but the beast hears and knows

Written by thehouseofvines

Sayings of Desert Fathers 184
I heard that Abba Poemen and many of the fathers uttered this saying: ‘The snake-charmer does not know the force of the words he speaks but the beast hears and knows: it is rendered obedient and subservient.’ That is how it is with us; even if we do not know the force of the words we are saying, yet the demons hear and retreat in fear.

7 thoughts on “but the beast hears and knows”

    1. It means that as much as I prefer Porphyry on other matters, I think that Iamblichos’ take on theourgia is probably the correct position. Specifically his belief that the voces magicae and barbarous names should remain untranslated, for the following reasons:

      “It is not the understanding of the meanings of these words that produces their effects, but the utterance of them as sounds, and the connection they establish with divine powers.” (De Mysteriis, Book VII)

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        1. Especially because this is the sort of conversation one expects to find in late Platonic circles; one does not expect to find the same conversation happening in the early monastic communities that had begun forming in the desert. Unless you’re familiar with the body of Christian magical texts from the period, and the Gnostic literature many of the monks kept in their libraries until Athanasius sent out his Easter circular demanding their destruction. (They didn’t; they hid the scrolls in jars in the nearby Nag Hammadi caves to be discovered by future generations. Among those predominantly Valentinian-Sethian works were also several Coptic translations of Plato.)

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          1. I am somewhat familiar. Familiar enough to know both Catholicism and Orthodoxy are much more than common parlance have us think. If you know the Byzantine liturgy, a lot leaks in open sight. Catholicism has more… esoteric concealment.

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            1. Oh yeah, the Orthodox talk quite openly about how their ritual is basically Neoplatonic theurgy. This despite the fact that when the Anathemas are pronounced both Platonism and Hellenism are condemned. (At least in Greek Orthodoxy; I don’t recall if the Russians do the same, though I have read some Russian intellectuals talking about Orthodox theurgy.) People are funny, man.

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              1. Sexy.

                I listen to a lot of Western Occult podcasts and Theurgy is huge. There’s so much beautiful thought that’s been lost.

                Between Orthodoxy and it’s substraits and the English Pseudo-Anglican mystics… There’s so much.

                Funny, sad and funny.

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