“And whose blood was in the veins of these two boys? Whose blood reddened the twigs of the birch? Peradventure that of the magistrate himself, or of the chaplain of the prison. For mystical are the grinding of the wheels of the mill of misery. And God looks on and tolerates. And I am accounted a heretic, and my anti-Christian writings are produced against me in a Court of Justice to prevent my getting justice, because I fail to see in all this how Christianity “elevates” woman and casts a “halo of sacred innocence round the tender years of the child.” So be it. I have flung down my gage of battle, and the force of bigotry may break me to death; but it shall never bend me to submission. Unsalaried and ill-supported, I fight as stubbornly as if the world flung at my feet its gold and laurels and huzzas; for the weak need a champion and the wronged an avenger. It is necessary that Sham find an opponent and Hypocrisy a foe: these they will find in me, be the consequences what they may.“Saladin.”
“And whose blood was in the veins of these two boys? Whose blood reddened the twigs of the birch? Peradventure that of the magistrate himself, or of the chaplain of the prison. For mystical are the grinding of the wheels of the mill of misery. And God looks on and tolerates. And I am accounted a heretic, and my anti-Christian writings are produced against me in a Court of Justice to prevent my getting justice, because I fail to see in all this how Christianity “elevates” woman and casts a “halo of sacred innocence round the tender years of the child.” So be it. I have flung down my gage of battle, and the force of bigotry may break me to death; but it shall never bend me to submission. Unsalaried and ill-supported, I fight as stubbornly as if the world flung at my feet its gold and laurels and huzzas; for the weak need a champion and the wronged an avenger. It is necessary that Sham find an opponent and Hypocrisy a foe: these they will find in me, be the consequences what they may.
“Saladin.”
This is the epitomized history of the “Unpopular Philosopher”; aye, the story of all those who, in the words of “Lara,” know that “Christianity will never save humanity, but humanity may save Christianity,”i.e., the ideal spirit of the Christos-Buddha—ofTheosophy.
31. Not all the members of the Theosophical Society are Theosophists; nor are the members of the so-called Christian Churches all Christians, by any means. True Theosophists, as true Christians, are very,veryfew; and there are practical Theosophists in the fold of Christianity, as there are practical Christians in the Theosophical Society, outside all ritualistic Christianity. “Not every one that saith unto me ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.” (Matthew, vii. 21.) “Believe not in Me, but in the truths I utter.” (Buddha’sAphorisms.)
31. Not all the members of the Theosophical Society are Theosophists; nor are the members of the so-called Christian Churches all Christians, by any means. True Theosophists, as true Christians, are very,veryfew; and there are practical Theosophists in the fold of Christianity, as there are practical Christians in the Theosophical Society, outside all ritualistic Christianity. “Not every one that saith unto me ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.” (Matthew, vii. 21.) “Believe not in Me, but in the truths I utter.” (Buddha’sAphorisms.)
32. “This” Theosophy is not a religion, but rathertheRELIGION—if one. So far, we prefer to call it a philosophy; one, moreover, which contains every religion, as it is the essence and the foundation of all. Rule III. of the Theos. Body says: “The Society represents no particular religious creed, is entirelyunsectarian, and includes professors of all faiths.”
32. “This” Theosophy is not a religion, but rathertheRELIGION—if one. So far, we prefer to call it a philosophy; one, moreover, which contains every religion, as it is the essence and the foundation of all. Rule III. of the Theos. Body says: “The Society represents no particular religious creed, is entirelyunsectarian, and includes professors of all faiths.”
33. St. Matthew xxiv., 3,et seq.The sentences italicised are those which stand corrected in the New Testament after the recent revision in 1881 of the version of1611; which version is full of errors, voluntary and involuntary. The word “presence,” for “coming,” and “the consummation of the age,” now standing for “the end of the world,” have altered, of late, the whole meaning, even for the most sincere Christians, if we exempt the Adventists.
33. St. Matthew xxiv., 3,et seq.The sentences italicised are those which stand corrected in the New Testament after the recent revision in 1881 of the version of1611; which version is full of errors, voluntary and involuntary. The word “presence,” for “coming,” and “the consummation of the age,” now standing for “the end of the world,” have altered, of late, the whole meaning, even for the most sincere Christians, if we exempt the Adventists.
34. He who will not ponder over and master the great difference between the meaning of the two Greek words—χρηστος and χριστος must remain blind for ever to the true esoteric meaning of the Gospels; that is to say, to the living Spirit entombed in the sterile dead-letter of the texts, the very Dead Sea fruit oflip-Christianity.
34. He who will not ponder over and master the great difference between the meaning of the two Greek words—χρηστος and χριστος must remain blind for ever to the true esoteric meaning of the Gospels; that is to say, to the living Spirit entombed in the sterile dead-letter of the texts, the very Dead Sea fruit oflip-Christianity.
35. For ye are the temple (“sanctuary” in therevisedN. T.) of the living God. (II. Cor. vi., 16.)
35. For ye are the temple (“sanctuary” in therevisedN. T.) of the living God. (II. Cor. vi., 16.)
36. Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, was feminine with the Jews, as with most ancient peoples, and it was so with the early Christians.Sophiaof the Gnostics, and the third SephirothBinah(thefemaleJehovah of the Kabalists), are feminine principles—“Divine Spirit,” orRuach. “Achath Ruach Elohim Chiim.” “One isShe, the Spirit of the Elohim of Life,” is said in “Sepher Yezirah.”
36. Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, was feminine with the Jews, as with most ancient peoples, and it was so with the early Christians.Sophiaof the Gnostics, and the third SephirothBinah(thefemaleJehovah of the Kabalists), are feminine principles—“Divine Spirit,” orRuach. “Achath Ruach Elohim Chiim.” “One isShe, the Spirit of the Elohim of Life,” is said in “Sepher Yezirah.”
37. There are several remarkable cycles that come to a close at the end of this century. First, the 5,000 years of the Kaliyug cycle; again the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic) Jews of the man connected withPisces(Ichthys or “Fish-man”Dag). It is a cycle, historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2,155 solar years, but having a true significance only when computed by lunar months. It occurred 2410 and 255 B.C., or when the equinox entered into the sign of theRam, and again into that ofPisces. When it enters, in a few years, the sign ofAquarius, psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of humanity will enter on a great change.
37. There are several remarkable cycles that come to a close at the end of this century. First, the 5,000 years of the Kaliyug cycle; again the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic) Jews of the man connected withPisces(Ichthys or “Fish-man”Dag). It is a cycle, historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2,155 solar years, but having a true significance only when computed by lunar months. It occurred 2410 and 255 B.C., or when the equinox entered into the sign of theRam, and again into that ofPisces. When it enters, in a few years, the sign ofAquarius, psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of humanity will enter on a great change.
38. The earliest Christian author, Justin Martyr, calls, in his first Apology, his co-religionistsChrestians, χρηστιανοι—not Christians.
38. The earliest Christian author, Justin Martyr, calls, in his first Apology, his co-religionistsChrestians, χρηστιανοι—not Christians.
39. “Clemens Alexandrinus, in the second century, founds a serious argument on this paranomasia (lib. iii., cap. xvii., p. 53et circa), that all who believed inChrest(i.e., “a good man”) both are, and are called Chrestians, that is, good men,” (Strommata, lib. ii. “Higgins’Anacalypsis.”) And Lactantius (lib. iv., cap. vii.) says that it is only throughignorancethat people call themselves Christians, instead of Chrestians:“qui proper ignorantium errorem cum immutata litera Chrestum solent dicere.”
39. “Clemens Alexandrinus, in the second century, founds a serious argument on this paranomasia (lib. iii., cap. xvii., p. 53et circa), that all who believed inChrest(i.e., “a good man”) both are, and are called Chrestians, that is, good men,” (Strommata, lib. ii. “Higgins’Anacalypsis.”) And Lactantius (lib. iv., cap. vii.) says that it is only throughignorancethat people call themselves Christians, instead of Chrestians:“qui proper ignorantium errorem cum immutata litera Chrestum solent dicere.”
40. In England alone, there are over 239 various sects. (See Whitaker’s Almanac.) In 1883, there were 186 denominations only, and now they steadily increase with every year, an additional 53 sects having sprung up in only four years!
40. In England alone, there are over 239 various sects. (See Whitaker’s Almanac.) In 1883, there were 186 denominations only, and now they steadily increase with every year, an additional 53 sects having sprung up in only four years!
41. It is but fair to St. Paul to remark that this contradiction is surely due to later tampering with his Epistles. Paul was a Gnostic himself,i.e., A “Son of Wisdom,” and an Initiate into the truemysteries of Christos, though he may have thundered (or was made to appear to do so) against some Gnostic sects, of which, in his day, there were many. But his Christos was not Jesus of Nazareth, nor any living man, as shown so ably in Mr. Gerald Massey’s lecture, “Paul, the Gnostic Opponent of Peter.” He was an Initiate, a true “Master-Builder” or adept, as described in “Isis Unveiled,” Vol II., pp. 90-91.
41. It is but fair to St. Paul to remark that this contradiction is surely due to later tampering with his Epistles. Paul was a Gnostic himself,i.e., A “Son of Wisdom,” and an Initiate into the truemysteries of Christos, though he may have thundered (or was made to appear to do so) against some Gnostic sects, of which, in his day, there were many. But his Christos was not Jesus of Nazareth, nor any living man, as shown so ably in Mr. Gerald Massey’s lecture, “Paul, the Gnostic Opponent of Peter.” He was an Initiate, a true “Master-Builder” or adept, as described in “Isis Unveiled,” Vol II., pp. 90-91.
42. ὁσοντε ὲκ τοῦ κατηγορουμένου ἡμῶν ὀνομάτος χρησότατοι ὑπάρχομεν (First Apology).
42. ὁσοντε ὲκ τοῦ κατηγορουμένου ἡμῶν ὀνομάτος χρησότατοι ὑπάρχομεν (First Apology).
43. The extraordinary amount of information collated by that able Egyptologist shows that he has thoroughly mastered the secret of the production of theNew Testament. Mr. Massey knows the difference between the spiritual, divine and purely metaphysical Christos, and the made-up “lay figure” of the carnalized Jesus. He knows also that the Christian canon, especially theGospels,ActsandEpistles, are made up of fragments of gnostic wisdom, the ground-work of which ispre-Christianand built on theMYSTERIESof Initiation. It is the mode of theological presentation and the interpolated passages—such as in Mark xvi. from verse 9 to the end—which make of the Gospels a “magazine of (wicked) falsehoods,” and throw a slur onChristos. But the Occultist who discerns between the two currents (the true gnostic and thepseudoChristian) knows that the passages free from theological tampering belong to archaic wisdom, and so does Mr. Gerald Massey, though his views differ from ours.
43. The extraordinary amount of information collated by that able Egyptologist shows that he has thoroughly mastered the secret of the production of theNew Testament. Mr. Massey knows the difference between the spiritual, divine and purely metaphysical Christos, and the made-up “lay figure” of the carnalized Jesus. He knows also that the Christian canon, especially theGospels,ActsandEpistles, are made up of fragments of gnostic wisdom, the ground-work of which ispre-Christianand built on theMYSTERIESof Initiation. It is the mode of theological presentation and the interpolated passages—such as in Mark xvi. from verse 9 to the end—which make of the Gospels a “magazine of (wicked) falsehoods,” and throw a slur onChristos. But the Occultist who discerns between the two currents (the true gnostic and thepseudoChristian) knows that the passages free from theological tampering belong to archaic wisdom, and so does Mr. Gerald Massey, though his views differ from ours.
44. “The key to the recovery of the language, so far as the writer’s efforts have been concerned, was found in the use, strange to say, of the discovered integral ratio in numbers of diameter to circumference of a circle,” by a geometrician. “This ratio is 6,561 for diameter and 20,612 for circumference.” (Cabalistic MSS.) In one of the future numbers of “Lucifer” more details will be given, with the permission of the discoverer.—Ed.
44. “The key to the recovery of the language, so far as the writer’s efforts have been concerned, was found in the use, strange to say, of the discovered integral ratio in numbers of diameter to circumference of a circle,” by a geometrician. “This ratio is 6,561 for diameter and 20,612 for circumference.” (Cabalistic MSS.) In one of the future numbers of “Lucifer” more details will be given, with the permission of the discoverer.—Ed.
45. Cory’sAnc. Frag., p. 59, f. So do Sanchoniaton and Hesiod, who both ascribe thevivifyingof mankind to the spilt blood of the gods. But blood andsoulare one (nephesh), and the blood of the gods means here the informing soul.
45. Cory’sAnc. Frag., p. 59, f. So do Sanchoniaton and Hesiod, who both ascribe thevivifyingof mankind to the spilt blood of the gods. But blood andsoulare one (nephesh), and the blood of the gods means here the informing soul.
46. The existence of thesesevenkeys is virtually admitted, owing to deep research in the Egyptological lore, by Mr. G. Massey again. While opposing the teachings of “Esoteric Buddhism”—unfortunately misunderstood by him in almost every respect—in his Lecture on “The Seven Souls of Man,” he writes (p. 21):—“This system of thought, this mode of representation, this septenary of powers, in various aspects, had been established in Egypt, at least, seven thousand years ago, as we learn from certain allusions to Atum (the god ‘in whom the fatherhood was individualised as thebegetter of an eternal soul,’ theseventhprinciple of theTheosophists,)Theosophists,)found in the inscriptions lately discovered at Sakkarah. I say in various aspects,because the gnosis of the Mysteries was, at least, sevenfold in its nature—it was Elemental, Biological, Elementary (human), Stellar, Lunar, Solar and Spiritual—andnothing short of a grasp of the whole system can possibly enable us to discriminate the various parts, distinguish one from the other, and determinate the which and the what, as we try to follow the symbolical Seven through their several phases of character.”
46. The existence of thesesevenkeys is virtually admitted, owing to deep research in the Egyptological lore, by Mr. G. Massey again. While opposing the teachings of “Esoteric Buddhism”—unfortunately misunderstood by him in almost every respect—in his Lecture on “The Seven Souls of Man,” he writes (p. 21):—
“This system of thought, this mode of representation, this septenary of powers, in various aspects, had been established in Egypt, at least, seven thousand years ago, as we learn from certain allusions to Atum (the god ‘in whom the fatherhood was individualised as thebegetter of an eternal soul,’ theseventhprinciple of theTheosophists,)Theosophists,)found in the inscriptions lately discovered at Sakkarah. I say in various aspects,because the gnosis of the Mysteries was, at least, sevenfold in its nature—it was Elemental, Biological, Elementary (human), Stellar, Lunar, Solar and Spiritual—andnothing short of a grasp of the whole system can possibly enable us to discriminate the various parts, distinguish one from the other, and determinate the which and the what, as we try to follow the symbolical Seven through their several phases of character.”
“This system of thought, this mode of representation, this septenary of powers, in various aspects, had been established in Egypt, at least, seven thousand years ago, as we learn from certain allusions to Atum (the god ‘in whom the fatherhood was individualised as thebegetter of an eternal soul,’ theseventhprinciple of theTheosophists,)Theosophists,)found in the inscriptions lately discovered at Sakkarah. I say in various aspects,because the gnosis of the Mysteries was, at least, sevenfold in its nature—it was Elemental, Biological, Elementary (human), Stellar, Lunar, Solar and Spiritual—andnothing short of a grasp of the whole system can possibly enable us to discriminate the various parts, distinguish one from the other, and determinate the which and the what, as we try to follow the symbolical Seven through their several phases of character.”
47. “Gnostic and Historic Christianity.”
47. “Gnostic and Historic Christianity.”
48. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a manbe born againhe cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John iii. 4.) Here the birthfrom above, the spiritual birth, is meant, achieved at the supreme and last initiation.
48. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a manbe born againhe cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John iii. 4.) Here the birthfrom above, the spiritual birth, is meant, achieved at the supreme and last initiation.
49. Or Life-origination, Life-fusion, Life-division, Life-renewal andLife-transmissionLife-transmission.
49. Or Life-origination, Life-fusion, Life-division, Life-renewal andLife-transmissionLife-transmission.
50. “Mistaking” is an erroneous term to use. The men of science know but too well that what they teach concerning life is a materialistic fiction contradicted at every step by logic and fact. In this particular question science is abused, and made to serve personal hobbies and a determined policy of crushing in humanity every spiritual aspiration and thought. “Pretendingto mistake” would be more correct.—H. P. B.
50. “Mistaking” is an erroneous term to use. The men of science know but too well that what they teach concerning life is a materialistic fiction contradicted at every step by logic and fact. In this particular question science is abused, and made to serve personal hobbies and a determined policy of crushing in humanity every spiritual aspiration and thought. “Pretendingto mistake” would be more correct.—H. P. B.
51. This is what the Theosophists call “livingthelife”—in a nut-shell.—H. P. B.
51. This is what the Theosophists call “livingthelife”—in a nut-shell.—H. P. B.
52. “The Blood-Covenant, a Primitive Rite, and its bearings on Scripture.” By H. Clay Trumbull,D.D.London: Redway.
52. “The Blood-Covenant, a Primitive Rite, and its bearings on Scripture.” By H. Clay Trumbull,D.D.London: Redway.
53. The Theosophists are reminded that the “seven souls” are what we call the “seven principles” in man. “Blood” is theprincipleof the Body, the lowest in our septenary, as the highest is “Atma,” which may well be symbolized by the Sun; Atma being the light and life in man, as the physical sun is the light and life of our solar system.—Ed.
53. The Theosophists are reminded that the “seven souls” are what we call the “seven principles” in man. “Blood” is theprincipleof the Body, the lowest in our septenary, as the highest is “Atma,” which may well be symbolized by the Sun; Atma being the light and life in man, as the physical sun is the light and life of our solar system.—Ed.
54. The arcane doctrine teaches that the “blood” rites are as old as the Third-Root race, being established in their final form by the Fourth Parent race in commemoration of the separation of androgynous mankind, their forefathers, into males and females. Mr. G. Massey is a strict scholar, who holds only to that which is made evident to him, and ignores the Occultistic division of mankind into Races, and the fact that we are in our Fifth-Root race, and would, of course, refuse to carry mankind back intopre-Tertiary times. Yet his researches and the fruit of his life-labour, corroborate, by their numberless new facts revealed by him, mostwonderfullywonderfully, the teachings of the “Secret Doctrines.” (Ed.)
54. The arcane doctrine teaches that the “blood” rites are as old as the Third-Root race, being established in their final form by the Fourth Parent race in commemoration of the separation of androgynous mankind, their forefathers, into males and females. Mr. G. Massey is a strict scholar, who holds only to that which is made evident to him, and ignores the Occultistic division of mankind into Races, and the fact that we are in our Fifth-Root race, and would, of course, refuse to carry mankind back intopre-Tertiary times. Yet his researches and the fruit of his life-labour, corroborate, by their numberless new facts revealed by him, mostwonderfullywonderfully, the teachings of the “Secret Doctrines.” (Ed.)
55. A. E. Waite. Published by G. Redway.
55. A. E. Waite. Published by G. Redway.
56. NINETEENTH CENTURY SENSE: The Paradox of Spiritualism. By John Darby. J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, and 10, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London.
56. NINETEENTH CENTURY SENSE: The Paradox of Spiritualism. By John Darby. J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, and 10, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London.
57. And no doubt also the Anglo-Indians tospoilthe King of Burmah of his?
57. And no doubt also the Anglo-Indians tospoilthe King of Burmah of his?