“Everything in the world, from solar systems to man, and from man to ATOM, either rises or descends, either evolves or degenerates, either develops or decays. Bur nothing evolves mechanically. Only degeneration and destruction proceed mechanically. That which cannot evolve consciously — degenerates. Help from outside is possible only in so far as it is valued and accepted, even if it is only by feeling in the beginning. Fragments: Four

” ‘Matter’ may be regarded as consisting of ‘ATOMs.’ Atoms in this connection are taken also as the result of the final division of matter. In every order of matter they are simply certain small particles of the given matter which are indivisible only on the given plane. The ATOMs of the Absolute alone are really indivisible, the ATOM of the next plane, that is, of world 3, consists of three ATOMs of the Absolute or, in other words, it is three times bigger and three times heavier, and its movements are correspondingly slower. The ATOM of world 6 consists of six ATOMs of the Absolute merged together, as it were, and forming one ATOM. Its movements are correspondingly slower. The ATOM of the next world consists of twelve primordial particles, and of the next worlds, of twenty-four, forty-eight, and ninety-six. The ATOM of world 96 is of an enormous size compared with the ATOM of world 1; its movements are correspondingly slower, and the matter which is made up of such ATOMs is correspondingly denser. Fragments: Five

“Returning to the law of three, one must learn to find the manifestations of this law in everything we do and in everything we study. The application of this law in any sphere at once reveals much that is new, much that we did not see before. Take chemistry, for instance. Ordinary science does not know of the law of three and it studies matter without taking into consideration its cosmic properties. But besides ordinary chemistry there exists another, a special chemistry, or alchemy if you like, which studies matter taking into consideration its cosmic properties. As has been said before, the cosmic properties of each substance are determined first by its place, and secondly by the force which is acting through it at the given moment. Even in the same place the nature of a given substance undergoes a great change dependent upon the force which is being manifested through it. Each substance can be the conductor of any one of the three forces and, in accordance with this, it can be active, passive, or neutralizing. And it can be neither the first, nor the second, nor the third, if no force is manifesting through it at the given moment or if it is taken without relation to the manifestation of forces. In this way every substance appears, as it were, in four different aspects or states. In this connection it must be noted that when we speak of matter we do not speak of chemical elements. The special chemistry of which I speak looks upon every substance having a separate function, even the most complex, as an element. In this way only is it possible to study the cosmic properties of matter, because all complex compounds have their own cosmic purpose and significance. From this point of view an ATOM of a given substance is the smallest amount of the given substance which retains all its chemical, physical, and cosmic properties. Consequently the size of the ‘ATOM’ of different substances is not the same. And in some cases an ‘ATOM’ may be a particle even visible to the naked eye. Fragments: Five

“This chemistry or alchemy regards matter first of all from the point of view of its functions which determine its place in the universe and its relations to other matters and then from the point of view of its relation to man and to man’s functions. By an ATOM of a substance is meant a certain small quantity of the given substance that retains all its chemical, cosmic, and psychic properties, because, in addition to its cosmic properties, every substance also possesses psychic properties, that is, a certain degree of intelligence. The concept ‘ATOM’ may therefore refer not only to elements, but also to all compound matters possessing definite functions in the universe or in the life of man. There can be an ATOM of water, an ATOM of air (that is, atmospheric air suitable for man’s breathing), an ATOM of bread, an ATOM of meat, and so on. An ATOM of water will in this case be one-tenth of one-tenth of a cubic millimeter of water taken at a certain temperature by a special thermometer. This will be a tiny drop of water which under certain conditions can be seen with the naked eye. Fragments: Nine

“This ATOM is the smallest quantity of water that retains all the properties of water. On further division some of these properties disappear, that is to say, it will not be water but something approaching the gaseous state of water, steam, which does not differ chemically in any way from water in a liquid state but possesses different functions and therefore different cosmic and psychic properties. Fragments: Nine

“Seven cosmoses, taken together in their relation to one another, alone represent a complete picture of the universe. The idea of two analogous cosmoses, accidentally preserved from a great and complete teaching, is so incomplete that it can give no idea whatever of the analogy between man and the world. “The teaching on cosmoses examines seven cosmoses: “The first cosmos is the Protocosmos — the first cosmos. “The second cosmos is the Ayocosmos, the holy cosmos, or the Megalocosmos, the ‘great cosmos.’ “The third cosmos is the Macrocosmos — the ‘large cosmos.’ “The fourth cosmos is the Deuterocosmos — the ‘second cosmos.’ “The fifth cosmos is the Mesocosmos — the ‘middle cosmos.’ “The sixth cosmos is the Tritocosmos — the ‘third cosmos.’ “The seventh cosmos is the Microcosmos — the ‘small cosmos.’ “The Protocosmos is the Absolute in the ray of creation, or world 1. The Ayocosmos is world 3 (‘all worlds’ in the ray of creation). The Macro-cosmos is our starry world or the Milky Way (world 6 in the ray of creation). The Deuterocosmos is the sun, the solar system (world 12). The Mesocosmos is ‘all planets’ (world 24), or the earth as the representative of the planetary world. The Tritocosmos is man. The Microcosmos is the ‘ATOM.’ Fragments: Ten

“As I have already explained before,” said G., “what is called ‘ATOM’ is the smallest amount of any substance in which the substance retains all its properties, physical, chemical, psychical, and cosmic. From this point of view there can, for instance, be an ‘ATOM of water.’ Fragments: Ten

“Yes, yes,” said G. “Man is the Tritocosmos. The Microcosmos is the ATOM or rather” — he paused as though looking for a word — “the microbe. Fragments: Ten

“If we adopt this point of view, we shall have to admit that the relation of one cosmos to another is the relation of two bodies of different dimensions. If one cosmos is three-dimensional then the next cosmos, that is, the one above it, must be four­dimensional, the next — five-dimensional, and so on. If we take the ‘ATOM’ or ‘microbe,’ as you say, that is, the Microcosmos as a point, then relative to this point man will be a line, that is, a figure of one dimension. The next cosmos, the earth, will be a plane relative to man, that is, it will have two dimensions, as is actually the case for direct perception. The sun, the solar system, will be three-dimensional for the earth. The starry world will be four-dimensional for the sun. ‘All worlds’ are five-dimensional, and the Absolute or Protocosmos is six-dimensional. Fragments: Ten

“Thus, if we take the Microcosmos, that is, the ‘ATOM’ or ‘microbe,’ as G. has defined it, then the Tritocosmos for it will be four-dimensional space, the Mesocosmos will be five-dimensional space, and the Deuterocosmos six-dimensional space. Fragments: Ten

“This means that all the possibilities of the ‘ATOM’ or ‘microbe’ are realized within the limits of the solar system. Fragments: Ten

“Beyond the sun, that is, beyond the solar system, he has not and cannot have any existence, or in other words, from the point of view of the next cosmos he does not exist at all. A man does not exist at all in the Macrocosmos. The Macrocosmos is the cosmos in which the possibilities of the Tritocosmos are realized and man can exist in the Macrocosmos only as an ATOM of the Tritocosmos. The possibilities of the earth are actualized in the Megalocosmos and the possibilities of the sun are actualized in the Protocosmos. Fragments: Ten

“Among the formulas giving a summary of the content of many symbols there was one which had a particular significance, namely the formula ‘As above, so below,’ from the ‘Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus.’ This formula stated that all the laws of the cosmos could be found in the ATOM or in any other phenomenon which exists as something completed according to certain laws. This same meaning was contained in the analogy drawn between the microcosm — man, and the macrocosm — the universe. The fundamental laws of triads and octaves penetrate everything and should be studied simultaneously both in the world and in man. But in relation to himself man is a nearer and a more accessible object of study and knowledge than the world of phenomena outside him. Therefore, in striving towards a knowledge of the universe, man should begin with the study of himself and with the realization of the fundamental laws within him. Fragments: Fourteen