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| {{Short description|French text by Abbé Nicolas-Pierre-Henri de Montfaucon de Villars}} | |||
| '''''The Comte De Gabalis''''' is a sacred text for ] and spiritual ]s. It is composed of five discourses given by a Count or spiritual master to the student or aspirant. It was anonymously published in 1670 under the title ''Comte De Gabalis''. The meaning suggests the Count of the ] as the text is cabalistic in nature. The "Holy Cabala" is mentioned explicitly throughout. The first English translation was rendered in 1680. Only in later publishings did the name Abbé N. de Montfaucon de Villars become attached to this work as being its author.<ref>''Comte De Gabalis'', 1914 or 1922 English edition, The Brothers: Macoy & Masonic Supply Co.</ref> | |||
| {{italic title}} | |||
| '''''Comte de Gabalis''''' is a 17th-century French text by ] (1635–1673). The titular "Comte de Gabalis" ("Count of Cabala") is an esotericist who explains the mysteries of the world to the author. It first appeared in Paris in 1670, anonymously, though the identity of the author came to be known. The original title as published by Claude Barbin was ''Le comte de Gabalis, ou entretiens sur les sciences secrètes'', "The Count of Cabala, Or Dialogs on the Secret Sciences". | |||
| The book was widely read in France and abroad, and is a source for many of the "marvelous beings" that populate later European literature.<ref name="Seeber">{{cite journal|last=Seeber|first=Edward D.|year=1944|title=Sylphs and Other Elemental Beings in French Literature since Le Comte de Gabalis (1670)|journal=]|volume=59|issue=1|pages=71–83|doi=10.2307/458845 |jstor=458845}}</ref> French readers include ]<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eigeldinger|first=Marc|year=1969|title=Baudelaire et "Le Comte de Gabalis"|journal=]|volume=69|issue=6|pages=1020–21|jstor=40523636}}</ref> and ] – it was the main source for his '']'' (1892).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Blondheim|first=D. S.|year=1918|title=Notes on the Sources of Anatole France|journal=]|volume=13|issue=3|pages=333–34|doi=10.2307/3714242 |jstor=3714242}}</ref> In English literature, it influenced ], who borrowed from it to create the sylphs in '']'' (1714), and in German, it is a likely source for ]'s '']''.<ref name="Seeber"/> In recent times it has been considered by some to have been intended as a satire of occult philosophy, though in its time it was taken seriously by many readers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Veenstra|first1=Jan R.|editor1-last=Olsen|editor1-first=Karin E.|editor2-last=Veenstra|editor2-first=Jan R.|title=Airy Nothings: Imagining the Otherworld of Faerie from the Middle Ages to the Age of Reason: Essays in Honour of Alasdair A. MacDonald|date=2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25823-5|pages=213–240|chapter=Paracelsian Spirits in Pope's Rape of the Lock}}</ref> Many later authors have also taken it to be a serious source, including ] and prominent occult writers ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite thesis | |||
| Nevertheless, the importance of who the Comte actually is, is hinted at and among Spiritual societies and groups, it is held to be 'The Polish Rider' -- as he rode westward. At the beginning of the text is a painting by ] titled '']''. This painting can be viewed at the ], New York City. However, those there who attend to this painting are not aware of who the 'Polish Rider' is. | |||
| |last= Nagel | |||
| |first= Alexandra H. M. | |||
| |date= 2007 | |||
| |title= Marriage with Elementals From Le Comte de Gabalis to a Golden Dawn ritual | |||
| |url= https://www.academia.edu/4046657 | |||
| |chapter= | |||
| |publisher= University of Amsterdam | |||
| |docket= | |||
| |oclc= | |||
| |access-date= | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| Rosicrucian adepts and members of certain spiritual organizations, such as the ] or ], believe that it is Sir ] — who wrote the Shakespeare plays, employing the pen name "William Shakespeare" — earlier in his illustrious career. Therefore, Francis Bacon at a later date, and just prior to 1670, would have given five discourses under another another pen name 'Comte De Gabalis'. This personage, it is held, disappeared for a time before returning again before the public with a new and final name 'Sanctus Germanus' which means "Germain to" or "Pertaining to the Saints". Today, this name is widely known and recognized as being the ] ]. | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| Highlights in this work include prints by Rembrandt, scroll of ''The Birth of Jesus as related in the Koran'', explanation of famous stories and histories such as '']'', so forth. In English editions published by The Brothers, an extensive commentary by ] was included. The commentary is simply a means of assisting the reader to understand the points being made in the text which are historical and based in fact. Thus, it is considered a work of nonfiction. However, to an everyday reader, it is often considered a novel or work of fantasy. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| ] says, <blockquote>To a reader who cannot or will not believe that the Comte de Gabalis was a real person, but merely a fiction...., the advice is that he leave the question open and attend to the teachings of the book.... All this has meaning to those only of the Inner Life... .....the man and the book...leave a subtle influence upon the mind and prepare it for a flight upwards.<ref>] journal ''The World'' xix 1914 pp 116–121</ref></blockquote> | |||
| ⚫ | * | ||
| * | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| The book begins with a quote by ]: "When a thing is hidden away with so much pains, merely to reveal it is to destroy it". | |||
| The book consists of five Discourses that center on the topic: | |||
| # Nature of the Divine Principle in Man: The Student meets the Comte | |||
| # Evolution of the Divine Principle in Man: The People of the Elements | |||
| # Man's Place in Nature: The Oracles | |||
| # Children of the Sun: Children of the Philosophers | |||
| # The Life of the True Light is Radiation: Charity of the Philosophers | |||
| ] is quoted in the Brother's Edition commentary, added by Lotus Dudley, stating, "Divorces should warn the age of some fundamental error in the marriage state.<ref>''Comte De Gabalis'', 1922 Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co. pg. 124</ref> This underscores the purpose of the text which is for a young man or woman to refrain from all sensual contact with the opposite gender and employ that energy for a higher purpose and good. Not only is this the way to spiritual understanding but, according to the text, the original divine plan for humanity. The first or original sin between ] was sexual (eating of the fruit). They were not intended to physically unite but to refrain. As a result, the representatives of humanity lost their divine ability to commune with God, and had to work or labor to survive; and for the first time, women gave birth in pain. The children were not heroic and thus born in "]" since the birth was a result of wrong sexual use. But, other "Trees" and "Fruits" were available and God-given. | |||
| {{bibleverse|Genesis||6:4|KJV}} "There were giants in the Earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." This was the divine plan that heroic, "mighty men" would be born from the "sons of God", which are the "Children of the ]", partnered and mated with the "children of men"—humans. The children of the Elohim are the mortal Beings of the Elements. ] discussed these very evolved beings as ]s, ]s, ]s and ]. The females are called Gnomides, Nymphs, Sylphids and Salamanders or Salamandrines. They are in-between the Angelic and human kingdoms. In purity, they are higher than almost all humans except for Adepts, Philosophers and Sages—because they do not have an Unfed Flame or Eternal Spirit. Thus, they are mortal. The original divine plan was for them to unite with humans, who, having an Unfed Flame, were able to transcend the human qualities and become Eternal and Immortal. Through this union, the Being of the Elements hoped to share in this Immortality and be given the same opportunity to Ascend to God, the Father-Mother of all. | |||
| ] himself through the hand of ], states that the "]as" were highly evolved. These are the elemental spirit beings. The Comte also quotes ] who notes the many occurrences of such meetings of humans with so-called ]s, ]s and the like. The Comte states that the Beings of the Elements were the givers of the Oracles and because of their powers, were looked at as gods. They were the gods of the ancient Greeks. In the Hebrew Bible, mention is made of the ], and the Comte states that the Beings of the Elements spoke through these to enlighten their owners as well as through virgin maidens who became priestesses. They were the purveyor of oracles to the masses and lived a life of purity to do so. Everyone or anyone who would wish to contact such a being is called to a life of purity, chastity and prayer. | |||
| The Comte tells the student not to seek after human relationship and marriage, but to know that marriage with a Gnomide, Nymph, Sylphid or Salamander is a much higher calling. This is the calling of the true sage or philosopher. The Gnome or Gnomide is of the Earth Element. The Nymph is of the Water Element. The Sylph or Sylphid is of the Air Element, and the Salamander is of the Fire Element. The Fire Element being the highest and purest element, the Salamander people are noted for their great beauty. They also live longer than any other element because of this purity; up to 1,200 years. In comparison, a Gnome, Nymph or Sylph may live three to five hundred years. But again, they are mortal so they would, at the end of their lifespan, die. | |||
| For a human who passes on after a life of 70 or so years, they will experience rebirth (the law of re-embodiment), and so will have another chance to obtain the goal of life; and if successful, will Ascend. The original divine plan, was for such a human to lead a Being of the Element to Eternal Life—where he or she would not die but become immortal like their partner. | |||
| The Comte gives example after example of such unions, their children and the historical stories of those who have become Immortalized or assisted in the Immortalization of a Being of the Elements. Those who misunderstood, such as religious organizations, often condemned these relationships. Hence, the definitions of such beings as being ] or ], ]s, ]s, or animals; while their partners were often labeled as witches or sorcerers.<ref>''Comte De Gabalis'', 1914 or 1922 English edition, The Brothers: Macoy & Masonic Supply Co.</ref> | |||
| Lord Francis Bacon's (Shakespeare's) plays abound in elemental beings: ] and ]. ] was influenced by the ''Comte De Gabalis'' in his Rosicrucian poem '']''. Sylphs have been the favorites of the bards. The '']'' is full of stories about beings of the elements and their heroic offspring with their human partners. Similar themes and references are found in Homer's '']'' and '']'' in which the elemental beings as noted by the Comte appear as gods and goddesses such as the mighty Zeus, Hera, Aprodite, Athena, Apollo, and ], son of a mortal man and the goddess nymph ].<ref>''The Iliad'' by Robert Fagles, Penguin Classics, 1990</ref> ] wrote about a beautiful water-nymph in his novella '']'', and Sir ] endowed the White Lady of Avenel with many of the attributes of the Nymphs. See Lord Lytton's '']'', James Barrie's ]; and the bowlers ] encountered in the ]. The story of Melusina is based on the historical marriage of a gentleman and a water Nymph. ], father of Marie Corelli, wrote "Salamandrine", a poem about a great love between a human and a female Salamander. Cabalism, in general, influenced many mediaeval poems as well as the writings of ]. | |||
| ==Text== | |||
| ⚫ | * |
||
| * at archive.org | |||
| *''Comte De Gabalis'', 1914 or 1922 English edition, The Brothers: Macoy & Masonic Supply Co. | |||
| *''Comte De Gabalis'', 1992 English edition, Kessinger Publishing ISBN 1-56459-201-4 | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| {{17thC-novel-stub}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Comte De Gabalis}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:13, 24 October 2024
French text by Abbé Nicolas-Pierre-Henri de Montfaucon de VillarsComte de Gabalis is a 17th-century French text by Abbé Nicolas-Pierre-Henri de Montfaucon de Villars (1635–1673). The titular "Comte de Gabalis" ("Count of Cabala") is an esotericist who explains the mysteries of the world to the author. It first appeared in Paris in 1670, anonymously, though the identity of the author came to be known. The original title as published by Claude Barbin was Le comte de Gabalis, ou entretiens sur les sciences secrètes, "The Count of Cabala, Or Dialogs on the Secret Sciences".
The book was widely read in France and abroad, and is a source for many of the "marvelous beings" that populate later European literature. French readers include Charles Baudelaire and Anatole France – it was the main source for his At the Sign of the Reine Pédauque (1892). In English literature, it influenced Alexander Pope, who borrowed from it to create the sylphs in The Rape of the Lock (1714), and in German, it is a likely source for Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's Undine. In recent times it has been considered by some to have been intended as a satire of occult philosophy, though in its time it was taken seriously by many readers. Many later authors have also taken it to be a serious source, including Edward Bulwer-Lytton and prominent occult writers Éliphas Lévi, Helena Blavatsky and M. P. Hall.
References
- ^ Seeber, Edward D. (1944). "Sylphs and Other Elemental Beings in French Literature since Le Comte de Gabalis (1670)". PMLA. 59 (1): 71–83. doi:10.2307/458845. JSTOR 458845.
- Eigeldinger, Marc (1969). "Baudelaire et "Le Comte de Gabalis"". Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France. 69 (6): 1020–21. JSTOR 40523636.
- Blondheim, D. S. (1918). "Notes on the Sources of Anatole France". The Modern Language Review. 13 (3): 333–34. doi:10.2307/3714242. JSTOR 3714242.
- Veenstra, Jan R. (2013). "Paracelsian Spirits in Pope's Rape of the Lock". In Olsen, Karin E.; Veenstra, Jan R. (eds.). Airy Nothings: Imagining the Otherworld of Faerie from the Middle Ages to the Age of Reason: Essays in Honour of Alasdair A. MacDonald. BRILL. pp. 213–240. ISBN 978-90-04-25823-5.
- Nagel, Alexandra H. M. (2007). Marriage with Elementals From Le Comte de Gabalis to a Golden Dawn ritual (Thesis). University of Amsterdam.
External links
- Full text of Comte de Gabalis in English translation
- Le Comte de Gabalis, ou Entretiens sur les sciences secrètes, nouvelle édition augmentée des Génies assistans et des gnomes irréconciliables, par l'abbé de Villars (1742 French edition)
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