Movement.  It is the opposite of the word “hoshech,” translated “darkness” in the same passage of our Bible, which is similarly derived from a root conveying the idea of Hardening and Compressing.  It is the same idea that is personified in the Zendavesta, the sacred book of the ancient Persians, under the names of Ormuzd, the Spirit of Light; and Ahriman, the Spirit of Darkness; and similarly in the old Assyrian myth of the struggle between the Sun-God and Tiamat, the goddess of darkness.

This conception of conflict between two opposite principles, Light and Darkness, Compression and Expansion, will be found to underlie all the ancient religions of the world, and it is conspicuous throughout our own Scriptures.  But it should be borne in mind that the oppositeness of their nature does not necessarily mean conflict.  The two principles of Expansion and Contraction are not necessarily destructive; on the contrary they are necessary correlatives to one another.  Expansion alone cannot produce form; cohesion must also be present.  It is the regulated balance between them that results in Creation.  In the old legend, if I remember rightly, the conflict is ended by Tiamat marrying her former opponent.  They were never really enemies, but there was a misunderstanding between them, or rather there was a misunderstanding on the part of Tiamat so long as she did not perceive the true character of the Spirit of Light, and that their relation to one another was that of co-operation and not of opposition.  Thus also St. John tells us that “the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not” (John i, 5).  It is this want of comprehension that is at the root of all the trouble.

The reader should note, however, that I am here speaking of that Primeval Substance, which necessarily has no light in itself, because there is as yet no vibration in it, for there can be no light without vibration.  We must not make the mistake of supposing that Matter is evil in itself:  it is our misconception of it that makes it the vehicle of evil; and we must distinguish between the darkness of Matter and moral darkness, though there is a spiritual correspondence between them.  The true development of Man consists in the self-expansion of the Divine Spirit working through his mind, and thence upon his psychic and physical organisms, but this can only be by the individual’s willingness to receive that Spirit.  Where the hindrance to this working is only caused by ignorance of the true relation between ourselves and the Divine Spirit, and the desire for truth is present, the True Light will in due course disperse the darkness.  But on the other hand, if the hindrance is caused by unwillingness to be led by the Divine Spirit, then the Light cannot be forced upon any one, and for this reason Jesus said:  “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the World, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth