Existence is of two kinds: one is the existence of God which is beyond the
comprehension of man. He, the invisible, the lofty and the
incomprehensible, is preceded by no cause but rather is the Originator of
the cause of causes. He, the Ancient, hath had no beginning and is the
all-independent. The second kind of existence is the human existence. It
is a common existence, comprehensible to the human mind, is not ancient,
is dependent and hath a cause to it. The mortal substance does not become
eternal and vice versa; the human kind does not become a Creator and vice
versa. The transformation of the innate substance is impossible.
In the world of existence--that which is comprehensible--there are stages of
mortality: the first stage is the mineral world, next is the vegetable
world. In the latter world the mineral doth exist but with a distinctive
feature which is the vegetable characteristic. Likewise in the animal
world, the mineral and vegetable characteristics are present and in
addition the characteristics of the animal world are to be found, which
are the faculties of hearing and of sight. In the human world the
characteristics of the mineral, vegetable and animal worlds are found and
in addition that of the human kind, namely the intellectual
characteristic, which discovereth the realities of things and
comprehendeth universal principles.
Man, therefore, on the plane of the contingent world is the most perfect
being. By man is meant the perfect individual, who is like unto a mirror
in which the divine perfections are manifested and reflected. But the sun
doth not descend from the height of its sanctity to enter into the mirror,
but when the latter is purified and turned towards the Sun of Truth, the
perfections of this Sun, consisting of light and heat, are reflected and
manifested in that mirror. These souls are the Divine Manifestations of
God.