gnostic handbook
gnostic handbook
gnostic handbook
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The Gnostic Handbook Page 14<br />
and marvel at their characteristics. However, due to our own limitations we cannot conceptualise<br />
that someone or something may be moving them.<br />
"Flatland".<br />
To<br />
The Inhabitants of SPACE IN GENERAL<br />
And H.C. IN PARTICULAR<br />
This Work is Dedicated<br />
By a Humble Native of Flatland<br />
In the Hope that<br />
Even as he was Initiated into the Mysteries<br />
Of THREE DIMENSIONS<br />
Having been previously conversant<br />
With ONLY TWO<br />
So the Citizens of that Celestial Region<br />
May aspire yet higher and higher<br />
To the Secrets of FOUR FIVE or EVEN SIX Dimensions<br />
Thereby contributing<br />
To the Enlargement of THE IMAGINATION<br />
And the possible Development<br />
Of that most and excellent Gift of MODESTY<br />
Among the Superior Races<br />
Of SOLID HUMANITY<br />
Preface to Flatland<br />
If we for a moment accept the reality of the Great Chain of Being, then we can theorise that the<br />
universe is multi-dimensional and has many levels of existence. If we consider this for a moment<br />
and ponder how "real" our dimension seems to us, then perhaps other levels would be perceived<br />
as concrete and real as our own from within their own vantage-point. This very concept was the<br />
basis of a fascinating story written by Edwin.A.Abbott in 1884 called "Flatland". Originally published<br />
under the pseudonym of Mr.A.Square, it was found to be the work of an English clergyman<br />
and Shakespearean scholar, whose fascination with mathematics led him to publish this tale.<br />
The importance of Flatland is that it helps us conceptualise the possibility of altered dimensions<br />
from the perspective of geometry. Now, I am not Edwin Abbott and hence, I cannot paraphrase<br />
his story in a way he would appreciate, but I can give you the gist of the tale. (I would also suggest<br />
you go a buy a copy, it has been reprinted by Dover Books and is available in a very economical<br />
edition). Imagine a world of only two dimensions, a world of beings who only know<br />
"across and side to side" and have no knowledge whatsoever of up and down. These entities live<br />
in a diverse world of squares, triangles, circles as well as many other "nationalities". They live in<br />
a world much like our own, except for one thing, they are flat. Imagine one day Mr.Square enters
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