UNIVERSAL MAN 93

“sum” of all the divine essences immanent in the
world.!

In the case of ordinary man the ¢ global”’ meaning
of human nature remains only a virtuality, and it is
actualised only in one who has effectively realised all
the universal Truths reflected in his terrestrial form and
who is thus identified with the ““Perfect Man> or with
“Universal Man” (al-Insan al-kamil). Practically speak-
ing such a man will have his human individuality as his
“external’ form, but in their virtuality and in principle
all other forms and all states of existence belong to him
because his “inward reality’ is identified with that of
the whole universe.

From this it will be understood why the term
“Universal Man” has two meanings which coincide or
are distinct according to the point of view adopted. On
the one hand this name is applied to all men who have
realised Union or ‘‘ the Supreme Identity,” to men such
as the great spiritual mediators and especially the pro-
phets and the ““ poles’’? among the saints. On the other
hand this name designates the permanent and actual
synthesis of all states of Being, a synthesis which is at

1. This was also the teaching of the Greek Fathers of the Christian
Church and particularly of St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Gregory Palamas, The
latter wrote : ‘“ Man, this greater world in little compass is an epitome of all
‘hat exists in a unity and is the crown of the Divine works. And moreover it

was for this reason that he was created last, just as we i1_1 our final conclusions
recapitulate our discourse ; for one could also call the universe the work of the

Word (Logos), which is itself an hypostasis . . .”” And in another passage he
writes : ““ Though in many things the angels are superior to us, yet in a
certain way they are none the less inferior . .. they are so, for example, in

respect of existence according to the image of the Creator ; for in this sense we
are created more perfectly conformable to the image of God . ..”

2. The Pole of a spiritual hierarchy (or the Pole of a period, who may
be unknown to most spiritual men).