“The nature of man is mortal; that part of him which consists of soul, feeling, spirit, and reason is divine, and the higher elements appear capable of ascending to heaven, while the cosmic, worldly part—composed of fire, earth, water, and air—is mortal and remains on earth until it is restored by what has descended into the world. This is why humanity is composed of one divine part and one mortal part—the body. The law governing this dual being, which is man, is religion, by which is meant goodness.
Perfection is achieved when the mortal part guards itself against desires and removes from man all that is foreign to him, for the earthly things the body desires to possess are alien to all parts of the Divine Mind. These can be called possessions because they were not born with us and were determined later; they are, therefore, foreign to man, and the body itself is foreign to us. For this reason, we must guard against objects of desire, which make us capable of arousing desires.
To give reason governance over the soul—this is the task of man until his assimilation to Divinity enables him to absorb into himself the essence of his mortal part, which unites in him to sustain the lower world.
For man to be complete in his two parts, note that each of them contains four binary subdivisions: two hands and two feet, which, along with other organs of the body, come into contact with the lower or earthly world; and in the other part, four faculties—sensation, soul, memory, and foresight—which enable him to know and anticipate Divine things.
Thus, he can, with his faculties, encompass distinctions, qualities, affections, and quantities. But if he is overly burdened by the appearance of the body, he will be unable to penetrate the true essence of things.”
— Hermes Trismegistus
Jesus saith: “Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in nowise find the Kingdom of God.”