Preface.

had to write what I had no intention of writing. When I then considered a title, Janus The Roman god of beginnings, gates, and transitions, famously depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions—one to the past and one to the future immediately occurred to me. And this was all the more so because I had directed my thoughts partly toward the past and partly toward the future. Therefore, Janus with his two faces seemed so much more appropriate to me. However, this time I will represent him only as looking backward, and consider Mysticism original: "Mysticam"; referring here to the history and practice of seeking direct, internal communion with God as it was practiced in past times. What was it then, and what has it become? If God original: "GOtt" gives strength and life, I shall also represent him as looking forward, and show how one might proceed in a