The Limiting Mind, p. 496

Opening Remarks
The mind limits the force of life as a dam confines the waters from the river. It also limits the freedom of the Infinite by sectioning it into finite forms and aspects.

A schoolman mind
The Spirit’s almighty freedom was not here:
A schoolman mind had captured life’s large space,
But chose to live in bare and paltry rooms
Parked off from the too vast dangerous universe,
Fearing to lose its soul in the infinite.

The almighty freedom of the Spirit is not to be found in the realm of the Mind. By its dogmas and beliefs, its rigid analysis of surface habitually formed patterns of nature, the force of Mind confined itself to small domains with only few seemingly objective facts while losing the rest that cannot be analysed. The universe to it was a far and vast dangerous expanse in which it feared losing itself.

Barred reality
Even the Idea’s ample sweep was cut
Into a system, chained to fixed pillars of thought
Or rivetted to Matter’s solid ground:
Or else the soul was lost in its own heights:
Obeying the Ideal’s high-browed law
Thought based a throne on unsubstantial air
Disdaining earth’s flat triviality:
It barred reality out to live in its dreams.

Even the Idea meant to take us to the infinity of God was cut and tied and fixed in chains of thoughts building systems of philosophy around the appearances of earth. Or else it flew on wings of the Ideal into abstract states losing contact with ground realities and disdaining earth’s dull trivial things. It barred them so as to live in its own dreams.

Systemed universe
Or all stepped into a systemed universe:
Life’s empire was a managed continent,
Its thoughts an army ranked and disciplined;
Uniformed they kept the logic of their fixed place
At the bidding of the trained centurion mind.

Or everything was fixed in a close circle of systems which bound Life into a limited empire managed by a regimented disciplined army of thought with its unalterable fixed logic at the behest of the commander Mind.

Unchanging cosmic hierarchy
Or each stepped into its station like a star
Or marched through fixed and constellated heavens
Or kept its feudal rank among its peers
In the sky’s unchanging cosmic hierarchy.

Everything was put in fixed stations like a star in the skies marching in an unchanging pattern through the constellations. Each system of thought was assigned its rank and stature in the cosmic hierarchy.

High-bred maiden
Or like a high-bred maiden with chaste eyes
Forbidden to walk unveiled the public ways,
She must in close secluded chambers move,
Her feeling in cloisters live or gardened paths.

Or else life was fixed along its paths to keep to the high moral ground and forbidden to walk the public ways. Life was secluded in close chambers and her feelings live in cloistered spaces or live in safe garden paths.

Closing Remarks
The action of mind is to limit and restraint life as well as the Infinite.