From the book
The Sophic Hydrolith, Water Stone of the Wise
Anonymous and companion authors · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
“A worm and no man” is the lament the author assigns to Christ through Psalm 22. It marks humiliation, contempt and the refusal of others to look upon him. The phrase enters a comparison with the powerless material body, but does not identify a worm as an ingredient or a biological stage of the Stone. English “worm and no man” preserves the force of the lament rather than turning it into an objective description of Christ’s nature. The surrounding paragraph’s restoration and refreshment imagery gives the abasement a place within the comparison without denying his humanity.
Places to read
- Part IV: the spiritual comparison · unit 28The scriptural worm image expresses Christ’s humiliation within the material–spiritual comparison.
Attested forms
Wurm vnnd kein Mensch