You know, I was just re-reading the next chapter of Sallustius in preparation for getting together next week's post, and came across this line: "Of the bodies in the Cosmos, some imitate Mind and move in orbits; some imitate Soul and move in a straight line, fire and air upward, earth and water downward."

Clearly there's some kind of tradition behind these analogies! I find Sallustius no less confusing here than Pseudo-Dionysius, though. Why does Mind go in circles? Why does Soul go in straight lines? What does either even refer to?