Mystics of the Renaissance

MYSTICS OF THE RENAISSANCE

and Proclus Proclus (412–485 AD) was the last major Greek philosopher of antiquity. As a Neoplatonist, he synthesized Greek philosophy into a system that deeply influenced both Christian and Islamic thought.; and we become intimate with him when we read his words.

We become intimate, too, with that solitary thinker, the Pastor of Zschopau A town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany., Master original: "M." for "Magister," a traditional academic title for a master of arts. Valentin Weigel Valentin Weigel (1533–1588) was a German theologian and philosopher. Although he served as a Lutheran pastor, he secretly wrote works on mysticism and the "inner light," which were only published after his death to avoid persecution., when we read the opening words of his little book Know Thyself original: "Erkenne dich selbst." This title refers to the famous Delphic maxim from Ancient Greece., written in 1578: “We read in the wise men of old the useful saying, ‘Know Thyself,’ which, though it be right well used about worldly manners, as thus: ‘regard well thyself, what thou art, seek in thine own bosom, judge thyself and lay no blame on others,’ a saying, I repeat, which, though thus used of human life and manners, may well and appropriately be applied by us to the natural and supernatural knowing of the whole man; so indeed, that man shall not only consider himself and thereby remember how he should bear himself before people, but that he shall also know his own