Hermes Trismegistus wrote:18. Now listen to the rest of the discourse (Logos) which thou dost long to hear.
The period being ended, the bond that bound them all was loosened by God's Will. For all the animals being male-female, at the same time with Man were loosed apart; some became partly male, some in like fashion [partly] female. And straightway God spake by His Holy Word (Logos):
"Increase ye in increasing, and multiply in multitude, ye creatures and creations all; and man that hath Mind in him, let him learn to know that he himself is deathless, and that the cause of death is love, though Love is all."
In the earlier verse ”the first discourse” was mentioned, which I guess has to do with the earlier stages of creation. We now move on to the ”rest of the discourse”.
The first period, a preliminary one you could say, has ended, and we move to the next stage where the ”shattering of unity” deepens. I read from this that humans as well as animals were androgynous before, but now this union of sexes (in particular creatures) has turned into separate creatures of separate sexes.
Makes me think of how creatures on Earth in their ”refracted” ways represent the Divine: diversity is seen via the distinction of individuals, and in order to actually be ”the image of God” one has to look at the humankind as a whole, as a being of its own.
Anyway, the separation happens and all creation steps deeper into matter and flesh. I find it noteworthy that all the animals were ”loosed apart” ”at the same time with Man”, which makes me think of the theosophical idea that all fauna on earth has come into existence synchronized with the (cosmic) evolution of Man and has in a way ”outpoured” from Him.
In the context of such metaphysical theories, I wonder: does this increasing and multiplying happen already in ”invisible”, non-materials worlds, or only at the later physical stage? Or does it first happen in spirit, and then similarily in matter? Never thought of this before actually, but the question(s) just came to mind now.
In any case, creation proceeds and reality is divided ever more clearly into spirit and matter, the latter also being the world of death. From this ”lowest point”, from this death, from this flesh, the human being must rise, and surronded by all this ”darkness” (s)he must learn that (s)he is in essence deathless.
Differences in translation offer interesting interpretations. The Mead version says: ”...the cause of death is love, though Love is all." Everard version says: ”the cause of death is the love of the body, and let him learn all things that are.” The Finnish version says (translated back into English...): ”the cause of death is desire, and let him recognize all that exists.” As a summary of this part one could say that love of the body is not Love.
”The cause of death is love”; this is again a very poem-like sentence that I find fascinating, and I easily start to see many other meanings in it too. Such as Love as an inspiration for mortification and ”dying to the world”, ”dying while living” etc. Seeing past blind desires can seem like dying while still alive, but this sort of dying doesn't kill the body or soul, but vivifies them.