The Miscellanies, Books I-VI

He did not reveal to many things that were not for many, but only to the few to whom He knew they belonged, to those who were capable of receiving and being shaped by them. For the secret things, like God, are trusted to the word, not to the letter. And if someone says, "There is nothing hidden that will not be manifested, nor concealed that will not be revealed," Matthew 10:26 let him hear from us that He predicted the hidden would be manifested through this saying to those who understand secretly, and that what is concealed will be revealed as the truth to those capable of receiving what is handed down. What is hidden to the many will become manifest to the few. For why do not all know the truth? Why was justice not loved, if justice belongs to all? But the mysteries are handed down mystically, so that it may be in the mouth of the one speaking and the one to whom it is spoken; or rather, not in the voice, but in the understanding. God has given to the Church "some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-12

14, 1 The writing of these memoirs of mine is, I know well, weak when compared to that graced spirit which we were deemed worthy to hear, but it might be an image reminding the one who has been struck by the thyrsus a staff carried by devotees in mystery rites, symbolizing spiritual agitation or initiation of the archetype: "Speak to a wise man, and he will be wiser," Proverbs 9:9 and "to him who has, more will be added." Matthew 13:12 It does not promise to interpret the secret things adequately—far from it—but only to serve as a reminder, whether in case we forget or so that we do not forget. I know well that many things have slipped away from us over the length of time, having fallen away without being written down. Hence, relieving the weakness of my memory and providing a saving record for myself—a systematic exposition of topics—I have necessarily used this sketch. There are some things that have not even been memorized by us (for great was the power among those blessed men), and there are some things that have remained unrecorded by time and have now escaped, while others were extinguished, fading in the very mind itself. Since such a service is not easy for the unproven, I am rekindling these things in my memoirs.