The Symbolism of the Cross

Doctrine Métaphysique #2

by René Guénon

The Symbolism of the Cross is a major doctrinal study of the central symbol of Christianity from the standpoint of the universal metaphysical tradition, the 'perennial philosophy' as it is called in the West. As Guénon points out, the cross is one of the most universal of all symbols and is far from belonging to Christianity alone. Indeed, Christians have sometimes tended to lose sight of its symbolical significance and to regard it as no more than the sign of a historical event. By restoring to the cross its full spiritual value as a symbol, but without in any way detracting from its historical importance for Christianity, Guénon has performed a task of inestimable importance which perhaps only he, with his unrivalled knowledge of the symbolic languages of both East and West, was qualified to perform. Although The Symbolism of the Cross is one of Guénon's core texts on traditional metaphysics, written in precise, nearly 'geometrical' language, vivid symbols are necessarily pressed into service as reference points-how else could the mind ascend the ladder of analogy to pure intellection? Guénon applies these doctrines more concretely elsewhere in critiquing modernity in such works as The Crisis of the Modern World and The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, and invokes them also to help explain the nature of initiation and of initiatic organizations in such works as Perspectives on Initiation and Initiation and Spiritual Realization.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Metaphysics, Christianity, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Theology

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

René Guénon (1886-1951) was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of sacred science,traditional studies, symbolism and initiation.

French biography : http://arlesquint.free.fr/rene%20guen...
http://www.index-rene-guenon.org/

Reviews

[aaaabbbbbb aaaabbbbbb]

Truly changes the way that you look at perpendicular, intersecting lines

[Alex Kartelias]

The cross is mostly seen in its historical and redemptive importance, without a hint of a esoteric meaning. Guenon- rather than dismissing those interpretations- makes it clear that one can have one- if not multiple- symbolic intrepretations of a symbol, without denying it's literal ones. Sounding very much like Thomas Aquinas, he explains how the horizontal line of the cross represents the physical world of constant change and duality- like a time line- and how the vertical line is the Primordial state of being: the static, eternal Now through which the manifested world flows out of. It is the undifferentiated, quintessential, non-localized One. The unity behind the duality. And together with both lines overlapping, is the union of humanity and divinity. Guenon goes on to repeat the same unitive formula in all the spiritual traditions: Atman and Brahamin, Macrocosom and Microcosm, Ying and Yang, Prakriti and Purusha, ect. To justify his usage of different spiritual languages to communicate the same truth, he makes the critical distinction between synthesis and syncretism- the later being the one to stay away from.

Guenons knowledge of hinduism, buddhism, taoism, pythagoreanism, Plato, Aristotle, hermeticism, kabbala, christianity and islam is so crystal, that he interchangeably uses different concepts from all of them to communicate his points. A thing I'm not qualified to judge is his apparent knowledge of mathematics, which he uses to discuse the many dimensions and modalities of different states of being and how they all issue forth from the horizontal cross- I'll admit it got over my head at times. However, whether one grasps his mathematical explanations of the cross or not, isn't essential. What's important is not necessarily the information, but the number of comparisons made between all these seemingly different religions and philosophies. This book should serve to make the union of all the religions-or, the perrenial philosophy- easier to see.

[no.stache.nietzsche]

Definitely one of the more difficult Guenon books we have tackled so far. Our poor lil' shudra brain had definite difficulties cramming this much mathematical and geometric abstraction in it without any visual diagrams- but we did make it through (in just three days) and we got something out of it. Will definitely be one we'll have to revisit though, once we've read the rest of Guenon. On to The Multiple States of Being next!

[Philosophy Reader]

Rene Guenon’s ‘The Symbolism of the Cross’ is a profound and challenging work. It forms the second part of a trilogy, alongside ‘Man and His Becoming According to the Vedanta’ and ‘The Multiple States of the Being’. It will be of great interest to anybody who wants to learn about Guenon’s metaphysics, spiritual anthropology, and approach to traditional symbols.

However, a word of caution: it is not recommended for beginners. Those unfamiliar with Guenon should instead refer to works such as ‘Introduction to the Study of Hindu Doctrines’, ‘Crisis of the Modern World’, or even ‘The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times’. As is Guenon’s usual style, the text draws on doctrines from various traditions, including Islam, Taoism, Kabbalah, Freemasonry, Christian esotericism, and Hinduism, without explaining them in detail, thus assuming prior familiarity. In addition, the late sections comprise an abstract and technical discussion of geometry, without the use of any diagrams or visual aids. Nonetheless, the book can very much be appreciated without a mathematical background, and most of the essential ideas are explained in its early chapters.

In this review, I will explain some of the book's core ideas, most of which can be found in its first (and most important) third.


SYMBOLISM OF THE CROSS: THE BASIC IDEA

Guenon’s discussion is highly complex and compressed: it is worth beginning with a simplified account of the basic doctrine. In its two-dimensional form, the cross is a figure formed of two lines intersecting at their midpoints: + . The vertical line above the centre corresponds to the transcendent, heavenly domain of reality, i.e. that which is above us. The horizontal line corresponds to the immanent, earthly domain. The centre which joins the vertical and horizontal lines corresponds to ‘Universal (or Perfect) Man’, who manifests transcendent Being within the immanent domain, and thus represents the unity of heaven and earth (p.124). The achievement of this unity is the final purpose of existence.

We might think that the paradigm of this ideal is the incarnate Christ, who simultaneously possesses a human and divine nature, but Guenon in fact relies primarily on Islamic ideas, where Muslims understand the Holy Prophet as the Perfect Man (al-Insān al-Kāmil). Nonetheless, Guenon does not think this doctrine is uniquely Islamic, and attempts to locate it in other traditions, as is his usual ‘perennialist’ style.

So, the essential meaning of the symbol is the doctrine of Universal Man. The cross symbolises the ideal of harmonious integration between the hierarchical orders of reality, higher and lower, within a single perfected or actualised being. Guenon proceeds to use this interpretation to shed light on the appearance of cross symbolism (and related doctrines) in various traditions. He does not mean thereby to engage in ‘syncretism’, defined as a fragmentary, superficial, and incoherent assemblage of ‘incongruous elements taken from every order’ (Guenon might think of Theosophy as one such example). Rather, he means to perform an act of ‘synthesis’, wherein various outward symbolic forms are comprehended through the authentic unity of their common principle, ‘a wholly inward bond, inherent in what is most profound in their nature’ (Pref. x).


GUENON’S ATTITUDES TO HISTORY, CHRISTIANITY, AND SYMBOLISM IN GENERAL:

The Preface to ‘The Symbolism of the Cross’ contains many ideas of interest. In the first place, Guenon outlines a metaphysical foundation for a science of sacred symbols. He explains that Absolute Reality lies beyond all form, duality, and determination. All other things, which are only relatively real, are manifestations or modifications of this original Principle, which ‘clothes itself in forms in order to express and communicate itself in the measure in which this is possible’ (Pref. xi). As in Platonic philosophy, these manifestations are viewed as images or symbols of their source. Thus, reality can be comprehended under the aspect of symbol and Symbolised. Symbolism, therefore, is not of mere psychological significance; it is the basic pattern of existence.

Guenon also expounds his conception of history as a disclosure of symbolic forms, which follows as a special case of his general view. Notably, whereas many view symbolic or mythic representations as entirely ‘fictional’ except insofar as they are historically accurate, here the view is reversed: historical time is itself only real insofar as it symbolically expresses metaphysical Truth (cf. Evola, 'Revolt').

Also in the Preface, Guenon explains that the symbol of the cross is by no means exclusive to Christianity. In fact, Christianity features less in the book than Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Daoism. Why so? Guenon is not dismissive of Christianity (unlike Evola): he believes that its esoteric teaching cannot diverge from the primordial Tradition. Moreover, he does mention Christian esoteric doctrines on a number of occasions, including some (admittedly rather strange) Christological reflections (e.g. 124, ff.2). Nevertheless, as is well-known, Guenon generally believed that Christianity has failed to preserve its esoteric tradition. With regards to the subject at hand, he says that it ‘lost sight of the symbolic character of the cross’. Instead, the cross is often fundamentally viewed as a single historical event, with a theological significance in terms of redemption from sin, and of pious faith in the Redeemer. This is inferior to the pure metaphysical realisation embodied by the doctrine of Universal Man, which is the true and original meaning of the cross. Thus Guenon quotes the saying: ‘If Christians have the sign of the cross, Muslims have the doctrine of it’.


THE SYMBOLISM OF THE CROSS: MORE DETAILED EXPOSITION

We can now enter some more detail as to the meaning of the cross and the doctrine of Universal Man. To begin with, Guenon propounds his doctrine of ‘the multiple states of the being’. His language is highly abstract and therefore does not lend itself to easy understanding. So let me try to explain it here. Many people assume our reality is confined to the corporeal domain: space, time, matter. However, the traditional doctrines reject this. They explain that our reality is hierarchical or layered, filled by multiple levels and degrees. Consider Islam, in its esoteric forms. According to this viewpoint, there is a corporeal plane of existence (ʿālam al-ajsām) with which we are all familiar. But there is also a ‘subtle’ plane of existence, the psychic or imaginal realm, the mundus imaginalis (ʿālam al-khayāl). This is the realm of dreams and visions, for instance, and doesn’t follow the same laws of spatio-temporal continuity. Higher still, there is the realm of spirits (ʿālam al-arwāḥ), which is beyond physical space and time. These three tiers of reality are also found in Greek Platonism: the sensible or corporeal world, extended in space and time; then the hypostasis Soul, immaterial but involved with time; and the hypostasis Intellect, beyond time and space, which is the higher reality. The key point is that a being is not limited to one state: one can ascend to higher states, i.e. beyond corporeal existence. This is really a simple fact of experience, but such experience has become rare.

In my understanding, these different orders of reality are the sort of thing which Guenon refers to as the ‘states’ of a being or the ‘degrees of existence’. These degrees are mapped along the vertical axis of the cross: for instance, the corporeal realm sits ‘below’ the mundus imaginalis. Each degree of existence is also extended along the horizontal axis: this horizontal extension simply represents the different possibilities inherent within a given rank of existence. The centre of the cross, where the vertical and horizontal lines meet, corresponds to Universal Man, the ideal archetype standing for the integration of all degrees of existence to the full extent of each, from the densest forms of corporeal manifestation to the subtlest heights of the spiritual world.

In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the archetype of Universal Man. He has fully actualised the potentialities of corporeal existence: he is merchant, warrior, father, lover, statesman. So too for the psychic or subtle plane: prophetic dreams, visions, miraculous powers, discerning the hidden meanings of events. So too the realm of spirit: he ascended through the heavens to where even the Angels could not follow. There have been great ascetics, spiritual types, who had neither wife nor child; there have been great warriors and world-conquerors bereft of spiritual sense. The Holy Prophet, on the other hand, represents the complete and totally realised human being.

Let’s now consider an additional set of symbols and doctrines which Guenon ties in to this account, namely, that of the creation of Adam in esoteric forms of Islam and Judaism.


ADAM AND EVE:

Guenon equates the Islamic idea of Universal Man with Adam Kadmon in Hebrew Kabbalah. Roughly, this latter is ‘the primordial Androgyne of which all traditions speak’ (p. 29), i.e., he who combined masculine and feminine natures before the separation of Adam and Eve, or perhaps equivalently, who preceded the separation of genders. This Adam Kadmon also contains the Sephirot (i.e. Divine Attributes). Androgyny, in this symbolism, represents the unification of all duality. Guenon also calls this the ‘Edenic state’, i.e., of mankind/reality before the ‘fall’ into duality and fragmentation.

Similarly, in Islam, Ibn Arabi explains that the primordial Adam was created by Allah as a polished mirror to reflect the totality of Divine Names (i.e. attributes) in their complete range of meanings, whereas other elements of creation (including Angels) only encompass particular Divine Names. Wholeness and completion, therefore, is the ideal: the integration or unification of diversity, wherein the totality of being, in all its possible forms, is expressed in unity, the higher is adjoined to the lower, the lower to the higher, the within to the without.

In Islamic letterism, each Arabic letter has a numerical value. Just as in Hebrew gematria, these numerical values have esoteric significance. Thus Guenon points out that the numerical value corresponding to the pair ‘Adam-Eve’ is 66, exactly equivalent to the numerical value corresponding to the ‘all-comprehensive’ Divine Name ‘Allah’. This is another esoteric symbol of the divine ideal of wholeness, which consists in the harmonious unification of all duality and apparent opposition. This state of wholeness is the primordial starting point (Adam) and the final aim (Muhammad) of existence in general, and of mankind in particular. It is in the integrated wholeness of manifestation that the Absolute realises itself in the totality of its possible forms. By integrating all states of being, the Divine is fully reflected in the world, and the world awakens to the Divine.

Guenon clarifies that Universal Man is primarily a metaphysical rather than anthropomorphic principle. It signifies the perfect unification of the multiple states of being. It is analogically designated as ‘Man’ because mankind represents the most inclusive, synthetic, and complete of all beings contained in our realm. ‘All traditions agree in regarding him [man] as being formed by a synthesis of all the elements and all the kingdoms of nature’ (p.8). This is why Ibn Arabi says that only mankind manifests the totality of Divine Names. In short, humans are liminal, borderline figures, between body and spirit, between animal and angel, etc. In a footnote, Guenon indicates that this is why the Angels were commanded to bow before Adam, as per the Quran, who had learned all of the names, and thus represents an integration of reality which is superior to what Angels can attain, since they are confined to the immaterial world of spirit: man, with his flesh and bones, with his intellect and soul, his potential for good and evil, encompasses more. The ideal of unity, of unifying the entire totality of phenomena, is the highest ideal, which the cross represents. As such, it is appropriate to analogically designate this metaphysical ideal as Universal 'Man'.

Guenon says it is already well-known that the cross represents the unity of (apparent) opposites. The vertical line symbolises the active masculine principle—which Guenon connects to Purusha in Samkhya philosophy, to the symbolism of the Arabic letter ‘alef’, and more—and the horizontal line the passive feminine principle—connected with Samkhya Prakriti, the Arabic ‘ba’, the ‘surface of the waters’ in traditional cosmology, etc. The union of these two principles, where neither is subordinated, can be regarded as equivalent to Universal Man, Adam Kadmon, or the couple Adam-Eve. Furthermore, this primordial Androgyne is typically associated with the spherical shape (e.g. Plato’s ‘Symposium’), because this is the least differentiated shape: it extends equally in all directions, and hence is the figure of universal totality (p. 29). Guenon therefore adds another layer of symbolism: the perfect sphere. This spherical form is the form of Universal Man which Allah commanded the angels to adore, also equivalent to al-Rūḥ al-Muḥammadiyya (p. 29).

Hopefully this suffices to give a sense of Guenon’s book. He continues to discuss this doctrine of Universal Man and to develop his geometrical account of the symbolism of the cross while discussing numerous other traditional ideas. Once again, his basic purpose is to show how this single concept—of the ideal unification of all the states of being—appears in various traditional symbols and doctrines, especially in geometrical symbolism. I will list a few more of these ideas so that the interested reader can appreciate the vast and synthetic nature of Guenon’s project, which is, in part, why the book is so potentially illuminating.

- Guenon uses the symbolism of the cross to shed light on the Aristotelian theory of the elements. Each element has a direction of motion, e.g. fire moves up, earth moves down, aether moves in a circle. Just as the circular form contains all other shapes, so too the aether is the element from which all the others proceed by successive differentiation. The aether thus corresponds to the central point, which ‘marks the other elements in a state of indifferentiation and perfect equilibrium’ (p.34).
- Guenon also connects Universal man to the ‘Invariable Middle’ (Ching-Ying) of Taoism, the Hindu ‘Chakravarti’ (Lord of the cosmic wheel), Buddhist ‘Nirvana’ (p.33-37).
- He also discusses the three gunas in Hinduism: sattwa is the upward tendency along the vertical axis, tamas the downward tendency, and rajas is motion along the horizontal axis (p.24).
- Other examples include the Cosmic Tree or ‘Tree in the Midst’, holy war (jihād), and the symbolism of weaving (vertical line = warp; horizontal = weft).

From chapter 18 onwards, Guenon offers fairly technical geometrical representations and considers dynamic aspects of the symbolism of the cross, in the form of the rotational swastika and spiral structures. Finally, I will briefly mention some of what Guenon says about the cross symbolism in connection with the structure of space and time, since I also found this particularly interesting—although the connection between Guenon’s remarks on this topic and his general focus on Universal Man was often unclear.


CRUCIFORM STRUCTURES IN SPACE AND TIME:

Space, with its six directions (up, down, left, right, front, behind) is a three-dimensional cross. This is not because the cross is a symbol of space; rather, space is itself a symbolic figuration of Universal Man. Remember: each thing is a symbol expressing a higher metaphysical principle. The structure of space is not lifeless, unordered, and inert; the structure of space reflects Divine Truth (ch.IV). Space, that is, becomes a symbol of the transcendent ordering of different states of being. For instance, the upward motion of heavenly ‘ascent’ is a symbol of transcendent states. Thus space itself, as a symbolic expression of Truth, has been crafted in such a way that it allows us to grasp the basic structure of metaphysical realisation, and hence the very purpose of the cosmos is indicated by its outer form.

Admittedly, the exact symbolic significance of the cruciform structure of space is left somewhat unclear. Guenon mentions the sixfold creation of the world in Abrahamic religion, but perhaps leaves some of his conclusions unstated. God created the world in six days, of course, and we find cycles of six stages, culminating in a seventh stage of ‘return’, in many traditional theories (e.g. Ismaili Islam). The creation of space is also sixfold in structure, e.g., as Clement of Alexandria said, the six directions of space issued out from the Heart of God. The three unique letters in the Hebrew Name of God ‘YHVH’ also admit of six permutations or distinct orderings (YHV, YVH, HYV, HVY, VYH, VHY). Guenon connects this to the fact that the world has a fundamentally sixfold structure in space and time, and mentions here the ‘Sefer Yetsirah’, a Kabbalistic text, which states that the world was formed from the Divine Name.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating, dense, and profound study of esoteric philosophy, which will be of benefit to many a seeker.

(Note: all of my citations are from the version published by Suhail Academy Lahore.)

‘O centre of the compass! O inmost ground of the truth! O pivot of necessity and contingency! O eye of the entire circle of existence! O point of the Koran and the Furqân! O perfect one, and perfecter of the most perfect, who have been beautified by the majesty of God the Merciful! Thou are the Pole (Qutb) of the most wondrous things. The sphere of perfection in its solitude turns on thee. Thou art transcendent; nay thou are immanent; nay, thine is all that is known and unknown, everlasting and perishable. Thine in reality is Being and not-being; nadir and zenith are they two garments. Thou art both the light and its opposite; nay, but thou art only darkness to a gnostic that is dazed’ (al-Jîlî, ‘The Perfect Man’).

[S.]

Alert عجينة
Avant d'aborder mes impressions sur ce livre, il est recommandé de pouvoir en amont consulter ces trois livres : Initiation à la doctrine hindoue, Le roi du monde, et l'homme et son devenir selon le Vedanta.
L'idée principale derrière le livre pourrait être synthétisée à une étude historique et étymologique du symbolisme spatiale en relation avec la croix. Durant son exposé Guénon se pare de ses connaissances ontologiques et mathématiques pour mener à bien l'argumentation qu'il tient défendant l'évolution de la croix à partir de la religion primordiale...
A partir d'une explication globale et générale de plusieurs notions de base notamment : les états de l'être, l'homme universel (al insan al kamil)... conformément à son approche d’asseoir une compréhension consensuelle qui émane de plusieurs doctrines, il redressa le symbolisme derrière la croix et sa spatialité et son intersection avec le swastika et ses origines soupçonnées hindoues qui sont apparues simultanément en quelques pays nordiques.
Suivant les faits historiques, surtout ceux issus de l'histoire sacrée, et la loi de correspondance, le symbole représente une pluralité de sens qui ne s'excluent pas, mais sont hiérarchiquement superposés. Cette hiérarchie n'est en réalité due qu'au fait que les symboles sont issus de principes et non l'inverse, analogiquement, on ne peut extraire le moins que du plus, ainsi les symboles peuvent aller vers une manifestation plus inférieure graduellement mais ne pourrait en aucun cas rebrousser chemin vers le supérieur. De ce fait ces sens symboliques s'intègrent en "harmonie de synthèse totale". Conséquemment, le symbolisme est le langage le moins étroitement limité que le langage ordinaire, et ce qui le rend particulièrement apte à l'expression et à la communication de certaines vérités, de sorte qu'il constitue le langage initiatique par excellence, le véhicule indispensable de tout enseignement traditionnel.
Dans une même perspective de complémentarité Guénon démontre la résolution des oppositions, qui elles apparaissent à un niveau relativement inférieur que le complémentarisme de ces opposées qui assume une conciliation en amont de cette opposition. Et ce suivant le principe de reflet, le reflet du point le plus haut est le point plus bas. L'effacement de cette dualité d'opposition, ou dans un niveau plus avancé complémentarités, ne s'opère que dans un haut niveau d'indifférenciation primordiale, en se fusionnant indissolublement devant l'unité (image d'immutabilité principielle, moteur immobile-Aristote, wei wou-wei : activité non agissante, Tchoung-young : invariable milieu.
" Le Principe est toujours non-agissant, cependant tout est fait par lui." Tao-te-king.)
Afin d'en venir aux explications et expressions adjacentes de la croix, il fallait passer par l'explication de l'homme universel en tant qu'être ayant achevé la transcendance et plénitude durant la somme de ses états d'être (qui chevauchent entre manifesté et non manifesté), puisque l'Existence ne peut être tenue comme la seule Possibilité.
Un exposé exhaustif faisant allusion aux différents symbolismes centraux de diverses doctrines, analogiquement et simultanément énoncés : l'arbre du milieu, le swastika, symbolisme de tissage, buisson ardent, yin-yang,...
Le texte n'en finit pas de notes de bas de pages e de citation de Matgioi, approchant ainsi plus précisément les doctrines extrême orientale.

[Patrycja Holuk]

I understood maybe 20% of what I read. Extremely hard to comprehend.
The topic of the cross seems to be so marginal, that I lost myself in the mathematical and metaphysical mumbo jumbo. Nevertheless there's plenty of research of different cultures.


Personal note: I hate it when people make things harder that they should be.

[Justin Goodlow]

The title of this work is self-explanatory. Guenon does an excellent job expounding on the multitude of spiritual meanings that can be gleamed from the symbol of the cross. Like his other works, he draws on the major spritual/religious traditions and uses each one where appropriate to elucidate his pure metaphysics. However, this is not comparative religion. Guenon treats the symbols and teachings of the major religions as something akin to different articles of clothing covering one Truth.

I gave the book four stars because there are a few chapters that are quite inaccessible to anyone unfamiliar with advanced geometry. Granted, Guenon wrote his works for an "intellectual elite", however it would have been an immense help if he had included illustrations with some of his explanations on geometrical symbolism.

[Nick]

There’s a lot of great metaphysics here, and I think it’s useful to have a Westerner show how the cross as a metaphysical symbol is much more universal than some Christians would have one think. But it’s hard for me to separate this work from the broader Perennial project and all of its problems. And I say that knowing that this volume doesn’t have a lot of the antisemitism, Christian supremacy and white supremacy that can come along with Perennialist thought. So maybe it’s a YMMV based on how able you are to separate this book from the worst parts of the bigger project it is a part of.

[Anton]

Like Jung, Rene Guenon suffers the flaw of becoming too meta esoteric. The book is worth a read, but at times goes overboard in my opinion. Also, all of this can be explained in way simpler terms, I can't resolve any other reason than sheer self grandiosity that propels authors to write in this kinda style, which in turn makes me doubt their motivations and the substance itself.

However, Guenon is truly remarkable with some connections (and ISN'T with others!). In any case, you won't regret reading this book for sure.

[Jacques le fataliste et son maître]

Più delle pagine dove è analizzato il valore simbolico della croce, ho apprezzato le speculazioni geometrico-metafisiche che partendo dalla croce e dalla sua struttura investono, delineano, “rifondano” l’intero essere (e ciò che sta al di là di esso). C’è un fascino che non mi spiego nelle speculazioni “integrali” guénoniane e che, per quanto mi riguarda, non ha nulla a che fare con la loro veridicità. È un che di estetico.

[Aaron Schuschu]

Connecting the Cross to the Samudra Manthan. Took a while to build to it, but nice.

[Alejandro]

Epic!! ;)

[Omkara]

A good intro into monistic philosophy with an exhaustive analysis of symbols, but falls short into incoherent dualistic conundrums along the line. Worth a read just for the symbols.

[Kazukothesun]

você pode apenas filmar ou escrever quando entender em sua completude a significação

[Elena]

Câţi dintre voi folosiţi într-un fel sau altul acest simbol al crucii? Este atât de prezent în vieţile tuturor, dar cei mai mulţi dintre noi nu ştim care e scopul sau sensul lui. Tocmai acesta este rolul volumului de faţă, de a suplini această lipsă de înţelegere, de a crea o punte între esenţa unei noţiuni şi modul în care se manifestă. Trebuie să avem mare grijă să nu confundăm o idee cu forma deteriorată şi instabilă prin care suntem capabili să o transpunem în plan fizic în încercarea de a o înţelege, căci cele mai grave erori metafizice provin din insuficienta înţelegerea şi interpretarea greşită a simbolurilor.

Recenzia completa o puteti citit aici: http://www.bookblog.ro/recenzie/axis-...

[Banu]

“Eğer fikir, doğru ve yeterli olduğu ölçüde, nesnenin doğasından birşeyler paylaşırsa, bunun nedeni aslında bizzat nesnenin fikrin doğasından birşeyler paylaşmasıdır.”

[David Scoggins]

This is a profound book that requires a lot of thought.

[Froggy Froggo]

La portada es horrorosa

[A.]

A very dense summa symbolica