Just as those who penetrate into the holy retreats of sacred mysteries, are first purified and then divest themselves of their garments, until someone by such a process, having dismissed everything foreign from the God, by himself alone, beholds the solitary principle of the universe, sincere, simple and pure, from which all things depend, and to whose transcendent perfections the eyes of all intelligent natures are directed, as the proper cause of being, life and intelligence. But they alone pursue true good, who rise to intelligible beauty, and so far only tend to good itself as far as they lay aside the deformed vestments of matter, with which they become connected in their descent. Indeed, whatever is desirable is a kind of good, since to this desire tends. For if anyone shall become acquainted with this source of beauty he will then know what I say, and after what manner he is beautiful. Let us, therefore, re-ascend to the good itself, which every soul desires and in which it can alone find perfect repose. Lastly, bodies themselves participate of beauty from the soul, which, as something divine, and a portion of the beautiful itself, renders whatever it supervenes and subdues, beautiful as far as its natural capacity will admit. Next to this, we must consider the soul receiving its beauty from intellect, and every inferior beauty deriving its origin from the forming power of the soul, whether conversant in fair actions and offices, or sciences and arts. And in the first rank we must place the beautiful, and consider it as the same with the good from which immediately emanates intellect as beautiful. Context: Perhaps, the good and the beautiful are the same, and must be investigated by one and the same process and in like manner the base and the evil.
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