa única de Twashtri hicieron cuatro, recordado por Coomaraswamy

«The ternary number, intervening here as intermediary between Unity and quatemity, signifies in this case that it is only by means of the three dimensions of space that the original ‘one’ can be made ‘four’, which is exactly represented by the three dimensional cross.» — y el ternario como intermediario, porque solo por las tres dimensiones del espacio el uno original se hace cuatro

«The inverse process is likewise represented by the legend of the Buddha who, having received four bowls of alms from the Maharajas of the four cardinal points, made of them a single bowl, which indicates that for the ‘unified’ being, the ‘Grail’ (to use the Western traditional term which obviously designates the equivalent of this patra ) is once more single as it was at the beginning, that is, at the starting point of cosmic manifestation.» — con la leyenda del Buda que hace un solo cuenco de los cuatro de los Maharajas, figura del proceso inverso y del Grial vuelto único

«Before going further, let it be noted that the structure in question can also be realised horizontally: to a rectangular edifice a semicircular part is added by the projection ofthe foundation plan at one of its extremities, the one that lies in the direction to which a celestial influence is ascribed.» — y la variante horizontal de la misma estructura, con la parte semicircular añadida del lado al que se atribuye influencia celeste. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«In the most widely known cases, at least, this will be the direction from which the light comes, that is, the East: and the example that comes most immediately to mind is that of a church ending in a semicircular apse.» — con el Este como esa dirección y la iglesia de ábside semicircular como ejemplo

«it is known that the lodge, strictly speaking, is a ‘long square’, that is, really a double square, the length (from East to West) being the double of the width (North to South):8 but to this double square, which is the Hikal, the Debir is added at the East, in the form» — y la logia masónica como cuadrado largo, es decir doble cuadrado, que es el Hikal, con el Debir añadido al Este

«Let us now return to vertical structure: as Coomaraswamy remarks, this must be considered, in its entirety, in relation to a central axis; it is obviously so in the case of a hut with a dome shaped roof supported by a post joining the summit of this roof with the earth;» — toma de Coomaraswamy la lectura de la estructura vertical respecto de un eje central, visible en la cabaña de techo abovedado sostenida por un poste

«Nevertheless, it is not necessary for the axis always to be represented materially, any more than the World Axis, of which it is the image, is in fact materially represented in any place whatsoever; what matters is that the centre of the ground space occupied by the edifice, that is, the point situated directly beneath the summit of the dome, should be always virtually identified with the ‘Centre of the World’.» — y acota que ese eje no necesita representación material: lo que importa es que el punto bajo la cúpula quede virtualmente identificado con el Centro del Mundo

«This, in fact, is not a ‘place’ in the topographical and literal sense of the word, but rather in a transcendent and principial sense; and consequently it can be realised in every centre that is regularly established and consecrated, whence the necessity of the rites which make the construction of a building a true imitation of the very formation of the world» — porque toma ese Centro no como lugar topográfico sino como principio, realizable en todo centro regularmente establecido y consagrado, de donde la necesidad de los ritos de construcción

«The point in question is therefore a true omphalos (nabhih prithivyah). In very many cases it is at this point that an altar or a hearth is placed, according to whether the edifice is a temple or a dwelling.» — con ese punto como ónfalo, marcado por un altar en el templo y por un hogar en la casa

«The altar, moreover, is really also a hearth; and, inversely, in a traditional civilisation, the hearth must be regarded as a true domestic altar.» — y la equivalencia que declara entre altar y hogar en una civilización tradicional

«When an opening is made at the summit of the dome, it is through this that the smoke rising from the hearth escapes to the outside; but far from having only a purely utilitarian reason, as men of today might imagine, that likewise has on the contrary a very profound symbolic meaning which we will now examine, making still clearer the exact significance, both macrocosmic and microcosmic, of the summit of the dome.» — y niega que la abertura de la cúpula tenga razón utilitaria, como imaginaría el hombre de hoy, atribuyéndole sentido simbólico macrocósmico y microcósmico

«In a mosque, the mthrab, which is a semicircular niche, corresponds to the apse of a church, and it also Indicates the qiblah, that is, the ritual orientation: but here this orientation, being directed towards a centre which Is a definite point on the surface of the earth, naturally varies according to location.» — y el mihrab de la mezquita como equivalente del ábside, que marca la qibla y por eso varía con el lugar. El troceo imprime *mthrab*, artefacto de OCR

«Sometimes the dome itself may not exist in the actual construction without however the symbolic meaning being thereby altered.» — y admite que la cúpula falte en la construcción efectiva sin que su sentido simbólico cambie

«Thus in the Islamic tradition, the quadrilateral ordering of the house (which normally should be entirely closed outside, all the windows opening onto the inner courtyard) is connected with the limitation of the numbers of wives to four at most, each of them having for her own domain one of the sides of the quadrilateral.» — con la casa islámica cuadrangular, cerrada al exterior y abierta al patio, ligada al límite de cuatro esposas, una por lado

«Ananda Coomaraswamy has explained this symbolism on several occasions, and has done so yet again, in connection with the chhatra and the ushrusha, in an article in The Poona Orientalist (April 1938)» — remite el simbolismo del chhatra y el ushnisha a un artículo de Ananda Coomaraswamy en The Poona Orientalist

«By reason of this symbolism, the construction of a chariot amounts strictly to the ‘artisanal' realisation of a cosmic model, as does the architectural construction of which we have just been speaking.» — y hace de la construcción del carro una realización artesanal de un modelo cósmico, como la del edificio

«We need hardly recall that it is in virtue of considerations of this order that crafts in a traditional civilisation possess a spiritual value and a truly sacred character, and that it is because of this that they can normally serve as supports for initiation.» — de donde el valor espiritual y el carácter sagrado que atribuye a los oficios en una civilización tradicional, y su papel de soporte de iniciación

«Moreover, there is an exact parallelism between the two constructions in question, as is to be seen at once from the fact that the fundamental element of the chariot is the axle (aksha, identical with ‘axis’), which in this case represents the World Axis and which is thus the equivalent of the central pillar (skambha) of a building to which everything in the whole edifice must be referred.» — y el paralelismo que traza entre carro y edificio, con el eje del carro, aksha, como Eje del Mundo y equivalente del pilar central

«Moreover, it is of little importance, as we have said, whether or not this pillar is represented materially; certain texts have it that the axle of the cosmic chariot is only a ‘separative breath' (vyana) which, occupying the intermediate space (antariksha, explained as antaryaksha), maintains Heaven and Earth in their respective ‘places', 1 and which, while separating them, also unites them as a bridge (setu) and makes possible the passage from one to the other.» — con textos que hacen del eje del carro cósmico un soplo separador que mantiene Cielo y Tierra en su lugar y a la vez los une como puente

«The two wheels, which are placed at the extremities of the axle, then in fact represent Heaven and Earth; and the axle extends from one to the other, just as the central pillar reaches from the earth to the summit of the vault.» — y las dos ruedas por Cielo y Tierra, con el eje extendido de una a otra como el pilar central del suelo a la bóveda

«Between these two wheels and supported by the axle is the ‘box’ (kosha) of the chariot, the flooring of which, from another point of view, also corresponds to the Earth; the body formed by the two sides corresponds to the intermediate space, and the roof corresponds to Heaven.» — y la caja del carro repartida entre Tierra, espacio intermedio y Cielo

«If the two wheels are taken to represent Heaven and Earth, it might be objected, since both are circular, that the difference of the geometric forms that most normally correspond to them is no longer in evidence in this case: but a certain change of viewpoint here is altogether admissible, inasmuch as the circular form is in any case justified as symbolising the cyclical revolutions to which all manifestation, ‘terrestrial’ as well as ‘celestial’, is subject.» — se plantea la objeción de que las dos ruedas sean circulares y borren la diferencia de formas, y la admite porque el círculo simboliza las revoluciones cíclicas de toda manifestación

«In a way, nevertheless, the above mentioned difference can be retrieved by supposing that while the ‘terrestrial’ wheel is a plane, the 'celestial' wheel, like the dome, has the form of a segment of a sphere» — y recupera la diferencia suponiendo plana la rueda terrestre y esférica la celeste, como la cúpula

«At first glance this consideration may seem strange but in fact there exists a symbolical object which unites in itself the structure ofthe wheel and that ofthe dome.» — y nombra el objeto que reúne la estructura de la rueda y la de la cúpula. El troceo pega *ofthe*, artefacto de OCR

«This object, the ‘celestial’ significance of which is beyond the slightest doubt, is the parasol (chhatra).» — que es el parasol, cuyo sentido celeste declara indudable

«In the Islamic tradition, the turban, considered more especially as the distinctive mark of a shaikh (in either the exoteric or esoteric order) is currently designated as taj al-lstam.» — el turbante como marca distintiva del shaij, llamado corona del islam. El troceo imprime *al-lstam* por al-islam, artefacto de OCR

«It is, therefore. a crown which, in this case, is the sign not of temporal power, such as that of kings, but of a spiritual authority.» — y lo declara corona de autoridad espiritual y no de poder temporal

«Coomaraswamy has drawn our attention to the fact that the same remark applies to the prehistoric tumulus, the form of which often seems to have Intentionally imitated that of the cranium; moreover, as» — toma de Coomaraswamy la observación de que el túmulo prehistórico imita a menudo, y con intención, la forma del cráneo

«the name Golgotha means precisely 'skull', just as does the word Calvarium by which it is translated in Latin.» — y la etimología de Gólgota como cráneo, traducida al latín por Calvarium

«According to a legend current during the Middle Ages but whose origin may go back much further, this designation would refer to the skull of Adam who. according to the legend, was buried in that place» — con la leyenda medieval, de origen quizá muy anterior, que pone allí el cráneo de Adán

«it is his skull which is represented at the foot of the cross—the cross which is yet another representation of the World Axis.» — representado al pie de la cruz, que es a su vez figura del Eje del Mundo

«the sun is always at the centre of the Universe and not at its highest point, even though from any particular point it nevertheless should appear as being at the ‘summit of the tree '» — y la corrección que impone a la imagen: el sol está en el centro del Universo y no en su punto más alto, aunque desde un punto particular aparezca en la cima del árbol

«But that is not all: there is also a ‘solar ray’, the extension of which is not susceptible of any geometrical representation.» — y el rayo solar cuya prolongación declara irrepresentable geométricamente

«it cannot be represented except by the point of intersection of the branches of the three dimensional cross» — salvo por el punto de intersección de las ramas de la cruz tridimensional

«Thus its extension beyond the sun cannot be represented in any way, and this corresponds precisely to the ‘incommunicable’ and ‘inexpressible’ nature of what is in question.» — con lo que la extensión más allá del sol queda irrepresentable, en correspondencia con lo incomunicable e inexpresable de lo que se trata

«Now in order to link these last considerations with what we have said already, it must be bom in mind that it is by this ‘seventh ray’ that the heart of every particular being is directly joined to the sun.» — y por ese séptimo rayo hace unirse directamente al sol el corazón de cada ser

«It is therefore the seventh ray that is pre-eminently the ‘solar ray’, the sushumna» — identificando el séptimo rayo con el rayo solar por excelencia, la sushumna

«it is for such a being that it is said that 'the Sun rises always at the Zenith and sets at the Nadir’.» — con la fórmula que cita sobre el Sol que sale siempre en el cenit y se pone en el nadir

«Thus, even though the World Axis may not be this ‘seventh ray’ for just any being whatsoever, situated at such and such a particular point on the circumference, nevertheless it is always virtually so» — y acota que el Eje del Mundo no es ese séptimo rayo para cualquier ser situado en la circunferencia, aunque siempre lo sea virtualmente

«it always terminates exactly at the summit of the dome» — y termina siempre exactamente en la cúspide de la cúpula

«it is by this central opening and by it alone that the being can pass to the Brahmaloka» — hace de la abertura central de la cúpula la única vía por la que el ser pasa al Brahmaloka

«this is also the ‘strait gate’ which, according to the symbolism of the Gospel, gives access likewise to the ‘Kingdom of God ’.» — y la identifica con la puerta estrecha del Evangelio, que da acceso al Reino de Dios

«it goes without saying that this Way is exclusively reserved for the case of the ‘knower’ (vidvan)» — con la reserva de que esa vía queda solo para el conocedor

«we will only recall that the arrow is yet another axial symbol and also one of the most frequent figurations of the ‘solar ray'.» — y la flecha como otro símbolo axial y figuración frecuente del rayo solar

«In the Christian tradition, the tonsure of priests, of which the form is also that of the solar disc and of the ‘eye’ of the dome, manifestly refers to the» — con la tonsura de los sacerdotes, cuya forma empareja con el disco solar y con el ojo de la cúpula

«it is not the last term of the series tending towards it, but it is outside and beyond this series,» — abre el capítulo 44, El octógono, precisando que el límite no es el último término de la serie que tiende a él sino algo fuera y más allá de ella

«On the other hand, it may be noted that in the series of polygons obtained by setting out from the square and by doubling each time the number of the sides, the octagon is the first term ;» — y sitúa el octógono como primer término de la serie de polígonos obtenida duplicando los lados del cuadrado

«it is thus the simplest of all these polygons, and at the same time it may be considered as representative of the entire series of intermediaries.» — con lo que lo hace el más simple de esos polígonos y representante de toda la serie intermedia

«In order to obtain the octagonal form it is necessary to add the four intermediary points 3 between the four cardinal points, making altogether a totality of eight directions» — y la operación que lo produce: añadir los cuatro puntos intermedios a los cuatro cardinales, hasta ocho direcciones

«the ‘eye’ at the summit of the dome represents the ‘solar gateway', and thus corresponds no less rigorously to Aditya.» — con el ojo de la cúpula como puerta solar y su correspondencia con Aditya

«Vayu, insofar as he is identified with the ‘vital breath' , has obviously a direct relationship with the psychic domain or subtle manifestation, which completely justifies this correspondence» — y Vayu, identificado con el soplo vital, ligado al dominio psíquico o manifestación sutil

«In construction, the octagonal form can obviously be achieved in different ways, as for example by eight pillars supporting the vault.» — y las maneras de realizar la forma octogonal en la construcción, entre ellas ocho pilares que sostienen la bóveda

«The symbolism of the ‘eight gates’ which is also mentioned here, is explained by the fact that the door is essentially a place of passage» — con las ocho puertas explicadas porque la puerta es esencialmente lugar de paso

«In Christianity, the ancient baptistries were octagonal in form: and despite the forgetting or neglect of symbolism from the time of the Renaissance, this form is generally still to be found in the basin of baptismal fonts» — y los antiguos baptisterios octogonales, cuya forma dice que sobrevive en la pila bautismal pese al olvido del simbolismo desde el Renacimiento

«the baptistry, through which it is necessary to pass in order to go from the one to the other, corresponds by that veiy fact to the intermediary world» — con el baptisterio como paso obligado y por eso correspondiente al mundo intermedio

«the baptistry is in a still more direct relationship with that world owing to the scope of the rite which is accomplished within it» — y en relación más directa todavía con ese mundo por el alcance del rito que allí se cumple

«However that may be, this symbolism can nevertheless be linked, at least in a certain respect, with what has been said above,» — liga el simbolismo que trae con lo dicho antes, al menos en cierto respecto

«It is no longer the intermediary world that is in question here, unless it can be said that the function of these angels is to establish a connection between the intermediary and celestial worlds.» — y acota que ahí ya no se trata del mundo intermedio, salvo que se dé a esos ángeles la función de enlazarlo con el celeste

«One is thus led to wonder if in reality it was not rather a question in the beginning of an intentional ‘substitution’, this being explicable by the role of St Peter as ‘substitute’ for Christ» — y se pregunta si en el origen no hubo una sustitución intencional, explicable por el papel de San Pedro como sustituto de Cristo

«Be that as it may, even from the point ofview of simple logic, this identification of the two stones confronts us with an impossibility which becomes altogether obvious once we examine the above quoted texts with a little attention» — abre el capítulo 45, La piedra angular, señalando que identificar las dos piedras lleva a una imposibilidad visible con solo leer los textos con atención. El troceo pega *ofview*, artefacto de OCR

«Coomaraswamy remarks that the purpose of the text of St Paul is obviously to depict Christ as the unique principle on which the entire structure of the Church depends» — toma de Coomaraswamy que el texto de San Pablo presenta a Cristo como principio único del que depende toda la estructura de la Iglesia

«and he adds that ‘the principle of a thing is neither one of its parts among others nor the totality of its parts, but that to which all the parts are brought back into a unity without composition'.» — y la definición de principio que le añade: ni una parte entre otras ni la totalidad de las partes, sino aquello a lo que todas se reducen en unidad sin composición

«It could be said that any one of the four ‘cornerstones’ ‘reflects’ in a sense the dominant principle of the edifice, but it could in no way be considered as being the principle itself.» — de donde las cuatro piedras de esquina reflejan el principio del edificio sin ser el principio

«Moreover, if this were really all there is to it, we could not even speak logically of ‘the cornerstone’, as in fact there would be four of them.» — y el argumento aritmético que añade: si fuera eso, no cabría hablar de la piedra angular en singular

«Thus the cornerstone must be something essentially different from a ‘cornerstone’ understood in the current sense of ‘foundation stone’, and all they have in common is that they both pertain to the same symbolism of construction.» — con lo que separa la piedra angular de la piedra fundacional, que solo comparten el pertenecer al simbolismo de la construcción

«If they could, it is obvious that they would not reject it and that they would be content to set it aside until the end.» — y explica el rechazo de los constructores: si pudieran entenderla, la apartarían para el final en vez de descartarla

«But they ask themselves, ‘what they are to do with the stone’, and not being able to give a satisfactory answer to this question, they decide to ‘heave it over among the rubbish’, 10 believing it to be unusable.» — pero no saben qué hacer con ella y la echan entre los escombros por creerla inservible

«The purpose of this stone cannot be understood except by another category of builders, who have not yet come upon the scene.» — reservando su uso a otra categoría de constructores que aún no ha entrado en escena

«These are they who have passed ‘from the try-square to the compass'; and by this distinction we must naturally understand that of the geometric forms which these two instruments respectively serve to trace, namely, the square and the circle which are known to symbolise in a general way earth and heaven.» — que son los que pasaron de la escuadra al compás, es decir del cuadrado al círculo, tierra y cielo

«Coomaraswamy says that in order to give the true meaning of the expression ‘is become the head of the comer’, it could be translated as ‘is become the keystone of the arch’, which is exactly right:» — y le da la razón a Coomaraswamy en traducir la cabeza del ángulo por clave del arco

«and thus this stone, by its shape as well as by its position, is really unique in the entire edifice, as it must be to symbolise the principle on which all depends.» — porque así esa piedra es única en el edificio por su forma y por su posición, como debe serlo para simbolizar el principio

«Coomaraswamy remarks that in various languages the words meaning ‘angle’ are often related to others meaning ‘head’ and ‘extremity’:» — y el parentesco que Coomaraswamy señala entre las palabras que dicen ángulo y las que dicen cabeza y extremidad

«But akros (Sanskrit, agra) may indicate an extremity in any direction, that is, in the case of a building, the summit or one of the four ‘comers’ (this last word is etymologically akin to the Greek gonia, ‘angle’), though often it is also applied by preference to the summit.» — con akros, que puede designar cualquier extremo del edificio y se aplica de preferencia a la cumbre

«But even more important from the special point of view of the texts concerning the ‘cornerstone’ in the Judeo-Christian tradition is the Hebrew word for ‘angle’.» — y el término que declara más importante para los textos judeocristianos sobre la piedra angular: el hebreo pinnah

«But what is especially to be noted is that in a figurative sense, this same word pinnah is used to signify ‘chief: an expression designating the ‘chiefs of the people’ (pinnah ha-am) is translated literally in the Vulgate by angulos populorum.» — cuyo sentido figurado de jefe apoya con la expresión que la Vulgata vierte por angulos populorum

«Thus all these parallels only confirm what we have said about the position of the ‘cornerstone’ at the summit of the edifice.» — cierra la serie de paralelos filológicos y los toma como apoyo de la posición de la piedra angular en la cúspide del edificio

«This word, because it designates the extremities of a thing, that is, its most remote and hence most hidden parts (recondita and abscondita as one might say in Latin), sometimes takes a sense of ‘secret’ or of ‘mystery’; and in this respect, its plural, arkan, is comparable to the Latin arcanum which likewise has this same sense, and which it strikingly resembles;» — la palabra árabe rukn, que por designar los extremos y por tanto lo más oculto toma sentido de secreto, y cuyo plural empareja con el latín arcanum

«moreover, in the language of the Hermetists at least, the use of the term ‘arcane’ was certainly influenced directly by the Arabic word in question.» — y le atribuye influencia directa sobre el uso hermetista del término arcano

«Furthermore, rukn also has the meaning of ‘base’ or ‘foundation’, which leads us back to the ‘cornerstone’ understood as foundation stone.» — con el otro sentido de rukn, base o fundamento, que devuelve a la piedra fundacional

«This fifth element is not on the same ‘plane’ as the others, for it is not simply a basis as they are, but rather the very principle of this world.» — y el quinto elemento, que no está en el mismo plano que los otros por ser el principio mismo de ese mundo

«It will be represented, therefore, as the fifth ‘angle’ of the edifice, which is its summit; and to this ‘fifth’, which is in reality its ‘first’, the designation of supreme angle rightly belongs, the angle par excellence or ‘angle of angles’ (rukn al-arkan ), because the multiplicity of the other angles is reduced in it to 1 5.» — representado como quinto ángulo del edificio, que es su cúspide y en realidad su primero, ángulo de los ángulos donde la multiplicidad de los demás se reduce

«Let it be noted in this connection that the horizontal projection of the pyramid, of which we speak a little further on. consists of the square base with its diagonals, along which the lateral edges are projected, with the summit at their meeting point, that is, at the very centre of the square.» — con la proyección horizontal de la pirámide, cuya cúspide cae en el centro del cuadrado de base

«In the sense of 'mystery' that we Indicated above, rukn al-arkan is the equivalent of slrr alasrar. which is represented, as we have explained elsewhere, by the upper point of the letter all/, the allf itself representing the World Axis: this corresponds exactly to the position of the ‘keystone', as we shall see yet more clearly later.» — equipara rukn al-arkan con sirr al-asrar, representado por el punto superior del alif, que a su vez figura el Eje del Mundo. El impreso corta *al-asrar* en el salto de renglón y la extracción une las mitades en *alasrar*; el troceo imprime además *slrr* y *all/*, artefactos de OCR

«Further, it is a fact that the crown, like horns, expresses the idea of elevation.» — y la corona, como los cuernos, expresando la idea de elevación

«It is to be noted also in this connection that the oath of the Royal Arch grade contains an allusion to 'the crown of the skull’, which suggests a parallel between the opening of the cranium (as in the posthumous rites of trepanation) and the 'removing' of the 'keystone'.» — con el juramento del grado del Arco Real, cuya alusión a la corona del cráneo empareja con la apertura del cráneo y el retiro de la clave

«We will mention yet another term derived from chef: the chevet [also in English as a loan word, with precisely the same meaning. Tr.] of a church is its 'head', that is, the eastern extremity where the apse is located, the semi-circular shape of which corresponds, in the horizontal plane, to the dome or cupola In a vertical elevation, as we have explained on another occasion.» — y el chevet de la iglesia como su cabeza, con el ábside cuya forma semicircular corresponde en horizontal a la cúpula en vertical; el inciso entre corchetes firmado *Tr.* es nota del traductor, incrustada en el cuerpo por el impreso

«the ‘cornerstone’ of the summit is reflected in each of the ‘foundation stones’ of the four angles of the base.» — con la piedra angular de la cúspide reflejada en cada una de las piedras de los cuatro ángulos de la base

«‘capstone’ is, therefore, the ‘head’ or ‘chief of the edifice or of the work, and by reason of its special shape, which requires particular knowledge or abilities for its cutting, it is also and at the same time a chef d'ceuvre in the guild sense of this expression.» — la capstone como cabeza de la obra y a la vez obra maestra en sentido gremial, por el saber que exige su talla

«It is by the ‘capstone’ that the edifice is completely finished, or in other words, that it is finally brought to its ‘perfection'.» — y por ella el edificio queda acabado, es decir llevado a su perfección

«As for the word ‘copestone’, the word ‘cope’ expresses the idea of ‘to cover’.» — con el otro nombre, copestone, que expresa la idea de cubrir

«This is to be explained by the fact, not only that the upper part of the edifice is its ‘cover’, but also—and we would even say especially—that this stone is placed in such a way as to cover the opening of the summit, that is, the ‘eye’ of the dome or vault, of which we have already spoken.» — explicado no solo porque la parte alta cubre el edificio sino porque esa piedra tapa el ojo de la cúpula

«It is thus, in this respect, the equivalent of a ‘roof plate’, as Coomaraswamy remarks;» — y en ese respecto equivale a la roof plate, según Coomaraswamy

«The ‘summit’ nature of the ‘axial pillar’, no more than ‘ideally’ present, is indicated in a particularly striking way in those cases where the ‘key of the vault' is prolonged in the form of a pendentive down into the inside of the building, without being visibly supported by anything at its lower end.» — con el caso de la clave prolongada en pinjante hacia el interior sin apoyo visible, que muestra el carácter de cúspide del pilar axial solo idealmente presente

«The entire construction has its principle in this pillar, and all its diverse parts are finally unified in its pinnacle which is the summit of this same pillar and which is the ‘key of the vault’ or the ‘head of the angle’.» — y toda la construcción con su principio en ese pilar y sus partes unificadas en su cúspide

«In certain Masonic rites the grades which correspond more or less exactly to this upper part of the structure (we say more or less exactly, for there is sometimes a certain confusion in that domain) are designated precisely by the name grades of perfection’.» — con los grados masónicos de esa parte alta llamados grados de perfección, aunque reconoce cierta confusión en ese terreno

«On the other hand, the word 'exaltation', which designated accession to the grade of Royal Arch, may be understood as alluding to the elevated position of the 'keystone'.» — y la palabra exaltación del Arco Real leída como alusión a la posición elevada de la clave

«It is a question of extricating it and therefore of bringing it back to light in order to place it prominently at the summit of the building, so that it becomes the 'head of the angle': and thus, 'to bring forth' is the opposite of ‘to heave over'.» — con la fórmula masónica de sacar la piedra a la luz para ponerla en lo alto, opuesta a la de echarla entre los escombros

«It is to be noted, in connection with this drawing, that the stone in question, as ‘key of the vault’, or in any other similar function it may have according to the structure of the edifice it is destined to ‘crown’, cannot, by its very form, be placed in position except from above (failing which, moreover, it might well fall down inside the building).» — señala que la piedra clave, por su forma, solo puede colocarse desde arriba, so pena de caer al interior del edificio

«As such it may be said to represent the ‘stone descended from Heaven’, an expression which applies perfectly to Christ29 and which also recalls the stone of the Grail (the lapsit exillis of» — y de ahí la llama piedra descendida del Cielo, expresión que aplica a Cristo y que empareja con la piedra del Grial

«There is also another important point to note here: Erwin Panofsky has remarked that this same illustration shows the stone as diamond shaped (which again links it with the Grail stone, since that is always described as being cut into facets).» — y el dato que toma de Erwin Panofsky: la ilustración muestra la piedra en forma de diamante, lo que la vuelve a ligar con la del Grial, siempre descrita tallada en facetas

«This question deserves closer examination, for although such a representation is far from being the most common, it has to do with aspects of the complex symbolism of the ‘cornerstone’ other than those we have studied so far and of equal interest for bringing out the connections of this symbolism with traditional symbolism as a whole.» — y anuncia el examen de ese aspecto, que declara menos corriente y de igual interés

«it is an unchanging constant that, as regards the ‘cornerstone’, it is a ‘key of the vault’ that is meant:» — con la constante que fija: la piedra angular es siempre una clave de bóveda

«These are facts that must necessarily be taken into account in the interpretation of Biblical texts relating to the ‘cornerstone’.» — y exige contar con eso al interpretar los textos bíblicos sobre la piedra angular

«The ‘pyramidion’, that is. the stone forming the upper point of the pyramid, is in no way a ‘key of the vault’: but it is, none the less, the ‘crown’ of the edifice, and it may be noted that it reproduces in miniature the entire form thereof, as if the whole structure was thus synthesized» — y el piramidión, que no es clave de bóveda y sí corona del edificio, reproduciendo en pequeño su forma entera

«On the other hand, according to what we have explained previously on the subject of the summit and the four angles of the base in connection with the meaning of the Arabic word rukn, it could be said that the form of the pyramid is contained implicitly as it were in every architectural structure.» — con la forma de la pirámide contenida implícitamente, dice, en toda estructura arquitectónica

«The solar symbolism of this form, which we then indicated, is expressed more particularly in the ‘pyramidion’, as diverse archaeological descriptions cited by Coomaraswamy clearly show.» — y el simbolismo solar de esa forma expresado en el piramidión, según descripciones arqueológicas citadas por Coomaraswamy

«Despite all this, it is none the less true that the ‘pyramidion’ is only a particular case of the ‘cornerstone’ and that it represents it only in a special traditional form, that of the ancient Egyptians; to correspond to the Judeo-Christian symbolism of this same stone, which pertains to a very different other traditional form, it lacks an essential characteristic, and this missing quality is that of being a ‘key of the vault’.» — y la acotación que impide generalizarlo: el piramidión es caso particular de la piedra angular en la forma tradicional egipcia, y le falta lo esencial para el simbolismo judeocristiano, ser clave de bóveda

«Generally, the stone or the metal which was considered as the hardest and the most brilliant has been taken, in different traditions, as a symbol of ‘indestructibility, of invulnerability, of stability, of light, and of immortality’; and these qualities in particular are very often attributed to the diamond.» — y las cualidades que las tradiciones dan a la piedra o el metal más duro y brillante —indestructibilidad, invulnerabilidad, estabilidad, luz, inmortalidad— atribuidas al diamante

«The idea of ‘indestructibility’ or of ‘indivisibility’ (both are closely linked, and are expressed in Sanskrit by the same word akshara) suits the stone which represents the one principle of the edifice (true unity being indivisible).» — con la indestructibilidad y la indivisibilidad, que el sánscrito dice con una sola palabra, convenientes a la piedra que representa el principio único del edificio

«The idea of ‘stability’ which, in the architectural realm, is applied to the pillar, is equally apt when the stone is considered as constituting the capital of the ‘axial pillar’ which, itself, symbolises the world axis; and this axis, which Plato describes as an ‘axis of diamond’, is also on the other hand a ‘pillar of light’ (as symbol of Agni and as ‘solar ray’).» — y la estabilidad convenida al pilar axial, con el eje que Platón describe de diamante y que es a la vez pilar de luz

«In Hindu and Buddhist symbolism, whatever has a ‘central’ or ‘axial’ meaning is generally assimilated to the diamond (for example, in expressions such as vajrasana, ‘diamond throne'); and it is easy to understand that all these associations form part of a tradition which may be called truly universal.» — la asimilación al diamante de todo lo que tiene sentido central o axial en el simbolismo hindú y budista, que declara parte de una tradición universal

«The uncut diamond naturally has eight angles, and the sacrificial post (yupa ) must be made 'of eight angles' (ashtashri ) to represent the vajra (which here is understood also in its other sense of 'thunderbolt').» — con los ocho ángulos del diamante sin tallar y el poste sacrificial de ocho ángulos que representa el vajra

«Now, this precious stone is also, as such, a symbol of Christ, who is herein identified with his other symbol, the ‘cornerstone’; or let us simply say that these two symbols are thus united into one.» — y el diamante como símbolo de Cristo, unido ahí con el de la piedra angular

«It could then be said that this stone, insofar as it represents an ‘achievement’ or an ‘accomplishment’ 36 is, in the language of the Hindu tradition, a chintamani which is the equivalent of the Western alchemical expression ‘philosophers' stone’;» — con esa piedra como chintamani hindú, equivalente de la piedra filosofal de la alquimia occidental

«and it is very significant in this respect that the Christian Hermetists often speak of Christ as being the true ‘philosophers’ stone’, no less than as being the ‘cornerstone’.» — y el uso que los hermetistas cristianos hacen de Cristo como verdadera piedra filosofal y como piedra angular

«From the 'constructive' viewpoint it Is the perfecting of the realisation of the architect’s plan; from the alchemical point of view, it is the perfecting or the ultimate end of the ‘Great Work' and there is an exact correspondence between the one and the other.» — con la correspondencia exacta que traza entre el acabamiento del plan del arquitecto y el término de la Gran Obra

«The diamond among stones and gold among metals, both the one and the other, are what is most precious: both, also, are 'luminous' and 'solar'; but the diamond, like the ‘philosophers’ stone’ to which it is here assimilated, is held to be even more precious than gold.» — y el diamante, como la piedra filosofal, tenido por más precioso todavía que el oro

«The symbolism of the 'cornerstone' is expressly mentioned, for example, in various passages of the Hermetic work of Robert Fludd, dted by A. E. Waite.» — con los pasajes de la obra hermética de Robert Fludd que cita por A. E. Waite

«We are thus brought back to what we said previously about the two senses in which the Arabic expression rukn al-arkan can be understood, and of the correspondence that exists between architectural and alchemical symbolism; and to close, with a remark of an altogether general bearing, this already long though no doubt incomplete study for the subject is one of those that are almost inexhaustible-we can add that this very correspondence is only a particular case of that which likewise exists (though perhaps in a way that is not always so evident) between all the traditional sciences and arts, because they are all just so many manifestations and applications of the same principial and universal truths.» — y cierra el capítulo 45 haciendo de la correspondencia entre simbolismo arquitectónico y alquímico un caso particular de la que liga todas las ciencias y artes tradicionales, manifestaciones de unas mismas verdades principiales

«While speaking of the symbolism of the cornerstone, we had occasion to mention incidentally the lapsit exillis of Wolfram von Eschenbach.» — abre el capítulo 46 con el lapsit exillis de Wolfram von Eschenbach

«It is certainly, before all else, a kind of phonetic contraction of lapis lapsus ex caelis, ‘the stone fallen from the sky’.» — y lo lee como contracción fonética de lapis lapsus ex caelis, la piedra caída del cielo

«Moreover, this stone, precisely by reason of its origin, is as it were ‘in exile’ in its earthly sojourn , 2 whence moreover it must finally reascend to the heavens» — con esa piedra como desterrada en su estancia terrestre y destinada a volver al cielo

«As regards the symbolism of the Grail, it is to be noted that even though it is most commonly described as a vase and though this is its most widely known form it is also sometimes described as a stone, as in fact it is by Wolfram von Eschenbach.» — y el Grial descrito unas veces como vaso y otras como piedra, según Wolfram

«On the other hand, what seems to increase even more the complexity of this symbolism, but which can in reality provide the ‘key’ to certain connections, is this: as we have already explained elsewhere, if the Grail is a vase (grasale), it is also a book (gradale or graduate); and in certain versions of the legend, there is mention in this respect not exactly of a book in the ordinary sense but of an inscription traced on the cup by an angel or by Christ himself.» — y el Grial como libro además de vaso, con la inscripción trazada sobre la copa por un ángel o por el propio Cristo

«tradition mentions an ‘oracular cup', that of Joseph, 6 which in this respect at least could be regarded as one of the forms of the Grail itself; and curiously enough it is another Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea, who is said to have become the possessor or guardian of the Grail and to have brought it from the East to Britain.» — con la copa oracular de José y el otro José, el de Arimatea, guardián del Grial que lo lleva de Oriente a Bretaña