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 Tiámat 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 Tiámat 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