Power is a near neighbour to necessity. Know that all these things are just as what I have told you; and accustom yourself to overcome and vanquish these passions: First gluttony, sloth, sensuality, and anger.
Victory
Victory is a profound triumph that transcends mere physical conquests, echoing deeper themes of good prevailing over evil and victory over death itself. Drawing from the concept of “philia nikia,” or the love of victory, it emphasizes a passionate pursuit of spiritual triumphs, where the soul overcomes its own limitations and shadows. This victory is not just a personal ascent but reflects a universal narrative where light dispels darkness, truth overcomes falsehood, and life emerges victorious over the clutches of death. In this context, victory is the soul’s affirmation of its divine nature, a celebration of its resilience and its unwavering commitment to aligning with the highest principles of love, truth, and righteousness. Across traditions, it stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit’s ability to rise, transform, and ultimately claim its rightful place in the cosmic dance of existence.
Blessed is the lion that the man will eat, for the lion will become the man. Cursed is the man that the lion shall eat, and still the lion will become man.
This foul form that ho has taken he makes into the priceless jewel of a conqueror's form; oh, grasp firmly the Thought of Enlightenment, that exceedingly potent elixir!
The half-wise, recognizing the comparative unreality of the Universe, imagine that they may defy its Laws--such are vain and presumptuous fools, and they are broken against the rocks and torn asunder by the elements by reason of their folly. The truly wise, knowing the nature of the Universe, use Law against laws; the higher against the lower; and by the Art of Alchemy transmute that which is undesirable into that which is worthy, and thus triumph.
For in the last days false prophets and seducers shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; and because iniquity aboundeth they shall hate each other, and persecute each other, and deliver each other up; and then shall the Deceiver of the world appear as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands; and he shall do unlawful things, such as have never happened since the beginning of the world. Then shall the creation of man come to the fiery trial of proof, and many shall be offended and shall perish; but they who remain in their faith shall be saved by the rock of offense itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first the sign of the appearance in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and thirdly, the resurrection of the dead — not of all, but as it has been said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him; then shall the world behold the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.
The Rabbi, however, who stayed on and succeeded in eliciting from the Shechinah a promise that the ministering angels should henceforth cease from troubling him, is the type of the mystic who feels the mental and physical elation, the joy, the rapture, the triumph consequent upon the conviction of his having, at last, reached the goal of his quest - the sight, sound and touch of the Ultimate Reality.
One of the distinguishing features of the mystical temperament is the contrast in the effects which this sudden invasion of a Divine Presence had upon the objects of the visitation. The two Rabbis who left the synagogue did so, most probably, as the result of the fearful weakening and depressing effect of the vision. The Rabbi, however, who stayed on and succeeded in eliciting from the Shechinah a promise that the ministering angels should henceforth cease from troubling him, is the type of the mystic who feels the mental and physical elation, the joy, the rapture, the triumph consequent upon the conviction of his having, at last, reached the goal of his quest - the sight, sound and touch of the Ultimate Reality.
But when the thought of wrath is slain, all my foes are slain.
They who overcome their foes by presenting their bosoms to the enemy's blows are "victors," "heroes"; the rest are "slayers of the slain."
The third triad are: Victory (Nezaḥ), Glory (Hōd), and Foundation (Yesōd). The first of these is the masculine active principle. The second is the feminine passive principle, while the third is the effect of their combination.
Passion is overcome only by him who has won through stillness of spirit the perfect vision.
Mark how fortune brings endless misfortune by the miseries of winning it, guarding it, and losing it. Then shrink from the desires, and learn delight in solitude, in the peaceful woodlands void of strife and toil.