The Star in the West

316 THE STAR IN THE WEST exalted in one single mono-ideism and the result is a very high state of contentment . * And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy soul , and with all thy mind , and with all thy strength : this is the first com mandment , ” to all who would arrive at their true state of “ Self - hood .” God here represents any one object , for in the end all objects are the same . I look at a bug and my five senses tell me it is flat , of a certain odour , brown , etc. , etc .; only phenomena which I cannot get behind ; the mirror of my senses is defective , so I proceed to try one of a more perfect make — the “ superconscious ” 3— then I look again : the insect has changed , is changing , it is no more a bug , but a bogey , fire surrounds it, it is Lucifer , prince of the Bottomless Pit , now a great calm , and the fumes of Hell part , and the winds roar , and the earth quakes : “ How art thou fallen from Heaven , o Lucifer , son of the morning , how art thou cut down to the ground , which didst weaken the nations ." “ Howl , fir tree ; for the cedar is fallen ; because the mighty are spoiled : howl , O ye oaks of Bashan ; for the frost of the vintage is come down .” And Lo ! There is a voice of the howling of shepherds - or a voice of the roaring of young lions — or a burning 2 | Deus est sphæra intelligibilis , cujus centrum est ubique et circumferentia nusquam .— St . Bonaventura . Bug has the same etymology as bogey , bogle , bogus , which is derived from Welsh bwg , a hobgoblin , a spectre , a spirit . 3 Man ! wouldst thou look on God , in heaven or while yet here , Thy heart must first of all become a mirror clear . ANGELUS SILESIUS , The Cherubic Wanderer .