,,the ,,law ,,and ,,the ,,word   ,,by   
,t4 ,,troward  ,late ,divisional ,judge1
 ,punjab4 ,honorary member of the       
,medico-,legal ,society of ,new ,york4  
,first ,vice-,president ,international  
,new ,thought ,alliance  ,author of the 
,edinburgh ,lectures on ,mental         
,science1 etc4      ,,new ,,york        
,,robert ,m4 ,mc,b,r,i,d,e  ,,company   
#aicg     ,,copyright1 #aiag ,,by ,s4,a4
 ,,troward  ,published1 ,may1 #aiag     
,eighth ,printing1 ,june1 #aicg   ,,the 
,,law ,,and ,,the ,,word  ,,printed ,,in
 ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america4
     ,,contents  ,,chapter              
,,page  ,,foreword                      
iii     ,i ,,some ,,facts ,,in ,,nature 
#a    ,,ii ,,some ,,psychic             
,,experiences              #ah   ,,iii  
,,man',s ,,place ,,in ,,the ,,creative  
,,order     #dd    ,,iv ,,the ,,law ,,of
 ,,wholeness                  #ge     ,v
 ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,the ,,subject      
#he    ,,vi ,,the ,,promises            
#ajc   ,,vii ,,death ,,and ,,immortality

                #acb  ,,viii            
,,transferring ,,the ,,burden           
#afh     ,,foreword  ,,thomas ,,troward 
,,an ,,appreciation   ,how is one to    
know a friend8 ,certainly not by the    
duration of acquaintance4 ,neither can  
friendship be bought or sold by service 
rendered4 ,nor can it be coined into    
acts of gallantry or phrases of         
flattery4 ,it has no part in the small  
change of courtesy4 ,it is outside all  
these1 containing them all and superior 
to them all4  ,to some is given the     
great privilege of a day set apart to   
mark the arrival of a total stranger    
panoplied with all the insignia of      
friendship4 ,he comes unannounced4 ,he  
bears no letter of introduction4 ,no    
mutual friend can vouch for him4        
,suddenly and silently he steps         
unexpectedly out of the shadow of       
material concern and spiritual          
obscurity1 into the radiance of intimate
 friendship1 as a picture is projected  
upon a lighted screen4 ,but unlike the  

phantom picture he is an instant reality
 that one's whole being immediately     
recognizes1 and the radiance of         
fellowship that pervades his word1      
thought and action holds all the essence
 of long companionship4  ,unfortunately 
there are too few of these bright       
messengers of ,god to be met with in    
life's pilgrimage1 but that ,judge      
,troward was one of them will never be  
doubted by the thousands who are now    
mourning his departure from among us4   
,those whose closest touch with him has 
been the reading of his books will mourn
 him as a friend only less than those   
who listened to him on the platform4    
,for no books ever written more clearly 
expressed the author4 ,the same simple  
lucidity and gentle humanity1 the same  
effort to discard complicated           
non-essentials1 mark both the man and   
his books4  ,although the spirit of     
benign friendliness pervades his        
writings and illuminated his public     
life1 yet much of his capacity for      

friendship was denied those who were not
 privileged to clasp hands with him and 
to sit beside him in familiar           
confidence4 ,only in the intimacy of the
 fireside did he wholly reveal his      
innate modesty and simplicity of        
character4 ,here alone1 glamoured with  
his radiating friendship1 was shown the 
wealth of his richly-stored mind        
equipped by nature and long training to 
deal logically with the most profound   
and abstruse questions of life4 ,here   
indeed was proof of his greatness1 his  
unassuming superiority1 his humanity1   
his keen sense of honour1 his wit and   
humour1 his generosity and all the      
characteristics of a rare gentleman1 a  
kindly philosopher and a true friend4   
,to ,judge ,troward was given the       
logician's power to strip a subject bare
 of all superfluous and concealing      
verbiage1 and to exhibit the gleaming   
jewels of truth and reality in splendid 
simplicity4 ,this supreme quality1 this 
ability to make the complex simple1 the 

power to subordinate the non-essential1 
gave to his conversation1 to his        
lectures1 to his writings1 and in no    
less degree to his personality1 a direct
 and charming navet that at once        
challenged attention and compelled      
confidence and affection4  ,his         
sincerity was beyond question4 ,however 
much one might differ from him in       
opinion1 at least one never doubted his 
profound faith and complete devotion to 
truth4 ,his guileless nature was beyond 
ungenerous suspicions and selfish       
ambitions4 ,he walked calmly upon his   
way wrapped in the majesty of his great 
thoughts1 oblivious to the vexations of 
the world's cynicism4 ,charity and      
reverence for the indwelling spirit     
marked all his human relations4         
,tolerance of the opinions of others1   
benevolence and tenderness dwelt in his 
every word and act4 ,yet his careful    
consideration of others did not paralyze
 the strength of his firm will or his   
power to strike hard blows at wrong and 

error4 ,the search for truth1 to which  
his life was devoted1 was to him a holy 
quest4 ,that he could and would lay a   
lance in defence of his opinions is     
evidenced in his writings1 and has many 
times been demonstrated to the          
discomfiture of assailing critics4 ,but 
his urbanity was a part of himself and  
never departed from him4  ,not to       
destroy but to create was his part in   
the world4 ,in developing his philosophy
 he built upon the foundation of his    
predecessors4 ,no good and true stone to
 be found among the ruins of the past1  
but was carefully worked into his       
superstructure of modern thought1       
radiant with spirituality1 to the       
building of which the enthusiasm of his 
life was devoted4  ,to one who has      
studied ,judge ,troward1 and grasped the
 significance of his theory of the      
,universal ,sub-conscious ,mind1 and who
 also has attained to an appreciation of
 ,henri ,bergson's theory of a          
,universal ,livingness1 superior to and 

outside the material ,universe1 there   
must appear a distinct correlation of   
ideas4 ,that intricate and ponderously  
irrefutable argument that ,bergson has  
so patiently built up by deep scientific
 research and unsurpassed profundity of 
thought and crystal-clear reason1 that  
leads to the substantial conclusion that
 man has leapt the barrier of           
materiality only by the urge of some    
external pressure superior to himself1  
but which1 by reason of infinite effort1
 he alone of all terrestrial beings has 
succeeded in utilizing in a superior    
manner and to his advantage3 this       
well-rounded and exhaustively           
demonstrated argument in favour of a    
super-livingness in the universe1 which 
finds its highest terrestrial expression
 in man1 appears to be the scientific   
demonstration of ,judge ,troward's basic
 principle of the ,universal            
,sub-conscious ,mind4 ,this universal   
and infinite ,god-consciousness which   
,judge ,troward postulates as man's     

sub-consciousness1 and from which man   
was created and is maintained1 and of   
which all physical1 mental and spiritual
 manifestation is a form of expression1 
appears to be a corollary of ,bergson's 
demonstrated ,universal ,livingness4    
,what ,bergson has so brilliantly proven
 by patient and exhaustive processes of 
science1 ,judge ,troward arrived at by  
intuition1 and postulated as the basis  
of his argument1 which he proceeded to  
develop by deductive reasoning4  ,the   
writer was struck by the apparent       
parallelism of these two distinctly     
dissimilar philosophies1 and mentioned  
the discovery to ,judge ,troward who    
naturally expressed a wish to read      
,bergson1 with whose writings he was    
wholly unacquainted4 ,a loan of         
,bergson's ,creative ,evolution produced
 no comment for several weeks1 when it  
was returned with the characteristic    
remark1 ,i've tried my best to get hold 
of him1 but ,i don't know what he is    
talking about4 ,i mention the remark as 

being characteristic only because it    
indicates his extreme modesty and       
disregard of exhaustive scientific      
research4  ,the ,bergson method of      
scientific expression was unintelligible
 to his mind1 trained to intuitive      
reasoning4 ,the very elaborateness and  
microscopic detail that makes ,bergson  
great is opposed to ,judge ,troward's   
method of simplicity4 ,he cared not for 
complexities1 and the intricate minuti  
of the process of creation1 but was only
 concerned with its motive power--the   
spiritual principles upon which it was  
organized and upon which it proceeds4   
,although the conservator of truth of   
every form and degree wherever found1   
,judge ,troward was a ruthless destroyer
 of sham and pretence4 ,to those        
submissive minds that placidly accept   
everything indiscriminately1 and also   
those who prefer to follow along paths  
of well-beaten opinion1 because the     
beaten path is popular1 to all such he  
would perhaps appear to be an irreverent

 iconoclast seeking to uproot long      
accepted dogma and to overturn existing 
faiths4 ,such an opinion of ,judge      
,troward's work could not prevail with  
any one who has studied his teachings4  
,his reverence for the fundamental      
truths of religious faith was profound1 
and every student of his writings will  
testify to the great constructive value 
of his work4 ,he builded upon an ancient
 foundation a new and nobler structure  
of human destiny1 solid in its          
simplicity and beautiful in its innate  
grandeur4  ,but to the wide circle of   
,judge ,troward's friends he will best  
and most gloriously be remembered as a  
teacher4 ,in his magic mind the         
unfathomable revealed its depths and the
 illimitable its boundaries2 metaphysics
 took on the simplicity of the          
ponderable1 and man himself occupied a  
new and more dignified place in the     
,cosmos4 ,not only did he perceive      
clearly1 but he also possessed that     
quality of mind even more rare than deep

 and clear perception1 that clarity of  
expression and exposition that can carry
 another and less-informed mind along   
with it1 on the current of its          
understanding1 to a logical and         
comprehended conclusion4  ,in his books1
 his lectures and his personality he was
 always ready to take the student by the
 hand1 and in perfect simplicity and    
friendliness to walk and talk with him  
about the deeper mysteries of life--the 
life that includes death--and to shed   
the brilliant light of his wisdom upon  
the obscure and difficult problems that 
torment sincere but rebellious minds4   
,his artistic nature found expression in
 brush and canvas and his great love for
 the sea is reflected in many beautiful 
marine sketches4 ,but if painting was   
his recreation1 his work was the pursuit
 of ,truth wherever to be found1 and in 
whatever disguise4  ,his life has       
enriched and enlarged the lives of many1
 and all those who knew him will        
understand that in helping others he was

 accomplishing exactly what he most     
desired4 ,knowledge1 to him1 was worth  
only what it yielded in uplifting       
humanity to a higher spiritual          
appreciation1 and to a deeper           
understanding of ,god's purpose and     
man's destiny4       ,a man1 indeed6 ,he
 strove not for a place1      ,nor rest1
 nor rule4 ,he daily walked with ,god4  
,his willing feet with service swift    
were shod--      ,an eager soul to serve
 the human race1      ,illume the mind1 
and fill the heart with grace--         
,hope blooms afresh where'er those feet 
have trod4                              
,,paul ,,derrick4      ,,the ,,law ,,and
 ,,the ,,word     ,,chapter ,i  ,,some  
,,facts ,,in ,,nature   ,if ,i were     
asked what1 in my opinion1 distinguishes
 the thought of the present day from    
that of a previous generation1 ,i should
 feel inclined to say1 it is the fact   
that people are beginning to realize    
that ,thought is a power in itself1 one 
of the great forces of the ,universe1   

and ultimately the greatest of forces1  
directing all the others4 ,this idea    
seems to be1 as the ,french say1 in the 
air1 and this very well expresses the   
state of the case--the idea is rapidly  
spreading through many countries and    
through all classes1 but it is still    
very much in the air4 ,it is to a great 
extent as yet only in a gaseous         
condition1 vague and nebulous1 and so   
not leading to the practical results1   
both individual and collective1 which   
might be expected of it1 if it were     
consolidated into a more workable form4 
,we are like some amateurs who want to  
paint finished pictures before they have
 studied the elements of ,art1 and when 
they see an artist do without difficulty
 what they vainly attempt1 they look    
upon him as a being specially favoured  
by ,providence1 instead of putting it   
down to their own want of knowledge4    
,the idea is true4 ,thought is the great
 power of the ,universe4 ,but to make it
 practically available we must know     

something of the principles by which it 
works--that it is not a mere vaporous   
indefinable influence floating around   
and subject to no known laws1 but that  
on the contrary1 it follows laws as     
uncompromising as those of mathematics1 
while at the same time allowing         
unlimited freedom to the individual4    
,now the purpose of the following pages1
 is to suggest to the reader the lines  
on which to find his way out of this    
nebulous sort of thought into something 
more solid and reliable4 ,i do not      
profess1 like a certain ,negro preacher1
 to unscrew the inscrutable1 for we can 
never reach a point where we shall not  
find the inscrutable still ahead of us2 
but if ,i can indicate the use of a     
screw-driver instead of a hatchet1 and  
that the screws should be turned from   
left to right1 instead of from right to 
left1 it may enable us to unscrew some  
things which would otherwise remain     
screwed down tight4 ,we are all         
beginners1 and indeed the hopefulness of

 life is in realizing that there are    
such vistas of unending possibilities   
before us1 that however far we may      
advance1 we shall always be on the      
threshold of something greater4 ,we must
 be like ,peter ,pan1 the boy who never 
grew up--heaven defend me from ever     
feeling quite grown up1 for then ,i     
should come to a standstill2 so the     
reader must take what ,i have to say    
simply as the talk of one boy to another
 in the ,great ,school1 and not expect  
too much4  ,the first question then is1 
where to begin4 ,descartes commenced his
 book with the words ,cogito1 ergo sum4 
,i think1 therefore ,i am1 and we cannot
 do better than follow his example4     
,there are two things about which we    
cannot have any doubt--our own          
existence1 and that of the world around 
us4 ,but what is it in us that is aware 
of these two things1 that hopes and     
fears and plans regarding them8         
,certainly not our flesh and bones4 ,a  
man whose leg has been amputated is able

 to think just the same4 ,therefore it  
is obvious that there is something in us
 which receives impressions and forms   
ideas1 that reasons upon facts and      
determines upon courses of action and   
carries them out1 which is not the      
physical body4 ,this is the real ,i     
,myself4 ,this is the ,person we are    
really concerned with2 and it is the    
betterment of this ,i ,myself that makes
 it worth while to enquire what our     
,thought has to do in the matter4       
,equally true it is on the other hand   
that the forces of ,nature around us do 
not think4 ,steam1 electricity1         
gravitation1 and chemical affinity do   
not think4 ,they follow certain fixed   
laws which we have no power to alter4   
,therefore we are confronted at the     
outset by a broad distinction between   
two modes of ,motion--the ,movement of  
,thought and the ,movement of ,cosmic   
,energy--the one based upon the exercise
 of ,consciousness and ,will1 and the   
other based upon ,mathematical          

,sequence4 ,this is why that system of  
instruction known as ,free ,masonry     
starts by erecting the two symbolic     
pillars ,jachin and ,boaz--,jachin so   
called from the root ,yak meaning ,one1 
indicating the ,mathematical element of 
,law2 and ,boaz1 from the root ,awz     
meaning ,voice indicating ,personal     
element of ,free ,will4 ,these names are
 taken from the description in ,i ,kings
 vii1 #ba and ,,ii ,chron4 iii1 #ag of  
the building of ,solomon's ,temple1     
where these two pillars stood before the
 entrance1 the meaning being that the   
,temple of ,truth can only be entered by
 passing between them1 that is1 by      
giving each of these factors their due  
relation to the other1 and by realizing 
that they are the two ,pillars of the   
,universe1 and that no real progress can
 be made except by finding the true     
balance between them4 ,law and          
,personality--these are the two great   
principles with which we have to deal1  
and the problem is to square the one    

with the other4  ,let me start1 then1 by
 considering some well established facts
 in the physical world which show how   
the known ,law acts under certain known 
conditions1 and this will lead us on in 
an intelligible manner to see how the   
same ,law is likely to work under as yet
 unknown conditions4 ,if we had to deal 
with unknown laws as well as unknown    
conditions we should1 indeed1 be up a   
gum tree4 ,fancy a mathematician having 
to solve an equation1 both sides of     
which were entirely made up of unknown  
quantities--where would he be8 ,happily 
this is not the case4 ,the ,law is ,,one
 throughout1 and the apparent variety of
 its working results from the infinite  
variety of the conditions under which it
 may work4 ,let us lay a foundation1    
then1 by seeing how it works in what we 
call the common course of ,nature4 ,a   
few examples will suffice4  ,hardly more
 than a generation ago it was supposed  
that the analysis of matter could not be
 carried further than its reduction to  

some seventy primary chemical elements1 
which in various combinations produced  
all material substances2 but there was  
no explanation how all these different  
elements came into existence4 ,each     
appeared to be an original creation1 and
 there was no accounting for them4 ,but 
now-a-days1 as the rustic physician says
 in ,molire's play of the ,mdecin ,malgr
 ,lui1 nous avons chang tout cela4      
,modern science has shown conclusively  
that every kind of chemical atom is     
composed of particles of one original   
substance which appears to pervade all  
space1 and to which the name of ,ether  
has been given4 ,some of these particles
 carry a positive charge of electricity 
and some a negative1 and the chemical   
atom is formed by the grouping of a     
certain number of negatively charged    
particles round a centre composed of    
positive electricity around which they  
revolve2 and it is the number of these  
particles and the rate of their motion  
that determines the nature of the atom1 

whether1 for instance1 it will be an    
atom of iron or an atom of hydrogen1 and
 thus we are brought back to ,plato's   
old aphorism that the ,universe consists
 of ,number and ,motion4  ,the size of  
these etheric particles is small beyond 
anything but abstract mathematical      
conception4 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge is      
reported to have made the following     
comparison in a lecture delivered at    
,birmingham4 ,the chemical atom1 he     
said1 is as small in comparison to a    
drop of water as a cricket-ball is      
compared to the globe of the earth2 and 
yet this atom is as large in comparison 
to one of its constituent particles as  
,birmingham town-hall is to a pin's     
head4 ,again1 it has been said that in  
proportion to the size of the particles 
the distance at which they revolve round
 the centre of the atom is as great as  
the distance from the earth to the sun4 
,i must leave the realization of such   
infinite minuteness to the reader's     
imagination--it is beyond mine4  ,modern

 science thus shows us all material     
substance1 whether that of inanimate    
matter or that of our own bodies1 as    
proceeding out of one primary etheric   
substance occupying all space and       
homogeneous1 that is being of a uniform 
substance--and having no qualities to   
distinguish one part from another4 ,now 
this conclusion of science is important 
because it is precisely the fact that   
out of this homogeneous substance       
particles are produced which differ from
 the original substance in that they    
possess positive and negative energy and
 of these particles the atom is built   
up4 ,so then comes the question3 ,what  
started this differentiation8  ,the     
electronic theory which ,i have just    
mentioned takes us as far as a universal
 homogeneous ether as the source from   
which all matter is evolved1 but it does
 not account for how motion originated  
in it2 but perhaps another closely      
allied scientific theory will help us4  
,let us1 then1 turn to the question of  

,vibrations or ,waves in ,ether4 ,in    
scientific language the length of a wave
 is the distance from the crest of one  
wave to that of the wave immediately    
following it4 ,now modern science       
recognizes a long series of waves in    
ether1 commencing with the smallest yet 
known measuring #j4a micron1 or about   
#a_/bed1jjj of an inch1 in length1      
measured by ,professor ,schumann in     
#ahic1 and extending to waves of many   
miles in length used in wireless        
telegraphy--for instance those employed 
between ,clifden in ,galway and ,glace  
,bay in ,nova ,scotia are estimated to  
have a length of nearly four miles4     
,these infinitesimally small            
ultra-violet or actinic waves1 as they  
are called1 are the principal agents in 
photography1 and the great waves of     
wireless telegraphy are able to carry a 
force across the ,atlantic which can    
sensibly affect the apparatus on the    
other side2 therefore we see that the   
ether of space affords a medium through 

which energy can be transmitted by means
 of vibrations4  ,but what starts the   
vibrations8 ,hertz announced his        
discovery of the electro-magnetic waves1
 now known by his name1 in #ahhh2 but1  
following up the labours of various     
other investigators1 ,lodge1 ,marconi   
and others finally developed their      
practical application after ,hertz's    
death which occurred in #ahid4 ,to      
,hertz1 however1 belongs the honour of  
discovering how to generate these waves 
by means of sudden1 sharply defined1    
electrical discharges4 ,the principle   
may be illustrated by dropping a stone  
in smooth water4 ,the sudden impact sets
 up a series of ripples all round the   
centre of disturbance1 and the          
electrical impulse acts similarly in the
 ether4 ,indeed the fact that the waves 
flow in all directions from the central 
impulse is one of the difficulties of   
wireless telegraphy1 because the message
 may be picked up in any direction by a 
receiver tuned to the same rate of      

vibration1 and the interest for us      
consists in the hypothesis that         
thought-waves act in an analogous       
manner4  ,that vibrations are excited by
 sound is beautifully exemplified by the
 eidophone1 an instrument invented1 ,i  
believe1 by ,mrs4 ,watts-,hughes1 and   
with which ,i have seen that lady       
experiment4 ,dry sand is scattered on a 
diaphragm on which the eidophone        
concentrates the vibrations from music  
played near it4 ,the sand1 as it were1  
dances in time to the music1 and when   
the music stops is found to settle into 
definite forms1 sometimes like a tree or
 a flower1 or else some geometrical     
figure1 but never a confused jumble4    
,perhaps in this we may find the origin 
of the legends regarding the creative   
power of ,orpheus' lyre1 and also the   
sacred dances of the ancients--who      
knows6  ,perhaps some critical reader   
may object that sound travels by means  
of atmospheric and not etheric waves2   
but is he prepared to say that it cannot

 produce etheric waves also4 ,the very  
recent discovery of transatlantic       
telephoning tends to show that etheric  
waves can be generated by sound1 for on 
the #bjth of ,october1 #aiae1 words     
spoken in ,new ,york were immediately   
heard in ,paris1 and could therefore    
only have been transmitted through the  
ether1 for sound travels through the    
atmosphere only at the rate of about    
#gej miles an hour1 while the speed of  
impulses through ether can only be      
compared to that of light or #ahf1jjj   
miles in a second4 ,it is therefore a   
fair inference that etheric vibrations  
can be inaugurated by sound4  ,perhaps  
the reader may feel inclined to say with
 the ,irishman that all this is as dry  
as ditch-water1 but he will see before  
long that it has a good deal to do with 
ourselves4 ,for the present what ,i want
 him to realize by a few examples is the
 mathematical accuracy of ,law4 ,the    
value of these examples lies in their   
illustration of the fact that the ,law  

can always be trusted to lead us on to  
further knowledge4 ,we see it working   
under known conditions1 and relying on  
its unchangeableness1 we can then       
logically infer what it will do under   
other hypothetical conditions1 and in   
this way many important discoveries have
 been made4 ,for instance it was in this
 way that ,mendelef1 the ,russian       
chemist1 assumed the existence of three 
then unknown chemical elements1 now     
called ,scandium1 ,gallium and          
,germanium4 ,there was a gap in the     
orderly sequence of the chemical        
elements1 and relying on the old        
maxim--,natura nihil facit per          
saltum--,nature nowhere leaves a gap to 
jump over--he argued that if such       
elements did not exist they ought to1   
and so he calculated what these elements
 ought to be like1 giving their atomic  
weight1 chemical affinities1 and the    
like2 and when they were discovered many
 years later they were found to answer  
exactly to his description4 ,he         

prophesied1 not by guesswork1 but by    
knowledge of the ,law2 and in much the  
same way radium was discovered by       
,professor and ,madame ,curie4 ,in like 
manner ,hertz was led to the discovery  
of the electro-magnetic waves4 ,the     
celebrated mathematician ,clerk-,maxwell
 had calculated all particulars of these
 waves twenty-five years before ,hertz1 
on the basis of these calculations1     
worked out his discovery4 ,again1       
,neptune1 the outermost known planet of 
our system was discovered by the        
astronomer ,galle in consequence of     
calculations made by ,leverrier4        
,certain variations in the movements of 
the planets were mathematically         
unaccountable except on the hypothesis  
that some more remote planet existed4   
,astronomers had faith in mathematics   
and the hypothetical planet was found to
 be a reality4 ,instances of this kind  
might be multiplied1 but as the ,french 
say  quoi bon8 ,i think these will be   
sufficient to convince the reader that  

the invariable sequence of ,law is a    
factor to be relied upon1 and that by   
studying its working under known        
conditions we may get at least some     
measure of light on conditions which are
 as yet unknown to us4  ,let us now pass
 on to the human subject and consider a 
few examples of what is usually called  
the psychic side of our nature4 ,walt   
,whitman was quite right when he said   
that we are not all included between our
 hat and our boots2 we shall find that  
our modes of consciousness and powers of
 action are not entirely restricted to  
our physical body4 ,the importance of   
this line of enquiry lies in the fact   
that if we do possess extra-physical    
powers1 these also form part of our     
personality and must be included in our 
estimate of our relation to our         
environment1 and it is therefore worth  
our while to consider them4  ,some very 
interesting experiments have been made  
by ,de ,rochas1 an eminent ,french      
scientist1 which go to show that under  

certain magnetic conditions the         
sensation of physical touch can be      
experienced at some distance from the   
body4 ,he found that under these        
conditions the person experimented on is
 insensible to the prick of a needle run
 into his skin1 but if the prick is made
 about an inch-and-a-half away from the 
surface of the skin he feels it4 ,again 
at about three inches from this point he
 feels the prick of the needle1 but is  
insensible to it in the space between   
these two points4 ,then there comes     
another interval in which no sensation  
is conveyed1 but at about three inches  
still further away he again feels the   
sensation1 and so on2 so that he appears
 to be surrounded by successive zones of
 sensation1 the first about an          
inch-and-a-half from the body1 and the  
others at intervals of about three      
inches each4 ,the number of these zones 
seems to vary in different cases1 but in
 some there are as many as six or seven1
 thus giving a radius of sensation1     

extending to more than twenty inches    
beyond the body4  ,now to explain this  
we must have recourse to what ,i have   
already said about waves4 ,the heart and
 the lungs are the two centres of       
automatic rhythmic movement in the body1
 and each projects its own series of    
vibrations into the etheric envelope4   
,those projected by the lungs are       
estimated to be three times the length  
of those projected by the heart1 while  
those projected by the heart are three  
times as rapid as those projected by the
 lungs4 ,consequently if the two sets of
 waves start together the crest of every
 third wave of the rapid series of short
 waves will coincide with the crest of  
one of the long waves of the slower     
series1 while the intermediate short    
waves will coincide with the depression 
of one of the long waves4 ,now the      
effect of the crest of one wave         
overtaking that of another going in the 
same direction1 is to raise the two     
together at that point into a single    

wave of greater amplitude or height than
 the original waves had by themselves2  
if the reader has the opportunity of    
studying the inflowing of waves on the  
seabeach he can verify this for himself4
 ,consequently when the more rapid      
etheric waves overtake the slower ones  
they combine to form a larger wave1 and 
it is at these points that the zones of 
sensation occur4 ,if the reader will    
draw a diagram of two waved lines       
travelling along the same horizontal    
line and so proportioned that the crest 
of each of the large waves coincides    
with the crest of every third wave of   
the small ones1 he will see what ,i     
mean3 and if he then recollects that the
 fall in the larger waves neutralizes   
the rise in the smaller ones1 and that  
because this double series starts from  
the interior of the body the surface of 
the body comes just at one of these     
neutralized points1 he will see why     
sensation is neutralized there2 and he  
will also see why the succeeding zones  

of sensation are double the distance    
from each other that the first one is   
from the surface of the body2 it is     
simply because the surface of the body  
cuts the first long wave exactly in the 
middle1 and therefore only half that    
wave occurs outside the body4 ,this is  
the explanation given by ,de ,rochas1   
and it affords another example of that  
principle of mathematical sequence of   
which ,i have spoken4 ,it would appear  
that under normal conditions the double 
series of vibrations is spread all over 
the body1 and so all parts are alike    
sensitive to touch4  ,i think1 then1 we 
may assume on the basis of ,de ,rochas' 
experiments and others that there are   
such things as etheric vibrations       
proceeding from human personality1 and  
in the next chapter ,i will give some   
examples showing that the psychic       
personality extends still further than  
these experiments1 taken by themselves1 
would indicate--in fact that we possess 
an additional range of faculties far    

exceeding those which we ordinarily     
exercise through the physical body1 and 
which must therefore be included in our 
conception of ourselves if we are to    
have an adequate idea of what we really 
are4     ,,chapter ,,ii  ,,some         
,,psychic ,,experiences   ,the preceding
 chapter has introduced the reader to   
the general subject of etheric vibration
 as one of the natural forces of the    
,universe1 both as the foundation of all
 matter and as the medium for the       
transmission of energy to immense       
distances1 and also as something        
continually emanating from human beings4
 ,in the present chapter ,i shall       
consider it more particularly in this   
last aspect1 which1 as included in our  
own personality1 very immediately       
concerns ourselves4 ,i will commence    
with an instance of the practical       
application of this fact4 ,some years   
ago ,i was lunching at the house of     
,lady ---- in company of a well-known   
mental healer whom ,i will call ,mr4 ,y4

 and a well-known ,london physician whom
 ,i will call ,dr4 ,w4 ,mr4 ,y4         
mentioned the case of a lady whose leg  
had been amputated above the knee some  
years previously to her coming under his
 care1 yet she frequently felt pains in 
the 7amputated7 knee and lower part of  
the left leg and foot4 ,dr4 ,w4 said    
this was to be attributed to the nerves 
which convey to the brain the sensation 
of the extremities1 much as a telegraph 
line might be tapped in the middle1 and 
,mr4 ,y4 agreed that this was perfectly 
true on the purely physical side4 ,but  
he went on to say1 that accidentally    
putting his hand where the amputated    
foot should have been he felt it there4 
,then it occurred to him that since     
there was no material foot to be        
touched1 it must be through the medium  
of his own psychic body that the        
sensation of touch was conveyed to him1 
and accordingly he asked the lady to    
imagine that she was making various     
movements with the amputated limb1 all  

of which he felt1 and was able to tell  
her what each movement was1 which she   
said he did correctly4 ,then1 to carry  
the experiment further1 he reversed the 
process and with his hand moved the     
invisible leg and foot in various ways1 
all of which the lady felt and          
described4 ,he then determined to treat 
the invisible leg as though it were a   
real one1 and joined up the circuit by  
taking her left foot in his right hand  
and her right foot 7the amputated one7  
in his left1 with the result that she   
immediately felt relief2 and after      
successive treatments in this way was   
entirely cured4  ,a well authenticated  
case like this opens up a good many     
interesting questions regarding the     
,psychic ,body1 but the most important  
point appears to me to be that we are   
able to experience sensation by means of
 it4 ,in this case1 however1 and those  
mentioned in the preceding chapter1 the 
physical body was actually present1 and 
if we stopped at this point1 we might   

question whether its presence was not a 
sine qua non for the action of the      
etheric vibrations4 ,i will therefore   
pass on to a class of examples which    
show that very curious phenomena can    
take place without the physical body    
being on the spot4 ,there are numerous  
well verified cases of the kind to be   
found in the records of the ,society for
 ,psychical ,research and in other books
 by trustworthy writers2 but it may     
perhaps interest the present reader to  
hear one or two instances of my personal
 experience which1 though they may not  
be so striking as some of those recorded
 by others1 still point in the same     
direction4  ,my first introduction to   
,scotland was when ,i delivered the     
course of lectures in ,edinburgh which  
led to the publication of my first book1
 the ,edinburgh ,lectures on ,mental    
,science4 ,the following years ,i gave a
 second course of lectures in           
,edinburgh1 but the friends who had     
kindly entertained me on the former     

occasion had in the meanwhile gone to   
live elsewhere4 ,however1 a certain ,mr4
 ,s41 whose acquaintance ,i had made on 
my previous visit1 invited me to stay   
with him for a day or two while ,i could
 look round for other accommodation1    
though1 as it turned out1 ,i remained at
 his house during the whole month ,i was
 in ,edinburgh4 ,i had1 however1 never  
seen his house1 which was on the        
opposite side of the town to where ,i   
had stayed before4 ,i arrived there on a
 ,tuesday1 and ,mr4 ,s4 and his family  
at once met me with the question3  ,what
 were you thinking of at ten o'clock on 
,sunday evening8  ,i could not          
immediately recall this1 and also wanted
 to know the reason of their question4  
,we have something curious to tell you1 
they replied1 but first try to remember 
what you were thinking of at ten o'clock
 on ,sunday evening--were you thinking  
about us8  ,then ,i recollected that    
about that time ,i was saying my usual  
prayers before going to bed and had     

asked that1 if ,i could stay only a day 
or two with ,mr4 ,s41 ,i should be      
directed to a suitable place for the    
remainder of the time4  ,that explains  
it1 they replied2 and then they went on 
to tell me that at the hour in question 
,mr4 ,s4 and his son1 a young man of    
about twenty1 had entered their         
dining-room together and seen me        
standing leaning against the            
mantel-shelf4 ,they were both           
hard-headed ,scotchmen engaged in       
business in ,edinburgh1 and certainly   
not the sort of people to conjure up    
fanciful imaginings1 nor is it likely   
that the same fancy should have occurred
 to both of them2 and therefore ,i can  
only suppose that they actually saw what
 they said they did4 ,now ,i myself was 
in ,london at the time of this          
appearance in ,edinburgh1 of which ,i   
had no consciousness whatever2 at the   
same time the fact of my being seen in  
,edinburgh exactly at the time when my  
thought1 in prayer1 was centred upon    

,mr4 ,s4's house 7which ,i had not then 
seen7 is a coincidence suggesting that  
in some way my ,thought had made itself 
visible there in the image of my        
external personality4  ,in this case1 as
 ,i have said1 ,i was not conscious of  
my psychic visit to ,edinburgh1 but ,i  
will now relate a converse instance1    
which occurred in connection with my    
first visit there4 ,at that time ,i had 
never been in ,scotland1 and so far as  
,i knew was never likely to go there4 ,i
 was wide awake1 writing in my study at 
,norwood1 where ,i then lived1 when ,i  
suddenly found myself in a place totally
 unknown to me1 where stood the ruins of
 an ancient abbey1 part of which1       
however1 was still roofed over and used 
as a place of worship4 ,i felt much     
interested1 and among other things ,i   
noted a ,latin inscription on a tablet  
in one of the walls4 ,there seemed to be
 an invisible guide showing me over the 
place1 who then pointed out a long low  
house opposite the abbey1 and said3     

,this is the house of the clergyman of  
the abbey2 and ,i was then taken inside 
the house and shown a number of         
antique-looking rooms4 ,then ,i came to 
myself1 and found ,i was sitting at my  
writing-table in ,norwood4 ,i had1      
however1 a clear recollection of the    
place ,i had seen1 but no idea where it 
was1 or indeed whether any such place   
really existed4 ,i also remembered a    
portion of the ,latin inscription1 which
 ,i at once wrote down in a note-book1  
as my curiosity was aroused4  ,as ,i    
have said1 ,i had no reason at that time
 to suppose ,i should ever go to        
,scotland1 but some weeks later ,i was  
invited to lecture in ,edinburgh4       
,another visitor in the house where ,i  
was a guest there1 was the wife of the  
,county ,court ,judge of ,cumberland1   
and ,i showed her and our hostess the   
part of the ,latin inscription ,i had   
retained1 and suggested that perhaps it 
might exist somewhere in ,edinburgh4    
,however nothing answering to what ,i   

had seen was to be found1 so we         
relegated the whole thing to the region 
of unaccountable fancies1 and thought no
 more about it4 ,the ,judge's wife took 
her departure before me1 and kindly     
invited me to spend a few days at their 
residence near ,carlisle on my return   
journey1 which ,i did4 ,one day she     
drove me out to see ,lanercost ,abbey1  
one of the show-places of the           
neighbourhood1 and walking round the    
building ,i found in one of the walls   
the ,latin inscription in question4 ,i  
called ,mrs4 ----1 who was a little way 
off1 and said3 ,look at this            
inscription4  ,she at once replied3     
,why6 that is the very inscription we   
were all puzzling over in ,edinburgh6   
,it turned out to be an inscription in  
memory of the founder of the abbey1     
dating from somewhere in the            
eleven-hundreds4 ,the whole place       
answered exactly to what ,i had seen1   
and the long low parsonage was there    
also4  ,i should have liked you to see  

it inside1 said ,mrs4 ----1 but ,i have 
never met the vicar1 though ,i know his 
mother-in-law1 so we must give it up4   
,we were just entering our carriage when
 the garden-gate opened1 and who should 
come out but the mother-in-law4  ,oh1   
,mrs4 ----1 she said1 addressing the    
,judge's wife1 ,i am here on a visit and
 you must come in and take tea4 ,so we  
went in and were shown over the house1  
much as ,i had been in my vision1 and   
some portions were so old that1 among   
other rooms1 we were shown the one      
occupied by ,king ,edward ,i on his     
march against ,scotland in the year     
#abif1 when the ,scottish regalia was   
captured1 and the celebrated            
,crowning-,stone was brought to ,england
 and placed in ,westminster ,abbey1     
where it has ever since remained--a     
stone having an occult relation to the  
history of the ,british and ,american   
peoples of the highest interest to both1
 but as there is already an extensive   
literature on this subject ,i will not  

enter upon it here4  ,i will now relate 
another curious experience4 ,we had only
 recently taken up our residence at     
,norwood1 when one day ,i was seated in 
the dining-room1 but suddenly found     
myself in the hall1 and saw two ladies  
going up the stairs4 ,they passed close 
to me1 and turning round the landing at 
the top of the stairs passed out of     
sight in a perfectly natural manner4    
,they looked as solid as any one ,i have
 ever seen in my life4 ,one of them was 
a stout lady with a rather florid       
complexion1 apparently between          
forty-five and fifty1 wearing a silk    
blouse with thin purple and white       
stripes4 ,leaning on her arm was a      
slightly-built old lady with white      
ringlets1 dressed all in black and      
wearing a lace mantilla4 ,i noticed     
their appearance particularly4 ,the next
 moment ,i found ,i was really sitting  
in the dining-room1 and that the ladies 
,i had seen were nothing but visionary  
figures4 ,i wondered what it could mean1

 but as we had only recently taken the  
house1 thought it better not to mention 
it to any of my family1 for fear of     
causing them alarm4 ,but a few days     
later ,i mentioned it to a ,mrs4 ,f4 who
 ,i knew had had some experience in such
 matters1 and she said3 ,you have seen  
either some one who has lived in the    
house or who is going to live there4    
,then the matter dropped4  ,about a     
month later my wife arranged by         
correspondence for a certain ,miss ,b4  
to come as governess to our children4   
,when she arrived there was no mistaking
 her identity4 ,she was the stout lady  
,i had seen1 and the next morning she   
came down to breakfast dressed in the   
identical blouse with purple and white  
stripes4 ,there was no mistaking her1   
but ,i was puzzled as to who the other  
figure could be whom ,i had seen along  
with her4 ,i resolved1 however1 to say  
nothing about the matter until we became
 better acquainted1 lest she should     
think that my mind was not quite        

balanced4 ,i therefore held my peace for
 six months1 at the end of which time ,i
 concluded that we knew enough of each  
other to allow one another credit for   
being fairly level-headed4 ,then ,i     
thought1 now if ,i tell her what ,i saw 
she may perhaps be acted upon by        
suggestion and imagine a resemblance    
between the unknown figure and some     
acquaintance of hers1 so ,i will not    
begin by telling her of the vision1 but 
will first ask if she knows any one     
answering to the description1 and give  
her the reason afterwards4 ,i therefore 
took a suitable opportunity of asking   
her if she knew any such person1        
describing the figure to her as         
accurately as ,i could4  ,her look of   
surprise grew as ,i went on1 and when ,i
 had finished she explained with        
astonishment3 ,why1 ,mr4 ,troward1 where
 could you have seen my mother8 ,she is 
an invalid1 and ,i am certain you have  
never seen her1 and yet you have        
described her most accurately4  ,then ,i

 told her what ,i had seen4 ,she asked  
what ,i thought was the explanation of  
the appearance1 and the only explanation
 ,i could give was1 that ,i supposed she
 was on the look-out for a post and paid
 us a preliminary visit to see whether  
ours would suit her1 and that1 being    
naturally interested in her welfare1 her
 mother had accompanied her4 ,perhaps   
you will say3 ,what came of it8 ,well1  
nothing came of it1 nor did anything    
come of my psychic visits to ,edinburgh 
and ,lanercost ,abbey4 ,such occurrences
 seem to be simple facts in ,nature     
which1 though on some occasions         
connected with premonitions of more or  
less importance1 are by no means        
necessarily so4 ,they are the           
functioning of certain faculties which  
we all possess1 but of the nature of    
which we as yet know very little4  ,it  
will be noticed that in the first of    
these three cases ,i myself was the     
person seen1 though unaware of the fact4
 ,in the last ,i was the percipient1 but

 the persons seen by me were unconscious
 of their visit2 and in the second case 
,i was conscious of my presence at a    
place which ,i had never heard of1 and  
which ,i visited some time after4 ,in   
two of these cases1 therefore1 the      
persons1 making the psychic visit1 were 
not aware of having done so1 while in   
the third1 a memory of what had been    
seen was retained4 ,but all three cases 
have this in common1 that the psychic   
visit was not the result of an act of   
conscious volition1 and also1 that the  
psychic action took place at a long     
distance from the physical body4  ,from 
these personal experiences1 as well as  
from many well authenticated cases      
recorded by other writers1 ,i should be 
inclined to infer that the psychic      
action is entirely independent of the   
physical body1 and in support of this   
view ,i will cite yet another           
experience4  ,it was about the year     
#ahge1 when ,i was a young ,assistant   
,commissioner in the ,punjab1 that ,i   

was ordered to the small up-country     
station of ,akalpur1#a and took         
possession of the ,assistant            
,commissioner's bungalow there4 ,on the 
night of our arrival in the bungalow1 my
 wife and ,i had our charpoys--light    
,indian bedsteads--placed side by side  
in a certain room and went to bed4 ,the 
last thing ,i remembered before falling 
asleep1 was seeing my wife sitting up in
 bed1 reading with a lamp on a small    
table beside her4 ,suddenly ,i was      
awakened by the sound of a shot1 and    
starting up1 found the room in darkness4
 ,i immediately lit a candle which was  
on a chair by my bedside1 and found my  
wife still sitting up with the book on  
her knee1 but the lamp had gone out4    
,take me away1 take me into another     
room1 she exclaimed4  ,why1 what is the 
matter8 ,i said4  ,did you not see it8  
she replied4  ,see what8 ,i asked4      
,don't stop to ask any questions1 she   
replied2 get me out of this room at     
once2 ,i can't stop here another minute4

  ,i saw she was very frightened1 so ,i 
called up the servants1 and had our beds
 removed to a room on the other side of 
the house1 and then she told me what she
 had seen4 ,she said3 ,i was sitting    
reading as you saw me1 when looking     
round1 ,i saw the figure of an          
,englishman standing close by my        
bedside1 a fine-looking man with a large
 fair moustache and dressed in a grey   
suit4 ,i was so surprised that ,i could 
not speak1 and we remained looking at   
each other for about a minute4 ,then he 
bent over me and whispered3 ',don't be  
afraid1' and with that there was the    
sound of a shot1 and everything was in  
darkness4  ,my dear girl1 you must have 
fallen asleep over your book and been   
dreaming1 ,i said4  ,no1 ,i was wide    
awake1 she insisted2 you were asleep1   
but ,i was awake all the time4 ,but you 
heard the shot1 did you not8  ,yes1 ,i  
replied1 that is what woke me--some one 
must have fired a shot outside4  ,but   
why should any one be shooting in our   

garden at nearly midnight8 my wife      
objected4  ,it certain seemed strange1  
but it was the only explanation that    
suggested itself2 so we had to agree to 
differ1 she being convinced that she had
 seen a ghost1 and that the shot had    
been inside the room1 and ,i being      
equally convinced that she had been     
dreaming1 and that the shot had been    
fired outside the house4  ,the next     
morning the owner of the bungalow1 an   
old widow lady1 ,mrs4 ,la ,chaire1      
called to make kindly enquiries as to   
whether she could be of any service to  
us on our arrival4 ,after thanking her1 
my wife said3 ,i expect you will laugh  
at me1 but ,i cannot help telling you   
there is something strange about the    
bungalow2 and she then went on to       
narrate what she had seen4  ,instead of 
laughing the old lady looked more and   
more serious as she went on1 and when   
she had done asked to be shown exactly  
where the apparition had appeared4 ,my  
wife took her to the spot1 and on being 

shown it old ,mrs4 ,la ,chaire          
exclaimed3 ,this is the most wonderful  
thing ,i have ever heard of4 ,eighteen  
years ago my bed was on the very spot   
where yours was last night1 and ,i was  
lying in it too ill to move1 when my    
husband1 whom you have described most   
accurately1 stood where you saw him and 
shot himself dead4  ,this statement of  
the widow convinced me that my wife had 
really seen what she said she had1 and  
had not dreamed it2 and this experience 
has led me to make further enquiries    
into the nature of happenings of this   
kind1 with the result1 that after       
carefully eliminating all cases which   
could be accounted for in any other     
manner1 ,i have found myself compelled  
to admit a considerable number of       
instances of what are called ghosts1 on 
the word of persons whose veracity and  
soundness of judgment ,i should not     
doubt on any other subject4 ,it is often
 said that you never meet any one who   
has himself seen a ghost1 but only those

 who have heard of somebody else seeing 
one4 ,this ,i can entirely contradict1  
for ,i have met with many trustworthy   
persons of both sexes1 who have given me
 accounts of such appearances having    
been actually witnessed by themselves4  
,in conclusion1 ,i may mention that ,i  
was telling this story some twenty years
 later to a ,colonel ,fox1 who had known
 the unfortunate man who committed      
suicide1 and he said to me3 ,do you know
 what were the last words he said to his
 wife8  ,no1 ,i replied4  ,the very same
 words he spoke to your wife1 said      
,colonel ,fox4  ,this is the story ,i   
refer to in my book ,bible ,mystery and 
,bible ,meaning as that of the ,ghost   
that ,i did not see4 ,i do not attempt  
to offer any explanation of it1 but     
merely give the facts as they occurred1 
and the reader must form his own theory 
on the subject2 but the reason ,i bring 
in this story in the present connection 
is1 that in this instance there could be
 no question of the physical body       

contributing to the psychic phenomenon1 
since the person seen had been dead for 
nearly twenty years2 and coupling this  
fact with the distance from the physical
 body at which the psychic action took  
place in the other cases ,i have        
mentioned1 ,i think there is a very     
strong presumption that the psychic     
powers can1 and do1 act independently of
 the physical body2 though of course it 
does not follow from this that they     
cannot also act in conjunction with it4 
,on the other hand1 a comparison of the 
present case with those previously      
mentioned1 fails to throw any light on  
the important question whether the      
deceased feels any consciousness of the 
action which the percipient sees1 or    
whether what is seen is like a sort of  
photograph impressed upon the atmosphere
 of a particular locality1 and visible  
only to certain persons1 who are able to
 sense etheric wave-lengths which are   
outside the range of the single octave  
forming the solar spectrum4 ,it throws  

no light on this question1 because1 in  
the case of my being seen by ,mr4 ,s4 in
 ,edinburgh and that of ,miss ,b4 and   
her mother being seen by me at ,norwood1
 none of us were conscious of having    
been at those places2 while in the case 
of my psychic visit to ,lanercost       
,abbey1 and other similar experiences ,i
 have had1 ,i have been fully aware of  
seeing the places in question4 ,the     
evidence tells both ways1 and ,i can    
therefore only infer that there are two 
modes of psychic action1 in one of which
 the person projecting that action1     
whether voluntarily or involuntarily1   
experiences corresponding sensations1   
and the other in which he does not2 but 
,i am unable to offer any criterion by  
which the observer can1 with certainty1 
distinguish between the two4  ,it       
appears to me1 that such instances as   
those ,i have mentioned1 point to ranges
 of etheric action beyond those         
ordinarily recognized by physical       
science1 but the principle seems to be  

the same1 and it is for this reason that
 ,i have taken the modern scientific    
theory of etheric vibration as our      
starting-point4 ,the universe is one    
great whole1 and the laws of one part   
cannot contradict those of another2     
therefore the explanation of such queer 
happenings is not to be found by denying
 the well-ascertained laws of ,nature on
 the physical plane1 but by considering 
whether these laws do not extend        
further4 ,it is on this account that ,i 
would lay stress on the ,mathematical   
side of things1 and have adduced        
instances where various discoveries have
 been made by following up the sequence 
indicated by the laws already known1 and
 which have thus enabled us to fill up  
gaps in our knowledge1 which would      
otherwise stop1 or at least seriously   
hinder1 our further progress4 ,it is in 
this way that ,jachin helps ,boaz1 and  
that the undeviating nature of ,law1 so 
far from limiting us1 becomes our       
faithful ally if we will only allow it  

to do so4  ,i think1 then1 that the     
scientific idea of the ether1 as a      
universal medium pervading all space1   
and permeating all substance1 will help 
us to see that many things which are    
popularly called supernatural1 are to be
 attributed to the action of known laws 
working under1 as yet1 unknown          
conditions1 and therefore1 when we are  
confronted with strange phenomena1 a    
knowledge of the general principles     
involved1 will show us in what direction
 to look for an explanation4 ,now       
applying this to the present subject1 we
 may reasonably argue1 that since all   
physical matter is scientifically proved
 to consist of the universal ether in   
various degrees of condensation1 there  
may be other degrees of condensation1   
forming other modes of matter1 which are
 beyond the scope of physical vision and
 of our laboratory apparatus4 ,and      
similarly1 we may argue1 that just as   
various effects can be produced on the  
physical plane1 by the action of etheric

 waves of various lengths1 so other     
effects might be produced on these finer
 modes of matter1 by etheric waves of   
other lengths4 ,and in this connection  
we must not forget that a gap occurs    
between the dark heat groups and the    
,hertzian group1 consisting of five     
octaves of waves1 the lengths of which  
have been theoretically calculated1 but 
whose action has not yet been           
discovered4 ,here we admittedly have a  
wide field for the working of known laws
 under as yet unknown conditions2 and   
again1 how can we say that there are not
 ranges of unknown waves1 yet smaller   
than the minute ultra-violet ones1 which
 commence the present known scale1 or   
transcending those largest ones1 which  
bear our messages across the ,atlantic8 
,mathematically1 there is no limit to   
the scale in either direction2 and so1  
taking our stand on the demonstrated    
facts of science1 we find1 that the     
known laws of ,nature point to their    
continuation in modes of matter and of  

force1 of which we have as yet no       
conception4 ,it is therefore not at all 
necessary to spurn the ground of        
established science to spread the wings 
of our fancy2 rather it affords us the  
requisite basis from which to start1    
just as the aeronaut cannot rise without
 a solid surface from which to spring4  
,now if we realize that the ether is an 
infinitely subtle fluid1 pervading all  
space1 we see that it must constitute a 
connecting link between all modes of    
substance1 whether visible or invisible1
 in all worlds1 and may therefore be    
called the ,universal ,medium2 and      
following up our conception of the      
,continuity of ,law1 we may suppose that
 trains of waves1 inconceivably smaller 
or greater than any known to modern     
science1 are set up in this medium1 in  
the same way as the electro-magnetic    
waves with which we are acquainted2 that
 is1 by an impulse which generates them 
from some particular point4 ,in the     
region of finer forces we are now       

prospecting1 this impulse might well be 
the ,desire or ,will of the spiritual   
entity which we ourselves are--that     
thinking1 feeling1 inmost essence of    
ourself1 which is the noumenon of our   
individuality1 and which1 for the sake  
of brevity we call our ,ego1 a ,latin   
word which simply means ,i myself4 ,this
 idea of spiritual impulse is quite     
familiar to us in our every-day talk4   
,we speak of an impulsive person1       
meaning one who acts on a sudden thought
 without giving due heed to             
consequences2 so in our ordinary speech 
we look upon thought as the initial     
impulse1 only we restrict this to the   
case of unregulated thought4 ,but if    
unregulated thought acts as a centre of 
impulse1 why should not regulated       
thought do the same8 ,therefore we may  
accept the idea of ,thought as the      
initial impulse1 which starts trains of 
waves in the ,universal ,medium1 whether
 with or without due consideration1 and 
having thus recognized its dynamic      

power1 we must learn to make the        
impulsions we thus send forth           
intelligent1 well defined1 and directed 
to some useful purpose4 ,the operator at
 some wireless station does not use his 
instruments to send out a lot of        
jumbled-up waves into the ether1 but    
controls the impulsions into a definite 
and intelligible order1 and we must do  
the same4  ,on some such lines as these1
 then1 we may picture the desire of the 
,ego as starting a train of waves in the
 ,universal ,medium1 which are          
reproduced in corresponding form on     
reaching their destination4 ,as with the
 electro-magnetic waves1 they may spread
 all round1 just as ripples do if we    
throw a stone into a pond2 but they will
 only take form where there is a        
correspondence able to receive them4    
,this is what in the language of        
electrical engineers is called ,syntony1
 which means being tuned to the same    
rate of vibration1 and no doubt it is   
from some such cause1 that we sometimes 

experience what seem inexplicable       
feelings of attraction or repulsion     
towards different persons4 ,this also   
appears to furnish a key to             
thought-transference1 hypnotism1 and    
other allied phenomena4  ,if the reader 
questions whether thought is capable of 
generating impulses in the etheric      
medium ,i would refer him to the        
experiment mentioned in ,chapter ,,xiv  
of my ,edinburgh ,lectures on ,mental   
,science1 where ,i describe how1 when   
operating with ,dr4 ,baraduc's biometer1
 ,i found that the needle revolved      
through a smaller or large arc of the   
circle1 in response to my mental        
intention of concentrating a smaller or 
larger degree of force upon it4 ,perhaps
 you will say that the difference in the
 movement of the needle depended on the 
quantity of magnetism that was flowing  
from me1 to say nothing of other known  
forces1 such as heat1 light1            
electricity1 etc4 ,well1 that is        
precisely the proposition ,i am putting 

forward4 ,what caused the difference in 
the intensity of the magnetic flow was  
my intention of varying it1 so that we  
come back to mental action as the centre
 of impulsion from which the etheric    
waves were generated4 ,if1 then1 such a 
demonstration can be obtained on the    
plane of purely physical matter1 why    
need we doubt that the same ,law will   
work in the same way1 in respect of     
those finer modes of substance1 and     
wider ranges of etheric vibrations1     
which1 starting from the basis of       
recognized physical science1 the ,law of
 ,continuity would lead to by an orderly
 sequence1 and which the occurrence of  
what1 for want of a better name1 we call
 occult phenomena require for their     
explanation8  ,before passing on to the 
more practical generalizations to be    
drawn from the suggestions contained in 
this chapter1 ,i may advert to an       
objection sometimes brought by the      
sceptical in this matter4 ,they say3    
,how is it that apparitions are always  

seen in the dark8 and then they answer  
their own question by saying1 it is     
because superstitious people are nervous
 in the dark and imagine all sorts of   
things4 ,then they laugh and think they 
have disposed of the whole subject4 ,but
 it is not disposed of quite so easily1 
for not only are there many well        
attested cases of such appearances in   
broad daylight1 but there are also      
scientific facts1 showing that if we are
 right in explaining such happenings by 
etheric action1 such action is more     
readily produced at night than in the   
presence of sunlight4  ,in the early    
part of #aijb ,marconi made some        
experiments on board the ,american liner
 ,philadelphia1 which brought out the   
remarkable fact that1 while it was      
possible to transmit signals to a       
distance of fifteen hundred miles during
 the night1 they could not be           
transmitted further than seven hundred  
miles during the day4 ,the same was     
found to be the case by ,lieutenant     

,solari of the ,italian ,navy1 at whose 
disposal the ship ,carlo ,alberta was   
placed by the ,king of ,italy in #aijb1 
for the purpose of making investigations
 into wireless telegraphy2 and summing  
up the points which he considered to    
have been fully established by his      
experiments on board that ship1 he      
mentions among them the fact1 that      
sunlight has the effect of reducing the 
power of the electro-magnetic waves1 and
 that consequently a greater force is   
required to produce a given result by   
day than by night4 ,here1 then1 is a    
reason why we might expect to see more  
supernatural appearances1 as we call    
them1 at night than in the day--they    
require a smaller amount of force to    
produce them4 ,at the same time1 it is  
found that the great magnetic waves     
which cover immense distances1 work even
 more powerfully in the light than in   
the dark4 ,may it not be that these     
things show1 that there is more than a  
merely metaphorical use of words1 when  

the ,bible tells us of the power of     
,light to dissipate1 and bring to       
naught1 the powers of ,darkness1 while  
the ,light itself is the ,great ,power1 
using the forces of the universe on the 
widest scale8 ,perhaps it is none other 
than the continuity of unchanging       
universal principles extending into the 
mysterious realms of the spiritual      
world4     ,,chapter ,,iii  ,,man',s    
,,place ,,in ,,the ,,creative ,,order   
,in the preceding chapters we have found
 certain definite facts1--that all known
 matter is formed out of one primordial 
,universal ,substance1--that the ether  
spreading throughout limitless space is 
a ,universal ,medium1 through which it  
is possible to convey force by means of 
vibrations1--and that vibrations can be 
started by the power of ,sound4 ,these  
we have found to be well established    
facts of ordinary science1 and taking   
them as our starting-point1 we may now  
begin to speculate as to the possible   
workings of the known laws under unknown

 conditions4  ,one of the first things  
that naturally attract our attention is 
the question1--,how did ,life originate8
 ,on this point ,i may quote two leading
 men of science4 ,tyndall says3 ,i      
affirm that no shred of trustworthy     
experimental testimony exists1 to prove 
that life in our day has ever appeared  
independently of antecedent life2 and   
,huxley says3 ,the doctrine of          
biogenesis1 or life only from life1 is  
victorious along the whole line at the  
present time4 ,such is the testimony of 
modern science to the old maxim ,omne   
vivum exvivo4 ,all life proceeds from   
antecedent life4 ,think it out for      
yourself and you will see that it could 
not possibly be otherwise4  ,whatever   
may be our theory of the origin of life 
on the physical plane1 whether we regard
 it as commencing in a vivified slime at
 the bottom of the sea1 which we call   
protoplasm1 or in any other way1 the    
question of how life got there still    
remains unanswered4 ,the protoplasm     

being material substance1 must have its 
origin like all other material          
substances1 in the undifferentiated     
etheric ,universal ,substance1 no       
particle of which has any power of      
operating upon any other particle until 
some initial vibration starts the       
movement2 so that1 on any theory        
whatever1 we are always brought back to 
the same question3 ,what started the    
condensation of the ether into the      
beginnings of a world-system8 ,so       
whether we consider the life which      
characterizes organized matter1 or the  
energy which characterizes inorganic    
matter1 we cannot avoid the conclusion1 
that both must have their source in some
 ,original ,power to which we can assign
 no antecedent4 ,this is the conclusion 
which has been reached by all           
philosophic and religious systems that  
have really tried to get at the root of 
the matter1 simply because it is        
impossible to form any other conception4
  ,this ,living ,power is what we mean  

when we speak of the ,all-,originating  
,spirit4 ,the existence of this ,spirit 
is not a theological invention1 but a   
logical and scientific ultimate1 without
 predicating which1 nothing else can be 
accounted for4 ,the word ,spirit comes  
from the ,latin spiro ,i breathe1 and so
 means ,the ,breath1 as in ,job xxxiii1 
#d1--,the ,spirit of ,god hath made me1 
and the breath of the ,almighty hath    
given me life2 and again in ,ps4 xxxiii1
 #f--;,by the word of the ,lord were the
 heavens made1 and all the host of them 
by the breath of his mouth4  ,in the    
opening chapter of ,genesis1 we are told
 that the ,spirit of ,god moved upon the
 face of the waters4 ,the words rendered
 the ,spirit of ,god are1 in the        
original ,hebrew rouah lohim1 which is  
literally the ,breathing of ,god2 and   
similarly1 the ancient religious books  
of ,india1 make the ,swra or ,great     
,breath the commencement of all life and
 energy4 ,the word rouah in ,genesis is 
remarkable4 ,according to rabbinical    

teaching1 each letter of the ,hebrew    
alphabet has a certain symbolic         
significance1 and when examined in this 
manner1 the root from which this word is
 derived conveys the idea of ,expansive 
,movement4 ,it is the opposite of the   
word hoshech1 translated darkness in the
 same passage of our ,bible1 which is   
similarly derived from a root conveying 
the idea of ,hardening and ,compressing4
 ,it is the same idea that is           
personified in the ,zendavesta1 the     
sacred book of the ancient ,persians1   
under the names of ,ormuzd1 the ,spirit 
of ,light2 and ,ahriman1 the ,spirit of 
,darkness2 and similarly in the old     
,assyrian myth of the struggle between  
the ,sun-,god and ,timat1 the goddess of
 darkness4  ,this conception of conflict
 between two opposite principles1 ,light
 and ,darkness1 ,compression and        
,expansion1 will be found to underlie   
all the ancient religions of the world1 
and it is conspicuous throughout our own
 ,scriptures4 ,but it should be borne in

 mind that the oppositeness of their    
nature does not necessarily mean        
conflict4 ,the two principles of        
,expansion and ,contraction are not     
necessarily destructive2 on the contrary
 they are necessary correlatives to one 
another4 ,expansion alone cannot produce
 form2 cohesion must also be present4   
,it is the regulated balance between    
them that results in ,creation4 ,in the 
old legend1 if ,i remember rightly1 the 
conflict is ended by ,timat marrying her
 former opponent4 ,they were never      
really enemies1 but there was a         
misunderstanding between them1 or rather
 there was a misunderstanding on the    
part of ,timat so long as she did not   
perceive the true character of the      
,spirit of ,light1 and that their       
relation to one another was that of     
co-operation and not of opposition4     
,thus also ,st4 ,john tells us that the 
light shineth in darkness and the       
darkness comprehended it not 7,john i1  
#e74 ,it is this want of comprehension  

that is at the root of all the trouble4 
,the reader should note1 however1 that  
,i am here speaking of that ,primeval   
,substance1 which necessarily has no    
light in itself1 because there is as yet
 no vibration in it1 for there can be no
 light without vibration4 ,we must not  
make the mistake of supposing that      
,matter is evil in itself3 it is our    
misconception of it that makes it the   
vehicle of evil2 and we must distinguish
 between the darkness of ,matter and    
moral darkness1 though there is a       
spiritual correspondence between them4  
,the true development of ,man consists  
in the self-expansion of the ,divine    
,spirit working through his mind1 and   
thence upon his psychic and physical    
organisms1 but this can only be by the  
individual's willingness to receive that
 ,spirit4 ,where the hindrance to this  
working is only caused by ignorance of  
the true relation between ourselves and 
the ,divine ,spirit1 and the desire for 
truth is present1 the ,true ,light will 

in due course disperse the darkness4    
,but on the other hand1 if the hindrance
 is caused by unwillingness to be led by
 the ,divine ,spirit1 then the ,light   
cannot be forced upon any one1 and for  
this reason ,jesus said3 ,this is the   
condemnation1 that light is come into   
the ,world1 and men loved darkness      
rather than light1 because their deeds  
were evil4 ,for every one that doeth    
evil hateth the light1 neither cometh to
 the light1 lest his deeds should be    
reproved4 ,but he that doeth truth      
cometh to the light1 that his deeds may 
be made manifest1 that they are wrought 
in ,god 7,john iii3 #ai-ba74 ,in        
physical science these things have an   
exact parallel in ,ohm's ,law regarding 
the resistance offered by the conductor 
to the flow of the electric current4    
,the correspondence is very remarkable  
and will be found more fully explained  
in a later chapter4 ,the ,primary       
,darkness1 both of ,substance and of    
,mind1 has to be taken into account1 if 

we would form an intelligent conception 
of the twofold process of ,involution   
and ,evolution continually at work in   
ourselves1 which1 by their combined     
action1 are able to lead to the         
limitless development both of the       
individual and of the race4  ,according 
to all teaching1 then1 both ancient and 
modern1 all life and energy have their  
source in a ,primary ,life and ,energy1 
of which we can only say that ,,it ,,is4
 ,we cannot conceive of any time when it
 was not1 for1 if there was a time when 
no such ,primary ,energizing ,life      
existed1 what was there to energize it8 
,so we are landed in a reductio ad      
absurdum which leaves no alternative but
 to predicate the ,eternal ,existence of
 an ,all-,originating ,living ,spirit4  
,let us stop for a moment to consider   
what we mean by ,eternal4 ,when1 do you 
suppose1 twice two began to make four8  
,and when1 do you suppose1 twice two    
will cease to make four8 ,it is an      
eternal principle1 quite independent of 

time or conditions4 ,similarly with the 
,originating ,life4 ,it is above time   
and above conditions--in a word it is   
undifferentiated and contains in itself 
the potential of infinite               
differentiation4 ,this is what the      
,eternal ,life is1 and what we want for 
the expansion of our own life is a truer
 comprehension of it4 ,we are like      
,timat1 and must enter into intelligent 
and loving union with the ,spirit of    
,light1 in order to realize the infinite
 possibilities that lie before us4 ,this
 is the ultimate meaning of the maxim   
,omne vivum ex vivo4  ,we see1 then1    
that the material universe1 including   
our own bodies1 has its origin in the   
undifferentiated ,universal ,substance1 
and that the first movement towards     
differentiation must be started by some 
initial impulse1 analogous to those     
which start vibrations in the ether     
known to science2 and that therefore    
this impulse must1 in the first         
instance1 proceed from some ,living     

,power eternal in itself1 and           
independent of time and conditions4 ,now
 all the ancient religions of the world 
concur1 in attributing this initial     
impulse to the power of ,sound2 and we  
have seen1 that as a matter of fact1    
sound has the power of starting         
vibrations1 and that these vibrations   
have an exact correspondence with the   
quality of the sound1 what we now call  
synchronous vibration4  ,at this point1 
however1 we are met by another fact4    
,cosmic activity takes place only in    
certain definite areas4 ,solar systems  
do not jostle each other in space4 ,in a
 word the ,sound1 which thus starts the 
initial impulse of creation1 is guided  
by ,intelligent ,selection4 ,now sounds1
 directed by purposeful intention1      
amount to ,words1 whether the words of  
some spoken language or the tapping of  
the ,morse code--it is the meaning at   
the back of the sound that gives it     
verbal significance4 ,it is for this    
reason1 that the concentration of       

creative energy in particular areas1 has
 from time immemorial been attributed to
 ,the ,word4 ,the old ,sanskrit books   
call this selective concentrative power 
,vach1 which means ,voice1 and is the   
root of the ,latin word ,vox1 having the
 same meaning4 ,philo1 and the          
,neo-,platonists of ,alexandria who     
follow him1 call it ,logos1 which means 
the same2 and we are all familiar with  
the opening verses of ,st4 ,john's      
,gospel and ,first ,epistle in which he 
attributes ,creation to ,the ,word4     
,now we know1 as a scientific fact1 that
 solar systems have a definite beginning
 in the gyration of nebulous matter1    
circling through vast fields of         
interstellar space1 as the great nebula 
in ,andromeda does at the present day4  
ons upon ons elapse1 before the primary 
nebula consolidates into a solar system 
such as ours is now2 but science shows1 
that from the time when the nebula first
 spreads its spiral across the heavens1 
the mathematical element of ,law asserts

 itself1 and it is by means of our      
recognition of the mathematical         
relations between the forces of         
attraction and repulsion1 that we have  
been able to acquire any knowledge on   
the subject4 ,i do not for an instant   
wish to suggest that the ,spiritual     
,power has not continued to be in       
operation also1 but a centre for the    
working of a ,cosmic ,law being once    
established1 the ,spiritual ,power works
 through that ,law and not in opposition
 to it4 ,on the other hand1 the         
selection of particular portions of     
space for the manifestation of cosmic   
activity1 indicates the action of free  
volition1 not determined by any law     
except the obvious consideration of     
allowing room for the future solar      
system to move in4 ,similarly also with 
regard to time4 ,spectroscopic analysis 
of the light from the stars1 which are  
suns many of them much greater than our 
own1 shows that they are of various     
ages--some quite young1 some arrived at 

maturity1 and some passing into old age4
 ,their creation must therefore be      
assigned to different epochs1 and we    
thus see the ,originating ,spirit       
exercising the powers of ,selection and 
,volition as to the time when1 as well  
as to the place where1 a new            
world-system shall be inaugurated4  ,now
 it is this power of inauguration that  
all the ancient systems of teaching     
attribute to the ,divine ,word4 ,it is  
the passing of the undifferentiated into
 differentiation1 of the unmanifested   
into manifestation1 of the unlocalized  
into localization4 ,it is the ushering  
in of what the ,brahminical books call a
 ,manvantara or world-period1 and in    
like manner our ,bible says that ,in the
 beginning was the ,word4 ,the ,english 
word word is closely allied to the      
,latin word verbum which signifies both 
word and verb4 ,grammarians tell us that
 the verb to be is a verb-substantive1  
that is1 it does not indicate any action
 passing from the subject to the object4

 ,now this exactly describes the ,spirit
 in its ,eternity4 ,we cannot conceive  
of ,it except as always ,,being2 but the
 distribution of world-systems both in  
time and space shows that it is not     
always cosmically active4 ,in itself1   
apart from manifestation1 it is ,pure   
,beingness1 if ,i may coin such a word2 
and it is for this reason that the      
,divine ,name announced to ,moses was ,i
 ,,am4 ,but the fact that ,creation     
exists1 shows that from this            
,substantive ,pure ,being there flows   
out a ,verb ,active1 which reproduces in
 action1 what the ,i ,,am is in essence4
 ,it is just the same with ourselves4   
,we must first be before we can do1 and 
we can do only to the extent to which we
 are4 ,we cannot express powers which we
 do not possess2 so that our doing      
necessarily coincides with the quality  
of our being4 ,therefore the ,divine    
,verb reproduces the ,divine            
,substantive by a natural sequence4 ,it 
is generated by the ,divine ,i ,,am1 and

 for this reason it is called ,the ,son 
of ,god4 ,so we see that ,the ,verb1    
,the ,word1 and ,the ,son of ,god1 are  
all different expressions for the same  
,power4  ,creative vibration in the     
,universal ,substance can1 therefore1   
only be conceived of1 as being          
inaugurated by the ,word which localizes
 the activity of the ,spirit in         
particular centres4 ,this idea1 of the  
localization of the ,spirit through the 
,word1 should be fully realized as the  
energizing principle on the scale of the
 ,macrocosm or ,great ,world1 because1  
as we shall find later on1 the same     
principle acts in the same way on the   
scale of the ,microcosm or ,small       
,world1 which is the individual man4    
,this is why these things have a        
personal interest for us1 otherwise they
 would not be worth troubling about4    
,but a mistake to be avoided at this    
point1 is that of supposing that the    
,word is something which dictates to the
 ,spirit when and where to operate4 ,the

 ,word is the word of the ,spirit       
itself1 and not that of some higher     
authority1 for the ,spirit being ,first 
,cause there can be nothing anterior to 
dictate to it2 there can be nothing     
before that which is ,first4 ,the ,word 
which centralizes the activity of the   
,spirit1 is therefore that of the       
,spirit itself4 ,we have an analogy in  
our own case4 ,if ,i go to ,new ,york   
the first movement in that direction is 
that of my ,thought or ,desire4 ,it is  
true that in my present state of        
evolution ,i have to follow the usual   
methods of travel1 but so far as my     
,thought is concerned1 ,i have been     
there all the time4 ,indeed1 such a case
 as the one ,i have mentioned1 of my    
being seen in ,edinburgh while ,i was   
physically in ,london1 seems to point to
 the actual transference of some part of
 the personality to another locality1   
and similarly with my visit to          
,lanercost ,abbey2 and the reader must  
remember1 that such phenomena are by no 

means uncommon--they are the natural    
action of some part of our personality1 
and must therefore follow some natural  
law1 even though we may at present know 
very little of how it works4  ,we see1  
therefore1 both from a priori reasoning1
 and from observed facts1 that it is the
 ,word1 ,thought1 or ,desire of the     
,spirit1 that localizes its activity in 
some definite centre4 ,the student      
should bear this in mind as a leading   
principle1 for he will find that it is  
of general application1 alike in the    
case of individuals1 of groups of       
individuals1 and of entire nations4 ,it 
is the key to the relation between ,law 
and ,personality1 the opening of the    
,grand ,arcanum1 the equilibrating of   
,jachin and ,boaz1 and it is therefore  
of immediate importance to ourselves4   
,we may take1 then1 as a starting-point 
for further enquiry1 the maxim that     
,volition creates ,centres of ,spiritual
 ,activity4 ,but perhaps you will say3  
,if this be true1 what word or words am 

,i to employ8 ,this is a question which 
has puzzled a good many people before   
you4 ,this ,word which so many have been
 in search of1 has been variously called
 the ,lost ,word1 the ,word of ,power1  
the ,schemhammaphorasch or ,secret ,name
 of ,god1 and so on4 ,a quaint ,jewish  
legend of the ,middle ,ages says that   
the ,hidden ,name was secretly inscribed
 in the innermost recesses of the       
,temple2 but that1 even if discovered1  
which was most unlikely1 it could not be
 retained because1 guarding it1 were    
sculptured lions1 which gave such a     
supernatural roar as the intruder was   
quitting the spot1 that all memory of   
the ,hidden ,name was driven from his   
mind4 ,jesus1 however1 says the legend1 
knew this and dodged the lions4 ,he     
transcribed the ,name1 and cutting open 
his thigh1 hid the writing in the       
incision1 which1 by magical art1 he at  
once closed up2 then1 after leaving the 
,temple1 he took the writing out and so 
retained the knowledge of the ,name4 ,in

 this way the legend accounts for his   
power to work miracles4  ,jesus1 indeed1
 possessed the ,word of ,power1 though  
not in the way told in the legend1 and  
he repeatedly proclaimed it in his      
teaching3--,according to your ,faith be 
it unto you--,verily1 ,i say unto you1  
whosoever shall say to this mountain1   
',be thou taken up and cast into the    
sea'2 and shall not doubt in his heart1 
but shall believe that what he saith    
shall come to pass1 he shall have       
whatsoever he saith 7,mark xi1 #bc74    
,and similarly in the ,old ,testament we
 are told that the ,word is nigh to us1 
even in our hearts and in our mouth     
7,deut4 xxx1 #ad74 ,what keeps the ,word
 of ,power hidden1 is our belief that   
nothing so simple could possibly be it4 
,at the same time1 simple though it be1 
it has ,law and ,reason at the back of  
it1 like everything else4 ,the ancient  
,egyptians seem to have had clearer     
ideas on this subject than we have4 ,the
 name was to the ,egyptians the idea of 

the thing1 without which it could not   
exist1 and the knowledge of which       
therefore gave power over that which    
answered to it4 ,the idea of the thing  
represented its soul4#b ,this is the    
same conception as the archetypal ideas 
of ,plato1 only carried further1 so as  
to apply1 not only to classes1 but to   
each individual of the class1 and1 as we
 shall see later1 there is a good deal  
of truth in it4 ,put broadly1 the       
conception is this--every external fact 
must have a spiritual origin1 an        
internal energizing principle1 which    
causes it to exist in the particular    
form in which it does4 ,the outward fact
 is called the ,phenomenon1 and the     
corresponding inward principle is called
 the ,noumenon4 ,the dictionary         
definition of these two words is as     
follows3 ,phenomenon--the appearance    
which anything makes to our             
consciousness as distinguished from what
 it is in itself4 ,noumenon--an unknown 
and unknowable substance or thing as it 

is in itself--the opposite to the       
,phenomenon or form through which it    
becomes known to the senses or the      
understanding 7,chambers' ,twentieth    
,century ,dictionary74 ,whether the     
dictionary be right in saying that the  
noumena of things are entirely          
unknowable1 the reader must decide for  
himself2 but the present book is an     
attempt to learn something about the    
noumena of things in general1 and of    
ourselves in particular1 and what ,i    
want to convey is1 that the noumenon of 
anything is its essence1 in terms of the
 ,universal ,energy and the ,universal  
,substance1 in their relation to the    
particular ,form in question4 ,probably 
the ,latin word ,nomen1 a ,name1 is     
derived from this ,greek word1 and in   
this sense everything has its hidden    
name2 and the region in which           
,thought-,power works1 is this region of
 spiritual beginnings4 ,it deals with   
hidden names--that inward essence which 
determines the outward form of things1  

persons1 and circumstances alike2 and it
 is in order to make this clearer1 that 
,i have commenced by sketching briefly  
the general principles of ,substance and
 ,energy as now recognized by modern    
science4  ,if ,i have made my meaning   
clear1 you will see that what is wanted 
is not the knowledge of particular      
words1 but an understanding of general  
principles4 ,at the same time ,i would  
not assert that the reciting of certain 
forms of words1 such as the ,indian     
mantras or the word ,,aum1 to which     
,oriental teachers attach a mystic      
significance1 is entirely without power4
 ,but the power is not in the words but 
in our belief in their power4 ,i will   
give an amusing instance of this4 ,on   
several occasions ,i have been consulted
 by persons who supposed themselves to  
be under the influence of malicious     
magnetism1 emanating in some cases from 
known1 and in others from unknown1      
sources2 and the remedy ,i have         
prescribed has been this4 ,look the     

adverse power1 mentally1 full in the    
face1 and then assuming an attitude of  
confidence say ,cock-a-doodle-doo4 ,the 
enquirers have sometimes smiled at      
first1 but in every case the result has 
been successful4 ,perhaps this is why   
sculapius is represented as accompanied 
by a cock4 ,possibly the ancient        
physicians were in the habit of         
employing the ,cock-a-doodle-doo        
treatment2 and ,i might recommend it to 
the faculty to-day as very effective in 
certain cases4 ,now ,i do not think the 
reader will attribute any particularly  
occult significance to                  
,cock-a-doodle-doo4 ,the power is in the
 mental attitude4 ,to cock-a-doodle-doo 
at any suggestion is to treat it with   
scorn and derision1 and to assume the   
very opposite of that receptive attitude
 which enables a suggestion to affect   
us4 ,that is the secret of this method  
of treatment1 and the principle is the  
same in all cases4  ,it matters1 then1  
very little what particular words we    

use4 ,what does matter is the intention 
and faith with which we use them4 ,but  
perhaps some reader will here take the  
rle of cross-examining counsel1 and say3
 ,you have just said it is a case of    
synchronous vibration--then surely it is
 the actual sound of the particular     
syllables that counts--how do you square
 this with your present statement8 ,the 
answer is that the ,law is always the   
same1 but the mode of response to the   
,law is always according to the nature  
of the medium in which it is operating4 
,on the plane of physical matter the    
vibrations are in tune with physical    
sounds1 as in the experiments with the  
eidophone2 and similarly1 on the plane  
of ideas or noumena1 the response is in 
terms of that plane4 ,the word which    
creates noumena1 or spiritual centres of
 action1 must itself belong to the world
 of noumena1 so that it is not illogical
 to say that it is the intention and    
faith that counts1 and not the external 
sound4 ,in this is the secret of the    

,power of ,thought4 ,it is the          
reproduction1 on the miniature scale of 
the individual1 of the same mode of     
,power that makes the worlds4 ,it is    
that ,power of ,personality1 which1     
combined with the action of the ,law1   
brings out results which the ,law alone 
could never do--as the old maxim has it1
 ,nature unaided fails4  ,this brings us
 to another important question--is not  
the creative power of the ,word limited 
by the immutability of the ,law8 ,if the
 ,law cannot be altered in the least    
particular1 how can the ,word be free to
 do what it likes8 ,the answer to this  
is contained in another maxim3 ,every   
creation carries its own mathematics    
along with it4 ,you cannot create       
anything without at the same time       
creating its relation to everything     
else1 just as in painting a landscape1  
the contour you give to the trees will  
determine that of the sky4 ,therefore1  
whenever you create anything1 you       
thereby start a train of causation1     

which will work out in strict accordance
 with the sort of thought that started  
it4 ,the stream always has the quality  
of its source4 ,thought which is in line
 with the ,unity of the ,great ,whole1  
will produce correspondingly harmonious 
results1 and ,thought which is          
disruptive of the great ,principle of   
,unity1 will produce correspondingly    
disputive results--hence all the trouble
 and confusion in the world4 ,our       
,thought is perfectly free1 and we can  
use it either constructively or         
destructively as we choose2 but the     
immutable ,law of ,sequence will not    
permit us to plant a thought of one     
kind1 and make it bear fruit of another4
  ,then the question very naturally     
suggests itself3 ,why did not ,god      
create us so that we could not think    
negative or destructive thoughts8 ,and  
the answer is3 ,because ,he could not4  
,there are some things which even ,god  
cannot do4 ,he cannot do anything that  
involves a contradiction in terms4 ,even

 ,god could not make twice two either   
more or less than four4 ,now ,i want the
 student to see clearly why making us   
incapable of wrong-thinking would       
involve a contradiction in terms1 and   
would therefore be an impossibility4 ,to
 see this we must realize what is our   
place in the ,order of the ,universe4   
,the name ,man itself indicates this4   
,it comes from the ,sanscrit root ,,mn1 
which1 in all its derivatives1 conveys  
the idea of ,measurement1 as in the word
 ,mind1 through the ,latin mens1 the    
faculty which compares things and       
estimates them accordingly2 ,moon1 the  
heavenly body whose phases afford the   
most obvious standard for the periodical
 measurement of time2 ,month1 the period
 thus measured2 ,man1 the largest of the
 ,indian weights2 and so on4 ,man       
therefore means ,the ,measurer1 and this
 very aptly describes our place in the  
order of evolution1 for it indicates the
 relation between ,personal ,volition   
and ,immutable ,law4  ,if we grant the  

truth of the maxim ,nature unaided fails
 the whole thing becomes clear1 and the 
entire progress of applied science      
proves the truth of this maxim4 ,to     
recur to an illustration ,i have        
employed in my previous books1 the old  
ship-builders thought that ships were   
bound to be built of wood and not of    
iron1 because wood floats in water and  
iron sinks2 but now nearly all ships are
 made of iron4 ,yet the specific        
gravities of wood and iron have not     
altered1 and a log of wood floats while 
a lump of iron sinks1 just the same as  
they did in the days of ,drake and      
,frobisher4 ,the only difference is1    
that people thought out the underlying  
principle of the law of flotation1 and  
reduced it to the generalized statement 
that anything will float1 the weight of 
which is less than that of the mass     
displaced by it1 whether it be an iron  
ship floating in water1 or a balloon    
floating in air4 ,so long as we restrict
 ourselves to the mere recollection of  

observed facts1 we shall make no        
progress2 but by carefully considering  
why any force acted in the way it did1  
under the particular conditions         
observed1 we arrive at a generalization 
of principle1 showing that the force in 
question is capable of hitherto         
unexpected applications if we provide   
the necessary conditions4 ,this is the  
way in which all advances have been made
 on the material side1 and on the       
principle of ,continuity we may         
reasonably infer that the same applies  
to the spiritual side also4  ,we may    
generalize the whole position thus4     
,when we first observe the working of   
the ,law under the conditions           
spontaneously provided by ,nature1 it   
appears to limit us2 but by seeking the 
reason of the action exhibited under    
these limited conditions1 we discover   
the principle1 and true nature1 of the  
,law in question1 and we then learn from
 the ,law itself1 what conditions to    
supply in order to give it more extended

 scope1 and direct its energy to the    
accomplishment of definite purposes4    
,the maxim we have to learn is that     
,every ,law contains in itself the      
principle of its own ,expansion1 which  
will set us free from the limitation    
which that ,law at first appeared to    
impose upon us4 ,the limitation was     
never in the ,law1 but in the conditions
 under which it was working1 and our    
power of selection and volition enables 
us to provide new conditions1 not       
spontaneously provided by ,nature1 and  
thus to specialize the ,law1 and        
disclose immense powers which had always
 been latent in it1 but which would for 
ever remain hidden unless brought to    
light by the co-operation of the        
,personal ,factor4 ,the ,law itself     
never changes1 but we can specialize it 
by realizing the principle involved and 
providing the conditions thus indicated4
 ,this is our place in the ,order of the
 ,universe4 ,we give definite direction 
to the action of the ,law1 and in this  

way our ,personal ,factor is always     
acting upon the law1 whether we know it 
or not2 and the ,law1 under the         
influence thus impressed upon it1 is all
 the time re-acting upon us4  ,now we   
cannot conceive any limit to ,evolution4
 ,to suppose a point where it comes to  
an end is a contradiction in terms4 ,it 
is to suppose that the ,eternal ,life   
,principle is used up1 which is to deny 
its ,eternity2 and1 as we have seen1    
unless we assume its ,eternity1 it is   
impossible to account either for our own
 existence or that of anything else4    
,therefore1 to say that a point will    
ever be reached where it will be used   
up1 is as absurd as saying that a point 
will be reached where the sequence of   
numbers will be used up4 ,evolution1 the
 progress from lower to higher modes of 
manifestation of the underlying         
,principle of ,life1 is therefore       
eternal1 but1 in regard to the human    
race1 this progress depends entirely on 
the extent to which we grasp the        

principles of the ,law of our own       
,being1 and so learn to specialize it in
 the right direction4 ,then if this be  
our place in the ,universal ,order1 it  
becomes clear that we could not occupy  
this place unless we had a perfectly    
free hand to choose the conditions under
 which the ,law is to operate2 and      
therefore1 in order to pass beyond the  
limits of the mineral1 vegetable and    
animal kingdoms1 and reach the status of
 being ,persons1 and not things1 we must
 have a freedom of selection and        
volition1 which makes it equally        
possible for us to select either rightly
 or wrongly2 and the purpose of sound   
teaching is to make us see the eternal  
principles involved1 and thus lead us to
 impress our ,personality upon the ,law1
 in the way that will bring out the     
infinite possibilities of good which the
 ,law1 rightly employed1 contains4 ,if  
it were possible to do this by an       
automatic ,law1 doubtless the ,creative 
,wisdom would have made us so4 ,this is 

why ,st4 ,paul says3 ,if there had been 
a law given which could have given life1
 verily righteousness should have been  
by the law 7,gal4 iii1 #ba74 ,note the  
words a law given1 that is to say1      
imposed by external command2 but it     
could not be4 ,the laws of the ,universe
 are ,cosmic4 ,in themselves they are   
impersonal1 and the infinite            
possibilities contained in them1 can    
only be brought out by the co-operation 
of the ,personal ,factor4 ,it is only as
 we grasp the true relation between     
,jachin and ,boaz1 that we can enter    
into the ,temple either of our own      
,individuality1 or of the boundless     
,universe in which we live4 ,the reason1
 therefore1 why ,god did not make us    
mechanically incapable of wrong         
thinking1 is simply because the very    
idea involves a contradiction in terms1 
which negatives all possibility of      
,creation4 ,the conception lands us in a
 reductio ad absurdum4  ,therefore1 we  
are free to use our powers of           

,personality as we will1 only we must   
take the consequences4 ,now one error we
 are all very apt to fall into1 is the  
mistaken use of the ,will4 ,its proper  
function is to keep our other faculties 
in line with the ,law1 and thus enable  
us to specialize it2 but many people    
seem to think that by force of will they
 can somehow manage to coerce the ,law2 
in other words1 that by force of will   
they can sow a seed of one kind and make
 it bear fruit of another4 ,the ,spirit 
of ,life seeks to express itself in our 
individuality1 through the three avenues
 of reason1 feeling1 and will2 but as in
 the ,masonic legend of the murder of   
,hiram ,abif1 the architect of          
,solomon's ,temple1 it is beaten back on
 the side of reasoning1 by the plummet  
of a logic based on false premises2 on  
the side of feeling1 by the level of    
conventional ideas2 and on the side of  
will1 by the hammer of a short-sighted  
self-will1 which gives the finishing    
blow2 and it is not until the true      

perception of the ,principle of ,life is
 resurrected within us1 that the ,temple
 can be completed according to the true 
plan4  ,it should be remembered that the
 will is not the ,creative ,faculty in  
us4 ,it is the faculty of ,conception   
that is the creative agent1 and the     
business of the ,will is to keep that   
faculty in the right direction1 which   
will be determined by an enlightened    
,reason4 ,conception creates ideas which
 are the seed1 that1 in due time1 will  
produce fruit after its own kind4 ,in a 
broad sense we may call it the ,imaging 
,faculty1 only we must not suppose that 
this necessarily implies the visualizing
 of mental images1 which is only a      
subsidiary mode of using this faculty4  
,an immaculate conception is therefore  
the only means by which the ,new        
,liberated ,man can be born in each of  
us4 ,the sequence is always the same4   
,the ,will holds the ,conception        
together1 and the idea thus formed gives
 direction to the working of the ,law4  

,but this direction may be either true  
or inverted2 and the impersonal ,law    
will work constructively or             
destructively1 according to the         
conception which it embodies4 ,in this  
way1 then1 will-power may be used to    
hold together an inverted               
conception--the conception that our     
personal force of will is sufficient to 
bear down all opposition4 ,but this     
mental attitude ignores the fact1 that  
the fundamental principle of creative   
power is the ,wholeness of the          
,creation2 and that1 therefore1 the idea
 of forcing compliance with our wishes1 
by the power of our individual will1 is 
an inverted conception1 which1 though it
 may appear to succeed for a time1 is   
bound to fail eventually1 because it    
antagonizes the very power it is seeking
 to use4 ,this inverted use of the ,will
 is the basis of ,black ,magic1 a term  
some readers will perhaps smile at1 but 
which is practised at the present day to
 a much greater extent than many of us  

have any idea of--not always1 indeed1   
with a full consciousness of its nature1
 but in many ways which are the first   
steps on the ,left-hand ,path4 ,its mark
 is the determination to act by         
,self-will1 rather than using our will  
to co-operate with that continuous      
forward movement of the ,great ,whole1  
which is the ,will of ,god4 ,this       
inverted will entirely misses the point 
regarding the part we are formed to play
 in the ,creative ,order1 and so we miss
 the development of our own             
individuality1 and retrograde instead of
 going forward4  ,but if we work with   
the ,law instead of against it1 we shall
 find that our word1 that is to say our 
conception1 will become more and more   
the ,word of ,power1 because it         
specializes the general ,law in some    
particular direction4 ,the ,law will    
serve us exactly to the extent to which 
we first observe the ,law4 ,it is the   
same in everything4 ,if the electrician 
tries to go counter to the fundamental  

principle1 that the electric current    
always flows from a higher to a lower   
potential1 he will be able to do nothing
 with it2 but let him observe this      
fundamental law and there is nothing    
that electricity will not do for him    
within the field of its own nature4 ,in 
this sense1 then1 of specializing the   
general ,law in a particular direction1 
we may lay down the maxim that ,the ,law
 flows from the ,word1 and not vice     
versa4  ,when we use our ,word in this  
way1 not as expressing a self-will that 
seeks to crush all that does not submit 
to it1 but as a portion1 however small1 
of the ,universal ,cause1 and therefore 
with the desire of acting in harmony    
with that ,cause1 then our word becomes 
a constructive1 instead of a destructive
 power4 ,its influence may be very small
 at first1 because there is still a     
great mass of doubt at the back of our  
mind1 and every doubt is1 in reality1 a 
,negative ,word warring against our     
,affirmative ,word2 but1 by adhering to 

our principle1 we shall gradually gain  
experience in these things1 and the     
creative value of our word will grow    
accordingly4     ,,chapter ,,iv  ,,the  
,,law ,,of ,,wholeness   ,it may seem a 
truism to say that the whole is made up 
of its parts1 but all the same we often 
lose sight of this in our outlook on    
life4  ,the reason we do so is because  
we are apt to take too narrow a view of 
the whole2 and also because we do not   
sufficiently consider that it is not the
 mere arithmetical sum of the parts that
 makes the whole1 but also the          
harmonious agreement of each part with  
all the other parts4 ,the extent of the 
whole and the harmony of the parts is   
what we have to look out for1 and also  
its objective2 this is a universal rule1
 whatever the whole in question may be4 
,take1 for instance1 the case of the    
artist4 ,he must start by having a      
definite objective1 what in studio      
phrase is called a motif2 something that
 has given him a certain impression     

which he wants to convey to others1 but 
which cannot be stated as an isolated   
fact without any surroundings4 ,then the
 surroundings must be painted so as to  
have a natural relation to the main     
motif2 they must lead up to it1 but at  
the same time they must not compete with
 it4 ,there must be only one definite   
interest in the picture1 and minor      
details must not be allowed to interfere
 with it4 ,they are there only because  
of the main motif1 to help to express   
it4 ,yet they are not to be treated in a
 slovenly manner4 ,as much as is seen of
 them must be drawn with an accuracy    
that correctly suggests their individual
 character2 but they must not be        
accentuated in such a way as to         
emphasize details to the detriment of   
the breadth of the picture4 ,this is the
 artistic principle of unity1 and the   
same principle applies to everything    
else4  ,what1 then1 is the ,motif of    
,life8 ,surely it must be1 to express   
its own ,livingness4 ,then in the ,true 

,order all modes of life and energy must
 converge towards this end1 and it is   
only our short-sightedness that prevents
 us from seeing this1--from seeing that 
the greater the harmony of the whole    
,life1 the greater will be the inflow of
 that ,life in each of the parts that   
are giving it expression4 ,this is what 
we want to learn with regard to         
ourselves1 whether as individuals1      
classes or nations4 ,we have seen the   
cosmic workings of the ,law of          
,wholeness in the discovery of the      
planet ,neptune4 ,another planet was    
absolutely necessary to complete the    
unity of our solar system1 and it was   
found that there is such a planet1 and  
similarly in other branches of natural  
science4 ,the ,law of ,unity is the     
basic law of ,life1 and it is our       
ignorant or wilful infraction of this   
,law that is the root of all our        
troubles4  ,if we take this ,law of     
,unity as the basis of our ,thought we  
shall be surprised to find how far it   

will carry us4 ,each part is a complete 
whole in itself4 ,each inconceivably    
minute particle revolves round the      
centre of the atom in its own orbit4 ,on
 its own scale it is complete in itself1
 and by co-operation with thousands of  
others forms the atom4 ,the atom again  
is a complete whole1 but it must combine
 with other atoms to form a molecule1   
and so on4 ,but if the atom be imperfect
 as an atom1 how could it combine with  
other atoms8  ,thus we see that however 
infinitesimal any part may be as        
compared with the whole1 it must also be
 a complete whole on its own scale1 if  
the greater whole is to be built up4 ,on
 the same principle1 our recognition    
that our personality is an infinitesimal
 fraction of an inconceivably greater   
,life1 does not mean that it is at all  
insignificant in itself1 or that our    
individuality becomes submerged in an   
indistinguishable mass2 on the contrary1
 our own wholeness is an essential      
factor towards the building up of the   

greater whole2 so that as long as we    
keep before us the building up of the   
,great ,whole as the main motif1 we need
 never fear the expansion of our own    
individuality4 ,the more we expand1 the 
more effective units we shall become4   
,we must not1 however1 suppose that     
,unity means ,uniformity4 ,st4 ,paul    
puts this very clearly when he says1 if 
the whole body be an eye1 where would be
 the hearing1 etc4 7#a ,cor4 xii1 #ad74 
,how could you paint a picture without  
distinction of form1 colour1 or tone8   
,diversity in ,unity is the necessity   
for any sort of expression1 and if it be
 the case in our own bodies1 as ,st4    
,paul points out1 how much more so in   
the expressing of the ,eternal ,life    
through endless ages and limitless      
space6 ,once we grasp this idea of the  
unity and progressiveness of ,life going
 on ad infinitum1 what boundless vistas 
of possibility open before us4 ,it would
 be enough to stagger the imagination   
were it not for our old friends1 the    

,law and the ,word4 ,but these will     
always accompany us1 and we may rely    
upon them in all worlds and under all   
conditions4 ,this ,law of ,unity is what
 in natural science is known as the ,law
 of ,continuity1 and the ,ancient       
,wisdom has embodied it in the ,hermetic
 axiom ,sicut superius1 sicut inferius2 
sicut inferius1 sicut superius--,as     
above1 so below2 as below1 so above4 ,it
 leads us on from stage to stage1       
unfolding as it goes2 and to this       
unfolding there is no end1 for it is the
 ,eternal ,life finding ever fuller     
expression1 as it can find more and more
 suitable channels through which to     
express itself4 ,it can no more come to 
an end than numbers can come to an end4 
,but it must find suitable channels4    
,let there be no mistake about this4    
,perhaps some one may say3 ,cannot it   
make suitable channels for any sort of  
expression that it needs8 ,the answer   
is1 that it can1 and it does so up to a 
certain point4 ,as we have seen1 the    

,word1 ,thought1 or ,initial ,impulse of
 the ,ever-,living ,spirit starts a     
centre of cosmic activity in which the  
mathematical element of ,law at once    
asserts itself2 thenceforward everything
 goes on according to certain broad     
principles of sequence4 ,this is a      
,generic ,creation1 creation according  
to genera or classes1 like the          
archetypal ideas of ,plato4 ,this       
creation is governed by a ,law of       
,averages1 and the legal maxim ,de      
minimis non curat lex--the ,law cannot  
trouble about minorities--applies to it4
 ,this generic law keeps the class      
going1 and slowly advancing1 simply as a
 class1 but it can take no notice of    
individuals as such4 ,as ,tennyson puts 
it in ,in ,memoriam1 speaking of        
,nature3      ,so careful of the type   
she seems1      ,so careless of the     
single life4  ,this mode of creation    
reaches its highest level1 at any rate  
in our world1 in ,genus ,homo1 or the   
human race4 ,we also1 as a race1 are    

under the ,law of ,averages4 ,the race  
continues to exist1 but from the moment 
of birth the individual life is liable  
to be cut short in a hundred different  
ways4 ,in producing man1 however1       
,generic ,creation has produced a type  
having a mental and physical            
constitution capable of perceiving the  
underlying principle of all creation1   
that is1 of seeing the relation between 
the ,word and the ,law4 ,we cannot      
conceive creation by type going further 
than this4 ,by the nature of this type  
every human being has the potential of a
 further evolution1 which will set it   
free from bondage to an impersonal ,law 
of ,averages1 by specializing it through
 the ,power of the ,word1 that is1 by   
bringing the ,personal ,factor to bear  
upon the ,impersonal ,factor1 and so    
unfolding the possibilities which can be
 achieved by their united activities4   
,we have the power of using the ,word so
 as to specialize the action of the     
,law1 not by altering the ,law1 which is

 impossible1 but by realizing its       
principle1 and enabling it to work under
 conditions which are not spontaneously 
provided by ,nature1 but are provided by
 our own selection4 ,the capacity for   
this exists in all human beings1 but the
 practical application of this capacity 
depends on our recognition of the       
principles involved2 and it is for this 
reason that ,i commenced this book by   
citing instances of the combined working
 of ,law and ,personality in purely     
physical science4 ,i wanted first to    
convince the reader from well           
ascertained facts1 that the ,law        
contains infinite possibilities1 but    
that this can only be brought out       
through the operation of the mind of    
man4  ,it is here that we find the value
 of the maxim ,nature unaided fails4    
,the more we consider this maxim and the
 principle of ,unity and ,continuity1   
the clearer it will become1 that        
,limitation is no part of the ,law      
itself1 but results only from our own   

limited comprehension of it2 and that   
,st4 ,james uses no meaningless phrase1 
but is stating a logical and scientific 
truth1 when he speaks of ,the perfect   
,law of ,liberty 7,jas4 i1 #be74 ,what  
we have to do is1 to follow this up1 not
 by petulant self-assertion1 but by     
quietly considering the why and         
wherefore of the whole thing4 ,in doing 
so we can fortify ourselves with another
 maxim1 that ,principle is not limited  
by ,precedent4 ,when we spread the wings
 of thought and speculate as to future  
possibilities1 our conventionally-minded
 friends may say we are talking bosh2   
but if you ask them why they say so1    
they can only reply that the past       
experience of the whole human race is   
against you4 ,they do not speak like    
this in the matter of flying-machines or
 carriages that go without horses2 they 
say these are scientific discoveries4   
,but when it comes to the possibilities 
of our own souls1 they at once set a    
limit to the expansion of ideas1 and do 

not see that the scientific principle of
 discovery is not confined to laboratory
 experiments4 ,therefore1 we must not   
let ourselves be discouraged by such    
arguments4 ,if our friends doubt our    
sanity1 let them doubt it4 ,the sanity  
of such men as ,galileo and ,george     
,stephenson was doubted by their        
contemporaries1 so we are in good       
company4 ,at the same time we must not  
neglect to look after our own sanity4   
,we must know some intelligible reason  
for our conclusions1 and realize that   
however unexpected1 they are the logical
 carrying out of principles which we can
 recognize in the ,creation around us4  
,if we do this we need not fear to      
spread the wings of fancy1 even though  
some may not be able to accompany us2   
only we must remember that we are using 
wings4 ,fancy1 in the ordinary          
acceptation of the word1 has really no  
wings2 it is like a balloon that just   
floats wherever any passing current of  
air may drive it4 ,the possession of    

wings implies power to direct our       
flight1 and fancy must be converted into
 trained ,imagination1 just as the      
helpless balloon has been superseded by 
navigable air-craft4 ,it must be the    
scientific imagination2 and the         
scientific imagination carried into the 
world of spiritual causation becomes the
 ,word of ,power1 and its ,power is     
derived from the fact that it is always 
working according to ,law4 ,then we may 
go on confidently1 because we are       
following the same universal principles 
by which all creation has been evolved1 
only now we are specializing its action 
from the standpoint of our own          
individuality1 according to the ancient 
teaching that ,man1 the ,microcosm1     
repeats in himself all the laws of the  
,macrocosm1 or great world1 around him4 
,as we begin to see the truth of these  
things1 we begin to transcend the simply
 generic stage4 ,that first stage is    
necessary to provide a starting-point   
for the next4 ,the first stage is that  

of ,bondage to ,law4 ,it could not be   
otherwise for the simple reason that you
 must learn the law before you can use  
it4 ,then from the stage of ,generic    
,creation we emerge into that of        
individual ,creation1 in which we attain
 liberty through ,knowledge of the ,law 
of our own ,being2 so that it is not a  
mere theological myth to talk of a ,new 
,creation1 but it is the logical outcome
 of what we now are1 if1 to our         
recognition of the ,power of the ,law we
 add the recognition of the ,power of   
the ,word4     ,,chapter ,v  ,,the      
,,soul ,,of ,,the ,,subject   ,we may   
now turn to speculate a little on some  
conceivable application of the general  
principle we have been considering4 ,it 
seems to me that1 as a result of the    
generic creation of which ,i have just  
spoken1 there is in everything what1 for
 want of a better name1 ,i may call ,the
 soul of the subject4  ,creation being  
by type1 everything must have a generic 
basis of being in the ,cosmic ,law1 not 

peculiar to that individual thing1 but  
peculiar to the class to which it       
belongs1 an adaptation of the ,cosmic   
,soul for the production of all things  
belonging to that particular order1 in  
fact1 what makes them what they are and 
not something else4 ,now just because   
this basis is generic and common to the 
whole genus that is built upon it1 it is
 not specific1 but it acquires          
localization through ,form2 the form    
being that of the class to which it     
belongs1 thus producing the individual  
of that class1 whether a cat or a       
cabbage4 ,it is this underlying generic 
being of the thing1 that ,i want the    
student to understand by the soul of the
 subject4 ,in fact we may call it the   
,noumenon or essential being of the     
class1 as distinguished from the        
specific characteristics that           
differentiate the individual from others
 of the same class4 ,it follows from    
this that this generic soul has no      
individuality of its own1 and           

consequently is open to receive         
impressions from any source that can    
penetrate the sheath of outward form and
 specific characteristic that envelopes 
it4 ,at the same time it is a           
manifestation of ,cosmic ,law1 and so   
cannot depart from its own class-nature1
 and therefore any influence that may be
 impressed upon it from some other      
source will always show itself in terms 
of the sort of generic soul that is thus
 impressed2 for instance1 it would be   
impossible so to impress a dog as to    
make it write a book2 and we may        
therefore generalize the statement1 and 
lay down the rule1 that ,every impress  
receives expression in terms of the     
medium through which it is expressed4   
,this becomes almost a self-obvious     
truism when put into plain language like
 this2 thus1 if ,i paint a picture in   
oils1 my impression is conveyed in terms
 of this medium1 and if ,i paint one in 
water-colours my conception will be     
conveyed in terms of that medium1 and   

the methods of handling will be         
perfectly different in the two pictures4
  ,this applies all round2 and if we    
keep this generalization in mind1 it    
will render many things clear1          
especially in psychic matters1 which    
would otherwise seem puzzling4  ,now we 
ourselves are included in the general   
creation1 and consequently we have in us
 a generic or type basis of personality1
 which is entirely impersonal4 ,this is 
not a contradiction in terms1 though it 
may look like one4 ,we belong to the    
class ,genus ,homo1 the distinctive     
quality of which is ,personality1 that  
is to say1 the possession of certain    
faculties which constitute us persons1  
and not things or animals2 but at the   
same time this merely generic           
personality is common to all mankind1   
and is not that which distinguishes one 
individual from another1 and in this    
sense it is impersonal2 so we may call  
it our ,cosmic or ,impersonal           
,personality4  ,now it is upon this     

cosmic element1 inherent in all things  
from mineral to man1 that               
,thought-,power acts1 because1 being    
impersonal1 it has no private purpose of
 its own with which to oppose the       
suggestion that is being impressed upon 
it4 ,the only thing is1 that according  
to the rule just laid down1 the response
 will always be in terms of the cosmic  
element which we have thus set in       
motion4 ,therefore on the human plane it
 will always be in terms of             
,personality4  ,the whole thing comes to
 this1 that we impart to this impersonal
 element the reflection of our own      
personality1 and thereby create in it a 
certain personality of its own1 which   
will express itself in terms of the     
inherent nature of the impersonal       
factor1 which we have thus temporarily  
invested with a personal quality2 we are
 continually doing this unconsciously1  
either for good or ill2 but when we come
 to understand the law of it1 we must   
try so to regulate the habitual current 

of our thoughts1 that even when we are  
not using this power intentionally1 they
 may only exercise a beneficial         
influence4  ,in our normal state this   
cosmic element in ourselves is so       
closely united with our more conscious  
powers of volition and reasoning1 that  
they constitute a single unity2 and this
 is how it should be1 only1 as we shall 
see later on1 with a difference4 ,but   
there are certain abnormal states which 
are worth considering1 because they make
 clearer the existence in us of this    
impersonal self1 which in academical    
language is called the subliminal       
consciousness4 ,the work of the         
subliminal consciousness exhibits itself
 in various ways1 such as clairvoyance1 
clair-audience1 and conditions of       
trance2 all of which either occur       
spontaneously1 or are induced by        
experimental means1 such as hypnotism2  
but the similarity of the phenomena in  
either case shows1 that it is the same  
faculty that is in evidence4  ,in those 

hypnotic experiments in which the       
operator merely makes the subject do    
some external act1 we get no further    
than the fact that the person's         
individual will has been temporarily put
 to sleep1 and that of the hypnotist has
 taken its place2 still even this shows 
a power of impressing upon the          
subliminal consciousness a personal     
quality of its own1 but it does not     
enable it to exhibit its own powers4    
,the object of such experiments is1 to  
exhibit the powers of the hypnotist1 not
 to investigate the powers of the       
subliminal personality1 which is of more
 importance in the present connection4  
,but where the hypnotist employs his    
power of command to tell the subliminal 
self of the patient to exercise its own 
powers1 merely directing it as to the   
subject upon which it is to be          
exercised1 very wonderful powers indeed 
are exhibited4 ,places unknown to the   
percipient are accurately described2    
correct accounts are given of what      

people are doing elsewhere2 the contents
 of sealed letters are read2 the        
symptoms of disease are diagnosed and   
suitable remedies sometimes prescribed2 
and so on4 ,distance appears to make no 
difference4 ,in many cases time also    
does not count1 and historical events of
 long ago1 with the details of which the
 seer had no acquaintance1 are          
accurately described in all their       
minuti1 which have afterwards been      
corroborated by contemporary documents4 
,nor are cases wanting in which events  
still future have been correctly        
predicted1 as1 for example1 in          
,cazotte's celebrated prediction of the 
,french ,revolution1 and of the fate    
that awaited each member of a large     
dinner-party when it should             
occur--though this was a spontaneous    
case1 and not under hypnotism1 which    
perhaps gives it the greater value4     
,the same powers are shown in           
spontaneous cases also1 of which my own 
experiences related in a previous       

chapter may serve as a small example2   
but as there are many books exclusively 
devoted to the subject ,i need not go   
into further details here4 ,if the      
reader be curious for further           
information1 ,i would recommend him to  
read ,gregory's ,letters on ,animal     
,magnetism4 ,it was published some fifty
 years ago1 and1 for all ,i know1 may be
 out of print1 but if the reader can    
procure it1 he will find that it is a   
book to be relied upon1 the work of a   
,professor of ,chemistry in the         
,university of ,edinburgh1 who          
investigated the matter calmly with a   
thoroughly trained scientific mind4 ,but
 what ,i want the reader to lay hold of 
is the fact1 that whether the action    
occur spontaneously or be induced by    
experimental means1 these powers        
actually exist in us1 and therefore in  
reckoning up the faculties at our       
disposal they must not be omitted4  ,in 
our more usual condition however1 these 
faculties are subordinate to those which

 put us in touch with the every-day     
world1 and ,i cannot help thinking1 that
 at our present stage this is the best  
place for them4 ,in this place they have
 a special function to perform1 which ,i
 will speak of in another chapter1 and  
in the meanwhile for my own part ,i     
should prefer to leave their development
 to the ordinary course of ,nature1     
neither stimulating them by hypnotic    
influence1 or auto-suggestion1 nor      
repressing them if they manifest        
themselves of their own accord4         
,however1 every one must follow his or  
her own discretion in this matter2 the  
only thing is1 do not deny the existence
 of these faculties in yourself because 
you may not consciously exercise them1  
for they hold a very important place in 
our complex personality4  ,all such     
evidence on the subject as has come my  
way1 appears to me to point to the fact1
 that it is through this impersonal or  
cosmic portion of our mind that         
,thought-,power operates upon us1       

whether in the form of telepathy1 or of 
healing treatment1 or in any other way2 
and it is through this channel also that
 thought currents1 not specially        
directed towards ourselves1 nevertheless
 affect us1 just as the first wireless  
telephone message sent on ,september    
#bi1 #aiae1 from the office of the      
,american ,telephone ,company in ,new   
,york1 and directed to ,san ,francisco1 
was simultaneously heard at ,san ,diego1
 at ,darien in ,panama1 and even as far 
away as ,pearl ,island1 ,honolulu1 in   
the ,pacific ,ocean4  ,we sometimes pick
 up messages which are not intended for 
us2 so we must keep our receiver in     
perfect syntony of reciprocal vibration 
with the stations from which we require 
to receive messages1 to the exclusion of
 others which would produce confusion4  
,but ,i have strayed a little from our  
present point1 which is rather that of  
giving out influence than of receiving  
it4 ,through the instrumentality of this
 impersonal cosmic soul we can send out 

our ,thought for the healing of disease1
 for the suggestion of good and happy   
ideas1 and for many other beneficial    
purposes2 though the extent of the      
result will of course be considerably   
influenced by the mental attitude of the
 recipient1 which is therefore a factor 
to be reckoned with4  ,but this power of
 sending out a subtle influence1 call it
 magnetism or what you will1 is not     
confined to operations upon the human   
subject4 ,two ladies of my acquaintance 
experimented on two rose-trees1 which1  
to all appearances1 were both in equally
 good condition4 ,they daily blessed one
 and cursed the other1 with the result  
that at the end of a month the          
anathematized plant had withered up from
 the roots1 while the other was in an   
abnormally flourishing condition4 ,nor  
are we entirely without scientific      
backing even in such a case as this2 for
 ,professor ,bose tells us in his work  
on the ,response of ,metals1 that not   
only can they be poisoned by certain    

chemicals1 so as to deprive them of     
their normal qualities1 but that they   
can be mesmerized into a similar        
condition4 ,such facts as these         
therefore give considerable support to  
the theory of the existence in          
everything of a soul of the subject1    
which responds after its own manner to  
the power of human thought4  ,in what   
manner1 then1 is this influence         
conveyed8 ,it is here that our study of 
etheric waves comes to our assistance1  
by carrying the same principle further1 
and picturing the working of the known  
,law under unknown conditions4 ,it will 
at least enable us to form a working    
hypothesis4 ,i have stated that our     
actual commercial application of the    
etheric waves extends from the          
ultra-violet waves used in photography1 
and measuring only #a_/bed1jjj of an    
inch1 to those measuring many miles     
employed in wireless telegraphy2 but    
this practical application by no means  
exhausts the conceivable possibilities  

of etheric vibrations2 for not only do  
we find a gap of five octaves of as yet 
unknown waves between the dark heat     
group and the ,hertzian group1 but      
mathematically there is no limit to the 
greatness or smallness of the waves1 and
 the scale may be prolonged indefinitely
 in either direction4 ,nor is this to be
 wondered at2 for if we consider that   
vibration is not a progress of          
individual particles from one place to  
another1 but the alternate rising and   
falling of the substance at the same    
point1 and that the ether is a          
homogeneous and universally present     
substance1 it is obvious that there is  
nothing to limit the minuteness or the  
greatness of the intervals at which the 
rising and falling will occur4          
,therefore we have an unlimited field   
for our imagination to play about in4   
,then1 if we further reflect that all   
forms are built up of denser or finer   
aggregations of ether1 and that what    
determines the generic form of anything 

is its cosmic soul1 or the generating   
principle of the class to which it      
belongs1 it follows that this soul must 
have a corresponding form1 however      
inconceivably fine may be the etheric   
condensation which thus differentiates  
it from other souls1 and prevents it    
from all being mixed up together in an  
indistinguishable mass4 ,if now1 we     
combine these two facts1 that the soul  
of anything must have a form1 however   
fine1 and that there is no limit either 
to the greatness or the minuteness of   
etheric vibrations1 we can draw certain 
deductions from these premises4  ,it is 
an established fact of ordinary science 
that1 however closely particles of any  
substance may seem to cohere1 they are  
in reality separated by interstices     
through which etheric waves can         
penetrate4  ,the principle may be       
illustrated by the power of the ,x-rays 
to penetrate apparently solid bodies1   
such as iron4 ,then1 if we combine with 
this the fact1 that there is no limit to

 the minuteness of etheric waves1 we see
 that however fine may be the particles 
constituting any form1 it is always     
possible to have etheric waves still    
finer and thus able to penetrate that   
form and set up vibrations in it4 ,it is
 our familiarity with the denser modes  
of matter that makes it difficult for us
 to grasp the idea of these finer       
activities2 but there is nothing in what
 we know of the denser modes to         
contradict the conception2 on the       
contrary1 it is just by what we have    
learned of these denser modes that we   
reach the principles on which these     
further conceptions are founded4        
,looking at this1 therefore1 in the     
light of a mathematical proposition1    
there is absolutely no limit to the     
fineness of any form1 or to its         
susceptibilities to etheric vibrations4 
,finally1 to this add the power of the  
,word to start trains of etheric        
vibration1 and you get the following    
series3 ,the ,word starts the etheric   

waves2 these waves produce corresponding
 vibration in the soul of the subject2  
and the soul of the subject in turn     
communicates corresponding vibration to 
its body4 ,we may thus explain the      
,creative ,power of ,thought on the     
basis of recognizable ,law1 and so we   
believe1 because we know why we believe1
 not because somebody else has told us  
so4 ,doubt is still the creative action 
of ,thought1 only it is creating        
negatively2 so it is helpful to feel    
that we have some reason for confidence 
in the ,power of the ,word4 ,there are a
 great many ,thomases among us1 and as  
one of the number ,i shall be glad if ,i
 can help my ,brother ,tommies to get a 
grip of the why and wherefore of the    
things which appear at first sight so   
fantastic and improbable4  ,but the     
conception we are considering is not    
limited to concrete entities1 whether   
persons or things4 ,it applies to       
abstractions also1 and it is for this   
reason that ,i have called it the ,soul 

of the ,subject4 ,we often speak of the 
,soul of ,music1 or the ,soul of        
,poetry1 and so on4 ,thus our ordinary  
talk stands on the threshold of a great 
mystery1 which1 however1 is simple      
enough in practice4 ,if you want to get 
a clearer view of any subject than you  
have at present1 address yourself       
mentally to the abstract soul of that   
subject1 and ask it to tell you about   
itself1 and you will find that it will  
do so4 ,i do not say that it will do    
this in any miraculous manner1 but what 
you already know of the subject will    
range itself into a clearer order1 and  
you will see connections that have not  
previously occurred to you4 ,then again1
 you will find that information of the  
class required will begin to flow       
towards you through quite ordinary      
channels1 books1 newspapers1 or         
conversation1 without your especially   
laying yourself out to hunt for it2 and 
again1 at other times1 ideas will come  
into your mind1 you do not know how1 but

 illuminating the subject with a fresh  
light4 ,i cannot explain how all this   
takes place4 ,i can only say from       
personal experience that it happens4    
,but of course we must not throw aside  
ordinary common-sense4 ,we must sort out
 the information that comes to us1 and  
compare it with our previous knowledge2 
in fact we must work at it3 there is no 
premium for laziness4 ,nor must we      
expect to receive by a sudden afflatus a
 complete acquaintance with some subject
 of which we are entirely ignorant4 ,i  
do not say that such a thing is         
altogether impossible1 for ,i cannot    
venture to limit the possibilities of   
the ,universe2 but it is certainly not  
to be looked for in the ordinary course4
 ,i have sometimes been shown specimens 
of inspirational painting done by       
persons said to be entirely ignorant of 
art1 and the ignorance is very apparent 
on the face of the work4 ,i dare say an 
artist may be inspired in the production
 of a picture1 but the technical        

training comes first1 and the           
inspiration afterwards4 ,the same ,i    
believe to be true of all other         
subjects1 so that we come back to the   
maxim of the power always expressing    
itself in terms of the instrument       
through which it works4 ,with this      
reservation1 however1 it appears to me1 
that every class of subject has a sort  
of soul of its own with which we can put
 ourselves en rapport by1 so to say1    
mentally unifying our own personality   
with its abstract principle4  ,we are   
told by some teachers1 that we can in   
the same way even construct entities in 
the nature of our ,thought1 and         
possessing a personality of their own   
with which we have endowed them4        
,whether this be the case ,i cannot     
say--,i do not know all the secrets of  
the invisible4 ,but if our thoughts do  
not create personal entities able to    
hang on their own hook1 they create     
forces which come to much the same      
thing4 ,they start waves in the         

,universal etheric medium1 which1 like  
the electro-magnetic waves of           
telegraphy1 spread all round from the   
point of initial impulse1 and are picked
 up whenever a centre happens to be     
attuned to a similar rate of vibration1 
and each new centre energizes these     
vibrations again with a fresh impulse of
 its own2 so in this way                
thought-currents become very real       
things4  ,such1 then1 is the power of   
our ,word1 whether spoken or only dwelt 
upon in ,thought1 to impress itself upon
 the impersonal element around us1      
whether in persons or things4 ,we cannot
 divest it of the power1 though we may  
intensify its action by deliberate use  
of it1 with knowledge of the principle  
involved1 and therefore1 whether        
consciously or unconsciously1 we are    
sending out the influence of our        
personality all the time4  ,now the more
 we know of these things the greater    
becomes our responsibility1 and ,i would
 therefore solemnly warn the reader     

against any attempt to use the powers   
now indicated to the injury of any other
 person1 or for the purpose of depriving
 any one else of that liberty of action 
which he would wish to enjoy himself4   
,such use of our mental powers is in    
direct opposition to the ,law of ,unity 
which ,i have spoken of2 and since that 
,law is the basic principle of the whole
 ,universe1 any opposition to it places 
us in antagonism with a force           
immeasurably greater than ourselves4    
,our ,thought always continues to be    
creative2 but in destructive use it     
becomes creative for destructive forces1
 and1 since it has its origin in our own
 personality1 we are certain sooner or  
later to feel its effects1 on the       
principle that every action always      
produces a corresponding reaction4 ,as  
we have seen1 the ,law knows nothing of 
persons1 but acts automatically in      
strict accord with the nature of the    
power which has set it in motion4 ,under
 negative conditions the great ,law of  

the ,universe becomes your adversary1   
and must continue to be so1 until by    
your altered mode of ,thought you put   
yourself in line with it4  ,but on the  
other hand1 if our intention be to      
co-operate with the ,great ,law1 we     
shall find that in it also exists a     
mysterious ,soul of the ,subject1 which 
will respond to us1 however imperfectly 
we may understand its modus operandi4   
,it is the intention that counts1 not   
the theoretical knowledge4 ,the         
knowledge will grow by experience and   
meditation1 and its value is measured   
entirely by the intention that is at the
 back of it4     ,,chapter ,,vi  ,,the  
,,promises   ,we have now1 ,i hope1 laid
 a sufficiently broad foundation of the 
relation between the ,law and the ,word4
 ,the ,law cannot be changed1 and the   
,word can4 ,we have two factors1 one    
variable1 and the other invariable2 so  
that from this combination any variety  
of resultants may be expected4 ,the ,law
 cannot be altered1 but it can be       

specialized1 just as iron can be made to
 float by the same law by which it      
sinks4 ,now let us try to figure out in 
our imagination an ideal of the sort of 
results we should want to bring out from
 these two factors4  ,in the first place
 ,i think we should like to be free from
 all worry and anxiety2 for a life of   
continual worry is not worth living4    
,and in the second we should like always
 to have something to look forward to   
and feel an interest in2 for a life     
entirely devoid of all interest is also 
not worth living4 ,but1 granted that    
these two conditions be fulfilled1 ,i   
think we should all be well pleased to  
go on living ad infinitum4 ,now can we  
conceive any combination of the ,law and
 the ,word which would produce such     
results8 that is the question before us4
 ,the first step is to generalize our   
principle as widely as possible1 for the
 wider the generalization1 the larger   
becomes the scope for specialization4   
,the invariable factor we already know4 

,it is the ,law1 always creating in     
accordance with the ,word that sets it  
in motion1 whether constructive or      
destructive2 so what we really have to  
consider is the sort of ,word 7i4e4     
,thought or ,desire7 which will set the 
,law working in the right direction4 ,it
 must be a ,word of confidence in its   
own power2 otherwise by the hypothesis  
of the case it would be giving          
contradictory directions to the ,law1 or
 to borrow a simile from what we have   
learnt about waves in ether1 it would be
 sending out vibrations that would      
cancel one another and so produce no    
effect4 ,then it must be a ,word that   
does not compromise itself by           
antagonizing the ,law of unity1 and so  
producing disruptive forces instead of  
constructive ones4 ,and finally1 we must
 be quite sure that it really is the    
right ,word1 and that we have been      
making no mistake about it4 ,if these   
conditions be fulfilled the logical     
result will be entire freedom from      

anxiety4 ,similarly with regard to      
maintaining a continued interest in     
life4 ,we must have a continued         
succession of ideals1 whether great or  
small1 that will carry us on with       
something always just ahead of us2 and  
we must work the ideals out1 and not let
 them evaporate in dreams4 ,if these    
conditions be fulfilled we have before  
us a life of never-ending interest and  
activity1 and therefore a life worth    
living4 ,where then are we to find the  
,word which will produce these          
conditions3 perfect freedom from anxiety
 and continual1 happy interest8 ,i do   
not think it is to be found in any way  
but by identifying our own ,word with   
the ,word which brings all creation into
 existence1 and keeps it always moving  
onward in that continuous forward       
movement which we call ,evolution4 ,we  
must come back to the old teaching1 that
 the ,macrocosm is reproduced in the    
,microcosm1 with the further perception 
that this identity of principle can only

 be produced by identity of cause4 ,law 
cannot be other than eternal and        
self-demonstrating1 just as #b  #b must 
eternally  #d2 but it remains only an   
abstract conception until the ,creative 
,word affords it a field of operation1  
just as twice two is four remains only a
 mathematical abstraction until there is
 something for you to count2 and        
accordingly1 as we have already seen1   
all our reasoning concerning the origin 
of ,creation1 whether based on          
metaphysical or scientific grounds1     
brings us to the conception of a        
,universal and ,eternal ,living ,spirit 
localizing itself in particular areas of
 cosmic activity by the power of the    
,word4 ,then1 if a similar ,creative    
,power is to be reproduced in ourselves1
 it must be by the same method3 the     
localizing of the same ,spirit in       
ourselves by the power of the same      
,word4 ,then our ,word1 or ,thought1    
will no longer be that of separate      
personality1 but that of the ,eternal   

,spirit finding a fresh centre from     
which to specialize the working of the  
,law1 and so produce still further      
results than that of the ,first or      
simply ,cosmic and ,generic ,creation1  
according to the two maxims that ,nature
 unaided fails1 and that ,principle is  
not limited by ,precedent4  ,i want to  
make this sequence clear to the student 
before proceeding further3  #a4         
,localization of the ,spirit in specific
 areas of ,creative ,activity4  #b4     
,cosmic or ,generic ,creation1 including
 ourselves as a race resulting from     
this1 and providing both the material   
and the instruments for carrying the    
work further by specializing the        
,original ,creative ,power through      
individual ,thought1 just as in all     
cases of scientific discovery4  #c4     
,then1 since what is to be specialized  
through our individual ,thought is the  
,word of the ,originating ,power itself1
 in order to do this we must think in   
terms of the ,originating ,word1 on the 

general principle1 that any power must  
always exhibit itself in terms of the   
instrument through which it works4      
,this1 it appears to me1 is a clear     
logical sequence1 just as a tree cannot 
make itself into a box1 unless there be 
first the idea of a box which does not  
exist in the tree itself1 and also the  
tools with which to fashion the wood    
into a box2 while on the other hand     
there could never be any box unless     
there be first a tree4 ,now it is just  
such a sequence as this that is set     
before us in the ,bible1 and ,i do not  
find it adequately set forth in any     
other teaching1 either philosophical or 
religious1 with which ,i am acquainted4 
,some of these systems contain a great  
deal of truth1 and are therefore helpful
 as far as they go2 but they do not go  
the whole way1 and for the most part    
stop short at the first or simply       
,cosmic ,creation2 or1 if they attempt  
to pass beyond this1 it is on the line  
of making unaided power of the          

individual the sole means by which to do
 so1 and thus in fact always keeping us 
at the merely generic level4 ,such a    
mode of ,thought as this1 fails to meet 
the requirements of our conception of a 
happy life as one entirely exempt from  
fear and anxiety4 ,in like manner also  
it fails to meet the first requirements 
of the whole series1 viz43 the ,word    
should be certain of itself2 and if it  
be not certain of itself we have no     
assurance that it may not eventually    
disappoint our hopes4 ,in short1 this   
mode of thought leaves us to bear the   
whole burden from which we want to      
escape4 ,so it is not good enough2 we   
must look for something better4  ,now   
this something better ,i find in the    
,promises contained in the ,bible1 and  
it is this that to my mind distinguishes
 our own ,scriptures from the sacred    
books of all other nations1 and from all
 systems of philosophy4 ,i do not at all
 ignore the current objections to the   
possibility of ,divine ,promises1 but ,i

 think that on examination they will be 
found to be superficial and resulting   
from want of careful enquiry into the   
true nature of the ,promises themselves4
 ,how is it possible for the ,laws of   
the ,universe to make exceptions8 ,how  
can ,god act by individual favouritism  
unless it be either through sheer       
caprice1 or by the individual managing  
to get round ,him in some way1 either by
 supplying some need which ,he cannot   
supply for ,himself1 in which case ,god 
is of limited power1 or else by         
flattering ,him1 in which case ,he is   
the apotheosis of absurd vanity4 ,the   
two are really the same question put in 
different ways--the question of         
individual exceptions to the general    
,law4  ,the answer is that there are no 
individual exceptions to the general    
,law2 but there are very various degrees
 of realization of the ,principle of the
 ,law1 and the more a man works with the
 ,principle the more the ,law will work 
for him2 so that the finer his          

perception of the ,principle becomes1   
the more he will appear to be an        
exception to the ,law as commonly       
recognized4  ,edison and ,marconi are   
not capriciously favoured by the laws of
 ,nature1 but they know more about them 
than most of us4  ,now it is just the   
same with the ,bible ,promises4 ,they   
are ,promises according to ,law4 ,they  
are based upon the widest generalization
 and hence lead to the highest          
specialization through the combined     
action of the ,law and the              
,word--,jachin and ,boaz1 the ,two      
,pillars of the ,universe4  ,these      
,promises comprise all sorts of         
desirable things3 health of body1 peace 
of mind1 earthly prosperity1            
prolongation of life1 and1 finally1 even
 the conquest of death itself2 but      
always on one condition3 perfect        
,confidence in the power of the         
,all-,originating ,spirit in response to
 our reliance on the ,word4 ,this is    
what the ,bible calls ,faith2 and it is 

perfectly logical when we understand the
 principle of it1 for every ,thought of 
doubt is1 in effect1 the utterance of a 
,word which produces negative results by
 the very same law by which the ,word of
 ,faith produces positive ones4 ,this is
 the only condition which the ,bible    
imposes for the fulfilment of its       
,promises1 and this is because it is    
inherent in the nature of the ,law by   
which their fulfilment is to be brought 
about4  ,a few texts will suffice as    
examples of the ,bible ,promises1 and no
 doubt most of my readers are familiar  
with many others2 but it would be worth 
while to read the ,bible through1       
marking all such texts1 and classifying 
them according to the sort of promises  
they contain4  ,read1 for instance1 ,job
 xxii1 #ba1 etc4 ,this is a most        
remarkable passage containing among     
other things the promise of earthly     
wealth2 or again ,job v1 #ai1 etc41     
where we find promises of protection in 
time of danger1 power over material     

nature1 and prolonged life4 ,while in   
,job xxxiii1 #bc1 etc41 there is promise
 of return to youth1 a promise which is 
repeated in ,psalm ciii1 #e4 ,again in  
,isaiah lxi1 #bj1 etc41 there is the    
promise of immensely extended physical  
life1 death at the age of one hundred   
being counted so premature as to        
resemble that of an infant1 and the     
normal standard of age being compared to
 a tree which lives for centuries2 and  
the same passage also promises immediate
 answer to prayers4 ,the ,psalms are    
full of such promises1 and they are     
scattered throughout the ,bible4  ,now  
there is an unfortunate tendency among  
people who read their ,bible with       
reverence1 to what they call            
spiritualize such passages as these1    
which means that they do not believe    
them4 ,they say such things are         
impossible2 and therefore they must have
 some other meaning1 and accordingly    
they interpret the words metaphorically1
 as referring to something to be        

experienced in another life1 but quite  
impossible in this one4  ,of course     
there are spiritual equivalents to these
 things1 and the teaching of the ,bible 
is1 that they are the outward           
correspondences of inward spiritual     
states2 but to spiritualize them in the 
way ,i am speaking of1 is nothing but   
unbelief in the power of ,god to work on
 the plane of ,nature4 ,how such readers
 square their opinion with the fact that
 ,god has created ,nature1 ,i do not    
know4 ,even in the animal world we find 
wonderful instances of longevity4 ,if an
 elephant be not overworked before he is
 twenty1 he is in full working power up 
to eighty1 and will then be capable of  
light work for another twenty years1    
after which he may yet enjoy another    
twenty years of quiet old age as the    
reward of his labours1 while crocodiles 
and tortoises have been known to live   
for centuries4 ,if then such things be  
possible in the ordinary course of      
,nature in the animal world1 why need we

 doubt the specializing power of the    
,word to produce far greater results in 
the case of man8 ,it is because we will 
not accept the maxim1 that ,principle is
 not limited by ,precedent in regard to 
ourselves1 though we see it demonstrated
 by every new scientific discovery4 ,we 
rely more on the past experience of the 
race1 than on the ,creative ,power of   
,god4 ,we call ,him ,almighty1 and then 
say that in ,his ,book ,he promises     
things which ,he is not able to perform4
 ,but the fault is with ourselves4 ,we  
limit the ,holy ,,one of ,israel1 and as
 a consequence get only so much as by   
our mental attitude we are able to      
receive--again the old maxim that ,power
 can only work in terms of the          
instrument it works through4 ,i do not  
say that it is at all easy for us to    
completely rid ourselves of negative    
race-thought ingrained into us from     
childhood1 and subtly playing upon that 
generic impersonal self in us of which  
,i have spoken1 and which readily       

responds to those thought-currents to   
which we are habitually attuned4 ,it is 
a matter of individual growth4 ,but the 
promises themselves contain no inherent 
impossibility1 and are logical          
deductions from the principles of the   
,creative ,law4  ,if the power of the   
,spirit over things of the material     
plane be an impossibility1 then by what 
power did ,jesus perform his miracles8  
,either you must deny his miracles1 or  
you must admit the power of the ,spirit 
to work on the material plane--there is 
no way out of the dilemma4 ,perhaps you 
may say3 ,oh1 but ,he was ,god in       
person6 ,well1 all the promises affirm  
that it is ,god who does these things2  
so what it is possible for ,god to do at
 one time1 it is equally possible for   
,him to do at all times4 ,or perhaps you
 hold other theological views1 and will 
say that ,jesus was an exception to the 
rest of the race2 but1 on the contrary1 
the whole ,bible sets ,him forth as the 
,example--an exception certainly to men 

as we now know them1 but the ,example of
 what we all have it in us to           
become--otherwise what use is ,he to us8
 ,but apart from all argument on the    
subject we have his own words1 telling  
us that those who believe in ,him1 i4e41
 believe what ,he said about            
,himself--shall be able to do works as  
great as ,his own1 and even greater     
7,john xiv1 #ab74 ,for these reasons it 
appears to me that on the authority of  
the ,bible itself1 and also on          
metaphysical and scientific grounds we  
are justified in taking such promises as
 those ,i have quoted in a perfectly    
literal sense4  ,then there are promises
 of the power that will attend our      
utterance of the ,word4 ,thou shalt also
 decree a thing and it shall be         
established unto thee 7,job xxii1 #bh74 
,all things are possible unto you 7,mark
 ix1 #bc74 ,whosoever 444 shall believe 
that what he sayeth cometh to pass1 he  
shall have whatsover he sayeth 7,mark   
xi1 #bc71 and so on4  ,other passages   

again promise peace of mind4 ,thou wilt 
keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
staid on ,thee1 because he trusteth in  
,thee 7,isaiah xxvi1 #c74 ,let him take 
hold of my strength that he may make    
peace with me 7,isaiah xxvii1 #e74 ,st4 
,paul speaks of ,the ,god of ,peace in  
many passages1 e4g41 ,rom4 xv1 #cc2 #b  
,cor4 xiii1 #aa2 #a ,thess4 v1 #bc1 and 
,hebr4 xiii1 #bj2 and ,jesus1 in his    
final discourse recorded in the         
fourteenth1 fifteenth and sixteenth     
chapters of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 lays  
peculiar stress on the gift of ,peace4  
,and lastly there are many passages     
which promise the overcoming of death   
itself2 as for instance ,job xix1       
#be-bg2 ,john viii1 #ea1 and x1 #bh1 and
 xi1 #be and #bf2 ,hebr4 ii1 #ad and    
#ae2 #a ,cor4 xv1 #ej-eg2 #b ,tim4 i1   
#aj2 ,rom4 vi1 #bc 7,the gift of ,god is
 eternal life in ,jesus ,christ1 our    
,lord74  ,god commanded the blessing1   
even ,life for evermore 7,ps4 cxxxiii1  
#c74  ,now ,i hope the reader will take 

the trouble to look up the texts to     
which ,i have referred1 and not be lazy4
 ,i am sure he would do so if he were   
promised a ten pound note or a fifty    
dollar bill for his pains1 and if these 
promises are not all bosh1 there is     
something worth a good deal more to be  
got by studying them4 ,just run through 
the list3 health1 wealth1 peace of mind1
 safety1 creative power1 and eternal    
life4 ,you would be willing to pay a    
good premium to an ,insurance ,office   
that could guarantee you all these4     
,well1 there is a ,company that does    
this without paying any premium1 and its
 name is ,god and ,co41 ,unlimited2 the 
only condition1 is that you yourself    
have to take the part of ,co4 and it is 
not a sleeping partnership1 but a       
wide-awake one6  ,so ,i hope you will   
take the trouble to look up the texts2  
but at the same time you must remember  
that the reading of single texts is not 
sufficient4 ,if you take any isolated   
phrase you choose1 without reference to 

the rest of the ,book1 there is no      
nonsense you cannot make out of the     
,bible4 ,you would not be allowed to do 
that sort of thing in a ,court of ,law4 
,when a document is produced in         
evidence1 the meaning of the words used 
in it are very carefully construed1 not 
only in reference to the particular     
clause in which they occur1 but also    
with reference to the intention of the  
document as a whole1 and to the         
circumstances under which they were     
written4 ,the same word may mean very   
different things in different           
connections2 for instance ,i remember   
two reported cases in one of which the  
word ,spanish meant a certain sort of   
leather1 and in the other a kind of     
material used in brewing2 and in like   
manner particular texts are to be       
interpreted in accordance with the gist 
of the ,bible as a whole4  ,this is just
 the mistake the ,jews made1 of building
 up theories on particular texts1 and   
which ,jesus corrected when he said3    

,search the ,scriptures1 for in them ye 
think ye have eternal life1 and these   
are they which testify of me 7,john v1  
#ci71 or1 as the ,revised ,version puts 
it3 ,ye search the ,scriptures because  
ye think that in them ye have eternal   
life2 and these are they which bear     
witness of me1 which appears to be the  
better rendering4 ,the words ye think is
 the key to the whole passage4 ,he says 
in effect3 ,you fancy that eternal life 
is to be found in the book4 ,it is not  
to be found in the book1 but in what the
 book tells you about1 and here ,i am as
 a living example of it4 ,it is just the
 same with everything else4 ,no book can
 do more than tell you about a thing2 it
 cannot produce it4 ,you may study the  
cookery book from morning till night1   
but that will not give you your dinner4 
,what ,jesus meant was1 that we should  
read the ,scriptures in the same way we 
should read any other book of practical 
instruction4 ,first think what it is all
 about2 then look at the nature of the  

general principles involved1 and then   
see what instruction the book gives you 
for their practical application4 ,then  
go and do it4 ,and remember also a      
further difference between reading about
 a thing and doing it4 ,a book is for   
everybody1 and can therefore1 only give 
general instruction2 but when you come  
to do the thing you will always find it 
works with some personal                
modifications1--not departures from the 
general principles you have read about1 
but specializations of them--and in this
 way you will learn much that is not to 
be got out of books1 even the best4  ,i 
remember many years ago1 when ,i was    
much younger1 asking one of our leading 
water-colour artists1#c how he would    
recommend me to study landscape         
painting1 and he said3 ,practise        
continually from ,nature1 and you will  
learn more than any one can teach you2  
that is how ,i have learnt1 myself4 ,on 
the subject1 then in question1 he said  
just what ,jesus did3 ,here ,i am as a  

practical example of what ,i tell you4  
,and another thing is1 that the more you
 think principles out for yourself and  
try to observe them in practice1 the    
clearer the meaning of your book will   
become to you4 ,i have a few excellent  
books on painting1 but ,i had no idea   
how excellent they were when ,i first   
got them2 practical experience has      
taught me to find much more in them than
 ,i did at first1 for now ,i understand 
better what they are talking about4     
,well1 that is the way to read the      
,bible1 neither despising it as         
worthless tradition1 nor treating the   
mere letter of it with superstitious    
veneration2 both extremes are to be     
equally avoided4 ,in fact the ,bible    
tells us so itself3 ,the letter killeth1
 but the ,spirit giveth life 7#b ,cor4  
iii1 #f72 this1 of course1 does not mean
 that the letter can be tampered with1  
any more than a judge can alter the     
wording of a document put in evidence2  
it must be interpreted in the general   

sense of the document as a whole2 and   
when the letter is thus vivified by the 
,spirit1 it will be found fully to      
express it4 ,but we require to enter    
into the ,spirit of it first4  ,now it  
appears to me1 that taken in this way1  
the ,bible is an exceedingly practical  
book1 and that is why ,i want the reader
 to get at some general principles which
 he will find1 mutatis mutandis1 equally
 applicable all round1 whether to       
electricity1 or to life1 and whatever   
may be the subject-matter1 it will      
always be found to resolve itself into a
 question of the relation between ,law  
and ,personality4 ,if now we read the   
,bible ,promises in the light of the    
general principles we have considered in
 the earlier pages1 we shall find that  
they are all ,promises according to     
,law4 ,they are statements of the       
results to be obtained by a truer       
realization of the principles of ,law   
and ,personality than we have hitherto  
apprehended4  ,we must always bear in   

mind that the ,law is set in motion by  
the ,word4 ,the ,word does not make the 
,law1 but gives it something to work    
upon1 so that without the ,word there   
could be no manifestation of the ,law1 a
 truth embodied in the maxim1 that      
,every ,creation carries its own        
mathematics along with it4 ,if the      
reader remembers what ,i have said in   
the chapter of ,the ,soul of the        
,subject1 he will see that the principle
 involved1 is that of the susceptibility
 of the ,impersonal to suggestions from 
the ,personal4 ,this follows of course  
from the very ,conception of            
,impersonality2 it is that which has no 
power of selection and volition1 and    
which is therefore without any power of 
taking an initiative on its own account4
  ,in a previous chapter ,i have pointed
 out that the only possible conception  
of the inauguration of a world-system1  
resolves itself into the recognition of 
one original and universal ,substantive 
,life1 out of which proceeds a          

corresponding ,verb1 or active energy1  
reproducing in action what the          
,substantive is in essence4 ,on the     
other hand there must be something for  
this active principle to work in2 and   
since there can be nothing anterior to  
the ,universal ,life or ,energy1 both   
these factors must be potentially       
contained in it4 ,if1 then1 we represent
 this ,eternal ,substantive ,life by a  
circle with a dot in the centre1 we may 
represent these two principles as       
emerging from it by placing two circles 
at equal distance below it1 one on      
either side1 and placing the sign       
7plus7 in one1 and the sign - 7minus7 in
 the other4 ,this is how students of    
these subjects usually map out the      
relation of the prima principia1 or     
first abstract principles4 ,the sign    
7plus7 indicates the ,active principle1 
and the sign - 7minus7 the ,passive     
principle4 ,if the reader will draw a   
little diagram as described1 it will    
help to make what follows clearer4      

,necessarily the initiative must be     
taken by the ,active principle2 and the 
taking of initiative implies selection  
and volition1 that is to say1 the       
essential qualities of personality2 and 
,passivity implies the converse of all  
this1 and therefore is ,impersonality4  
,the two principles in no way conflict  
with one another1 but are polar         
opposites1 like the positive and        
negative plates of a battery1 or the two
 ends of a magnet4 ,they are            
complementary to one another1 and       
neither can work without the other4 ,a  
little consideration will show that this
 is not a mere fancy1 but a self-obvious
 generalization1 the contrary to which  
it is impossible to conceive4 ,it is    
simply the case of the box which cannot 
come into existence without the activity
 of the carpenter and the passivity of  
the wood4  ,from such considerations as 
this the deep thinkers of old times     
posited the generating of a world-system
 by the interaction of what they named  

,animus ,dei1 the ,active principle1 and
 ,anima ,mundi1 or ,soul of the         
,universe1 the ,passive principle--the  
one ,personal1 and the other            
,impersonal2 and by the hypothesis of   
the case the only mode of activity      
possible to ,anima ,mundi is response to
 ,animus ,dei4 ,but the same impersonal 
passivity must also make ,anima ,mundi  
receptive likewise to lesser and more   
individualized modes of ,personality1   
and it becomes1 so to say1 fecundated by
 the ideas thus impressed upon it4 ,in  
every case the word is the seed4 ,we may
 picture this planting of an idea or    
word in the ,cosmic soul as acting very 
much like the initial impulse that      
starts a train of waves in ether1 and   
these thought-waves are reproduced in   
corresponding forms2 or1 to recur to the
 simile of seed1 the cosmic soul acts   
like the soil and gives it nourishment4 
,looking at it in this way the old      
exponents of these things regarded the  
,active principle as ,masculine1 and the

 ,passive as ,feminine1 the one         
generating and the other nutritive1     
corresponding to the words rouah and    
hoshech1 the expansion and compression  
principles in the ,hebrew text of the   
opening verses of ,genesis4  ,if then we
 posit this impersonal ,soul of the     
,universe as the living principle       
dwelling in the substance of the etheric
 ,universal ,medium it will account for 
a good many things4 ,if it be asked why 
we should assume the presence of a      
living principle in the ,universal      
,substance the answer is in the maxim   
,quod ex ,vivo ,vivum1 what proceeds    
from ,life is living4 ,then as we see by
 our diagram1 ,anima ,mundi equally with
 ,animus ,dei proceeds from the original
 ,substantive of ,life1 and therefore1  
on the principle of the above maxim1    
that like produces like1 ,anima ,mundi  
must also be a living thing whose       
vehicle is the ,universal ,substance4   
,we may picture then1 the response of   
the indwelling ,soul of the ,universal  

,medium to our ,thought1 as starting    
corresponding vibrations in the         
,substance of the ,medium1 just as our  
own thought1 acting through the         
vibratory system of our nerves1 causes  
our body to make the movement we intend4
 ,but perhaps you will say3 ,how can    
this be1 seeing that by the hypothesis  
the ,soul of the ,universe is           
,impersonal1 and therefore              
unintelligent8 ,well1 it is just this   
fact of having no thought of its own1   
that enables us to impress our thought  
upon it and cause it1 so to say1 to take
 on an intelligence relatively to the   
subject of our thought1 much in the same
 way that the impersonal soul in the    
human subject takes on or reflects the  
thought of the hypnotist1 and not       
infrequently develops it to a far       
greater extent than the original thought
 of the operator expressed4 ,such a     
hypothesis--and ,i think some such      
hypothesis is needed to account for any 
creation at all--throws light on the    

modus operandi of the ,bible ,promises4 
,we plant the ,word of the ,promise in  
the womb of ,anima ,mundi1 and if we do 
not uproot it by using the same power   
adversely1 it is bound to come to       
fruition in due course1 by the same ,law
 by which the world-systems are formed2 
and if we are to believe that the ,word 
of the ,promise is not our own word1 but
 the ,word of ,god1 then our ,thought of
 it is imbued with a corresponding power
 as we hand it over to ,anima ,mundi4   
,thus the ,promises fulfil themselves   
automatically1 in accordance with the   
principles of the relations between ,law
 and ,personality1 and they do so1 not  
in our own power1 but by the ,power of  
the ,word of ,god4  ,this1 then1 gives  
us at least an intelligible working     
hypothesis of the rationale of the      
,bible ,promises4 ,the measurement of   
their fulfilment is exactly proportional
 to our belief in them1 not from any    
unintelligible cause1 and still less    
from any unreasoning feat of a          

capricious ,deity1 but by the working of
 an intelligible ,law4 ,if any of my    
readers happens to be an electrician1 he
 will find an exact parallel in what is 
known as ,ohm's ,law4 ,such readers will
 be familiar with the formula ,c        
,e_/,r1 but for the benefit of those to 
whom this formula may be unintelligible1
 ,i will give a few words of            
explanation4 ,c means the current of    
electricity which is to be delivered for
 any work that is to be done4 ,e stands 
for the ,electro-motive force which     
generates the current2 and ,r is the    
,resistance offered to the current by   
the conductor1 such as the wires through
 which it flows4 ,if there be no        
resistance1 the full amount of current  
generated would be delivered4 ,but      
without any conductor no current could  
be delivered1 and therefore there must  
be some resistance1 and so the full     
power of the ,electro-motive force can  
never be delivered by the ,current4 ,the
 amount that will be delivered is the   

original power of the ,electro-motive   
force divided by the ,resistance4 ,the  
,resistance therefore acts as a         
restricting force1 limiting the extent  
to which the power of the original      
,electro-motive force shall be delivered
 at the point where the work is to be   
done1 but at the same time no delivery  
at that point could be effected without 
it2 so the ,resistance also has a       
necessary part to play in the working of
 the circuit4 ,now if we want to        
translate the formula ,c  ,e_/,r into   
terms of spiritual force we may put it  
thus3 ,e stands for the limitless       
,potential of the ,eternal ,spirit2 ,c  
stands for the current flowing from it2 
and ,r stands for the localizing quality
 of our thought4 ,we cannot entirely    
dispense with this localizing quality1  
for our whole purpose is to transmute   
the unlimited1 undifferentiated power1  
which subsists in the ,eternal          
,substantive of ,spirit1 into a         
particular differentiated mode of       

action1 which therefore implies a       
corresponding centralization4 ,this is  
the proper function of our thought4 ,it 
is this compressing power which1 as ,i  
said above1 the ,hebrew renders by the  
word hoshech in the opening verses of   
,genesis1 and which is the necessary    
complementary to the converse expanding 
power or rouah4 ,it takes the           
co-operation of the two to produce any  
results4  ,restricted1 then1 to its     
proper function our ,r or condensing    
quality is an essential factor in the   
work4 ,but if it be allowed to take the 
form of doubt or unbelief1 then it      
renders the flow of the current from the
 ,spirit ineffective to the extent to   
which the doubt is entertained2 and if  
doubt be allowed to degenerate into     
total unbelief and denial of the ,power 
of the ,spirit1 we thereby cancel the   
originating force altogether4 ,to put it
 in terms of the electrical formula1 we 
make ,r greater than ,e1 in which case  
no current can flow4 ,we thus find that 

the words ,according to your faith be it
 unto you are actually the statement of 
a ,mathematical ,law1 having nothing    
vague about them4 ,this may be a        
somewhat original application of ,ohm's 
,law1 but the parallel is so exact1 that
 ,i cannot help thinking it will appeal 
to some of my readers who may be        
conversant with ,electrical ,science4   
,for those who are not1 a simpler simile
 may be1 that you cannot deliver a more 
powerful stream of water than the bore  
of the pipe through which it flows will 
admit of2 or1 to employ a legal truism1 
delivery on the part of the donor must  
be met by acceptance on the part of the 
donee before a deed of gift can become  
operative2 or1 in still simpler         
language1 you may take a horse to the   
water but you can't make him drink4  ,we
 see1 then1 that there is a ,law of     
,faith1 and that ,faith is not a denial 
of the universal reign of ,law1 but the 
perception of its widest generalization1
 and therefore giving scope to its      

highest specialization4 ,the opposition 
between ,faith and ,law1 of which ,st4  
,paul so often speaks1 is the opposition
 between this broad view of the ultimate
 ,principle of the ,creative ,law and   
that narrower view of restriction by    
particular laws1 which prevents us from 
grasping the ,law of ,faith2 but that he
 does not deny the ,principle of ,law1  
that is the relation between ,c and ,e1 
is clear from his own statement in ,rom4
 viii1 where he says3 ,the ,law of the  
,spirit of ,life in ,christ ,jesus sets 
me free from the law of ,sin and ,death2
 in other words3 the ,law of the ,good  
sets us free from the ,law of ,evil2 and
 for the same reason ,st4 ,james says1  
that the perfect law is the law1 of     
,liberty 7,jas4 i1 #be74  ,of course if 
we suppose that faith is something      
contrary to the law of the ,universe we 
at once import into our thought the     
negative quality which entirely vitiates
 our action4 ,we rightly perceive that  
the laws of the ,universe can never be  

altered1 and if our notion of ,faith be1
 that it is an attempt to work in       
contradiction to these laws1 the best   
definition we can give it is that given 
by the little girl in the ,sunday       
school1 who said that ,faith is trying  
to make yourself believe what you know  
is not true4 ,the reason for such a     
misconception is1 that it entirely omits
 one of the factors in the calculation4 
,it considers1 only the ,law1 and gives 
no place to the ,word in the scheme of  
things4 ,yet we do not carry this       
misconception into the sciences of      
chemistry and electricity4 ,we take the 
immutability of the ,law as the basis of
 these sciences1 but we do not expect   
the immutable ,law to produce a         
photographic apparatus1 or an electric  
train1 without the intervention of a    
reasoning and selective power which     
specializes the fundamental general ,law
 into particular uses4 ,we do not look  
to the ,law for those powers of         
reasoning and selection1 through which  

we make it work in all the highly       
complex ways of our ordinary commercial 
applications of it--we know better than 
that4 ,we look to ,personality for this4
 ,in our every-day pursuits we always   
act on the maxim that ,nature unaided   
fails1 and that the infinite            
possibilities stored up in the ,law1 can
 only be brought to light by a power of 
reasoning and selection working through 
the ,law4 ,this co-operation of the     
,personal with the ,impersonal is the   
,law of the ,law2 and since the ,law is 
unchangeable1 this ,law of the ,law must
 also be unchangeable1 and must         
therefore apply on all planes1 and      
through all time--the ,law1 that without
 co-operation of the ,law and the ,word 
nothing can be brought into existence1  
from a solar system to a pin2 while on  
the other hand there is no limit to what
 can be got out of the ,law by the      
operation of the ,word4  ,if the student
 will look at the ,bible ,promises in   
the light of the general principles1 he 

will find that they are perfectly       
logical1 whether from the metaphysical  
or from the scientific standpoint1 and  
that their working is only from the same
 ,law through which all scientific      
developments are made4 ,if this be      
apprehended it will be clear that the   
,word of ,faith is not trying to make   
ourselves believe what we know is not   
true1 but1 as ,st4 ,paul puts it1 it is 
giving substance to things not yet seen 
7,heb4 xi1 #a1 ,r4,v474     ,,chapter   
,,vii  ,,death ,,and ,,immortality   ,i 
think most of my readers will agree with
 me1 that the greatest of all the       
promises is that of the overcoming of   
death1 for1 as the greater includes the 
less1 the power which can do that can do
 anything else4 ,we think that there are
 only two things that are certain in    
this world--death and taxes1 and no     
doubt1 under the ordinary past          
conditions1 this is quite true2 but the 
question is3 are they really inherent in
 the essential nature of things2 or are 

they not the outcome of our past        
limited1 and often inverted modes of    
,thought8 ,the teaching of the ,bible is
 that they are the latter4 ,on the      
subject of taxes the ,master says3      
,render unto ,csar the things that are  
,csar's 7,matth4 xxii1 #ba71 but on     
another occasion he said that the       
children of the ,king were not liable to
 taxation 7,matth4 xvii1 #bf74 ,however 
we may leave the taxes alone for the    
present1 with the remark that their     
resemblance to death consists in both   
being1 under present conditions1        
regarded as compulsory4 ,under other    
conditions1 however1 we can well imagine
 taxes disappearing in a unity of       
thought which would merge them in       
co-operation and voluntary contribution2
 and it appears to me quite possible for
 death to disappear in like manner4  ,in
 whatever way we may interpret the story
 of ,eden1 whether literally1 or if1    
like some of the ,fathers of the church 
such as ,origen1 we take it as an       

allegory1 the result is the same--that  
,death is not in the essence of man's   
creation1 but supervened as the         
consequence of an inverted mode of      
thinking4 ,the ,creative ,spirit thought
 one way1 and ,eve thought another2 and 
since the ,thought of the ,creating     
,spirit is the origin of ,life1 this    
difference of opinion naturally resulted
 in death4 ,then1 from this             
starting-point1 all the rest of the     
,bible is devoted to getting rid of this
 difference of opinion between us and   
the ,spirit of ,life1 and showing us    
that the ,spirit's opinion is truer than
 ours1 and so leading us to adopt it as 
our own4 ,the whole thing turns on the  
obvious proposition1 that if you invert 
the cause you also invert the effect4   
,it is the principle that division is   
the inversion of multiplication1 so that
 if #b  #b  #d then you cannot escape   
from the consequence that #d_/b  #b4    
,the question then is1 which of the two 
opinions is the more reasonable--that   

death is essentially inherent in the    
nature of things1 or that it is not8    
,probably ninety-nine out of a hundred  
readers will say1 the whole experience  
of mankind from the earliest ages proves
 that ,death is the unchangeable ,law of
 the ,universe1 and there have been no  
exceptions4 ,i am not quite sure that ,i
 should altogether agree with them on   
this last point2 but putting that aside1
 let us consider whether it really is   
the essential ,law of the ,universe4 ,to
 say that this is proved by the past    
experience of the race1 is what         
logicians call a petitio principii--it  
is assuming the whole point at issue4   
,it is the same argument which our      
grandfathers would have used against    
aerial navigation--no one had ever      
travelled in the air1 and that proved   
that no one ever could4 ,my father1 who 
was a junior officer in ,india when the 
first railway was run in ,england1 used 
to tell a story of one of his senior    
officers1 who1 on being asked what he   

thought of the rapidity of the new mode 
of travelling1 said he thought it was   
all a damned lie1 which opinion appeared
 to him to settle the whole question4   
,but ,i hope that none of my readers    
will hold the same opinion regarding the
 overcoming of death1 even though they  
might express it in more polite         
language4 ,at any rate it may be worth  
while to examine the theoretical        
possibility of the idea4  ,to begin     
with1 it involves a self-contradiction  
to say that the energy of any force can 
stop the working of that force4 ,if a   
force stops working1 it is for one of   
two reasons1 either that the supply of  
it is exhausted1 or that it is overcome 
by an opposite and neutralizing force4  
,but we have seen that the ,originating 
,cause of all things can only be an     
inexhaustible ,power of ,life1 and      
therefore the hypothesis of it becoming 
exhausted is eliminated2 and similarly1 
since all the forces of the ,universe   
proceed from this ,source1 it is        

impossible for any of them to have a    
nature diametrically opposite to that of
 the source from which they flow4 ,so   
the alternative must be eliminated also4
 ,accordingly1 the outflow1             
undifferentiated1 of ,life and ,energy  
from the ,eternal ,substantive of       
,spirit1 is never stopped by its own    
current in any of its differentiated    
streams2 it is impossible for a current 
to be stopped by its own flow1 whether  
it be a current of electricity1 steam1  
water1 or anything else4 ,what then does
 stop the flow of any sort of current8  
,it is the ,resistance or inertia of the
 channel through which it flows2 so that
 we come back to the formula of ,ohm's  
,law1 ,c  ,e_/,r as a general           
proposition applicable to any           
conceivable sort of energy4  ,the       
neutralizing power then1 is not that of 
the flowing of any sort of energy1 but  
the rigidity1 or inertia of the medium  
through which the energy has to make its
 way2 thus bringing us back to rouah and

 hoshech1 the expansive and compressive 
principles of the opening verses of     
,genesis4 ,it is the broad scientific   
generalization of the opposition between
 ,ertia1 or ,energy1 and ,inertia1 or   
,absence of ,energy2 and since1 for the 
reasons just given1 ,ertia cannot go    
against itself1 the only thing that can 
stop it is ,inertia4  ,now the          
components of the human body are simply 
various chemical elements--so much      
carbon1 so much hydrogen1 etc41 as any  
textbook on the subject will tell you2  
and although1 of course1 every sort of  
substance is the abode of ceaseless     
atomic energy1 we all recognize that    
merely atomic energy is not that of the 
powers of thought1 will1 and perception1
 which make us organized mentalities    
instead of a mere aggregation of the    
various substances exposed to view in a 
biological museum1 as constituting the  
human body--you might take all these    
substances in their proper proportions1 
and shake them up together1 but you     

would not make an intelligent man of    
them4 ,we are therefore safe in saying  
that the physiological body represents  
the principle of inertia in us1 while   
the something that thinks in us         
represents the principle of ,ertia4     
,the balance of power between the ,life 
,principle in us and the ,death         
,principle1 is then1 necessarily1 a     
question of the balance between these   
two1 the spirit and the flesh1 or ertia 
and inertia4  ,why then does the balance
 preponderate to the life-side for a    
certain length of time1 and then go over
 to the opposite side8  ,now this brings
 us to the distinction which the old    
writers drew1 between the ,vital ,soul  
of any living thing and the ,spirit4    
,their conception of the ,vital ,soul   
was very much the same as ,i have set   
forth in the chapter on ,the ,soul of   
the ,subject4 ,it is the individual's   
particular share of the ,cosmic ,soul or
 ,anima ,mundi1 whether it be an        
individual tree1 or an individual       

person2 and the ordinary maximum length 
of time1 during which the ,vital ,soul  
will be able to overcome the inertia of 
its physical vehicle1 depends upon the  
particular class to which the individual
 belongs4 ,what the ordinary maximum is 
in regard to any species is a matter of 
experience1 and it is in this way that  
we have fixed the usual limit of human  
life at three-score years and ten4  ,now
 it is here that we shall begin to      
profit by some knowledge about the      
invisible part of ourselves4 ,the actual
 molecules of our body1 as ,i have just 
said1 are only so much dead matter4     
,this inert material is pulled about in 
various directions by strings which we  
call muscles1 according to the movements
 we wish our bodies to make1 and these  
muscles are set in motion by the        
vibrations of the nerves4#d ,but what is
 it that occasions these vibrations of  
the nerves8 ,here we begin to pass      
beyond the limits of official ,science1 
though not beyond the limits of         

recognizable ,law4 ,we have to recognize
 the existence of an etheric body acting
 as an intermediary between intention1  
desire1 or 7in the case of human beings7
 thought of the soul and the physical   
vibrations of the nerves4 ,this is why1 
in an earlier chapter1 ,i have drawn    
attention to our power of sending out   
etheric vibrations beyond the limits of 
the physical body1 as in the case of ,de
 ,rocha's experiments4 ,such experiments
 show that there is in us something not 
composed of dense matter1 which is able 
to convey vibrations to dense matter2   
and it is this something which we speak 
of as the etheric body4  ,but if we wish
 to trace the links by which our thought
 operates upon the physical body1 we    
find ourselves compelled to postulate   
yet another intermediary1 what ,i have  
spoken of as the ,vital ,soul--a vehicle
 which does not consciously think1 but  
in which what we may call               
race-consciousness becomes centred in   
the individual4 ,this race-consciousness

 is none other than the ever-present    
will-to-live which is the basis of      
physical evolution--that automatically  
acting principle--which causes plants to
 turn towards the sun1 animals to seek  
their proper food1 and both animals and 
men to try instantly to escape from     
immediate danger4 ,it is what we call   
instinct which does not reason4 ,i may  
give a laughable experience of my own to
 illustrate the fact that conscious     
reason is not the method of this        
faculty4 ,once when on leave from ,india
 ,i was walking along a street in       
,london in the heat of a summer's day   
and suddenly noticed just at my feet a  
long dark thing apparently wriggling    
across the white glare of the pavement4 
,snake6 ,i exclaimed1 and jumped aside  
for all ,i was worth1 and the next      
moment was laughing at myself for not   
recollecting that cobras were not common
 objects in the ,london streets4 ,but it
 looked just like one1 and of course    
turned out to be nothing but a piece of 

rag4 ,well1 instinct did its duty even  
if it did make a fool of me2 but there  
is certainly no conscious reasoning in  
the matter1 only the automatic action of
 inherent ,law--,self-preservation is   
the first law of ,nature4  ,this ,vital 
,soul1 then1 is the seat of all those   
instincts which go towards the          
preservation of the individual's        
physical body1 and towards the          
propagation of the race2 and it is on   
this account that our theosophical      
friends call it the ,desire ,body or1 to
 use the ,indian term ,kama rupa4 ,it   
acts with conscious intention1 but not  
with conscious reasoning4 ,it is thus   
distinguished on the one hand from the  
etheric body1 which is a mere vehicle   
for finer vibrations than can take place
 in the denser matter of the physical   
body1 but which has no intention2 and on
 the other from the mind which acts by  
conscious reasoning1 and it thus forms  
an intermediary between the two4  ,the  
importance of recognizing the place of  

this higher intermediary in the         
ascending scale of living principle is1 
that for all practical purposes the     
animal world does not rise higher than  
this in the scale4 ,it is true that in  
particular instances we find the first  
dawning of the mental faculty in an     
animal1 but it is only very faint2 so   
this does not affect the broad general  
principle4 ,the point to be noted is    
that up to this stage human beings are  
built on the same lines as animals1 and 
what distinguishes us1 is the addition  
in ourselves of a higher factor1--that  
of the reasoning mind exercising the    
power of conscious thought4  ,now it is 
the direction of this thought that      
influences the three lower factors4 ,the
 sequence1 going upwards1 is as         
follows3--movement is communicated to   
the physical body by the etheric body2  
and movement is communicated to the     
etheric body by the ,vital ,soul2 then1 
in proportion as the purely instinctive 
action of the ,vital ,soul is controlled

 by the conscious thought1 so its action
 upon the two lowest principles is      
modified4  ,here1 then1 is the crucial  
point4 ,in what direction is the        
conscious thought going to modify the   
action of the three principles that are 
below it8 ,if it takes the soul of mere 
racial desire and the physical body as  
its standard of thought1 then it        
naturally follows that it cannot raise  
it any higher4 ,it has descended to     
their level and so cannot pour any      
stream of life into it1 on the simple   
principle that no current can ever flow 
from a lower to a higher level1 whether 
the difference in level be that of      
actual elevation1 as in the case of     
water1 or different in potential1 as in 
the case of electricity4 ,on the other  
hand if the conscious mind recognizes   
that itself proceeds from some higher   
source1 it looks to receive life from   
that source1 and its thought is modified
 accordingly1 and in turn re-acts       
correspondingly upon the lower          

principles4  ,if this is clear to the   
student1 he will now see how it is that 
by limiting our conception of life to   
the current ideas entertained by the    
race1 we impress these ideas on our     
three lower principles4 ,it is true that
 these three principles are not capable 
of reasoning themselves1 but the highest
 of them1 the ,vital ,soul1 has its     
action modified by the reasoning        
principle above it1 and so communicates 
to the two lowest principles            
corresponding waves of vibration4 ,and  
in this connection we must remember the 
distinction between the two systems of  
nerves2 the voluntary system connected  
with the brain and forming the medium of
 all voluntary action1 and the          
involuntary1 or sympathetic system      
connected with the solar plexus and     
controlling all the automatic actions of
 the body1 and thus being the agent of  
that continual renewal of the physical  
organism which is always going on1 and  
keeps in existence for a life time a    

body which begins to disintegrate       
immediately the soul has left it4#e ,now
 it is through this inner ,builder of   
the ,body that our ,thought re-acts upon
 our physical organism4 ,the response is
 purely automatic1 for the simple reason
 that there is no original thinking     
power in the three lower principles2 the
 action is that of the ,law as directed 
by ,thought or ,word4  ,in this way     
then1 it appears to me1 the ,personal in
 us acts upon the ,impersonal in us2 and
 if we assume1 as ,i think we may1 that 
this action takes place by means of     
etheric waves1 we have1 on general      
scientific principles1 a clue to what we
 read in the ,bible about the           
transmutation of the body4 ,the theory  
of the constitution of the atom shows us
 that its nature is determined by the   
number of its particles and their rate  
of revolution1 and that a change in the 
rate of revolution results in the       
throwing off of some of the particles4  
,then the number of particles being     

altered1 there results a change in the  
distribution of the positive and        
negative charges within the sphere of   
the atom1 since they must always exactly
 balance one another2 and this change in
 the distribution of the positive and   
negative charges must instantly result  
in a corresponding change in the        
geometrical configuration of particles  
constituting the atom4  ,that the       
particles automatically arrange         
themselves into groups of different     
geometrical form within the sphere of   
the atom1 has been demonstrated both    
mathematically and experimentally by    
,professor ,j4,j4 ,thompson1#f these    
geometrical forms resulting of course   
from the balance of attraction and      
repulsion between the positive and      
negative charges of the particles4      
,that the transmutation of one substance
 into another is not a mere dream of the
 medival alchemists is now already shown
 by ,modern ,science4 ,under suitable   
conditions an atom of ,radium breaks    

down into atoms of another sort known as
 ,radium ,emanations1 and these again   
break down into yet another sort of     
atoms to which the name of ,radium      
,emanations ,x has been given1 while    
,radium ,emanation also gives rise to   
the atom of ,helium 7,n4,k4 #abd74      
,thorium also behaves in the same       
manner1 transmuting into atoms called   
,thorium ,x1 which again change into    
atoms of another sort to which the name 
of ,thorium ,emanations has been given  
and these in turn transmute into atoms  
of yet another kind1 known as ,thorium  
,emanations ,x4 ,the same is the case   
also with ,uranium which1 however1 so   
far as is yet known1 undergoes only one 
transmutation into what is known as     
,uranium ,x4  ,the transmutation of one 
sort of atom into another is therefore  
not a mere visionary fancy1 but an      
established fact2 and although our      
laboratory experiments in this direction
 may not as yet have gone very far1 they
 have gone far enough to show that a    

,law of ,transmutation does exist in    
,nature4 ,then1 since the difference    
between one sort of atom and another    
results from the difference and         
arrangement of their particles1 and the 
difference in the number and arrangement
 of the particles results from the      
difference in the speed of their        
rotation1 and this again results from   
the difference in the energy or rate of 
vibration of the particles1 we come back
 to different rates of etheric          
vibrations as the commencement of the   
whole series of changes2 and as is      
proved by the facts of wireless         
telephoning1 different rates of etheric 
vibrations can be set in motion by the  
varying sounds of the human voice1 even 
on the physical plane4 ,may it not be   
then1 that by the same law1 vibrations  
of other wave-lengths1 yet unknown to   
science1 will be set in motion by the   
unspoken word of our thought8  ,the     
substance known as ,polonium1 even by   
its near approach to an electric bell1  

causes it to ring1 and if etheric waves 
can thus be started by an inanimate     
substance1 why should we suppose that   
our thought has less power1 especially  
when metaphysically we cannot avoid the 
conclusion that the whole creation must 
have its origin in the ,divine ,thought8
  ,from such considerations as these1 ,i
 think we may reasonably infer that if  
the mind be illuminated by a range of   
thought coming from a higher mind1 there
 is no limit to the power which may thus
 be exercised over the material world1  
and that therefore ,st4 ,paul's         
statement regarding the transmutation of
 the present physical body1 is one which
 should be included in the circle of our
 ideas1 as being within the scope of the
 ,laws of the ,universe when their      
action is specialized by the power of   
the ,word 7#a ,cor4 xv72 and similarly  
with regard to other statements to the  
same effect contained in the ,bible4    
,what is wanted is the realization of a 
greater ,word than that which we form   

from the current experience of the race4
 ,the race has formed its ,word on the  
basis of the lower principles of our    
being1 and if we are to advance beyond  
this1 the ,law of the subject clearly   
indicates that it can only be by        
adopting a more fundamental ,word1 or   
,idea1 than that which we have hitherto 
thought to include the entire range of  
possibilities4 ,the ,law of our further 
,evolution demands a ,word not formed   
from past experiences1 but based upon   
the eternal principle of the            
,all-,originating ,life itself4 ,and    
this is in strict accord with scientific
 method4 ,if we had always allowed      
ourselves to be ruled by past           
experiences we should still be primitive
 savages2 and it is only by the gradual 
perception of underlying principles1    
that we have attained the degree of     
civilization we have reached to-day2 so 
what the ,bible puts before us is simply
 the application to the life in         
ourselves of the maxim that ,principle  

is not limited by ,precedent4  ,now the 
,bible ,promises serve to put us on the 
track of this ,principle3 they suggest  
lines of enquiry4 ,and the enquiry leads
 to the conclusion that the two ultimate
 factors are the ,law and the ,word4    
,what we have missed hitherto is the    
conception of the limitless             
possibilities of the ,law1 and the      
limitless power of the ,word4 ,on one   
occasion the ,master said to the ,jews  
,ye know not the ,scriptures neither the
 power of ,god 7,matth4 xxii1 #bi7 and  
the same is the case with ourselves4    
,the true ,scripture is the scriptura   
rerum or the ,law indelibly written in  
the nature of things1 and the written   
,scriptures are true only because they  
contain the statement of the ,principle 
of the ,law4 ,therefore until we see the
 ,principle of the ,law we know not the 
,scriptures4 ,on the other hand1 until  
we see the ,principle of the operation  
of the ,word through the ,law1 we do not
 know the ,power of ,god2 and it is only

 as we come to perceive the interaction 
of the ,law and the ,word that we see   
the beginning of the way that leads to  
,life and ,liberty4  ,but although it is
 evident from the text just quoted1 as  
well as from other intimations in his   
,epistles1 that ,st4 ,paul fully grasped
 the principle of the transmutation of  
the body1 he himself tells us that he   
has not yet realized it in practice4 ,he
 says he has not yet attained to the    
resurrection from the dead1 but is still
 pressing on towards its attainment     
7,ph4 iii1 #ab74 ,and it is to be       
remarked that he is not here speaking of
 a general resurrection of the dead1    
but1 as the word exanastasis in the     
original ,greek indicates1 of a special 
resurrection from among the dead2 this  
indicates an individual achievement1 not
 merely something common to the whole   
race4 ,from this and other passages it  
is evident that by the dead it means    
those whose conception of ,life is      
limited to the four lower principles1   

thus unifying the mind with the three   
principles which are below it2 and the  
same idea is expressed in a variety of  
ways all through the ,bible4 ,this      
therefore shows that he is quite aware  
that knowledge of a principle does not  
enable us then and there to attain the  
completeness of the application1 and if 
this be the case with ,st4 ,paul1 we    
cannot be surprised to find it the same 
with ourselves4 ,but on the other hand  
knowledge of the principle is the first 
step towards getting it to work4  ,well1
 ,st4 ,paul is dead and buried1 and so  
,i suppose will most of us be in a few  
years2 so the question confronts us1    
what becomes of us then8  ,as ,milton   
puts it in ,il ,penseroso we want3      
to unsphere     ,the spirit of ,plato   
and unfold     ,what worlds or what vast
 regions hold     ,the immortal mind    
that hath forsook     ,her mansion in   
the fleshly nook4  ,yes1 this is a      
question of deep personal interest to   
us2 but as ,i cannot speak from         

experience1 ,i will restrict myself to  
seeing whether we can form any sort of  
general hypothesis on the basis of the  
principles we have recognized4 ,what    
then is likely to survive8 ,the physical
 body is of course disintegrated by the 
chemistry of ,nature4 ,the etheric body 
probably continues to retain its form   
longer1 because it is a condensation of 
etheric particles wrought together by   
the etheric waves sent out by the ,vital
 ,soul1 and is therefore not subject to 
the laws of chemical affinity4 ,the     
,vital ,soul1 being the race-principle  
of life in the individual1--that        
principle which automatically seeks to  
preserve the individual from            
disintegration1--probably survives      
longer still1 until1 ceasing to receive 
any reflex vibrations from the body1 it 
grows gradually weaker in its sense of  
individual guardianship1 and so is      
eventually absorbed into the group-soul 
or generic essence of the class to which
 it belongs4 ,this is probably what     

happens in the case of animals for want 
of any higher vivifying principle1 and  
would be the same with us were it not   
for the fact of having such a higher    
principle4 ,in our case ,i should       
imagine that the influx of etheric      
waves1 received from the thought action 
of the mind1 would have the effect of   
continuing to impress the ,vital ,soul  
with a sense of individuality1 in terms 
of its own plane1 which would prevent it
 from being absorbed into the group-soul
 so long as the vital current from the  
mind continued to reach it4 ,but        
eventually that current would cease to  
reach it1 and in some cases1 because the
 individual mind that governed it would 
gradually realize that its connection   
with the physical plane had ceased1 and 
in others1 because through a higher     
illumination the mind had1 of its own   
volition1 turned its thought in another 
direction4 ,in either case1 on the      
ceasing of the influx of that vitalizing
 current1 the ,vital ,soul of the human 

being would likewise be absorbed into   
the ,cosmic ,soul1 or ,anima ,mundi4    
,how long the processes of the          
disintegration of the etheric body1 and 
absorption of the vital soul may take1  
is a question on which ,i can offer no  
opinion beyond saying that certain      
psychic phenomena suggest that in some  
cases they may take a long period of    
time4 ,but for the reasons ,i have now  
given1 it appears to me that the        
permanently surviving factor is the     
thinking mind which is our real self1   
and is positively our centre of         
consciousness after the physical body   
has been put off4  ,by the facts of the 
case its consciousness is no longer     
affected by vibrations received from the
 physical body2 and therefore1 to the   
extent to which our idea of life has    
been centred in that body1 we shall feel
 its loss4 ,if our motto has been ,let  
us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die  
we shall feel very dead indeed--a living
 death1 a consciousness of being cut off

 from all that constituted our enjoyment
 of life--a thirst for the satisfaction 
of our customary ideas1 which we have no
 power to quench2 and1 in proportion as 
our habitual mode of thought is raised  
above that lowest level1 so will our    
sense of loss be less4 ,then1 by the    
same ,law1 if our habitual mode of      
thought is turned towards pure1         
beautiful1 and helpful ideals1 we shall 
feel no loss at all1 for we shall carry 
our own ideals with us1 and1 ,i hope1   
see them more clearly by reason of their
 disentanglement from mundane           
considerations4 ,in what precise way we 
may then be able to work out our ideals 
,i will not now stop to discuss4 ,what  
we want first is a reasonable theory1   
based upon the principle of that        
universal ,law which is only varied in  
its actions by the conditions under     
which it works2 so1 instead of          
speculating as to precise details1 we   
may generalize the question of how we   
can work out the good ideals which we   

carry over with us1 and put it this     
way3--,our ideas are embodied in        
thoughts2 thoughts start trains of      
etheric waves1 which waves induce       
reciprocal action whenever they meet    
with a receiver capable of vibrating    
synchronously with them1 and so         
eventually the thought becomes a fact1  
and our helpful and beautiful ideal     
becomes a work of power1 whether in this
 world or in any other4  ,now it is to  
the forming of such ideals that the     
,bible1 from first to last is trying to 
lead us4 ,from first to last it is      
working upon one uniform principle1 that
 the ,thought is the ,word1 that the    
,word sets in motion the ,law1 and that 
when the ,law is set in motion it acts  
with mathematical precision4 ,the ,bible
 is a handbook of instruction for the   
use of our ,creative ,power of ,thought1
 and this is the sequence which it      
follows--one definite method1 so        
fundamental in its nature1 that it      
applies equally to the making of a      

packing-case or the making of a solar   
system4  ,now we have formed a          
generalized conception1 based on this   
universal method1 of the sort of        
consciousness we are likely to have when
 we pass out of the physical body4 ,then
 our thought naturally passes on to the 
question what will happen after this8   
,it is here that some theory of the     
reconstitution of the physical body     
appears to me to hold a most important  
place in the order of our evolution4    
,let us try to trace it out on the      
general lines of the ,creative ,power of
 ,thought indicated above1 the keynote  
to which is that the ,law is specialized
 by the ,word1 and cannot of itself     
bring out the infinite possibilities    
contained in it without such            
specializing1 just as in all scientific 
development of ordinary life4 ,the clue 
to the whole question is1 that our place
 in the ,universal ,order is to develop 
the infinite resources of the ,original 
,life and ,substance into actual facts4 

,nature unaided fails4 ,the ,personal   
,factor must co-operate with the        
,impersonal1 alike for setting up an    
electric bell1 or for the furtherance of
 cosmic evolution2 and the reason it is 
so is1 because it could not possibly be 
otherwise4  ,if now we start by         
recognizing this as our necessary place 
in the ,progressive ,order of the       
,universe1 ,i think it will help us to  
form a reasonable theory as to the      
reconstruction of the body4 ,first of   
all1 why have we any physical body at   
all8 ,as a matter of fact we have one1  
and no amount of transcendental         
philosophizing will alter the fact1 and 
so we may conclude that there is some   
reason for it4 ,we have seen the truth  
of the maxim ,omne vivum ex vivo1 and   
therefore that all particular forms of  
life are differentiations of the one    
,basic ,life4 ,this means a localizing  
of the ,life-,principle in individual   
centres4 ,the formation of a centre     
implies condensation2 for where there is

 no condensation the ,energy1 whether   
electricity or ,life1 is simply         
dispersed and achieving no purpose4     
,therefore distinctness from the        
undifferentiated ,original ,life is a   
necessity of the case4 ,consequently the
 higher the degree of ,consciousness of 
,individuality1 the greater must be the 
,consciousness of ,distinctness of      
,personality4  ,we say of a wobbly sort 
of person3 ,that fellow is no use1 you  
can't depend on him4 ,we say of a person
 whose ideas1 intentions1 and methods   
are subject to continual variations     
under all sorts of outside influences1  
whether of opinions or circumstances1   
that he has no backbone1 meaning that he
 is in want of individuality4 ,he has no
 real thought of his own1 and so has no 
,word of ,power by which to co-operate  
with the ,law2 therefore1 to the extent 
to which this is the case with any of   
us1 we are of no use in furthering the  
unfoldment of ,evolution1 whether in    
ourselves or anywhere else4  ,now we    

talk a lot about ,evolution or the      
un-folding1 but we seem often not to    
realize that there must be something to 
unfold2 and that therefore ,in-volution1
 or the concentration of the            
,life-principle1 must be a condition    
precedent to its ,e-volution4 ,this     
process of ,involution must therefore be
 a process of gradually increasing      
concentration of the ,life-principle1 by
 association with denser and denser     
modes of the ,universal ,substance4     
,then1 on the principle of ,vibration1  
the less dense the substance in which   
the ,life is immersed1 the more it must 
be subject to being stirred by vibratory
 currents other than those produced by  
the conscious action of the ,ego1 or    
inherent ,life1 of the individuality    
that is being formed4  ,but the ,sum of 
the ,vibrations in anything determines  
the mode1 power1 and direction of its   
action2 therefore1 the less the ,ego be 
concentrated through association with a 
dense vehicle1 the more wobbly it must  

be1 and consequently the less able to   
take any effective part in the further  
work of ,creation4 ,but in proportion as
 the ,ego builds up an ,individual      
,will1 the more it gets out of the      
wobbly state--or1 to refer once more to 
the idea of etheric waves--it becomes   
able to select what vibrations it will  
receive1 and what vibrations it will    
send out4  ,the involution of the ,ego  
into the physical body1 such as we at   
present know it1 is therefore a         
necessity of the case1 if any effective 
,individuality is to be brought into    
existence1 and the work of ,creation    
carried on instead of being cut short1  
not for want of material1 but for want  
of workmen capable of using the tools of
 the builders' craft--the ,law as       
,strength and the ,word as ,beauty4     
,the ,descending ,arc of the ,circle of 
,being is therefore that of the         
,involution of ,spirit into denser and  
denser modes of ,substance1--a process  
called in technical language by the     

,greek name ,eleusin1 and the process   
continues until a point is reached where
 ,spirit and ,substance are in equal    
balance1 which is where we are now4     
,then comes the tug of war4 ,which of   
the two is to predominate8 ,they are the
 ,expansive and ,constrictive primal    
elements1 the rouah and hoshech of the  
,hebrew ,genesis4  ,if the ,constrictive
 element be allowed to go further than  
giving necessary form to the ,expansive 
element1 it imprisons the latter4 ,the  
condensation becomes too dense for the  
,ego to receive or send forth vibrations
 according to its free will1 and so the 
,individuality becomes lost4 ,if the    
condensation process be not carried far 
enough1 no ,individuality can be built  
up1 and if it be carried too far1 no    
,individuality can emerge2 so in both   
cases we get the same result that there 
is no one to speak the ,word of ,power  
without which ,nature unaided fails4    
,thus we are now exactly at the bottom  
of the ,circle of ,being4 ,we have      

completed the ,descending ,arc and      
reached the point where the realization 
of the ,distinctness of ,conscious      
,individuality enables us to choose our 
own line1 whether that of progressing   
through the stages of the ,ascending    
,arc of ,being1 or of falling out from  
the living ,circle of ,progression1 at  
least for a period1 into what is        
sometimes mystically spoken of as the   
,moon1 or 7in descending order7 the     
,eighth ,sphere1 and which is called in 
,scripture ,the ,outer ,darkness1--the  
rigidity which stops the action of      
,life4  ,therefore it is with regard to 
this stage of our career that the ,bible
 lays so much stress on the conflict    
between the ,spirit and the ,flesh--it  
is a fact in the course of our          
evolution1 and the purpose of the ,bible
 is to teach us how to move forward     
along the ,ascending ,arc of the ,circle
 of ,being1 so as to build up           
individualities which will be able to   
use the tools of ,intelligence and ,will

 in the great work of ,evolution1 both  
,personal and ,cosmic4  ,now what is    
shown diagrammatically as the ,ascending
 ,arc of the ,circle of ,life is the    
,return from its lowest point1 or the   
,full ,consciousness of ,personal       
,distinctness1 gained through the       
,material ,body1 back to its highest    
point or the ,originating ,life itself4 
,this is the truth embodied in the      
parable of the ,prodigal ,son4 ,it is a 
,cosmic truth1 and this return journey  
is technically called by the ,green name
 ,anaktorion4 ,it is the ,rising-again1 
that is from matter to ,spirit1 and is  
the ,resurrection ,principle4  ,but what
 is accomplished by the journey of the  
,ego round the ,circle of ,life8  ,a    
,new ,centre of ,intelligence and       
volition is established2 from this the  
,creative ,word of ,power can be        
spoken--a ,complete ,man has been       
brought into existence1 who can take a  
free and intelligent part in the further
 work of ,creation1 by his understanding

 of the interaction between the ,law and
 the ,word4 ,the ,volume of the ,sacred 
,law lies open before us1 and the       
,vibratory ,power of the ,word to give  
effect to it is the ,blazing ,star that 
illuminates its contents1 and so we     
become fellow-workers with the ,great   
,architect of the ,universe4  ,for these
 reasons it appears to me that our      
self-recognition in a physical body is a
 necessary step in our growth4 ,but why 
should the reconstruction of a physical 
body be either necessary or desirable8  
,the answer is as follows3  ,obviously  
self-recognition is the necessary basis 
for all use of those powers of selection
 and volition by which the ,impersonal  
,law is to be specialized so as to bring
 to light its limitless potentialities2 
and self-recognition means the          
recognition of our personal             
,distinctness from our environment4     
,therefore it must always mean the      
possessing of a body as a vehicle1 by   
means of which to act upon that         

environment1 and to receive the         
corresponding reaction from it4 ,in     
other words it must always be a body    
constituted in terms of the plane upon  
which we are functioning4 ,but it does  
not follow that we should always be tied
 down to one plane4  ,on the contrary1  
the very conception of the power of the 
,word to specialize the action of the   
,law1 implies the power of functioning  
on any plane we choose2 but always      
subject to the ,law1 that if we want to 
act on any particular plane in propria  
persona1 and not merely by influencing  
some other agent1 we can only do so by  
assuming a body in terms of the nature  
of that plane4 ,therefore1 if we want to
 act on the physical plane1 we must put 
on a physical body4 ,but when we have   
fully grasped the ,power of the ,word we
 cannot be tied to a body4 ,we shall no 
longer regard it as composed of so many 
chemical elements1 but we shall see     
beyond them into the real primary       
etheric substance of which they are     

composed1 and so by our volition shall  
be able to put the physical body on or  
off at pleasure1--that at least is a    
quite logical deduction from what we    
have learnt in the preceding pages4     
,seen in this light the ,resurrection   
,body is not the old body resuscitated1 
but a new body1 just as real and        
tangible as the old one1 only not       
subject to any of its disabilities1--no 
longer a limitation1 but the ever ready 
instrument for any work we may desire to
 do upon the physical plane4  ,but      
perhaps you will say1 ,why should we    
want to have anything more to do with   
the physical plane8 surely we have had  
enough of it already6 ,yes2 in its old  
sense of limitation2 but not in the new 
sense of a world of glorious            
possibilities1 a new field for our      
creative activities2 not the least of   
which is the helping of those who are   
still in those lower stages which we    
have already passed through4  ,i think  
if we realize the position of the ,fully

 ,risen ,man1 we shall see that he is   
not likely to turn his back upon the    
,earth as a rotten1 old thing4          
,therefore a new physical body is a     
necessary part of his equipment4  ,if1  
then1 we take it as a general principle1
 that for self-recognition upon any     
plane a body in terms of that plane is a
 necessity1 this will throw some light  
on the ,bible narrative of our ,lord's  
appearances after his ,resurrection4 ,it
 is noteworthy that he himself lays     
stress on the body as an integral part  
of the individuality4 ,when the         
disciples thought they had seen an      
apparition he said3 ,handle me and see  
that it is ,i myself1 and not a spirit1 
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as
 ye see ,i have 7,luke xxiv1 #ci74 ,this
 very clearly states that the spirit    
without a corresponding body is not the 
complete ,i myself2 yet from the same   
narrative we gather that the solid body 
in which he appeared is able to pass    
through closed doors1 and to be         

disintegrated and re-integrated at will4
 ,now on the electronic theory of the   
constitution of matter which ,i have    
spoken of in the earlier part of this   
book1 there is nothing impossible in    
this2 on the contrary it is only the    
known ,law of synchronous vibration     
carried into those further ranges of    
wave-lengths which1 though not yet      
produced by laboratory experiment1 are  
unavoidably recognized by the           
mathematicians4  ,in this way then the  
,resurrection of the ,body appears to me
 to be the legitimate termination of our
 present stage of existence4 ,what      
further developments may follow1 who    
shall say8 for we must remember that the
 end of one series is always the        
commencement of another--that is the    
doctrine of the ,octave4 ,but this is   
far enough to look forward in all       
conscience4 ,as to when the completion  
of our present stage of evolution will  
be attained1 it is impossible even to   
hazard a guess2 but that the individual 

attainment of such a ,resurrection is   
not dependent on any particular date in 
the world's history1 is clearly the     
teaching of ,scripture4 ,when ,martha   
said to ,jesus that she knew her brother
 would rise again at the last day1 he   
ignored the question of the last day1   
and said ,i am the ,resurrection and the
 ,life 7,st4 ,john xi1 #be72 and        
similarly ,st4 ,paul puts it forward as 
a thing to be attained 7,ph4 iii1 #ae74 
,it is not a resurrection of the dead   
but from among the dead that ,st4 ,paul 
is aiming at--not an anastasis ton      
nekron1 but an anastasis ek ton nekron4 
,doubtless there are other passages of  
,scripture which speak of a general     
resurrection1 which to some will be a   
resurrection to condemnation 7,st4 ,john
 v1 #bi71 a resurrection to shame and   
everlasting contempt 7,dan4 xii1 #b74   
,this is a subject upon which ,i will   
not attempt to enter--,i have a great   
many things to learn1 and this is one of
 them2 but if the ,bible statements     

regarding resurrection are to be taken  
as a whole1 these passages cannot be    
passed over without notice4 ,on the     
other hand the ,bible statements        
regarding individual resurrection are   
there also1 and the general principle on
 which they are based becomes clear when
 we see the fundamental relation between
 the ,law and the ,word4 ,only we must  
remember that the ,word that can thus   
set in motion the ,law of ,life1 and    
make it triumph over the ,law of ,death1
 cannot be spoken by the limited        
personality which only knows itself as  
,john ,smith or ,mary ,jones4 ,we must  
attain a larger personality than that1  
before we can speak the ,word4 ,and this
 larger personality is not just ,john   
,smith or ,mary ,jones magnified2 that  
is the mistake we are all so apt to fall
 into4 ,mere magnification will not do  
it4 ,a square will continue to be a     
square however large you make it2 it    
will never become a circle4 ,but on the 
other hand1 there is such a thing as    

stating the area of a circle in the form
 of a square2 and when we learn to      
regard our square as not existing on its
 own account1 but as an expression of   
the circle in another form1 our         
attention will be directed to the circle
 first1 as the generating figure1 and   
then to the square as a particular mode 
of expressing the same area4 ,if we look
 at it in this way we shall never       
mistake the square for the circle1 but  
we shall see that as the circle grows1  
the corresponding square will grow with 
it4 ,it is this dependence of the square
 on the circle that makes all the       
difference1 and makes it a living1      
growing square4 ,for the true circle    
represents ,infinitude4 ,it is not      
bounded by a limiting circumference as  
in the merely symbolic geometrical      
figure1 but is rather represented by the
 impulse which generates an ever        
widening circle of electro-magnetic     
waves2 and when we realize this1 our    
square becomes a living thing4 ,the     

,word that we speak with this           
recognition is no longer ours1 but ,his 
who sent us--the expression1 on the     
plane of individuality1 of the ,thought 
that sent us into existence and so it is
 the ,word of ,life4 ,this is the true  
,resurrection of the ,individual4       
,,chapter ,,viii  ,,transferring ,,the  
,,burden   ,the more we grow into a     
clear perception of what is really meant
 by ,squaring the ,circle1 the freer we 
shall find ourselves from the burden of 
anxiety4 ,we shall rise to a larger     
generalization of the ,law of ,cause and
 ,effect4 ,we shall learn in all things 
to reach out to ,first ,cause as        
operating through the channels of       
secondary causation1--causa causas as   
producing1 and therefore controlling    
causa causata--and so we cease to worry 
about secondary causes4 ,on the plane of
 the lower personality we see certain   
facts1 and argue that they are bound to 
produce certain results1 which would be 
quite true if we really saw all the     

facts2 or1 again1 allowing that in any  
particular case we actually did see all 
the facts as they now exist1 we can     
either deny the operation of ,first     
,cause1 or recognize its infinite       
capacity for creating new facts4        
,therefore1 whatever may be the nature  
of our anxiety1 we should endeavour to  
dispel it by the consideration that     
there may be already existing other     
facts we do not know of1 which will     
produce a different result from the one 
we fear1 and that in any case there is a
 power which can produce new facts in   
answer to our appeal to it4  ,but ,i can
 imagine some one saying to us1 ,you    
bumptious little midget1 do you think   
,first ,cause is going to trouble       
,itself about you and your petty        
concerns8 ,do you not know that ,first  
,cause works by universal ,law1 and     
makes no exceptions8 ,well1 ,i would not
 have written this book if ,i did not   
suppose that ,first ,cause works by     
universal ,law1 and it is just because  

,it does so that ,i believe ,it will    
work for me and my concerns4 ,the ,law  
makes no exceptions1 but it can be      
specialized through the power of the    
,word4 ,then our sceptic says1 ,what1 do
 you think your word can do that8 ,to   
which ,i reply1 ,it is not my word      
because ,i am not using it in my lower  
personality1 as ,john ,smith or ,mary   
,jones1 but in that higher personality  
which recognizes only one all-embracing 
,personality and itself as included in  
that4  ,which comes first1 the ,law or  
the ,word8  ,the distribution of the    
solar systems in space1 the localization
 of the ,spirit in specific areas of    
cosmic activity1 proclaims the starting 
of all manifestation through the ,word4 
,then the operation of ,law follows with
 mathematical precision1 just as when we
 write #b  #b we cannot avoid getting #d
 as the result--only there is no reason 
why we should not write #b  #c and so   
get #f instead of #d4 ,let it be borne  
in mind that the ,law flows from the    

,word1 and not vice versa1 and you have 
got the clue to the enigma of ,life4    
,how far we shall be able to make       
practical use of this clue depends1 of  
course1 on our acceptance of its        
principle4  ,the ,directing ,power of   
the ,word is inherent in the ,word1 and 
we cannot alter it4 ,it is the ,law ,,of
 the ,law1 and so1 like any other law1  
it cannot be broken1 but its action can 
be inverted4 ,we cannot deprive the     
,word of its efficacy1 but our denial of
 it as the ,word of ,expansion is       
equivalent to an affirmation of it as   
the ,word of ,contraction1 and so the   
,law acts towards us as a ,limitation4  
,but the fault is not in the ,law1 but  
in the way we use the ,word4 ,now if the
 reader grasps this1 he will see that   
the less we trouble ourselves about what
 appear to us to be the visible and     
calculable causes of things1 the freer  
we must become from the burden of       
anxiety2 and as we advance step by step 
to a clearer recognition of the true    

order of ,cause and ,effect1 so all     
intermediate causes will fade from our  
view4 ,only the two extremes of the     
sequence of ,cause and ,effect will     
remain in sight4 ,first ,cause1 moving  
as the ,word1 starting a sequence1 and  
the desired result terminating it1 as   
the ,word taking ,form in ,fact4 ,the   
intermediate links in the chain will be 
there1 but they will be seen as effects1
 not causes4 ,the wider the             
generalization we thus make1 the less we
 shall need to trouble about            
particulars1 knowing that they will form
 themselves by the natural action of the
 ,law2 and the widest generalization is 
therefore1 to state not what we want to 
have1 but what we want to be4 ,the only 
reason we ever want to have anything1 is
 because we think it will help us to be 
something--something more than we are   
now2 so that the having is only a link  
in the chain of secondary causes1 and   
may therefore be left out of            
consideration1 for it will come of      

itself through the natural workings of  
the ,law1 set in operation by the ,word 
as ,first ,cause4 ,this principle is set
 forth in the statement of the ,divine  
,name given to ,moses 7,ex4 iii1        
#ac-ad74 ,the ,name is simply ,i        
,,am--it is ,being1 not having--the     
having follows as a natural consequence 
of the ,being2 and if it be true that we
 are made in the likeness and image of  
,god1 that is to say on the same        
,principle1 then what is the ,law of the
 ,divine nature must be the ,law of ours
 also--and as we awake to this we become
 partakers of the ,divine ,nature 7#b   
,pet4 i1 #d74  ,what we really want1    
therefore1 is to be something--something
 more than we are now2 and this is quite
 right4 ,it is our consciousness of the 
continually generative impulse of the   
,eternal ,living ,spirit1 which is the  
fons et origo 7fountain and source7 of  
all differentiated life working within  
us for ever more and more perfect       
individual expression of all that is in 

,itself4 ,if the reader remembers what  
,i said at the beginning of this book   
about the ,verb ,substantive of ,being1 
he will see that each of us is in truth 
a ,word 7verbum7 of ,god4 ,let not the  
orthodox reader be shocked at this--,i  
am only saying what the ,bible does4    
,look up the following passages3 ,i will
 write upon him the name of my ,god and 
my own new name 7,rev4 xiii1 #ab74 ,i   
saw1 and behold a lamb standing on the  
,mount ,zion 7note1 the word ,zion means
 the principle of ,life71 and with him a
 hundred and forty and four thousand1   
having his name and the name of his     
,father written on their foreheads      
7,rev4 xiv1 #a74 ,his name shall be on  
their foreheads 7,rev4 xxii1 #d74 ,read 
particularly the whole passage ,rev4    
xix1 #aa-af1 where we are expressly told
 that the name in question is the ,word 
of ,god2 and that this name is the one  
put upon those who follow their ,leader1
 is shown by the same description being 
given of the followers as of the        

,leader4 ,they all ride upon white      
horses1 and the horse is the symbol of  
the intellect4 ,also in the case of the 
,leader1 the peculiarity of his ,name is
 that no one knows it but himself1 and  
in ,rev4 ii1 #ag1 exactly the same thing
 is said of the ,new ,name to be given  
to him that overcometh4 ,again1 in      
,isaiah lxii1 #b1 ,thou shalt be called 
by a new name1 which the mouth of the   
,lord shall name2 and again in ,num4 vi1
 #bg1 ,they shall put my name upon the  
children of ,israel4  ,then as the      
meaning of that ,name the ,word of ,god4
 ,in ,ps4 cxix1 #afj3 ,thy word is true 
from the beginning1 and ,jesus said3    
,thy ,word is ,truth 7,john xvii1 #ag74 
,this also corresponds with the         
description in ,rev4 xix1 #aa-af where  
another name for the ,word of ,god is   
,faithful and ,true2 and the same       
metaphor of the ,truth riding into      
action is contained in ,ps4 xlv1 #c1 #d4
 ,gird thy sword upon thy thigh1 ,o most
 mighty1 with thy glory and thy majesty2

 and in thy majesty ride prosperously   
because of ,truth4 ,the same symbol of  
riding also occurs in ,ps4 lxviii3      
,extol him that rideth upon the heavens1
 ,sing praises to him that rideth upon  
the heaven of heavens which were of old 
7i4e41 ab initio72 lo1 he doth send out 
his ,voice and that a mighty ,voice--and
 the word ,voice is the ,hebrew ,word   
,hebrew3 ,kol1 meaning ,sound or        
,word--so that here again we have the   
idea of ,the ,word riding into action4  
,once more--,thou hast magnified thy    
,word above all thy ,name 7,ps4         
cxxxviii1 #b71 thus repeating the idea  
of the ,word as the ,name4  ,in other   
passages we have the idea of the ,word  
as a ,weapon4 ,the ,sword of the ,spirit
 which is the ,word of ,god 7,eph4 vi1  
#ag71 which answers to the description  
in ,revelations of the ,sword proceeding
 out of the mouth of the ,word2 and we  
have the same metaphor of the ,word     
riding into action in ,habakkuk iii1 #h 
and #i4 ,thou didst ride upon thine     

horses and thy chariots of salvation4   
,thy bow was made quite naked 444 even  
thy ,word2 and similarly those that     
oppose the ,word are killed with the    
sword of him that sat upon the horse1   
which sword proceeded out of his mouth4 
,in other passages we have the ,word put
 before us as a ,defence4 ,his ,truth   
shall be thy shield and buckler 7,ps4   
xci1 #d72 and again ,the ,name of the   
,lord is a strong tower2 the righteous  
runneth into it and is safe 7,prov4     
xviii1 #aj72 and we have already seen   
that this ,name is ,the ,word of ,god2  
and similarly in ,ps4 cxxiv1 #h3 ,our   
help is in the name of the ,lord1 who   
made heaven and earth4  ,lastly1 we get 
the ,word as the final deliverance from 
all ill2 ,into thy hand ,i commit my    
spirit3 thou hast redeemed me1 ,o ,lord 
,god of ,truth 7,ps4 xxxi1 #e74  ,and   
the reason of all this is because ,his  
,truth endureth to all generations 7,ps4
 c1 #e72 it is everlasting1 ,changeless 
,principle4 ,by the ,word of the ,lord  

were the heavens made2 and all the host 
of them by the breath of his mouth 7,ps4
 xxxiii1 #f71 as is also said of the    
,word in the opening of ,st4 ,john's    
,gospel and ,first ,epistle4  ,now a    
careful comparison of these and similar 
passages will make it clear that the    
sequence presented to us is as follows3 
,the ,word is the passing of the ,verb  
,substantive of ,being into ,action4 ,it
 is always the same in ,principle1 on   
whatever scale1 and therefore applies to
 ourselves also1 so that each one of us 
is a ,word of ,god4 ,we are this by the 
very essence of our being1 and that is  
why the first thing we are told about   
,man is1 that he is made in the image   
and likeness of ,god4 ,but how far any  
of us will become a really effective    
,word1 depends upon our acceptance of   
the ,new ,name which is ready to be     
bestowed upon each one4 ,to as many as  
receive him1 to them gives he power to  
become ,sons of ,god1 even to them that 
believe on his ,name 7,john #a-ab74 ,we 

get the ,new ,name by realizing the     
,truth1 which ,truth is that we         
ourselves are included in ,,the ,,name1 
and that name is called ,the ,word of   
,god4  ,the meaning of which becomes    
clear if we remember that the spiritual 
name of anything is its ,noumenon or    
essential being1 which is manifested    
through its ,phenomenon or outward      
reproduction in ,form2 so that the true 
order is first our ,name or essential   
,being1 then our ,word or active        
manifestation of this essential ,being1 
then the ,truth or the unchangeable ,law
 of ,being passing into                 
,manifestation--and these three are     
,,one4 ,then when we see that this is   
true of ourselves1 not because of some  
arbitrary favouritism making us         
exceptions to the human race1 but       
because it is the working on the plane  
of ,human ,individuality of the same    
,power and the same ,law by which the   
world has come into existence1 we can   
see that we have here a ,principle which

 we can trust to work as infallibly as  
the principle of ,mathematics2 and that 
therefore the desire to become something
 more than we now are is nothing else   
than the ,eternal ,spirit of ,life      
seeking ever fuller expression4  ,the   
correction which our mode of thinking   
needs therefore is to start with ,being1
 not with ,having1 and we may then trust
 the ,having to come along in its right 
order2 and if we can get into this new  
manner of thinking1 what a world of     
worry it will save us6 ,if we realize   
that the ,law flows from the ,word1 and 
not vice versa1 then the ,law of        
attraction must work in this manner1 and
 will bring to us all those conditions  
through which we shall be able to       
express the more expanded ,being towards
 which we are directing our ,word2 and  
as a consequence1 we shall have no need 
to trouble about forcing particular     
conditions into existence--they will    
grow spontaneously out of the seed we   
have planted4 ,all we have to do now1 or

 at any time1 is to take the conditions 
that are ready to hand and use them on  
the lines of the sort of being towards  
which we are directing our ,thought--use
 them just as far as they go at the     
time1 without trying to press them      
further--and we shall find by experience
 that out of the present conditions thus
 used to-day1 more favourable conditions
 will grow in a perfectly natural manner
 to-morrow1 and so on1 day by day1      
until1 when later on we look back1 we   
shall be surprised to find ourselves    
expressing all1 and more than all1 the  
sort of being we had thought of4 ,then1 
from this new standpoint of our being1  
we shall continue to go on in the same  
way1 and so on ad infinitum1 so that our
 life will become one endless progress1 
ever widening as we go on4 ,and this    
will be found a very quiet and peaceful 
way1 free from worry and anxiety1 and   
wonderfully effective4 ,it may lead you 
to some position of authority or        
celebrity2 but as such things belong to 

the category of ,having and not of      
,being they were not what you aimed at1 
and are only by-products of what you    
have become in yourself4 ,they are      
conditions1 and like all other          
conditions should be made use of for the
 development of still more expanded     
being2 that is to say1 you will go on   
working on the more extended scale which
 such a position makes possible to you4 
,but the one thing you would not try to 
do with it would be to boss the show4   
,the moment you do this you are no      
longer using the ,word of the larger    
,personality1 and have descended to your
 old level of the smaller personality1  
just ,john ,smith or ,mary ,jones1      
ignorant of yourselves as being anything
 greater4 ,it is true your ,word still  
directs the operation of the ,law       
towards yourself--it always does        
this--but your word has become inverted1
 and so calls into operation the ,law of
 ,contraction instead of the ,law of    
,expansion4 ,a higher position means a  

wider field for usefulness--that is all2
 and to the extent to which you fit     
yourself for it1 it will come to you4   
,so1 if you content yourself with always
 speaking in your ,thought the ,creative
 ,word of ,being from day to day1 you   
will find it the ,way of ,peace and the 
,secret of a ,happy ,life--by no means  
monotonous1 for all sorts of unexpected 
interests will be continually opening   
out to you1 giving you scope for all the
 activities of which your present degree
 of being renders you capable4 ,you will
 always find plenty to do1 and find     
pleasure in doing it1 so you need never 
be afraid of feeling dull4  ,but perhaps
 you will say3  ,how am ,i to know that 
,i am not speaking my own ,word instead 
of that of the ,creative ,spirit8       
,well1 the word of the smaller          
personality is always based on the idea 
of possessing1 and the ,word of the     
,spirit is always based on the idea of  
,becoming--that is the criterion4 ,and  
also1 if we base our speaking of the    

,word on the ,promises of ,spirit1 we   
may be sure that we are on the right    
track4  ,we may be sure of it1 because  
when we come to analyze these promises  
we shall find that they are all         
statements of the ,creative ,law of     
,being1 and the nature of this ,law is  
obvious from the facts of the ,visible  
,creation4  ,these things are not true  
because they are written in the ,bible1 
but the ,bible is true because these    
things are written in it4 ,the more we  
examine the ,bible ,promises1 the more  
they will impress themselves upon us as 
being ,promises according to ,law2 and  
since the ,law can never be broken1 we  
can feel quite secure of it1 subject to 
the one condition that we do not stop   
the ,law from working to the fulfilment 
of the ,promise1 by our own inverted use
 of the ,word4 ,but if we take the ,word
 of the ,promise and make it our own    
,word1 then we know that we are speaking
 the right ,word1 which will so         
specialize the action of the ,law1 as to

 produce the fulfilment of the ,promise4
 ,apart from the ,word there is no      
,foundation4 ,in all other systems we   
have either ,law without ,will1 or ,will
 without ,law4  ,then we know that we   
are not speaking of ourselves1 but are  
speaking the ,word of the ,power that   
sent us into the ,world4 ,the ,law alone
 cannot fulfil the ,promises4 ,it is in 
itself ,cosmic and ,impersonal1 and1 as 
every scientific discovery amply        
demonstrates1 it needs the co-operation 
of the ,personal ,factor to bring out   
its latent possibilities2 so that the   
,word is as necessary as the ,law for   
the fulfilment of the ,promises2 but if 
the ,word which we speak is that of the 
,creating ,spirit1 we may reckon it as  
being just as certain in its operation  
as the ,law1 and the two together form  
an infallible ,power4  ,but there is one
 thing we must not forget1 and this is  
the ,law of ,growth4 ,if the ,law which 
we plant is the seed1 then we must allow
 time for it to grow2 we must leave it  

alone and go about our business as      
usual1 and the seed we have sown will   
spring and grow up of itself1 we know   
not how1 a truth which we have been told
 by the ,master himself 7,mark iv1 #bf1 
#bi74  ,we must not be like children who
 plant a seed one day1 and dig it up the
 next to see whether it is growing4 ,our
 part is to plant the seed1 not to make 
it grow1--the ,creative ,law of ,life   
will do that4 ,it is for this reason    
that the ,bible gives us such           
injunctions as ,study to be quiet 7#a   
,thess4 iv1 #aa74 ,he that believeth    
shall not make haste 7,is4 xxviii1 #af74
 ,in quietness and in confidence shall  
be your strength 7,is4 xxx1 #ae74 ,to   
make ourselves anxious as to whether the
 ,word we have planted will fructify is 
just to dig it up again1 and then of    
course it will not grow4  ,the          
fundamental maxim1 then1 which we must  
always keep in mind is that ,every      
creation carries its own ,mathematics   
along with it1 and that therefore ,the  

,law flows from the ,word1 and not vice 
versa2 and consequently ,the ,word is   
the ,foundation of every creative       
series1 whether that series be great or 
small1 cosmic or individual1            
constructive or destructive4 ,every     
series commences with ,intention2 and   
remember the exact meaning of the ,word4
 ,it is from the two ,latin words in1   
towards1 and tendere1 to stretch1 and it
 therefore means a reaching out in a    
certain direction4 ,this reaching out in
 a certain direction is the ,conception 
of ourself as arrived at the destination
 towards which our ,thought tends1 and  
is therefore the conceiving of an idea1 
and our formulated idea is stated1 if   
only mentally1 in ,words--and the       
termination of the series is the        
realization of the idea in actual fact4 
,therefore it is equally true of every  
series1 whether it be the creation of a 
lady's blouse or the creation of a      
world1 that in the ,beginning is the    
,word--the ,word is the ,point of       

,origination4  ,then1 since the ,word is
 the ,point of ,origination1 what is our
 conception of the best thing we can    
originate with it8 ,there is a great    
variety of opinion as to what is        
desirable2 and it is only natural and   
right that it should be so1 for         
otherwise we should be without any      
individuality1 which means that we      
should have no real life in us--in fact 
such a world is unthinkable2 it would be
 a world that had ceased to move1 it    
would be a dead world4 ,so it is the    
varied conception of the ,good that     
makes the world go on4 ,uniformity means
 reducing things to one dead level4 ,but
 on the other hand there must be        
,unity--unity of action resulting from  
unity of purpose1 otherwise the world   
logically terminates in internecine     
strife4 ,if then the world is to go on1 
it can only be by means of ,unity       
expressing itself in ,variety1 and      
therefore the question is3 ,what is the 
unifying ,desire which underlies all the

 varieties of expression8 ,it is a very 
simple one--it is just to ,,enjoy       
,,living4 ,our ideas of an enjoyable    
life may be very various1 but that is   
what we all really want2 so what we want
 to get at is3 ,what is the basis of an 
enjoyable life8  ,i have no hesitation  
in saying that the secret of enjoying   
life is to take an interest in it4 ,the 
opposite of ,livingness is ,deadness1   
that is1 inertia and stagnation4 ,dying 
of ennui is a very real thing indeed1   
and if we would not die of this malady  
we must have an interest in life that   
will always keep going on4  ,now for    
anything to interest us we must enter   
into the spirit of it4 ,if we do not    
enter into the spirit of a game it does 
not interest us2 if we do not enter into
 the spirit of a book1 it does not      
interest us1 we are bored to death with 
it2 and so on with everything4 ,so from 
our own experience we may lay down the  
maxim that ,to enjoy anything we must   
enter into the spirit of it1 and if this

 be so1 then1 to enjoy the ,living      
,quality of ,life we must enter into the
 ,spirit of ,life itself4 ,i say the    
,living ,quality of ,life so as to      
dissociate it from all ideas of         
particular conditions2 because what we  
are trying to get at is the fundamental 
principle of ,life which creates        
conditions1 and not the reflex of       
sensations1 whether physical or mental1 
which any particular set of conditions  
may induce in us for the time being4 ,in
 this way we come back to the initial   
proposition with which we started--that 
the origin of everything is only to be  
found in a ,universal ,ever-,living     
,spirit1 and that our own life proceeds 
from this ,spirit in accordance with the
 maxim ,omne vivum ex vivo4 ,thus we are
 logically brought to the conclusion    
that the ultimate ,desire of all        
,humanity is to consciously enter into  
the ,spirit of ,life as it is in itself1
 antecedently to all conditions4 ,this  
is the widest of all generalizations1   

and so opens the door to the highest of 
all specializations2 for it is a        
scientific fact that the more widely we 
can generalize the principle of any     
,law1 the more highly we can specialize 
its working4 ,it is only as our         
conception of it is limited that any    
,law limits us4  ,a principle per se is 
always undifferentiated1 and capable of 
any sort of differentiation into        
particular modes of expression that are 
not in opposition to the principle      
itself2 and it is true of the ,principle
 of ,life as of all others4 ,there is   
therefore no limit to its expression    
except that which inverts it1--that is  
to say1 anything which tends towards    
,death2 and1 accordingly1 what we have  
to avoid is the negative mode of        
,thought1 which starts an inverted      
action of the ,law1 logically resulting 
in destructiveness instead of           
constructiveness4 ,but the mistake we   
make from not seeing the basic principle
 of the whole thing1 is that of looking 

to the conditions to form the ,life1    
instead of looking to the ,life to form 
the conditions2 and therefore what we   
require is a ,standard of ,measurement  
for our ,thought1 by which we shall be  
able to form ,the ,perfect ,word which  
will set in motion the ,law of ,cause   
and ,effect in such a manner as to      
fulfil that ,basic ,desire of ,life     
which is common to all ,humanity4 ,the  
,perfect ,word must therefore fulfil two
 ,conditions--it must have the essential
 ,quality of the ,undifferentiated      
,eternal ,life1 and it must have the    
essential ,quality of ,genus ,homo4 ,it 
must say with ,horace ,homo sum2 nihil  
humani mihi alienum puto 7,i am ,man2 ,i
 regard nothing human as alien to       
myself74 ,when we think it out          
carefully1 there is no escaping the     
conclusion that this must be the        
essential ,quality of the ,perfect ,word
 we are in search of4 ,it is the final  
logical inference from all that we have 
learnt regarding the interaction between

 ,law and ,personality1 that the        
,perfect ,word must combine in itself   
the ,quality of each--it must be at once
 both ,human and ,divine4  ,of course   
all my readers know where the           
description of such a ,word is to be    
found2 but what ,i want them to realize 
is the way in which we have now reached 
a similar description of the ,perfect   
,word4 ,we have not accepted it         
unquestioningly as the teaching of a    
scholastic theology1 but have arrived at
 it by a course of careful reasoning    
from the facts of physical ,nature and  
from our experience of our own mental   
powers4 ,this way of getting at it makes
 it really our own4 ,we know what we    
mean by it1 and it is no longer a mere  
traditional form of words4 ,it is the   
same with everything else2 nothing      
becomes our own by being just told about
 it4  ,for instance1 if ,i show an      
artist a picture1 and he tells me that a
 boat in it is half a mile away from the
 spectators1 ,i may accept this on his  

authority1 because ,i suppose he knows  
all about it4 ,but if next day a friend 
shows me a picture of a bit of coast    
with a fishing-boat in the distance1 and
 asks me how far off that boat is1 ,i am
 utterly stumped because ,i do not know 
how the artist was able to judge the    
distance4 ,but if ,i understand the     
principle1 ,i give my friend a very fair
 approximation of the distance of the   
boat4 ,i work it out like this4 ,i      
say3--the immediate foreground of the   
picture shows an amount of detail which 
could not be seen more than twenty yards
 away1 and the average size of such     
details in nature shows that the bottom 
edge of the picture must measure about  
ten yards across4 ,then from experience 
,i know that the average length of craft
 of the particular rigging in the       
picture is1 say1 about eighty feet1 and 
,i then measure that this length goes   
sixteen and a half times across the     
picture on the level where the boat is  
situated1 and so ,i know that a line    

across the picture at this level        
measures #hj x #af-a_/b  #acbj ft4  #ddj
 yards4 ,then ,i make the calculation3  
#aj yds43 #ddj yds433 #bj yds43 the     
distance required to be ascertained #ddj
 x #bj _/ #aj  #hhj yds4 #agfj yds4  #a 
mile and #agfj _/ #b  #hhj yds4         
,therefore ,i know that the boat in the 
picture is represented as being about   
half a mile from the spectator4 ,i      
really know the distance and do not     
merely guess it1 and ,i know how ,i know
 it4 ,i know it simply from the         
geometrical principle that with a given 
angle at the apex of a triangle the     
length of a perpendicular dropped from  
the apex to the base of the triangle    
will always bear the same ratio to the  
length of the base1 whatever the size of
 the triangle may be4 ,in this way ,i   
know the distance of the boat in the    
picture by combining mathematics and my 
own observation of facts--once again to 
co-operation of ,law and ,personality4  
,now a familiar instance like this shows

 the difference between being told a    
thing and really knowing it1 and it is  
by an analogous method that we have now 
arrived at the conclusion that the      
,perfect ,word is a combination of the  
,human and the ,divine4 ,we have        
definite reasons for seeing this as the 
ultimate fact of human development--the 
power to give expression to the ,perfect
 ,word--1 and that this follows         
naturally from the fact of our own      
existence and that of some originating  
source from which we derive it4  ,but   
perhaps the reader will say3 ,how can a 
,word take form as a ,person8 ,well1    
words which do not eventually take form 
as facts only evaporate into thin air1  
and we cannot conceive the ,divine      
,ideals of ,man doing this4 ,therefore  
the expression of the ,perfect ,word on 
the plane of ,humanity must take        
substance in the ,form of ,humanity4 ,it
 is not the manifestation of any limited
 personality with all his or her        
idiosyncrasies1 but the manifestation of

 the basic principle of ,humanity itself
 common to us all4  ,to quote ,dryden's 
words--but in a very different sense to 
that intended in ,absolom and           
,achitophel1--such a one must be ,not   
one1 but all ,mankind's epitome4 ,the   
manifestation must be the ,perfect      
,expression of that fundamental ,life   
which is the ,root ,desire in us all1   
and which is therefore called ,the      
,desire of all nations4  ,here then we  
have reached 7,haggai ii1 #g7 the       
foundation fact of ,human ,personality4 
,it is the ,eternal ,will-to-live1 as   
,schopenhauer calls it1 which works     
subconsciously in all creation2         
therefore it is the root from which all 
creation springs4 ,in the atom it       
becomes atomic energy1 in the plant it  
becomes vegetable life1 in the animal it
 becomes animal life1 and in man it     
becomes personal life1 and therefore1 if
 a ,perfect ,standard of the ,eternal   
,life is to be set before us1 it must be
 in terms of ,human ,personality4  ,but 

some one will say3 ,why should we need  
such a ,standard8 ,the answer is that   
since the working of the ,law towards   
each of us is determined by our mode of 
,thought1 we require to be guarded      
against an inverted use of the ,word4   
,ignorantia ,legis nemini excusat       
7ignorance of the ,law does not excuse  
you from its operation71 is a           
scientific1 as well as a forensic maxim1
 for the ,law of ,cause and ,effect can 
never be altered4 ,our ignorance of the 
laws of electricity will not prevent us 
from being electrocuted if we get into  
the circuit of some powerful voltage4   
,therefore1 because the ,law is         
,impersonal and knows no exceptions1 and
 will bring us either ,life or ,death   
according to the direction which we give
 it by our ,word1 it is of the first    
importance for us to have a ,standard by
 which to measure the ,word expressed   
through our own ,personality4 ,this is  
why ,st4 ,paul speaks of our growing to 
the measure of the stature of the       

fulness of ,christ1 7,eph4 iv1 #ac7 and 
why we find the symbol of ,measurement  
so frequently employed in the ,bible4   
,therefore1 if a great scale of         
measurement for our ,word is to be      
exhibited1 it can only be by its        
presentation in human form4  ,then if   
the purpose be to establish such a      
standard of measurement1 the scale must 
be expressed in units of the same       
denomination as that of our own         
nature--you cannot divide miles by      
ampres--and it is because the scale of  
our potential being is laid out in the  
same denomination as that of the ,spirit
 of ,life itself that we can avail      
ourselves of the standard of the ,word  
made ,flesh4  ,when this is clearly seen
 it removes those intellectual          
difficulties which so many feel with    
regard to the doctrine of the           
,atonement4 ,if we want to avail        
ourselves of the ,bible ,promises on the
 basis of the ,bible teaching1 we cannot
 throw the teaching overboard4 ,as ,i   

have said before1 if a doctrine is to be
 rightly interpreted1 it must be        
interpreted as a whole1 and in one form 
or another the doctrine of the          
,atonement is the pivot point of the    
whole ,bible4 ,to omit it is like trying
 to play ,hamlet with ,hamlet left out1 
and you may put your ,bible out on the  
rubbish-heap4 ,how1 then1 does the      
,atonement come in8  ,here are the usual
 intellectual difficulties4 ,to whom is 
the sacrifice offered8 ,to ,god or to   
the ,devil8 ,if it be to the ,devil1    
then the ,devil is a greater power than 
,god4 ,if it be to ,god1 then how can a 
,god who demands a sacrifice of blood be
 ,love8 ,and in either case how can     
guilt be transferred from one person to 
the other8  ,now as a matter of fact    
none of these questions arise4 ,they are
 beside the real point at issue1 which  
is3 ,how can we so combine the ,personal
 action of the ,word with the           
,impersonal action of the ,law1 as to   
make the ,law become to us the ,law of  

,life instead of the ,law of ,death     
7,rom4 viii1 #b78  ,let us recur to the 
principles which we have worked out4    
,the ,law flows from the ,word and not  
vice versa--it acts for good or ill     
according to the ,quality of the ,word  
which calls it into action4 ,therefore  
to get the ,law of ,life we must speak  
the ,word of ,life4 ,then1 on the       
principle of ,omne vivum ex vivo1 the   
,word of ,fundamental ,basic ,life1     
which is not subject to conditions      
because it is antecedent to all         
conditions1 can only be spoken through  
consciousness of participating in the   
,eternal ,life which is the fons et     
origo of all particular being4          
,therefore1 to be able to speak this    
,word we must have a foundation of      
assurance that we are in no way         
separated from the ,eternal ,life1 and  
since this foundation is required for   
all men1 it must be broad enough to     
accommodate all grades of perceptions4  
,theologically the separation from the  

,eternal ,life is said to be caused by  
,sin4 ,but what do we mean by ,sin8  ,we
 can only judge of what a thing is by   
what it does2 and so1 if ,sin is that   
which prevents the inflowing of the     
,eternal ,life1 which we know is the    
root of our individual being1 then it   
must be the transgression of the        
inherent ,law of our own ,being4 ,the   
truth is that we live simultaneously in 
two worlds1 the visible and the         
invisible1 just as trees draw their life
 from the earth beneath and from the air
 and light above1 and the transgression 
consists in limiting ourselves only to  
the lower world1 and thereby cutting    
ourselves off from the essential part of
 our own life1 that which really lives4 
,we do not realize the true function of 
the three lower principles of our       
nature1 viz43 ,vital ,spirit1 etheric   
body1 and outward form2 the function of 
which is to give concentration to the   
current of spiritual life flowing from  
the ,eternal ,spirit1 and thus enable   

the undifferentiated ,life to           
differentiate itself into ,individual   
,consciousness1 which will be able to   
specialize the action of the ,law into  
higher manifestations than it can       
produce without the co-operation of     
,personality4  ,on the analogy of ,ohm's
 ,law our error is making our ,r so     
rigid that it ceases to be a conductor1 
and so no current is delivered and no   
work done4 ,this is the true nature of  
sin1 and it is this opposition of our ,r
 to ,e4,m4,f4 or ,eternal ,motive ,force
 that has to be removed4 ,we have to    
realize the true function of our ,r1 as 
the channel through which the ,e4,m4,f4 
is enabled to carry on its work4 ,when  
we awake to the fact that our true place
 in the ,order of the ,universe is to be
 fellow-workers with ,god in carrying on
 the work of ,creation1 then we see that
 hitherto we have entirely missed the   
purpose of our calling1 and have misused
 the ,divine image in which we were     
created2 and therefore we want an       

assurance that our past errors will not 
stand in the way of our future advance  
into continually fuller participation in
 the ,divine ,creative ,work1 which1 in 
virtue of our true nature should be our 
rightful inheritance4  ,that our future 
destiny is to actually take an          
individual part1 however small1 in      
guiding the great work of ,evolution1   
may not be evident to us in the earlier 
stages of our awakening2 but what is    
clear as a matter of feeling1 but not   
yet intellectually1 is1 that in some way
 or other we have been cutting ourselves
 off from the ,great ,source of ,light1 
and that what we therefore want1 is to  
be re-united to it4 ,what is wanted1    
then1 is something which will give us a 
firm ground of assurance that we are    
re-united to it1 and that that something
 must be of such a nature as never to   
lose anything of its efficiency at any  
stage of our progress--it must cover the
 whole ground4  ,now1 if we think deeply
 upon this question1 we shall gradually 

come to see that this expansive quality 
is to be found in the doctrine of the   
,atonement4 ,it meets all the needs of  
our spiritual nature in a way that no   
other theory does1 and responds to every
 stage of our progress4 ,there is only  
one thing that will prevent it working1 
and that is1 saying that we have no need
 of it4 ,that is why ,st4 ,john said1   
that if we say we have no sin1 we       
deceive ourselves1 and the truth is not 
in us 7#a ,john i1 #h74 ,but the more we
 come into the light of ,truth1 and     
realize that sin is everything that is  
not in accordance with the ,law of our  
own essential being as related to the   
,eternal ,life1 the more we shall see1  
not only that we have transgressed the  
,law in the past1 but also that even now
 we are very far from completely        
fulfiling it2 and the more light we get 
the more clearly we shall see this to be
 the case4 ,therefore1 whatever may be  
the stage of our mental development1 the
 assurance which we all need for the    

basis of our new life is that of the    
removal of sin--the sins of the past1   
and the daily errors of the present4 ,we
 may form various theories1 each to our 
own satisfaction1 as to how this takes  
place4 ,for instance we may argue that1 
since the ,word is the undifferentiated 
potential of ,humanity1 every human soul
 is included in the ,self-offering of   
,christ1 and that in ,him we ourselves  
suffered on the ,cross4 ,or we may say  
that our confession that such an        
offering is needed amounts to our       
participation in it4 ,or we may say with
 ,st4 ,paul that1 as in ,adam all are   
sinners1 so in ,christ all are made free
 from sin 7#a ,cor4 xv1 #bb74 ,that is1 
taking ,adam and ,christ as the         
representatives of two orders of men4   
,or we may fall back on the statement   
,sacrifice and burnt offerings ,thou    
wouldst not 7,ps4 xl1 #f71 and on       
,jesus' own explanation of his death1   
that ,he offered himself in testimony to
 the ,truth--that is1 that the ,eternal 

,life will no more exercise a           
retrospective vengeance upon us for our 
past misunderstanding of ,it1 than would
 electricity or any other force4 ,we may
 explain the modus operandi of the great
 offering in any of these ways1 for the 
,scripture presents it in all of        
them--but the great thing is to accept  
it2 for by the nature of our mental     
constitution1 such an acceptance1       
whether with or without an intellectual 
explanation1 affords the assurance which
 we stand in need of2 and building upon 
the ,foundation we can safely rear the  
edifice of our future development4      
,also it affords us a continual         
safeguard in all the further stages of  
our evolution4 ,as our psychic          
consciousness increases1 we become more 
and more responsive to psychic stimulus 
whether that stimulus proceed from a    
good or evil influence2 and therefore   
the recognition of our ,redemption in   
,christ surrounds us with a protecting  
barrier1 through which no evil spirit or

 malign influence can pass2 so that1    
resting upon this ,truth1 we need never 
be in fear of any such invasion1 but    
shall at all times be clothed with the  
whole armour of ,god 7,eph4 vi1 #aa74   
,from whatever point of view we regard  
it1 we therefore find in the ,one       
,offering once made for the sin of the  
whole world1 a standpoint such as is    
provided by no other teaching1 whether  
religious or philosophical2 and we shall
 see on examination that it is not an   
arbitrary decree for which we can give  
no account1 but that it is based on the 
psychological constitution of man--a    
provision so perfectly adapted to our   
requirements at every stage of our      
evolution1 that we can only attribute it
 to the ,divine ,wisdom acting through  
,one1 who by ,perfect ,love1 thus       
willingly offered himself1 in order to  
provide the ,foundation of complete     
assurance for all who recognize their   
need of it4  ,on this basis1 then1 of   
reunion with the ,eternal ,source of    

,life1 all the ,promises of the ,bible  
are found to be according to ,law--that 
is1 according to the inherent ,law of   
our ,being2 so that1 in the laying of   
this ,foundation1 we find the supreme   
manifestation of the interaction between
 the ,law and the ,word1 which1 when its
 significance is apprehended1 opens out 
vistas of limitless possibilities to the
 individual and to the race4  ,but the  
race1 as a whole1 is yet very far from  
apprehending this1 and for the most part
 has no perception of spiritual         
causation4 ,where some dim perception of
 spiritual causation is beginning to    
emerge1 it is very frequently inverted1 
because people only apprehend it as     
giving them an additional power of      
exercising compulsion over their        
fellow-men1 and thus depriving them of  
that individuality which it is the one  
purpose of ,evolution to develop4 ,this 
is because people do not look beyond the
 three lower principles of life1 those  
principles which animals have in common 

with man2 and consequently the higher   
principle of mind1 which distinguishes  
man1 is brought down to the lower level1
 so that the man is distinguished from  
the beast only by the possession of     
intellectual faculties1 which by their  
perversion make him not merely a beast1 
but a devil of a beast4 ,therefore the  
recognition of psychic powers1 when not 
safeguarded by the higher principles of 
,truth1 plunges man even deeper into    
darkness than does a simple materialism2
 and so the two go hand in hand on the  
downward path4 ,there is abundant       
evidence that this is increasingly the  
case at the present day2 and therefore  
it is that the ,bible ,promises         
culminate in the ,promise of the return 
of ,him who offered himself in order to 
lay the foundation of ,peace4 ,as ,i    
have said before1 we must either take   
the ,bible as a whole1 or reject it     
entirely4 ,we cannot pick and choose    
what pleases us1 and refuse what does   
not4 ,no legal document could be treated

 in this way2 and in like manner the    
,bible is one great whole1 or else it is
 just--skittles4  ,therefore1 if that   
,divine ,word was manifested to save the
 world from destruction1 by opening the 
way for the individual through          
recognition of his true relation to     
,god1 then it is only a reasonable      
carrying out of the same thought that1  
when the bulk of mankind fail to realize
 the beneficent use of these powers1 and
 persist in using them invertedly1 the  
same ,being should again appear to save 
the race from utter self-destruction1   
but not by the same method1 for that    
would be impossible4  ,the individual   
method is that of individual            
self-recognition in the light of ,truth2
 but that cannot be forced upon any one4
 ,the headlong downward career of the   
race as a whole cannot therefore be     
stopped vi et armis1 and this can only  
be done by first letting it have a      
bitter experience of what intellect1    
depraved to the service of the ,beast in

 ,man1 leads to1 and then forcibly      
restraining those who persist in this   
madness4 ,therefore a ,second ,coming of
 the ,divine ,man is a logical sequence 
to the first1 and equally logical1 this 
,second ,coming must be as ,one who will
 rule the nations with irresistible     
power2 so that men1 reflecting upon the 
evils of the past1 and enquiring into   
their cause1 may be led to see that     
cause in the inverted action of the ,law
 of their own being1 and may therefore  
learn so to renew their thoughts in     
accordance with the ,divine ,thought as 
to bring them into the glorious liberty 
of the ,sons of ,god4  ,this1 then1 is  
the ,promise we have to look forward to 
at the present day1 and though it might 
not be wise to speculate as to the      
precise time and manner of its          
fulfilment1 there can be no doubt as to 
the nature of the general principles    
involved2 and ,i trust the reader has at
 least learned from this book that      
principles unfold themselves with       

unfailing accuracy1 though it depends on
 our ,word1 or mental attitude1 in what 
way their unfoldment will affect us     
personally4  ,for such reasons as these1
 it appears to me1 that the current     
objections to the doctrine of ,atonement
 are entirely beside the mark4 ,they    
miss the whole point of the thing4      
,punishment for ,sin8 ,of course there  
is punishment for sin so long as it is  
persisted in4 ,it is the natural working
 of the ,law of ,cause and ,effect4     
,forgiveness of sin8 ,of course there is
 forgiveness of sin as soon as1 through 
knowledge1 we make a right use of the   
,law of our own ,being4 ,it could not be
 otherwise4 ,it is the natural working  
of the ,law of ,cause and ,effect4      
,this is the covenant that ,i will make 
with them after those days1 saith the   
,lord1 ,i will put my laws into their   
hearts1 and in their minds will ,i write
 them2 and their sins and iniquities    
will ,i remember no more 7,heb4 x1 #af72
 and similarly in ,jer4 xxxi1 #cb1 from 

which the writer of the ,epistles to the
 ,hebrews quotes this4 ,now the ,lord is
 the ,spirit 7#b ,cor4 iii1 #ag1        
,r4,v471 i4e41 the ,originating ,spirit 
of life1 and therefore my laws means the
 inherent ,law of the ,originating      
,principle of ,being1 so that here we   
have a plain statement that the         
realization of the ,true ,law of our    
,being ipso facto results in the        
cancelling of all our past errors4 ,when
 once we see the principle of it the    
whole sequence becomes perfectly plain4 
,there is nothing arbitrary in all this4
 ,it results naturally from a ,new mode 
of ,thought producing a ,new order of   
,consciousness2 and it is written that  
if any man be in ,christ he is a new    
creature or1 as it says in the margin1 a
 new creation 7#b ,cor4 v1 #ag71 and on 
the principle that every ,creation      
carries its own mathematics with it1    
every such man has passed from the ,law 
of ,death into the ,law of ,life4 ,the  
full fruition may not yet be visible--we

 must allow for the ,law of ,growth--but
 the ,principle is in him and has become
 the central1 generating point of his   
consciousness1 and is therefore bound1  
sooner or later1 to develop into perfect
 manifestation by the ,law of its own   
nature4 ,if the ,principle be accepted  
it will work all the same1 whether we   
accept it by simple trust in the written
 ,word1 or whether we analyze the       
grounds of our trust2 just as an        
electric bell will ring when you press  
the button1 whether you are an          
electrical engineer or not4 ,but there  
will be this difference1 that if you are
 an electrical engineer you will see the
 principle implied in the ringing of the
 bell1 and you will find in it the      
promise of infinite possibilities which 
it is open to you to develope2 and in   
like manner1 the more clearly you see   
the relation which necessarily exists   
between yourself and the                
,all-,originating ,living ,spirit1 the  
more clear it will become to you1 that  

this relation opens up an endless vista 
of boundless potentialities which can   
never be exhausted4 ,this is the true   
nature of the ,bible ,promises2 they    
were not made by some external ,deity   
about whose ideas we can never have any 
certainty1 but by the ,indwelling ,god1 
who is at once the ,life1 the ,law1 and 
the ,substance of all things1 and       
therefore they are ,promises according  
to ,law1 containing in themselves the   
principle of their own fulfilment4      
,but1 as ,i trust the reader is now     
convinced1 the ,law can fulfil the      
,promise which is latent in it only by  
the co-operation of the ,word2 that is1 
the ,personal ,factor which provides the
 necessary conditions for the ,law to   
work under2 and therefore1 if the       
,promise is to be fulfilled1 we must    
meet the ,all-originating ,life1 the    
,premium mobile1 not only on the ,plane 
of ,law1 but on the ,plane of           
,personality also4 ,this becomes evident
 if we consider that this ,originating  

,life must be entirely undifferentiated 
in ,itself2 for otherwise it could not  
be the origin of all differentiated     
modes of ,life and ,energy4 ,as long as 
we find differentiation1 on however wide
 a scale1 we have not arrived at ,first 
,cause4 ,there will still be something  
further back1 out of which the          
differentiations have proceeded2 and it 
is this ,something which is at the back 
of ,everything that we are in search of4
 ,therefore the ,originating ,spirit    
must be absolutely undifferentiated1 and
 consequently the ,personal ,factor in  
ourselves must be the differentiation   
into individuality of a ,quality        
eternally subsisting in the             
,all-,originating ,undifferentiated     
,spirit4  ,then1 since our individual   
differentiation of this ,quality must   
depend on the mode of our recognition of
 it1 it follows that a ,standard of     
,measurement is needed1 and the         
,standard is presented to us in the form
 of the ,personality around whom the    

whole ,bible centres1 and who1 as the   
,standard of the ,divine ,infinitude    
differentiating ,himself into units of  
individual personality1 can only be     
described as at once ,the ,son of ,god  
and ,the ,son of ,man4 ,if we see that  
the ,eternal ,life1 by reason of its    
non-differentiation in itself1 must     
needs become to each of us exactly what 
we take it to be1 then it follows that  
in order to realize it on our own plane 
of ,personality we must see it through  
the medium of ,personality1 and it is   
therefore not a theological figment1 but
 the ,supreme ,psychological ,truth that
 no man can come to the ,father--that   
is1 to the ,parent ,spirit--except      
through the ,son 7,john xiv1 #f74  ,when
 we see the reason at the back of it1   
the ,bible becomes a ,new ,book to us1  
and we learn that the interpretation of 
it is not to be found in learned        
commentaries1 but in ourselves4 ,then we
 find that it is indeed ,the ,book of   
,promises1 not vague and uncertain1 but 

logical and scientific1 teaching us how 
to combine the instrumentality of the   
,law with the freedom of the ,word2 so  
that through the ,perfect ,word1        
manifested as the ,perfect ,man1 we     
reach the ,perfect ,law1 and find that  
,,the ,,perfect ,,law ,,is ,,the ,,law  
,,of ,,liberty4   ,,the ,,end           
,,footnotes3  #a ,for various reasons ,i
 am not giving the actual names of      
places and persons in this story4  #b   
,out of ,egypt by ,miss ,crouse4 ,gorham
 ,press1 ,boston1 ,u4,s4,a4  #c ,r4,w4  
,allen4  #d ,see ,chapters on ,body1    
,soul1 and ,spirit in my ,edinburgh     
,lectures on ,mental ,science4  #e ,see 
,edinburgh ,lectures4  #f ,new          
,knowledge4