readoldthings | The Gorsedd Prayer, Part 2

Our prayer continues:

And in Understanding, Knowledge,
And in Knowledge, Knowledge of Justice
And in the Knowledge of Justice, the Love of It

From Understanding immediately proceeds Knowledge. This is somewhat different from our usual way of using these words. Ordinarily they are either synonyms, or else understanding is a more complete form of knowledge. What's going on here?

The answer is that in our ordinary way of living, we ascend from knowledge to understanding. But in the Gorsedd prayer, we follow the emanations of divinity from the highest to the lowest. In the order of creation, Understanding gives rise to Knowledge.

By "Understanding" we particularly mean intellection or noesis-- the immediate knowledge of the noetic level of being, at which knower and object of knowledge are united. By Knowledge, we mean discursive reasoning or dianoia, which knows by applying the faculties of mind in sequence toward an object of knowledge. As separation has been introduced, we see that we have, again, made a descent in terms of the planes of being. Understanding is the activity of the highest part of the mind, called Intellect or Nous. Knowledge is its first-born, its image in the soul.

Now, we ask that we may direct our knowledge in a specific direction, toward Justice. Now, the very fact that we are directed toward "Justice" in particular rather than "Virtue" in general also indicates that we are moving further from the Divine Untiy, toward the realms of separation and generation.

Like Knowledge and Understanding, the term "Justice" is often misused (and mis-understood) in modern discourse. This is especially the case as it has become more common. And so it's worth taking a moment to remember that the ancient meaning of "Justice" is not "Governments take revenge against large segments of their own population for crimes they never committed." Justice means, very specifically, the right relationships between things. Aristotle defines it as rendering to each what is due to him. Plato tells us that it consists, internally, in the state in which each part of the soul performs its correct task, not seeking to usurp the role of others, and, externally, the same relation between the parts of the state.

It naturally follows that for Justice to be possible, there must be separation; only when there are parts is it possible for a relationship between parts to exist. Notice, too, that Justice is the only virtue given a name, but all of the virtues are present:

The Protection of God produces an abiding stability in the soul, which is the virtue of Temperance.

The Strength, given by God and unfolding from the Protection of God is the virtue of Courage.

The Understanding which arises from the Protection and Power of God, and the Knowledge which unfolds from Understanding, is the virtue of Wisdom.

From these Justice is unfolded, as a right application of power and knowledge toward the multitude which arise from the overflowing creative fire of the divine unity.

Finally, from the Knowledge of Justice is born Love. This is another simple statement which hides many layers of meaning.

We must always remember that, for the ancients, powers that move the human soul like "Love" are not simply choices or acts or events. They are gods or spirits. For Plato, Love (Eros) is divine: A daimon who causes us to desire unity with that which is beautiful, and, if we properly follow his teachings, will lead us to union with God. But Love is also an act of will, and the nature of that act for Plato as well as for Christ is "to will the good of another."

Justice, Courage, Wisdom, Temperance: We know all these things to the extent we know them only as we know their Paradigms, and these are living Ideas in the mind of the Father. All abide as great Powers in Gwynvydd, and when we act justly or temperately in Abred we unite ourselves to them. Here we invoke their son, Divine Love, and ask his aid in uniting ourselves to Them.

How exactly do we do this? We'll see tomorrow.