by G. R. S. Mead

(with a Foreword by Adrian Gilbert)

The idea that man has, or at least can acquire, a 'Subtle Body' (that is to say a 'body' made out of psychic or numinous matter) is not a new invention. It has been one of the central premises of all the great religions throughout the ages. This little book offers a first rate introduction to Classical teachings on the subject, both pagan and Christian.

'G. R. S. Mead, Hermeticist and scholar was one of the truly great researchers into arcane wisdom. At a time when the 'esoteric' tended to mean little more than table tapping and spirit trumpets, he was busy translating into English the gems of NeoPlatonic and Egyptian philosophy. In works such as Thrice Greatest Hermes, Pistis Sophia, Orpheus and Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, he almost single-handedly put back together the lost esoteric tradition of Classical Athens and Alexandria, which goes by under the general heading of Gnosticism.

The present work reveals that there is and has always been an esoteric tradition in the West, as well as in the East, concerning the 'subtle body' of man. Echoes of these traditions are to be found in the teachings of the modern Christian church but for the Christian today the soul is an elusive entity, imperceptible yet readily tainted with sin. The word "soul" remains ill-defined and is used to cover a wide range of metaphysical beliefs and concepts concerning both life and a possible after-life. To the modern Christian, the soul occupies something like the role of the king in chess, it is both the most important possession he has, yet at the same time is weak and vulnerable.

The doctrine of the soul as a hostage to life, liable to eternal damnation for the transgressions of a mortal body is seldom examined in detail. It does, however, beg more questions than it answers. If we have an immortal soul at birth, why are we not conscious of the fact? What role, if any, does it play in one's life? If it is immortal and presumably conscious before birth, why would it want to take the risk of incarnating as a son or daughter of Adam and Eve, thereby sharing in original sin and requiring salvation by Christ if it is not to spend the rest of eternity roasting in hell? On the other hand, if we have no soul, as many atheists and humanists would assert, how do we explain reports of such things as out-of-the-body experiences and memories of past lives? We can perhaps dismiss the beliefs and teachings of the ages as so much primitive superstition but can we so readily cast aside the evidence of living witnesses? Putting aside prejudice, we can see that in the words of the painter Cecil Collins 'Our modern civilisation is the first not to have a metaphysical basis, it is therefore by definition abnormal'.

If we are to reject the nihilism of the modern age, as increasing numbers of people are doing, then we need to find something secure to put in its place. This is easier said than done because the weight of science and scientific opinion since the time of Darwin both undermines the veracity of the scriptures as historical records of life on Earth and seems to support the mechanistic view of life as the outcome of Godless chemistry. The failure of science to predict still less control such human activities as politics, economics, fashion and love should indicate that not everything which is human can be read in the genes. Human life has a 'subtle' side to it that is more than biochemistry.

It is just this most human side of life that is, or at least should be, the concern of philosophy. The sciences of biology, anatomy, physiology and medicine treat of no more than the physical vehicle, which is to the presiding intelligence as a car is to its driver or a computer to its operator. The driver of the car or operator of the computer requires that the machinery at his disposal be working properly if his will to travel to a particular destination or to execute some program is to be realised. However, in both cases the machine has no will of its own, for the car cannot choose its own destination and nor can the computer operate outside of the parameters of its programs. The subtle side of life, what makes us human, is related to choice and the exercise of free will.

But what is free will and what does it mean? What is choice? What is man if he is not really his body or even his mind? Is the soul an abstraction or does it have a real existence in space/time? Is it immortal in the sense that it lies outside of time or does it just have a potential to outlive the physical body for a longer or shorter time before it too turns to dust? Are there several souls, or more properly subtle bodies, that are able to live within one another like Russian dolls and which manifest different properties, not all of them being immortal?

These are not new questions, they have perplexed philosophers throughout the ages and in all parts of the world, not least in Classical Greece. The 19th century saw us catch up with and overtake the classical world in the sophistication of our technology (though we would still have problems in duplicating some of the Egyptian temples and pyramids even today), yet in terms of metaphysical philosophy we live in the Dark ages. The classical philosophers, both before and in the immediate centuries after the birth of Christ, left few stones unturned in their pursuit of the meaning of life. It was only after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire and the Academy of Plato had been closed down in 529 AD by edict of the Emperor Justinian that philosophy was subordinated to dogma. Considering that the library at Alexandria alone contained some 500,000 books, it is clear that the philosophical works which have come down to us from antiquity represent only the tip of an iceberg. The destruction of the Roman Empire in the West and the burning of many academic and ecclesiastical institutions by barbarians, followed by the torching of the great library of Alexandria in 640 AD, led to an intellectual dark age. Such books as survived were largely in the care of the church and therefore excluded writings that were considered heretical. Even so, some philosophical texts did survive in the form of Arabic translations, being translated back into Latin and other tongues after the Moors were expelled from Spain. Still others were brought back to the West for safe keeping after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

This being so, it is surprising how much of the antique record at our disposal has been ignored by both philosophers and classicists of today. It is only quite recently that such NeoPlatonists as Proclus, Plotinus and Porphyry have been treated as important in their own right. Yet even so, many of their writing remain untranslated into English and therefore unavailable to a wider public.

The present volume is invaluable both for the light it sheds on the ancient teachings concerning the subtle body and for providing extracts from unavailable works. It also provides something of a history of ideas, showing clearly how the modern Christian concept of the soul has evolved from the older, pre-Christian Gnostic philosophies of Athens and Alexandria.

The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition is a work that will repay careful study. It is a very rich and detailed primer, providing many hints and clues for further study and research. It is hoped this new edition will provide an inspiration to a fresh generation of readers (from the Foreword by Adrian Gilbert).

Contents

1) Proem.

2) The Spirit-Body.

3) The Radiant Body.

4) The Resurrection Body.

5) Epilogue.

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