,the present edition of ,,light ,,on    
,,the ,,path  is a verbatim reprint of  
the #ahhh edition  7,george ,redway1    
,london7 in which later edition  the    
,,notes by the ,author first appear4    
,the  ,,comments1 which are not in the  
#ahhh edition1  are here taken directly 
from ,lucifer1 ,volume ,i1  #ahhg-h1    
where they were first published4        
,also in this volume we reprint verbatim
 the  original edition 7#ahhg7 of       
,,through ,,the  ,,gates ,,of ,,gold by 
the same ,author1 together  with a      
commentary by ,william ,q4 ,judge taken 
from his magazine1 ,the ,path1 ,march1  
#ahhg4          99,light on the ,path99 
,a ,treatise    ,,written ,,for ,,the   
,,personal ,,use ,,of ,,those ,,who     
,,are ,,ignorant ,,of ,,the ,,eastern   
,,wisdom1 ,,and  ,,who ,,desire ,,to    
,,enter ,,within ,,its ,,influence      
,written down by ,m4,c4    with ,notes  
by the ,author          99,,light ,,on  
,,the ,,path99      ,,light ,,on ,,the  
,,path      ,i    ,these rules are      

written for all disciples3  ,attend you 
to them4    ,before the eyes can see1   
they must be incapable  of tears4       
,before the ear can hear1 it  must have 
lost its sensitiveness4 ,before the     
voice can speak in the presence of the  
,masters  it must have lost the power to
 wound4 ,before  the soul can stand in  
the presence of the ,masters  its feet  
must be washed in the blood of  the     
heart4    #a4 ,kill out ambition4    #b4
 ,kill out desire of life4    #c4 ,kill 
out desire of comfort4    #d4 ,work as  
those work who are ambitious4           
,respect life as those do who desire it4
 ,be  happy as those are who live for   
happiness4    ,seek in the heart the    
source of evil and  expunge it4 ,it     
lives fruitfully in the heart of  the   
devoted disciple as well as in the heart
 of  the man of desire4 ,only the strong
 can kill it  out4 ,the weak must wait  
for its growth1 its  fruition1 its      
death4 ,and it is a plant that lives    
and increases throughout the ages4 ,it  

flowers  when the man has accumulated   
unto himself  innumerable existences4   
,he who will enter  upon the path of    
power must tear this thing  out of his  
heart4 ,and then the heart will bleed1  
and the whole life of the man seem to be
 utterly  dissolved4 ,this ordeal must  
be endured3  it may come at the first   
step of the perilous  ladder which leads
 to the path of life3 it may  not come  
until the last4 ,but1 ,o disciple1      
remember  that it has to be endured1 and
 fasten  the energies of your soul upon 
the task4 ,live  neither in the present 
nor the future1 but in  the eternal4    
,this giant weed cannot flower  there3  
this blot upon existence is wiped out by
  the very atmosphere of eternal        
thought4    #e4 ,kill out all sense of  
separateness4    #f4 ,kill out desire   
for sensation4    #g4 ,kill out the     
hunger for growth4    #h4 ,yet stand    
alone and isolated1 because  nothing    
that is imbodied1 nothing that is       
conscious  of separation1 nothing that  

is out of the  eternal1 can aid you4    
,learn from sensation and  observe it1  
because only so can you commence  the   
science of self-knowledge1 and plant    
your  foot on the first step of the     
ladder4 ,grow as  the flower grows1     
unconsciously1 but eagerly  anxious to  
open its soul to the air4 ,so must you  
press forward to open your soul to the  
eternal4  ,but it must be the eternal   
that draws forth your  strength and     
beauty1 not desire of growth4 ,for  in  
the one case you develop in the         
luxuriance of  purity1 in the other you 
harden by the forcible  passion for     
personal stature4    #i4 ,desire only   
that which is within you4    #aj4       
,desire only that which is beyond you4  
#aa4 ,desire only that which is         
unattainable4    #ab4 ,for within you is
 the light of the world--the  only light
 that can be shed upon the  ,path4 ,if  
you are unable to perceive it within    
you1 it is useless to look for it       
elsewhere4 ,it is  beyond you2 because  

when you reach it you  have lost        
yourself4 ,it is unattainable1 because  
it  for ever recedes4 ,you will enter   
the light1 but  you will never touch the
 flame4    #ac4 ,desire power ardently4 
#ad4 ,desire peace fervently4    #ae4   
,desire possessions above all4    #af4  
,but those possessions must belong to   
the pure soul only1 and be possessed    
therefore  by all pure souls equally1   
and thus be the  especial property of   
the whole only when  united4 ,hunger for
 such possessions as can be  held by the
 pure soul2 that you may accumulate     
wealth for that united spirit of life1  
which is  your only true self4 ,the     
peace you shall desire  is that sacred  
peace which nothing can disturb1  and in
 which the soul grows as does the holy  
flower upon the still lagoons4 ,and that
 power  which the disciple shall covet  
is that which  shall make him appear as 
nothing in the eyes  of men4     #ag4   
,seek out the way4     #ah4 ,seek the   
way by retreating within4     #ai4 ,seek

 the way by advancing boldly without4   
#bj4 ,seek it not by any one road4 ,to  
each  temperament there is one road     
which seems the  most desirable4 ,but   
the way is not found by devotion  alone1
 by religious contemplation alone1  by  
ardent progress1 by self-sacrificing    
labor1 by  studious observation of life4
 ,none alone can  take the disciple more
 than one step onward4  ,all steps are  
necessary to make up the ladder4  ,the  
vices of men become steps in the ladder1
  one by one1 as they are surmounted4   
,the virtues  of man are steps indeed1  
necessary--not  by any means to be      
dispensed with4 ,yet1  though they      
create a fair atmosphere and a  happy   
future1 they are useless if they stand  
alone4 ,the whole nature of man must be 
used  wisely by the one who desires to  
enter the way4  ,each man is to himself 
absolutely the way1 the  truth1 and the 
life4 ,but he is only so when he  grasps
 his whole individuality firmly1 and1 by
  the force of his awakened spiritual   

will1 recognises  this individuality as 
not himself1 but that  thing which he   
has with pain created for his  own use1 
and by means of which he purposes1  as  
his growth slowly develops his          
intelligence1  to reach to the life     
beyond individuality4 ,when  he knows   
that for this his wonderful complex     
separated life exists1 then1 indeed1 and
 then  only1 he is upon the way4 ,seek  
it by plunging  into the mysterious and 
glorious depths of your  own inmost     
being4 ,seek it by testing1 all         
experience1  by utilizing the senses in 
order to  understand the growth and     
meaning of individuality1  and the      
beauty and obscurity of those  other    
divine fragments which are struggling   
side by side with you1 and form the race
 to  which you belong4 ,seek it by study
 of the laws  of being1 the laws of     
nature1 the laws of the  supernatural3  
and seek it by making the profound      
obeisance of the soul to the dim star   
that  burns within4 ,steadily1 as you   

watch and worship1  its light will grow 
stronger4 ,then you  may know you have  
found the beginning of  the way4 ,and   
when you have found the end its  light  
will suddenly become the infinite light4
    #ba4 ,look for the flower to bloom  
in the  silence that follows the storm  
not till then4    ,it shall grow1 it    
will shoot up1 it will make  branches   
and leaves and form buds1 while the     
storm continues1 while the battle lasts4
 ,but  not till the whole personality of
 the man is dissolved  and melted--not  
until it is held by the  divine fragment
 which has created it1 as a mere        
subject for grave experiment and        
experience--not  until the whole nature 
has yielded and  become subject unto its
 higher self1 can the  bloom open4 ,then
 will come a calm such as  comes in a   
tropical country after the heavy rain1  
when ,nature works so swiftly that one  
may see  her action4 ,such a calm will  
come to the harassed  spirit4 ,and in   
the deep silence the mysterious  event  

will occur which will prove that  the   
way has been found4 ,call it by what    
name  you will1 it is a voice that      
speaks where there  is none to speak--it
 is a messenger that comes1  a messenger
 without form or substance2 or it is    
the flower of the soul that has opened4 
,it cannot  be described by any         
metaphor4 ,but it can  be felt after1   
looked for1 and desired1 even  amid the 
raging of the storm4 ,the silence may   
last a moment of time or it may last a  
thousand  years4 ,but it will end4 ,yet 
you will carry its  strength with you4  
,again and again the battle  must be    
fought and won4 ,it is only for an      
interval  that ,nature can be still4    
,these written above are the first of   
the  rules which are written on the     
walls of the  ,hall of ,learning4 ,those
 that ask shall have4  ,those that      
desire to read shall read4 ,those who   
desire to learn shall learn4    ,,peace 
,,be ,,with ,,you4          ,,ii        
,out of the silence that is peace a     

resonant  voice shall arise4 ,and this  
voice will say1 ,it is  not well2 thou  
hast reaped1 now thou must sow4  ,and   
knowing this voice to be the silence    
itself  thou wilt obey4    ,thou who art
 now a disciple1 able to stand1  able to
 hear1 able to see1 able to speak1 who  
hast conquered desire and attained to   
self-knowledge1  who hast seen thy soul 
in its bloom  and recognised it1 and    
heard the voice of the  silence1 go thou
 to the ,hall of ,learning and  read    
what is written there for thee4     #a4 
,stand aside in the coming battle1 and  
though thou fightest be not thou the    
warrior4     #b4 ,look for the warrior  
and let him fight in  thee4     #c4     
,take his orders for battle and obey    
them4     #d4 ,obey him not as though he
 were a general1  but as though he were 
thyself1 and his  spoken words were the 
utterance of thy secret  desires2 for he
 is thyself1 yet infinitely wiser  and  
stronger than thyself4 ,look for him1   
else  in the fever and hurry of the     

fight thou mayest  pass him2 and he will
 not know thee unless  thou knowest him4
 ,if thy cry meet his listening  ear1   
then will he fight in thee and fill the 
dull void within4 ,and if this is so1   
then canst  thou go through the fight   
cool and unwearied1  standing aside and 
letting him battle for thee4  ,then it  
will be impossible for thee to strike   
one blow amiss4 ,but if thou look not   
for him1  if thou pass him by1 then     
there is no safeguard  for thee4 ,thy   
brain will reel1 thy heart grow         
uncertain1 and in the dust of the       
battlefield thy  sight and senses will  
fail1 and thou wilt not  know thy       
friends from thy enemies4    ,he is     
thyself1 yet thou art but finite and    
liable to error4 ,he is eternal and is  
sure4 ,he  is eternal truth4 ,when once 
he has entered  thee and become thy     
warrior1 he will never utterly  desert  
thee1 and at the day of the great  peace
 he will become one with thee4    #e4   
,listen to the song of life4    #f4     

,store in your memory the melody you    
hear4    #g4 ,learn from it the lesson  
of harmony4    #h4 ,you can stand       
upright now1 firm as a  rock amid the   
turmoil1 obeying the warrior  who is    
thyself and thy king4 ,unconcerned in   
the battle save to do his bidding1      
having no  longer any care as to the    
result of the battle1 for  one thing    
only is important1 that the warrior     
shall win1 and you know he is incapable 
of defeat--standing  thus1 cool and     
awakened1 use  the hearing you have     
acquired by pain and by  the destruction
 of pain4 ,only fragments of  the great 
song come to your ears while yet you    
are but man4 ,but if you listen to it1  
remember  it faithfully1 so that none   
which has reached  you is lost1 and     
endeavor to learn from it the  meaning  
of the mystery which surrounds you4  ,in
 time you will need no teacher4 ,for as 
the  individual has voice1 so has that  
in which the  individual exists4 ,life  
itself has speech and is  never silent4 

,and its utterance is not1 as you  that 
are deaf may suppose1 a cry3 it is a    
song4  ,learn from it that you are part 
of the harmony2  learn from it to obey  
the laws of the  harmony4    #i4 ,regard
 earnestly all the life that surrounds  
you4    #aj4 ,learn to look             
intelligently into the  hearts of men4  
#aa4 ,regard most earnestly your own    
heart4    #ab4 ,for through your own    
heart comes the  one light which can    
illuminate life and make it  clear to   
your eyes4    ,study the hearts of men1 
that you may know  what is that world in
 which you live and of  which you will  
to be a part4 ,regard the constantly    
changing and moving life which surrounds
  you1 for it is formed by the hearts of
  men2 and as you learn to understand   
their  constitution and meaning1 you    
will by degrees  be able to read the    
larger word of life4    #ac4  ,speech   
comes only with knowledge4 ,attain  to  
knowledge and you will attain to        
speech4    #ad4  ,having obtained the   

use of the inner  senses1 having        
conquered the desires of the  outer     
senses1 having conquered the desires of 
the individual soul1 and having obtained
 knowledge1  prepare now1 ,o disciple1  
to enter upon  the way in reality4 ,the 
path is found3 make  yourself ready to  
tread it4    #ae4 ,inquire of the earth1
 the air1 and the  water1 of the secrets
 they hold for you4 ,the  development of
 your inner senses will enable  you to  
do this4    #af4 ,inquire of the holy   
ones of the earth  of the secrets they  
hold for you4 ,the conquering  of the   
desires of the outer senses will  give  
you the right to do this4    #ag4       
,inquire of the inmost1 the one1 of its 
final secret which it holds for you     
through  the ages4    ,the great and    
difficult victory1 the conquering  of   
the desires of the individual soul1 is a
  work of ages2 therefore expect not to 
obtain  its reward until ages of        
experience have been  accumulated4 ,when
 the time of learning this  seventeenth 

rule is reached1 man is on the          
threshold of becoming more than man4    
#ah4 ,the knowledge which is now yours  
is  only yours because your soul has    
become one  with all pure souls and with
 the inmost4 ,it is  a trust vested in  
you by the ,most ,high4 ,betray  it1    
misuse your knowledge1 or neglect it1   
and  it is possible even now for you to 
fall from  the high estate you have     
attained4 ,great ones  fall back1 even  
from the threshold1 unable to  sustain  
the weight of their responsibility1     
unable  to pass on4 ,therefore look     
forward always  with awe and trembling  
to this moment1 and  be prepared for the
 battle4    #ai4 ,it is written that for
 him who is on the  threshold of        
divinity no law can be framed1 no  guide
 can exist4 ,yet to enlighten the       
disciple1  the final struggle may be    
thus expressed3    ,hold fast to that   
which has neither substance  nor        
existence4    #bj4 ,listen only to the  
voice which is soundless4    #ba4 ,look 

only on that which is invisible  alike  
to the inner and the outer sense4       
,,peace ,,be ,,with ,,you4              
,,notes      ,note on ,rule             
#a4--;,ambition is the first  curse3 the
 great tempter of the man who is  rising
 above his fellows4 ,it is the simplest 
form of looking for reward4 ,men of     
intelligence  and power are led away    
from their  higher possibilities by it  
continually4 ,yet it is  a necessary    
teacher4 ,its results turn to dust  and 
ashes in the mouth2 like death and      
estrangement it shows the man at last   
that to  work for self is to work for   
disappointment4  ,but though this first 
rule seems so simple and  easy1 do not  
quickly pass it by4 ,for these  vices of
 the ordinary man pass through a subtle 
transformation and reappear with changed
  aspect in the heart of the disciple4  
,it is easy  to say1 ,i will not be     
ambitious3 it is not so  easy to say1   
when the ,master reads my heart  he will
 find it clean utterly4 ,the pure artist

  who works for the love of his work is 
sometimes  more firmly planted on the   
right road  than the occultist1 who     
fancies he has removed  his interest    
from self1 but who has in reality  only 
enlarged the limits of experience and   
desire1 and transferred his interest to 
the things  which concern his larger    
span of life4 ,the  same principle      
applies to the other two seemingly      
simple rules4 ,linger over them and do  
not let yourself be easily deceived by  
your own  heart4 ,for now1 at the       
threshold1 a mistake  can be corrected4 
,but carry it on with you  and it will  
grow and come to fruition1 or else  you 
must suffer bitterly in its destruction4
      ,note on ,rule #e4--;,do not fancy
 you can  stand aside from the bad man  
or the foolish  man4 ,they are yourself1
 though in a less  degree than your     
friend or your master4 ,but  if you     
allow the idea of separateness from any 
evil thing or person to grow up within  
you1  by so doing you create ,karma1    

which will  bind you to that thing or   
person till your soul  recognises that  
it cannot be isolated4 ,remember  that  
the sin and shame of the world are  your
 sin and shame2 for you are a part of   
it2  your ,karma is inextricably        
interwoven with  the great ,karma4 ,and 
before you can attain  knowledge you    
must have passed through all  places1   
foul and clean alike4 ,therefore1       
remember  that the soiled garment you   
shrink  from touching may have been     
yours yesterday1  may be yours tomorrow4
 ,and if you turn  with horror from it1 
when it is flung upon  your shoulders1  
it will cling the more closely  to you4 
,the self-righteous man makes for       
himself a bed of mire4 ,abstain because 
it is  right to abstain--not that       
yourself shall be  kept clean4    ,note 
on ,rule #ag4--,these four words  seem1 
perhaps1 too slight to stand alone4 ,the
  disciple may say1 ,should ,i study    
these thoughts  at all did ,i not seek  
out the way8 ,yet do  not pass on       

hastily4 ,pause and consider awhile4    
,is it the way you desire1 or is it that
 there  is a dim perspective in your    
visions of great  heights to be scaled  
by yourself1 of a great  future for you 
to compass8 ,be warned4 ,the  way is to 
be sought for its own sake1 not with    
regard to your feet that shall tread it4
    ,there is a correspondence between  
this rule  and the #agth of the #bnd    
series4 ,when after  ages of struggle   
and many victories the final  battle is 
won1 the final secret demanded1 then    
you are prepared for a further path4    
,when  the final secret of this great   
lesson is told1 in  it is opened the    
mystery of the new way--a  path which   
leads out of all human experience1  and 
which is utterly beyond human perception
  or imagination4 ,at each of these     
points  it is needful to pause long and 
consider well4  ,at each of these points
 it is necessary to be  sure that the   
way is chosen for its own sake4  ,the   
way and the truth come first1 then      

follows  the life4    ,note on ,rule    
#bj4--,seek it by testing all           
experience1 and remember that when ,i   
say this  ,i do not say1 ,yield to the  
seductions of sense  in order to know   
it4 ,before you have become  an         
occultist you may do this2 but not      
afterwards4  ,when you have chosen and  
entered  the path you cannot yield to   
these seductions  without shame4 ,yet   
you can experience them  without horror3
 can weigh1 observe and test  them1 and 
wait with the patience of confidence    
for the hour when they shall affect you 
no  longer4 ,but do not condemn the man 
that  yields2 stretch out your hand to  
him as a  brother pilgrim whose feet    
have become heavy  with mire4 ,remember1
 ,o disciple1 that great  though the    
gulf may be between the good man  and   
the sinner1 it is greater between the   
good  man and the man who has attained  
knowledge2  it is immeasurable between  
the good man and  the one on the        
threshold of divinity4 ,therefore  be   

wary lest too soon you fancy yourself  a
 thing apart from the mass4 ,when you   
have  found the beginning of the way the
 star of  your soul will show its light2
 and by that light  you will perceive   
how great is the darkness  in which it  
burns4 ,mind1 heart1 brain1 all are     
obscure and dark until the first great  
battle  has been won4 ,be not appalled  
and terrified  by this sight2 keep your 
eyes fixed on the small  light and it   
will grow4 ,but let the darkness  within
 help you to understand the helplessness
  of those who have seen no light1 whose
 souls  are in profound gloom4 ,blame   
them not1 shrink  not from them1 but try
 to lift a little of the  heavy ,karma  
of the world2 give your aid to  the few 
strong hands that hold back the  powers 
of darkness from obtaining complete     
victory4 ,then do you enter into a      
partnership  of joy1 which brings indeed
 terrible toil and  profound sadness1   
but also a great and ever-increasing    
delight4    ,note on ,rule #ba4--,the   

opening of the  bloom is the glorious   
moment when perception  awakes3 with it 
comes confidence1 knowledge1  certainty4
 ,the pause of the soul is the moment   
of wonder1 and the next moment of       
satisfaction1  that is the silence4     
,know1 ,o disciple1 that those who have 
passed through the silence1 and felt its
 peace  and retained its strength1 they 
long that you  shall pass through it    
also4 ,therefore1 in the  ,hall of      
,learning1 when he is capable of        
entering  there1 the disciple will      
always find his  master4    ,those that 
ask shall have4 ,but though the         
ordinary man asks perpetually1 his voice
 is not  heard4 ,for he asks with his   
mind only2 and  the voice of the mind is
 only heard on that  plane on which the 
mind acts4 ,therefore1 not  until the   
first twenty-one rules are past do ,i   
say those that ask shall have4    ,to   
read1 in the occult sense1 is to read   
with  the eyes of the spirit4 ,to ask is
 to feel the  hunger within--the        

yearning of spiritual  aspiration4 ,to  
be able to read means having  obtained  
the power in a small degree of          
gratifying  that hunger4 ,when the      
disciple is ready  to learn1 then he is 
accepted1 acknowledged1  recognised4 ,it
 must be so1 for he has lit his  lamp1  
and it cannot be hidden4 ,but to learn  
is impossible until the first great     
battle has  been won4 ,the mind may     
recognise truth1 but  the spirit cannot 
receive it4 ,once having passed  through
 the storm and attained the peace1 it is
  then always possible to learn1 even   
though the  disciple waver1 hesitate1   
and turn aside4 ,the  voice of the      
silence remains within him1 and  though 
he leave the path utterly1 yet one day  
it will resound and rend him asunder and
  separate his passions from his divine 
possibilities4  ,then with pain and     
desperate cries  from the deserted lower
 self he will return4    ,therefore ,i  
say1 ,peace be with you4 ,my  peace ,i  
give unto you can only be said by the   

,master to the beloved disciples who are
 as  himself4 ,there are even some      
amongst those  who are ignorant of the  
,eastern wisdom to  whom this can be    
said1 and to whom it can  daily be said 
with more completeness4    ,regard the  
three truths4 ,they are equal4          
,,part ,,ii      ,note on ,sect4        
,,ii--,to be able to stand is  to have  
confidence2 to be able to hear is to    
have opened the doors of the soul2 to be
 able  to see is to have attained       
perception2 to be  able to speak is to  
have attained the power  of helping     
others2 to have conquered desire  is to 
have learned how to use and control the 
self2 to have attained to self-knowledge
 is to  have retreated to the inner     
fortress from  whence the personal man  
can be viewed with  impartiality2 to    
have seen thy soul in its bloom  is to  
have obtained a momentary glimpse in    
thyself of the transfiguration which    
shall eventually  make thee more than   
man2 to recognise  is to achieve the    

great task of gazing upon the  blazing  
light without dropping the eyes and  not
 falling back in terror1 as though      
before  some ghastly phantom4 ,this     
happens to some1  and so when the       
victory is all but won it is lost2  to  
hear the voice of the silence is to     
understand  that from within comes the  
only true  guidance2 to go to the ,hall 
of ,learning is to  enter the state in  
which learning becomes possible4  ,then 
will many words be written there  for   
thee1 and written in fiery letters for  
thee  easily to read4 ,for when the     
disciple is ready  the ,master is ready 
also4      ,note on ,rule #e4--,look for
 it and listen to  it first in your own 
heart4 ,at first you may  say it is not 
there2 when ,i search ,i find only      
discord4 ,look deeper4 ,if again you are
 disappointed1  pause and look deeper   
again4 ,there  is a natural melody1 an  
obscure fount in every  human heart4 ,it
 may be hidden over and utterly         
concealed and silenced--but it is there4

  ,at the very base of your nature you  
will find  faith1 hope1 and love4 ,he   
that chooses evil  refuses to look      
within himself1 shuts his ears to  the  
melody of his heart1 as he blinds his   
eyes  to the light of his soul4 ,he does
 this because  he finds it easier to    
live in desires4 ,but underneath  all   
life is the strong current that cannot  
be checked2 the great waters are there  
in reality4  ,find them1 and you will   
perceive that none1  not the most       
wretched of creatures1 but is a  part of
 it1 however he blind himself to the    
fact and build up for himself a         
phantasmal  outer form of horror4 ,in   
that sense it is that ,i  say to        
you--,all those beings among whom  you  
struggle on are fragments of the        
,divine4  ,and so deceptive is the      
illusion in which you  live1 that it is 
hard to guess where you will first      
detect the sweet voice in the hearts of 
others4    ,but know that it is         
certainly within yourself4  ,look for it

 there1 and once having heard it1 you   
will more readily recognise it around   
you4    ,note on ,rule #aj4--;,from an  
absolutely impersonal  point of view1   
otherwise your sight is  colored4       
,therefore impersonality must first be  
understood4    ,intelligence is         
impartial3 no man is your  enemy3 no man
 is your friend4 ,all alike are  your   
teachers4 ,your enemy becomes a mystery 
that must be solved1 even though it take
 ages3  for man must be understood4     
,your friend becomes  a part of         
yourself1 an extension of yourself1  a  
riddle hard to read4 ,only one thing is 
more difficult to know--your own heart4 
,not  until the bonds of personality are
 loosed1 can  that profound mystery of  
self begin to be seen4  ,not till you   
stand aside from it will it in any  way 
reveal itself to your understanding4    
,then1  and not till then1 can you grasp
 and guide it4  ,then1 and not till     
then1 can you use all its  powers1 and  
devote them to a worthy service4        

,note on ,rule #ac4--;,it is impossible 
to help  others till you have obtained  
some certainty  of your own4 ,when you  
have learned the first  #ba rules and   
have entered the ,hall of ,learning     
with your powers developed and sense    
unchained1  then you will find there is 
a fount  within you from which speech   
will arise4    ,after the #acth rule ,i 
can add no words to  what is already    
written4    ,my peace ,i give unto you4 
,greek3 ,d    ,these notes are written  
only for those to  whom ,i give my      
peace2 those who can read  what ,i have 
written with the inner as well as  the  
outer sense4          ,,comments    ,i  
,,before ,,the ,,eyes ,,can ,,see ,,they
 ,,must ,,be  ,,incapable ,,of ,,tears4 
,it should be very clearly remembered by
  all readers of this volume that it is 
a book  which may appear to have some   
little philosophy  in it1 but very      
little sense1 to those who  believe it  
to be written in ordinary ,english4  ,to
 the many1 who read in this manner it   

will  be--not caviare so much as olives 
strong of  their salt4 ,be warned and   
read but a little in  this way4         
,there is another way of reading1 which 
is1  indeed1 the only one of any use    
with many  authors4 ,it is reading1 not 
between the lines  but within the words4
 ,in fact1 it is deciphering  a profound
 cipher4 ,all alchemical works  are     
written in the cipher of which ,i speak2
  it has been used by the great         
philosophers and  poets of all time4 ,it
 is used systematically by  the adepts  
in life and knowledge1 who1 seemingly   
giving out their deepest wisdom1 hide in
  the very words which frame it its     
actual mystery4  ,they cannot do more4  
,there is a law of  nature which insists
 that a man shall read these  mysteries 
for himself4 ,by no other method can  he
 obtain them4 ,a man who desires to live
  must eat his food himself3 this is the
 simple law  of nature--which applies   
also to the higher  life4 ,a man who    
would live and act in it cannot  be fed 

like a babe with a spoon2 he must  eat  
for himself4    ,i propose to put into  
new and sometimes  plainer language     
parts of ,light on the ,path2  but      
whether this effort of mine will really 
be  any interpretation ,i cannot say4   
,to a deaf  and dumb man1 a truth is    
made no more intelligible  if1 in order 
to make it so1 some misguided  linguist 
translates the words in which  it is    
couched into every living or dead       
language1  and shouts these different   
phrases in his ear4  ,but for those who 
are not deaf and dumb one  language is  
generally easier than the rest2 and  it 
is to such as these ,i address myself4  
,the very first aphorisms of ,light on  
the  ,path1 included under ,number ,i1  
have1 ,i know  well1 remained sealed as 
to their inner meaning  to many who have
 otherwise followed the purpose  of the 
book4    ,there are four proven and     
certain truths  with regard to the      
entrance to occultism4 ,the  ,gates of  
,gold bar that threshold2 yet there are 

some who pass those gates and discover  
the  sublime and illimitable beyond4 ,in
 the far  spaces of ,time all will pass 
those gates4 ,but  ,i am one who wish   
that ,time1 the great deluder1  were not
 so over-masterful4 ,to those  who know 
and love him ,i have no word to  say2   
but to the others--and there are not so 
very few as some may fancy--to whom the 
passage of ,time is as the stroke of a  
sledge-hammer1  and the sense of ,space 
like the bars  of an iron cage1 ,i will 
translate and re-translate  until they  
understand fully4    ,the four truths   
written on the first page  of ,light on 
the ,path1 refer to the trial initiation
  of the would-be occultist4 ,until he  
has  passed it1 he cannot even reach to 
the latch of  the gate which admits to  
knowledge4 ,knowledge  is man's greatest
 inheritance2 why1 then1  should he not 
attempt to reach it by every  possible  
road8 ,the laboratory is not the only   
ground for experiment2 science1 we must 
remember1  is derived from sciens1      

present participle  of scire1 to        
know1--its origin is similar  to that of
 the word discern1 to ken4  ,science    
does not therefore deal only with       
matter1 no1 not even its subtlest and   
obscurest  forms4 ,such an idea is born 
merely of the idle  spirit of the age4  
,science is a word which  covers all    
forms of knowledge4 ,it is exceedingly  
interesting to hear what chemists       
discover1  and to see them finding their
 way through the  densities of matter to
 its finer forms2 but there  are other  
kinds of knowledge than this1 and it  is
 not every one who restricts his        
7strictly scientific7  desire for       
knowledge to experiments  which are     
capable of being tested by the physical 
senses4    ,everyone who is not a       
dullard1 or a man  stupefied by some    
predominant vice1 has  guessed or even  
perhaps discovered with some  certainty1
 that there are subtle senses lying     
within the physical senses4 ,there is   
nothing at  all extraordinary in this2  

if we took the trouble  to call ,nature 
into the witness box we should  find    
that everything which is perceptible to 
the  ordinary sight1 has something even 
more important  than itself hidden      
within it2 the microscope  has opened a 
world to us1 but within  those          
encasements which the microscope        
reveals1  lies a mystery which no       
machinery can  probe4    ,the whole     
world is animated and lit1 down  to its 
most material shapes1 by a world within 
it4 ,this inner world is called ,astral 
by some  people1 and it is as good a    
word as any other1  though it merely    
means starry2 but the stars1 as  ,locke 
pointed out1 are luminous bodies which  
give light of themselves4 ,this quality 
is characteristic  of the life which    
lies within matter2  for those who see  
it1 need no lamp to see it by4  ,the    
word star1 moreover1 is derived from the
  ,anglo-,saxon stir-an1 to steer1 to   
stir1 to move1  and undeniably it is the
 inner life which is  master of the     

outer1 just as a man's brain  guides the
 movements of his lips4 ,so that        
although  ,astral is no very excellent  
word in  itself1 ,i am content to use it
 for my present  purpose4    ,the whole 
of ,light on the ,path is written  in an
 astral cipher and can therefore only be
  deciphered by one who reads astrally4 
,and  its teaching is chiefly directed  
towards the cultivation  and development
 of the astral life4  ,until the first  
step has been taken in this development1
  the swift knowledge1 which is called  
intuition with certainty1 is impossible 
to man4  ,and this positive and certain 
intuition is the  only form of knowledge
 which enables a man  to work rapidly or
 reach his true and high  estate1 within
 the limit of his conscious effort4  ,to
 obtain knowledge by experiment is too  
tedious a method for those who aspire to
 accomplish  real work2 he who gets it  
by certain  intuition1 lays hands on its
 various forms with  supreme rapidity1  
by fierce effort of will2 as a          

determined workman grasps his tools1    
indifferent  to their weight or any     
other difficulty  which may stand in his
 way4 ,he does not stay  for each to be 
tested--he uses such as he sees  are    
fittest4    ,all the rules contained in 
,light on the  ,path1 are written for   
all disciples1 but only  for            
disciples---those who take knowledge4   
,to none else but the student in this   
school are  its laws of any use or      
interest4    ,to all who are interested 
seriously in ,occultism1  ,i say        
first--take knowledge4 ,to him  who hath
 shall be given4 ,it is useless to wait 
for  it4 ,the womb of ,time will close  
before you1  and in later days you will 
remain unborn1 without  power4 ,i       
therefore say to those who have  any    
hunger or thirst for knowledge1 attend  
to  these rules4    ,they are none of my
 handicraft or invention4  ,they are    
merely the phrasing of laws in          
super-nature1 the putting into words    
truths as  absolute in their own sphere1

 as those laws  which govern the conduct
 of the earth and its  atmosphere4      
,the senses spoken of in these four     
statements  are the astral1 or inner    
senses4    ,no man desires to see that  
light which  illumines the spaceless    
soul until pain and sorrow  and despair 
have driven him away from  the life of  
ordinary humanity4 ,first he wears  out 
pleasure2 then he wears out pain--till1 
at  last1 his eyes become incapable of  
tears4    ,this is a truism1 although ,i
 know perfectly  well that it will meet 
with a vehement denial  from many who   
are in sympathy with thoughts  which    
spring from the inner life4 ,to see with
  the astral sense of sight is a form of
 activity  which it is difficult for us 
to understand immediately4  ,the        
scientist knows very well what a        
miracle is achieved by each child that  
is born  into the world1 when it first  
conquers its eyesight  and compels it to
 obey its brain4 ,an equal  miracle is  
performed with each sense certainly1    

but this ordering of sight is perhaps   
the most  stupendous effort4 ,yet the   
child does it almost  unconsciously1 by 
force of the powerful heredity  of      
habit4 ,no one now is aware that he  has
 ever done it at all2 just as we cannot 
recollect  the individual movements     
which enabled  us to walk up a hill a   
year ago4 ,this arises  from the fact   
that we move and live and have  our     
being in matter4 ,our knowledge of it   
has  become intuitive4    ,with our     
astral life it is very much otherwise4  
,for long ages past1 man has paid very  
little attention to it--so little1 that 
he has  practically lost the use of his 
senses4 ,it is true1  that in every     
civilization the star arises1 and  man  
confesses1 with more or less of folly   
and  confusion1 that he knows himself to
 be4 ,but  most often he denies it1 and 
in being a materialist  becomes that    
strange thing1 a being  which cannot see
 its own light1 a thing of life  which  
will not live1 an astral animal which   

has  eyes1 and ears1 and speech1 and    
power1 yet  will use none of these      
gifts4 ,this is the case1  and the habit
 of ignorance has become so confirmed1  
that now none will see with the inner   
vision till agony has made the physical 
eyes not  only unseeing1 but without    
tears--the moisture  of life4 ,to be    
incapable of tears is to have  faced and
 conquered the simple human nature1  and
 to have attained an equilibrium which  
cannot  be shaken by personal emotions4 
,it does  not imply any hardness of     
heart1 or any indifference4  ,it does   
not imply the exhaustion of  sorrow1    
when the suffering soul seems powerless 
to suffer acutely any longer2 it does   
not  mean the deadness of old age1 when 
emotion is  becoming dull because the   
strings which vibrate  to it are wearing
 out4 ,none of these conditions  are fit
 for a disciple1 and if any one of  them
 exist in him it must be overcome before
  the path can be entered upon4         
,hardness of  heart belongs to the      

selfish man1 the egotist1 to  whom the  
gate is forever closed4 ,indifference   
belongs to the fool and the false       
philosopher2  those whose lukewarmness  
makes them mere  puppets1 not strong    
enough to face the realities  of        
existence4 ,when pain or sorrow has worn
  out the keenness of suffering1 the    
result is a  lethargy not unlike that   
which accompanies old  age1 as it is    
usually experienced by men and  women4  
,such a condition makes the entrance  to
 the path impossible1 because the first 
step is  one of difficulty and needs a  
strong man1 full  of psychic and        
physical vigor1 to attempt it4    ,it is
 a truth1 that1 as ,edgar ,allan ,poe   
said1  the eyes are the windows for the 
soul1 the windows  of that haunted      
palace in which it dwells4  ,this is the
 very nearest interpretation into       
ordinary  language of the meaning of the
 text4 ,if  grief1 dismay1              
disappointment or pleasure1 can  shake  
the soul so that it loses its fixed hold

 on  the calm spirit which inspires it1 
and the moisture  of life breaks forth1 
drowning knowledge  in sensation1 then  
all is blurred1 the windows  are        
darkened1 the light is useless4 ,this is
 as  literal a fact as that if a man1 at
 the edge of a  precipice1 loses his    
nerve through some sudden  emotion he   
will certainly fall4 ,the poise of the  
body1 the balance1 must be preserved1   
not only  in dangerous places1 but even 
on the level  ground1 and with all the  
assistance ,nature  gives us by the law 
of gravitation4 ,so it is with  the     
soul1 it is the link between the outer  
body  and the starry spirit beyond2 the 
divine spark  dwells in the still place 
where no convulsion of  ,nature can     
shake the air2 this is so always4 ,but  
the soul may lose its hold on that1 its 
knowledge  of it1 even though these two 
are part  of one whole2 and it is by    
emotion1 by  sensation1 that this hold  
is loosed4 ,to suffer  either pleasure  
or pain1 causes a vivid vibration  which

 is1 to the consciousness of man1  life4
 ,now this sensibility does not lessen  
when  the disciple enters upon his      
training2 it  increases4 ,it is the     
first test of his strength2  he must    
suffer1 must enjoy or endure1 more      
keenly than other men1 while yet he has 
taken  on him a duty which does not     
exist for other  men1 that of not       
allowing his suffering to shake  him    
from his fixed purpose4 ,he has1 in     
fact1  at the first step to take himself
 steadily in  hand and put the bit into 
his own mouth2  no one else can do it   
for him4    ,the first four aphorisms of
 ,light on the  ,path1 refer entirely to
 astral development4  ,this development 
must be accomplished to a  certain      
extent--that is to say it must be fully 
entered upon--before the remainder of   
the  book is really intelligible except 
to the intellect2  in fact1 before it   
can be read as a practical1  not a      
metaphysical treatise4    ,in one of the
 great mystic ,brotherhoods1  there are 

four ceremonies1 that take place early  
in the year1 which practically          
illustrate and  elucidate these         
aphorisms4 ,they are ceremonies  in     
which only novices take part1 for they  
are simply services of the threshold4   
,but it  will show how serious a thing  
it is to become  a disciple1 when it is 
understood that these  are all          
ceremonies of sacrifice4 ,the first one 
is this of which ,i have been speaking4 
,the  keenest enjoyment1 the bitterest  
pain1 the  anguish of loss and despair1 
are brought to  bear on the trembling   
soul1 which has not yet  found light in 
the darkness1 which is helpless  as a   
blind man is1 and until these shocks can
  be endured without loss of equilibrium
 the  astral senses must remain sealed4 
,this is the  merciful law4 ,the medium1
 or spiritualist1  who rushes into the  
psychic world without  preparation1 is a
 law-breaker1 a breaker of  the laws of 
super-nature4 ,those who break          
,nature's laws lose their physical      

health2 those  who break the laws of the
 inner life1 lose their  psychic health4
 ,mediums become mad1 suicides1         
miserable creatures devoid of moral     
sense2 and often end as unbelievers1    
doubters  even of that which their own  
eyes have seen4  ,the disciple is       
compelled to become his own  master     
before he adventures on this perilous   
path1 and attempts to face those beings 
who  live and work in the astral world1 
and whom  we call masters1 because of   
their great knowledge  and their ability
 to control not only  themselves but the
 forces around them4    ,the condition  
of the soul when it lives for  the life 
of sensation as distinguished from that 
of knowledge1 is vibratory or           
oscillating1 as  distinguished from     
fixed4 ,that is the nearest  literal    
representation of the fact2 but it is   
only  literal to the intellect1 not to  
the intuition4  ,for this part of man's 
consciousness a different  vocabulary is
 needed4 ,the idea of fixed  might      

perhaps be transposed into that of at   
home4 ,in sensation no permanent home   
can  be found1 because change is the law
 of this  vibratory existence4 ,that    
fact is the first one  which must be    
learned by the disciple4 ,it is  useless
 to pause and weep for a scene in a     
kaleidoscope which has passed4    ,it is
 a very well-known fact1 one with which 
,bulwer ,lytton dealt with great power1 
that  an intolerable sadness is the very
 first experience  of the neophyte in   
,occultism4 ,a sense of  blankness falls
 upon him which makes the  world a      
waste1 and life a vain exertion4 ,this  
follows his first serious contemplation 
of the  abstract4 ,in gazing1 or even in
 attempting to  gaze1 on the ineffable  
mystery of his own higher  nature1 he   
himself causes the initial trial to     
fall on him4 ,the oscillation between   
pleasure  and pain ceases for--perhaps  
an instant of  time2 but that is enough 
to have cut him loose  from his fast    
moorings in the world of sensation4  ,he

 has experienced1 however briefly1 the  
greater life2 and he goes on with       
ordinary  existence weighted by a sense 
of unreality1 of  blank1 of horrid      
negation4 ,this was the nightmare  which
 visited ,bulwer ,lytton's neophyte  in 
,zanoni2 and even ,zanoni himself1 who  
had learned great truths1 and been      
entrusted  with great powers1 had not   
actually passed the  threshold where    
fear and hope1 despair and  joy seem at 
one moment absolute realities1 at  the  
next mere forms of fancy4    ,this      
initial trial is often brought on us by 
life itself4 ,for life is after all1 the
 great  teacher4 ,we return to study it1
 after we have  acquired power over it1 
just as the master in  chemistry learns 
more in the laboratory than  his pupil  
does4 ,there are persons so near the    
door of knowledge that life itself      
prepares  them for it1 and no individual
 hand has to  invoke the hideous        
guardian of the entrance4  ,these must  
naturally be keen and powerful          

organizations1 capable of the most vivid
 pleasure2  then pain comes and fills   
its great duty4  ,the most intense forms
 of suffering fall on  such a nature1   
till at last it arouses from its  stupor
 of consciousness1 and by the force of  
its  internal vitality steps over the   
threshold into a  place of peace4 ,then 
the vibration of life loses  its power  
of tyranny4 ,the sensitive nature  must 
suffer still2 but the soul has freed    
itself  and stands aloof1 guiding the   
life towards its  greatness4 ,those who 
are the subjects of ,time1  and go      
slowly through all his spaces1 live on  
through a long drawn series of          
sensations1 and  suffer a constant      
mingling of pleasure and of  pain4 ,they
 do not dare to take the snake of  self 
in a steady grasp and conquer it1 so    
becoming  divine2 but prefer to go on   
fretting through  divers experiences1   
suffering blows from the  opposing      
forces4    ,when one of these subjects  
of ,time decides  to enter on the path  

of ,occultism1 it is this  which is his 
first task4 ,if life has not taught  it 
to him1 if he is not strong enough to   
teach  himself and if he has power      
enough to demand  the help of a master1 
then this fearful trial1  depicted in   
,zanoni1 is put upon him4 ,the          
oscillation in which he lives1 is for an
 instant  stilled2 and he has to survive
 the shock of  facing what seems to him 
at first sight as the  abyss of         
nothingness4 ,not till he has learned   
to dwell in this abyss1 and has found   
its peace1  is it possible for his eyes 
to have become  incapable of tears4     
,,ii    ,,before ,,the ,,ear ,,can      
,,hear1 ,,it ,,must  ,,have ,,lost ,,its
 ,,sensitiveness4      ,the first four  
rules of ,light on the ,path  are1      
undoubtedly1 curious though the         
statement  may seem1 the most important 
in the whole  book1 save one only4 ,why 
they are so important  is that they     
contain the vital law1 the very         
creative essence of the astral man4 ,and

 it is  only in the astral 7or          
self-illuminated7 consciousness  that   
the rules which follow them  have any   
living meaning4 ,once attain to the  use
 of the astral senses and it becomes a  
matter  of course that one commences to 
use them2  and the later rules are but  
guidance in their  use4 ,when ,i speak  
like this ,i mean1 naturally1  that the 
first four rules are the ones which are 
of importance and interest to those who 
read  them in print upon a page4 ,when  
they are  engraved on a man's heart and 
on his life1 unmistakably  then the     
rules become not merely  interesting1 or
 extraordinary1 metaphysical            
statements1 but actual facts in life    
which have  to be grasped and           
experienced4    ,the four rules stand   
written in the great  chamber of every  
actual lodge of a living  ,brotherhood4 
,whether the man is about to  sell his  
soul to the devil1 like ,faust2 whether 
he is to be worsted in the battle1 like 
,hamlet2  or whether he is to pass on   

within the precincts2  in any case these
 words are for him4  ,the man can choose
 between virtue and vice1  but not until
 he is a man2 a babe or a wild  animal  
cannot so choose4 ,thus with the        
disciple1  he must first become a       
disciple before  he can even see the    
paths to choose between4  ,this effort  
of creating himself as a disciple1  the 
re-birth1 he must do for himself without
  any teacher4 ,until the four rules are
 learned  no teacher can be of any use  
to him2 and that  is why the ,masters   
are referred to in the  way they are4   
,no real masters1 whether adepts  in    
power1 in love1 or in blackness1 can    
affect a  man till these four rules are 
passed4    ,tears1 as ,i have said1 may 
be called the  moisture of life4 ,the   
soul must have laid aside  the emotions 
of humanity1 must have secured  a       
balance which cannot be shaken by       
misfortune1  before its eyes can open   
upon the  super-human world4    ,the    
voice of the ,masters is always in the  

world2 but only those hear it whose ears
 are  no longer receptive of the sounds 
which affect  the personal life4        
,laughter no longer lightens  the heart1
 anger may no longer enrage it1 tender  
words bring it no balm4 ,for that       
within1  to which the ears are as an    
outer gateway1 is  an unshaken place of 
peace in itself which no  person can    
disturb4    ,as the eyes are the windows
 of the soul1 so  are the ears its      
gateways or doors4 ,through  them comes 
knowledge of the confusion of the       
world4 ,the great ones who have         
conquered  life1 who have become more   
than disciples1  stand at peace and     
undisturbed amid the  vibration and     
kaleidoscopic movement of  humanity4    
,they hold within themselves a certain  
knowledge1 as well as a perfect peace2  
and  thus they are not roused or excited
 by the  partial and erroneous fragments
 of information  which are brought to   
their ears by the changing  voices of   
those around them4 ,when ,i speak  of   

knowledge1 ,i mean intuitive knowledge4 
,this certain information can never be  
obtained  by hard work1 or by           
experiment2 for these  methods are only 
applicable to matter1 and  matter is in 
itself a perfectly uncertain substance1 
continually affected by change4 ,the    
most absolute and universal laws of     
natural  and physical life1 as          
understood by the scientist1  will pass 
away when the life of this universe  has
 passed away1 and only its soul is left 
in  the silence4 ,what then will be the 
value of  the knowledge of its laws     
acquired by industry  and observation8  
,i pray that no reader or  critic will  
imagine that by what ,i have said ,i    
intend to depreciate or disparage       
acquired  knowledge1 or the work of     
scientists4 ,on the  contrary1 ,i hold  
that scientific men are the  pioneers of
 modern thought4 ,the days of literature
  and of art1 when poets and sculptors  
saw  the divine light1 and put it into  
their own  great language--these days   

lie buried in the  long past with the   
ante-,phidian sculptors and  the        
pre-,homeric poets4 ,the mysteries no   
longer  rule the world of thought and   
beauty2 human  life is the governing    
power1 not that which  lies beyond it4  
,but the scientific workers are         
progressing1 not so much by their own   
will as  by sheer force of              
circumstances1 towards the  far line    
which divides things interpretable from 
things uninterpretable4 ,every fresh    
discovery  drives them a step onward4   
,therefore do ,i  very highly esteem the
 knowledge obtained by  work and        
experiment4    ,but intuitive knowledge 
is an entirely different  thing4 ,it is 
not acquired in any way1 but  is1 so to 
speak1 a faculty of the soul2 not the   
animal soul1 that which becomes a ghost 
after  death1 when lust or liking or the
 memory of  ill deeds holds it to the   
neighborhood of  human beings1 but the  
divine soul which  animates all the     
external forms of the individualized    

being4    ,this is1 of course1 a faculty
 which indwells  in that soul1 which is 
inherent4 ,the would-be  disciple has to
 arouse himself to the consciousness  of
 it by a fierce and resolute and        
indomitable effort of will4 ,i use the  
word  indomitable for a special reason4 
,only he who  is untameable1 who cannot 
be dominated1 who  knows he has to play 
the lord over men1 over  facts1 over all
 things save his own divinity  can      
arouse this faculty4 ,with faith all    
things1  are possible4 ,the skeptical   
laugh at faith and  pride themselves on 
its absence from their own  minds4 ,the 
truth is that faith is a great  engine1 
an enormous power1 which in fact can    
accomplish all things4 ,for it is the   
convenant  or engagement between man's  
divine part and  his lesser self4       
,the use of this engine is quite        
necessary  in order to obtain intuitive 
knowledge2 for  unless a man believes   
such knowledge exists  within himself   
how can he claim and use it8    ,without

 it he is more helpless than any        
drift-wood or wreckage on the great     
tides of  the ocean4 ,they are cast     
hither and thither  indeed2 so may a man
 be by the chances of  fortune4 ,but    
such adventures are purely  external and
 of very small account4 ,a slave  may be
 dragged through the streets in chains1 
and yet retain the quiet soul of a      
philosopher1  as was well seen in the   
person of ,epictetus4 ,a  man may have  
every worldly prize in his possession1  
and stand absolute master of his        
personal fate1 to all appearance1 and   
yet he  knows no peace1 no certainty1   
because he is  shaken within himself by 
every tide of thought  that he touches  
on4 ,and these changing tides  do not   
merely sweep the man bodily hither  and 
thither like drift-wood on the water2   
that  would be nothing4 ,they enter into
 the gate-ways  of his soul1 and wash   
over that soul and  make it blind and   
blank and void of all permanent         
intelligence so that passing impressions

  affect it4    ,to make my meaning     
plainer ,i will use an  illustration4   
,take an author at his writing1 a       
painter at his canvas1 a composer       
listening to  the melodies that dawn    
upon his glad imagination2  let any one 
of these workers pass his daily  hours  
by a wide window looking on a busy      
street4 ,the power of the animating life
 blinds  sight and hearing alike1 and   
the great traffic of  the city goes by  
like nothing but a passing  pageant4    
,but a man whose mind is empty1  whose  
day is objectless1 sitting at that same 
window1 notes the passers-by and        
remembers  the faces that chance to     
please or interest him4  ,so it is with 
the mind in its relation to eternal     
truth4 ,if it no longer transmits its   
fluctuations1  its partial knowledge1   
its unreliable information  to the soul1
 then in the inner place of  peace      
already found when the first rule has   
been learned--in that inner place there 
leaps  into flame the light of actual   

knowledge4 ,then  the ears begin to     
hear4 ,very dimly1 very  faintly at     
first4 ,and1 indeed1 so faint and       
tender are these first indications of   
the commencement  of true actual life1  
that they are  sometimes pushed aside as
 mere fancies1 mere  imaginings4    ,but
 before these are capable of becoming   
more than mere imaginings1 the abyss of 
nothingness has to be faced in another  
form4  ,the utter silence which can only
 come by closing  the ears to all       
transitory sounds comes as  a more      
appalling horror than even the formless 
emptiness of space4 ,our only mental    
conception  of blank space is1 ,i think1
 when reduced  to its barest element of 
thought1 that of black  darkness4 ,this 
is a great physical terror to  most     
persons1 and when regarded as an eternal
  and unchangeable fact1 must mean to   
the mind  the idea of annihilation      
rather than anything  else4 ,but it is  
the obliteration of one sense  only2 and
 the sound of a voice may come and      

bring comfort even in the profoundest   
darkness4  ,the disciple1 having found  
his way into  this blackness1 which is  
the fearful abyss1 must  then so shut   
the gates of his soul that no  comforter
 can enter there nor any enemy4 ,and  it
 is in making this second effort that   
the fact  of pain and pleasure being but
 one sensation  becomes recognisable by 
those who have before  been unable to   
perceive it4 ,for when the solitude  of 
silence is reached the soul hungers so  
fiercely and passionately for some      
sensation on  which to rest1 that a     
painful one would be as  keenly welcomed
 as a pleasant one4 ,when  this         
consciousness is reached the courageous 
man by seizing and retaining it1 may    
destroy  the sensitiveness at once4     
,when the ear no  longer discriminates  
between that which is  pleasant or that 
which is painful1 it will no  longer be 
affected by the voices of others4 ,and  
then it is safe and possible to open the
 doors  of the soul4    ,sight is the   

first effort1 and the easiest1  because 
it is accomplished partly by an         
intellectual  effort4 ,the intellect can
 conquer the  heart1 as is well known in
 ordinary life4 ,therefore1  this       
preliminary step still lies within the  
dominion of matter4 ,but the second step
 allows  of no such assistance1 nor of  
any material aid  whatever4 ,of course1 
,i mean by material aid  the action of  
the brain1 or emotions1 or human  soul4 
,in compelling the ears to listen only  
to  the eternal silence1 the being we   
call man  becomes something which is no 
longer man4 ,a  very superficial survey 
of the thousand and  one influences     
which are brought to bear on  us by     
others will show that this must be so4  
,a disciple will fulfil all the duties  
of his manhood2  but he will fulfil them
 according to  his own sense of right1  
and not according to  that of any person
 or body of persons4 ,this  is a very   
evident result of following the creed   
of knowledge instead of any of the blind

  creeds4    ,to obtain the pure silence
 necessary for the  disciple1 the heart 
and emotions1 the brain and  its        
intellectualisms1 have to be put aside4 
,both  are but mechanisms1 which will   
perish with the  span of man's life4 ,it
 is the essence beyond1  that which is  
the motive power1 and makes man  live1  
that is now compelled to rouse itself   
and  act4 ,now is the greatest hour of  
danger4 ,in  the first trial men go mad 
with fear2 of this  first trial ,bulwer 
,lytton wrote4 ,no novelist  has        
followed to the second trial1 though    
some  of the poets have4 ,its subtlety  
and great  danger lies in the fact that 
in the measure of a  man's strength is  
the measure of his chance of  passing   
beyond it or coping with it at all4 ,if 
he has power enough to awaken that      
unaccustomed  part of himself1 the      
supreme essence1  then has he power to  
lift the gates of gold1  then is he the 
true alchemist1 in possession of  the   
elixir of life4    ,it is at this point 

of experience that the  occultist       
becomes separated from all other men    
and enters on to a life which is his    
own2 on to  the path of individual      
accomplishment instead  of mere         
obedience to the genii which rule our   
earth4 ,this raising of himself into an 
individual  power does in reality       
identify him with  the nobler forces of 
life and make him one  with them4 ,for  
they stand beyond the powers  of this   
earth and the laws of this universe4    
,here  lies man's only hope of success  
in the great  effort2 to leap right away
 from his present  standpoint to his    
next and at once become an  intrinsic   
part of the divine power as he has  been
 an intrinsic part of the intellectual  
power1  of the great nature to which he 
belongs4 ,he  stands always in advance  
of himself1 if such  a contradiction can
 be understood4 ,it is the  men who     
adhere to this position1 who believe  in
 their innate power of progress1 and    
that  of the whole race1 who are the    

elder brothers1  the pioneers4 ,each man
 has to accomplish the  great leap for  
himself and without aid2 yet it is      
something of a staff to lean on to know 
that  others have gone on that road4 ,it
 is possible  that they have been lost  
in the abyss2 no  matter1 they have had 
the courage to enter it4  ,why ,i say   
that it is possible they have been  lost
 in the abyss is because of this fact1  
that one  who has passed through is     
unrecognisable until  the other and     
altogether new condition is attained  by
 both4 ,it is unnecessary to enter upon 
the subject of what that condition is at
 present4    ,i only say this1 that in  
the early state in  which man is        
entering upon the silence he loses      
knowledge of his friends1 of his lovers1
 of all  who have been near and dear to 
him2 and also  loses sight of his       
teachers and of those who  have preceded
 him on his way4 ,i explain this        
because scarce one passes through       
without  bitter complaint4 ,could but   

the mind grasp  beforehand that the     
silence must be complete1  surely this  
complaint need not arise as a hindrance 
on the path4 ,your teacher1 or your     
predecessor may hold your hand in his1  
and  give you the utmost sympathy the   
human heart  is capable of4 ,but when   
the silence and the  darkness comes1 you
 lose all knowledge of him2  you are    
alone and he cannot help you1 not       
because his power is gone1 but because  
you  have invoked your great enemy4     
,by your great enemy1 ,i mean yourself4 
,if  you have the power to face your own
 soul in  the darkness and silence1 you 
will have conquered  the physical or    
animal self which dwells  in sensation  
only4    ,this statement1 ,i feel1 will 
appear involved2  but in reality it is  
quite simple4 ,man1 when  he has reached
 his fruition1 and civilization is  at  
its height1 stands between two fires4   
,could  he but claim his great          
inheritance1 the encumbrance  of the    
mere animal life would fall away  from  

him without difficulty4 ,but he does not
  do this1 and so the races of men      
flower and  then droop and die and decay
 off the face of  the earth1 however    
splendid the bloom may  have been4 ,and 
it is left to the individual to  make   
this great effort2 to refuse to be      
terrified  by his greater nature1 to    
refuse to be drawn  back by his lesser  
or more material self4 ,every           
individual who accomplishes this is a   
redeemer  of the race4 ,he may not      
blazon forth his deeds1  he may dwell in
 secret and silence2 but it is  a fact  
that he forms a link between man and    
his divine part2 between the known and  
the  unknown2 between the stir of the   
marketplace  and the stillness of the   
snow-capped ,himalayas4  ,he has not to 
go about among men in  order to form    
this link2 in the astral he is that     
link1 and this fact makes him a being of
  another order from the rest of        
mankind4 ,even  so early on the road    
towards knowledge1 when  he has but     

taken the second step1 he finds his     
footing more certain1 and becomes       
conscious  that he is a recognised part 
of a whole4    ,this is one of the      
contradictions in life  which occur so  
constantly that they afford fuel  to the
 fiction writer4 ,the occultist finds   
them  become much more marked as he     
endeavors to  live the life he has      
chosen4 ,as he retreats within  himself 
and becomes self-dependent1 he finds    
himself more definitely becoming part of
 a  great tide of definite thought and  
feeling4  ,when he has learned the first
 lesson1 conquered  the hunger of the   
heart1 and refused  to live on the love 
of others1 he finds himself  more       
capable of inspiring love4 ,as he flings
  life away it comes to him in a new    
form and  with a new meaning4 ,the world
 has always  been a place with many     
contradictions in it1  to the man2 when 
he becomes a disciple he  finds life is 
describable as a series of paradoxes4   
,this is a fact in nature1 and the      

reason for it is  intelligible enough4  
,man's soul dwells like  a star apart1  
even that of the vilest among  us2 while
 his consciousness is under the law of  
vibratory and sensuous life4 ,this alone
 is  enough to cause those complications
 of character  which are the material   
for the novelist2  every man is a       
mystery1 to friend and enemy  alike1 and
 to himself4 ,his motives are often     
undiscoverable1 and he cannot probe to  
them or  know why he does this or that4 
,the disciple's  effort is that of      
awakening consciousness in  this starry 
part of himself1 where his power  and   
divinity lie sleeping4 ,as this         
consciousness  becomes awakened1 the    
contradictions in the  man himself      
become more marked than ever2  and so do
 the paradoxes which he lives  through4 
,for1 of course man creates his own     
life2 and adventures are to the         
adventurous  is one of those wise       
proverbs which are drawn  from actual   
fact1 and cover the whole area of  human

 experience4    ,pressure on the divine 
part of man re-acts  upon the animal    
part4 ,as the silent soul  awakes it    
makes the ordinary life of the man  more
 purposeful1 more vital1 more real1 and 
responsible4 ,to keep to the two        
instances  already mentioned1 the       
occultist who has withdrawn  into his   
own citadel has found his  strength2    
immediately he becomes aware of  the    
demands of duty upon him4 ,he does not  
obtain his strength by his own right1   
but because  he is a part of the whole2 
and as soon as  he is safe from the     
vibration of life and can  stand        
unshaken1 the outer world cries out to  
him to come and labor in it4 ,so with   
the heart4  ,when it no longer wishes to
 take1 it is called  upon to give       
abundantly4    ,light on the ,path has  
been called a book  of paradoxes1 and   
very justly2 what else could  it be1    
when it deals with the actual personal  
experience of the disciple8    ,to have 
acquired the astral senses of sight  and

 hearing2 or in other words to have     
attained  perception and opened the     
doors of the soul1  are gigantic tasks  
and may take the sacrifice  of many     
successive incarnations4 ,and yet1 when 
the will has reached its strength1 the  
whole  miracle may be worked in a second
 of time4  ,then is the disciple the    
servant of ,time no  longer4    ,these  
two first steps are negative2 that is   
to say they imply retreat from a present
 condition  of things rather than       
advance towards  another4 ,the two next 
are active1 implying the  advance into  
another state of being4          ,,iii  
,,before ,,the ,,voice ,,can ,,speak    
,,in ,,the  ,,presence ,,of ,,the       
,,masters4      ,speech is the power of 
communication2 the  moment of entrance  
into active life is marked  by its      
attainment4    ,and now1 before ,i go   
any further1 let me  explain a little   
the way in which the rules  written down
 in ,light on the ,path are arranged4   
,the first seven of those which are     

numbered are sub-divisions of the two   
first  unnumbered rules1 those with     
which ,i have  dealt in the two         
preceding papers4 ,the numbered  rules  
were simply an effort of mine to  make  
the unnumbered ones more intelligible4  
,eight to fifteen of these numbered     
rules  belong to this unnumbered rule   
which is now  my text4    ,as ,i have   
said1 these rules are written for  all  
disciples1 but for none else2 they are  
not  of interest to any other persons4  
,therefore  ,i trust no one else will   
trouble to read these  papers any       
further4 ,the first two rules1 which    
include the whole of that part of the   
effort  which necessitates the use of   
the surgeon's  knife1 ,i will enlarge   
upon further if ,i am asked  to do so4  
,but the disciple is expected to deal   
with a snake1 his lower self1 unaided2  
to suppress  his human passions and     
emotions by the  force of his own will4 
,he can only demand  assistance of a    
master when this is accomplished1  or at

 all events1 partially so4 ,otherwise   
the gates and windows of his soul are   
blurred1  and blinded1 and darkened1 and
 no knowledge  can come to him4 ,i am   
not1 in these papers1  purposing to tell
 a man how to deal with his  own soul2  
,i am simply giving1 to the disciple1   
knowledge4 ,that ,i am not writing even 
now1  so that all who run may read1 is  
owing to the  fact that super-nature    
prevents this by its own  immutable     
laws4    ,the four rules which ,i have  
written down  for those in the ,west who
 wish to study them1  are as ,i have    
said1 written in the ante-chamber  of   
every living ,brotherhood2 ,i may add   
more1  in the ante-chamber of every     
living or dead  ,brotherhood1 or ,order 
yet to be formed4 ,when  ,i speak of a  
,brotherhood or an ,order1 ,i do not    
mean an arbitrary constitution made by  
scholiasts  and intellectualists2 ,i    
mean an actual  fact in super-nature1 a 
stage of development  towards the       
absolute ,god or ,good4 ,during  this   

development the disciple encounters     
harmony1  pure knowledge1 pure truth1 in
 different  degrees1 and1 as he enters  
these degrees1 he  finds himself        
becoming part of what might be  roughly 
described as a layer of human           
consciousness4  ,he encounters his      
equals1 men of  his own selfless        
character1 and with them his            
association becomes permanent and       
indissoluble1  because founded on a     
vital likeness of  nature4 ,to them he  
becomes pledged by such  vows as need no
 utterance or framework in  ordinary    
words4 ,this is one aspect of what ,i   
mean by a ,brotherhood4    ,if the first
 rules are conquered1 the disciple      
finds himself standing at the threshold4
 ,then  if his will is sufficiently     
resolute his power of  speech comes2 a  
two-fold power4 ,for1 as he  advances   
now1 he finds himself entering into  a  
state of blossoming1 where every bud    
that  opens throws out its several rays 
or petals4 ,if  he is to exercise his   

new gift1 he must use it  in its        
two-fold character4 ,he finds in himself
  the power to speak in the presence of 
the  masters2 in other words1 he has the
 right to  demand contact with the      
divinest element of  that state of      
consciousness into which he has         
entered4 ,but he finds himself          
compelled1 by  the nature of his        
position1 to act in two ways  at the    
same time4 ,he cannot send his voice up 
to the heights where sit the gods till  
he has  penetrated to the deep places   
where their light  shines not at all4   
,he has come within the grip  of an iron
 law4 ,if he demands to become a        
neophyte1 he at once becomes a servant4 
,yet  his service is sublime1 if only   
from the character  of those who share  
it4 ,for the masters  are also servants2
 they serve and claim their  reward     
afterwards4 ,part of their service is to
  let their knowledge touch him2 his    
first act of  service is to give some of
 that knowledge to  those who are not   

yet fit to stand where he  stands4 ,this
 is no arbitrary decision1 made by  any 
master or teacher or any such person1   
however  divine4 ,it is a law of that   
life which the  disciple has entered    
upon4    ,therefore was it written in   
the inner doorway  of the lodges of the 
old ,egyptian ,brotherhood1  the laborer
 is worthy of his hire4 ,ask  and ye    
shall have1 sounds like something too   
easy and simple to be credible4 ,but the
 disciple  cannot ask in the mystic     
sense in which the  word is used in this
 scripture until he has  attained the   
power of helping others4    ,why is     
this8 ,has the statement too dogmatic  a
 sound8    ,is it too dogmatic to say   
that a man must  have foothold before he
 can spring8 ,the position  is the same4
 ,if help is given1 if work is  done1   
then there is an actual claim--not what 
we call personal claim of payment1 but  
the  claim of co-nature4 ,the divine    
give1 they  demand that you also shall  
give before you  can be of their kin4   

,this law is discovered as soon as the  
disciple  endeavors to speak4 ,for      
speech is a gift  which comes only to   
the disciple of power and  knowledge4   
,the spiritualist enters the            
psychic-astral  world1 but he does not  
find there any  certain speech1 unless  
he at once claims it and  continues to  
do so4 ,if he is interested in          
phenomena1  or the mere circumstance and
 accident  of astral life1 then he      
enters no direct ray  of thought or     
purpose1 he merely exists and  amuses   
himself in the astral life as he has    
existed and amused himself in the       
physical life4  ,certainly there are one
 or two simple lessons  which the       
psychic-astral can teach him1 just  as  
there are simple lessons which material 
and  intellectual life teach him4 ,and  
these lessons  have to be learned2 the  
man who proposes to  enter upon the life
 of the disciple without having  learned
 the early and simple lessons must      
always suffer from his ignorance4 ,they 

are  vital1 and have to be studied in a 
vital manner2  experienced through and  
through1 over and  over again1 so that  
each part of the nature has  been       
penetrated by them4    ,to return4 ,in  
claiming the power of speech1  as it is 
called1 the ,neophyte cries out to the  
,great ,one who stands foremost in the  
ray of  knowledge on which he has       
entered1 to give  him guidance4 ,when he
 does this1 his voice is  hurled back by
 the power he has approached1  and      
echoes down to the deep recesses of     
human  ignorance4 ,in some confused and 
blurred manner  the news that there is  
knowledge and a  beneficent power which 
teaches is carried to  as many men as   
will listen to it4 ,no disciple  can    
cross the threshold without             
communicating  this news1 and placing it
 on record in some  fashion or other4   
,he stands horror-struck at the         
imperfect  and unprepared manner in     
which he has done  this2 and then comes 
the desire to do it well1  and with the 

desire thus to help others comes  the   
power4 ,for it is a pure desire1 this   
which  comes upon him2 he can gain no   
credit1 no  glory1 no personal reward by
 fulfilling it4 ,and  therefore he      
obtains the power to fulfil it4    ,the 
history of the whole past1 so far as we 
can trace it1 shows very plainly that   
there is  neither credit1 glory1 nor    
reward to be gained  by this first task 
which is given to the ,neophyte4        
,mystics have always been sneered at1   
and seers disbelieved2 those who have   
had the  added power of intellect have  
left for posterity  their written       
record1 which to most men appears       
unmeaning and visionary1 even when the  
authors have the advantage of speaking  
from a  far-off past4 ,the disciple who 
undertakes the  task1 secretly hoping   
for fame or success1 to  appear as a    
teacher and apostle before the  world1  
fails even before his task is attempted1
  and his hidden hypocrisy poisons his  
own soul1  and the souls of those he    

touches4 ,he is  secretly worshiping    
himself1 and this idolatrous  practice  
must bring its own reward4    ,the      
disciple who has the power of entrance1 
and is strong enough to pass each       
barrier1 will1  when the divine message 
comes to his spirit1  forget himself    
utterly in the new consciousness  which 
falls on him4 ,if this lofty contact can
  really rouse him1 he becomes as one of
 the  divine in his desire to give      
rather than to take1  in his wish to    
help rather than be helped1 in  his     
resolution to feed the hungry rather    
than  take manna from ,heaven himself4  
,his nature  is transformed1 and the    
selfishness which  prompts men's actions
 in ordinary life suddenly  deserts him4
          ,,iv      ,,before ,,the      
,,voice ,,can ,,speak ,,in ,,the        
,,presence ,,of ,,the ,,masters1 ,,it   
,,must ,,have  ,,lost ,,the ,,power ,,to
 ,,wound4    ,those who give merely     
passing and superficial  attention to   
the subject of occultism--and  their    

name is ,legion--constantly inquire     
why1 if adepts in life exist1 they do   
not appear  in the world and show their 
power4 ,that the  chief body of these   
wise ones should be understood  to dwell
 beyond the fastnesses of the           
,himalayas1 appears to be a sufficient  
proof that  they are only figures of    
straw4 ,otherwise why  place them so far
 off8    ,unfortunately1 ,nature has    
done this and  not personal choice or   
arrangement4 ,there are  certain spots  
on the earth where the advance  of      
civilization is unfelt1 and the         
nineteenth  century fever is kept at    
bay4 ,in these favored  places there is 
always time1 always opportunity1  for   
the realities of life2 they are not     
crowded  out by the doings of an        
inchoate1 money-loving1  pleasure       
seeking society4 ,while there are       
adepts upon the earth1 the earth must   
preserve  to them places of seclusion4  
,this is a fact in  nature which is only
 an external expression of  a profound  

fact in super-nature4    ,the demand of 
the neophyte remains unheard  until the 
voice in which it is uttered has  lost  
the power to wound4 ,this is because the
  divine-astral life,a is a place in    
which order  reigns1 just as it does in 
natural life4 ,there  is1 of course1    
always the center and the circumference 
as there is in nature4 ,close to the    
central heart of life1 on any plane1    
there is  knowledge1 there order reigns 
completely2 and  chaos makes dim and    
confused the outer margin  of the       
circle4 ,in fact1 life in every form    
bears a more or less strong resemblance 
to a  philosophic school4 ,there are    
always the devotees  to knowledge who   
forget their own lives  in their pursuit
 of it2 there are always the  flippant  
crowd who come and go--of such1         
,epictetus said that it was as easy to  
teach  them philosophy as to eat custard
 with a fork4  ,the same state exists in
 the super-astral life2  and the adept  
has an even deeper and more  profound   

seclusion there in which to dwell4      
,this place of retreat is so safe1 so   
sheltered1  that no sound which has     
discord in it can reach  his ears4 ,why 
should this be1 will be asked at  once1 
if he is a being of such great powers as
  those say who believe in his          
existence8 ,the  answer seems very      
apparent4 ,he serves humanity  and      
identifies himself with the whole world2
  he is ready to make vicarious         
sacrifice for it at  any moment--by     
living not by dying for it4  ,why should
 he not die for it8 ,because he is  part
 of the great whole1 and one of the most
  valuable parts of it4 ,because he     
lives under  laws of order which he does
 not desire to  break4 ,his life is not 
his own1 but that of the  forces which  
work behind him4 ,he is the  flower of  
humanity1 the bloom which contains  the 
divine seed4 ,he is1 in his own person1 
a  treasure of the universal nature1    
which is  guarded and made safe in order
 that the fruition  shall be perfected4 

,it is only at definite  periods of the 
world's history that he is allowed  to  
go among the herd of men as their       
redeemer4  ,but for those who have the  
power to separate  themselves from this 
herd he is always at hand4  ,and for    
those who are strong enough to conquer  
the vices of the personal human nature1 
as  set forth in these four rules1 he is
 consciously  at hand1 easily           
recognised1 ready to answer4            
,footnote ,a3 ,of course every occultist
 knows by reading  ,eliphas ,lvi and    
other authors that the astral  plane is 
a plane of unequalized forces1 and that 
a  state of confusion necessarily       
prevails4 ,but this does  not apply to  
the divine astral plane1 which is a     
plane where wisdom1 and therefore order1
 prevails4    ,but this conquering of   
self implies a destruction  of qualities
 which most men regard  as not only     
indestructible but desirable4 ,the      
power to wound includes much that men   
value1 not only in themselves1 but in   

others4  ,the instinct of self-defense  
and of self-preservation  is part of it2
 the idea that one has any  right or    
rights1 either as a citizen1 or man1 or 
individual1 the pleasant consciousness  
of self-respect  and of virtue4 ,these  
are hard sayings  to many2 yet they are 
true4 ,for these words  that ,i am      
writing now1 and those which ,i have    
written on this subject1 are not in any 
sense  my own4 ,they are drawn from the 
traditions  of the lodge of the great   
,brotherhood1 which  was once the secret
 splendor of ,egypt4 ,the  rules written
 in its ante-chamber were the same  as  
those now written in the ante-chamber of
  existing schools4 ,through all time   
the wise  men have lived apart from the 
mass4 ,and  even when some temporary    
purpose or object  induces one of them  
to come into the midst of  human life1  
his seclusion and safety is preserved   
as completely as ever4 ,it is part of   
his  inheritance1 part of his position1 
he has an  actual title to it1 and can  

no more put it aside  than the ,duke of 
,westminster can say he does  not choose
 to be the ,duke of ,westminster4 ,in   
the various great cities of the world an
 adept  lives for a while from time to  
time1 or perhaps  only passes through2  
but all are occasionally  aided by the  
actual power and presence of one  of    
these men4 ,here in ,london1 as in      
,paris and  ,st4 ,petersburgh1 there are
 men high in development4  ,but they are
 only known as mystics by  those who    
have the power to recognise2 the  power 
given by the conquering of self4        
,otherwise  how could they exist1 even  
for an hour1  in such a mental and      
psychic atmosphere as is  created by the
 confusion and disorder of a city8      
,unless protected and made safe their   
own  growth would be interfered with1   
their work  injured4 ,and the neophyte  
may meet an adept  in the flesh1 may    
live in the same house with  him1 and   
yet be unable to recognise him1 and     
unable to make his own voice heard by   

him4 ,for  no nearness in space1 no     
closeness of relations1  no daily       
intimacy1 can do away with the          
inexorable  laws which give the adept   
his seclusion4  ,no voice penetrates to 
his inner hearing till it  has become a 
divine voice1 a voice which gives  no   
utterance to the cries of self4 ,any    
lesser  appeal would be as useless1 as  
much a waste of  energy and power1 as   
for mere children who  are learning     
their alphabet to be taught it by  a    
professor of philology4 ,until a man has
  become1 in heart and spirit1 a        
disciple1 he has no  existence for those
 who are teachers of disciples4  ,and he
 becomes this by one method only--the   
surrender of his personal humanity4     
,for the voice to have lost the power to
  wound1 a man must have reached that   
point  where he sees himself only as one
 of the vast  multitudes that live2 one 
of the sands washed  hither and thither 
by the sea of vibratory existence4  ,it 
is said that every grain of sand in the 

ocean bed does1 in its turn1 get washed 
up on to  the shore and lie for a moment
 in the sunshine4  ,so with human       
beings1 they are driven hither  and     
thither by a great force1 and each1 in  
his  turn1 finds the sunrays on him4    
,when a man  is able to regard his own  
life as part of a whole  like this he   
will no longer struggle in order  to    
obtain anything for himself4 ,this is   
the surrender  of personal rights4 ,the 
ordinary man  expects1 not to take equal
 fortunes with the  rest of the world1  
but in some points1 about  which he     
cares1 to fare better than the others4  
,the disciple does not expect this4     
,therefore1  though he be1 like         
,epictetus1 a chained slave1  he has no 
word to say about it4 ,he knows that    
the wheel of life turns ceaselessly4    
,burne ,jones  has shown it in his      
marvellous picture--the  wheel turns1   
and on it are bound the rich and  the   
poor1 the great and the small--each has 
his moment of good fortune when the     

wheel  brings him uppermost--the ,king  
rises and  falls1 the poet is fted and  
forgotten1 the slave  is happy and      
afterwards discarded4 ,each in his  turn
 is crushed as the wheel turns on4 ,the 
disciple  knows that this is so1 and    
though it is his  duty to make the      
utmost of the life that is his1  he     
neither complains of it nor is elated by
 it1  nor does he complain against the  
better fortune  of others4 ,all alike1  
as he well knows1 are but  learning a   
lesson2 and he smiles at the socialist  
and the reformer who endeavor by sheer  
force  to re-arrange circumstances which
 arise out of  the forces of human      
nature itself4 ,this is but  kicking    
against the pricks2 a waste of life  and
 energy4    ,in realizing this a man    
surrenders his  imagined individual     
rights1 of whatever sort4  ,that takes  
away one keen sting which is  common to 
all ordinary men4    ,when the disciple 
has fully recognised that  the very     
thought of individual rights is only    

the outcome of the venomous quality in  
himself1  that it is the hiss of the    
snake of self  which poisons with its   
sting his own life and  the lives of    
those about him1 then he is ready  to   
take part in a yearly ceremony which is 
open  to all neophytes who are prepared 
for it4 ,all  weapons of defense and    
offense are given up2  all weapons of   
mind and heart1 and brain1 and  spirit4 
,never again can another man be regarded
  as a person who can be criticized or  
condemned2 never again can the neophyte 
raise his voice in self-defense or      
excuse4 ,from  that ceremony he returns 
into the world as  helpless1 as         
unprotected1 as a new-born child4       
,that1 indeed1 is what he is4 ,he has   
begun to  be born again on to the higher
 plane of life1  that breezy and        
well-lit plateau from whence  the eyes  
see intelligently and regard the world  
with a new insight4    ,i have said1 a  
little way back1 that after  parting    
with the sense of individual rights1 the

  disciple must part also with the sense
 of self-respect  and of virtue4 ,this  
may sound a terrible  doctrine1 yet all 
occultists know well that it  is not a  
doctrine1 but a fact4 ,he who thinks    
himself holier than another1 he who has 
any  pride in his own exemption from    
vice or folly1  he who believes himself 
wise1 or in any way  superior to his    
fellow men1 is incapable of             
discipleship4 ,a man must become as a   
little  child before he can enter into  
the kingdom of  heaven4    ,virtue and  
wisdom are sublime things2 but  if they 
create pride and a consciousness of     
separateness from the rest of humanity  
in the  mind of a man1 then they are    
only the snakes  of self re-appearing in
 a finer form4 ,at any  moment he may   
put on his grosser shape and  sting as  
fiercely as when he inspired the actions
  of a murderer who kills for gain or   
hatred1  or a politician who sacrifices 
the mass for his  own or his party's    
interests4    ,in fact1 to have lost the

 power to wound1  implies that the snake
 is not only scotched1  but killed4     
,when it is merely stupefied or  lulled 
to sleep it awakes again and the        
disciple  uses his knowledge and his    
power for his own  ends1 and is a pupil 
of the many masters of  the black art1  
for the road to destruction is very     
broad and easy1 and the way can be found
  blindfold4 ,that it is the way to     
destruction  is evident1 for when a man 
begins to live for  self he narrows his 
horizon steadily till at last  the      
fierce driving inwards leaves him but   
the  space of a pin's-head to dwell in4 
,we have  all seen this phenomenon occur
 in ordinary life4  ,a man who becomes  
selfish isolates himself1  grows less   
interesting and less agreeable to       
others4 ,the sight is an awful one1 and 
people  shrink from a very selfish      
person at last1 as  from a beast of     
prey4 ,how much more awful is  it when  
it occurs on the more advanced plane  of
 life1 with the added powers of         

knowledge1  and through the greater     
sweep of successive  incarnations6      
,therefore ,i say1 pause and think well 
upon  the threshold4 ,for if the demand 
of the neophyte  is made without the    
complete purification1  it will not     
penetrate the seclusion of the  divine  
adept1 but will evoke the terrible      
forces  which attend upon the black side
 of our human  nature4          ,v      
,,before ,,the ,,soul ,,can ,,stand ,,in
 ,,the  ,,presence ,,of ,,the ,,masters1
 ,,its ,,feet ,,must  ,,be ,,washed ,,in
 ,,the ,,blood ,,of ,,the ,,heart4      
,the word soul1 as used here1 means the 
divine soul1 or starry spirit4    ,to be
 able to stand is to have confidence2   
and to have confidence means that the   
disciple  is sure of himself1 that he   
has surrendered his  emotions1 his very 
self1 even his humanity2  that he is    
incapable of fear and unconscious of    
pain2 that his whole consciousness is   
centered  in the divine life1 which is  
expressed symbolically  by the term the 

,masters2 that he has  neither eyes1 nor
 ears1 nor speech1 nor power1  save in  
and for the divine ray on which his     
highest sense has touched4 ,then he is  
fearless1  free from suffering1 free    
from anxiety or dismay2  his soul stands
 without shrinking or  desire of        
postponement1 in the full blaze of the  
divine light which penetrates through   
and  through his being4 ,then he has    
come into his  inheritance and can claim
 his kinship with the  teachers of men2 
he is upright1 he has raised  his head1 
he breathes the same air that they do4  
,but before it is in any way possible   
for him  to do this1 the feet of the    
soul must be washed  in the blood of the
 heart4    ,the sacrifice1 or surrender 
of the heart of  man1 and its emotions1 
is the first of the rules2  it involves 
the attaining of an equilibrium  which  
cannot be shaken by personal emotion4   
,this is done by the stoic philosopher2 
he1 too1  stands aside and looks equably
 upon his own  sufferings1 as well as on

 those of others4    ,in the same way   
that tears in the language  of          
occultists expresses the soul of        
emotion1 not its material appearance1 so
 blood  expresses1 not that blood which 
is an essential  of physical life1 but  
the vital creative principle  in man's  
nature1 which drives him into human     
life in order to experience pain and    
pleasure1  joy and sorrow4 ,when he has 
let the blood  flow from the heart he   
stands before the ,masters  as a pure   
spirit which no longer  to incarnate for
 the sake of emotion and  experience4   
,through great cycles of time successive
  incarnations in gross matter may yet  
be his lot2 but he no longer desires    
them1 the  crude wish to live has       
departed from him4  ,when he takes upon 
him man's form in the  flesh he does it 
in the pursuit of a divine object1  to  
accomplish the work of the ,masters1 and
  for no other end4 ,he looks neither   
for pleasure  nor pain1 asks for no     
heaven1 and fears  no hell2 yet he has  

entered upon a great  inheritance which 
is not so much a compensation  for these
 things surrendered1 as a state  which  
simply blots out the memory of them4    
,he lives now not in the world1 but with
 it3 his  horizon has extended itself to
 the width of  the whole universe4      
,,karma      ,consider with me that the 
individual existence  is a rope which   
stretches from the  infinite to the     
infinite and has no end and no          
commencement1 neither is it capable of  
being  broken4 ,this rope is formed of  
innumerable  fine threads1 which1 lying 
closely together1  form its thickness4  
,these threads are colorless1  are      
perfect in their qualities of           
straightness1  strength1 and levelness4 
,this rope1 passing as  it does through 
all places1 suffers strange  accidents4 
,very often a thread is caught and      
becomes attached1 or perhaps is only    
violently  pulled away from its even    
way4 ,then for a  great time it is      
disordered1 and it disorders the  whole4

 ,sometimes one is stained with dirt or 
with color1 and not only does the stain 
run on  further than the spot of        
contact1 but it discolors  other of the 
threads4 ,and remember that the  threads
 are living--are like electric wires1   
more1 are like quivering nerves4 ,how   
far1 then1  must the stain1 the drag    
awry1 be communicated6  ,but eventually 
the long strands1 the  living threads   
which in their unbroken  continuity form
 the individual1 pass out of the  shadow
 into the shine4 ,then the threads are  
no  longer colorless1 but golden2 once  
more they lie  together1 level4 ,once   
more harmony is established  between    
them2 and from that harmony  within the 
greater harmony is perceived4    ,this  
illustration presents but a small       
portion--a single side of the truth3 it 
is less  than a fragment4 ,yet1 dwell on
 it2 by its aid  you may be led to      
perceive more4 ,what it is  necessary   
first to understand is1 not that the    
future is arbitrarily formed by any     

separate  acts of the present1 but that 
the whole of the  future is in unbroken 
continuity with the  present as the     
present is with the past4 ,on one       
plane1 from one point of view1 the      
illustration  of the rope is correct4   
,it is said that a little attention to  
occultism  produces great ,karmic       
results4 ,that is because  it is        
impossible to give any attention to     
occultism without making a definite     
choice between  what are familiarly     
called good and evil4  ,the first step  
in occultism brings the student to  the 
tree of knowledge4 ,he must pluck and   
eat2  he must choose4 ,no longer is he  
capable of the  indecision of ignorance4
 ,he4 goes1 on1 either on  the good or  
on the evil path4 ,and to step          
definitely and knowingly even but one   
step on  either path produces great     
,karmic results4 ,the  mass of men walk 
waveringly1 uncertain as to  the goal   
they aim at2 their standard of life is  
indefinite2 consequently their ,karma   

operates  in a confused manner4 ,but    
when once the  threshold of knowledge is
 reached1 the confusion  begins to      
lessen1 and consequently the  ,karmic   
results increase enormously1 because    
all are acting in the same direction on 
all the  different planes3 for the      
occultist cannot be  half-hearted1 nor  
can he return when he has  passed the   
threshold4 ,these things are as         
impossible as that the man should become
 the  child again4 ,the individuality   
has approached  the state of            
responsibility by reason of growth2  it 
cannot recede from it4    ,he who would 
escape from the bondage of  ,karma must 
raise his individuality out of the      
shadow into the shine2 must so elevate  
his  existence that these threads do not
 come in  contact with soiling          
substances1 do not become  so attached  
as to be pulled awry4 ,he simply  lifts 
himself out of the region in which      
,karma  operates4 ,he does not leave the
 existence which  he is experiencing    

because of that4 ,the ground  may be    
rough and dirty1 or full of rich flowers
  whose pollen stains1 and of sweet     
substances  that cling and become       
attachments--but  overhead there is     
always the free sky4 ,he who  desires to
 be ,karmaless must look to the air  for
 a home2 and after that to the ether4   
,he  who desires to form good ,karma    
will meet  with many confusions1 and in 
the effort to sow  rich seed for his own
 harvesting may plant a  thousand weeds1
 and among them the giant4  ,desire to  
sow no seed for your own harvesting2    
desire only to sow that seed the fruit  
of which  shall feed the world4 ,you are
 part of the  world2 in giving it food  
you feed yourself4 ,yet  in even this   
thought there lurks a great danger      
which starts forward and faces the      
disciple1  who has for long thought     
himself working for  good1 while in his 
inmost soul he has perceived  only evil2
 that is1 he has thought himself to  be 
intending great benefit to the world    

while  all the time he has unconsciously
 embraced the  thought of ,karma1 and   
the great benefit he  works for is for  
himself4 ,a man may refuse to  allow    
himself to think of reward4 ,but in that
  very refusal is seen the fact that    
reward is  desired4 ,and it is useless  
for the disciple to  strive to learn by 
means of checking himself4  ,the soul   
must be unfettered1 the desires free4   
,but until they are fixed only on that  
state  wherein there is neither reward  
nor punishment1  good nor evil1 it is in
 vain that he endeavors4  ,he may seem  
to make great progress1 but some  day he
 will come face to face with his own    
soul1 and will recognise that when he   
came to  the tree of knowledge he chose 
the bitter fruit  and not the sweet2 and
 then the veil will fall  utterly1 and  
he will give up his freedom and  become 
a slave of desire4 ,therefore be warned1
  you who are but turning toward the    
life of  occultism4 ,learn now that     
there is no cure for  desire1 no cure   

for the love of reward1 no cure  for    
misery of longing1 save in the fixing of
 the  sight and hearing upon that which 
is invisible  and soundless4 ,begin even
 now to practise it1  and so a thousand 
serpents will be kept from  your path4  
,live in the eternal4    ,the operations
 of the actual laws of ,karma  are not  
to be studied until the disciple has    
reached the point at which they no      
longer affect  himself4 ,the initiate   
has a right to demand  the secrets of   
nature and to know the rules  which     
govern human life4 ,he obtains this     
right  by having escaped from the limits
 of nature  and by having freed himself 
from the rules  which govern human life4
 ,he has become a  recognised portion of
 the divine element1 and  is no longer  
affected by that which is temporary4    
,he then obtains a knowledge of the laws
  which govern temporary conditions4    
,therefore  you who desire to understand
 the laws of  ,karma1 attempt first to  
free yourself from  these laws2 and this

 can only be done by  fixing your       
attention on that which is unaffected   
by those laws4          99,,through     
,,the ,,gates ,,of ,,gold99             
99,through the    ,gates of ,gold99     
99,a ,,fragment ,,of ,,thought99        
,,prologue      ,every man has a        
philosophy of life of his  own1 except  
the true philosopher4 ,the most         
ignorant boor has some conception of his
 object  in living1 and definite ideas  
as to the easiest  and wisest way of    
attaining that object4 ,the  man of the 
world is often1 unconsciously to        
himself1 a philosopher of the first     
rank4 ,he  deals with his life on       
principles of the clearest  character1  
and refuses to let his position be      
shattered by chance disaster4 ,the  man 
of  thought and imagination has less    
certainty1  and finds himself           
continually unable to formulate  his    
ideas on that subject most profoundly   
interesting to human nature1--human life
  itself4 ,the true philosopher is the  

one who  would lay no claim to the name 
whatever1 who  has discovered that the  
mystery of life is  unapproachable by   
ordinary thought1 just as  the true     
scientist confesses his complete        
ignorance of the principles which lie   
behind  science4    ,whether there is   
any mode of thought or  any effort of   
the mind which will enable a  man to    
grasp the great principles that         
evidently  exist as causes in human     
life1 is a  question no ordinary thinker
 can determine4  ,yet the dim           
consciousness that there is cause       
behind the effects we see1 that there is
 order  ruling the chaos and sublime    
harmony pervading  the discords1 haunts 
the eager souls of the  earth1 and makes
 them long for vision of the  unseen and
 knowledge of the unknowable4    ,why   
long and look for that which is beyond  
all hope until the inner eyes are       
opened8 ,why  not piece together the    
fragments that we have1  at hand1 and   
see whether from them some  shape cannot

 be given to the vast puzzle8           
,,chapter ,i    ,,the ,,search ,,for    
,,pleasure    ,i      ,we are all       
acquainted with that stern thing  called
 misery1 which pursues man1 and         
strangely  enough1 as it seems at first1
 pursues him with  no vague or uncertain
 method1 but with a positive  and       
unbroken pertinacity4 ,its presence is  
not absolutely continuous1 else man must
 cease  to live2 but its pertinacity is 
without any break4  ,there is always the
 shadowy form of despair  standing      
behind man ready to touch him with  its 
terrible finger if for too long he finds
  himself content4 ,what has given this 
ghastly  shape the right to haunt us    
from the hour we  are born until the    
hour we die8 ,what has  given it the    
right to stand always at our door1      
keeping that door ajar with its         
impalpable yet  plainly horrible hand1  
ready to enter at the  moment it sees   
fit8 ,the greatest philosopher  that    
ever lived succumbs before it at last2  

and  he only is a philosopher1 in any   
sane sense1 who  recognises the fact    
that it is irresistible1 and  knows that
 like all other men he must suffer  soon
 or late4 ,it is part of the heritage of
 men1  this pain and distress2 and he   
who determines  that nothing shall make 
him suffer1 does but  cloak himself in a
 profound and chilly selfishness4  ,this
 cloak may protect him from pain1 it    
will also separate him from pleasure4   
,if peace  is to be found on earth1 or  
any joy in life1 it  cannot be by       
closing up the gates of feeling1  which 
admit us to the loftiest and most vivid 
part of our existence4 ,sensation1 as we
 obtain  it through the physical body1  
affords us all that  induces us to live 
in that shape4 ,it is inconceivable     
that any man would care to take the     
trouble of breathing1 unless the act    
brought  with it a sense of             
satisfaction4 ,so it is with  every deed
 of every instant of our life4 ,we  live
 because it is pleasant even to have the

  sensation of pain4 ,it is sensation we
 desire1  else we would with one accord 
taste of the deep  waters of oblivion1  
and the human race would  become        
extinct4 ,if this is the case in the    
physical life1 it is evidently the case 
with the  life of the emotions1--the    
imagination1 the  sensibilities1 all    
those fine and delicate formations      
which1 with the marvellous recording    
mechanism of the brain1 make up the     
inner  or subtile man4 ,sensation is    
that which makes  their pleasure2 an    
infinite series of sensations  is life  
to them4 ,destroy the sensation which   
makes them wish to persevere in the     
experiment  of living1 and there is     
nothing left4  ,therefore the man who   
attempts to obliterate  the sense of    
pain1 and who proposes to maintain  an  
equal state whether he is pleased or    
hurt1 strikes at the very root of life1 
and  destroys the object of his own     
existence4 ,and  that must apply1 so far
 as our present reasoning  or intuitive 

powers can show us1 to every  state1    
even to that of the ,oriental's         
longed-for  ,nirvana4 ,this condition   
can only be one of  infinitely subtiler 
and more exquisite sensation1  if it is 
a state at all1 and not annihilation2   
and  according to the experience of life
 from which  we are at present able to  
judge1 increased  subtility of sensation
 means increased vividness1--as1  for   
instance1 a man of sensibility  and     
imagination feels more in consequence of
  the unfaithfulness or faithfulness of 
a friend  than can a man of even the    
grossest physical  nature feel through  
the medium of the senses4  ,thus it is  
clear that the philosopher who  refuses 
to feel1 leaves himself no place to     
retreat to1 not even the distant and    
unattainable  ,nirvanic goal4 ,he can   
only deny himself  his heritage of life1
 which is in other words  the right of  
sensation4 ,if he chooses to sacrifice  
that which makes him man1 he must be    
content with mere idleness of           

consciousness1--a  condition compared to
 which the oyster's  is a life of       
excitement4    ,but no man is able to   
accomplish such a  feat4 ,the fact of   
his continued existence proves  plainly 
that he still desires sensation1 and    
desires it in such positive and active  
form that  the desire must be gratified 
in physical life4 ,it  would seem more  
practical not to deceive one's  self by 
the sham of stoicism1 not to attempt    
renunciation of that with which nothing 
would  induce one to part4 ,would it not
 be a bolder  policy1 a more promising  
mode of solving the  great enigma of    
existence1 to grasp it1 to take  hold   
firmly and to demand of it the mystery  
of itself8 ,if men will but pause and   
consider  what lessons they have learned
 from pleasure  and pain1 much might be 
guessed of that  strange thing which    
causes these effects4 ,but  men are     
prone to turn away hastily from         
self-study1  or from any close analysis 
of human  nature4 ,yet there must be a  

science of life as  intelligible as any 
of the methods of the  schools4 ,the    
science is unknown1 it is true1  and its
 existence is merely guessed1 merely    
hinted at1 by one or two of our more    
advanced  thinkers4 ,the development of 
a science is only  the discovery of what
 is already in existence2  and chemistry
 is as magical and incredible now  to   
the ploughboy as the science of life is 
to  the man of ordinary perceptions4    
,yet there  may be1 and there must be1 a
 seer who perceives  the growth of the  
new knowledge as the  earliest dabblers 
in the experiments of the laboratory    
saw the system of knowledge now         
attained evolving itself out of nature  
for man's  use and benefit4             
,,ii      ,doubtless many more would    
experiment in  suicide1 as many now do1 
in order to escape  from the burden of  
life1 if they could be convinced  that  
in that manner oblivion might be  found4
 ,but he who hesitates before drinking  
the poison from the fear of only        

inviting  change of mode of existence1  
and perhaps a  more active form of      
misery1 is a man of more  knowledge than
 the rash souls who fling themselves    
wildly on the unknown1 trusting to its  
kindliness4 ,the waters of oblivion are 
something  very different from the      
waters of death1  and the human race    
cannot become extinct by  means of death
 while the law of birth still  operates4
 ,man returns to physical life as the   
drunkard returns to the flagon of       
wine1--he  knows not why1 except that he
 desires the sensation  produced by life
 as the drunkard desires  the sensation 
produced by wine4 ,the true  waters of  
oblivion lie far behind our             
consciousness1  and can only be reached 
by ceasing  to exist in that            
consciousness1--by ceasing to  exert the
 will which makes us full of senses  and
 sensibilities4    ,why does not the    
creature man return into  that great    
womb of silence whence he came1  and    
remain in peace1 as the unborn child is 

at  peace before the impetus of life has
 reached  it8 ,he does not do so because
 he hungers for  pleasure and pain1 joy 
and grief1 anger and  love4 ,the        
unfortunate man will maintain that  he  
has no desire for life2 and yet he      
proves  his words false by living4 ,none
 can compel  him to live2 the           
galley-slave may be chained to  his oar1
 but his life cannot be chained to his  
body4 ,the superb mechanism of the human
  body is as useless as an engine whose 
fires are  not lit1 if the will to live 
ceases1--that will  which we maintain   
resolutely and without  pause1 and which
 enables us to perform the  tasks which 
otherwise would fill us with dismay1    
as1 for instance1 the momently drawing  
in and giving out of the breath4 ,such  
herculean  efforts as this we carry on  
without complaint1  and indeed with     
pleasure1 in order that  we may exist in
 the midst of innumerable  sensations4  
,and more2 we are content1 for the most 
part1 to go on without object or aim1   

without  any idea of a goal or          
understanding of which  way we are      
going4 ,when the man first becomes      
aware of this aimlessness1 and is dimly 
conscious  that he is working with great
 and  constant efforts1 and without any 
idea towards  what end those efforts are
 directed1 then  descends on him the    
misery of nineteenth-century  thought4  
,he is lost and bewildered1  and without
 hope4 ,he becomes sceptical1           
disillusioned1  weary1 and asks the     
apparently  unanswerable question       
whether it is indeed  worth while to    
draw his breath for such  unknown and   
seemingly unknowable results4  ,but are 
these results unknowable8 ,at least1 to 
ask a lesser question1 is it impossible 
to make a  guess as to the direction in 
which our goal lies8          ,,iii     
,this question1 born of sadness and     
weariness1  which seems to us           
essentially part of the  spirit of the  
nineteenth century1 is in fact a        
question which must have been asked all 

through the ages4 ,could we go back     
throughout  history intelligently1 no   
doubt we should  find that it came      
always with the hour when  the flower of
 civilization had blown to its  full1   
and when its petals were but slackly    
held  together4 ,the natural part of man
 has  reached then its utmost height2 he
 has rolled  the stone up the ,hill of  
,difficulty only to watch  it roll back 
again when the summit is reached1--as   
in ,egypt1 in ,rome1 in ,greece4 ,why   
this  useless labor8 ,is it not enough  
to produce a  weariness and sickness    
unutterable1 to be forever              
accomplishing a task only to see it     
undone  again8 ,yet that is what man has
 done throughout  history1 so far as our
 limited knowledge  reaches4 ,there is  
one summit to which1 by  immense and    
united efforts1 he attains1 where  there
 is a great and brilliant efflorescence 
of all  the intellectual1 mental1 and   
material part of  his nature4 ,the      
climax of sensuous perfection  is       

reached1 and then his hold weakens1 his 
power grows less1 and he falls back1    
through  despondency and satiety1 to    
barbarism4 ,why  does he not stay on    
this hill-top he has  reached1 and look 
away to the mountains  beyond1 and      
resolve to scale those greater  heights8
 ,because he is ignorant1 and seeing  a 
great glittering in the distance1 drops 
his  eyes bewildered and dazzled1 and   
goes back  for rest to the shadowy side 
of his familiar  hill4 ,yet there is now
 and then one brave  enough to gaze     
fixedly on this glittering1 and  to     
decipher something of the shape within  
it4  ,poets and philosophers1 thinkers  
and teachers1--all  those who are the   
elder brothers of the  race1--have      
beheld this sight from time to  time1   
and some among them have recognised  in 
the bewildering glitter the outlines of 
the  ,gates of ,gold4    ,those ,gates  
admit us to the sanctuary of  man's own 
nature1 to the place whence his         
life-power comes1 and where he is priest

 of the  shrine of life4 ,that it is    
possible to enter here1  to pass through
 those ,gates1 some one or two  have    
shown us4 ,plato1 ,shakespeare1 and a   
few  other strong ones have gone through
 and  spoken to us in veiled language on
 the near  side of the ,gates4 ,when the
 strong man has  crossed the threshold  
he speaks no more to  those at the other
 side4 ,and even the words  he utters   
when he is outside are so full of       
mystery1 so veiled and profound1 that   
only  those who follow in his steps can 
see the light  within them4             
,,iv      ,what men desire is to        
ascertain how to  exchange pain for     
pleasure2 that is1 to find out  in what 
way consciousness may be regulated  in  
order that the sensation which is most  
agreeable is the one that is            
experienced4  ,whether this can be      
discovered by dint of  human thought is 
at least a question worth  considering4 
,if the mind of man is turned upon any  
given subject with a sufficient         

concentration1  he obtains illumination 
with regard to it sooner  or later4 ,the
 particular individual in whom  the     
final illumination appears is called a  
genius1  an inventor1 one inspired2 but 
he is only the  crown of a great mental 
work created by  unknown men about him1 
and receding back  from him through long
 vistas of distance4  ,without them he  
would not have had his material  to deal
 with4 ,even the poet requires          
innumerable poetasters to feed upon4 ,he
 is the  essence of the poetic power of 
his time1 and  of the times before him4 
,it is impossible to  separate an       
individual of any species from  his kin4
    ,if1 therefore1 instead of accepting
 the  unknown as unknowable1 men were   
with one  accord to turn their thoughts 
towards it1 those  ,golden ,gates would 
not remain so inexorably  shut4 ,it does
 but need a strong hand to push  them   
open4 ,the courage to enter them is the 
courage to search the recesses of one's 
own  nature without fear and without    

shame4 ,in  the fine part1 the essence1 
the flavor of the  man1 is found the key
 which unlocks those  great ,gates4 ,and
 when they open1 what is it  that is    
found8    ,voices here and there in the 
long silence  of the ages speak to      
answer that question4  ,those who have  
passed through have left  words behind  
them as legacies to others of  their    
kin4 ,in these words we can find        
definite  indications of what is to be  
looked for beyond  the ,gates4 ,but only
 those who desire to go  that way read  
the meaning hidden within the  words4   
,scholars1 or rather scholiasts1 read   
the  sacred books of different nations1 
the poetry  and the philosophy left by  
enlightened minds1  and find in it all  
the merest materiality4  ,imagination   
glorifying legends of nature1 or        
exaggerating the psychic possibilities  
of man1  explains to them all that they 
find in the ,bibles  of humanity4       
,what is to be found within the words of
  those books is to be found in each one

 of us2  and it is impossible to find in
 literature or  through any channel of  
thought that which  does not exist in   
the man who studies4 ,this  is of course
 an evident fact known to all real      
students4 ,but it has to be especially  
remembered  in reference to this        
profound and obscure  subject1 as men so
 readily believe that nothing  can exist
 for others where they themselves find  
emptiness4    ,one thing is soon        
perceived by the man  who reads3 those  
who have gone before have  not found    
that the ,gates of ,gold lead to        
oblivion4 ,on the contrary1 sensation   
becomes  real for the first time when   
that threshold is  crossed4 ,but it is  
of a new order1 an order  unknown to us 
now1 and by us impossible to  appreciate
 without at least some clew as to its   
character4 ,this clew can be obtained   
undoubtedly  by any student who cares to
 go through  all the literature         
accessible to us4 ,that mystic  books   
and manuscripts exist1 but remain       

inaccessible  simply because there is no
 man ready  to read the first page of   
any one of them1  becomes the conviction
 of all who have studied  the subject   
sufficiently4 ,for there must be the    
continuous line all through3 we see it  
go from  dense ignorance up to          
intelligence and wisdom2  it is only    
natural that it should go on to         
intuitive knowledge and to inspiration4 
,some  scant fragments we have of these 
great gifts  of man2 where1 then1 is the
 whole of which  they must be a part8   
,hidden behind the thin  yet seemingly  
impassable veil which hides it  from us 
as it hid all science1 all art1 all     
powers  of man till he had the courage  
to tear away  the screen4 ,that courage 
comes only of conviction4  ,when once   
man believes that the thing  exists     
which he desires1 he will obtain it at  
any  cost4 ,the difficulty in this case 
lies in man's  incredulity4 ,it requires
 a great tide of thought  and attention 
to set in towards the unknown  region of

 man's nature in order that its gates   
may be unlocked and its glorious vistas 
explored4    ,that it is worth while to 
do this whatever  the hazard may be1 all
 must allow who have  asked the sad     
question of the nineteenth century1--,is
  life worth living8 ,surely it is      
sufficient  to spur man to new          
effort1--the  suspicion that beyond     
civilization1 beyond  mental culture1   
beyond art and mechanical  perfection1  
there is a new1 another gateway1        
admitting to the realities of life4     
,v      ,when it seems as if the end was
 reached1  the goal attained1 and that  
man has no more  to do1--just then1 when
 he appears to have  no choice but      
between eating and drinking and  living 
in his comfort as the beasts do in      
theirs1  and scepticism which is        
death1--then it is that  in fact1 if he 
will but look1 the ,golden ,gates  are  
before him4 ,with the culture of the age
  within him and assimilated perfectly1 
so that  he is himself an incarnation of

 it1 then he is fit  to attempt the     
great step which is absolutely          
possible1 yet is attempted by so few    
even of  those who are fitted for it4   
,it is so seldom  attempted1 partly     
because of the profound difficulties    
which surround it1 but much more        
because man does not realize that this  
is actually  the direction in which     
pleasure and  satisfaction are to be    
obtained4    ,there are certain         
pleasures which appeal  to each         
individual2 every man knows that in  one
 layer or another of sensation he finds 
his  chief delight4 ,naturally he turns 
to this systematically  through life1   
just as the sunflower  turns to the sun 
and the water-lily leans on the  water4 
,but he struggles throughout with an    
awful fact which oppresses him to the   
soul1--that  no sooner has he obtained  
his pleasure  than he loses it again and
 has once more to  go in search of it4  
,more than that2 he never  actually     
reaches it1 for it eludes him at the    

final moment4 ,this is because he       
endeavors to  seize that which is       
untouchable and satisfy  his soul's     
hunger for sensation by contact with    
external objects4 ,how can that which is
  external satisfy or even please the   
inner man1--the  thing which reigns     
within and has no  eyes for matter1 no  
hands for touch of objects1  no senses  
with which to apprehend that which  is  
outside its magic walls8 ,those charmed 
barriers which surround it are          
limitless1 for  it is everywhere2 it is 
to be discovered in all  living things1 
and no part of the universe can  be     
conceived of without it1 if that        
universe is  regarded as a coherent     
whole4 ,and unless that  point is       
granted at the outset it is useless to  
consider the subject of life at all4    
,life is indeed  meaningless unless it  
is universal and coherent1  and unless  
we maintain our existence by  reason of 
the fact that we are part of that  which
 is1 not by reason of our own being4    

,this is one of the most important      
factors  in the development of man1 the 
recognition--profound  and complete     
recognition--of the  law of universal   
unity and coherence4 ,the  separation   
which exists between individuals1       
between worlds1 between the different   
poles of  the universe and of life1 the 
mental and  physical fantasy called     
space1 is a nightmare  of the human     
imagination4 ,that nightmares  exist1   
and exist only to torment1 every child  
knows2 and what we need is the power of 
discrimination between the              
phantasmagoria of  the brain1 which     
concern ourselves only1 and  the        
phantasmagoria of daily life1 in which  
others also are concerned4 ,this rule   
applies  also to the larger case4 ,it   
concerns no one  but ourselves that we  
live in a nightmare of  unreal horror1  
and fancy ourselves alone in  the       
universe and capable of independent     
action1 so long as our associates are   
those  only who are a part of the dream2

 but when  we desire to speak with those
 who have tried  the ,golden ,gates and 
pushed them open1 then  it is very      
necessary--in fact it is essential--to  
discriminate1 and not bring into our    
life the  confusions of our sleep4 ,if  
we do1 we are  reckoned as madmen1 and  
fall back into the  darkness where there
 is no friend but chaos4  ,this chaos   
has followed every effort of man  that  
is written in history2 after            
civilization has  flowered1 the flower  
falls and dies1 and winter  and darkness
 destroy it4 ,while man refuses  to make
 the effort of discrimination which     
would enable him to distinguish between 
the  shapes of night and the active     
figures of day1  this must inevitably   
happen4    ,but if man has the courage  
to resist this  reactionary tendency1 to
 stand steadily on the  height he has   
reached and put out his foot in  search 
of yet another step1 why should he  not 
find it8 ,there is nothing to make one  
suppose the pathway to end at a certain 

point1  except that tradition which has 
declared it is  so1 and which men have  
accepted and hug to  themselves as a    
justification for their indolence4      
,,vi      ,indolence is1 in fact1 the   
curse of man4 ,as  the ,irish peasant   
and the cosmopolitan gypsy  dwell in    
dirt and poverty out of sheer idleness1 
so does the man of the world live       
contented  in sensuous pleasures for the
 same reason4 ,the  drinking of fine    
wines1 the tasting of delicate  food1   
the love of bright sights and sounds1 of
  beautiful women and admirable         
surroundings1--these  are no better for 
the cultivated man1  no more            
satisfactory as a final goal of         
enjoyment  for him1 than the coarse     
amusements and  gratifications of the   
boor are for the man  without           
cultivation4 ,there can be no final     
point1 for life in every form is one    
vast series  of fine gradations2 and the
 man who elects to  stand still at the  
point of culture he has  reached1 and to

 avow that he can go no  further1 is    
simply making an arbitrary statement    
for the excuse of his indolence4 ,of    
course  there is a possibility of       
declaring that the gypsy  is content in 
his dirt and poverty1 and1 because  he  
is so1 is as great a man as the most    
highly  cultured4 ,but he only is so    
while he is ignorant2  the moment light 
enters the dim mind the  whole man turns
 towards it4 ,so it is on the  higher   
platform2 only the difficulty of        
penetrating  the mind1 of admitting the 
light1 is even  greater4 ,the ,irish    
peasant loves his whiskey1  and while he
 can have it cares nothing for the      
great laws of morality and religion     
which are  supposed to govern humanity  
and induce men  to live temperately4    
,the cultivated gourmand  cares only for
 subtle tastes and perfect flavors2  but
 he is as blind as the merest peasant to
 the  fact that there is anything beyond
 such gratifications4  ,like the boor he
 is deluded by a  mirage that oppresses 

his soul2 and he fancies1  having once  
obtained a sensuous joy that  pleases   
him1 to give himself the utmost         
satisfaction  by endless repetition1    
till at last he  reaches madness4 ,the  
bouquet of the wine he  loves enters his
 soul and poisons it1 leaving  him with 
no thoughts but those of sensuous       
desire2 and he is in the same hopeless  
state  as the man who dies mad with     
drink4 ,what  good has the drunkard     
obtained by his  madness8 ,none2 pain   
has at last swallowed  up pleasure      
utterly1 and death steps in to          
terminate the agony4 ,the man suffers   
the final  penalty for his persistent   
ignorance of a law  of nature as        
inexorable as that of gravitation1--a   
law which forbids a man to stand still4 
,not twice can the same cup of pleasure 
be  tasted2 the second time it must     
contain either  a grain of poison or a  
drop of the elixir of life4    ,the same
 argument holds good with regard  to    
intellectual pleasures2 the same law    

operates4  ,we see men who are the      
flower of their  age in intellect1 who  
pass beyond their fellows  and tower    
over them1 entering at last upon a      
fatal treadmill of thought1 where they  
yield  to the innate indolence of the   
soul and begin  to delude themselves by 
the solace of repetition4  ,then comes  
the barrenness and lack of              
vitality1--that unhappy and             
disappointing  state into which great   
men too often enter  when middle life is
 just passed4 ,the fire of  youth1 the  
vigor of the young intellect1 conquers  
the inner inertia and makes the man     
scale heights of thought and fill his   
mental  lungs with the free air of the  
mountains4 ,but  then at last the       
physical reaction sets in2 the  physical
 machinery of the brain loses its       
powerful  impetus and begins to relax   
its efforts1  simply because the youth  
of the body is at an  end4 ,now the man 
is assailed by the great  tempter of the
 race who stands forever on the  ladder 

of life waiting for those who climb so  
far4 ,he drops the poisoned drop into   
the ear1  and from that moment all      
consciousness takes  on a dulness1 and  
the man becomes terrified  lest life is 
losing its possibilities for him4 ,he   
rushes back on to a familiar platform of
  experience1 and there finds comfort in
 touching  a well-known chord of passion
 or emotion4  ,and too many having done 
this linger on1  afraid to attempt the  
unknown1 and satisfied to  touch        
continually that chord which responds   
most readily4 ,by this means they get   
the assurance  that life is still       
burning within them4  ,but at last their
 fate is the same as that of the        
gourmand and the drunkard4 ,the power of
  the spell lessens daily as the        
machinery which  feels loses its        
vitality2 and the man endeavors  to     
revive the old excitement and fervor by 
striking the note more violently1 by    
hugging  the thing that makes him feel1 
by drinking  the cup of poison to its   

fatal dregs4 ,and then  he is lost2     
madness falls on his soul1 as it  falls 
on the body of the drunkard4 ,life has  
no  longer any meaning for him1 and he  
rushes  wildly into the abysses of      
intellectual insanity4  ,a lesser man   
who commits this great folly  wearies   
the spirits of others by a dull clinging
  to familiar thought1 by a persistent  
hugging of  the treadmill which he      
asserts to be the final  goal4 ,the     
cloud that surrounds him is as fatal  as
 death itself1 and men who once sat at  
his  feet turn away grieved1 and have to
 look back  at his early words in order 
to remember his  greatness4             
,,vii      ,what is the cure for this   
misery and waste  of effort8 ,is there  
one8 ,surely life itself has  a logic in
 it and a law which makes existence     
possible2 otherwise chaos and madness   
would  be the only state which would be 
attainable4  ,when a man drinks his     
first cup of pleasure  his soul is      
filled with the unutterable joy that    

comes with a first1 a fresh sensation4  
,the drop  of poison that he puts into  
the second cup1 and  which1 if he       
persists in that folly1 has to become   
doubled and trebled till at last the    
whole cup  is poison1--that is the      
ignorant desire for  repetition and     
intensification2 this evidently  means  
death1 according to all analogy4 ,the   
child becomes the man2 he cannot retain 
his  childhood and repeat and intensify 
the pleasures  of childhood except by   
paying the  inevitable price and        
becoming an idiot4 ,the  plant strikes  
its roots into the ground and  throws up
 green leaves2 then it blossoms and     
bears fruit4 ,that plant which will only
 make  roots or leaves1 pausing         
persistently in its development1  is    
regarded by the gardener as a thing     
which is useless and must be cast out4  
,the man who chooses the way of effort1 
and refuses to allow the sleep of       
indolence to  dull his soul1 finds in   
his pleasures a new and  finer joy each 

time he tastes them1--a something       
subtile and remote which removes them   
more and more from the state in which   
mere  sensuousness is all2 this subtile 
essence is that  elixir of life which   
makes man immortal4 ,he  who tastes it  
and who will not drink unless it  is in 
the cup finds life enlarge and the world
  grow great before his eager eyes4 ,he 
recognises  the soul within the woman he
 loves1 and  passion becomes peace2 he  
sees within his  thought the finer      
qualities of spiritual truth1  which is 
beyond the action of our mental         
machinery1  and then instead of entering
 on the  treadmill of intellectualisms  
he rests on the  broad back of the eagle
 of intuition and soars  into the fine  
air where the great poets found  their  
insight2 he sees within his own power of
  sensation1 of pleasure in fresh air   
and sunshine1  in food and wine1 in     
motion and rest1 the possibilities  of  
the subtile man1 the thing which  dies  
not either with the body or the brain4  

,the  pleasures of art1 of music1 of    
light and loveliness1--within  these    
forms1 which men repeat  till they find 
only the forms1 he sees the glory  of   
the ,gates of ,gold1 and passes through 
to  find the new life beyond which      
intoxicates and  strengthens1 as the    
keen mountain air intoxicates  and      
strengthens1 by its very vigor4 ,but  if
 he has been pouring1 drop by drop1 more
  and more of the elixir of life into   
his cup1 he  is strong enough to breathe
 this intense air and  to live upon it4 
,then if he die or if he live in        
physical form1 alike he goes on and     
finds new  and finer joys1 more perfect 
and satisfying  experiences1 with every 
breath he draws in and  gives out4      
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,the ,,mystery ,,of  
,,threshold    ,i      ,there is no     
doubt that at the entrance on  a new    
phase of life something has to be given 
up4 ,the child1 when it has become the  
man1  puts away childish things4 ,saint 
,paul showed  in these words1 and in    

many others which he  has left us1 that 
he had tasted of the elixir of  life1   
that he was on his way towards the      
,gates  of ,gold4 ,with each drop of the
 divine draught  which is put into the  
cup of pleasure something  is purged    
away from that cup to make room  for the
 magic drop4 ,for ,nature deals with    
her children generously3 man's cup is   
always  full to the brim2 and if he     
chooses to taste  of the fine and       
life-giving essence1 he must  cast away 
something of the grosser and less       
sensitive part of himself4 ,this has to 
be done  daily1 hourly1 momently1 in    
order that the  draught of life may     
steadily increase4 ,and to  do this     
unflinchingly1 a man must be his own    
schoolmaster1 must recognise that he is 
always  in need of wisdom1 must be ready
 to practise  any austerities1 to use   
the birch-rod unhesitatingly  against   
himself1 in order to gain his  end4 ,it 
becomes evident to any one who regards  
the subject seriously1 that only a man  

who has  the potentialities in him both 
of the voluptuary  and the stoic has any
 chance of entering  the ,golden ,gates4
 ,he must be capable of  testing and    
valuing to its most delicate fraction   
every joy existence has to give2 and he 
must  be capable of denying himself all 
pleasure1 and  that without suffering   
from the denial4 ,when  he has          
accomplished the development of this    
double possibility1 then he is able to  
begin  sifting his pleasures and taking 
away from his  consciousness those which
 belong absolutely to  the man of clay4 
,when those are put back1  there is the 
next range of more refined pleasures  to
 be dealt with4 ,the dealing with these 
which will enable a man to find the     
essence of  life is not the method      
pursued by the stoic  philosopher4 ,the 
stoic does not allow that  there is joy 
within pleasure1 and by denying  himself
 the one loses the other4 ,but the true 
philosopher1 who has studied life itself
 without  being bound by any system of  

thought1 sees  that the kernel is within
 the shell1 and that1  instead of       
crunching up the whole nut like  a gross
 and indifferent feeder1 the essence of 
the thing is obtained by cracking the   
shell and  casting it away4 ,all        
emotion1 all sensation1  lends itself to
 this process1 else it could not be  a  
part of man's development1 an essential 
of  his nature4 ,for that there is      
before him power1  life1 perfection1 and
 that every portion of his  passage     
thitherwards is crowded with the means  
of helping him to his goal1 can only be 
denied  by those who refuse to          
acknowledge life as  apart from matter4 
,their mental position is so  absolutely
 arbitrary that it is useless to        
encounter  or combat it4 ,through all   
time the unseen  has been pressing on   
the seen1 the immaterial  overpowering  
the material2 through all time  the     
signs and tokens of that which is beyond
  matter have been waiting for the men  
of  matter to test and weigh them4      

,those who  will not do so have chosen  
the place of pause  arbitrarily1 and    
there is nothing to be done  but let    
them remain there undisturbed1 working  
that treadmill which they believe to be 
the  utmost activity of existence4      
,,ii      ,there is no doubt that a man 
must educate  himself to perceive that  
which is beyond matter1  just as he must
 educate himself to perceive  that which
 is in matter4 ,every one knows that    
the early life of a child is one long   
process  of adjustment1 of learning to  
understand the  use of the senses with  
regard to their special  provinces1 and 
of practice in the exercise of          
difficult1 complex1 yet imperfect organs
 entirely  in reference to the          
perception of the world of  matter4 ,the
 child is in earnest and works on       
without hesitation if he means to live4 
,some  infants born into the light of   
earth shrink from  it1 and refuse to    
attack the immense task which  is before
 them1 and which must be accomplished   

in order to make life in matter         
possible4  ,these go back to the ranks  
of the unborn2  we see them lay down    
their manifold instrument1  the body1   
and fade into sleep4 ,so it is  with the
 great crowd of humanity when it has    
triumphed and conquered and enjoyed in  
the  world of matter4 ,the individuals  
in that  crowd1 which seems so powerful 
and confident  in its familiar demesne1 
are infants in the  presence of the     
immaterial universe4 ,and we  see them1 
on all sides1 daily and hourly1 refusing
  to enter it1 sinking back into the    
ranks of  the dwellers in physical life1
 clinging to the  consciousnesses they  
have experienced and  understand4 ,the  
intellectual rejection of all  purely   
spiritual knowledge is the most marked  
indication of this indolence1 of which  
thinkers  of every standing are         
certainly guilty4    ,that the initial  
effort is a heavy one is  evident1 and  
it is clearly a question of strength1   
as well as of willing activity4 ,but    

there is  no way of acquiring this      
strength1 or of using  it when acquired1
 except by the exercise of the  will4   
,it is vain to expect to be born into   
great  possessions4 ,in the kingdom of  
life there is no  heredity except from  
the man's own past4 ,he  has to         
accumulate that which is his4 ,this is  
evident to any observer of life who uses
 his  eyes without blinding them by     
prejudice2 and  even when prejudice is  
present1 it is impossible  for a man of 
sense not to perceive the fact4 ,it  is 
from this that we get the doctrine of   
punishment  and salvation1 either       
lasting through great  ages after death1
 or eternal4 ,this doctrine is a  narrow
 and unintelligent mode of stating the  
fact in ,nature that what a man sows    
that shall  he reap4 ,swedenborg's great
 mind saw the fact  so clearly that he  
hardened it into a finality in          
reference to this particular existence1 
his prejudices  making it impossible for
 him to perceive  the possibility of new

 action when there is no  longer the    
sensuous world to act in4 ,he was too   
dogmatic for scientific observation1 and
 would  not see that1 as the spring     
follows the autumn1  and the day the    
night1 so birth must follow  death4 ,he 
went very near the threshold of the     
,gates of ,gold1 and passed beyond mere 
intellectualism1  only to pause at a    
point but one  step farther4 ,the       
glimpse of the life beyond  which he had
 obtained appeared to him to  contain   
the universe2 and on his fragment of    
experience he built up a theory to      
include all  life1 and refused progress 
beyond that state  or any possibility   
outside it4 ,this is only  another form 
of the weary treadmill4 ,but            
,swedenborg stands foremost in the crowd
 of  witnesses to the fact that the     
,golden ,gates  exist and can be seen   
from the heights of  thought1 and he has
 cast us a faint surge of  sensation    
from their threshold4          ,,iii    
,when once one has considered the       

meaning  of those ,gates1 it is evident 
that there is  no other way out of this 
form of life except  through them4 ,they
 only can admit man to  the place where 
he becomes the fruit of which  manhood  
is the blossom4 ,nature is the kindest  
of mothers to those who need her2 she   
never  wearies of her children or       
desires them to lessen  in multitude4   
,her friendly arms open wide to  the    
vast throng who desire birth and to     
dwell  in forms2 and while they continue
 to desire  it1 she continues to smile a
 welcome4 ,why1  then1 should she shut  
her doors on any8 ,when  one life in her
 heart has not worn out a hundredth     
part of the soul's longing for sensation
  such as it finds there1 what reason   
can there  be for its departure to any  
other place8 ,surely  the seeds of      
desire spring up where the sower  has   
sown them4 ,this seems but reasonable2  
and  on this apparently self-evident    
fact the ,indian  mind has based its    
theory of re-incarnation1 of  birth and 

re-birth in matter1 which has become  so
 familiar a part of ,eastern thought as 
no  longer to need demonstration4 ,the  
,indian  knows it as the ,western knows 
that the day  he is living through is   
but one of many days  which make up the 
span of a man's life4 ,this  certainty  
which is possessed by the ,eastern with 
regard to natural laws that control the 
great  sweep of the soul's existence is 
simply acquired  by habits of thought4  
,the mind of many is  fixed on subjects 
which in the ,west are considered       
unthinkable4 ,thus it is that the ,east 
has produced the great flowers of the   
spiritual  growth of humanity4 ,on the  
mental steps of a  million men ,buddha  
passed through the ,gates  of ,gold2 and
 because a great crowd pressed  about   
the threshold he was able to leave      
behind  him words which prove that those
 ,gates  will open4          ,,chapter  
,,iii    ,,the ,,initial ,,effort    ,i 
,it is very easily seen that there is no
 one  point in a man's life or          

experience where he  is nearer the soul 
of things than at any other4  ,that     
soul1 the sublime essence1 which fills  
the  air with a burnished glow1 is      
there1 behind the  ,gates it colors with
 itself4 ,but that there is no  one     
pathway to it is immediately perceived  
from the fact that this soul must from  
its very  nature be universal4 ,the     
,gates of ,gold do  not admit to any    
special place2 what they do  is to open 
for egress from a special place4  ,man  
passes through them when he casts off   
his limitation4 ,he may burst the shell 
that  holds him in darkness1 tear the   
veil that hides  him from the eternal1  
at any point where it is  easiest for   
him to do so1 and most often this  point
 will be where he least expects to find 
it4  ,men go in search of escape with   
the help of  their minds1 and lay down  
arbitrary and limited  laws as to how to
 attain the1 to them1 unattainable4     
,many1 indeed1 have hoped to pass       
through by the way of religion1 and     

instead they  have formed a place of    
thought and feeling so  marked and fixed
 that it seems as though long  ages     
would be insufficient to enable them to 
get out of the rut6 ,some have believed 
that  by the aid of pure intellect a way
 was to be  found2 and to such men we   
owe the philosophy  and metaphysics     
which have prevented the race  from     
sinking into utter sensuousness4 ,but   
the  end of the man who endeavors to    
live by  thought alone is that he dwells
 in fantasies1  and insists on giving   
them to other men as  substantial food4 
,great is our debt to the               
meta-physicians  and transcendentalists2
 but he who  follows them to the bitter 
end1 forgetting that  the brain is only 
one organ of use1 will find  himself    
dwelling in a place where a dull  wheel 
of argument seems to turn forever on    
its axis1 yet goes nowhither and carries
 no  burden4    ,virtue 7or what seems  
to each man to be  virtue1 his own      
special standard of morality  and       

purity7 is held by those who practise it
 to  be a way to heaven4 ,perhaps it is1
 to the heaven  of the modern sybarite1 
the ethical voluptuary4  ,it is as easy 
to become a gourmand in pure  living and
 high thinking as in the pleasures of   
taste or sight or sound4 ,gratification 
is the  aim of the virtuous man as well 
as of the drunkard2  even if his life be
 a miracle of abstinence  and           
self-sacrifice1 a moment's thought shows
  that in pursuing this apparently      
heroic path he  does but pursue         
pleasure4 ,with him pleasure  takes on a
 lovely form because his gratifications 
are those of a sweet savor1 and it      
pleases him  to give gladness to others 
rather than to enjoy  himself at their  
expense4 ,but the pure life and  high   
thoughts are no more finalities in      
themselves  than any other mode of      
enjoyment2 and  the man who endeavors to
 find contentment  in them must         
intensify his effort and continually    
repeat it1--all in vain4 ,he is a green 

plant indeed1 and the leaves are        
beautiful2 but  more is wanted than     
leaves4 ,if he persists in  his endeavor
 blindly1 believing that he has  reached
 his goal when he has not even perceived
  it1 then he finds himself in that     
dreary  place where good is done        
perforce1 and the  deed of virtue is    
without the love that should  shine     
through it4 ,it is well for a man to    
lead  a pure life1 as it is well for him
 to have clean  hands1--else he becomes 
repugnant4 ,but  virtue as we understand
 it now can no more  have any special   
relation to the state beyond  that to   
which we are limited than any other     
part of our constitution4 ,spirit is not
 a gas  created by matter1 and we cannot
 create our  future by forcibly using   
one material agent  and leaving out the 
rest4 ,spirit is the great life  on     
which matter rests1 as does the rocky   
world  on the free and fluid ether2     
whenever we can  break our limitations  
we find ourselves on that  marvellous   

shore where ,wordsworth once saw  the   
gleam of the gold4 ,when we enter there 
all the present must disappear          
alike1--virtue  and vice1 thought and   
sense4 ,that a man reaps  what he has   
sown must of course be true also2  he   
has no power to carry virtue1 which is  
of the  material life1 with him2 yet the
 aroma of his  good deeds is a far      
sweeter sacrifice than the  odor of     
crime and cruelty4 ,yet it may be1      
however1 that by the practice of virtue 
he will  fetter himself into one groove1
 one changeless  fashion of life in     
matter1 so firmly that it is  impossible
 for the mind to conceive that death  is
 a sufficient power to free him1 and    
cast him  upon the broad and glorious   
ocean1--a sufficient  power to undo for 
him the inexorable  and heavy latch of  
the ,golden ,gate4 ,and  sometimes the  
man who has sinned so deeply  that his  
whole nature is scarred and blackened   
by the fierce fire of selfish           
gratification is at  last so utterly    

burned out and charred that  from the   
very vigor of the passion light leaps   
forth4 ,it would seem more possible for 
such  a man at least to reach the       
threshold of the  ,gates than for the   
mere ascetic or philosopher4    ,but it 
is little use to reach the threshold of 
the ,gates without the power to pass    
through4  ,and that is all that the     
sinner can hope to  do by the           
dissolution of himself which comes  from
 seeing his own soul4 ,at least this    
appears  to be so1 inevitably because   
his condition is  negative4 ,the man who
 lifts the latch of the  ,golden ,gate  
must do so with his own strong  hand1   
must be absolutely positive4 ,this we   
can  see by analogy4 ,in everything else
 in life1 in  every new step or         
development1 it is necessary  for a man 
to exercise his most dominant will  in  
order to obtain it fully4 ,indeed in    
many  cases1 though he has every        
advantage and  though he use his will to
 some extent1 he will  fail utterly of  

obtaining what he desires from  lack of 
the final and unconquerable resolution4 
,no education in the world will make a  
man  an intellectual glory to his age1  
even if his  powers are great2 for      
unless he positively  desires to seize  
the flower of perfection1 he will  be   
but a dry scholar1 a dealer in words1 a 
proficient  in mechanical thought1 and a
 mere wheel  of memory4 ,and the man who
 has this positive  quality in him will 
rise in spite of adverse circumstances1 
will recognise and seize upon the  tide 
of thought which is his natural food1   
and  will stand as a giant at last in   
the place he  willed to reach4 ,we see  
this practically every  day in all walks
 of life4 ,wherefore it does not  seem  
possible that the man who has simply    
succeeded through the passions in       
wrecking the  dogmatic and narrow part  
of his nature should  pass through those
 great ,gates4 ,but as he is  not       
blinded by prejudice1 nor has fastened  
himself to any treadmill of thought1 nor

  caught the wheel of his soul in any   
deep rut  of life1 it would seem that if
 once the positive  will might be born  
within him1 he could at  some time not  
hopelessly far distant lift his  hand to
 the latch4    ,undoubtedly it is the   
hardest task we have  yet seen set us in
 life1 that which we are now  talking   
of1--to free a man of all prejudice1  of
 all crystallized thought or feeling1 of
 all  limitations1 yet develop within   
him the positive  will4 ,it seems too   
much of a miracle2 for in  ordinary life
 positive will is always associated     
with crystallized ideas4 ,but many      
things which  have appeared to be too   
much of a miracle for  accomplishment   
have yet been done1 even in  the narrow 
experience of life given to our  present
 humanity4 ,all the past shows us that  
difficulty is no excuse for dejection1  
much less  for despair2 else the world  
would have been  without the many       
wonders of civilization4 ,let  us       
consider the thing more seriously1      

therefore1  having once used our minds  
to the idea  that it is not impossible4 
,the great initial difficulty is that of
 fastening  the interest on that which  
is unseen4 ,yet1  this is done every    
day1 and we have only to  observe how it
 is done in order to guide our  own     
conduct4 ,every inventor fastens his    
interest  firmly on the unseen2 and it  
entirely  depends on the firmness of    
that attachment  whether he is          
successful or whether he fails4  ,the   
poet who looks on to his moment of      
creation as that for which he lives1    
sees that  which is invisible and hears 
that which is  soundless4    ,probably  
in this last analogy there is a  clew as
 to the mode by which success in this   
voyage to the unknown bourn 7whence1    
indeed1 no traveller returns7 is        
attained4 ,it  applies also to the      
inventor and to all who  reach out      
beyond the ordinary mental and          
psychical level of humanity4 ,the clew  
lies in  that word creation4            

,,ii      ,the words to create are often
 understood  by the ordinary mind to    
convey the idea of  evolving something  
out of nothing4 ,this is  clearly not   
its meaning2 we are mentally obliged  to
 provide our ,creator with chaos from   
which  to produce the worlds4 ,the      
tiller of the soil1  who is the typical 
producer of social life1 must  have his 
material1 his earth1 his sky1 rain1 and 
sun1 and the seeds to place within the  
earth4  ,out of nothing he can produce  
nothing4 ,out  of a void ,nature cannot 
arise2 there is that  material beyond1  
behind1 or within1 from which  she is   
shaped by our desire for a universe4 ,it
  is an evident fact that the seeds and 
the earth1  air1 and water which cause  
them to germinate  exist on every plane 
of action4 ,if you talk to  an inventor1
 you will find that far ahead of  what  
he is now doing he can always perceive  
some other thing to be done which he    
cannot  express in words because as yet 
he has not  drawn it into our present   

world of objects4  ,that knowledge of   
the unseen is even more  definite in the
 poet1 and more inexpressible  until he 
has touched it with some part of that   
consciousness which he shares with other
 men4  ,but in strict proportion to his 
greatness he  lives in the consciousness
 which the ordinary  man does not even  
believe can exist1--the  consciousness  
which dwells in the greater  universe1  
which breathes in the vaster air1 which 
beholds a wider earth and sky1 and      
snatches  seeds from plants of giant    
growth4    ,it is this place of         
consciousness that we  need to reach out
 to4 ,that it is not reserved  only for 
men of genius is shown by the fact  that
 martyrs and heroes have found it and   
dwelt in it4 ,it is not reserved for men
 of genius  only1 but it can only be    
found by men of  great soul4    ,in this
 fact there is no need for              
discouragement4  ,greatness in man is   
popularly supposed  to be a thing       
inborn4 ,this belief must be a  result  

of want of thought1 of blindness to     
facts  of nature4 ,greatness can only be
 attained by  growth2 that is           
continually demonstrated to us4  ,even  
the mountains1 even the firm globe      
itself1  these are great by dint of the 
mode of growth  peculiar to that state  
of materiality1--accumulation  of atoms4
 ,as the consciousness inherent  in all 
existing forms passes into more         
advanced forms of life it becomes more  
active1  and in proportion it acquires  
the power  of growth by assimilation    
instead of accumulation4  ,looking at   
existence from this special  point of   
view 7which indeed is a difficult one   
to maintain for long1 as we habitually  
look  at life in planes and forget the  
great lines  which connect and run      
through these71 we  immediately perceive
 it to be reasonable to  suppose that as
 we advance beyond our present          
standpoint the power of growth by       
assimilation  will become greater and   
probably change into  a method yet more 

rapid1 easy1 and unconscious4  ,the     
universe is1 in fact1 full of           
magnificent  promise for us1 if we will 
but lift our  eyes and see4 ,it is that 
lifting of the eyes  which is the first 
need and the first difficulty2  we are  
so apt readily to be content with  what 
we see within touch of our hands4 ,it is
  the essential characteristic of the   
man of genius  that he is comparatively 
indifferent to that  fruit which is just
 within touch1 and hungers  for that    
which is afar on the hills4 ,in fact  he
 does not need the sense of contact to  
arouse  longing4 ,he knows that this    
distant fruit1  which he perceives      
without the aid of the  physical senses1
 is a subtler and a stronger  food than 
any which appeals to them4 ,and  how is 
he rewarded6 ,when he tastes that       
fruit1 how strong and sweet is its      
flavor1 and  what a new sense of life   
rushes upon him6  ,for in recognising   
that flavor he has recognised  the      
existence of the subtile senses1 those  

which feed the life of the inner man2   
and it is  by the strength of that inner
 man1 and by his  strength only1 that   
the latch of the ,golden  ,gates can be 
lifted4    ,in fact it is only by the   
development and  growth of the inner man
 that the existence  of these ,gates1   
and of that to which they  admit1 can be
 even perceived4 ,while man is  content 
with his gross senses and cares nothing 
for his subtile ones1 the ,gates remain 
literally  invisible4 ,as to the boor   
the gateway of the  intellectual life is
 as a thing uncreate and  non-existent1 
so to the man of the gross senses1  even
 if his intellectual life is active1    
that which  lies beyond is uncreate and 
non-existent1 only  because he does not 
open the book4    ,to the servant who   
dusts the scholar's  library the closed 
volumes are meaningless2  they do not   
even appear to contain a promise  unless
 he also is a scholar1 not merely a     
servant4  ,it is possible to gaze       
throughout eternity  upon a shut        

exterior from sheer indolence1--mental  
indolence1 which is incredulity1 and    
which at last men learn to pride        
themselves  on2 they call it scepticism1
 and talk of the reign  of reason4 ,it  
is no more a state to justify pride     
than that of the ,eastern sybarite who  
will not  even lift his food to his     
mouth2 he is reasonable  also in that he
 sees no value in activity1  and        
therefore does not exercise it4 ,so with
 the  sceptic2 decay follows the        
condition of inaction1  whether it be   
mental1 psychic1 or physical4           
,,iii      ,and now let us consider how 
the initial  difficulty of fastening the
 interest on that  which is unseen is to
 be overcome4 ,our gross  senses refer  
only to that which is objective in  the 
ordinary sense of the word2 but just    
beyond  this field of life there are    
finer sensations  which appeal to finer 
senses4 ,here we find  the first clew to
 the stepping-stones we need4  ,man     
looks from this point of view like a    

point  where many rays or lines centre2 
and if he  has the courage or the       
interest to detach himself  from the    
simplest form of life1 the point1 and   
explore but a little way along these    
lines or  rays1 his whole being at once 
inevitably widens  and expands1 the man 
begins to grow in greatness4  ,but it is
 evident1 if we accept this illustration
  as a fairly true one1 that the chief  
point of importance is to explore no    
more  persistently on one line than     
another3 else the  result must be a     
deformity4 ,we all know how  powerful is
 the majesty and personal dignity  of a 
forest tree which has had air enough to 
breathe1 and room for its widening      
roots1 and  inner vitality with which to
 accomplish its  unceasing task4 ,it    
obeys the perfect natural  law of       
growth1 and the peculiar awe it inspires
  arises from this fact4    ,how is it  
possible to obtain recognition of  the  
inner man1 to observe its growth and    
foster it8    ,let us try to follow a   

little way the clew  we have obtained1  
though words will probably  soon be     
useless4    ,we must each travel alone  
and without  aids1 as the traveller has 
to climb alone when  he nears the summit
 of the mountain4 ,no beast  of burden  
can help him there2 neither can the     
gross senses or anything that touches   
the gross  senses help him here4 ,but   
for a little distance  words may go with
 us4    ,the tongue recognises the value
 of sweetness  or piquancy in food4 ,to 
the man whose  senses are of the        
simplest order there is no  other idea  
of sweetness than this4 ,but a finer    
essence1 a more highly placed sensation 
of the  same order1 is reached by       
another perception4  ,the sweetness on  
the face of a lovely woman1  or in the  
smile of a friend1 is recognised by  the
 man whose inner senses have even a     
little--a  mere stirring of--vitality4  
,to the one  who has lifted the golden  
latch the spring of  sweet waters1 the  
fountain itself whence all  softness    

arises1 is opened and becomes part of   
his heritage4    ,but before this       
fountain can be tasted1 or  any other   
spring reached1 any source found1 a     
heavy weight has to be lifted from the  
heart1  an iron bar which holds it down 
and prevents  it from arising in its    
strength4    ,the man who recognises the
 flow of sweetness  from its source     
through ,nature1 through  all forms of  
life1 he has lifted this1 he has  raised
 himself into that state in which there 
is  no bondage4 ,he knows that he is a  
part of  the great whole1 and it is this
 knowledge which  is his heritage4 ,it  
is through the breaking  asunder of the 
arbitrary bond which holds him  to his  
personal centre that he comes of age    
and becomes ruler of his kingdom4 ,as he
  widens out1 reaching by manifold      
experience  along those lines which     
centre at the point  where he stands    
embodied1 he discovers that  he has     
touch with all life1 that he contains   
within himself the whole4 ,and then he  

has  but to yield himself to the great  
force which  we call good1 to clasp it  
tightly with the grasp  of his soul1 and
 he is carried swiftly on to the  great1
 wide waters of real living4 ,what are  
those waters8 ,in our present life we   
have but  the shadow of the substance4  
,no man loves  without satiety1 no man  
drinks wine without  return of thirst4  
,hunger and longing darken  the sky and 
make the earth unfriendly4 ,what  we    
need is an earth that will bear living  
fruit1  a sky that will be always full  
of light4  ,needing this positively1 we 
shall surely find it4                   
,,chapter ,,iv    ,,the ,,meaning ,,of  
,,pain    ,i      ,look into the deep   
heart of life1 whence  pain comes to    
darken men's lives4 ,she is always  on  
the threshold1 and behind her stands    
despair4    ,what are these two gaunt   
figures1 and  why are they permitted to 
be our constant  followers8    ,it is we
 who permit them1 we who order  them1 as
 we permit and order the action of our  

bodies2 and we do so as unconsciously4  
,but  by scientific experiment and      
investigation we  have learned much     
about our physical life1 and  it would  
seem as if we can obtain at least as    
much result with regard to our inner    
life by  adopting similar methods4      
,pain arouses1 softens1 breaks1 and     
destroys4  ,regarded from a sufficiently
 removed standpoint1  it appears as     
medicine1 as a knife1 as a  weapon1 as a
 poison1 in turn4 ,it is an implement1  
a thing which is used1 evidently4 ,what 
we desire to discover is1 who is the    
user2 what  part of ourselves is it that
 demands the  presence of this thing so 
hateful to the rest8    ,medicine is    
used by the physician1 the knife  by the
 surgeon2 but the weapon of destruction 
is used by the enemy1 the hater4    ,is 
it1 then1 that we do not only use means1
  or desire to use means1 for the       
benefit of our  souls1 but that also we 
wage warfare within  ourselves1 and do  
battle in the inner sanctuary8  ,it     

would seem so2 for it is certain that if
 man's  will relaxed with regard to it  
he would no  longer retain life in that 
state in which pain  exists4 ,why does  
he desire his own hurt8    ,the answer  
may at first sight seem to be  that he  
primarily desires pleasure1 and so is   
willing to continue on that battlefield 
where  it wages war with pain for the   
possession of  him1 hoping always that  
pleasure will win the  victory and take 
him home to herself4 ,this is  but the  
external aspect of the man's state4 ,in 
himself he knows well that pain is      
co-ruler  with pleasure1 and that though
 the war wages  always it never will be 
won4 ,the superficial  observer         
concludes that man submits to the       
inevitable4 ,but that is a fallacy not  
worthy  of discussion4 ,a little serious
 thought shows  us that man does not    
exist at all except by  exercise of his 
positive qualities2 it is but  logical  
to suppose that he chooses the state  he
 will live in by the exercise of those  

same  qualities4    ,granted1 then1 for 
the sake of our argument1  that he      
desires pain1 why is it that he  desires
 anything so annoying to himself8       
,,ii    ,if we carefully consider the   
constitution of  man and its tendencies1
 it would seem as if  there were two    
definite directions in which he  grows4 
,he is like a tree which strikes its    
roots  into the ground while it throws  
up young  branches towards the heavens4 
,these two lines  which go outward from 
the central personal  point are to him  
clear1 definite1 and intelligible4  ,he 
calls one good and the other evil4 ,but 
man is not1 according to any analogy1   
observation1  or experience1 a straight 
line4 ,would  that he were1 and that    
life1 or progress1 or  development1 or  
whatever we choose to call it1  meant   
merely following one straight road or   
another1 as the religionists pretend it 
does4  ,the whole question1 the mighty  
problem1  would be very easily solved   
then4 ,but it is not  so easy to go to  

hell as preachers declare it  to be4 ,it
 is as hard a task as to find one's  way
 to the ,golden ,gate6 ,a man may wreck 
himself utterly in sense-pleasure1--may 
debase  his whole nature1 as it         
seems1--yet he fails  of becoming the   
perfect devil1 for there is still  the  
spark of divine light within him4 ,he   
tries  to choose the broad road which   
leads to  destruction1 and enters       
bravely on his headlong  career4 ,but   
very soon he is checked and  startled by
 some unthought-of tendency in          
himself1--some of the many other        
radiations  which go forth from his     
centre of self4 ,he  suffers as the body
 suffers when it develops  monstrosities
 which impede its healthy action4  ,he  
has created pain1 and encountered his   
own  creation4 ,it may seem as if this  
argument is  difficult of application   
with regard to physical  pain4 ,not so1 
if man is regarded from a loftier       
standpoint than that we generally       
occupy4 ,if  he is looked upon as a     

powerful consciousness  which forms its 
external manifestations according  to   
its desires1 then it is evident that    
physical  pain results from deformity in
 those desires4  ,no doubt it will      
appear to many minds that  this         
conception of man is too gratuitous1 and
  involves too large a mental leap into 
unknown  places where proof is          
unobtainable4 ,but if the  mind is      
accustomed to look upon life from  this 
standpoint1 then very soon none other is
  acceptable2 the threads of existence1 
which  to the purely materialistic      
observer appear  hopelessly entangled1  
become separated and  straightened1 so  
that a new intelligibleness  illumines  
the universe4 ,the arbitrary and cruel  
,creator who inflicts pain and pleasure 
at will  then disappears from the stage2
 and it is well1  for he is indeed an   
unnecessary character1 and1  worse      
still1 is a mere creature of straw1 who 
cannot even strut upon the boards       
without  being upheld on all sides by   

dogmatists4 ,man  comes into this world1
 surely1 on the same  principle that he 
lives in one city of the earth  or      
another2 at all events1 if it is too    
much to  say that this is so1 one may   
safely ask1 why is  it not so8 ,there is
 neither for nor against  which will    
appeal to the materialist1 or which     
would weigh in a court of justice2 but  
,i aver  this in favor of the           
argument1--that no man  having once     
seriously considered it can go back  to 
the formal theories of the sceptics4 ,it
 is  like putting on swaddling-clothes  
again4    ,granting1 then1 for the sake 
of this argument1  that man is a        
powerful consciousness  who is his own  
creator1 his own judge1 and  within whom
 lies all life in potentiality1 even    
the ultimate goal1 then let us consider 
why he  causes himself to suffer4    ,if
 pain is the result of uneven           
development1  of monstrous growths1 of  
defective  advance at different points1 
why does man not  learn the lesson which

 this should teach him1  and take pains 
to develop equally8    ,it would seem to
 me as if the answer to  this question  
is that this is the very lesson  which  
the human race is engaged in learning4  
,perhaps this may seem too bold a       
statement  to make in the face of       
ordinary thinking1  which either regards
 man as a creature of  chance dwelling  
in chaos1 or as a soul bound  to the    
inexorable wheel of a tyrant's chariot  
and hurried on either to heaven or to   
hell4 ,but  such a mode of thought is   
after all but the  same as that of the  
child who regards his  parents as the   
final arbiters of his destinies1  and in
 fact the gods or demons of his         
universe4  ,as he grows he casts aside  
this idea1 finding  that it is simply a 
question of coming of age1  and that he 
is himself the king of life like any    
other man4    ,so it is with the human  
race4 ,it is king of  its world1 arbiter
 of its own destiny1 and there  is none 
to say it nay4 ,who talk of ,providence 

and chance have not paused to think4    
,destiny1 the inevitable1 does indeed   
exist  for the race and for the         
individual2 but who  can ordain this    
save the man himself8 ,there  is no clew
 in heaven or earth to the existence  of
 any ordainer other than the man who    
suffers  or enjoys that which is        
ordained4 ,we know  so little of our own
 constitution1 we are so  ignorant of   
our divine functions1 that it is        
impossible for us yet to know how much  
or  how little we are actually fate     
itself4 ,but this  at all events we     
know1--that so far as any  provable     
perception goes1 no clew to the         
existence of an ordainer has yet been   
discovered2  whereas if we give but a   
very little  attention to the life about
 us in order to  observe the action of  
the man upon his own  future1 we soon   
perceive this power as an  actual force 
in operation4 ,it is visible1 although  
our range of vision is so very limited4 
,the man of the world1 pure and simple1 

is by far the best practical observer   
and  philosopher with regard to life1   
because he is  not blinded by any       
prejudices4 ,he will be  found always to
 believe that as a man sows so  shall he
 reap4 ,and this is so evidently true   
when it is considered1 that if one takes
 the  larger view1 including all human  
life1 it makes  intelligible the awful  
,nemesis which seems  consciously to    
pursue the human race1--that  inexorable
 appearance of pain in the midst of     
pleasure4 ,the great ,greek poets saw   
this  apparition so plainly that their  
recorded observation  has given to us   
younger and blinder  observers the idea 
of it4 ,it is unlikely that so          
materialistic a race as that which has  
grown  up all over the ,west would have 
discovered for  itself the existence of 
this terrible factor in  human life     
without the assistance of the older     
poets1--the poets of the past4 ,and in  
this we  may notice1 by the way1 one    
distinct value of  the study of the     

classics1--that the great ideas  and    
facts about human life which the superb 
ancients put into their poetry shall not
 be  absolutely lost as are their arts4 
,no doubt  the world will flower again1 
and greater  thoughts and more profound 
discoveries than  those of the past will
 be the glory of the men  of the future 
efflorescence2 but until that  far-off  
day comes we cannot prize too dearly    
the treasures left us4    ,there is one 
aspect of the question which  seems at  
first sight positively to negative this 
mode of thought2 and that is the        
suffering in  the apparently purely     
physical body of the  dumb              
beings1--young children1 idiots1        
animals1--and  their desperate need of  
the power  which comes of any sort of   
knowledge to help  them through their   
sufferings4    ,the difficulty which    
will arise in the mind  with regard to  
this comes from the untenable  idea of  
the separation of the soul from the     
body4 ,it is supposed by all those who  

look  only at material life 7and        
especially by the  physicians of the    
flesh7 that the body and the  brain are 
a pair of partners who live together    
hand in hand and react one upon another4
  ,beyond that they recognise no cause  
and  therefore allow of none4 ,they     
forget that the  brain and the body are 
as evidently mere mechanism  as the hand
 or the foot4 ,there is the  inner      
man--the soul--behind1 using all these  
mechanisms2 and this is as evidently the
 truth  with regard to all the          
existences we know of as  with regard to
 man himself4 ,we cannot find  any point
 in the scale of being at which         
soul-causation  ceases or can cease4    
,the dull oyster  must have that in him 
which makes him choose  the inactive    
life he leads2 none else can choose  it 
for him but the soul behind1 which makes
  him be4 ,how else can he be where he  
is1 or be  at all8 ,only by the         
intervention of an impossible  creator  
called by some name or other4    ,it is 

because man is so idle1 so indisposed   
to assume or accept responsibility1 that
 he falls  back upon this temporary     
makeshift of a  creator4 ,it is         
temporary indeed1 for it can only  last 
during the activity of the particular   
brain  power which finds its place among
 us4 ,when  the man drops this mental   
life behind him1  he of necessity leaves
 with it its magic lantern  and the     
pleasant illusions he has conjured up   
by its aid4 ,that must be a very        
uncomfortable  moment1 and must produce 
a sense of nakedness  not to be         
approached by any other sensation4  ,it 
would seem as well to save one's  self  
this disagreeable experience by refusing
 to  accept unreal phantasms as things  
of flesh  and blood and power4 ,upon the
 shoulders of  the ,creator man likes to
 thrust the responsibility  not only of 
his capacity for sinning and  the       
possibility of his salvation1 but of his
 very  life itself1 his very            
consciousness4 ,it is a poor  ,creator  

that he thus contents himself with1--one
  who is pleased with a universe of     
puppets1  and amused by pulling their   
strings4 ,if he is  capable of such     
enjoyment1 he must yet be in  his       
infancy4 ,perhaps that is so1 after all2
 the  ,god within us is in his infancy1 
and refuses  to recognise his high      
estate4 ,if indeed the soul  of man is  
subject to the laws of growth1 of       
decay1 and of re-birth as to its body1  
then there  is no wonder at its         
blindness4 ,but this is  evidently not  
so2 for the soul of man is of that      
order of life which causes shape and    
form1  and is unaffected itself by these
 things1--of  that order of life which  
like the pure1 the  abstract flame burns
 wherever it is lit4 ,this  cannot be   
changed or affected by time1 and is  of 
its very nature superior to growth and  
decay4 ,it stands in that primeval place
 which  is the only throne of           
,god1--that place whence  forms of life 
emerge and to which they return4  ,that 

place is the central point of existence1
  where there is a permanent spot of    
life as  there is in the midst of the   
heart of man4 ,it  is by the equal      
development of that1--first  by the     
recognition of it1 and then by its equal
  development upon the many radiating   
lines of  experience1--that man is at   
last enabled to  reach the ,golden ,gate
 and lift the latch4 ,the  process is   
the gradual recognition of the god  in  
himself2 the goal is reached when that  
godhood is consciously restored to its  
right glory4      ,,iii    ,the first   
thing which it is necessary for the     
soul of man to do in order to engage in 
this  great endeavor of discovering true
 life is the  same thing that the child 
first does in its desire  for activity  
in the body1--he must be able to  stand4
 ,it is clear that the power of         
standing1  of equilibrium1 of           
concentration1 of uprightness1  in the  
soul1 is a quality of a marked          
character4  ,the word that presents     

itself most  readily as descriptive of  
this quality is  confidence4    ,to     
remain still amid life and its changes1 
and stand firmly on the chosen spot1 is 
a feat  which can only be accomplished  
by the man  who has confidence in       
himself and in his  destiny4 ,otherwise 
the hurrying forms of life1  the rushing
 tide of men1 the great floods of       
thought1 must inevitably carry him with 
them1  and then he will lose that place 
of consciousness  whence it was possible
 to start on the  great enterprise4 ,for
 it must be done knowingly1  and without
 pressure from without1--this  act of   
the new-born man4 ,all the great  ones  
of the earth have possessed this        
confidence1  and have stood firmly on   
that place  which was to them the one   
solid spot in the  universe4 ,to each   
man this place is of necessity          
different4 ,each man must find his      
earth and his own heaven4    ,we have   
the instinctive desire to relieve  pain1
 but we work in externals in this as in 

everything else4 ,we simply alleviate   
it2 and  if we do more1 and drive it    
from its first chosen  stronghold1 it   
reappears in some other place  with     
reinforced vigor4 ,if it is eventually  
driven  off the physical plane by       
persistent and successful  effort1 it   
reappears on the mental or  emotional   
planes where no man can touch it4  ,that
 this is so is easily seen by those who 
connect the various planes of sensation1
 and  who observe life with that        
additional illumination4  ,men          
habitually regard these different  forms
 of feeling as actually separate1       
whereas  in fact they are evidently only
 different sides  of one centre1--the   
point of personality4 ,if  that which   
arises in the centre1 the fount of      
life1 demands some hindered action1 and 
consequently  causes pain1 the force    
thus created  being driven from one     
stronghold must find  another2 it cannot
 be driven out4 ,and all the  blendings 
of human life which cause emotion  and  

distress exist for its use and purposes 
as  well as for those of pleasure4 ,both
 have their  home in man2 both demand   
their expression of  right4 ,the        
marvellously delicate mechanism of  the 
human frame is constructed to answer to 
their lightest touch2 the extraordinary 
intricacies  of human relations evolve  
themselves1 as  it were1 for the        
satisfaction of these two great         
opposites of the soul4    ,pain and     
pleasure stand apart and separate1  as  
do the two sexes2 and it is in the      
merging1  the making the two into one1  
that joy and deep  sensation and        
profound peace are obtained4  ,where    
there is neither male nor female        
neither pain nor pleasure1 there is the 
god in  man dominant1 and then is life  
real4    ,to state the matter in this   
way may savor  too much of the dogmatist
 who utters his  assertions             
uncontradicted from a safe pulpit2  but 
it is dogmatism only as a scientist's   
record  of effort in a new direction is 

dogmatism4  ,unless the existence of the
 ,gates of ,gold can  be proved to be   
real1 and not the mere phantasmagoria   
of fanciful visionaries1 then they  are 
not worth talking about at all4 ,in the 
nineteenth century hard facts or        
legitimate  arguments alone appeal to   
men's minds2 and  so much the better4   
,for unless the life we  advance towards
 is increasingly real and  actual1 it is
 worthless1 and time is wasted in  going
 after it4 ,reality is man's greatest   
need1  and he demands to have it at all 
hazards1 at  any price4 ,be it so4 ,no  
one doubts he is right4  ,let us then go
 in search of reality4          ,,iv    
,one definite lesson learned by all     
acute  sufferers will be of the greatest
 service to us  in this consideration4  
,in intense pain a point is  reached    
where it is indistinguishable from its  
opposite1 pleasure4 ,this is indeed so1 
but few  have the heroism or the        
strength to suffer to  such a far point4
 ,it is as difficult to reach  it by the

 other road4 ,only a chosen few have    
the gigantic capacity for pleasure which
 will  enable them to travel to its     
other side4 ,most  have but enough      
strength to enjoy and to  become the    
slave of the enjoyment4 ,yet man  has   
undoubtedly within himself the heroism  
needed for the great journey2 else how  
is it  martyrs have smiled amid the     
torture8  ,how is it that the profound  
sinner who lives  for pleasure can at   
last feel stir within himself  the      
divine afflatus8    ,in both these cases
 the possibility has arisen  of finding 
the way2 but too often that  possibility
 is killed by the overbalance of the    
startled nature4 ,the martyr has        
acquired a  passion for pain and lives  
in the idea of heroic  suffering2 the   
sinner becomes blinded by the  thought  
of virtue and worships it as an end1  an
 object1 a thing divine in itself2      
whereas it  can only be divine as it is 
part of that infinite  whole which      
includes vice as well as virtue4  ,how  

is it possible to divide the            
infinite1--that  which is one8 ,it is as
 reasonable to lend  divinity to any    
object as to take a cup of water  from  
the sea and declare that in that is     
contained  the ocean4 ,you cannot       
separate the  ocean2 the salt water is  
part of the great sea  and must be so2  
but nevertheless you do not  hold the   
sea in your hand4 ,men so longingly     
desire personal power that they are     
ready to  put infinity into a cup1 the  
divine idea into a  formula1 in order   
that they may fancy themselves  in      
possession of it4 ,these only are those 
who cannot rise and approach the ,gates 
of  ,gold1 for the great breath of life 
confuses  them2 they are struck with    
horror to find how  great it is4 ,the   
idol-worshipper keeps an  image of his  
idol in his heart and burns a  candle   
always before it4 ,it is his own1 and he
  is pleased at that thought1 even if he
 bow in  reverence before it4 ,in how   
many virtuous and  religious men does   

not this same state exist8  ,in the     
recesses of the soul the lamp is burning
  before a household god1--a thing      
possessed  by its worshipper and subject
 to him4 ,men  cling with desperate     
tenacity to these dogmas1  these moral  
laws1 these principles and modes  of    
faith which are their household gods1   
their  personal idols4 ,bid them burn   
the unceasing  flame in reverence only  
to the infinite1 and  they turn from    
you4 ,whatever their manner  of scorning
 your protest may be1 within themselves 
it leaves a sense of aching void4 ,for  
the noble soul of the man1 that         
potential king  which is within us all1 
knows full well that  this household    
idol may be cast down and  destroyed at 
any moment1--that it is without         
finality in itself1 without any real and
 absolute  life4 ,and he has been       
content in his possession1  forgetting  
that anything possessed can only by  the
 immutable laws of life be held         
temporarily4  ,he has forgotten that the

 infinite is  his only friend2 he has   
forgotten that in its  glory is his only
 home1--that it alone can be  his god4  
,there he feels as if he is homeless2   
but that amid the sacrifices he offers  
to  his own especial idol there is for  
him a brief  resting-place2 and for this
 he clings passionately  to it4    ,few 
have the courage even slowly to face    
the great desolateness which lies       
outside themselves1  and must lie there 
so long as they cling  to the person    
which they represent1 the ,i  which is  
to them the centre of the world1 the    
cause of all life4 ,in their longing for
 a ,god  they find the reason for the   
existence of one2  in their desire for a
 sense-body and a world to  enjoy in1   
lies to them the cause of the universe4 
,these beliefs may be hidden very deep  
beneath  the surface1 and be indeed     
scarcely accessible2  but in the fact   
that they are there is the reason  why  
the man holds himself upright4 ,to      
himself  he is himself the infinite and 

the ,god2 he  holds the ocean in a cup4 
,in this delusion he  nurtures the      
egoism which makes life pleasure  and   
makes pain pleasant4 ,in this profound  
egoism is the very cause and source of  
the  existence of pleasure and of pain4 
,for unless  man vacillated between     
these two1 and ceaselessly  reminded    
himself by sensation that he  exists1 he
 would forget it4 ,and in this fact lies
  the whole answer to the question1 ,why
 does  man create pain for his own      
discomfort8    ,the strange and         
mysterious fact remains  unexplained as 
yet1 that man in so deluding  himself is
 merely interpreting ,nature backwards  
and putting into the words of death the 
meaning of life4 ,for that man does     
indeed  hold within him the infinite1   
and that the ocean  is really in the    
cup1 is an incontestable truth2  but it 
is only so because the cup is absolutely
  non-existent4 ,it is merely an        
experience of the  infinite1 having no  
permanence1 liable to be  shattered at  

any instant4 ,it is in the claiming  of 
reality and permanence for the four     
walls of  his personality1 that man     
makes the vast  blunder which plunges   
him into a prolonged  series of         
unfortunate incidents1 and intensifies  
continually the existence of his        
favorite forms  of sensation4 ,pleasure 
and pain become to him  more real than  
the great ocean of which he is  a part  
and where his home is2 he perpetually   
knocks himself painfully against these  
walls  where he feels1 and his tiny self
 oscillates  within his chosen prison4  
,,chapter ,v    ,,the ,,secret ,,of     
,,strength    ,i      ,strength to step 
forward is the primary  need of him who 
has chosen his path4 ,where  is this to 
be found8 ,looking round1 it is not     
hard to see where other men find their  
strength4  ,its source is profound      
conviction4 ,through this  great moral  
power is brought to birth in the        
natural life of the man that which      
enables him1  however frail he may be1  

to go on and conquer4  ,conquer what8   
,not continents1 not worlds1 but        
himself4 ,through that supreme victory  
is  obtained the entrance to the whole1 
where all  that might be conquered and  
obtained by effort  becomes at once not 
his1 but himself4    ,to put on armor   
and go forth to war1  taking the chances
 of death in the hurry of the  fight1 is
 an easy thing2 to stand still amid  the
 jangle of the world1 to preserve       
stillness  within the turmoil of the    
body1 to hold silence  amid the thousand
 cries of the senses and  desires1 and  
then1 stripped of all armor and  without
 hurry or excitement take the deadly    
serpent of self and kill it1 is no easy 
thing4  ,yet that is what has to be     
done2 and it can  only be done in the   
moment of equilibrium  when the enemy is
 disconcerted by the silence4    ,but   
there is needed for this supreme  moment
 a strength such as no hero of the      
battlefield needs4 ,a great soldier must
 be filled  with the profound           

convictions of the justness  of his     
cause and the rightness of his method4  
,the man who wars against himself and   
wins  the battle can do it only when he 
knows that  in that war he is doing the 
one thing which  is worth doing1 and    
when he knows that in  doing it he is   
winning heaven and hell as his          
servitors4 ,yes1 he stands on both4 ,he 
needs  no heaven where pleasure comes as
 a long-promised  reward2 he fears no   
hell where pain  waits to punish him for
 his sins4 ,for he has  conquered once  
for all that shifting serpent  in       
himself which turns from side to side in
  its constant desire of contact1 in its
 perpetual  search after pleasure and   
pain4 ,never again  7the victory once   
really won7 can he tremble  or grow     
exultant at any thought of that which   
the future holds4 ,those burning        
sensations  which seemed to him to be   
the only proofs  of his existence are   
his no longer4 ,how1 then1  can he know 
that he lives8 ,he knows it only  by    

argument4 ,and in time he does not care 
to  argue about it4 ,for him there is   
then peace2  and he will find in that   
peace the power he  has coveted4 ,then  
he will know what is that  faith which  
can remove mountains4      ,,ii         
,religion holds a man back from the     
path1  prevents his stepping forward1   
for various very  plain reasons4 ,first 
it makes the vital mistake  of          
distinguishing between good and evil4   
,nature knows no such distinction2 and  
the  moral and social laws set us by our
 religions  are as temporary1 as much a 
thing of our own  special mode and form 
of existence1 as are the  moral and     
social laws of the ants or the bees4    
,we pass out of that state in which     
these things  appear to be final1 and we
 forget them forever4  ,this is easily  
shown1 because a man of broad  habits of
 thought and of intelligence must       
modify his code of life when he dwells  
among  another people4 ,these people    
among whom  he is an alien have their   

own deep-rooted  religions and          
hereditary convictions1 against  which  
he cannot offend4 ,unless his is an     
abjectly narrow and unthinking mind1 he 
sees  that their form of law and order  
is as good as  his own4 ,what then can  
he do but reconcile  his conduct        
gradually to their rules8 ,and then  if 
he dwells among them many years the     
sharp  edge of difference is worn away1 
and he forgets  at last where their     
faith ends and his commences4  ,yet is  
it for his own people to say he  has    
done wrong1 if he has injured no man and
  remained just8    ,i am not attacking 
law and order2 ,i do not  speak of these
 things with rash dislike4 ,in  their   
place they are as vital and necessary as
  the code which governs the life of a  
beehive  is to its successful conduct4  
,what ,i wish to  point out is that law 
and order in themselves  are quite      
temporary and unsatisfactory4  a man's  
soul passes away from its brief         
dwelling-place1 thoughts of law and     

order do  not accompany it4 ,if it is   
strong1 it is the  ecstasy of true being
 and real life which it  becomes        
possessed of1 as all know who have      
watched by the dying4 ,if the soul is   
weak1 it  faints and fades away1        
overcome by the first  flush of the new 
life4    ,am ,i speaking too positively8
 ,only those  who live in the active    
life of the moment1 who  have not       
watched beside the dead and dying1  who 
have not walked the battlefield and     
looked in the faces of men in their last
 agony1  will say so4 ,the strong man   
goes forth from  his body exultant4     
,why8 ,because he is no longer held back
  and made to quiver by hesitation4 ,in 
the  strange moment of death he has had 
release  given him2 and with a sudden   
passion of  delight he recognises that  
it is release4 ,had2  he been sure of   
this before1 he would have  been a great
 sage1 a man to rule the world1  for he 
would have had the power to rule        
himself and his own body4 ,that release 

from  the chains of ordinary life can be
 obtained as  easily during life as by  
death4 ,it only needs a  sufficiently   
profound conviction to enable the  man  
to look on his body with the same       
emotions  as he would look on the body  
of another  man1 or on the bodies of a  
thousand men4 ,in  contemplating a      
battlefield it is impossible to  realize
 the agony of every sufferer2 why1 then1
  realize your own pain more keenly than
  another's8 ,mass the whole together1  
and look  at it all from a wider        
standpoint than that  of the individual 
life4 ,that you actually feel  your own 
physical wound is a weakness of  your   
limitation4 ,the man who is developed   
psychically feels the wound of another  
as  keenly as his own1 and does not feel
 his own  at all if he is strong enough 
to will it so4  ,every one who has      
examined at all seriously  into psychic 
conditions knows this to be a fact1     
more or less marked1 according to the   
psychic  development4 ,in many          

instances1 the psychic is  more keenly  
and selfishly aware of his own  pain    
than of any other person's2 but that is 
when the development1 marked perhaps so 
far  as it has gone1 only reaches a     
certain point4  ,it is the power which  
carries the man to the  margin of that  
consciousness which is profound  peace  
and vital activity4 ,it can carry him no
  further4 ,but if he has reached its   
margin he  is freed from the paltry     
dominion of his own  self4 ,that is the 
first great release4 ,look at  the      
sufferings which come upon us from our  
narrow and limited experience and       
sympathy4  ,we each stand quite alone1 a
 solitary unit1 a  pygmy in the world4  
,what good fortune can  we expect8 ,the 
great life of the world rushes  by1 and 
we are in danger each instant that  it  
will overwhelm us or even utterly       
destroy us4  ,there is no defence to be 
offered to it2 no  opposition army can  
be set up1 because in this  life every  
man fights his own battle against  every

 other man1 and no two can be united    
under the same banner4 ,there is only   
one way  of escape from this terrible   
danger which we  battle against every   
hour4 ,turn round1 and  instead of      
standing against the forces1 join  them2
 become one with ,nature1 and go easily 
upon her path4 ,do not resist or resent 
the  circumstances of life any more than
 the plants  present the rain and the   
wind4 ,then suddenly1  to your own      
amazement1 you find you have  time and  
strength to spare1 to use in the great  
battle which it is inevitable every man 
must  fight1--that in himself1 that     
which leads to  his own conquest4       
,some might say1 to his own destruction4
  ,and why8 ,because from the hour when 
he  first tastes the splendid reality of
 living he  forgets more and more his   
individual self4 ,no  longer does he    
fight for it1 or pit its strength       
against the strength of others4 ,no     
longer does  he care to defend or to    
feed it4 ,yet when  he is thus          

indifferent to its welfare1 the         
individual  self grows more stalwart and
 robust1  like the prairie grasses and  
the trees of untrodden  forests4 ,it is 
a matter of indifference to  him whether
 this is so or not4 ,only1 if it is so1 
he has a fine instrument ready to his   
hand2 and  in due proportion to the     
completeness of his  indifference to it 
is the strength and beauty  of his      
personal self4 ,this is readily seen2 a 
garden flower becomes a mere degenerate 
copy  of itself if it is simply         
neglected2 a plant must  be cultivated  
to the highest pitch1 and benefit  by   
the whole of the gardener's skill1 or   
else it  must be a pure savage1 wild1   
and fed only by  the earth and sky4 ,who
 cares for any intermediate  states8    
,what value or strength is  there in the
 neglected garden rose which has  the   
canker in every bud8 ,for diseased or   
dwarfed blossoms are sure to result from
 an  arbitrary change of condition1     
resulting from  the neglect of the man  

who has hitherto been  the providence of
 the plant in its unnatural  life4 ,but 
there are wind-blown plains where  the  
daisies grow tall1 with moon faces such 
as no cultivation can produce in them4  
,cultivate1  then1 to the very utmost2  
forget no inch  of your garden ground1  
no smallest plant that  grows in it2    
make no foolish pretence nor fond       
mistake in the fancy that you are ready 
to  forget it1 and so subject it to the 
frightful consequences  of              
half-measures4 ,the plant that is       
watered to-day and forgotten to-morrow  
must  dwindle or decay4 ,the plant that 
looks for no  help but from ,nature     
itself measures its  strength at once1  
and either dies and is  re-created or   
grows into a great tree whose  boughs   
fill the sky4 ,but make no mistake like 
the religionists and some philosophers2 
leave  no part of yourself neglected    
while you know  it to be yourself4      
,while the ground is the  gardener's it 
is his business to tend it2 but  some   

day a call may come to him from another 
country or from death itself1 and in a  
moment  he is no longer the gardener1   
his business is at  an end1 he has no   
more duty of that kind  at all4 ,then   
his favorite plants suffer and die1  and
 the delicate ones become one with the  
earth4 ,but soon fierce ,nature claims  
the place  for her own1 and covers it   
with thick grass or  giant weeds1 or    
nurses some sapling in it  till its     
branches shade the ground4 ,be warned1  
and tend your garden to the utmost1 till
 you can  pass away utterly and let it  
return to ,nature  and become the       
wind-blown plain where the  wild-flowers
 grow4 ,then1 if you pass that way  and 
look at it1 whatever has happened will  
neither grieve nor elate you4 ,for you  
will be  able to say1 ,i am the rocky   
ground1 ,i am the  great tree1 ,i am the
 strong daisies1 indifferent  which it  
is that flourishes where once your      
rose-trees  grew4 ,but you must have    
learned to study  the stars to some     

purpose before you dare to  neglect your
 roses1 and omit to fill the air  with  
their cultivated fragrance4 ,you must   
know your way through the trackless air1
 and  from thence to the pure ether2 you
 must be  ready to lift the bar of the  
,golden ,gate4    ,cultivate1 ,i say1   
and neglect nothing4 ,only  remember1   
all the while you tend and water1  that 
you are impudently usurping the tasks of
  ,nature herself4 ,having usurped her  
work1  you must carry it through until  
you have  reached a point when she has  
no power to  punish you1 when you are   
not afraid of her1  but can with a bold 
front return her her own4  ,she laughs  
in her sleeve1 the mighty mother1       
watching you with covert1 laughing eye1 
ready  relentlessly to cast the whole of
 your work  into the dust if you do but 
give her the chance1  if you turn idler 
and grow careless4 ,the idler  is father
 of the madman in the sense that the    
child is the father of the4man4 ,nature 
has  put her vast hand on him and       

crushed the  whole edifice4 ,the        
gardener and his rose-trees  are alike  
broken and stricken by the great  storm 
which her movement has created2 they    
lie helpless till the sand is swept over
 them  and they are buried in a weary   
wilderness4  ,from this desert spot     
,nature herself will  re-create1 and    
will use the ashes of the man  who dared
 to face her as indifferently as the    
withered leaves of his plants4 ,his     
body1 soul1  and spirit are all alike   
claimed by her4      ,,iii    ,the man  
who is strong1 who has resolved  to find
 the unknown path1 takes with the       
utmost care every step4 ,he utters no   
idle word1  he does no unconsidered     
action1 he neglects no  duty or office  
however homely or however  difficult4   
,but while his eyes and hands and  feet 
are thus fulfilling their tasks1 new    
eyes  and hands and feet are being born 
within  him4 ,for his passionate and    
unceasing desire  is to go that way on  
which the subtile organs  only can guide

 him4 ,the physical world he has        
learned1 and knows how to use2 gradually
 his  power is passing on1 and he       
recognises the  psychic world4 ,but he  
has to learn this world  and know how to
 use it1 and he dare not lose  hold of  
the life he is familiar with till he has
  taken hold of that with which he is   
unfamiliar4  ,when he has acquired such 
power  with his psychic organs as the   
infant has with  its physical organs    
when it first opens its lungs1  then is 
the hour for the great adventure4 ,how  
little is needed--yet how much that is6 
,the  man does but need the psychic body
 to be  formed in all parts1 as is an   
infant's2 he does  but need the profound
 and unshakable conviction  which impels
 the infant1 that the new  life is      
desirable4 ,once those conditions gained
  and he may let himself live in the new
 atmosphere  and look up to the new sun4
 ,but then  his must remember to check  
his new experience  by the old4 ,he is  
breathing still1 though differently2  he

 draws air into his lungs1 and takes    
life from the sun4 ,he has been born    
into the  psychic world1 and depends now
 on the  psychic air and light4 ,his    
goal is not here3 this  is but a subtile
 repetition of physical life2 he  has to
 pass through it according to similar   
laws4 ,he must study1 learn1 grow1 and  
conquer2  never forgetting the while    
that his goal is that  place where there
 is no air nor any sun or  moon4    ,do 
not imagine that in this line of        
progress  the man himself is being moved
 or changing  his place4 ,not so4 ,the  
truest illustration of the  process is  
that of cutting through layers of crust 
or skin4 ,the man1 having learned his   
lesson  fully1 casts off the physical   
life2 having learned  his lesson fully1 
casts off the psychic life2 having      
learned his lesson fully1 casts off the 
contemplative  life1 or life of         
adoration4    ,all are cast aside at    
last1 and he enters the  great temple   
where any memory of self or sensation   

is left outside as the shoes are cast   
from  the feet of the worshipper4 ,that 
temple is the  place of his own pure    
divinity1 the central flame  which1     
however obscured1 has animated him      
through all these struggles4 ,and having
 found  this sublime home he is sure as 
the heavens  themselves4 ,he remains    
still1 filled with all  knowledge and   
power4 ,the outer man1 the  adoring1 the
 acting1 the living personification1    
goes its own way hand in hand with      
,nature1  and shows all the superb      
strength of the savage  growth of the   
earth1 lit by that instinct which       
contains knowledge4 ,for in the inmost  
sanctuary1  in the actual temple1 the   
man has found  the subtile essence of   
,nature herself4 ,no  longer can there  
be any difference between  them or any  
half-measures4 ,and now comes  the hour 
of action and power4 ,in that inmost    
sanctuary all is to be found3 ,god and  
his creatures1  the fiends who prey on  
them1 those  among men who have been    

loved1 those who  have been hated4      
,difference between them exists  no     
longer4 ,then the soul of man laughs in 
its strength and fearlessness1 and goes 
forth  into the world in which its      
actions are needed1  and causes these   
actions to take place without           
apprehension1 alarm1 fear1 regret1 or   
joy4    ,this state is possible to man  
while yet he  lives in the physical2 for
 men have attained it  while living4 ,it
 alone can make actions in the  physical
 divine and true4    ,life among objects
 of sense must forever  be an outer     
shape to the sublime soul1--it can  only
 become powerful life1 the life of      
accomplishment1  when it is animated by 
the crowned  and indifferent god that   
sits in the sanctuary4    ,the obtaining
 of this condition is so supremely      
desirable because from the moment it  is
 entered there is no more trouble1 no   
more  anxiety1 no more doubt or         
hesitation4 ,as a  great artist paints  
his picture fearlessly and  never       

committing any error which causes him   
regret1 so the man who has formed his   
inner  self deals with his life4    ,but
 that is when the condition is entered4 
,that which we who look towards the     
mountains  hunger to know is the mode of
 entrance and  the way to the ,gate4    
,the ,gate is that ,gate of  ,gold      
barred by a heavy bar of iron4 ,the way 
to the threshold of it turns a man giddy
 and  sick4 ,it seems no path1 it seems 
to end perpetually1  its way lies along 
hideous precipices1  it loses itself in 
deep waters4    ,once crossed and the   
way found it appears  wonderful that the
 difficulty should have looked2  so     
great4 ,for the path where it disappears
 does  but turn abruptly1 its line upon 
the precipice  edge is wide enough for  
the feet1 and across  the deep waters   
that look so treacherous there1  is     
always a ford and a ferry4 ,so it       
happens in  all profound experiences of 
human nature4  ,when the first grief    
tears the heart asunder it  seems that  

the path has ended and a blank  darkness
 taken the place of the sky4 ,and yet by
  groping the soul passes on1 and that  
difficult  and seemingly hopeless turn  
in the road is  passed4    ,so with many
 another form or human torture4         
,sometimes throughout a long period or  
a whole lifetime the path of existence  
is perpetually  checked by what seem    
like insurmountable  obstacles4 ,grief1 
pain1 suffering1 the loss  of all that  
is beloved or valued1 rise up before    
the terrified soul and check it at every
 turn4  ,who places those obstacles     
there8 ,the reason  shrinks at the      
childish dramatic picture which  the    
religionists place before it1--,god     
permitting  the ,devil to torment ,his  
creatures for their  ultimate good6     
,when will that ultimate good  be       
attained8 ,the idea involved in this    
picture  supposes an end1 a goal4 ,there
 is none4 ,we  can any one of us safely 
assent to that2 for as  far as human    
observation1 reason1 thought1 intellect1

  or instinct can reach towards grasping
  the mystery of life1 all data obtained
 show that  the path is endless and that
 eternity cannot be  blinked and        
converted by the idling soul into  a    
million years4    ,in man1 taken        
individually or as a whole1  there      
clearly exists a double constitution4 ,i
 am  speaking roughly now1 being well   
aware that  the various schools of      
philosophy cut him up  and subdivide him
 according to their several  theories4  
,what ,i mean is this3 that two great   
tides of emotion sweep through his      
nature1 two  great forces guide his     
life2 the one makes him  an animal1 and 
the other makes him a god4 ,no  brute of
 the earth is so brutal as the man who  
subjects his godly power to his animal  
power4  ,this is a matter of course1    
because the whole  force of the double  
nature is then used in one  direction4  
,the animal pure and simple obeys  his  
instincts only and desires no more than 
to  gratify his love of pleasure2 he    

pays but little  regard to the existence
 of other beings except  in so far as   
they offer him pleasure or pain2 he     
knows nothing of the abstract love of   
cruelty or  of any of those vicious     
tendencies of the human  being which    
have in themselves their own            
gratification4 ,thus the man who becomes
 a  beast has a million times the grasp 
of life over  the natural beast1 and    
that which in the pure  animal is       
sufficiently innocent enjoyment1        
uninterrupted  by an arbitrary moral    
standard1 becomes  in him vice1 because 
it is gratified on  principle4 ,moreover
 he turns all the divine  powers of his 
being into this channel1 and degrades   
his soul by making it the slave of his  
senses4 ,the god1 deformed and          
disguised1  waits on the animal and     
feeds it4    ,consider then whether it  
is not possible to  change the          
situation4 ,the man himself is king  of 
the country in which this strange       
spectacle  is seen4 ,he allows the beast

 to usurp the place  of the god because 
for the moment the beast  pleases his   
capricious royal fancy the most4 ,this  
cannot last always2 why let it last any 
longer8  ,so long as the animal rules   
there will be the  keenest sufferings in
 consequence of change1  of the         
vibration between pleasure and pain1  of
 the desire for prolonged and pleasant  
physical life4 ,and the god in his      
capacity of  servant adds a             
thousand-fold to all this1 by  making   
physical life so much more filled with  
keenness of pleasure1--rare1 voluptuous1
  aesthetic pleasure1--and by intensity 
of pain  so passionate that one knows   
not where it  ends and where pleasure   
commences4 ,so  long as the god serves1 
so long the life of  the animal will be 
enriched and increasingly  valuable4    
,but let the king resolve to change  the
 face of his court and forcibly evict   
the animal  from the chair of state1    
restoring the god  to the place of      
divinity4    ,ah1 the profound peace    

that falls upon the  palace6 ,all is    
indeed changed4 ,no longer is  there the
 fever of personal longings or desires1 
no longer is there any rebellion or     
distress1 no  longer any hunger for     
pleasure or dread of  pain4 ,it is like 
a great calm descending on a  stormy    
ocean2 it is like the soft rain of      
summer  falling on parched ground2 it is
 like the  deep pool found amidst the   
weary1 thirsty  labyrinths of the       
unfriendly forest4    ,but there is much
 more than this4 ,not only  is man more 
than an animal because there is  the god
 in him1 but he is more than a god      
because  there is the animal in him4    
,once force the animal into his rightful
  place1 that of the inferior1 and you  
find yourself  in possession of a great 
force hitherto unsuspected  and unknown4
 ,the god as servant  adds a            
thousand-fold to the pleasures of the   
animal2 the animal as servant adds a    
thousand-fold  to the powers of the god4
 ,and it is upon  the union1 the right  

relation of these two forces  in        
himself1 that man stands as a strong    
king1  and is enabled to raise his hand 
and lift the  bar of the ,golden ,gate4 
,when these forces  are unfitly related1
 then the king is but a  crowned        
voluptuary1 without power1 and whose    
dignity does but mock him2 for the      
animals1  undivine1 at least know peace 
and are not torn  by vice and despair4  
,that is the whole secret4 ,that is what
  makes man strong1 powerful1 able to   
grasp  heaven and earth in his hands4   
,do not fancy  it is easily done4 ,do   
not be deluded into the  idea that the  
religious or the virtuous man does  it6 
,not so4 ,they do no more than fix a    
standard1  a routine1 a law1 by which   
they hold the  animal in check4 ,the god
 is compelled to  serve him in a certain
 way1 and does so1 pleasing  him with   
the beliefs and cherished fantasies  of 
the religious1 with the lofty sense of  
personal  pride which makes the joy of  
the virtuous4  ,these special and       

canonized vices are  things too low and 
base to be possible to the  pure animal1
 whose only inspirer is ,nature herself1
  always fresh as the dawn4 ,the god in 
man1 degraded1 is a thing unspeakable in
 its infamous  power of production4     
,the animal in man1 elevated1 is a thing
 unimaginable  in its great powers of   
service and  of strength4    ,you       
forget1 you who let your animal self    
live on1 merely checked and held within 
certain  bounds1 that it is a great     
force1 an integral  portion of the      
animal life of the world you  live in4  
,with it you can sway men1 and influence
  the very world itself1 more or less   
perceptibly  according to your strength4
 ,the god1  given his right place1 will 
so inspire and guide  this extraordinary
 creature1 so educate and  develope it1 
so force it into action and recognition 
of its kind1 that it will make you      
tremble  when you recognise the power   
that has awakened  within you4 ,the     
animal in yourself will  then be a king 

among the animals of the world4    ,this
 is the secret of the old-world         
magicians  who made ,nature serve them  
and work  miracles every day for their  
convenience4 ,this  is the secret of the
 coming race which ,lord  ,lytton       
foreshadowed for us4    ,but this power 
can only be attained by giving  the god 
the sovereignty4 ,make your animal      
ruler over yourself1 and he will never  
rule  others4          ,,epilogue       
,secreted and hidden in the heart of the
  world and in the heart of man is the  
light  which can illumine all life1 the 
future and the  past4 ,shall we not     
search for it8 ,surely some  must do so4
 ,and then perhaps those will add  what 
is needed to this poor fragment of      
thought4          ,,through ,,the       
,,gates ,,of ,,gold    ,from ,the ,path1
 ,march1 #ahhg      ,the most notable   
book for guidance in ,mysticism  which  
has appeared since ,light on the ,path  
was written has just been published     
under the  significant title of ,through

 the ,gates of ,gold4  ,though the      
author's name is withheld1 the occult   
student will quickly discern that it    
must proceed  from a very high source4  
,in certain respects the  book may be   
regarded as a commentary on ,light  on  
the ,path4 ,the reader would do well to 
bear  this in mind4 ,many things in that
 book will be  made clear by the reading
 of this one1 and one will  be          
constantly reminded of that work1 which 
has  already become a classic in our    
literature4 ,through  the ,gates of     
,gold is a work to be kept constantly   
at hand for reference and study4 ,it    
will surely take  rank as one of the    
standard books of ,theosophy4    ,the   
,gates of ,gold represent the entrance  
to  that realm of the soul unknowable   
through the  physical perceptions1 and  
the purpose of this work  is to indicate
 some of the steps necessary to reach   
their threshold4 ,through its           
extraordinary beauty  of style and the  
clearness of its statement it will      

appeal to a wider portion of the public 
than most  works of a ,theosophical     
character4 ,it speaks to the  ,western  
,world in its own language1 and in this 
fact lies much of its value4    ,those  
of us who have been longing for         
something  practical will find it here1 
while it will  probably come into the   
hands of thousands who  know little or  
nothing of ,theosophy1 and thus meet    
wants deeply felt though unexpressed4   
,there are  also doubtless many1 we     
fancy1 who will be carried  far along in
 its pages by its resistless logic until
  they encounter something which will   
give a rude  shock to some of their old 
conceptions1 which they  have imagined  
as firmly based as upon a rock--a  shock
 which may cause them to draw back in   
alarm1  but from which they will not    
find it so easy to  recover1 and which  
will be likely to set them  thinking    
seriously4    ,the titles of the five   
chapters of the book are1  respectively1
 ,the ,search for ,pleasure1 ,the       

,mystery of ,threshold1 ,the ,initial   
,effort1 ,the  ,meaning of ,pain1 and   
,the ,secret of ,strength4  ,instead of 
speculating upon mysteries that lie at  
the  very end of man's destiny1 and     
which cannot be  approached by any      
manner of conjecture1 the work  very    
sensibly takes up that which lies next  
at hand1  that which constitutes the    
first step to be taken if  we are ever  
to take a second one1 and teaches us its
  significance4 ,at the outset we must  
cope with  sensation and learn its      
nature and meaning4 ,an  important      
teaching of ,light on the ,path has been
  misread by many4 ,we are not enjoined 
to kill out  sensation1 but to kill out 
desire for sensation1  which is         
something quite different4 ,sensation1  
as  we obtain it through the physical   
body1 affords us  all that induces us to
 live in that shape1 says this  work4   
,the problem is1 to extract the meaning 
which  it holds for us4 ,that is what   
existence is for4 ,if  men will but     

pause and consider what lessons they    
have learned from pleasure and pain1    
much might  be guessed of that strange  
thing which causes these  effects4      
,the question concerning results        
seemingly  unknowable1 that concerning  
the life beyond the  ,gates1 is         
presented as one that has been asked    
throughout the ages1 coming at the hour 
when the  flower of civilization had    
blown to its full1 and when  its petals 
are but slackly held together1 the      
period  when man reaches the greatest   
physical development  of his cycle4 ,it 
is then that in the distance a great    
glittering is seen1 before which many   
drop their  eyes bewildered and dazzled1
 though now and then  one is found brave
 enough to gaze fixedly on this         
glittering1 and to decipher something of
 the shape  within it4 ,poets and       
philosophers1 thinkers and  teachers1   
all those who are the 'elder brothers of
 the  race'--have beheld this sight from
 time to time1  and some among them have

 recognized in the bewildering  glitter 
the outlines of the ,gates of ,gold4    
,those ,gates admit us to the sanctuary 
of man's  own nature1 to the place      
whence his life-power  comes1 and where 
he is priest of the shrine of life4  ,it
 needs but a strong hand to push them   
open1 we  are told4 ,the courage to     
enter them is the courage  to search the
 recesses of one's own nature without   
fear and without shame4 ,in the fine    
part1 the  essence1 the flavor of the   
man1 is found the key  which unlocks    
those great ,gates4    ,the necessity of
 killing out the sense of separateness  
is profoundly emphasized as one of the  
most  important factors in this process4
 ,we must divest  ourselves of the      
illusions of the material life4 ,when   
we desire to speak with those who have  
tried the  ,golden ,gates and pushed    
them open1 then it is very              
necessary--in fact it is essential--to  
discriminate1  and not bring into our   
life the confusions of our  sleep4 ,if  

we do1 we are reckoned as madmen1 and   
fall back into the darkness where there 
is no friend  but chaos4 ,this chaos has
 followed every effort of  man that is  
written in history2 after civilization  
has  flowered1 the flower falls and     
dies1 and winter and  darkness destroy  
it4 ,in this last sentence is indicated 
the purpose of civilization4 ,it is the 
blossoming  of a race1 with the purpose 
of producing a certain  spiritual fruit2
 this fruit having ripened1 then the    
degeneration of the great residuum      
begins1 to be  worked over and over     
again in the grand fermenting  processes
 of reincarnation4 ,our great           
civilization  is now flowering and in   
this fact we may read the  reason for   
the extraordinary efforts to sow the    
seed  of the ,mystic ,teachings wherever
 the mind of man  may be ready to       
receive it4    ,in the ,mystery of      
,threshold1 we are told that  only a man
 who has the potentialities in him both 
of the voluptuary and the stoic has any 

chance of  entering the ,golden ,gates4 
,he must be capable of  testing and     
valuing to its most delicate fraction   
every  joy existence has to give2 and he
 must be capable of  denying himself all
 pleasure1 and that without  suffering  
from the denial4    ,the fact that the  
way is different for each individual  is
 finely set forth in ,the ,initial      
,effort1 in  the words that man may     
burst the shell that holds  him in      
darkness1 tear the veil that hides him  
from  the eternal1 at any moment where  
it is easiest for  him to do so2 and    
most often this point will be  where he 
least expects to find it4 ,by this we   
may  see the uselessness of laying down 
arbitrary laws  in the matter4    ,the  
meaning of those important words1 ,all  
steps are necessary to make up the      
ladder1 finds a  wealth of illustration 
here4 ,these sentences are particularly 
pregnant3 ,spirit is not a gas created  
by  matter1 and we cannot create our    
future by forcibly  using one material  

agent and leaving out the rest4  ,spirit
 is the great life on which matter      
rests1 as  does the rocky world on the  
free and fluid ether2  whenever we can  
break our limitations we find ourselves 
on that marvellous shore where          
,wordsworth  once saw the gleam of the  
gold4 ,virtue1 being of  the material   
life1 man has not the power to carry  it
 with him1 yet the aroma of his good    
deeds is a  far sweeter sacrifice than  
the odor of crime and  cruelty4    ,to  
the one who has lifted the golden latch 
the spring of sweet waters1 the fountain
 itself whence  all softness arises1 is 
opened and becomes part of  his         
heritage4 ,but before this can be       
reached a heavy  weight has to be lifted
 from the heart1 an iron bar  which     
holds it down and prevents it from      
arising  in its strength4    ,the author
 here wishes to show that there is      
sweetness and light in occultism1 and   
not merely a  wide dry level of dreadful
 ,karma1 such as some  ,theosophists are

 prone to dwell on4 ,and this sweetness 
and light may be reached when we        
discover  the iron bar and raising it   
shall permit the heart  to be free4     
,this iron bar is what the ,hindus call 
the knot of the heart6 ,in their        
scriptures they  talk of unloosing this 
knot1 and say that when that  is        
accomplished freedom is near4 ,but what 
is the  iron bar and the knot8 is the   
question we must  answer4 ,it is the    
astringent power of self--of            
egotism--of the idea of separateness4   
,this idea has  many strongholds4 ,it   
holds its most secret court and  deepest
 counsels near the far removed depths   
and  centre of the heart4 ,but it       
manifests itself first1 in  that place  
which is nearest to our ignorant        
perceptions1  where we see it first     
after beginning the search4  ,when we   
assault and conquer it there it         
disappears4  ,it has only retreated to  
the next row of outworks  where for a   
time it appears not to our sight1 and   

we imagine it killed1 while it is       
laughing at our  imaginary conquests and
 security4 ,soon again we  find it and  
conquer again1 only to have it again    
retreat4 ,so we must follow it up if we 
wish to  grasp it at last in its final  
stand just near the kernel  of the      
heart4 ,there it has become an iron bar 
that holds down the heart1 and there    
only can  the fight be really won4 ,that
 disciple is fortunate  who is able to  
sink past all the pretended outer       
citadels and seize at once this personal
 devil who  holds the bar of iron1 and  
there wage the battle4  ,if won there1  
it is easy to return to the outermost   
places and take them by capitulation4   
,this is very  difficult1 for many      
reasons4 ,it is not a mere juggle of    
words to speak of this trial4 ,it is a  
living tangible  thing that can be met  
by any real student4 ,the  great        
difficulty of rushing at once to the    
centre lies  in the unimaginable terrors
 which assault the soul  on its short   

journey there4 ,this being so it is     
better  to begin the battle on the      
outside in just the way  pointed out in 
this book and ,light on the ,path1  by  
testing experience and learning from it4
    ,in the lines quoted the author     
attempts to direct  the eyes of a very  
materialistic age to the fact which  is 
an accepted one by all true students of 
occultism1  that the true heart of a    
man--which is visibly represented  by   
the muscular heart--is the focus point  
for spirit1 for knowledge1 for power2   
and that from  that point the converged 
rays begin to spread out  fan-like1     
until they embrace the ,universe4 ,so it
 is  the ,gate4 ,and it is just at that 
neutral spot of  concentration that the 
pillars and the doors are fixed4  ,it is
 beyond it that the glorious golden     
light burns1  and throws up a burnished 
glow4 ,we find in  this the same        
teachings as in the ,upanishads4 ,the   
latter speaks of the ether which is     
within the  heart1 and also says that we

 must pass across  that ether4    ,the  
,meaning of ,pain is considered in a way
  which throws a great light on the     
existence of that  which for ages has   
puzzled many learned men4  ,pain        
arouses1 softens1 breaks1 and destroys4 
,regarded  from a sufficiently removed  
standpoint1 it  appears as a medicine1  
as a knife1 as a weapon1 as a  poison1  
in turn4 ,it is an implement1 a thing   
which  is used1 evidently4 ,what we     
desire to discover is1  who is the user2
 what part of ourselves is it that      
demands the presence of this thing so   
hateful to  the rest8    ,the task is1  
to rise above both pain and pleasure    
and unite them to our service4 ,pain and
 pleasure  stand apart and separate1 as 
do the two sexes2 and  it is in the     
merging1 the making the two into one1   
that joy and deep sensation and profound
 peace are  obtained4 ,where there is   
neither male nor female1  neither pain  
nor pleasure1 there is the god in man   
dominant1 and then is life real4    ,the

 following passage can hardly fail to   
startle  many good people3 ,destiny1 the
 inevitable1 does  indeed exist for the 
race and for the individual2  but who   
can ordain this save the man himself8   
,there is no clew in heaven or earth to 
the existence  of any ordainer other    
than the man who suffers or  enjoys that
 which is ordained4 ,but can any earnest
  student of ,theosophy deny1 or object 
to this8 ,is it  not a pure statement of
 the law of ,karma8 ,does it  not agree 
perfectly with the teaching of the      
,bhagavat-,gita8  ,there is surely no   
power which sits apart  like a judge in 
court1 and fines us or rewards us  for  
this misstep or that merit2 it is we who
 shape1  or ordain1 our own future4     
,god is not denied4 ,the seeming paradox
 that a  ,god exists within each man is 
made clear when we  perceive that our   
separate existence is an illusion2  the 
physical1 which makes us separate       
individuals1  must eventually fall away1
 leaving each man one  with all men1 and

 with ,god1 who is the ,infinite4       
,and the passage which will surely be   
widely  misunderstood is that in ,the   
,secret of ,strength4  ,religion holds a
 man back from the path1 prevents  his  
stepping forward1 for various very plain
 reasons4  ,first1 it makes the vital   
mistake of distinguishing  between good 
and evil4 ,nature knows no such         
distinctions4  ,religion is always      
man-made4 ,it cannot  therefore be the  
whole truth4 ,it is a good thing for    
the ordinary and outside man1 but surely
 it will  never bring him to the ,gates 
of ,gold4 ,if religion  be of ,god how  
is it that we find that same ,god  in   
his own works and acts violating the    
precepts  of religion8 ,he kills each   
man once in life2 every  day the fierce 
elements and strange circumstances      
which he is said to be the author of1   
bring on  famine1 cold and innumerable  
untimely deaths2  where then1 in ,the   
,true1 can there be any room  for such  
distinctions as right and wrong8 ,the   

disciple1  must as he walks on the path1
 abide by law  and order1 but if he pins
 his faith on any religion  whatever he 
will stop at once1 and it makes no      
matter whether he sets up ,mahatmas1    
,gods1 ,krishna1  ,vedas or mysterious  
acts of grace1 each of these  will stop 
him and throw him into a rut from which 
even heavenly death will not release    
him4 ,religion  can only teach morals   
and ethics4 ,it cannot answer  the      
question what am ,i8 ,the ,buddhist     
ascetic  holds a fan before his eyes to 
keep away the sight  of objects         
condemned by his religion4 ,but he      
thereby  gains no knowledge1 for that   
part of him which is  affected by the   
improper sights has to be known by  the 
man himself1 and it is by experience    
alone that  the knowledge can be        
possessed and assimilated4    ,the book 
closes gloriously1 with some hints that 
have been much needed4 ,too many1 even  
of the  sincerest students of occultism1
 have sought to ignore  that one-half of

 their nature1 which is here taught  to 
be necessary4 ,instead of crushing out  
the animal  nature1 we have here the    
high and wise teaching  that we must    
learn to fully understand the animal    
and subordinate it to the spiritual4    
,the god in  man1 degraded1 is a thing  
unspeakable in its  infamous power of   
production4 ,the animal in man1         
elevated1 is a thing unimaginable in its
 great powers  of service and of        
strength1 and we are told that  our     
animal self is a great force1 the secret
 of the  old-world magicians1 and of the
 coming race which  ,lord ,lytton       
foreshadowed4 ,but this power can  only 
be attained by giving the god the       
sovereignty4  ,make your animal ruler   
over your self1 and he will  never rule 
others4    ,this teaching will be seen  
to be identical with  that of the       
closing words of ,the ,idyll of the     
,white  ,lotus3 ,he will learn how to   
expound spiritual  truths1 and to enter 
into the life of his highest self1  and 

he can learn also to hold within him the
 glory  of that higher self1 and yet to 
retain life upon this  planet so long as
 it shall last1 if need be2 to retain   
life in the vigor of manhood1 till his  
entire work is  completed1 and he has   
taught the three truths to all  who look
 for light4    ,there are three         
sentences in the book which  ought to be
 imprinted in the reader's mind1 and we 
present them inversely3    ,secreted and
 hidden in the heart of the world  and  
the heart of man is the light which can 
illumine  all life1 the future and the  
past4    ,on the mental steps of a      
million men ,buddha  passed through the 
,gates of ,gold2 and because a  great   
crowd pressed about the threshold he was
 able  to leave behind him words which  
prove that those  gates will open4      
,this is one of the most important      
factors in  the development of man1 the 
recognition--profound  and complete     
recognition--of the law of  universal   
unity and coherence4