From Pythagoras to Virgil to Dante, the chain of Tradition was never lost on Italian Soil. ~ Rene Guenon
In old Europe human life received its ideal content from the Catholic faith, on the one hand, and from knightly feudalism on the other ~ Vladimir Solovyov.
Pythagoras
Pythagoras established his first community in Crotone, bringing esoteric teachings onto the Italian peninsula. From Pythagoras, there is a chain leading back to Orpheus and ultimately to Hermes Trismegistus. The relationship of this Tradition to others is described in the Our Father Course.
Virgil
Virgil continues this line, as revealed in his poem Aeneid and prophesied in the Eclogues. The Western initiatic tradition was the story of the encounter with Divine Wisdom of Sophia. Aeneas, the progenitor of the founders of Rome, was a type of this tradition. Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome often consulted the nymph Egeria who taught him wisdom.
Anticipating Dante’s Journey, Aeneas descends into hell, led by the Cumaean Sibyl. Following that, he is led to the Elysian Fields. There the righteous and the heroic lived lives of natural happiness, which was an extension to the pleasures they had enjoyed in life. This is equivalent to the Limbo of the Fathers. This is reserved to the righteous and heroic reflective of the two radically different conceptions of happiness.
As pleasant as that may be, it ultimately falls short of deliverance, or better said, the Beatific Vision. It is imperative to remember that this is not some mystical experience, but rather a form of gnosis, that is the unmediated knowledge of God.
Hence, esoterism had to move on from paganism to Christianity. Although necessary from the perspective of initiation, the transition was not without its difficulties exoterically. The transition disrupted social institutions and was marred by frequent and bloody wars.
Dante
Dante acknowledges his connection to Virgil, who effectively replaces the Cumaean Sibyl while leading him through hell, and even into Purgatory. Virgil is gone before Dante could reach the Earthly Paradise, or the Primordial State. This is a state of supernatural happiness. In that state, God is known indirectly through creation or philosophical reasoning.
Nevertheless, it is still not yet the Beatific Vision. For that, Beatrice has to take over to begin that ascent. It is important not to confound two entirely different notions:
- Metaphysical Intuition. This is the immediate realization of the truth of metaphysical teachings. It is beyond any particular state of being, and beyond any particular experience. It is beyond nature.
- Mystical Experience. This is an experience of a state of being higher than the human state. Although such experiences may be rapturous, ecstatic, extraordinary, insightful, and peaceful, they still belong to the phenomenal realm. This is what distinguishes such an experience from metaphysical intuition.
For example, Joan of Arc had mystical experiences. Dante, on the other hand, is not describing a mystical experience of a vision of planets, saints, angels, and so on. Rather, he is describing inner states of being and how to progress from one to the next.
Templars
According to Rene Guenon, Hermetism was certainly known among the Templars, or the Order of the Temple, and included doctrines of Arabic origin. Dante himself knew of these. In particular, he knew of similar journeys through hell into Heaven, e.g., the nocturnal journey of Muhammed. Guenon makes this observation:
There was a time when there were not only hostile relations, as believed by those who stick to appearances, but also active intellectual exchanges between the East and the West, exchanges which took place mainly by means of Orders [e.g., the Templars].
As we saw with the transition from pagan esoterism to Christian esoterism, this intellectual exchange came at a time of outer turmoil. Valentin Tomberg says that Saint Bernard’s exhortation to the Templars needs to be understood like Krishna’s exhortation to Arjuna. Arjuna reluctantly had to battle his cousins, but there was a higher purpose behind the appearances. In his words,
Nowadays many criticise the saint for his intervention sanctioning and encouraging the Crusade, but what he did was simply to make an appeal to “Christian Arjunas” on the new field of Kurukshetra, where the two armies of Islam and Christianity had already been assembled for a battle without mercy some centuries before him.
The Destruction of the Templars
The politically motivated destruction or the Templars led to the diminution of esoteric knowledge in the West. Those who maintained such knowledge were forced to do so clandestinely. Thus the alchemists had to disguise their true purpose. The Rosicrucians, who also continued the tradition, had to hide behind the story that they had all scattered to the East. That describes their state of consciousness, not their physical locale.
Guenon claimed to trace some evidence of esoteric teaching in Protestantism, although even Jacob Boehme ran afoul of the authorities. From there, the trail went dark, apart from occasional clues. Nevertheless, the Tradition can never disappear; there will always be a remnant.
Recent Developments
Since Guenon’s death, there have been other developments, of which he was unaware, that alter the picture. First of all, there is the remarkable case of Vladimir Solovyov who had his own realizations of Divine Sophia.
Vladimir Solovyov, in his trips to Egypt, came to the realization that Hermetism supported the theology of the early church fathers. Besides Hermetism, Solovyov claimed to be following in the tradition of Neoplatonism, Cabala, Swedenborg, and Boehme. However, he never did acknowledge any particular training.
Guenon claimed that the full recovery of esoterism in the West will depend on the reunification of the esoteric Templar teachings with exoteric teachings. Movements have been made in that direction. Boris Mouravieff has revealed the Hermetic roots of the esoteric teachings of Eastern Orthodoxy. For the Roman Church, that task was started more explicitly by Valentin Tomberg. He showed to way to reconcile the Church of Peter with the Church of John.
However, esoteric teaching can no longer be restricted to secret groups guarded by initiations. Initiatic groups replace “organic growth” with “making”; they depend on human effort rather than grace. Tomberg expands on this notion:
the only truly morally founded reason for keeping esotericism “esoteric”, i.e. for not bringing it to the broad light of day and popularising it, is the danger of the great misunderstanding of confusing the tower [of Babel] with the tree [of Life], as a consequence of which “masons” will be recruited instead of “gardeners”.
The Church was always conscious of this danger. This is why it always insisted — whilst appreciating and encouraging effort as such — on the principle of grace as the sole source for advancing on the way of perfection. This is also why it was always suspicious of so-called “initiation fraternities” or such groups who formed themselves at its periphery or beyond it. For, leaving rivalry and other human imperfections out of account, the serious reason for the Church to take a negative attitude towards initiation fraternities is the danger of the substitution of building for growth, of “doing” for grace, and of ways of specialisation for the way of salvation.
Appendix on Rites
Guenon has claimed that the Latin rites are no longer effective. That is an absurdity, as long as the apostolic succession remains intact. The efficacy of the rites does not depend at all on the character of knowledge of the priest, just his intention.
In a letter to L. C. d’Amiens from May 1935, he hedges a bit asserting that “the effects [of Catholic rites] are far from negligible”. Guenon responds to L C, apparently answering a question:
the Masons help themselves to the influence of the Catholic rites, as you say, I certainly do not see the slightest problem.
That would make no sense if the Catholic rites are not effective. Hence, they can be followed if no alternative is available. Obviously, being a Muslim in Europe today is much easier than it was in 1935. In my hometown, for example, there are two mosques within a short bike ride. But, unlike Buddhists or Yogis, they don’t offer Sufi initiations to the general public.
Guenon never tires of emphasizing the necessity for observing the rites:
For a “realization” of an esoteric order, we must not forget that the observance of the rites constitutes the necessary basis here; and it is also obvious that whoever wants the “more” must first, and as a precondition, do the “less” (i.e., observe the rites that are common to all).
In other words, realization requires following an exoteric tradition, even more assiduously than the commoners. Hence, there can be no “book learning only” esoterists. One must pray, meditate, participate in the rites or sacraments. Valentin Tomberg makes the same claim.
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