Guest guest Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 On Spirit and Sickness Celsus writes, " No distinguished men practised the Art of Medicine until literary studies began to be pursued with more attention, which more than anything else are a necessity for the spirit (animus), but at the same time are bad for the body. " Celsus' suggests that in prior ages, before their " bodily strength had been weakened by restless thinking (inquies cogitatio) " , men lived to the full extent of their constitutional endowments. Perhaps animus should be translated as " mind " rather than " spirit, " which might better refer to the process whereby runaway mental activity, conceptual over-development, may be realligned with nature. When body and mind are in harmony there is no need for a third term, spirit; but in a state of disunion, this third term serves an important function for the very reason of its incomprehensibility, i.e, that which stymies. When the One is undivided, who cares about Two and Three? Bu when One has become Two, perhaps there is no way back to One except by Three. Carl Ploss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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