,,science ,,and ,,the ,,infinite  ,or   
,through a ,window in the ,blank ,wall  
by  ,,sydney ,t4 ,,klein                
,illustration3 ,,the ,,mystery ,,of     
,,the ,,apex  ,,view ,,no4 #c    ,second
 ,impression  ,london ,william ,rider   
,son1 ,limited ,cathedral ,house1       
,paternoster ,row1 ,e4,c4 #aiag  ,first 
,published ,november #aiab ,reprinted   
,september #aiag     ,,to  ,,the ,,right
 ,,hon4  ,,arthur ,,james ,,balfour     
,,preface   ,in venturing to prepare    
this little volume for the eyes of the  
reading public1 ,i am fully aware of the
 difficulties of the subject and the    
inadequacy of the expressions ,i have   
been able to employ1 but ,i have made   
the attempt at the request of those who 
have found consolation in some of the   
thoughts herein embodied2 and the       
messages left by others before they     
passed away1 embolden me to hope that   
many others may find in this volume some
 points of interest which will help them
 to appreciate better the joys which    

this life has for those who know how to 
look for them1 and that perhaps others  
may even gain a clearer conception of   
that which awaits us beyond the ,veil4  
,many of us allow ourselves to be       
overwhelmed by the small worries and    
vexations of everyday life1 clothing    
them with a reality quite               
disproportionate to their importance2 we
 are too apt to look at them1 as it     
were1 through a powerful microscope1    
piling power upon power of              
magnification1 until we have made       
mountains out of mole-hills1 whereas if 
we treated them at their true value we  
should look at them through a telescope1
 in the reverse direction1 when they    
would appear not only trivial1 but would
 be seen to be too remote to have any   
material effect on our lives4  ,the     
sub-title of this volume1 and indeed its
 inception1 arose from my lately coming 
in contact with one of those            
establishments which are doing for      
humanity what a mother's arms do for the

 child who is sick unto death--a        
beautiful home with cheerful rooms and  
cheerful nurses1 where patients are     
tenderly cared for after severe         
operations1 carried through by our most 
famous surgeons1 some cases1 alas1      
almost hopeless from the first4 ,at the 
head of this establishment was one of   
those kindly self-abnegating            
personalities1 whose loving sympathy and
 encouragement have comforted the dying 
and smoothed the path for many a weary  
pilgrim passing from this life to the   
next4 ,with immense responsibilities on 
her shoulders1 and after a day full of  
strenuous work1 the head of this        
establishment would often sit through   
the night for hours by the couch of     
those whose lives could not possibly be 
prolonged for more than a few days4 ,it 
was a few simple answers elicited by the
 questions brought to me from those poor
 sufferers1 and the way such answers    
seemed to calm anxieties connected with 
the fear of death and to render the     

impenetrable ,veil more transparent1    
which suggested the title1 ,through a   
,window in the ,blank ,wall4  ,i do not 
wish to lay claim to having made any    
startling discovery2 similar thoughts1  
especially those concerning the         
non-reality of ,time and ,space1 have no
 doubt occurred to others1 but the whole
 problem ,what is the ,reality8 has been
 insistently pressing on me ever since  
,i can remember1 and ,i have tried to   
give here in simple colloquial language1
 without any attempt at rhetoric1 the   
conclusions ,i have personally come to  
as to what is the ,truth4  ,the study of
 ancient and modern philosophic theories
 is useful as showing how impossible it 
is1 for even the greatest thinkers of   
any age1 to grasp the ,absolute with our
 understanding or to measure the        
,infinite with our finite units4 ,the   
propounders of all these theories seem  
to me to be1 without exception1 looking 
in the wrong direction for the ,reality 
of ,being2 they are all arguing from the

 standpoint of ,intellectualism in a    
similar manner to that of the           
,theologians referred to in ,view       
,three4 ,our latest expositor of this1  
,m4 ,henri ,bergson1 bases his theory   
upon ,life being the ,reality2 this he  
postulates is a flowing in ,time1 and   
,movement therefore becomes for him the 
,reality2 and yet we know that ,motion  
is but the product of ,time and ,space1 
and these are only the two modes or     
limitations under which our senses act  
and upon which our very consciousness of
 living depends4 ,surely the ,absolute  
cannot be localised1 must be            
,omnipresent1 and therefore independent 
of ,space--cannot have a beginning or   
end1 must be ,omniscient1 and therefore 
independent of ,time2 these two         
unrealities can therefore have no       
existence in ,reality of ,being4 ,if1   
then1 there is any truth in ,intuition1 
we have1 in this theory1 the ,reality1  
,life1 not only limited by the unreal   
but actually dependent for its very     

existence upon those limitations6 ,in   
these ,views ,i have attempted1 on the  
contrary1 to show that ,time and ,space 
have no existence apart from our        
,physical ,senses2 they are the modes   
only under which we appreciate motion1  
or what we call physical phenomena1 and 
as our conceptional knowledge is based  
upon our perceptional knowledge1 our    
very consciousness of living is limited 
by ,time and ,space1 and we must surely 
therefore look behind consciousness     
itself1 beyond the conditioning in ,time
 and ,space for the ,reality of ,being1 
otherwise physical motion1 the product  
of these two limitations1 would become  
the ,reality of ,being4  ,i have also   
suggested reasons for looking upon      
physical life as a mode of frequency1   
akin to ,light1 ,electricity1           
,magnetism1 ,chemical ,action1 the      
,vibration of a ,tuning ,fork1 or the   
,swing of a ,pendulum1 and therefore a  
transient phenomenon having to do only  
with the ,race2 ,life can under these   

conditions only be looked upon as a     
reality in the same sense in which all  
other forms of energy or matter appear  
real to our finite senses--namely1 as   
the shadows or manifestations of the    
,absolute on our limited plane of       
,consciousness4  ,however strongly ,i   
may be convinced--as ,i am--of the truth
 of my arguments1 and however sure ,i   
may be that many others will not only   
agree with my conclusions1 but will see 
that in ,introspection rather than in   
,intellectualism lies the key to the    
,mystery1 ,i do not wish to appear      
dogmatic in any of the suggestions      
contained in this volume2 ,i am stating 
my own convictions1 but at the same time
 ,i fully recognise that the            
presentation of the ,absolute1 with its 
infinite variety of aspects1 must       
necessarily be different to every       
individual2 we are all of the same      
genus1 but each individual ,ego is1 as  
it were1 a different species1 and ,i do 
not therefore expect that my attempt to 

solve the ,riddle of the ,universe will 
appeal to all alike4 ,it is1 however1 a 
true saying that there is something to  
be learnt from every human being1 and if
 ,i have by these suggestions succeeded 
in augmenting the number of those who   
have already started on the true ,quest1
 and have helped1 however imperfectly1  
to enrich some lives with the joy of    
knowing their oneness with the          
,all-loving1 my aim has indeed been     
attained4                      ,,sydney 
,t4 ,,klein4    ,,hatherlow1 ,,reigate1 
#ast ,june #aiab4     ,,contents        
,,page     ,,view ,,one  ,,clearing     
,,the ,,approach                        
#a      ,,view ,,two  ,,the ,,vision    
#ai      ,,view ,,three  ,,mysticism    
,,and ,,symbolism                    #cf
      ,,view ,,four  ,,love ,,in        
,,action                             #ga
      ,,view ,,five  ,,the ,,physical   
,,film                         #ajj     
,,view ,,six  ,,space                   
#abb      ,,view ,,seven  ,,time        

#ada      ,,view ,,eight  ,,creation    
#afe     ,,science ,,and ,,the          
,,infinite     ,,view ,,one  ,,clearing 
,,the ,,approach   ,the proof that the  
,human ,race is still in its infancy may
 be seen in the fact that we still      
require ,symbolism to help us to        
maintain and carry forward abstract     
thought to higher levels1 even as       
children require picture books for that 
purpose4 ,the ,glamour of ,symbolism1   
,rapture of ,music1 and ,ideal of ,art1 
which come to us in later years1 had    
their beginnings when to the child every
 blade of grass was a fairy tale and a  
grass plot a marvellous fairy forest4   
,the great aspiration of the ,human     
,race is to gain a knowledge of the     
,reality1 the ,noumenon behind the      
phenomenon2 but the fact that from      
infancy we have been accustomed to      
confine our attention wholly to the     
objective1 believing that to be the     
reality1 has surrounded us with a       
concrete boundary wall through which we 

can only at times1 with difficulty1 get 
transient glimpses of that which is     
beyond4 ,it is only in recent years that
 we have been able to realise that it is
 the ,invisible which is the ,real1 that
 the visible is only its shadow or its  
manifestation in the ,physical          
,universe1 and that ,time and ,space    
have no existence apart from our        
physical senses1 in short1 that they are
 only the modes or limits under which   
those senses act or receive their       
impressions and by which they are       
necessarily rendered finite4  ,the      
difficulty is that our physical senses  
only perceive the surface of our        
surroundings1 and that we have hitherto 
been looking at the ,woof of ,nature as 
though it were the glass of a window    
covered with patterns1 smudges1 flies1  
c41 comprising all that we call physical
 phenomena and which1 when analysed in  
terms of ,time and ,space1 produce the  
appearance of succession and motion4 ,it
 requires a keener perception1 unbounded

 by these limitations1 to look through  
the glass at the ,reality which is      
beyond4 ,i propose then in a series of  
short views1 through a window not       
hitherto unshuttered and in a direction 
which ,i believe has not before been    
attempted1 to lead those of my readers  
who have the necessary aspiration1      
patience1 and1 above all1 strenuous     
persistence1 to a watch-tower1 situated 
well above the mists and illusions of   
our ordinary everyday thoughts1 whence  
they will find it possible to get a     
glimpse of a strange new country1 and   
where those who have by practice once   
attained to its clear perception1 will  
be able to continue the study by        
themselves and thus get further insight 
into that wonderful region of ,thought  
which ,i have called ,true              
,occultism--the knowledge of the        
,invisible which is the ,real in place  
of the ,visible which is only its       
shadow4  ,let us first try and          
understand the conditions under which   

phenomena are presented to us4 ,in our  
perception of sight1 we find the greater
 the light1 the greater the shadow2 a   
light placed over a table throws a      
shadow on the floor1 though not         
sufficient to prevent our seeing the    
pattern of the carpet2 increase the     
light and the shadow appears now so dark
 that no pattern or carpet can be seen2 
not that there is now less light under  
the table but the light above has to our
 sense of sight created or made manifest
 a greater darkness4 ,thus1 throughout  
the ,universe1 as interpreted by our    
,physical ,ego1 we find phenomena       
ranging themselves under the form of    
positive and negative1 the apparently   
,real and the ,unreal4  ,the ,good      
making manifest its negative ,evil4 ,the
 ,beautiful                     ,ugly4  
,the ,true                              
,false4 ,knowledge                      
,ignorance4 ,light                      
,darkness4 ,heat                        
,cold4  ,but the negatives have no real 

existence4 ,as in the case of light we  
see that the shadow is only the absence 
of light1 so the negative of ,goodness1 
i4e4 ,evil1 may in reality be looked    
upon as folly or wasting of opportunity 
for exercising the ,good4 ,owing to     
their limitations our thoughts are based
 upon relativity1 and it is hardly      
thinkable that we could1 under our      
present conditions1 have any cognisance 
of the positive without its negative2 we
 shall in fact see later on that it is  
by examining the ,physical1 the negative
 or shadow1 that we can best gain a     
knowledge of the ,spiritual1 the        
positive or real4  ,the first step to a 
clear understanding of this1 is to      
recognise that it is not we who are     
looking out upon ,nature but that it is 
the ,reality which is ever trying to    
enter and come into touch with us       
through our senses1 and is persistently 
trying to waken within us a knowledge of
 the sublimest truths4 ,it is difficult 
to realise this1 as from infancy we have

 been accustomed to confine our         
attention wholly to the objective1      
believing that to be the reality4  ,let 
us try and grasp this fact4 ,if we      
analyse our sense of sight1 we find that
 the only impression made on our bodies 
by external objects is the image formed 
upon the retina2 we have no cognisance  
of the separate electro-magnetic rills  
forming that image1 which1 reflected    
from all parts of an object1 fall upon  
the eye at different angles1            
constituting form1 and with different   
frequencies giving colour to that image2
 that image is only formed when we turn 
our eyes in the right direction to allow
 those rills to enter2 and1 whereas     
those rills are incessantly beating on  
the outside of our sense organ when the 
eyelid is closed1 they can make no      
impression unless we allow them to enter
 by raising that shutter4 ,it is not    
then any volition from within that goes 
out to seize upon and grasp the truths  
from ,nature1 but the phenomena are as  

it were forcing their way into our      
consciousness4 ,this is more difficult  
to realise when the object is near to   
us1 as we are apt to confound it with   
our sense of touch1 which requires us to
 stretch out our hand to the object1 but
 it is clearer when we take an object   
far away4 ,in our telescopes we catch   
the rills of light which started from a 
star a thousand years ago and the image 
is still formed on the retina now       
although those rills are in fact a      
thousand years old and1 invisible to our
 unaided eye1 have been falling upon    
mankind from the beginning of life on   
this globe1 trying to get an entrance to
 consciousness4 ,it was1 however1 only  
when1 by evolution of thought1 the      
knowledge of optics had produced the    
telescope that it became possible not   
only for that star to make itself known 
to us but to declare to us its distance1
 its size1 and conditions of existence1 
and even the different elemental        
substances of which it was composed a   

thousand years ago4 ,yet1 when we now   
allow its image to form on the retina1  
our consciousness insists on fixing its 
attention upon that star as an outside  
object1 refusing to allow that it is    
only an image inside the eye and making 
it difficult to realise that that star  
may have disappeared and had no         
existence for the past #iii years1      
although in ordinary parlance we are    
looking at and seeing it there now4  ,i 
have referred above to the sense of     
touch2 it is1 ,i think1 clear that the  
first impression a child can have of    
sight must take the form of feeling the 
image on its retina1 as though the      
object were actually inside the head1   
and it could have no idea that it was   
outside until1 by touching with the     
hand1 it would gradually learn by       
experience that the tangible outside    
object corresponded with the image      
located in the head2 this is fully borne
 out by the testimony of men who1 born  
blind1 have1 by an operation1 received  

their sight late in life2 in each case  
their first experience of seeing gave   
the impression that the object was      
touching the eye1 and they were quite   
unable to recognise by sight an object  
such as a cup or plate or a round ball  
which they had commonly handled and knew
 perfectly well by touch2 in fact1 the  
idea of an object formed by the sense of
 touch is so absolutely different to    
that formed by the sense of sight that  
it would be impossible without past     
experience to conclude that the two     
sensations referred to one and the same 
object4 ,the image formed on the retina 
has nothing in common with the sense of 
hardness1 coldness1 and weight          
experienced by touch1 the only          
impression on the retina being that of  
colour or shade1 and an outline2 it is1 
however1 hardly conceivable that even   
the outline of form would be recognised 
by the eye until touch had proved that  
form comprised also solidity and that   
the two ideas had certain motions in    

common both in duration in ,time and    
extension in ,space4  ,again1 our senses
 of sight and hearing are alike based on
 the appreciation of frequencies of     
different rapidity2 brightness and      
colour in light are equivalent to       
loudness and pitch in sound1 but in     
sound we have no equivalent to          
perception of form or situation in      
space2 it gives us no knowledge of the  
existence of objects when situated at   
great distances1 nor can movements be   
followed even at short distances without
 having material contact1 by means of   
the air1 with the object2 sight indeed  
appears to have to do with ,space- and  
sound with ,time-perception4 ,in        
examining ,nature by means of our senses
 we find we are so hemmed in by what we 
have always taken for granted and so    
bound down by modes of reasoning derived
 from what we have seen1 heard1 or felt 
in our daily life1 that we are sadly    
hampered in our search after the truth4 
,it is difficult to sweep the erroneous 

concepts aside and make a fresh start4  
,in fact the great difficulty in        
studying the ,reality underlying ,nature
 is analogous to our inability to       
isolate and study the different sounds  
themselves which fall upon the ear1 if  
our own language is being uttered1      
without being forced to consider the    
meaning we have always attached to those
 sounds4  ,let us now go back to the    
contention that it is not we who are    
looking out upon ,nature but that our   
senses are being bombarded from without2
 we are living in a world of continuous 
and multitudinous changes1 and as our   
senses require change or motion for     
their excitation1 without those changes 
we could have no cognisance of our      
surroundings1 we should have no         
consciousness of living2 but if we base 
our thought entirely on sense           
perception1 taking for granted that     
,time and ,space have reality instead of
 recognising that they are only modes or
 limits under which those senses act1   

the ,wall will ever remain opaque to us4
 ,let us try and make this clearer4 ,if 
we analyse the impression we receive    
from ,motion1 we find it is made up of  
the product of our two limitations1 it  
is the time that an object takes to go  
over a certain space4 ,we must come     
therefore to the conclusion also that   
,motion itself has no existence in      
reality apart from our senses4 ,the     
result of not being able to appreciate  
this1 is that the finiteness of our     
sense1 caused by its dependence on      
,motion for excitation1 surrounds us    
with illusions2 one of these illusions  
is what we call solidity or continuity  
of sensation4 ,if you hold a cannon-ball
 in your hand1 perception by the sense  
of touch tells you that it is           
continuous1 or what is called solid and 
hard2 but it is not so in reality except
 as a concept limited by our finite     
senses4 ,a fair analogy would be to     
liken it to a swarm of bees1 for we know
 that it is composed of an immense      

number of independent atoms or molecules
 which are darting about1 and circling  
round each other at an enormous speed   
but never touching2 they are also       
pulsating at a definite enormous rate2  
we can at will increase their motion by 
heat or reduce by cold2 if our touch    
perception were sensitive enough we     
should feel those motions and should not
 have the sensation of a solid4 ,we have
 a similar case of limitation in our    
other senses1 which we shall grasp      
better in another ,view through our     
,window4 ,we can hear beats only up to  
fifteen in a second1 beyond that number 
they give the sensation of a musical or 
continuous sound4 ,in our sense of sight
 we can see pulsations or intermittent  
flashes up to only six in a second1     
beyond that number they give the        
sensation of a continuous light2 a gas  
jet1 if extinguished and relit six times
 in a second1 can be seen to flicker1   
but beyond that rate is to our sense of 
sight a steady flame4 ,the effect may   

also be shown by making the top of a    
match red-hot2 when stationary or moving
 slowly1 it is a point of light1 but1   
moved quickly1 it becomes a continuous  
line of light4  ,even apart from our    
senses we find ,motion giving the       
characteristics of solidity3 a wheel    
with only a few spokes1 if rotated      
quickly enough1 becomes quite           
impermeable to any substance1 however   
small1 thrown at it2 a thin jet of water
 only half an inch in diameter1 if      
discharged at great pressure equivalent 
to a column of water of #ejj metres1    
cannot be cut even with an axe1 it      
resists as though it were made of the   
hardest steel2 a thin cord1 hanging from
 a vertical axis1 and being revolved    
very quickly1 becomes rigid1 and if     
struck with a hammer it resists and     
resounds like a rod of wood2 a thin     
chain and even a loop of string1 if     
revolved at great speed over a vertical 
pulley1 becomes rigid and1 if allowed to
 escape from the pulley1 will run along 

the ground as a hoop4  ,now with regard 
to this limit of time perception1 which 
gives us the phenomenon of ,solidity1 ,i
 have lately been able to devise an     
arrangement which1 acting as a          
microscope for ,time1 gives the         
sensation of an increase in sight       
perception up to several thousand units 
per second2 it is based on the fact that
 though the eye can only see six times  
per second it can see for the           
one-millionth part of a second4 ,an     
example of this is the well-known       
experiment of seeing a bullet in its    
flight2 the bullet makes electrical     
connection resulting in a spark which   
illuminates the bullet when opposite the
 eye4 ,the electrical spark exists only 
for the millionth of a second1 and as   
the bullet in that time has no          
perceptible movement it is seen standing
 absolutely still with all marks upon it
 quite visible to the eye4 ,when ,sight 
perception is increased up to the rate  
at which time may be said to flow for   

any particular object we apparently get 
into the reality1 the permanent now     
where motion ceases to exist as a       
sensation4 ,a tuning-fork1 kept         
vibrating1 by means of an               
electro-magnet1 at #bjjj times per      
second1 may to our sense of sight be    
gradually slowed down and1 optically1   
brought absolutely to a standstill1 for 
as long as desired1 and the smallest    
irregularity of its surface may be      
minutely examined1 though it continues  
to be heard and felt vibrating at that  
enormous rate4 ,i have made several     
experiments in this direction1 and some 
very curious facts connected with the   
sensation of ,motion are brought to     
light by means of this increase in      
perceptive power4 ,if the sense of sight
 is increased to #abe units per second1 
motion at the rate of one inch per      
second is barely visible2 taking the    
common house-fly1 whose wings vibrate   
about #djj times per second1 its units  
of perception would appear to be about  

two-thirds of those beats1 as ,i found  
it had no cognisance of ,motion below   
two inches per second2 you can put your 
finger on any fly provided you do not   
approach it faster than the above rate1 
it turns its head up to look at your    
finger but can see no motion in it2 if  
you approach at over three inches per   
second it will always fly away before   
you are within a foot4 ,i found that a  
dragon-fly1 whose wings vibrate about   
#bjj times per second1 had only half the
 number of unit perceptions of the fly  
and could apparently see motion at about
 one inch per second but not under4 ,in 
the converse of the above we have then  
the principle of a ,microscope for      
,time1 somewhat similar to the          
,microscope for ,space of our           
laboratories4 ,if our perception were   
increased sufficiently we could slow    
down any motion for examination1 however
 rapid2 there would be no difficulty in 
following a lightning flash or even     
arresting its visible motion for        

purposes of investigation without       
interfering with the natural sequence of
 cause and effect4  ,if1 on the other   
hand1 our perception were decreased     
below six times per second1 all motion  
would be accelerated1 until with        
perception reduced to one unit in       
twenty-four hours the sun would appear  
only as a band across the sky1 and we   
could not follow its motion any more    
than1 as we have seen1 we could follow  
the point of a red-hot match4 ,if       
perception were reduced far enough1     
plants and trees would grow up visibly  
before our eyes4 ,but we must leave this
 subject now1 as this and the ,time     
,microscope will be treated in a later  
,view4  ,let us try and appreciate the  
fact that1 under our present conditions1
 our conceptions of the immense and     
minute--namely1 extension in ,space1 and
 that of quick and slow or duration in  
,time--are purely relative1 and that    
from this arise those pseudo-conceptions
 which we call the infinitely extended  

and the infinitely lasting4 ,under our  
present limitations it is impossible for
 us to grasp the whole of any ,truth1 if
 we could do that1 there would be no    
such mystery of ,infinity to puzzle us2 
we could1 as it were1 see all around it1
 but that is again looking through      
another window4 ,we are now considering 
relativity4 ,if we cut off the very end 
of the point of the finest needle1 we   
get so minute a particle of steel that  
it is hardly visible to the naked eye1  
and yet we know that that small speck   
contains not only millions but millions 
of millions of what are called atoms1   
all in intense motion and never touching
 each other4 ,try and conceive how small
 each of these atoms must be1 and then  
try and grasp the fact1 only lately     
proved by the discovery of              
,radio-activity1 that each of these     
atoms is a great family made up of      
bodies analogous to the planets of our  
solar system and whose rate of motion is
 comparable only to that of ,light4     

,this is not theory1 it is fact clearly 
demonstrated to us by the study of      
,radio-activity4 ,curiously enough1 we  
know more about these bodies than we do 
of the atom itself2 we actually know    
their size and weight and the speed with
 which they move4 ,we do not yet know   
what is at the centre of this system1   
but we do know that each of these bodies
 is as far away from the centre as our  
planet is from the sun 7#ic1jjj1jjj     
miles71 and as far from its neighbours  
as our planet is1 relatively to its     
size4 ,and now1 for the purpose of      
grasping this subject of relativity1 ,i 
want you to ask yourself whether it is  
conceivable that a world1 so small as   
those bodies are1 could possibly be     
inhabited by sentient beings4 ,leaving  
you to form your own conclusion upon    
this point1 ,i will ask you to follow me
 down another path leading to the       
elucidation of the same subject4  ,if at
 this moment we and all our surroundings
 were reduced to half their size and    

everything were moving twice as quickly1
 we should absolutely have no cognisance
 of any change1 neither could we        
possibly note any difference if         
everything were reduced to a hundredth  
part of the original size and were going
 a hundred times quicker2 and even when 
reduced a thousand or a million times1  
or to such minuteness that the whole of 
our solar system with its revolving     
planets became no larger than one of    
those atoms in the needle point1 and the
 whole of the starry universe therefore 
reduced to the size of the needle point1
 its millions of suns coinciding with   
the millions of planetary systems in    
that steel particle--our earth would    
still revolve round the sun1 though no  
larger than one of those minute         
planetary particles and travelling at   
the rate of light1 but we should still  
have no knowledge of any change1 in     
fact1 our life would go on as usual1    
though it was difficult a few minutes   
ago to think it conceivable that so     

small a globe could be inhabited by     
sentient beings4  ,once more let us     
consider that the change is made in the 
direction of expansion in space and     
slowing down of ,time2 let all our      
surroundings be so enormously increased 
that each of the atoms in the steel     
point became as large as our solar      
system and the steel point as large as  
the visible universe1 each atom         
therefore taking the place of a star1   
and motion being reduced in proportion2 
it is still absolutely inconceivable    
that we could know of any change having 
taken place1 though the length of our   
needle1 which was at first1 say1 one    
inch1 would now be so great that light1 
travelling #ahf1jjj miles per second1   
would take #ejj1jjj years to traverse   
its length1 and the stature of each one 
of us would be so great that light would
 require over #cf1jjj1jjj years to      
travel from head to foot1 and that      
#cf1jjj1jjj years would have to be      
multiplied #afc1jjj1jjj times1 making   

#ehfj millions of millions of years to  
represent the time that an ordinary     
sneeze would take under such conditions4
 ,and yet we have only gone towards the 
infinitely great exactly as far as we at
 first went towards the infinitely      
small1 and it is still absolutely       
inconceivable that we could be conscious
 of any change1 our everyday life would 
go on as usual1 we should be quite      
oblivious to the fact that every second 
of time1 with all its incidents and     
thoughts1 had been lengthened to #ehfj  
millions of millions of years4 ,do we   
not now begin to grasp the fact that    
immensity and minuteness in extension1  
and motion in duration1 are figments    
only of our finite minds1 that ,time and
 ,space have no objective reality apart 
from our physical senses1 that they are 
only the modes under which we receive   
impressions of our surroundings8 ,with  
perfect perception we should know that  
the only ,reality is the ,spiritual1 the
 ,here comprising all ,space and the    

,now all ,time4  ,one more look through 
the window before we part1 and we may   
see what ,i consider the greatest       
miracle in our everyday life3 ,the      
,inner-self of each one of us1 being    
part of the ,reality or ,spiritual1 is  
independent of ,space limitations and   
must therefore be ,omnipresent1 is      
independent of ,time and therefore      
,omniscient4 ,this inevitable deduction 
will be explained more fully in another 
,view4  ,it is from this store of       
knowledge that our ,physical ,ego is    
ever trying to win fresh forms of       
thought1 and1 in response to our        
persistent endeavours1 that ,inner-self1
 from time to time1 buds out a new      
thought2 the ,physical ,ego has already 
prepared the clothing with which that   
bud must be clad before it can come into
 conscious thought1 because1 as ,max    
,mueller has shown us1 we have to form  
words before we can think2 so does the  
,physical ,ego clothe that ethereal     
thought in physical language1 and by    

means of its organ of speech it sends   
that thought forth into the air in the  
form of hundreds of thousands of        
vibrations of different shapes and      
sizes1 some large1 some small1 some     
quick1 some slow1 travelling in all     
directions and filling the surrounding  
space2 there is nothing in those        
vibrations but physical movement1 but   
each separate movement is an integral   
part or thread of that clothing4        
,another ,physical ,ego receives these  
multitudinous vibrations by means of its
 sense organ1 weaves them together into 
the same physical garment1 and actually 
becomes possessed of that ethereal      
thought--an unexplained marvel1 and     
probably the most wonderful occurrence  
in our daily existence1 especially as it
 often enables the second ,physical ,ego
 to gain fresh knowledge from its own   
,real ,personality4 ,now1 in connection 
with this1 consider the fact1 already   
emphasized1 that it is not we who are   
looking out upon ,nature1 but that it is

 the ,reality which is ever trying to   
make itself known to us by bombarding   
our sense organs with the particular    
physical impulses to which those organs 
can respond1 and1 if we aspire to gain a
 knowledge of what is behind the        
physical1 it is clear that all our      
endeavours must be towards weaving these
 impulses into garments and then        
learning from them the sublime ,truths  
which the ,reality is ever trying to    
divulge to us4     ,,view ,,two  ,,the  
,,vision   ,thy ,will be done on ,earth 
as it is in ,heaven1 is in true         
consonance with the old philosophic     
dictum that ,everything in heaven must  
have its counterpart on earth2 in other 
words1 the ,reality has all ,its        
multitudinous manifestations1 every     
noumenon its phenomenon1 in the physical
 universe4 ,if we now examine those     
traits of our surroundings which affect 
us most1 and best help us to reach the  
highest level of abstract thought of    
which our nature is capable1 we find    

that it is the recognition of the       
,beauty 7comprising also the ,good and  
the ,true7 in everything1 which         
constitutes the power held over our     
minds by what we may call the ,glamour  
of ,symbolism1 the ,rapture of ,music1  
and the ,ideal of ,art4 ,but this       
influence is still only sensuous1 it    
does not carry us beyond the extension  
of that ,wonderment and ,enchantment    
which had their birth with our first    
visit to ,fairyland4 ,this is1 ,i think1
 evident1 as ,beauty is not the         
,reality2 it is only what may be called 
the sensuous expression of the ,reality 
or ,spiritual on the physical plane4    
,although we have no words to express1  
nor indeed minds to grasp1 the wonders  
and glories of that which is behind the 
,veil1 it is possible for some of us to 
get a glimpse of it through our ,window1
 and to those the following pages may be
 helpful1 but to others the ,wall will  
remain blank2 and1 here at the          
commencement1 ,i should like to warn    

those who have not been through a       
certain experience1 to which ,i shall   
refer1 that no words of mine will open  
the ,window for them2 at the same time  
it is probable that many of my readers1 
who think at this stage that they have  
no knowledge of the subject of this     
,view1 will1 as we proceed1 recognise in
 the view through the ,window something 
they have experienced more than once in 
their lifetime1 and to these ,i address 
myself4  ,let us first try to understand
 what we know concerning ourselves4 ,the
 longer one lives and the more one      
studies the mystery of ,being1 the more 
one is forced to the conclusion that in 
every ,human ,being there are two       
,personalities1 call them what you      
like--the ,real and its ,image1 the     
,spiritual and its ,material ,shadow1 or
 the ,transcendental and its ,physical  
,ego4 ,the former in each of these duads
 is1 as referred to in our first ,view1 
not conditioned in ,time and ,space1 is 
independent of ,extension and ,duration1

 and must therefore be ,omnipresent and 
,omniscient1 whereas the latter1 being  
subservient to ,time and ,space1 can    
only think in finite words1 requires    
succession of ideas to accumulate       
knowledge1 is dependent on perception of
 movements for forming concepts of its  
surroundings1 and1 without this         
perception1 it would have no knowledge  
of existence4  ,let us go back into the 
far distant past1 before the frame and  
brain of what we now call the genus     
,homo was fully developed3 he was then  
an animal pure and simple1 conscious of 
living but knowing neither good nor     
evil2 there was nothing in his thoughts 
more perfect than himself2 it was the   
golden age of innocency2 he was a being 
enjoying himself in a perfect state of  
nature with absolute freedom from       
responsibility of action4 ,but1 as ages 
rolled on1 under the great law of       
evolution1 his brain was enlarging and  
gradually being prepared for a great and
 wonderful event1 which was to make an  

enormous change in his mode of living   
and his outlook on the future4 ,as seeds
 may fall continually for thousands of  
years upon hard rock without being able 
to germinate1 until gradually1 by the   
disintegration of the rock1 soil is     
formed1 enabling the seed at last to    
take root2 so for countless ages was the
 mind of that noble animal being        
prepared until1 in the fulfilment of    
time1 the ,spiritual took root and he   
became a living soul4 ,the change was   
marvellous2 he was now aware of         
something higher and more perfect than  
himself1 he found that he was able to   
form ideals above his ability to attain 
to1 resulting in a sense of inferiority1
 akin to a ,fall2 he was conscious of   
the difference of ,right and ,wrong1 and
 felt happy and blessed when he followed
 the ,good1 but ashamed and accursed    
when he chose the ,evil2 he became      
upright in stature1 and able to         
communicate his thoughts and wishes to  
his fellows by means of language2 and by

 feeling his freedom to choose between  
the ,good1 ,beautiful1 and ,true on one 
hand1 and the ,evil1 ,ugly1 and ,false  
on the other1 he became aware that he   
was responsible and answerable to a     
mysterious higher ,being for his        
actions4 ,this at once raised him far   
above other animals1 and he gradually   
began to feel the presence within him of
 a wonderful power1 the nucleus of that 
,transcendental ,self which had taken   
root1 and which1 from that age to this1 
has urged ,man ever forward first to    
form1 and then struggle to attain1      
higher ,ideals of ,perfection4 ,as a    
mountaineer who1 with stern persistence1
 struggles upward from height to height1
 gaining at each step a clearer and     
broader view1 so do we1 as we progress  
in our struggle upwards1 toward the     
understanding of ,perfection1 ever see  
more and more clearly that the          
,invisible is the ,real1 that the       
visible is only its shadow1 that our    
,spiritual ,personality is akin to that 

,great ,reality1 that we cannot search  
out and know that ,personality2 it is   
not an idea1 it cannot be perceived by  
our senses1 any more than we can see a  
sound by our sense of sight or measure  
an ,infinity by our finite units2 all we
 can so far do is to feel and mark its  
effect in guiding our ,physical ,ego to 
choose the real from the shadow1 the    
plus from the minus1 receiving back in  
some marvellous mode of reflex action   
the power to draw further nourishment   
from the ,infinite4 ,as that ,inner     
,personality becomes more and more      
firmly established1 higher ideals and   
knowledge of the ,reality bud out1 and1 
as these require the clothing of finite 
expressions before they can become part 
of our consciousness1 so are they       
clothed by our ,physical ,ego and become
 forms of thought2 and1 although the    
,physical ,ego is only the shadow or    
image1 projected on the physical screen1
 of the ,real ,personality1 we are able1
 by examining these emanations and      

marking their affinity to the ,good1 the
 ,beautiful1 and the ,true1 to attain at
 times to more than transient glimpses  
of the loveliness of that which is      
behind the veil4 ,as in a river flowing 
down to the sea1 a small eddy1 however  
small1 once started with power to       
increase1 may1 if it continues in       
midstream1 instead of getting entangled 
with the weeds and pebbles near the     
bank1 gather to itself so large a volume
 of water1 that1 when it reaches the    
sea1 it has become a great independent  
force2 so is each of us endowed1 as we  
come into this life1 with a spark of the
 ,great ,reality1 with potential force  
to draw from the ,infinite in proportion
 to our conscientious endeavours to keep
 ourselves free from the deadening      
effects of mundane frivolities and      
enticements1 turning our faces ever     
towards the light rather than to the    
shadow1 until our personality becomes a 
permanent entity1 commanding an         
individual existence when the physical  

clothing of this life is worn out1 and  
for us all shadows disappear4  ,if man  
became a conscious being on some such   
analogous lines as indicated1 it is     
clear that he is1 as it were1 the       
offspring of two distinct natures1 and  
subject to two widely separated         
influences2 the ,spiritual ever urging  
him towards improvement in the direction
 of the ,real or ,perfect1 and the      
,physical or ,animal instincts inviting 
him in the opposite direction4 ,these   
latter instincts are not wrong in       
themselves1 in a purely animal nature1  
but are made manifest as urging him in  
the direction of the shadow or          
,imperfect when they come in contact1   
and therefore in competition1 with the  
,spiritual4 ,neither the ,spiritual nor 
the ,physical can be said to possess    
,free-will2 they must work in opposite  
directions1 but this competition for    
influence over our actions provides the 
basis for the exercise of man's         
,free-will--the choice between          

progression and stagnation4 ,the        
,spiritual influence must conquer in the
 long run1 as every step under that     
influence is a step towards the ,real   
and can never be lost2 the apparent     
steps in the other direction are only   
negative or retarding1 and can have no  
real existence1 except as a drag on the 
wheel which is always moving in the     
direction of ,perfection1 thus hindering
 the process of growth of the           
,personality4  ,the stages in           
development of the ,physical ,ego and   
its final absorption in the             
,transcendental may perhaps be stated as
 follows--  ,the ,physical ,ego         
loquitur3       ,i become aware of being
 surrounded by phenomena1 ,i will to    
see--,i perceive and wonder what is the 
meaning of      everything--,i begin to 
think--,i reflect by combining former   
experiences--,i am conscious that ,i am1
 and that ,i am free to      choose     
between ,right and ,wrong1 but that ,i  
am responsible      for my actions to a 

,higher ,power2 that what ,i call ',i   
am' is      itself only the shadow1 or  
in some incomprehensible sense      the 
breathing organ1 of a wonderful divine  
,afflatus or ,power      which is       
growing up within1 or in intimate       
connection with      me1 and which      
itself is akin to the ,reality4 ,owing  
to my      senses being finite ,i cannot
 with my utmost thought form a          
direct concept of that power1 although  
,i feel that it      comprises all that 
is good and real in me1 and is in fact  
my      true personality2 ,i am         
conscious of it ever urging me          
forward towards the ,good1 ,beautiful1  
and ,true1 and that each      step ,i   
take in that direction 7especially when 
taken in      opposition to the dictates
 of physical instincts7 results in      
a further growth of that ,transcendental
 ,self4 ,with that      growth ,i       
recognise that it is steadily gaining   
power over my      thoughts and         
aspirations4 ,i learn that the whole    

physical      ,universe is a            
manifestation of the ,will of the       
,spiritual1      that every phenomenon  
is as it were a sublime thought1 that   
it should be my greatest individual     
aspiration to try to      interpret     
those thoughts1 or when1 as it seems at 
present1      our stage in the evolution
 of thought is not far enough           
advanced1 ,i should during my short term
 of life do my best      to help forward
 the knowledge of the ,good1 ,beautiful1
 and      ,true for those who come      
after4 ,as ,i grow old the ,real ,ego in
      me seems to be taking my place1   
the central activity of my      life is 
being shifted1 as ,i feel ,i am growing 
in some way      independent of earthly 
desires and aspirations1 and1 when      
the term of my temporary sojourn here   
draws to a close1 ,i      feel myself   
slackening my hold of the physical until
 at last      ,i leave go entirely1 and 
my physical clothing1 having            
fulfilled its use1 drops off and passes 

away1 carrying with      it all         
limitations of ,time and ,space4 ,i     
awake as from a      dream to find my   
true heritage in the ,spiritual         
,universe4  ,if we try to form a        
conception of the stages of growth of   
the ,transcendental ,self it would1 ,i  
think1 be somewhat as follows3  ,the    
first consciousness   of the ,spiritual 
,i know that ,love is the ,summum       
,bonum4   entity would be4444    ,as it 
became nourished  ,i love4   it would   
be4444        ,then4444                 
,i love with my whole being4   ,then4444
                 ,i know that ,i am part
 of ,god and ,god is ,love4    ,and     
lastly4444           ,i am perfected in 
,loving and ,knowing4  ,and the above is
 the best description ,i have been able 
to formulate of the development of the  
,mystical ,sense by means of which we   
can get a view of the ,reality through  
our ,window4 ,i will try to give my own 
experience of this1 which will1 ,i know1
 wake an echo in other hearts1 as ,i    

have met those who have felt the same4  
,from a child ,i always had an intense  
feeling that ,love was the one thing    
above all worth having in life1 and1 as 
,i grew older and became aware that my  
real self was akin to the ,great        
,spirit1 at certain times of elation or 
what might be called a kind of ecstasy1 
,i had an overpowering sense of longing 
for union with the ,reality1 an intense 
love and craving to become one with the 
,all-loving4 ,when analysed later in    
life this was recognised as similar in  
kind1 though different in degree1 to the
 feeling which1 when in the country1    
surrounded by charming scenery1 wild    
flowers1 the depths of a forest glade1  
or even the gentle splash of a mountain 
stream1 makes one always want to open   
one's arms wide to embrace and hold fast
 the beautiful in ,nature1 as though    
one's ,physical ,ego1 wooed by the      
,beautiful which is the sensuous 7not   
sensual7 expression of the ,spiritual1  
longed to become one with the ,physical1

 as the ,personality or ,transcendental 
,ego craves to become one with the      
,reality4 ,it is the same intense       
feeling which makes a lover1 looking    
into the eyes of his beloved1 long to   
become united in the perfection of      
loving and knowing1 to be one with that 
being in whom he has discovered a       
likeness akin to the highest ideal of   
which he himself is capable of forming a
 conception4  ,as in heaven1 so on earth
 the ,physical ,ego1 though only a      
shadow1 has in its sphere the same      
fundamental characteristic craving as   
the ,transcendental ,personality has for
 that which is akin to it1 and it is    
this wonderful love that1 as the old    
adage says1 makes the world go round4   
,it is the most powerful incentive on   
earth1 and is implanted in our natures  
for the good and furtherance of the     
race2 it is1 in fact1 the manifestation 
on the material plane of that craving of
 the ,inner self for union with1 and    
being perfected in loving and knowing1  

that ,infinite ,love of which it is     
itself the likeness4 ,if we can realise 
that everything on the physical plane is
 a shadow1 symbol1 or manifestation of  
that which is in the ,transcendental1   
the ,mystical ,sense1 through           
contemplating these as symbols1 enables 
us at certain times1 alas6 too seldom   
and fleeting in character1 to get beyond
 the ,physical2 but those of my readers 
who have been there will know how       
impossible it is to describe1 in direct 
words1 which would carry any meaning1   
either the path by which the experience 
is gained or a true account of the      
experience itself4 ,i will try1 however1
 and ,i think ,i may be able to lead my 
readers1 by indirect inductive          
suggestion1 to a view of even these     
difficult subjects1 by using the        
knowledge we have already gained in our 
first view through this ,window4 ,if an 
artist were required to draw a          
representation of the ,omniscient       
,transcendental ,self1 budding out new  

forms of thought in response to the     
conscientious efforts of1 and the       
providing of suitable clothing by1 the  
,physical ,ego1 as referred to in ,view 
,no4 #a1 he would be obliged to make use
 of symbolic forms1 and ,i want to make 
it quite clear that the description ,i  
am attempting must necessarily be       
clothed in symbolic language and        
reasoning1 and must not be taken as in  
any way the key by which the door of the
 sanctuary may be opened2 it is only    
possible by it to help the mind to grasp
 the fact that there is a ,window       
through which such things may be seen1  
the rest depends upon the personality of
 the seer4  ,now bear in mind that it is
 not we who are looking out upon        
,nature1 but that it is the ,reality1   
which1 by means of the physical1 is     
persistently striving to enter into our 
consciousness1 to tell us what8 ,greek3 
,theos agape estin 7,god is ,love74 ,as 
in ,thompson's suggestive poem1 ,the    
,hound of ,heaven--the ,hidden which    

desires to be found--the ,reality is    
ever hunting us1 and will never leave us
 till ,he has taught us to know and     
therefore to love ,him1 and1 as seen in 
our first view1 the first step is to try
 to see through the woof of nature to   
the ,reality beyond4 ,to this may also  
be added the attempt to hear the silence
 beyond the audible4 ,try now to look   
upon the whole visible as a background  
comprising landscape1 sea1 and sky--we  
shall get help in this direction in a   
later ,view--and then bring that        
background nearer and nearer to your    
consciousness4 ,it requires practice1   
but it can be done2 it may help you if  
you remember the fact that the whole of 
that visible scene is actually depicted 
on the surface of your retina and has no
 other existence for you4 ,the nearer   
you can get the background to approach1 
the more clearly you can see that the   
whole physical world of our senses is   
but a thin veil1 a mere soap film1 which
 at death is pricked and parts asunder1 

leaving us in the presence of the       
,reality underlying all phenomena4 ,the 
same may be accomplished with the       
audible1 which is indeed part of the    
same physical film1 though this is not  
at first easy to recognise4 ,as pointed 
out in ,view ,no4 #a1 there is little in
 common between our sense of sight and  
hearing2 but the chirp of birds1 the hum
 of bees1 the rustle of wind in the     
leaves1 the ripple of a stream1 the     
distant sound of sheep bells1 and lowing
 of cattle form a background of sound   
which may be coaxed to approach you2 the
 only knowledge you have of such sounds 
is their impression or image on the flat
 tympanum of your ear2 they have no     
other existence for you2 and again you  
may recognise that the physical is but a
 thin transient film4 ,with the approach
 of the physical film all material      
sensation becomes as it were blurred1 as
 near objects become when the eye looks 
at the horizon1 and gradually escapes   
from consciousness4  ,i have tried in   

the foregoing to suggest a method by    
which our ,window may be unshuttered2 it
 has necessarily been only an oblique   
view and clothed in symbolic            
phraseology1 but those who have been    
able to grasp its meaning will now have 
attained to what may be called a state  
of self-forgetting1 the silencing or    
quieting down of the ,physical ,ego2    
sight and sound perceptions have been   
put in the background of consciousness1 
and it becomes possible to worship or   
love the very essence of beauty without 
the distraction of sense analysis and   
synthesis or temptation to form         
intellectual conceptions4  ,we are now  
prepared to attempt the last aspect of  
our view--namely1 the description of    
what is experienced when the physical   
mists have been evaporated by the       
,mystical ,sense4 ,again we find that no
 direct description is possible1        
language is absolutely inadequate to    
describe the unspeakable1 communications
 have to be physically transmitted in   

words to which finite physical meanings 
have been allocated4 ,the still small   
voice which may at times of ,rapture be 
momentarily experienced in ,music1 is   
something much more wonderful than can  
be formed by sounds1 and this perhaps   
comes nearest to the expression         
necessary for depicting the vision of   
the soul2 but it cannot be held or      
described1 it is quickly drowned by the 
physical sense of audition4 ,as the     
,glamour of ,symbolism can only be      
transmitted to one who has passed the   
portal of ,symbolic ,thought1 the       
,rapture of ,music can only be truly    
understood by one who has already       
experienced it1 and the ,ideal of ,art  
requires a true artistic temperament to 
comprehend it1 so it is1 ,i believe1    
impossible to describe1 with any chance 
of success1 this wonderful experience to
 any but those whom ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4        
,benson1 in his ,secret of the ,thread  
of ,gold1 very aptly describes as having
 already entered the ,shrine4 ,those who

 have been there will know that it is   
not at all equivalent to a vision1 it is
 not anything which can be seen or heard
 or felt by touch2 it is entirely       
independent of the physical senses2 it  
is not ,giving or ,receiving1 it is not 
even a receiving of some new knowledge  
from the ,reality2 it has nothing to do 
with thought or intellectual gymnastics2
 all such are seen to be but mist4 ,the 
nearest description ,i can formulate    
is3--,a wondrous feeling of perfect     
peace2--absolute rest from physical     
interference2--perfect contentment2--the
 sense of ,being-one-with-the-,reality1 
carrying with it a knowledge that the   
,reality or ,spiritual is nearer to us  
and has much more to do with us than the
 ,physical has1 if we could only see the
 truth and recognise its presence2--that
 there is no real death2--no finiteness 
and yet no ,infinity2--that the ,great  
,spirit cannot be localised or said to  
be anywhere1 but that everywhere is     
,god2--that the whole of what we call   

,creation is an instantaneous ,thought  
of the ,reality2--that it is only by the
 process of analysing in ,time and      
,space that we imagine there is such a  
thing as succession of events2--that the
 only ,reality is the ,spiritual1 the   
,here embracing all ,space and the ,now 
embracing all ,time4  ,how few of us who
 are now drawing towards the end of our 
sojourn here1 have not1 at certain times
 during our lives1 experienced something
 akin to what ,i have tried to put      
before you in the above6 ,does not a    
particular scent1 a beautiful country   
scene1 a phrase in music1 the beauty or 
pathos in a picture1 symbolic sculpture 
in a grand cathedral1 or even a chance  
word spoken in our hearing1 every now   
and then waken in our innermost         
consciousness an enchanting memory of   
some wonderful happy moment of the past 
when the sun seemed to have been shining
 more brightly1 the birds singing more  
merrily1 when everything in nature      
seemed more alive1 and our very beings  

seemed wrapped up in an intense love of 
our surroundings8 ,on those occasions we
 were not far from seeing behind the    
veil1 though we did not recognise it at 
the time2 but when we now look back1    
with experience gained by advancing     
years1 and consider those visions of the
 past1 we cannot help seeing that the   
physical film was to our eyes more      
transparent at those times1 and the very
 joy of their remembrance seems to be   
giving us a prescience of that which we 
shall experience1 when for each one of  
us the physical film is pricked and     
passes away like a scroll4     ,,view   
,,three  ,,mysticism ,,and ,,symbolism  
,who can doubt that the ,mystics know   
more than the ,theologians1 and that the
 ,poets know more than the ,scientists8 
for this inner apprehension is surely   
the highest and truest kind of          
,knowledge4 ,such were the words written
 to me lately by a clergyman of great   
learning and of unimpeachable orthodoxy1
 whose mature knowledge of the ,higher  

,mysteries has been gained by a         
life-long study of the ,divine4 ,in     
,view ,no4 #a we saw that the first step
 towards opening our ,window1 was to    
grasp the fact that it is not we who are
 looking out upon ,nature1 but that it  
is the ,reality which is ever trying to 
enter and to come into touch with us1   
through our senses1 and is persistently 
trying to wake within us a knowledge of 
the sublimest truths3 but this has not  
yet been appreciated by the ,theologian2
 he is looking outwards instead of      
inwards1 and asks the question1 based on
 intellectual conception1 in the form   
,can ,i find out the ,absolute so that  
,i may possess ,him8 and the answer ever
 comes back1 ,no1 because ,i am trying  
to storm the ,sanctuary of the          
,unthinkable1 the ,infinite1 by means of
 a ,ladder which cannot reach beyond our
 finite conceptions1 and can deal       
therefore only with the shadows1 cast by
 the outlying ramparts1 upon our        
physical plane4 ,an example of this is  

surely seen in the lecture lately       
delivered by the ,bishop of ,oxford     
7,dr4 ,gore7 to the ,university of      
,oxford 7#acth ,february #aiab1 reported
 in the ,guardian of #afth ,february71  
when he made the statement that the     
greatest difficulty we have is to       
recognise that the ,absolute is a ,god  
of ,love4 ,his exact words were3 ,i     
believe that there are a great many of  
us who know1 perhaps from bitter        
experience1 that whatever difficulties  
there are about religious belief are    
difficulties about believing in a ,god  
of ,love2 whatever is our experience1   
and however sunny is our disposition1   
any steady thinking will make it        
apparent that thought1 apart from the   
,christian revelation1 presumed and     
accepted1 or reflected unconsciously1   
has never got at it1 and even after it  
has been in the world1 thought is       
continually finding it hard to retain   
the idea of ,god the ,creator1 or the   
truth that ,god is ,love1 partly owing  

to the limitations of human thinking1   
partly1 and even more1 owing to the     
experience of man and of nature4  ,on   
the other hand the ,mystic1 with        
introspection1 asks the question in the 
form ,can the ,absolute find me out and 
possess me and thus make me feel that   
that which is within me is akin to1 is1 
in fact1 a part of ,him and that ,i am  
possessed thereby8 and the answer ever  
comes back from those who are on the    
true ,quest3--,yes2 because the         
,unthinkable1 the ,hidden which desires 
to be found1 is ever trying to come into
 our ,consciousness to waken the        
knowledge that ,his ,sanctuary1 or what 
is called the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 is   
within us1 that we are not an external  
but an internal creation of the         
,all-loving4 ,such a realisation is1 as 
pointed out in ,the ,vision1 far above  
,analysis and ,synthesis or             
,intellectual gymnastics1 which can deal
 only with the finite and are seen to be
 but ,mist4 ,how many valuable thoughts 

are wrecked and lost from our inability 
to formulate and describe them          
intellectually1 even in our own         
consciousness4 ,we are too apt to lay   
the blame upon1 and to doubt1 the ,truth
 of those conceptions1 because we are   
unable to find words to express them2   
the very act of attempting to analyse   
such thoughts in ,time and ,space       
destroys our power of carrying them to  
higher levels4 ,those who have once     
realised that the knowledge of the      
,absolute is the true ,divine ,life     
within us1 can1 as we have seen1 at     
certain times and under certain         
conditions1 experience that wonderful   
joy of perception by means of what ,i   
have called the ,eye of the ,soul2 but  
that is missed by those who are always  
asking questions1 and arguing1 about    
what that knowledge consists in2 the    
command ,seek and ye shall find1 knock  
and it shall be opened unto you1 ask and
 it shall be given you1 was not meant   
for the intellect but for the ,heart1   

not for logical controversy but for     
inward discernment1 not for physical    
enjoyment but for the nourishment of the
 ,transcendental ,ego4 ,all things may  
be possible to him that believeth1 but  
how much more is this true of him who1  
as referred to in ,view ,no4 #b1 is     
perfected in ,loving and ,knowing4 ,the 
nearer we get to that consciousness of  
,being-one-with-the-,reality1 the more  
we see and can meditate upon the        
wonderful joy which permeates all       
creation2 but without that consciousness
 it is invisible1 and the world is dark 
and evil and unloving1 and to many1     
alas6 appears more the handiwork of a   
,devil than of a ,god of ,love4         
,mysticism is not1 as the man in the    
street generally thinks1 the study of   
the ,mysterious1 but is the attempt to  
gain a knowledge of the ,reality1 the   
ultimate ,truth in everything1          
especially the perception of that       
wonderful ,transcendental ,power which  
is growing up within1 or in close       

connection with1 each one of us4 ,the   
study of the ,physical ,sciences1 as    
also of the various forms of ,religion  
around us1 is useful and fascinating in 
the domain of ,intellectualism1 but does
 not take us far towards the goal of our
 aspirations4 ,i shall1 however1 attempt
 to show1 in my next ,view1 that by     
examining the phenomena of ,nature and  
realising that they are symbols only of 
the ,noumenon1 the ,reality1 which is   
behind them1 it is possible to reach a  
point where we may even feel that we are
 thinking1 or having divulged to us1    
what may be called the very thoughts of 
the ,absolute4 ,we shall see that this  
can only be accomplished by first       
recognising that the ,invisible is the  
,real1 that the visible is only its     
shadow1 that all our surroundings are   
but the images1 or outlines1 of the     
,reality cast on the ,physical plane of 
our ,senses2 to accomplish this1 we have
 to understand the use of ,symbolic     
,thought for sustaining and carrying    

conceptions to a higher level2 because1 
as already explained1 we can only       
express and1 indeed1 think of the       
,invisible or ,infinite under terms of  
the ,visible or ,finite4 ,let me give   
you a glimpse at what may be called the 
,glamour of ,symbolism2 it is difficult 
to explain to those who have not yet    
thought of or felt it1 but the following
 may be helpful3  ,think of the         
loveliest story or poem you have ever   
read1 the most entrancing music you have
 ever heard1 or the most beautiful      
paintings you have ever seen1 and think 
how1 at the end1 you experienced a      
wonderful glow of enchantment with the  
concept as a whole1 apart from          
specialising any particular character or
 event in the story1 phrase in the      
music1 or subject in the pictures2 then 
do the same with one of those wonderful 
cathedrals of the twelfth to fourteenth 
centuries1 the epoch of that beautiful  
,gothic style which ,i shall show was   
founded upon the highest mystical form  

of ,symbolism possible to those who     
lived at the then zenith of ,mystical   
,thought in the history of the world4   
,the number of cathedrals built during  
those three centuries was so prodigious 
that1 without the documentary evidence  
which we have1 it would be absolutely   
incredible4 ,every part of those        
buildings1 even to the smallest         
decorations1 was1 as shown by any of the
 old writers on ,religious ,symbolism1  
such as ,durandus1 planned to symbolise 
some beautiful thought1 aspiration1     
tradition1 or religious belief4 ,the    
highest ,thinkers1 ,artists1 ,poets1    
,philosophers1 and ,mystics in those    
centuries became ,architects1 and1 in   
pure contemplation of and love for the  
,divine1 helped to beautify design by   
giving up their lives and energies to   
the work without reward4 ,it was1 in    
fact1 at that period the surest means by
 which they could record their ideals   
and aspirations4 ,before the advent of  
the printing press1 with its facilities 

for spreading knowledge broadcast1 they 
appreciated that ,tectonic ,art and     
,iconography were the means by which    
they could best permanently record and  
teach their aspirations to the masses4  
,every beautiful thought found its      
expression in some symbol of artistic   
design4 ,each ,cathedral was1 in fact1 a
 beautiful complete story1 and1 when    
this has been fully grasped1 the        
enchantment of the whole1 the thread of 
gold running through the whole of that  
wonderful pile1 is what may be called   
the ,glamour of ,symbolism4  ,for the   
last #djj years1 ,archaeologists1       
,architects1 and others interested in   
the history of ,tectonic art1 have been 
trying without avail to discover what is
 called the lost secret of ,gothic      
,architecture2 even ,sir ,christopher   
,wren had a try and expressed his       
opinion that it was lost for ever4 ,they
 were all looking in the wrong          
direction1 confining themselves to the  
mists of physical intellectual          

perception1 and could not get beyond    
that limited range of thought4 ,i       
propose now1 in illustration of this    
,view1 to show what this secret was4 ,it
 has the making of a fascinating        
,romance2 it is the most wonderful      
example of what ,i will call the        
,evolution of ,thought as depicted by   
,human strivings after the              
,transcendental in ,mediaeval           
,mysticism4 ,i shall give it in a brief 
form1 touching only on those essential  
points which require a very slight      
knowledge of ,geometry1 but those       
interested in the subject may refer to  
,ars ,quatuor ,coronatorum 7vol4 xxiii41
 #aiaj71 where ,i have given the whole  
subject1 in extenso1 under the title    
,magister ,mathesios4  ,to understand   
the subject it is necessary to recognise
 fully the place ,geometry held1 not    
only among ,mediaeval ,builders1 but    
also in ,classical times2 it was        
recognised in those early times as the  
head of all the ,sciences1 and was the  

,a1 ,b1 ,c of ,hellenic ,philosophy4    
,come back with me #bcjj years1 to the  
time when the ,greek ,age of ,reason was
 at its zenith1 and ,plato1 the greatest
 of the philosophers1 was teaching at   
,athens1 working thus1 let it be known  
to his honour1 solely for the love he   
bore to science1 for he always taught   
gratuitously4 ,what qualification was   
required of those who attended his      
,academy8 ,look up over the porch1 and  
you will see written in large capitals  
these words3      ,greek3 ,,medeis      
,,ageometretos ,,eisito                 
,,mou ,,ten ,,stegen4  ,let no one who  
is ignorant of ,geometry enter my doors4
  ,at the root of ,socratic teaching was
 the idea that wisdom is the attribute  
of the ,godhead1 and ,plato1 for twenty 
years the companion and most favoured   
pupil of ,socrates1 was imbued with that
 doctrine1 and1 having arrived at the   
conclusion that the impulse to find out 
,,truth was the necessity of            
intellectual man1 he saw in ,geometry   

the keystone of all ,knowledge1 because1
 among all other channels of thought1 it
 alone was the exponent of absolute and 
undeniable truth4 ,he tells us that     
,geometry rightly treated is the        
,knowledge of the ,eternal2 and         
,plutarch gives us yet another instance 
of ,plato's teaching concerning this    
subject1 in which he looks upon ,god as 
the ,great ,architect1 when he says1    
,plato says that ,god is always         
geometrising4 ,holding1 therefore1 as   
,plato did1 that ,god was a great       
,geometer1 and that the aim of          
philosophy was the acquisition of a     
knowledge of the ,eternal1 it is natural
 that he should make a knowledge of     
,geometry imperative on those wishing to
 study philosophy4 ,this was continued  
also by those philosophers who succeeded
 ,plato in the management of the        
,academy1 as we are told that           
,zenocrates turned away an applicant for
 admission1 who knew no geometry1 with  
the words3      ,greek3 poreuou1 labas  

gar ouk echeis tes philosophias4        
,depart1 for thou hast not the grip of  
philosophy4  ,in connection with the    
idea that ,god was a ,geometer1 must be 
taken the contention held by the        
,egyptians1 and after them the ,greeks  
and ,arabs1 that the ,right-,angled     
,triangle symbolised the nature of the  
,universe2 it was called the law of the 
three squares1 because in every         
,right-,angled ,triangle1 as expounded  
by the ,pythagorean ,theorem1 the       
squares1 formed on the two sides        
containing the ,right ,angle1 must      
together be exactly equal to the square 
on the third side1 whatever the shape of
 the triangle may be4 ,the ,right ,angle
 at an early date gave its name to the  
odd numbers1 which were called1 by the  
,greeks1 gnomonic numbers1 as           
personifying the male sex1 and the      
,right-,angled ,triangle was also called
 the ,nuptial ,figure1 or ,marriage1 the
 ,pythagorean ,theorem receiving the    
name1 ,greek3 to theorema tes nymphes   

7the ,theorem of the ,bride74 ,plutarch1
 in his ,osiris and ,isis1 tells us in  
explanation of this1 ,the ,egyptians    
imagined the nature of the ,universe    
like this most beautiful triangle1 as   
,plato also seems to have done in his   
work on the ,state1 when he sketches the
 picture of ,matrimony under the form of
 a ,right-,angled ,triangle4 ,that      
triangle contains one of the            
perpendiculars of three1 the base of    
four1 and the hypotenuse of five parts1 
the square of which is equal to the     
squares of those sides containing the   
right angle4 ,the perpendicular 7three7 
is the ,male1 ,osiris1 the originating  
principle 7,greek3 arche72 the base     
7four7 is the ,female1 ,isis1 the       
receptive principle 7,greek3 hypodoche72
 and the ,hypotenuse 7five7 is the      
offspring of both1 ,horus1 the product  
7,greek3 apotelesma74 ,the central      
feature of this triangle1 upon which its
 property is based1 is the ,right       
,angle4 ,the ,greeks gave to this ,right

 ,angle the name of ,gnomon 7meaning    
,knowledge71 and it has ever since been1
 under the form of a carpenter's square1
 the emblem or symbol of an ,architect1 
the ,master ,mason1 as personifying the 
,great ,architect of the                
,universe--namely1 ,he who has the      
knowledge of ,geometry2 and1 as the     
,right-,angled ,triangle represented the
 ,universe1 it was upon the perfection  
of this ,gnomon1 or knowledge1 that the 
very existence of the ,universe         
depended1 because the law of the three  
squares only holds good when that angle 
is perfect4  ,the ,secret handed down in
 the ,craft1 from ,architect to         
,architect1 was how to form a perfect   
right angle1 or1 as it was called1 the  
,square1 without possibility of ,error1 
and this ,i have called the ,knowledge  
of the ,square4 ,vitruvius1 who1 at the 
beginning of our ,era1 wrote his thesis 
on ,tectonic art1 which is still the    
text-book of ,architecture for ,ancient 
buildings1 says ,pythagoras taught his  

followers to form a gnomon1 or square1  
as follows3 ,take three rods1 of three  
lengths1 four lengths1 and five lengths 
long2 with these form a triangle1 and1  
if each rod be squared1 you have #i1    
#af1 and #be1 and the areas of the two  
former will be equal to the latter4     
,now let us come to the closing years of
 the tenth century4 ,what a strange     
condition of the building craft was to  
be seen all over ,europe2 not a church  
was being built1 nor had been built1 for
 the last twenty years2 the thousand    
years after ,christ was drawing to its  
close1 everybody was waiting for1 and   
expecting1 the world to come to an end2 
no new undertakings were begun4 ,how    
much money went into the hands of the   
,monasteries and other ,religious       
,houses1 as peace offerings for the     
future welfare of the givers1 nobody can
 say2 it was probably enormous4 ,when1  
however1 the eleventh century was well  
started and the crisis was over1        
churches were built on a large scale1 as

 shown by the numerous remains we have  
of ,norman buildings of the last half   
eleventh century1 and building was      
probably at its height about ,a4,d4     
#aadj to #aaej2 but at this period an   
extraordinary thing happened4 ,hitherto 
the arches in the ,norman style were    
round-headed and their columns          
enormously thick to carry them2 but     
suddenly the style changed into the     
beautiful ,gothic all over ,europe4 ,no 
single country can claim precedence1 it 
was almost simultaneous2 churches half  
finished in the round style were not    
only completed in the pointed1 but had  
parts already built altered to the new  
style4 ,what1 then1 determined this     
sudden change1 resulting in a wonderful 
accession of beauty to ,architectural   
design8 ,we must go to the ,monasteries 
and ,religious ,houses to find the      
explanation4 ,these ,houses had become  
the ,patrons of ,masonry1 the providers 
of the funds for building ,cathedrals1  
c42 it naturally followed that1 growing 

up alongside the ,operative ,science1   
there was a ,religious symbolism being  
gradually formed which attached itself  
specially to the tools used by ,masons1 
and thus formed the basis of ,moral     
teaching--to act on the ,square1 to keep
 within the bounds of the ,compasses1 to
 be ,level in all your dealings1 c41 c4 
,a wonderful1 new1 and ,mystical form of
 ,symbolism was opened to them with the 
advent of ,geometry4 ,the text-book of  
,geometry was unknown throughout the    
whole of ,europe1 omitting ,spain1 from 
the sixth to the beginning of the       
twelfth century2 it was1 as ,i have     
pointed out1 well known in ,greece      
before our ,era1 and continued to be so 
up to about the sixth century ,a4,d4 ,in
 the fourth century lived the ,greek1   
,theon of ,alexandria1 so well known for
 his edition of ,euclid's ,elements1    
with notes1 from which all ,greek ,,mss4
 which first came to light in the       
sixteenth century were taken1 being     
entitled ,greek3 ek ton ,theonos        

synousion1 from ,theon's ,lectures1 and 
which he probably used as a text-book in
 his classes2 but these ,,mss4 had all  
been lost before the seventh century1   
and were not recovered again until the  
sixteenth century1 when ,simon          
,grynaeus1 the greatest ,greek scholar  
on the ,continent1 and companion of     
,melancthon and ,luther1 discovered a   
copy in ,constantinople4 ,meanwhile1    
,theon's edition had been translated    
into ,arabic1 and thus preserved by the 
,mohammedans1 and it was only at the    
beginning of the twelfth century that   
,athelard of ,bath1 who had been        
travelling in the ,east1 came to study  
at ,cordova1 in ,spain1 and there found 
the ,arabic ,,mss4 of ,euclid2 these he 
translated into ,latin1 and this        
translation must have come into the     
hands of the patrons of the building    
craft at the very time when the ,gothic 
style had its origin2 it was the only   
,latin translation known in ,europe1 and
 was1 some centuries later1 the         

text-book of the first printed edition  
of ,euclid4  ,the ,operative ,masons had
 always formed their ,right-,angled     
,triangles by means of mundane measures 
of #c1 #d1 and #e units to each side    
respectively1 as was done by the        
,harpedonaptae of ,egypt #ejjj years    
ago1 and #bejj years later by           
,pythagoras1 and this same method       
continues to be used to this day2 but to
 those of a religious turn of mind1 who 
had only lately become conversant with  
,euclid1 and looked upon ,geometry not  
only as the height of all learning1 but1
 as they progressed in the knowledge of 
its bearing on the ,science of building1
 actually made it synonymous with       
,tectonic ,art 7the old ,,mss4 which    
have come down to us from that time     
invariably state that at the head of all
 the ,sciences stands ,geometry which is
 ,masonry71 there must have come a wave 
of wonderful enthusiasm when they first 
discovered that the ,geometrical way of 
creating a ,right ,angle1 as given in   

,euclid ,i4 ii41 was by means of an     
,equilateral ,triangle1 by joining the  
,apex with the centre of the base4 ,this
 ,equilateral ,triangle was the earliest
 symbol we know of the ,divine ,logos in
 connection with that wonderful figure  
the ,vesica ,piscis2 and as the ,bible  
declared that the ,universe was created 
by the ,logos 7the ,word71 so the       
,square which represented the ,universe 
was naturally created by means of the   
,equilateral ,triangle4 ,a great mystery
 this must have appeared to those who1  
like the ,hellenic philosophers1        
postulated that everything on ,earth has
 its counterpart in ,heaven1 and who1 in
 their religious mysticism1 were always 
looking for signs of the transcendental 
in their temporal surroundings4  ,but in
 what awe and reverence must they have  
held ,geometry1 when they further found 
that the ,equilateral ,triangle1        
representing the ,logos1 was itself     
generated1 as shown in the first        
,problem of ,euclid1 upon which the     

whole ,science of ,geometry was         
therefore based1 by the intersection of 
two ,circles6 ,these two ,circles were  
held by the ,greeks1 at the beginning of
 our ,era1 to represent the ,past and   
,future ,eternities generating the      
,logos2 but the whole figure 7,euclid   
,i4 i47 was at the time we are now      
dealing with looked upon by ,mediaeval  
,architects as representing the ,three  
,divine personae1 and that part1 or     
cavity1 of the figure which is bounded  
by the ,arcs of the two circles1 and    
which takes to itself one-third of each 
of the two generating circles 7making   
its perifera exactly equal with that    
remaining to each of the two circles1   
all three therefore being co-equal71 and
 in which the ,equilateral ,triangle is 
formed 7vide frontispiece71 was         
naturally held by the ,mediaeval        
,architects1 and indeed from earliest   
times1 as the most sacred ,christian    
,emblem--namely1 that of ,regeneration  
or ,new ,birth4  ,the ,cavity is        

evidently referred to in the ,mystical  
,gospel of ,st4 ,john 7iii4 #af71 in the
 question by and answer to ,nicodemus1  
and it was the eye of the needle        
referred to in ,st4 ,mark x4 #be1 in    
answer to the question in verse #ag1 and
 again in ,st4 ,luke xviii4 #be4 ,in    
later ages this symbol was extensively  
used by the ,christian ,church to       
surround the ,soul of a ,saint after    
death 7illustrated in ,magister         
,mathesios74 ,the date of the birth of a
 ,saint was always given as the date on 
which he or she died and had been born  
again in the ,spiritual ,life1 and the  
,saint was depicted in a ,vesica        
,piscis1 the vulva of the ,ruach or     
,holy ,spirit1 representing this new    
birth4 ,to show the extraordinary       
reverence and high value attached to    
this symbol1 it is only necessary to    
remember that1 from the fourth century1 
when ,theon of ,alexandria lectured on  
,geometry1 and onwards1 all ,seals of   
,colleges1 ,abbeys1 ,monasteries1 and   

other religious communities1 as well as 
of ecclesiastical persons1 have been    
made invariably of this form1 and they  
continue to be made so to this day4 ,it 
was also in allusion to this most sacred
 ancient emblem that ,tertullian1 and   
other early ,fathers1 spoke of          
,christians as ,pisciculi4 ,it was      
called the ,vesica ,piscis 7,fish's     
,bladder71 and named1 no doubt1 by the  
,greeks at the beginning of our ,era1   
for the purpose of misleading the       
ignorant from the true meaning of the   
,figure4  ,one can well understand the  
object which led the learned ,rabbi     
,maimonides1 the greatest savant of the 
,middle ,ages1 when addressing his      
pupils in the twelfth century1 to       
command his hearers3 ,when you have     
discovered the meaning thereof1 do not  
divulge it1 because the people cannot   
philosophise nor understand that to the 
,infinite there is no such thing as     
,sex2 but later on the noted writer on  
,symbolism1 ,durandus1 in the           

introduction to his book1 is more       
explicit1 and gives the real meaning as 
follows3 ,the ,mystical ,vesica ,piscis 
444 wherein the ,divinity and1 more     
rarely1 the ,blessed ,virgin are        
represented1 has no reference1 except in
 name1 to a fish1 but represents the    
,almond1 the symbol of ,virginity and   
self-production4  ,the ,vesica ,piscis1 
and its name1 is intimately connected   
with the discovery1 by ,augustus ,caesar
 in the century preceding our ,era1 as  
narrated by ,baronius1 of a prophecy in 
one of the ,sibylline books1 foretelling
 a great event coming to pass in the    
birth of ,one who should prove to be the
 true ',king of ,kings1' and ,augustus  
,caesar therefore dedicated an altar in 
his palace to this unknown ,god4        
,eusebius and ,st4 ,augustine inform us 
that the first letter of each line of   
the verses from the ,erythrean ,sibyl   
containing this prophecy1 formed the    
word ,greek3 ,,ichthys 7a fish71 and    
were taken as representing the sentence3

 ,greek3 ,iesous ,christos ,theou ,huios
 ,soter7,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of     
,god1 the ,saviour74 ,based upon this   
discovery arose that extraordinary      
enthusiasm1 during the second1 third1   
and fourth centuries1 for hunting up    
further prophecies in ,pagan sources1   
resulting in a great number of          
,sibylline verses being invented1 giving
 the minutest details in the ,life of   
our ,lord4 ,these fabrications seem to  
have been at that time generally        
accepted by the masses as true          
prophecies1 though we know now that they
 were written some centuries after the  
events they were supposed to foretell4  
,let us now return to the ,vesica       
,piscis4 ,in the paintings and          
sculptures of the ,middle ,ages1 we find
 it constantly used to circumscribe the 
figure of the ,saviour1 especially      
whenever ,he is represented as judging  
the world and in ,his glorified state4  
,many beautiful examples of this in     
,anglo-,saxon work of the tenth century 

may be seen in ,king ,edgar's ,book of  
,grants to ,winchester ,cathedral and   
the famous ,breviary of ,st4            
,ethelwolfe4 ,numerous illustrations of 
these and other pictures of the ,middle 
,ages1 as also diagrams of the          
properties of the ,vesica ,piscis1 can  
be seen in the volume ,i have already   
referred to dealing fully with this     
subject4  ,the building fraternity was a
 purely ,christian community2 the ,first
 ,crusade raised a great enthusiasm for 
building ,christian ,churches1 and      
brought in large gifts of money for that
 purpose4 ,up to #aadj ,norman          
,architecture held sway1 having the     
,square for its unit1 its greatest      
symbol being the ,gnomon1 representing  
knowledge2 but about that time1 as we   
have seen1 arose from the study of      
,geometry1 the head of all learning1 a  
,mystical form having the mysterious    
figure of the ,vesica ,piscis1 the true 
,gothic ,arch1 with the ,equilateral    
,triangle enclosed as its unit1 and     

symbolising the ,trinity in ,unity4 ,the
 recognition of the import of the       
,trinity was paramount throughout those 
early days2 all important documents     
began with an ,invocation of the ,tres  
,personae1 or were garnished with       
symbolic illustrations thereof2 all the 
old ,,mss41 already referred to1 which  
have come down to us from that period1  
invariably commence with ,in the name of
 the ,father and of the ,son and of the 
,holy ,ghost4  ,it can therefore be     
readily understood what determined the  
sudden change between #aadj-aaej1       
resulting in that wonderful accession of
 beauty to architectural design which we
 find in the ,gothic4 ,the incentive had
 to be a strong one1 and of an eminently
 religious character1 to accomplish the 
radical change of throwing over so      
absolutely the ,norman1 and commencing  
to build entirely on what are called    
,gothic lines4 ,a careful examination of
 the proportions of the structures      
themselves1 and the character of the    

decorations found in the finest examples
 of buildings representing that style1  
at once shows us that the incentive was 
the symbolism attached to the mysterious
 figure called the ,vesica ,piscis1     
which appears to be not only the        
principal feature upon which the whole  
style rests1 but is also employed1 as a 
symbol of the ,divine1 wherever we have 
,gothic ,architecture1 either in painted
 windows or mural decorations4 ,every   
,cathedral has its ,vesica ,piscis1     
often of enormous dimensions4 ,geometry 
was synonymous with ,masonry1 and the   
very foundation of the ,science of      
,geometry1 as expounded by ,euclid1 was 
his first proposition4 ,every single    
problem in the whole of his books       
necessitates for its construction the   
use of this one foundation--namely1 how 
to form an ,equilateral ,triangle1 and  
this is the ,mystical form of the       
,knowledge of the ,square4 ,this        
triangle1 symbolising the ,logos1 is    
therefore not only the beginning of the 

,science of ,geometry1 and therefore of 
,masonry1 the ,head of all the          
,sciences1 but it is by that triangle   
that all ,geometrical forms1 and        
therefore forms of knowledge1 are made1 
and it became the most mysterious and   
secret symbol of the ,logos1 for is it  
not written by ,st4 ,john that ,in the  
beginning was the ,logos1 and by it were
 all things made2 so the ,vesica        
,piscis1 the cradle of the ,logos1      
became the great secret of ,masonry1 the
 foundation as we find it upon which    
,gothic ,architecture was evolved1 the  
means by which its wonderful plans were 
laid down1 and the most reverenced      
figure in ,religious ,symbolism1 as     
shown by its use in seals1 engravings1  
sculptures1 pictures1 c41 throughout the
 ,middle ,ages4  ,let me make this      
clearer4 ,the more one examines the     
typical points in the ,saxon1 ,norman1  
and ,gothic styles of ,architecture1 the
 more clearly one sees that the         
,architects of the two former used      

circles and squares on their            
tracing-boards1 as units for their      
proportions1 in drawing up both ground  
plans and elevations1 with here and     
there suggestions only of the           
,equilateral ,triangle having been made 
use of in some of the smaller details2  
whereas the ,gothic ,architects seem to 
have used the ,vesica ,piscis almost    
entirely4 ,this explains the reason why 
true ,gothic buildings have always been 
said to be built mainly on the basis of 
the ,equilateral ,triangle2 this        
naturally follows1 because the use of   
the ,vesica creates1 and therefore      
necessitates1 the appearance of the     
,equilateral ,triangle in every         
conceivable situation4 ,the following   
quotation is typical of the leading     
essay writers on this subject3 ,the     
,equilateral ,triangle enters largely   
into1 if it does not entirely control1  
all mediaeval proportions1 particularly 
in the ground plans4 ,in ,chartres      
,cathedral the apices of two            

,equilateral ,triangles 7vide           
frontispiece to these ,views71 whose    
common base is the internal length of   
the transept1 measured through the two  
western piers of the intersection1 will 
give the interior length1 one apex      
extending to the east end of the chevet 
within the aisles1 the other to the     
original termination of the ,nave       
westward1 and the present extent of the 
side aisles in that direction4 ,with    
slight deviation1 most1 if not all1 the 
ground plans of the ,french ,cathedrals 
are measurable in this manner1 and their
 choirs may be so measured almost       
without exception4 ,troyes ,cathedral is
 in exact proportion with that of       
,chartres1 and the choirs of ,rheims1   
,beauvais1 ,st4 ,ouen at ,rouen1 and    
others are equally so4 ,bourges         
,cathedral1 which has no transept1 is   
exactly three ,equilateral ,triangles in
 length inside1 from the ,east end of   
the outer aisle to the ,eastern columns 
supporting the ,west ,towers4 ,most     

,english ,cathedrals appear to have been
 constructed in their original plans    
upon similar rules4 ,white's ,classical 
,essay on ,architecture compares the    
,norman with the ,gothic1 where he says3
 ,in what is usually called the ,norman 
period1 the general proportions and     
outlines of the ,churches are reducible 
to certain rules of setting out by the  
plain ,square4 ,as ,architecture        
progressed the ,square gradually        
disappeared1 and the proportion of      
general outline1 as well as of detail1  
fell in more and more with applications 
of the ,equilateral ,triangle1 till the 
art1 having arrived at its culminating  
point1 or that which is generally       
acknowledged to be its period of        
greatest beauty and perfection in the   
thirteenth and the beginning of the     
fourteenth centuries1 again began to    
decline4 ,with this decline the         
,equilateral ,triangle was almost lost  
sight of1 and then a mode of setting out
 work by diagonal squares was taken up1 

for such is the basis found exactly     
applicable to the work of the fifteenth 
century1 since which time mathematical  
proportions have been generally         
employed4 ,and after referring to       
numerous scale drawings of ,churches1   
windows1 doors1 and arches1 he points   
out that every student of ,church       
architecture must pronounce those of the
 untraceried and traceried first point  
to be the most beautiful of all1 those  
of the ,norman to be a degree less so1  
and those of the perpendicular and      
debased to be far inferior to either1   
and in that analysis we find that the   
,equilateral ,triangle was used almost  
exclusively for determining one order   
7the ,gothic71 the ,square for another  
7the ,norman71 and the ,square          
diagonally divided for the other 7the   
debased74  ,now let me try to describe  
the wonderful properties of the ,vesica 
,piscis1 so that you may understand the 
mystery which shrouded it in the minds  
of those ,mediaeval builders4 ,the      

rectangle formed by the length and      
breadth of this figure1 in the simplest 
form1 has several extraordinary         
properties2 it may be cut into three    
equal parts by straight lines parallel  
to the shorter side1 and these parts    
will all be precisely and geometrically 
similar to each other and to the whole  
figure1--strangely applicable to the    
symbolism attached at that time to the  
,trinity in ,unity1--and the subdivision
 may be proceeded with indefinitely     
without making any change in form4      
,however often the operation is         
performed1 the parts remain identical   
with the original figure1 having all its
 extraordinary properties1 the          
,equilateral ,triangle appearing        
everywhere1 whereas no other rectangle  
can have this curious property4  ,it may
 also be cut into four equal parts by   
straight lines parallel to its sides1   
and again each of these parts will be   
true ,vesicas1 exactly similar to each  
other1 and to the whole1 and of course  

the ,equilateral ,triangle is again     
everywhere4  ,again1 if two out of the  
tri-subdivisions mentioned above be     
taken1 the form of these together is    
exactly similar1 geometrically1 to half 
the original figure1 and again the      
,equilateral ,triangle is ubiquitous on 
every base line4  ,again1 the diagonal  
of the rectangle is exactly double the  
length of its shorter side1 which       
characteristic is absolutely unique1 and
 greatly increases its usefulness for   
plotting out designs2 and this property 
of course holds good for all the        
rectangles formed by the original figure
 and for the other species of           
subdivision4 ,but perhaps its most      
mysterious property 7though not of any  
practical use7 to those who had studied 
,geometry1 and to whom this figure was  
the symbol of the ,divine ,trinity in   
,unity1 so dear to them1 was the fact   
that it actually put into their hands   
the means of trisecting the ,right      
,angle4  ,now1 the three great problems 

of antiquity which engaged the attention
 and wonderment of geometricians        
throughout the ,middle ,ages1 were the  
,squaring of the ,circle1 the           
,duplication of the ,cube1 and lastly1  
the ,trisection of an ,angle1 even      
,euclid being unable to show how to do  
it2 and yet it will be seen that the    
diagonal of one of the subsidiary       
figures in the tri-subdivision1 together
 with the diagonal of the whole figure1 
actually trisect the angle at the corner
 of the rectangle4 ,it is true that it  
only showed them how to trisect one kind
 of angle1 but it was that particular   
angle which was so dear to them as      
symbolising their craft1 and which was  
created by the ,equilateral ,triangle4  
,all these unique properties place the  
figure far above that of a square for   
practical work1 because even when the   
diagonal of a square is given1 it is    
impossible to find the exact length of  
any of its sides or vice versa2 whereas 
in the ,vesica rectangle the diagonal is

 exactly double its shorter side1 and   
upon any length of line which may be    
taken on the tracing-board as a base for
 elevation1 an ,equilateral ,triangle   
will be found whose sides are of course 
all equal and therefore known1 as they  
are equal to the base1 and whose line   
joining apex to centre of base is a true
 ,plumb line1 forming at its foot the   
perfect right angle1 so important in the
 laying of every stone of a building4   
,in the volume referred to ,i have given
 a skeleton plan upon such a scale of   
subdivision that a tracing-board1 of #e 
feet by #h feet1 would be divided up    
into over one million parts1 and1 as all
 these subdivisions are perfect         
representations of the original ,vesica 
figure with all its properties1 the     
design of the largest building1 with the
 minutest detail1 could be drafted with 
absolute accuracy4 ,there are many other
 curious properties of this ,figure1 but
 they are difficult to explain without  
diagrams4 ,i will1 however1 give one    

more example of its creative power4 ,the
 problem of describing a ,pentagon must 
have puzzled architects considerably in 
those early times1 but this was again   
easily accomplished by means of the     
,vesica4 ,albrecht ,duerer1 the great   
designer and engraver1 who lived at the 
end of the fifteenth century1 refers to 
the ,vesica in his works 7,dureri       
,institutune ,geometricarum1 lib4 ii4 p4
 #ef7 in a way which shows that it was  
as commonly known in his time as the    
,circle1 ,square1 and ,triangle4 ,his   
instructions for forming a ,pentagon    
are3 ,designa circino invariato tres    
piscium vesicas 7describe with unchanged
 compasses three vesicae piscium74      
,three similar circles are described    
with centres at the angles of an        
,equilateral ,triangle1 forming the     
three ,vesicae1 by means of which the   
,pentagon is drawn1 and from which also 
we get a beautiful form of arch very    
common in the thirteenth century 7vide  
illustrations in ,magister ,mathesios74 

,this is also the method used in that   
old manuscript of the fifteenth century 
named ,geometria deutsch4 ,in this old  
,,ms4 it is also shown that the easiest 
method for finding the centre of a      
circle1 however large1 or any segment of
 a circle1 is by means of the ,vesica   
,piscis4 ,and just as we see so many    
,cathedrals of the ,middle ,ages are    
stated by antiquarians to have been     
planned on the ,equilateral ,triangle1  
so do we find the ,pentagon appearing as
 the basis of ,architectural designs of 
buildings of a later date1 such as      
,liverpool ,castle1 ,chester ,castle1   
and other similar structures2 but the   
true means by which each were laid down1
 as in the case of the ,equilateral     
,triangle1 was again the ,vesica        
,piscis4 ,a beautiful example of        
decoration1 on the basis of the ,vesica1
 is seen in the tomb of ,edward the     
,confessor in ,westminster ,abbey4  ,i  
will conclude this subject by quoting   
from the summing up by ,prof4 ,kerrich  

7,principal ,librarian to the           
,university of ,cambridge in #ahbj71 in 
his masterly ,essay on ,architecture1   
where he gives the different forms of   
what he calls the ,mysterious ,figure1  
used in the most noted ,gothic          
buildings3 he says1 ,i would in nowise  
indulge in conjectures as to the        
reference these figures might possibly  
have to the most sacred mysteries of    
religion2 independently of any such     
allusion1 their properties are of       
themselves sufficiently extraordinary to
 have struck all who have observed them4
  ,from earliest ,christian times the   
principal doctrine based upon the       
,mysticism of the ,neo-platonists and   
the ,kabalists was what was called the  
,greek3 ,gnosis1 the ,knowledge of the  
,all1 and the fundamental basis of this1
 as of all esoteric teaching from the   
beginning of ,history1 was ,procreation4
 ,from the first dawn of civilisation   
the ,great ,one always had an enemy with
 whom he had to fight2 having conquered1

 he married that enemy1 and their       
offspring was ,life or ,duration4 ,in   
the oldest forms1 as in ,persia and     
ancient ,egypt1 it was ,light and       
,darkness1 ,ormuz and ,ahriman1 ,osiris 
and ,isis1 the ,light conquering        
,darkness1 the ,day conquering ,night1  
resulting in ,time and duration4 ,in the
 ,eleusinian ,mysteries it was the ,sun 
and ,earth producing ,vegetable ,life1  
and in the ,greek3 ,gnosis it was the   
,ainsoph and ,ignorance1 resulting in   
,true ,knowledge or ,everlasting ,life4 
,in the ,vesica ,piscis 7vide           
frontispiece7 we see two ,equilateral   
,triangles formed on the same base1     
similar to what we found in the         
ground-plan of ,chartres and other      
,gothic ,cathedrals2 these two triangles
 symbolised to the ,mediaeval ,builders 
the ,divine and ,human ,natures of the  
,logos1 the ,word1 the ,creator2 they   
are both procreated and enclosed in the 
,vesica2 the one having the ,apex       
pointed upwards1 represented ,divine or 

,spiritual ,life1 and in that ,i have   
placed the ,tetragrammaton1 the ,word or
 name of ,god 7,jehovah71 which1        
throughout the ,jewish race for         
thousands of years1 was held to be so   
sacred that they did not dare to utter  
it aloud4 ,it was1 at this time1        
depicted in the ,equilateral ,triangle1 
the symbol of the ,logos1 becoming thus 
the ,masonic ,word of the ,middle ,ages1
 and was probably used1 exoterically1   
for purposes of recognition among       
members of the ,great ,building         
,societies1 with the introduction of    
,gothic ,architecture2 but the esoteric 
teaching1 which was known only to the   
elite of the ,craft and not by the      
,ordinary ,operatives1 was the mystical 
procreation of that triangle1 the       
doctrine of ,spiritual or ,new ,birth1  
symbolised by that mysterious figure    
which we have seen was the very         
foundation stone of ,geometry1 and      
therefore of ,tectonic ,art1 the ,head  
of all learning1 and the great ,secret  

of ,gothic ,architecture1 called for    
esoteric purposes ,vesica ,piscis4 ,the 
,triangle1 having the ,apex pointing    
downwards1 represented ,human or        
,physical ,life1 and ,i have placed     
therein a representation of sacrificial 
death1 which we shall see was           
introduced1 as a necessity1 for the good
 of the ,race4  ,as everything in       
,heaven has its counterpart on ,earth1  
so may we see1 by introspection1 that   
the reflecting surface1 the thin1       
physical film between the ,human and    
,divine1 is represented by that ,base1  
and ,human ,life then becomes truly1 as 
it should be1 the reflection of the     
,divine4  ,one more glance through the  
,window at what ,i will call--      ,the
 ,mystery of the ,apex4  ,the earliest  
forms of ,life1 the unicellular ,beings1
 whether animal or vegetable--for both  
divisions1 if they can be said to be    
divided1 have the same protoplasmic cell
 as basis of life--were1 and are still1 
immortal except for accidents2 they are 

not subject to natural death as we know 
it2 they multiply by fission and not by 
budding4 ,it was only with the building 
up of cell upon cell into communities1  
and the advent of polycellular beings of
 greater and greater complexity of      
structure1 that the ,wisdom behind      
natural laws introduced death as an     
adaptation1 to prevent monstrosities in 
the shape of mutilated specimens being  
perpetuated on the earth4 ,life is      
purely physical and1 in conformity with 
the modes under which our physical      
senses act1 has the appearance of       
tri-unity4 ,as white light is seen to be
 composed of but three primary colours1 
as ,music is based on the ,triad1 as    
,space is known to us in three          
dimensions only1 and ,geometry1 the     
,head of all ,learning1 is based upon   
the ,circle1 ,square1 and ,triangle1 so 
may we see life in its three primary    
aspects3 the ,animal1 ,vegetable1 and   
,material4 ,the last-mentioned aspect1  
though long suspected1 from the         

investigation of ,crystallography1 to   
have in some mysterious way a common    
basis with the animal and vegetable1 was
 not fully grasped until1 in the last   
few years1 we have been able to study in
 our laboratories the actual evolution1 
or more correctly devolution1 of matter 
from one form to another2 and as all    
plants and animals are found to be built
 up of the same identical protoplasmic  
cells1 so are we now able to break down 
and analyse not only these cells but    
even the very structure of matter1 and  
find that all substances are built up of
 exactly the same bricks1 the different 
forms known to us as ,elements being the
 designs of the great ,architect upon   
which each structure has been built2 and
 these completed designs again are used 
and become the ashlars of the higher    
forms of plant and animal structure4 ,as
 ,evolution in the ,animal and          
,vegetable ,kingdoms has given us       
,species1 so in the ,material it has    
developed ,elements4 ,the structures of 

animal and vegetable life are of        
comparatively recent formation1 and are 
still apparently progressing in the     
direction of complexity1 whereas the    
structures of matter appear to have long
 passed the stage of highest complexity1
 and the elements are now undergoing the
 retrograde process of being            
transformed1 by radio-activity1 from the
 more complex into simpler elements of  
lower atomic denominations--namely1     
having fewer bricks in each atom4  ,all 
these material designs are more or less 
radio-active--namely1 changing into     
other elements1 but some1 like radium1  
polonium1 c41 are active to an          
extraordinary extent4 ,each molecule or 
atom may be looked upon as an aperture1 
more or less open1 through which we have
 flowing the equivalent of what may be  
called a leak from the ,infinite1 the   
changing of one element into another    
being represented by the change of shape
 or activity of that aperture4          
,countless ages ago these apertures     

were1 by evolution1 growing more and    
more complex in shape1 but when the     
limit of complexity was reached and the 
,apex was passed1 an adaptation1        
somewhat analogous to death in the      
animal and vegetable1 must have come    
into play1 with the result that these   
apertures are now becoming more and more
 simple in their shape and activity4    
,the ,infinite referred to above may be 
diagnosed by some as being in the fourth
 dimension of space1 or it may even be  
comprised within the ,ether of our known
 three dimensions1 for the discovery of 
radio-activity has enabled us to see    
that ,ether is not only as dense as     
iron1 but millions of times denser than 
that metal1 every cubic foot1 or        
probably cubic inch1 being capable of   
supplying millions of horse-power if it 
could only be tapped4 ,a homely simile  
of this leak from the ,infinite may be  
seen in a glass of aerated water1 where 
an irregularity of surface1 a crumb of  
bread1 or a grain of sand becomes the   

means by which carbonic-dioxide escapes 
from the interstices of the water4      
,radio-active substances then are really
 forges for forming new structures of   
matter or forms of energy1 rather than  
quarries from which they are cut1 and we
 seem to get a glimpse of the origin of 
life1 perhaps itself the cause of       
retrogression in the material1 coming   
through from the ,reality1 the ,infinite
 beyond the physical ,universe4  ,life  
and its processes are well symbolised by
 a triangle1 the base of which is the   
,divide between the ,real and its       
reflections or shadows on the ,material 
plane1 and through which all energy     
percolates4 ,one side of the triangle   
represents anabolism1 or the process of 
building up1 and the other katabolism1  
the process of breaking down1 and at the
 ,apex is the ,mystical ,terror of the  
,threshold1 the ,ainsoph 7vide          
frontispiece71 which introduced         
sacrificial death to the ,physical1 as  
an adaptation in the evolution of1 and  

for the good of1 the ,human race4 ,with 
the death of the ,physical1 the rending 
of the ,veil1 as we have seen in ,view  
,two1 all ,shadows and ,reflections     
disappear1 and1 in place of seeing as   
through a glass darkly1 the ,soul has   
its true birth1 and at last enters upon 
its heritage in the ,divine ,life1 face 
to face with the ,reality1 the ,good1   
the ,beautiful1 and the ,true4          
,,view ,,four  ,,love ,,in ,,action     
,in the preceding ,views we have seen   
that ,time and ,space have no real      
existence apart from our physical       
senses2 they are only modes or          
conditions under which those senses act1
 and by which we gain a very limited and
 illusory knowledge of our surroundings4
 ,our very consciousness of living      
depends upon our perception of          
multitudinous changes in our            
surroundings1 and our very thoughts are 
therefore also limited by ,time and     
,space1 because change is dependent on  
those two limits1 the very basis of     

perceived motion being the time that an 
object takes to go over a certain space2
 we must therefore look behind          
consciousness itself1 beyond the        
conditioning in ,time and ,space1 for   
the true reality of ,being4 ,we have    
seen that man is the offspring of two   
distinct natures--the ,spiritual or     
,transcendental and the ,material or    
,physical2 the former is the ,real1 the 
latter is only a shadow4 ,if we now try 
to consider the connection between these
 two natures1 we have to recognise that1
 with all our advance in ,knowledge     
during the last hundred years1 we are   
indeed still as children playing with   
pebbles on the sea-shore1 knowing       
neither why we are placed there1 nor    
what those pebbles are1 or whence they  
came4 ,though we seem ever to be        
discovering fresh truths concerning     
their relations one with another1 when  
arranged in different patterns1 built up
 into new forms1 or split up into       
smaller fragments1 we have to           

acknowledge 7substituting thoughts for  
pebbles7 that we are still only learning
 our alphabet and the simple rules of   
multiplication1 addition1 and division1 
which must be mastered before we can    
hope to take the real step towards      
understanding4  ,we are surrounded by   
mysteries2 we are indeed a mystery to   
ourselves1 we do not even know how the  
,physical ,ego is connected with the    
physical world2 how the sense organs1   
receiving the impression of             
multitudinous and diverse frequencies of
 different intensities1 transmit them to
 the brain1 and how the mind is able to 
combine all these impressions and form  
concepts4 ,but by examining the         
,physical ,universe1 we seem to see     
clearly that the only ,reality is the   
,spiritual1 the ,here1 and the ,now1    
that our real ,personality being        
,spiritual is independent of ,space and 
,time limitations1 and is therefore     
,omnipresent and ,omniscient2 it may    
indeed be not only connected with the   

,physical ,ego of this ,world1 but be in
 close working connection with other    
,physical ,egos in the ,universe1 and   
may1 in some wonderful process1 through 
its affinity with the ,great ,spirit1 be
 helping them to progress in other      
directions possibly quite beyond our    
power to conceive under the conditions  
we are accustomed to here4  ,a great    
forest tree forms each year a multitude 
of separate buds2 each of these buds is 
an independent plant which has only a   
temporary existence and has no present  
knowledge of the other buds1 but it is  
by means of all these buds and the      
leaves they develop1 that the tree is   
nourished and increases from year to    
year4 ,still more wonderful is the fact 
that it is these temporary existences   
which1 in accordance with the general   
law of life-production1 form special    
ovules1 which we call seeds1 each of    
which has the potentiality for growing  
up into a great forest tree1 which1 in  
its turn1 is capable of pushing forth   

temporary existences in countless       
directions4 ,we have1 in the above      
process of creating a forest tree1 a    
likeness on the ,physical ,plane to what
 ,i would suggest is the process not    
only of the creation of the ,race1 but1 
on the ,transcendental ,plane1 the      
multiplication of permanent             
personalities by means of1 or in        
connection with1 the temporary and      
,space-limited ,human ,physical ,ego4   
,again1 as the human mind forms a       
thought1 clothes it in physical         
language1 and sends it forth in such a  
form as not only affects our material   
sense of hearing1 but conveys to the    
hearer the very thought itself1 so the  
whole ,physical ,universe is a temporary
 and ,space-limited representation of   
the ,reality which is behind1 is in fact
 the materialisation of the ,will or    
,thought of the ,great ,spirit4 ,the    
taking root or advent of the ,spiritual 
to the genus homo1 made it possible for 
man to interpret the ,good1 ,beautiful1 

and ,true in the phenomena of nature1   
and1 as we1 by studying these           
materialisations1 gain knowledge of the 
,reality1 and our personalities become  
real powers1 so may we at length        
approach the point where we may feel    
that we are thinking1 or having divulged
 to us1 the very thoughts of ,god2 and1 
though it may never be possible in this 
life to form a full conception of the   
,reality1 we may1 ,i think1 even with   
our present state of knowledge1 aspire  
to understand the messages conveyed to  
us in some of the multitudinous forms1  
under which these thoughts are presented
 to us1 and ,i propose giving an example
 of this later on in this ,view4  ,once 
more1 in the case of a picture1 it is   
possible1 by examining and comparing a  
number of certain short lines in        
perspective1 to discover not only the   
position occupied by the ,artist1 but   
also the point to which all those lines 
converge2 so by examining and combining 
certain lines of ,thought on the        

,physical ,plane1 and following them as 
far as we can with our present knowledge
 towards the point where our ,ideals of 
the ,good1 ,beautiful1 and ,true        
intersect1 we may reach the position    
from which we may be able to form1      
although through a glass darkly1 even a 
conception of the ,great ,reality1 and  
therefore of ,its ,offspring the        
,transcendental ,ego1 and its connection
 with the ,universe4  ,as the whole of  
,nature is the temporary and            
,space-limited manifestation of the     
,reality1 so the individual ,physical   
,ego is the manifestation in ,time and  
,space of the ,transcendental ,ego or   
true ,personality4 ,the ,physical ,ego  
is its transient expression and has no  
other use beyond this life4 ,each       
,physical ,ego helps1 or should help    
forward1 the general improvement of the 
,race towards perfection4 ,each         
generation should come into being a step
 nearer to the ,spiritual1 until it can 
be pictured that at the final           

consummation1 there will be nothing     
imperfect1 no shadow left2 the full     
complement of ,spiritual ,personalities 
being complete in the ,great            
,all-,father4  ,do we not then see      
clearly that the ,physical ,ego1        
comprised in what we call ,i am1 ,i     
perceive1 ,i think1 ,i conceive1 ,i     
remember1 is transient1 and has only to 
do with the progress of the ,race8 ,it  
is the ,shadow or ,image in the         
,physical ,universe of that ,personality
 which ,transcends ,time and ,space4    
,take away a small portion of the       
,brain1 the organ of the ,mind1 and     
,memory is wiped out1 remove the greater
 part of it and the manifestation of the
 ,physical ,ego is destroyed2 though the
 body is as much alive as before1 there 
is apparently nothing left but the      
physical life1 which it has in common   
with all animals1 plants1 and probably1 
as strongly suggested by late           
discoveries in ,radio-activity1 even    
with what is called inorganic matter4   

,the ,brain1 and therefore the ,ego1 is 
not a necessity for ,physical life2 this
 is clearly seen in the lower forms of  
life--it would be difficult to point out
 the brain of a ,cabbage or an ,oak     
,tree4  ,in the last forty years we have
 entered upon a new era of religion and 
philosophy2 we hear no more of the old  
belief that the study of scientific     
facts leads to atheism or irreligion2 we
 begin to see that ,religion and        
,science must go hand in hand towards   
elucidating the ,riddle of the          
,universe1 and such a change enables us 
even to aspire to show1 as ,i now       
propose to do1 that it is possible1 by  
examining certain phenomena in ,nature1 
to reach that point where we may feel   
that we are listening to and            
understanding1 though through a glass   
darkly1 what may be called the very     
,thoughts of the ,great ,reality4 ,i    
will take for examination the subject   
most intimately connected with the title
 of this ,view--namely1 the nature of   

the growth of the ,transcendental       
,personality1 upon what that growth     
depends1 and how we may understand that 
the attainment to ,everlasting ,life is 
dependent upon that growth4  ,i have    
already pointed out in ,view ,two that  
the ,transcendental ,personality1 being 
,spiritual1 and therefore akin to the   
,great ,reality1 may be said to have no 
free-will of itself4 ,its will or       
influence must always be working towards
 perfection in the form ,let ,thy ,will1
 which is also my will1 be done2 the    
efficacy of its influence with the      
,great ,reality depends on its growth or
 nourishment by the knowledge of the    
,good1 ,beautiful1 and ,true ever       
bringing it more and more nearly into   
perfect touch or sympathy with the      
,all-loving4 ,the power of prayer       
therefore depends upon two conditions2  
it must be in the form of ,let thy ,will
 be done1 and that which prays must be  
capable of making its petition felt1 by 
having already gained a knowledge of    

what that ,will is4 ,i am1 of course1   
not referring to that form of prayer    
which1 alas with so many1 seems to be   
the attempt to get as much out of the   
,absolute as is possible1 with the least
 amount of trouble4  ,if now we         
carefully examine the ,phenomena around 
us1 we make the extraordinary discovery 
that this power to influence is the very
 basis of survival and of progress      
throughout the universe4 ,in the organic
 world all ,nature seems to be praying  
in one form or another1 and only those  
that pray with efficacy1 based upon the 
above two conditions1 survive in the    
struggle for existence4 ,the economy of 
,nature is founded upon that inexorable 
law the ,survival of the ,fittest2 every
 organism that is not in sympathy with  
its environment1 and cannot therefore   
derive help and nourishment from its    
surroundings1 perishes4 ,darwin tells us
 that the colours of flowering plants   
have been developed by the necessity of 
attracting the bees1 on whose visits    

depends the power of plants to reproduce
 their species2 those families of plants
 which do not as it were pray to the    
bees with efficacy1 fail to attract1 are
 not therefore fertilised1 and disappear
 without leaving successors4 ,flowers   
may also be said to be praying to us by 
their beauty1 or usefulness1 and in some
 cases1 as with orchids1 by their       
marvellous shapes4 ,we answer their     
prayer by building hot houses and       
tending them with care1 because they    
please us1 and therefore we help them to
 live2 while1 on the contrary1 those    
plants that have not developed these    
qualities are not only neglected1 but1  
in some cases1 as with weeds1 we take   
special trouble to exterminate them1    
because their existence is distasteful  
to us4  ,charles ,darwin also tells us  
that ,heredity and ,environment are the 
prime influences under which the whole  
,organic ,world is sustained2 in other  
words1 every organism has implanted in  
it by heredity the principle of life1   

but the conditions under which it will  
be possible for that life to expand and 
come to perfection1 rest entirely upon  
its power to bring itself into harmony  
with its environment4 ,this principle of
 life does not come naked into the      
world1 it is fortified by heredity1 with
 power gained by its parents in their   
struggle for existence1 and in their    
persistence to get into sympathy with   
their environment4 ,the knowledge they  
gained1 by this struggle1 they have     
handed down to their offspring1 and     
given it thereby the possibility of also
 gaining for itself that knowledge of1  
and power to get into sympathy with1 its
 environment1 upon which its future     
existence will depend4 ,so may we not   
see that in the ,spiritual ,world1 these
 two conditions dominate1 and that it is
 only by the clear comprehension of     
their reality that we can understand how
 all-important it is for the soul to    
bring itself nearer and nearer into     
harmony with its environment1 the       

,spiritual1 and how the efficacy of     
prayer depends upon the ,knowledge of   
what is the ,will of ,god8  ,we have    
received from our ,spiritual ,father the
 principle of ,everlasting ,life1 and   
the aspirations which1 if followed1 will
 enable that life to expand and come to 
perfection2 but1 as in the case of      
physical organism1 the gift is useless  
unless we elect to use those aspirations
 aright1 and gain thereby a knowledge of
 our ,spiritual ,environment1 which     
alone can bring us into sympathy with   
the ,great ,reality4 ,without this      
,knowledge of ,god1 we can see by       
analogy on the ,organic ,plane that     
,everlasting ,life is impossible--we are
 as weeds and shall be rooted out4 ,this
 is no figment of the imagination1 it   
seems to be the only conclusion we can  
come to if ,nature is the work of       
,nature's ,god1 and ,man is made in the 
image 7spiritual7 of that ,god4 ,herbert
 ,spencer came to the same conclusion   
when defining everlasting existence4 ,he

 says3 ,perfect correspondence would be 
perfect life2 were there no changes in  
the environment but such as the organism
 had adapted changes to meet1 and were  
it never to fail in the efficiency with 
which it met them1 there would be       
,eternal ,existence and ,eternal        
,knowledge 7,principles of ,biology74   
,the power of influence1 by sympathetic 
action1 may also be seen in another     
direction2 consider the fact that if we 
are in a room with a piano and we sing a
 certain note1 say ,e flat1 we not only 
hear that note coming back from the     
piano1 but1 if we examine the strings1  
we find that all the ,e flats are       
actually vibrating in sympathy1 because 
they are in perfect harmony with the    
note given out by the voice2 but none of
 the other strings are responding       
because they are out of harmony4 ,with  
this simile in mind1 let us consider the
 curious fact that a moth always lays   
its eggs on that particular plant upon  
which the caterpillars1 when they hatch 

out of these eggs1 must feed4 ,the study
 of the ,life ,history of ,insects has  
always been of great interest to me1 as 
,i firmly believe that we are on the    
verge of a great discovery1 and that the
 first indications are being revealed to
 us through the investigation of the    
,biology of ,insects4 ,some of you may1 
perhaps1 have watched this progress of  
ovipositing1 as ,i have done1 and       
noticed how the female moth will hover  
in a peculiar way over different plants1
 but does not alight until she comes to 
a plant near akin to the one she is     
seeking4 ,she then alights1 but remains1
 on tip-toe as it were1 with legs       
outstretched and wings quivering1 and   
soon mounts again into the air2 it is   
only when she alights on the proper food
 plant that she shows unmistakably that 
she knows her quest is ended and her    
eggs are laid4 ,this particular plant   
has no other attractions for her1 she   
takes her food irrespectively from any  
other flower which secretes honey1 and  

yet1 when she is ready to fulfil her    
destiny1 she is unerringly drawn towards
 that particular plant which must be the
 food of her offspring4 ,what is this   
wonderful sense8 ,we call it instinct1 a
 name which is made to cover all other  
senses in the lower animals1 of which we
 have no cognisance ourselves4 ,let us  
take our own senses as a guide3 we find 
that they are all based on the          
appreciation of frequencies1 of greater 
or less rapidity1 by means of organs    
specially adapted to vibrate in sympathy
 with those pulsations1 and thus we gain
 knowledge of external things4 ,two     
tuning forks or two organ pipes when    
vibrating close to each other1 give out 
a pure musical note when they are in    
perfect harmony1 and they then have1 as 
it were1 rest together2 but when one is 
put even slightly out of harmony1 there 
is1 in place of a pure musical note1 a  
rise and fall of sound in heavy throbs1 
strangely characteristic of quarrelling2
 in fact1 discord and unrest4  ,in our  

sense of hearing we can only appreciate 
up to #dj1jjj vibrations in a second as 
a musical sound1 whereas1 with ,light   
and other electrical phenomena1 as we   
shall see in a later ,view1 we can      
appreciate sympathetic frequencies of   
not only many millions1 but indeed      
millions of millions in a second1 and   
yet it is possible that1 in the sense   
7of insects7 we are now examining of    
life appreciating life1 we may be in the
 presence of frequencies as far removed 
from light as light is from sound4 ,if1 
then1 we may follow the analogy from our
 highest senses1 we seem to get a clear 
explanation of the mystery of insect    
discrimination4 ,the insect1 in her then
 state1 could have no pleasure in the   
presence of certain plants1 their modes 
of frequency being out of sympathy with 
that particular ,insect ,life1 and1 it  
may be conceived that1 not only is there
 no inducement for the insect to alight 
on that plant1 but that even in its near
 proximity that insect would feel       

discomfort or restlessness2 when1       
however1 a plant is reached which is    
near akin to the one required1 less     
antipathy or unrest would be felt1 and1 
when the true species of plant is       
reached1 all would be harmony1 pleasure1
 and rest1 the functions of ,insect     
,life would be vivified1 and its        
life-work accomplished under the        
influences of sympathetic action4  ,i   
have made several other investigations  
on this subject1 but ,i must only give  
one more to illustrate the higher form  
of ,animal ,life appreciating ,animal   
,life4 ,there is a large class of       
insects1 called ,ichneumonidae1 which   
lay their eggs in the bodies of         
caterpillars1 and1 as in the case of a  
moth laying its egg on the special food 
plant upon which its caterpillar can    
feed1 so does each species of these     
insects unerringly lay its eggs in the  
body of a particular kind of            
caterpillar4 ,it must be a wonderful    
sense which can enable an ,ichneumon    

,fly to do this2 it has never seen that 
caterpillar before1 as the egg1 from    
which its own caterpillar was hatched1  
was laid inside the body of one of those
 caterpillars1 and the caterpillar upon 
which it fed had been eaten up and      
disappeared at least six months before  
the ,ichneumon ,fly had even made its   
way out of its own cocoon2 and yet this 
insect is not only forced1 by some      
mysterious power1 to lay its egg in the 
body of a caterpillar1 but there is only
 one species which will serve its       
purpose1 and it has to hunt up this     
particular caterpillar from among       
thousands of other different species4   
,let me put before you what is1 perhaps1
 the most mysterious illustration which 
we have under this heading1 wherein the 
,ichneumon ,fly cannot even get sight of
 its prey1 nor employ any sense similar 
to our own for its detection4 ,there are
 several species of moths whose         
caterpillars live in the very heart of  
trees4 ,we will take the case of the    

caterpillar of ,zeuzera ,aesculi1 the   
,leopard ,moth2 the egg of this ,moth is
 laid in a crevice of the bark1 and1    
when first hatched1 the small larva     
penetrates through the bark into the    
centre of an apple1 pear1 or plum tree1 
and then commences to eat its way       
upwards1 forming at first a very small  
tunnel1 but gradually increasing it1 as 
the caterpillar grows larger1 into a    
passage of about half an inch in        
diameter4 ,in such a position1          
surrounded as it is by solid wood1 the  
thickness of which would probably not be
 less than one and a half or two inches1
 we might suppose that the caterpillar  
would be safe from its enemies1 but it  
is not3 there is a large ,ichneumon ,fly
 which cannot propagate its species     
unless it can lay its eggs in the body  
of this particular caterpillar4 ,this   
,ichneumon ,fly can1 from outside1 not  
only tell that inside the stem of that  
tree there is a caterpillar1 but can    
locate the exact spot1 and1 still more  

wonderful1 is able to determine whether 
or not that caterpillar is the          
particular species it is in search of4  
,there are numerous other species of    
moths whose caterpillars feed in the    
centre of trees1 and yet this female    
,ichneumon is able to mark down as her  
prey1 although far out of reach of any  
sense known to us1 that one species     
which alone can serve her purpose4 ,as  
soon as she has located the exact       
position of the caterpillar1 she        
unsheathes a long delicate ovipositor1  
with which she is provided1 and drills  
it right through the intervening solid  
wood until it pierces the body of the   
caterpillar2 she then lays an egg down  
that long tube into its body and repeats
 the process two or three times4 ,the   
caterpillar itself does not appear to   
feel any inconvenience from this process
 and continues to feed and grow larger2 
but it has the seeds of death within    
itself1 and the two or three little     
caterpillars1 which hatch out of the    

eggs of the ,ichneumon1 are also growing
 rapidly inside it4 ,at last1 when the  
time comes that the large caterpillar   
should have been full fed1 and it has   
eaten its way outwards until it rests   
close under the bark1 preparatory to    
turning into a chrysalis1 its enemies   
finish their destructive work1 and1 if  
the tree is then opened1 the empty skin 
and cartilage skeleton of the large     
caterpillar is found1 together with two 
or three large cocoons4 ,these cocoons1 
if kept1 will produce in due time       
specimens of the ,ichneumon ,fly1 and   
these will in their turn go about their 
murderous work as soon as their proper  
hunting season comes round again4  ,this
 is only an isolated case out of        
thousands of similar occurrences in     
every locality2 in fact1 if you walk    
along any palings in the country in the 
early summer1 you will see at every few 
steps the evidence of similar tragedies4
 ,those of you who live in the country  
must often have seen on palings little  

heaps containing a dozen or more of the 
small yellow ,microgaster ,cocoons1 and 
if these are examined carefully they    
will be found to be surrounding the skin
 of a caterpillar4 ,these minute cocoons
 may be kept under a wine glass and1    
from each a minute ,ichneumon ,fly1 with
 7if a female7 its sharp ovipositor1    
will emerge in due time4 ,it is curious 
what mistakes can be made even by       
intelligent persons4 ,i have had the    
skin of the caterpillar and this little 
heap of yellow ,microgaster ,cocoons    
sent me to examine1 and have been       
seriously asked whether this was not a  
true case of ,parthenogenesis2 the      
suggestion being that the caterpillar   
had actually laid eggs1 instead of      
waiting until it had become a moth1 and 
that its efforts1 to alter the course of
 nature1 had been too much for its      
constitution and it had died in the act6
 ,there are other illustrations ,i      
should have liked to give but space will
 not permit1 the most remarkable being1 

perhaps1 the knowledge a ,queen ,bee    
possesses of the proximity of another   
,queen1 even when that other is still in
 the pupa state1 sealed up in a waxen   
cell4 ,i have made numerous experiments 
with ,queens of the common black        
,english ,bee 7,apis mellifica71 and    
also the yellow-striped ,italian ,bee   
7,apis ligustica71 which belong to the  
same order 7,hymenoptera7 as the        
,ichneumon ,flies1 and the same         
marvellous sense of life appreciating   
life at a distance1 and through solid   
matter1 is experienced4  ,if we now     
follow the same ,thought by examining   
the ,inorganic1 we make the             
extraordinary discovery that this power 
to influence1 based on sympathetic      
action1 is the very mainspring by which 
physical work can be sustained1 and upon
 it depends entirely the very action of 
our physical senses4 ,our senses are    
based upon the appreciation of          
,vibration1 in the ,air and ,ether1 of  
greater or less rapidity1 according to  

the presence in our organs of processes 
capable of acting in sympathy with those
 frequencies4 ,the limits within which  
our senses can thus be affected are very
 small2 the ear can only appreciate     
thirteen or fourteen octaves in sound1  
and the eye less than one octave in     
light2 beyond these limits1 owing to the
 absence of processes which can be      
affected sympathetically1 all is silent 
and dark to us4 ,this capacity for      
responding to vibration under           
sympathetic action is not confined to   
,organic ,senses2 the physical forces1  
and even inert matter1 are also         
sensitive to its influences1 as ,i will 
now demonstrate to you4  ,in wireless   
telegraphy it is absolutely necessary   
that the transmitter of the             
electro-magnetic waves should be brought
 into perfect harmony with the          
receiver--without that condition it is  
impossible to communicate at a distance2
 again1 a heavy pendulum or swing can1  
by a certain force1 be pushed1 say an   

inch1 from its position of rest1 and    
each successive push will augment the   
swing1 but only on one condition1       
namely1 that the force is applied in    
sympathy with the pendulum's mode of    
swing2 if the length of the pendulum is 
#eb feet1 the force must be applied only
 at the end of each eight seconds1 as1  
although the pendulum at first is only  
moving one inch1 it will take four      
seconds to traverse that one inch1 the  
same as it would take to traverse #aj   
feet or more1 and will not be back at   
the original position till the end of   
eight seconds2 if the force is applied  
before that time the swing of the       
pendulum would be hindered instead of   
augmented4 ,even a steam engine must    
work under this influence if it is to be
 effective2 there may be enough force in
 a boiler to do the work of a thousand  
horse-power1 but1 unless the slide valve
 is arranged so that the steam enters   
the cylinder at exactly the right       
moment1 namely1 in sympathy with the    

thrust of the piston1 no work is        
possible4  ,to understand the next      
example ,i want you first to recognise  
that1 apart from its physical qualities1
 every material body has certain1 what  
may be called1 traits of character1     
which belong to it alone2 there is      
generally one special trait or partial1 
namely1 the characteristic which it is  
easiest for the particular body to      
manifest1 but ,i shall show you that by 
sympathetic action others can be        
developed4 ,i have several pieces of    
ordinary wood1 used for lighting fires1 
each of which1 according to its size and
 density1 has its special               
characteristic2 if you examined each by 
itself you would hardly see that they   
are different from one another except   
slightly in length1 but if ,i throw them
 down on the table1 you would hear that 
each of them gives out a clear          
characteristic note of the musical      
scale3 to carry this a step forward1 ,i 
have a long1 heavy1 iron bar1 about #d  

feet long and #b inches thick1 so rigid 
that no ordinary manual force can move  
it out of the straight1 and1 from mere  
handling1 you would find it difficult to
 imagine that it would be amenable to   
soft influences4 ,but ,i have studied   
this inert mass1 and1 as each person has
 special characteristics1 some being    
more partial than others to1 say1       
,literary pursuits1 ,athletics1 ,music1 
,poetry1 ,engineering1 ,science1 or     
,metaphysics1 so ,i am able to show that
 this iron mass has not only a number of
 these partials1 some of which are      
extraordinarily beautiful and powerful1 
audible over long distances1 but that by
 the lightest touch of certain small    
generating rubbers1 not more than an    
ounce in weight and tipped with cork or 
leather1 each of which has been put into
 perfect sympathy with one of those     
traits1 ,i can make that mass           
demonstrate them both optically and     
audibly2 but1 without those special     
sympathetic touches1 it is silent and   

remains an inert mass4 ,this result is  
obtained by physical contact between the
 instrument and the mass1 but we will   
now carry this another step forward and 
deal with the subject of the action of  
,influence at a distance1 or what may be
 called ,prayer1 between two of these   
rigid masses4 ,from what we have already
 seen1 it is clear that the ,soul of man
 could not possibly pray with efficacy  
to a graven image2 there is nothing in  
sympathy between them1 and1 without     
sympathetic action1 influence is        
impossible2 but it is quite possible for
 ,matter to pray with efficacy to       
,matter1 provided the material soul1 if 
we may use the analogy1 is brought into 
perfect sympathy with the material god1 
and ,i can now put before you an        
experiment showing this taking place4   
,i have another heavy bar of iron1 not  
so long but of the same thickness as the
 one already described1 and have found  
its strongest characteristic2 ,i have   
another small rubber1 fashioned so that 

its characteristic is in perfect        
sympathy with that of the bar1 namely1  
that the number of vibrations1 in a     
second1 of the instrument are exactly   
equal to those of the iron mass1 and it 
is1 therefore1 as we saw in the last    
experiment1 able by contact to influence
 the bar sympathetically4 ,the slightest
 touch throws the bar into such violent 
vibration that a great volume of sound  
is produced1 which can be heard a       
quarter of a mile away4 ,the result of  
this sympathetic touch is far from being
 transient1 in fact1 the bar will       
continue to move1 audibly1 for a long   
time4 ,this movement in the mass of iron
 was started by physical contact1 but   
having once started the bar praying1    
willing1 or thinking1 whichever you like
 to call it1 that bar now has the power 
to affect1 without contact1 another     
rigid bar of iron even when removed to  
great distances1 provided the second bar
 possesses a similar characteristic1 and
 that that characteristic has been      

brought into perfect sympathy with that 
of the first bar4 ,i have a second bar  
which fulfils these conditions1 and1    
although1 at the outset1 it had no power
 whatever to respond1 it has been       
gradually1 as it were1 educated1 namely1
 brought nearer and nearer into sympathy
 with the first bar1 until it is now    
able to respond across long distances2  
it has acted across the whole length of 
one of the largest halls in ,london so  
strongly that it could be heard by all  
present4 ,we will now reverse the       
process of bringing these bars into     
sympathy1 and ,i will throw the first   
out of harmony by slightly changing its 
characteristic2 the change is extremely 
small1 quite inappreciable to the human 
ear1 the bar giving out as full and pure
 a note as it did before the alteration 
was made2 in fact1 the change is so     
slight that it can still1 with a little 
force1 be stimulated by the same        
generator1 and yet the whole power to   
influence has been lost2 the first bar1 

although it is praying with great force1
 gets no response from the second bar1  
and1 even if the bars are now brought on
 to the same table and put within a few 
inches of each other1 there is still no 
reply1 there is no sympathetic action1  
the efficacy of prayer between the two  
has been completely destroyed4  ,do we  
not then see the principle upon which   
the efficacy of ,prayer depends1 that   
the whole object of a ,human ,soul1 when
 using the words ,thy ,will be done1 is 
to bring itself closer and closer into  
perfect sympathy with the ,absolute8    
,when that is accomplished1 we may      
understand1 from our simile1 that not   
only shall we and our aspirations be    
influenced by the ,will of the ,deity1  
but that then our wishes1 in their turn1
 must have great power with ,god1 and it
 becomes possible for even ,mountains to
 be removed and cast into the midst of  
the sea4  ,how truly the ,philosopher   
,paul at the beginning of our ,era      
recognised that the knowledge of ,god1  

which ,christ ,himself tells us is      
,everlasting ,life1 may be gained by the
 study of the material creation2 ,his   
words were sadly overlooked by many who1
 half a century ago1 were afraid that   
the discoveries of ,science were        
dangerous to belief in the ,divine4 ,he 
says3 the unrighteous shall be without  
excuse because ,the invisible things of 
,him since the creation of the world are
 clearly seen1 being perceived through  
the things that are made1 even ,his     
everlasting power and divinity 7,romans 
i4 #ah to #bj1 ,r4,v474  ,we have seen  
the truth of this wonderful statement1  
we have traced the reflection of the    
greatest attribute of the ,deity1       
,divine ,love1 on the material plane4   
,what has been the result of our        
investigation8 ,we find that throughout 
the whole of ,nature the one great      
universal power is ,sympathy4  ',tis    
verily love that makes the world go     
round4 ,what a marvellous conclusion to 
our investigation6 ,let us see where it 

leads us4 ,the whole of creation is the 
materialisation of the ,thoughts of the 
,deity2 we have1 therefore1 in the      
forces of ,nature1 the impress of the   
very ,essence of ,god4 ,our ,innermost  
,self is an emanation from ,him1 and    
,prayer1 which1 at the beginning1 is    
only a striving to bring ourselves into 
harmony with the ,deity1 must1 as the   
,soul grows in strength and knowledge1  
become a great power working under the  
wonderful principle of ,sympathy4 ,true 
prayer1 indeed1 becomes ,love in        
,action1 and1 under certain conditions1 
,prayer may actually be looked upon as  
the greatest physical force in ,nature4 
,but let us carry this one step further3
 can we1 by our analogy of ,matter      
praying1 understand why the knowledge of
 ,god is ,everlasting ,life8 ,look at   
the first iron bar1 and watch how1 as   
long as it keeps on vibrating1 the      
second bar1 because it is in sympathy1  
will be kept in motion4 ,if it were     
possible for the first bar to vibrate   

for ever1 the second bar would1 speaking
 materially1 have everlasting life1     
through its being in perfect sympathy   
with the first bar2 without this        
connection the bar would be lifeless4   
,now apply this to our ,transcendental  
,personality2 it is being nourished1 the
 knowledge of ,god is increasing1 it is 
at last pulsating in perfect harmony    
with the ,deity1 and when1 for it1 the  
,material ,universe disappears1 its     
affinity to ,infinite ,love must give it
 ,everlasting ,life4 ,everything that   
has not that connection is but a shadow 
which will cease to be manifest when the
 ,great ,thought is completed1 the      
volition of the ,deity is withdrawn1 and
 the ,physical ,universe ceases to      
exist2 nothing can then exist except    
that which is perfected1 that which is  
of the essence of ,god--namely1 the     
,spiritual4 ,perfect harmony will then  
reign supreme1 such happiness as cannot 
be described in earthly language nor    
even imagined by our corporeal senses2  

hence1 in the many passages referring to
 that wondrous ,life hereafter1 we are  
not told what ,heaven is like but only  
what is not to be found there3      ,eye
 hath not seen nor ear heard1           
,neither have entered into the heart of 
man     ,the things that ,god hath      
prepared for them     that love         
,him4--#a ,,cor4 ii4 #i4  ,there are    
several other phenomena which ,i might  
have examined1 but ,i chose this        
particular aspect of the ,reality1 as   
best illustrating the subject ,i am     
trying to elucidate in these ,views1    
though it was probably the most         
difficult one to bring home to the      
general reading public4 ,there are1 ,i  
know1 from personal knowledge1 many of  
my readers who will have been able to   
follow and appreciate what ,i have      
attempted to demonstrate1 but to those  
who have not grasped the connection     
between the ,infinite and ,finite1 the  
,transcendental and the ,physical ,ego1 
the ,real and its ,shadow1 a few more   

words of explanation may be helpful4    
,it is easy to see that the negatives1  
,cold1 ,ignorance1 ,falsehood1 ,ugliness
 are manifestations of their positives1 
as given in my list in ,view ,one1 and  
it is also not difficult to show that   
,evil or ,sin is dependent upon ,good in
 the same way as the ,shadow depends    
upon ,light for its manifestation4 ,do  
not let me be misunderstood2 ,i have    
never suggested that these negatives or 
negations have not the appearance of    
realities to us1 under our present      
conditions of existence2 they indeed    
have to be dealt with by us as          
realities1 but they are only manifested 
as phenomena on the physical plane1     
because our ,senses1 and therefore      
,thoughts1 are limited by ,time and     
,space and therefore dependent upon     
relativity4  ,let me put the case of    
,good and ,evil before you1 as analogous
 to1 say1 ,light and ,shadow4 ,moral    
laws and responsibility thereto are     
dependent upon the existence of         

,goodness2 the purely animal ,homo was1 
as ,i have pointed out1 free from sin or
 responsibility until the advent of the 
,spiritual made manifest1 in that       
animal1 the physical ,ego and raised him
 far above all other animals4 ,man thus 
became a responsible moral being1 a     
living soul1 aware of ,right1 and       
therefore of ,wrong1 and certain acts   
then became for him sin that were not   
sin before4 ,thus the advent of ,christ1
 and1 in a less degree1 the coming into 
the world of every good man1 so raised1 
and is raising1 the level of moral      
rectitude that things become sin that   
were not sin before2 ,st4 ,paul himself 
specially recognises this when he says  
that without law there is no sin4 ,the  
,goodness1 then1 brought into the world 
by ,christ1 did not create sin but made 
it manifest1 and gave it the appearance 
of reality under our present conditions 
of life and thought4 ,how well the      
,mystic ,paul understood that the       
,invisible is the ,real1 and that the   

,visible--namely1 the phenomena of      
nature--is only dependent upon ,time for
 its manifestation4 ,his words are3 ,for
 the things which are seen are temporal1
 but the things which are not seen are  
,eternal4  ,i have tried in these ,views
 to use only simple everyday language1  
and am fully aware how inadequate are   
the words ,i have employed2 but my      
readers will have1 ,i hope1 recognised  
how difficult1 and in many cases        
impossible1 it is1 in treating these    
metaphysical subjects1 to find words to 
express the exact meaning2 we have to   
describe the ,infinite in terms of the  
finite1 and by use of imperfect finite  
analogies to get a glimpse of the       
otherwise unthinkable1 and even then it 
requires a mystical sense1 or what ,st4 
,paul called spiritual discernment1 to  
see beyond the physical mists4 ,if the  
whole of the phenomena of ,nature must  
be looked upon as the manifestation of  
the ,divine ,noumenon1 it follows that  
,matter is as divine as the ,spiritual1 

though not as real2 it is ,his shadow1  
or the outline of ,his very image1      
thrown upon the material plane of our   
sensations2 and the principle of        
sympathetic action1 upon which1 as we   
have seen1 the whole power to influence 
depends throughout the ,universe1       
becomes surely the best symbol we can   
use for understanding the efficacy of   
prayer and the connection between our   
,transcendental ,self and the           
,all-loving4 ,realise that the          
,transcendental ,ego is a ,spirit1 and  
therefore akin to the ,great ,spirit1   
not only in essence1 but in loving and  
knowing communion1 then look at my last 
experiment1 where we saw two material   
bodies 7remember they are shadow        
manifestations of the ,reality7 which   
could influence each other from the fact
 that they were akin1 not only in       
substance1 but in perfect sympathetic   
communion4  ,if now we watch the shadows
 of two human beings thrown upon a wall1
 and see those shadows shaking hands and

 embracing each other1 are we not       
justified in concluding that those      
images give us a true explanation of    
what is really taking place8 and is not 
that exactly what ,i have done8 have ,i 
not shown1 as ,i proposed to do1 that it
 is possible by examining the phenomena 
of ,nature 7the shadows of the ,reality7
 to reach that point where we may even  
feel that we are listening to1 or having
 divulged to us1 some of what may be    
called the very thoughts of the ,great  
,reality8     ,,view ,,five  ,,the      
,,physical ,,film   ,we have seen in    
former ,views that the whole ,phenomenal
 ,universe1 as perceived by our senses1 
and all intellectual thoughts or        
concepts based on those perceptions1    
are1 in reality1 only mists or shadows2 
they have no existence apart from our   
physical senses1 and may be likened to a
 thin film1 which at death is pricked   
and passes away like a scroll1 leaving  
us face to face with the ,reality4 ,we  
thus seemed to grasp that all phenomena1

 including our ,physical ,egos1 are but 
the shadows or outline of the ,reality1 
as depicted on our limited plane of     
consciousness2 but these phenomena1     
having ,motion for their basis1 are none
 the less real to us under our present  
outlook1 limited as it is by            
conditioning in ,time and ,space1 and we
 have to deal with them as realities in 
our everyday life4 ,i want to make this 
distinction clear in the present ,view4 
,those of us who were youngsters in the 
'sixties1 and were fortunate enough to  
be taken to that land of wonders for    
children1 the ,london ,polytechnic1 will
 remember seeing what were called       
,professor ,pepper's ,ghosts4 ,by means 
of a large sheet of glass on the stage1 
the reflection of a human being         
7otherwise invisible71 which we will    
call the unreal1 was1 by the audience1  
seen walking alongside the people on the
 stage1 and it was impossible to say    
which was the real and which the unreal4
 ,when the unreal was made to appear    

further back on the stage1 it was       
apparently seen through the real figures
 and they appeared as ghosts1 for they  
were seen to be transparent4 ,if now we 
fix1 perpendicularly on a table1 a small
 pane of glass1 and place1 say1 an      
orange in front and another orange      
behind it1 we can arrange so that an    
observer1 looking through the glass1    
sees two oranges alongside each other1  
one being the real and the other the    
unreal1 and1 with proper lighting and   
dark background1 it is impossible to    
determine which is which1 as they are   
both apparently real oranges4 ,we will  
call the real1 ,a1 and the unreal1 ,b2  
we now also introduce a human hand on   
both sides of the glass1 and again we   
have apparently two real hands close to 
the oranges2 if the real hand is now    
seen to try to touch the ,b orange1 it  
passes through it1 but it can take up   
the ,a2 and the same result is seen when
 the unreal hand tries to grasp them1   
except that it can grasp the ,b but not 

the ,a2 it is1 in fact1 only the unreal 
that can apprehend the unreal1 and the  
real the real4  ,the above simile may   
help some of my readers to understand   
how the phenomena of ,nature1 though    
having no real existence apart from our 
senses1 have the appearance of reality  
to us1 because both we and the whole    
,phenomenal ,universe are the unreal of 
our analogy1 namely1 the reflection or  
shadow of the ,real on the physical     
plane4 ,if we run against a stone wall1 
which is also part1 with us1 of the     
shadow1 we hurt ourselves and           
acknowledge its existence1 but to the   
,real it would not be an obstruction at 
all1 it is not there4 ,we know that this
 wall is not really solid1 it is made up
 of ,atoms revolving round each other   
but never touching1 but the man in the  
street would give as the reason why it  
hurt1 that it was dense1 or what is     
called hard2 if the wall were made of   
hay1 or cotton wool1 or of sunbeams1 we 
should not suffer by running against it2

 in fact1 the denser anything becomes1  
the more it shows its character of being
 real to our senses4 ,if we take this as
 the true explanation for the ,physical 
,universe1 we are met with something    
quite beyond our powers of              
comprehension1 when we try to form a    
conception of the all-pervading ,ether2 
unless we may look upon it as actually a
 presentation of the ,reality itself4   
,if we wave our hand1 we can feel the   
obstruction of the air1 but we cannot   
feel the ,ether4 ,we think our earth    
very solid1 and we know it is rushing   
round the sun at the enormous rate of   
#fj1jjj miles per hour1 but it finds no 
obstruction in the ,ether1 there is no  
retardation of its velocity2 and yet the
 study of ,radio-,activity has quite    
lately shown us that that ,ether is not 
only as dense as iron1 or a hundred or a
 thousand times denser1 but millions of 
times denser than that metal2 and yet it
 permeates all matter like a sieve4 ,in 
,sir ,oliver ,lodge's words1 the ,ether 

is so dense that matter by comparison is
 like a gossamer or a filmy             
imperceptible mist4 ,we can1 therefore1 
by again using our ,ghost analogy1      
understand why matter cannot obstruct   
the ,ether1 or vice versa2 there is no  
perceivable friction between them1      
unless1 as ,i shall presently suggest1  
we may find something akin to           
obstruction by ,matter1 not to ,ether   
itself1 but to its pressure1 in the     
phenomenon of ,gravitation4  ,the       
evidence we are gradually winning from  
,radio-,activity seems to be leading us 
to the conclusion that all forms of     
matter are but different motions or     
strains in the ,ether 7perhaps1 as ,lord
 ,kelvin thought1 in the form of        
vortices71 that the different atoms of  
which matter is composed are1 as        
suggested in ,view ,three1 apertures of 
different complexity of outline--namely1
 those points at which ,ether is absent 
or its density attenuated4 ,have we not 
apparently here another example of      

,positive and ,negative1 the ,invisible 
the ,ether1 as the ,real1 and the       
,visible1 the ,material ,universe1 as   
its ,negative the ,unreal1 similar to   
our list of ,positives and ,negatives in
 ,view ,one8 ,ether itself cannot be    
explained by any of the known dynamical 
laws1 though it is probably the very    
root and cause of all of them2 it is    
absolutely beyond our plane of          
perception or conception4 ,we can only  
perceive certain effects of its presence
 when it comes into our limited world of
 consciousness1 under the aspects of    
,time and ,space--namely1 in its        
movements1 which we classify as forms of
 matter and modes of energy4  ,it is    
only lately that we have been able to   
see clearly that the effects known to us
 as ,light1 ,heat1 ,electricity1 and    
,magnetism are caused by pulsations or  
rills of different rapidity in the      
,ether 7this will be referred to in a   
later ,view72 it is also probably the   
cause of what we call ,gravitation1 and 

we shall see that the action of         
,gravitation may1 after all1 be not in  
the direction of a pull but must be     
looked upon as a pushing force4         
,gravitation is common to all matter2 in
 common language1 every particle        
attracts every other particle with a    
force directly proportional to its mass1
 and inversely to the square of its     
distance2 it is a very weak force       
compared with others we know1 and       
difficult to measure except when a large
 mass of matter is involved4 ,perhaps   
this will be clearer1 and not far from  
the truth1 if ,i say that the force of  
,gravitation exerted between two masses 
of matter compared with that which we   
find acting between the constituents of 
matter--namely1 in chemical affinity1 is
 comparable to the difference existing  
between the density of matter and the   
density of ,ether4  ,the latest         
calculation of the pressure of the      
,ether is almost inconceivable--namely1 
about #be1jjj tons on the square inch1  

or #c1fjj1jjj tons on the square foot2  
it may well therefore be that1 in the   
degree of permeability of matter by the 
,ether1 when we can calculate it1 will  
be found the explanation of what we call
 ,gravitation between two masses2 they  
are each shielding the other from ,ether
 pressure1 in its own direction1 with an
 obstructive force equal to its mass4   
,the reason why the earth appears to    
attract us1 is that it is shielding us  
from a certain amount of pressure in its
 direction2 and we know that we are also
 apparently attracting every particle of
 the earth with a force proportionate to
 our mass1 because we are1 however      
slightly1 shielding the earth from      
pressure in our direction2 if this is   
the true explanation1 ,gravitation is a 
phenomenon of the ,ether2 it will be    
seen to be a movement of matter in the  
line of least pressure1 and is therefore
 a push and not a pull4  ,let us now    
come down to what we understand better  
concerning the subject of this ,view4   

,the question1 ,what is ,truth8 ,what is
 the ,reality8 goes to the very root of 
the ,riddle of the ,universe4 ,we are   
all trying in one direction or another  
to answer this question4 ,as knowledge  
increases1 old theories become untenable
 and have to be discarded1 and1 in their
 place1 fresh ones are formulated to    
account for new phases of phenomena4    
,there seems a general impression1 among
 even thinking people1 that scientists  
are wedded to1 and always trying to find
 proofs for1 their last theories1 but   
this is not the case4 ,the endeavour of 
the true seeker after truth is not so   
much to discover fresh facts which      
coincide with existing theories1 as to  
find phenomena which cannot be explained
 thereby2 there is indeed more joy over 
one fact which does not agree with      
preconceived theory1 than over          
ninety-nine facts which are found to    
fall under that heading4 ,in our        
everyday life we have become so         
accustomed to take for granted that what

 we see1 hear1 or feel by touch must be 
real1 that it is difficult for the man  
in the street to realise that our senses
 woefully deceive us2 that perception   
without knowledge often leads us astray 
into false concepts1 and these false    
concepts lead us into difficulties which
 require fresh concepts to be formed1   
and these again demand further and more 
exact knowledge to be applied to        
perceived phenomena4 ,this necessity for
 overcoming difficulties is the greatest
 incentive we have for gaining fresh    
knowledge of our surroundings4 ,owing to
 the fact1 as already pointed out1 that 
our sense perceptions are based upon the
 appreciation of change or motion1 and  
must therefore be limited in ,time and  
,space1 and that the trueness of our    
conceptions of the ,reality is dependent
 upon the knowledge which can be brought
 to bear upon those perceptions1 we are 
forced to postulate two aspects of the  
,universe2 one of these is what may be  
called the ,visible1 ,finite1 or        

,physical1 which indeed carries the     
appearance of ,reality to our limited   
senses1 though it has no real existence 
for us apart from those senses1 and the 
other is that which transcends our      
utmost conception1 which we call the    
,invisible1 the ,infinite1 or           
,spiritual4  ,at the outset of all      
investigation1 we are forced to         
recognise that the only way we can      
approach conception of the ,infinite is 
necessarily in the form of a negative1  
the negative applying to those things of
 which we have cognisance2 we carry our 
thought to the utmost limit possible    
with our present knowledge1 and1 when we
 have come to a standstill1 we conceive 
the ,infinite to be not that but        
something further on4 ,as our knowledge 
increases by small steps1 that something
 further on seems ever to be flying from
 our grasp by mighty strides1 until we  
are forced to bow our heads and         
recognise that we are in the presence   
of1 though still not in sight of1 the   

,reality4 ,a divine impulse is ever     
urging us forward to greater conceptions
 but shattering our hopes1 and giving us
 a feeling akin to despair1 if we       
arrogate to ourselves a greater power of
 conception than we have knowledge to   
sustain2 we have to approach the study  
with1 indeed1 that feeling of elation   
which the consciousness of our origin   
and destiny wakes within us1 giving us a
 feeling of certainty that we are       
capable1 in the hereafter1 of attaining 
to the highest summit of knowledge1 but 
with that humility1 in the present1     
which makes us acknowledge that he who  
knows most knows most how little he     
knows4 ,in this frame of mind let us now
 examine our surroundings4  ,we are     
living in a world of continuous and     
multitudinous changes2 in fact1 without 
change1 we could have no cognisance of  
our surroundings1 we should have no     
consciousness of living4 ,we have become
 so accustomed to certain sensations    
that we are apt to take them1 as facts1 

and scoff at the suggestion that they   
are non-realities4 ,i propose1 however1 
to show that what we perceive are not   
,realities1 and true conception of our  
surroundings depends upon the knowledge 
which we can bring to bear to interpret 
the meaning of these sensations4 ,it is 
only in response to our conscientious   
endeavours to form new concepts that    
knowledge is being daily revealed to us2
 the more we progress in ,knowledge the 
more we see that ,perception alone      
without ,knowledge leads to false       
concepts1 and these in their turn create
 fatal obstacles and difficulties to our
 progress towards the true appreciation 
of the ,universe4 ,let me give a few    
examples4  ,in early times the ,sun and 
the ,stars were seen to revolve round   
the ,earth once every day1 and1 without 
,knowledge of ,astronomy1 this was taken
 for granted as an absolute fact1 and   
was looked upon as a reality2 later on1 
however1 it was noted that the ,stars   
never changed their relative positions2 

this necessitated a new concept1 namely1
 that they were fixed on the inner      
surface of a huge globe1 which was also 
revolving4 ,this false concept brought  
other difficulties into play1 the       
question arose as to what was beyond the
 globe1 and also the difficulty that1   
when the ,stars as well as the ,sun were
 found to be at such enormous distances 
from the ,earth1 their rates of motion  
were quite inconceivable4 ,even in the  
case of the ,sun the motion represents  
over twenty-five million miles per hour1
 and the apparent motion of the ,stars  
is thousands of times faster than ,light
 travels4 ,these insuperable            
difficulties were not swept away until1 
by the advance of ,knowledge1 the       
falsity of ,conception1 based only upon 
appearance1 was made manifest1 and it   
was seen that it was the ,earth which   
revolved and not the ,stars4 ,even then1
 owing to its supposed antagonism to    
what was stated in the ,bible1 the new  
,conception was opposed with great      

bitterness1 it being long looked upon   
and denounced as a sacrilegious         
invention1 and anybody daring to        
promulgate such a doctrine was          
threatened with death4  ,our present    
,conception1 that the ,earth turns round
 on its axis once every day1 and rolls  
in its orbit round the ,sun once in     
every year1 may be called a ,reality to 
our finite ,senses2 but ,i shall show   
later on that1 except for the finiteness
 of our senses and the imperfection of  
our ,knowledge1 the ,concept is not a   
true one4 ,with perfect ,perception and 
perfect ,knowledge we shall see that1   
apart from the two limitations or modes 
under which our physical senses act1    
there can be no such thing as ,motion1  
because the very essence of ,motion is  
but the product of those limitations1   
namely1 ,time and ,space4  ,we are so   
accustomed to take everything for       
granted1 that it may perhaps seem       
strange to question whether it can even 
be asserted that we have ever seen      

matter4 ,let us turn towards a common   
object in this room4 ,we catch in our   
eyes the multitudinous impulses which   
are reflected from its surface under    
circumstances somewhat similar to those 
in which a cricketer fields a ball2 he  
puts his hand in the way of the moving  
ball and catches it1 and1 knowing the   
distance of the batsman1 he perhaps     
recognises1 by the hard impact of the   
ball1 that the batsman has strong       
muscles1 but he cannot be said to see   
the batsman by that impact1 nor can he  
gain thereby any idea as to his         
character4 ,so it is with objective     
intuition2 we direct our eyes towards an
 object1 and catch thereby rays of light
 reflected from that object at different
 angles1 and1 by combining all these    
directions1 we recognise form1 and come 
to the conclusion that we are looking   
at1 say1 a chair4 ,the eye also tells us
 that rays are coming in greater        
quantity from some parts of it1 and we  
know that those parts are polished2 the 

eye again catches rays giving higher or 
lower frequencies of vibration1 and we  
call that colour2 our eyes also tell us 
that it intercepts certain rays         
reflected from other objects in the     
room1 and we know that it is not        
transparent to light2 and those are our 
sight perceptions of a wooden chair4    
,we may go a little further by pushing1 
when we know1 by the amount of          
resistance compared with the power      
exerted1 what force of gravity is being 
exerted by and on that chair1 and we    
declare it heavy or light1 but by these 
means we get no nearer to the knowledge 
of what matter is4 ,by tests and        
reagents we can resolve wood into other 
forms which we call ,carbon1 ,oxygen1   
,hydrogen1 ,nitrogen1 c41 which1 because
 we cannot divide them into any other   
known substances1 we call ,elements1 but
 we can only look at these in the same  
way as we are looking at the chair4     
,chemists1 however1 carry us a little   
further1 and show us that the           

,elementary substances have not only    
their likes and dislikes1 but their     
passionate desires and lukewarmness to  
others of their ilk1 and1 when          
opportunity offers1 they break up with  
great violence any ordinary friendship  
existing between them and their         
neighbours1 and seize on their coveted  
prey with a strength of will surpassing 
anything experienced in the ,organic    
,world2 and this new association they   
maintain1 until they1 in their turn1 are
 dispossessed1 or they encounter another
 substance of still greater attraction1 
when they leave their first love and    
take up new connections4  ,i shall touch
 upon the subject of what matter is     
later on2 meanwhile let us consider how1
 owing to our senses being limited by   
the considerations of ,time and ,space1 
we are surrounded by inconceivables1 and
 yet it is those very inadequate        
conceptions which force us to acquire   
,knowledge2 the greatest incentive we   
have to pursue our investigation is1 as 

we have seen1 the fact that ,perception 
without sufficient ,knowledge leads us  
into difficulties4 ,let me give you two 
instances of these inconceivables4      
,infinite ,space is inconceivable by us1
 but it is also quite as inconceivable1 
or perhaps even more so1 to think of    
,space being limited1 and yet we are    
forced to declare that one of these two 
must be true4 ,again1 ,matter is either 
composed of ultimate bodies1 of a       
certain size which cannot be divided1 or
 is infinitely divisible2 both of these 
are inconceivable1 the latter for the   
same reason as that of the ,infinity of 
,space1 and the former because it is    
inconceivable that the ultimate body    
could not be divided into two parts by a
 sharp edge forced between its two      
sides1 or by a stronger force than at   
present holds it together2 it has indeed
 been suggested as an explanation that1 
if an atom could be divided1 it might   
cease to be matter1 that its parts would
 have no existence1 but it is difficult 

to conceive how two nothings can form   
one something4  ,another example of     
,perception leading to a false ,concept 
is our ,sense of ,pain2 we apply a      
red-hot coal to the tip of one of our   
fingers and our ,perception would have  
us believe that we feel intense pain at 
the point of contact1 but we know this  
to be a false ,concept1 as it can be    
shown that the pain is only felt at the 
brain3 there are in communication with  
different parts of our body small       
microscopical nerve threads1 any of     
which may be severed with a pen-knife   
close to the base of the skull1 with the
 result that no pain can then be felt1  
although the fingertip is just as much  
alive and is seen to be burning away4   
,another example is our ,sense of       
,hearing4 ,a musical sound is made up of
 a certain number of pushes in a second1
 but each push is silent4 ,it is only1  
as we have seen1 a musical sound to our 
,sense when the pushes recur at         
intervals of not more than the sixteenth

 part of a second4 ,the prongs of a     
tuning-fork1 vibrating #ejj times per   
second1 seem to be travelling very      
quickly1 but are really only moving at  
the rate of #aj inches per second1 or   
not much over half a mile per hour1 when
 the amplitude is the hundredth part of 
an inch1 which gives quite a loud sound4
  ,light is also composed of rills in   
the ,ether1 but the rill itself is not  
,light1 it is only ,light when these    
rills strike1 with a certain enormous   
frequency1 on a special organ adapted   
for1 we might say1 counting these       
frequencies1 and if these frequencies   
fall below that certain number1 or above
 twice that number per second1 there is 
no ,sense of ,sight4  ,how few people   
have ever realised what a wonderful     
,counting ,machine they possess in their
 organ of ,sight6 ,i think the best     
method ,i can adopt1 to bring this      
clearly before you1 is to take our      
tuning-fork1 vibrating #ejj times per   
second1 a rapidity which to some will be

 even difficult to comprehend1 and then 
ask you to consider how long that fork  
must continue to vibrate before it has  
accomplished the full number of         
frequencies1 which must necessarily     
impinge upon the eye in one second of   
time1 before the phenomenon of sight    
becomes possible4 ,that tuning-fork     
would have not only to continue its     
vibrations without diminution for       
seconds1 minutes1 hours1 weeks1 months1 
years1 or hundreds of years1 but for    
#cj1jjj years before it has accomplished
 the full number of pulsations which1 as
 ,ether waves1 must strike the eye in   
one second of time1 to give the         
impression of ,light2 the calculation is
 easy1 the rills of ,red ,light are so  
small that #dj1jjj of these only cover  
one inch of length1 and light travels   
#ahf1jjj miles per second4 ,if therefore
 the number of inches in #ahf1jjj miles 
are multiplied by the #dj1jjj1 and the  
product is divided by the #ejj times    
which the tuning-fork vibrates in one   

second1 you have the number of seconds  
that tuning-fork must vibrate1 before it
 has completed the number of impacts    
which1 in one second of time1 must fall 
on our retina to give us the impression 
of red light2 and that tuning-fork would
 have to vibrate nearly twice as long1  
say #ej1jjj years1 to reach the number  
of impulses which strike the eye in one 
second of time and give the impression  
of violet light2 and between these two  
limits are situated the                 
colours--,orange1 ,yellow1 ,green1      
,blue1 and ,indigo4  ,what a marvellous 
sense then is ,sight1 when we find that1
 not only can it grasp these innumerable
 vibrations1 but can actually           
differentiate colours1 appreciating as a
 different colour each increase of about
 one-tenth in these multitudinous       
frequencies2 and it is principally by   
means of this ,sense of ,sight that we  
gain a knowledge of what is happening   
around us4 ,and yet what strides we have
 made in the last two hundred years to  

improve upon that instrument6 ,with all 
its wonderful capabilities1 we shall see
 later on that the eye is a very        
imperfect instrument for seeing very    
small objects1 or even large objects    
when at a great distance4 ,with the     
present compound ,microscope1 only      
developed in the last hundred years1 and
 its apochromatic lenses1 invented only 
in the last forty years1 we are able to 
see and photograph objects of a         
minuteness immeasurably beyond the power
 of the human eye1 and1 with our        
telescopes1 we can see and photograph   
stars far beyond the possibility of     
vision by the unaided eye2 and yet1 by  
the stellar spectroscope1 we are        
actually able to examine and identify   
the very atoms of which that distant    
star is composed1 or rather was composed
 hundreds of thousands of years ago2 we 
can compare those atoms with the same   
atoms in our laboratories1 and we find  
that1 though the former are hundreds of 
thousands of years older than the       

latter1 they show absolutely no signs of
 wear or loss of energy1 though they    
have been for that enormous time1 and   
are still1 pulsating at the rate of not 
only millions but billions of times per 
second2 and though the pulsations they  
emit have travelled across such a vast  
depth of space that the mind cannot even
 imagine the distance1 there has not    
been any diminution in the numbers of   
pulsations per second1 nor the slightest
 slowing down of the rate of flight at  
which they started on their journey from
 that far-off world4 ,if there had been 
the slightest change we could detect it 
at once by means of the ,spectroscope4  
,with another instrument we are able1   
not only to hear but to converse        
audibly1 as long as we like1 with       
another human being a thousand miles    
away1 who is also sitting comfortably in
 his own arm-chair and speaking to us   
with as much freedom as though we were  
both in the same room4 ,with another    
instrument we can go further1 and       

exchange thoughts1 in a few seconds1    
with a being on the other side of the   
world1 by means of a thin wire that is  
itself fixed1 and does not move1 and we 
have lately invented another means by   
which we can do the same1 over several  
thousands of miles1 without even a      
connecting wire4 ,with another          
instrument we have gone far beyond the  
facility with which the ,printing press 
enabled us to communicate our thoughts  
to our fellow human beings1 we can      
actually imprint our very words and     
laughter upon a wax cylinder and send it
 to the antipodes1 and our friends      
there1 with a similar instrument1 can   
not only hear and recognise our very    
voice1 but can make that voice repeat   
our thoughts audibly1 to a thousand     
others at the same time1 and can repeat 
that process for hundreds of times      
without exhausting that voice4 ,with    
another instrument we can depict on a   
film1 not only the images of our friends
 but their very actions1 which may also 

be sent to any distance1 and the        
persons1 thereon depicted1 may be seen  
by their relatives alive and going about
 their everyday employments1 with every 
movement exact to life4 ,we can cross   
the ,ocean against the wind and waves by
 means of harnessed sunbeams1 without   
any exertion of our own1 at the rate of 
an express train1 which train1 by the   
by1 is also moved by the same means2 we 
can dive to the bottom of the sea and   
journey there for hours1 in perfect     
safety1 without coming to the surface1  
and we are even developing wings1 or    
their equivalent1 which from immemorial 
tradition we were not to possess before 
we had finished doing our duty properly 
in this world and had gained admission  
to the next4  ,we can do all these      
things1 but how ignorant we still are in
 the commonest doings of ,nature6 ,by   
giving up our whole lifetime1 and       
spending millions of pounds1 we could   
never make a grain of wheat or an acorn1
 and wherever we turn we find ourselves 

confronted with mysteries beyond our    
power to explain from a finite material 
standpoint2 even in material vibrations 
we meet a mystery almost beyond our     
power to comprehend4 ,take for instance 
those small insects1 of the family of   
,grasshoppers1 which make the primaeval 
woods of ,central ,america give out a   
noise like the roaring of the sea1 a    
wondrous sound never to be forgotten by 
those who have heard it4 ,by means of a 
kind of rasp one of these insects       
creates a sound which ,darwin states can
 be heard to the distance of one mile3  
these insects weigh less than the       
hundredth part of an ounce1 and the     
instrument by which the noise is made1  
weighs much less than one-tenth of the  
total insect2 it is less therefore than 
one thousandth part of an ounce in      
weight1 and yet it is found1 by         
calculation1 that this small instrument 
is actually able to move at the enormous
 rate of a thousand vibrations per      
second and keep in motion for hours1    

from five to ten million tons of matter1
 and it does this so powerfully that    
every particle of that enormous bulk of 
matter gives out a sound audible to our 
ears4 ,but even these millions of tons  
are not its limit of action1 for we know
 that these vibrations must go on until1
 in the end1 every particle of matter   
connected with this earth has been      
affected by each of those vibrations4   
,all our difficulties of understanding  
the true meaning of these and other     
phenomena around us are1 as ,i have     
already pointed out1 caused by our      
inability to recognise that vibration or
 motion has no reality1 it is a         
pseudo-conception arising from the fact 
that our senses are entirely dependent  
upon the two modes or limitations1 ,time
 and ,space1 for their very action1 and 
that1 as conceptional knowledge is based
 upon perceptional knowledge1 our very  
consciousness of living is also         
dependent upon these same limitations4  
,we have seen that ,motion is nothing   

but the product of these two modes of   
perceptions1 and1 in my next ,views1 ,i 
shall examine these elusive limitations1
 these two mysteries of ,time and       
,space1 the forever and the             
never-ending2 ,i shall trace them to the
 utmost limit of our conception1 and try
 to gain thereby a clearer insight into 
the fact1 not only that the whole       
,physical ,universe is but a transient  
and ,space-limited phenomenon1 a thin   
film which our senses have erected and  
which divides us from the ,reality1 but 
that1 if our power of introspection were
 fully developed1 we should know that   
the ,reality is nearer and dearer to us1
 and has much more to do with us1 even  
in this life1 than has the physical4    
,,view ,,six  ,,space   ,we have seen   
that our very thoughts1 and therefore   
consciousness of living1 are limited by 
,time and ,space1 but we cannot with the
 utmost endeavour conceive a limit to   
,time and ,space2 they are two twin     
sisters1 alike in many respects but     

different in others1 and we shall       
realise later on that they are readily  
interchangeable4 ,the sensuous aspect of
 ,motion is1 as we have seen1 the time  
that an object takes to go over a       
certain space--namely1 what is called   
the rate at which it passes from one    
point to another1 and we cannot imagine 
,motion unless it contains both of these
 modes in however small a quantity2 we  
may have the greatest imaginable space  
traversed in a moment of time1 or the   
smallest imaginable space covered in    
what may be called1 for want of a better
 word1 an eternity1 but we still have to
 postulate what we call ,motion2 this1  
of course1 follows from the fact that   
our thoughts require both these modes   
for forming concepts4 ,if we compare our
 conception of ,matter with that of     
,time and ,space1 we see that the two   
latter are not separately the object of 
any sense1 but are the modes or         
conditions under which all our senses   
act1 to a greater or less degree1 and   

these conditions cannot therefore carry 
the same impression of objectivity to   
our senses as ,matter does1 except      
perhaps in the sense that all physical  
phenomena are simply motion1 and motion 
is the product of both of these         
limitations but not of either of them   
separately4  ,if we analyse our         
conceptions of ,time and ,space we seem 
forced to postulate that they are both  
infinitely divisible and infinitely     
extensible2 they are both what is called
 continuous and not discrete1 we cannot 
conceive any minimum in their division2 
both duration in ,time and extension in 
,space can be reduced1 as it were1 to a 
mathematical point2 nor can we conceive 
any maximum in either duration or       
extension4 ,they are both therefore     
comprised in every conception possible  
to our consciousness2 all parts of ,time
 are time and all parts of ,space are   
space2 there are no holes1 as it were1  
in ,space which are not space1 nor      
intervals in ,time which are not time1  

they are both complete units2 ,space    
cannot be limited except by space1 and  
,time cannot be limited except by time4 
,so far they are alike1 but1 on the     
other hand1 ,space is comprised of three
 dimensions--namely1 length1 breadth1   
and depth1 whereas ,time has the        
appearance to us of comprising one      
dimension only--namely1 length4  ,under 
our present conditions we can only think
 of one finite subject at a time1 and1  
at that moment1 all other subjects are  
cancelled4 ,we can therefore only think 
of points in ,time and ,space as        
situated beyond1 or in front of1 other  
fixed points1 which again must be       
followed by other points2 we cannot fix 
a point in either so as to exclude the  
thought of a point beyond2 we can only  
in fact examine them in a form of finite
 sequences4  ,the ,idea of ,infinity1   
which we shall refer to in a later ,view
 and show to be a false conception1 is  
therefore a necessary result of the     
limitation of our thoughts2 our physical

 ,ego cannot conceive beyond the ,finite
 as long as we are conscious of living  
under present conditions4 ,with every   
act of perception by our senses1 we have
 therefore not only intuition of the    
,visible or ,finite1 but we become at   
the same moment aware of an ,invisible  
,infinite beyond4 ,time appears to us as
 an inconceivable1 intangible something1
 which gives us the impression of       
movement without anything that moves it4
 ,space is an omnipresent1 intangible1  
inconceivable nothing1 outside of which 
nothing which has existence can be even 
thought to exist4 ,let us now try and   
get an insight into what we mean by     
perception of distance in space4  ,the  
appreciation of distance depends upon   
what is called parallax1 or the apparent
 displacement of projectment of an      
object when seen by our two eyes        
separately4 ,if you hold up a finger and
 look at it1 with each eye separately1  
you will see that the finger is         
projected by each eye on to a different 

part of the background2 the angle which 
the lines of sight1 from each eye1 make 
when they meet at the object1 is called 
the angle of parallax1 and the further  
the object is away the smaller that     
angle becomes2 it is1 in fact1 the angle
 subtended1 at the object1 by the       
distance between the two eyes4 ,as the  
object is brought nearer the eyes have  
to be inclined inwards to impinge on    
that object2 the appreciation of        
distance then1 in our sense of sight1 is
 dependent upon our perception of the   
amount of inclination of those two lines
 of sight1 and is therefore an acquired 
knowledge4 ,the distance between the    
eyes is about #b-a_/b inches1 and this  
is a very short base line upon which to 
estimate distance2 in fact1 without the 
help of perspective and known dimensions
 of surrounding objects1 it is doubtful 
if anyone could by its means estimate   
distance beyond a few hundred yards4    
,the object would1 of course1 also have 
to be an unknown one1 as1 otherwise1 the

 converse of the above comes into play1 
and the distance could be estimated by  
the angle which the known diameter of   
the object subtends at the eye2 but this
 necessitates the size of the object    
being known beforehand and the          
employment of perspective4  ,we can     
extend our perception of distances by1  
ourselves1 moving from one place to     
another1 gaining thereby a longer base  
line1 and noting the displacement of    
projection of the object on a distant   
background2 by that means1 distance up  
to several miles can probably be        
appreciated4 ,but1 when we try to       
determine the distance of1 say1 the     
,moon 7#bdj1jjj miles away71 we are     
helpless1 especially as we have no      
marked background1 except in the case of
 occultations of the ,sun or ,stars4    
,but the ,astronomer at once comes to   
our aid2 a distance of several miles is 
carefully measured on a level plane1    
and1 by placing telescopes at the       
extremities of that known line1 we can  

mark the inclination of those telescopes
 to each other when focussed upon a     
particular mountain peak on the moon2 by
 this means we know the angle of        
parallax 7#ahj deg4 less the sum of the 
two angles of inclination71 and1 from   
this and our known length of base line1 
we can calculate the distance4 ,when    
however we go a step further and attempt
 to calculate the distance of the ,sun  
7#ic1jjj1jjj miles71 we find our last   
base line again absolutely inadequate4  
,but the astronomer helps us again2 we  
now separate our two telescopic eyes by 
the whole diameter of the earth 7#gijj  
miles72 this is accomplished by taking  
from the ,equator two simultaneous      
observations of the ,sun1 at its rising 
and setting2 for when the ,sun is       
setting1 at say the ,equinox1 it is at  
that moment rising at exactly the other 
side of the earth2 the inclination of   
the two telescopes1 directed to a       
certain point on the ,sun1 will now give
 the distance approximately1 though even

 this base line is too short for        
exactitude4 ,when however we attempt to 
go still further and try to ascertain   
the distance of stars1 which are a      
million times further off than the ,sun1
 such a base line is quite out of the   
question4 ,how then can we get a base   
line for our telescopes longer than the 
whole width of the earth8 ,the          
,astronomer again provides the means4   
,the earth takes one year to complete   
its vast orbit round the sun1 and the   
diameter of that path is #ahf1jjj1jjj   
miles4 ,this is made our new base line  
for separating our telescopes2 an       
observation of a star is taken1 say1    
to-day1 and after waiting six months1 to
 enable the earth to reach the other    
extremity of its vast orbit1 another    
observation is taken1 and yet it is     
found1 as we shall see later on1 that   
the distance of the nearest fixed star  
is so stupendous that even this base    
line1 of #ahf1jjj1jjj miles1 shows      
absolutely no inclination between the   

two telescopes except in about a dozen  
cases1 and even in those the angle of   
parallax1 perceivable1 is so minute that
 no reliable distance can be calculated2
 we can only say that the star is at    
least as far away as a certain distance1
 but it may be much farther4  ,let us   
now try by other means to get a clearer 
insight into the subject of this ,view1 
by tracing ,space to the utmost limit of
 human conception4 ,i think the best    
method ,i can adopt will be to take you1
 in imagination1 for a journey as far as
 is possible by means of the best       
instruments at our disposal4  ,we will  
start outwards from the ,sun1 and glance
 on our way at the worlds involved in   
the ,solar ,system4 ,let us first       
understand what are the dimensions of   
our central ,luminary4 ,the distance of 
the ,moon from the ,earth is #bdj1jjj   
miles1 but the dimensions of the ,sun   
are so great that1 were the centre of   
the ,sun placed where the centre of the 
,earth is1 the surface of the ,sun would

 not only extend as far as the ,moon1   
but as far again on the other side1 and 
that would give the radius only of the  
enormous circumference of the ,sun2     
another way to understand its size is1  
to remember that1 light travelling      
#ahf1jjj miles per second1 would        
actually take five seconds to go across 
its disc4 ,let us now start outward from
 this vast mass4 ,the first world we    
meet is the little planet ,mercury1 only
 #cjjj miles in diameter1 revolving     
round the ,sun at a distance of #cf     
million miles4 ,we next come upon       
,venus1 at a distance of #fg million    
miles4 ,she is only #djj miles smaller  
in diameter than our ,earth1 and1 with  
the dense atmosphere with which she is  
surrounded1 animal and vegetable life   
similar to that on our ,earth would be  
possible4 ,continuing our course1 we    
arrive at our ,earth1 situated #ic      
million miles away from the ,sun4 ,still
 speeding on1 a further #ej million     
miles brings us to ,mars1 with a        

diameter of nearly #ejjj miles1 and     
accompanied by two miniature moons4 ,the
 sight of this planet in a good         
instrument is most interesting4 ,ocean  
beds and continents are visible1 and the
 telescope shows large tracts of snow1  
though not necessarily formed from water
 7perhaps carbonic dioxide71 surrounding
 its polar regions1 which increase      
considerably during the winter1 and     
decrease during the summer seasons on   
that planet2 but there are no canals6   
,the fact that our largest and best     
telescopes failed to show these         
imaginary canals1 was an insurmountable 
barrier to the advocates of these       
markings1 but the ,canalites made their 
contention ridiculous when they actually
 suggested that the reason for this     
failure to perceive them was that our   
telescopes were too large to see such   
small markings6 ,how such a statement   
could have been made is incomprehensible
 on any supposition1 as everybody knows 
that the whole use of size1 or what is  

called aperture1 in a telescope1 is to  
help us to see more clearly small and   
faint markings4  ,the distances we now  
have to travel become so great that ,i  
shall not attempt to give them2 you can1
 however1 form an idea of the tremendous
 spaces we are traversing when you      
consider that each successive planet is 
nearly double as far from the ,sun as   
the preceding one4  ,in the place where1
 by ,bode's law1 we should expect to    
have found the next world1 we find a    
group of small planets1 ranging in size 
from about #bjj miles in diameter down  
to only a few hundred yards4 ,they pass 
through nearly the same point once in   
each of their periods of revolution     
round the ,sun1 and it has been         
suggested that they are fragments of a  
great globe rent asunder by some mighty 
catastrophe2 over #djj of these little  
worlds have been discovered and have    
received names1 or are known under      
certain numbers4  ,we now continue our  
voyage over the next huge space and     

arrive at ,jupiter1 the largest and     
grandest of the planets4 ,this world is 
more than #ajjj times larger than our   
,earth1 its circumference being actually
 greater than the distance from the     
,earth to the ,moon4 ,it has seven      
moons1 and its year is about twelve     
times as long as ours4 ,pursuing our    
journey1 we next come to ,saturn4 ,it is
 nearly as large as ,jupiter1 and has a 
huge ring of planetary matter revolving 
round it in addition to seven moons4    
,further and further we go1 and the     
planets behind us are disappearing1 and 
even the ,sun is dwindling down to a    
mere speck2 still we hurry on1 and at   
last alight on another planet1 ,uranus1 
about sixty times larger than our       
,earth2 we see moons in attendance1 but 
they have scarcely any light to reflect2
 the ,sun is only a star now2 but we    
must hasten on deeper and deeper into   
space4 ,we shall again1 as formerly1    
have to go nearly as far beyond the last
 planet as that planet is from the ,sun4

 ,the mind cannot grasp these huge      
distances4 ,still we travel on to the   
last planet1 ,neptune1 revolving on its 
lonely orbit2 sunk so deep into space   
that1 though it rushes round the ,sun at
 the rate of #bb1jjj miles per hour1 it 
takes #afd of our years to complete one 
revolution4 ,now let us look back from  
this remote point4 ,what do we see8 ,one
 planet only1 ,uranus1 is visible to the
 unaided eye2 the giant planets1        
,jupiter and ,saturn1 have disappeared1 
and the ,sun itself is now only a star2 
practically no heat1 no light1 all is   
darkness in this solitary world2 the    
,sun is #ajjj times smaller than we see 
it from the earth1 and gives1 therefore1
 only one-thousandth part of its heat   
and light4 ,thus far have we gone1 and1 
standing there at the enormous distance 
of #c1jjj1jjj1jjj miles from our        
starting-point1 we can begin to         
comprehend the vast limits of the solar 
system2 we can begin to understand the  
ways of this mighty family of planets   

and satellites4 ,but let us not set up  
too small a standard whereby to measure 
the ,infinity of ,space4 ,we shall find1
 as we go on1 that this stupendous      
system is but an infinitesimal part of  
the whole universe4  ,let us now look   
forward along the path we are to take4  
,we are standing on the outermost part  
of our ,solar ,system1 and there is no  
other planet towards which we can wing  
our flight2 but all around are          
multitudes of stars1 some shining with a
 brightness almost equal to what our    
,sun appears to give forth at that great
 distance1 others hardly visible1 but   
the smallest telescope increases their  
number enormously1 and presents to our  
mind the appalling phantom of immensity 
in all its terror1 standing there to    
withstand our next great step4 ,how are 
we to continue on our journey when our  
very senses seem paralysed by this      
obstruction1 and even imagination is    
powerless from utter loneliness8 ,one   
guide only is there to help us1 the     

messenger which flits from star to star1
 universe to universe2 ,light it is     
which will help us to appreciate even   
these bottomless depths4 ,now1 ,light   
travels #ahf1jjj miles per second1 or   
#ab million miles every minute of time4 
,it therefore takes only about four     
hours to traverse the huge distance     
between our ,sun and ,neptune1 where we 
are now supposed to be standing2 but to 
leap across the space separating us from
 the nearest star1 it would require many
 years for ,light1 travelling at        
#ahf1jjj miles every second of that     
time1 to span the distance4 ,there are1 
in fact1 only fifteen stars in the whole
 heaven that could be reached1 on the   
wings of ,light1 in sixteen years6  ,let
 us use this to continue our voyage4 ,on
 a clear night the human eye can        
perceive thousands of stars1 in all     
directions1 scattered without any       
apparent order or design2 but in one    
locality1 forming a huge ring round the 
heavens1 there is a misty zone called   

the ,milky ,way4 ,let us turn a         
telescope with a low aperture on this1  
and what a sight presents itself6       
,instead of mist1 myriads of stars are  
now seen surrounded by nebulous haze4   
,we put a higher aperture on1 and thus  
pierce further and further into space2  
the haze is resolved into myriads more  
stars1 and more haze comes up from the  
deep beyond1 showing that the visual ray
 was not yet strong enough to fathom the
 mighty distance2 but let the full      
aperture be applied and mark the result4
 ,mist and haze have disappeared2 the   
telescope has pierced right through the 
stupendous distance1 and only the vast  
abyss of space1 boundless and           
unfathomable1 is seen beyond4  ,let us  
pause here for a moment to think what we
 have done4 ,light1 travelling with its 
enormous velocity1 requires on an       
average considerably over ten years to  
traverse the distance between our ,solar
 ,system and ,stars of the first        
magnitude1 but the dimensions of the    

,milky ,way are built up on such a huge 
scale that to traverse the whole stratum
 would require us to pass about #ejj    
stars1 separated from each other by this
 same tremendous interval2 #aj1jjj years
 may therefore be computed as the       
shortest time which light1 travelling   
with its enormous velocity1 would take  
to sweep across the whole cluster1 it   
being borne in mind that the ,solar     
,system is supposed to be located not   
far from the centre of this great star  
cluster1 and that the cluster comprises 
all stars visible arrayed in a flat     
zone1 the edges of which1 where the     
stratum is deepest1 being the locality  
of the ,milky ,way4  ,let us once more  
continue our journey4 ,we have traversed
 a distance which even on the wings of  
light we could only accomplish in many  
thousands of years1 and now stand on the
 outskirts of our great star cluster1 in
 the same way1 and ,i hope with the same
 aspirations1 as when we paused the last
 time on the confines of our ,solar     

,system4 ,behind us are myriads of      
shining orbs1 in such countless numbers 
that human thought cannot even suggest a
 limit1 and yet each of these is a      
mighty globe like our ,sun1 the centre  
of a planetary system1 dispensing light 
and heat under conditions similar to    
what we are accustomed to here4 ,let us1
 however1 turn our face away from these 
clusterings of mighty suns1 and look    
steadfastly forward into the unbroken   
darkness1 and once more brace our nerves
 to face that terrible                  
phantom--,immensity4  ,we require now   
the most powerful instruments that      
science can put into our hands1 and by  
their aid we will again essay to make   
another stride towards the appreciation 
of our subject4 ,in what1 to the unaided
 eye1 was unbroken darkness1 the        
telescope now enables us to discern a   
number of luminous points of haze1 and  
towards one of these we continue our    
journey4 ,the myriads of suns in our    
great star cluster are soon being left  

far behind2 they shrink together1       
resolve themselves into haze1 until the 
once glorious universe of countless     
millions of suns has dwindled down to a 
mere point of light1 almost invisible to
 the naked eye4 ,but look forward3 the  
luminous cloud to which we are urging   
our flight has expanded1 until what1 at 
one time1 was a mere patch of           
brightness1 has now swelled into a      
mighty star cluster2 myriads of suns    
burst into sight--we have traversed a   
distance which even on the wings of     
light would take hundreds of thousands  
of years1 and have reached the confines 
of another ,milky ,way as glorious and  
mighty as the one we have left2 whose   
limits light would require #aj1jjj years
 to traverse2 and yet1 in whatever      
direction the telescope is placed1 star 
clusters are to be seen strewn over the 
surface of the heavens4  ,let us take   
now the utmost limit of telescopic power
 in all directions4 ,where are we after 
all but in the centre of a sphere whose 

circumference is #ajj1jjj times as far  
from us as one of the nearest fixed     
stars1 a distance that light would take 
over a million years to traverse1 and   
beyond whose circuit1 infinity1         
boundless infinity1 still stretches     
unfathomed as ever8 ,we have made a     
step1 indeed1 but perhaps only towards  
acquaintance with a new order of        
infinitesimals4 ,once the distances of  
our ,solar ,system seemed almost        
infinite quantities2 compare them with  
the intervals between the fixed stars1  
and they become no quantities at all4   
,and now when the spaces between the    
stars are contrasted with the gulfs of  
dark spaces separating firmaments1 they 
absolutely vanish away4 ,can the whole  
firmamental creation in its turn be     
nothing but a corner of some mightier   
scheme8 ,but let us not go on to        
bewilderment3 we have passed from planet
 to planet1 star to star1 universe to   
universe1 and still infinite space      
extends for ever beyond our grasp4 ,we  

have gone as far towards the infinite as
 our sight1 aided by the most powerful  
telescope1 can hope to go4 ,is there no 
way then by which we can continue our   
journey further towards the appreciation
 of this infinity8 ,a few years ago we  
should probably have denied that it was 
possible for man to go further2 but     
quite lately a new method of observation
 has been developed1 and we will try and
 use this to continue our flight4  ,the 
reason why1 to our sight1 an object     
becomes apparently smaller and smaller  
as it is withdrawn from the eye1 until  
it at last disappears entirely1 is that 
the eye is a very imperfect instrument  
for viewing objects at a great distance2
 it can only form an image of an object 
when that object is near enough to      
subtend a certain angle1 or1 in popular 
language1 to show itself a certain      
size--the rays of light must            
converge--in fact1 the eye cannot single
 out and appreciate parallel rays3 could
 it do this1 objects would not appear to

 grow smaller as they are removed4 ,a   
pencil might be removed to the ,moon1   
#bdj1jjj miles away1 and would still    
appear to the eye the same size as it   
does here close to you2 with perfect    
vision there would be no such thing as  
perspective1 but1 with our present      
conditions of sight1 the result would be
 inconvenient4 ,we should never be able 
to see1 at one and the same time1       
anything larger than the pupil of our   
eye4 ,the beauties of the landscape     
would be gone1 and our dearest friends  
would pass us unheeded and unseen2      
everyday life would resolve itself into 
a task similar to that of attempting to 
read our newspaper every morning by     
means of a powerful microscope2 we      
should commence by getting on to a big  
black blotch1 and1 after wandering about
 for half an hour1 we might perhaps then
 begin to find out that we were looking 
at the little letter e1 but anything    
like reading would be quite out of the  
question4 ,we may1 therefore1 with our  

limited aperture of sight1 be thankful  
that our eyes have the imperfection of  
not appreciating parallel rays4 ,but we 
will now consider how this imperfection 
may be remedied by science4  ,there are 
two different ways of doing this--viz41 
first1 by increasing the amount of light
 received1 by means of telescopes of    
great aperture2 and secondly1 by        
employing an artificial retina a        
thousand times more sensitive than the  
human4 ,now1 the human retina receives  
the impression of what it looks at in a 
very minute fraction of a second1       
provided of course that the eye is      
properly focussed1 and no further       
impression will be made by keeping the  
eye fixed on that object2 but in        
celestial photography1 when the         
telescope is turned into a camera1 the  
sensitive plate1 having received the    
impression in the first second1 may be  
exposed not only for many seconds1 or   
minutes1 or hours1 but for an aggregate 
of even days by re-exposure1 every      

second of which time details on that    
plate new objects1 sunk so deep in the  
vast depths of space as to be           
immeasurably beyond the power of the    
human eye1 even through telescopes      
hundreds of times more powerful than the
 largest instruments that science has   
enabled us to construct2 and yet here is
 laid before us a faithful chart1 by    
means of which we may once more continue
 our journey through space4 ,a short    
exposure will show us firmaments and    
nebulae just outside the range of our   
greatest telescopes1 and every          
additional second extends our vision by 
such vast increases of distances that   
the brain reels at the thought2 and yet1
 as we have seen1 exposures of these    
sensitive plates may be1 and have been1 
made not only for seconds1 but for      
thousands and even hundreds of thousands
 of seconds6 ,and still there is no end1
 no end where the weary mind can rest   
and contemplate2 the finite mind of man 
can only cry out that there is no limit4

 ,in spite of all its strivings and     
groping by aid of speculative           
philosophy1 the finite cannot attain to 
the ,infinite1 nor get any nearer to    
where the mighty sea of time breaks in  
noiseless waves on the dim shore of     
eternity4  ,in this journey through     
space we have apparently exhausted our  
power of conception of the extension of 
this ,view4 ,although we have travelled 
in one direction only1 our flight was   
applicable to every possible known      
direction outwards into the vast abyss  
of ,infinite space4 ,but there is       
another path1 by which we can also      
travel with profit to our understanding 
of this subject1 running in the opposite
 direction--namely1 inwards4 ,just as   
the outward journey seemed to take us   
towards the appreciation of what our    
finite senses call the infinitely great1
 so does this other path appear to      
intend to infinity1 in the opposite     
direction1 leading us to appreciate what
 is called the infinitely small4 ,we    

have already considered this direction  
in ,view ,one1 under the heading of     
,relativity1 and by combining these two 
experiences1 we may see still more      
clearly that our very conception of     
,space is one of the modes only under   
which motion or physical phenomena are  
presented to our consciousness4         
,,view ,,seven  ,,time   ,in the last   
,view ,i referred to the mysteries of   
,time and ,space as twin-sisters2 they  
have1 as we saw1 many aspects in common1
 and are the two modes or conditions    
under which all our senses act and by   
which our thoughts are limited4 ,we     
arbitrarily divide each of these two    
mysteries into two parts1 which parts   
are separated from each other1 in either
 case1 by a point which has1 apparently1
 as its centre1 our very consciousness  
of living4 ,in the case of ,space we    
call this point the ,,here1 and on one  
side of it1 as we saw in our last ,view1
 we have extension towards the          
infinitely great1 and1 on the other1    

intension towards the infinitely small4 
,in the case of ,time we call the middle
 point the ,,now1 and on one side of    
this we place the duration of ,time     
towards the future1 and1 on the other1  
we place what we call the duration of   
,time towards the past4 ,in the case of 
,space we have the here and the         
overthere1 equivalent in ,time to the   
present and the future1 but1 though     
,time and ,space are1 as it were1       
twin-sisters1 upon whose combined action
 depends our very consciousness of      
living1 we do not treat them both       
equally4  ,it is a remarkable fact that 
the human race on this particular world 
has1 in some inexplicable way1 come to  
look upon the future as non-existent    
until we arrive at1 and are able to     
perceive1 with our senses1 what is      
happening there2 this is all the more   
inexplicable when we realise that in    
traversing ,space we certainly have to  
move to get anywhere1 but in traversing 
,time we have nothing equivalent to     

movement4 ,this curious way of looking  
upon the future as non-existent1 may be 
another sign that our race is still in  
its infancy1 but is more probably caused
 by human beings having always hitherto 
looked upon ,time not only as a reality 
but as actually moving or extending     
along a line from past to future        
eternity2 whereas1 under our present    
outlook1 we have no consciousness of the
 existence of ,time except by intervals 
between successive thoughts2 our        
consciousness of the very existence of  
,time is based upon our ,physical ,ego  
repeating the present1 by saying to     
itself the words1 ,now--,now--,now2 but 
there is nothing that can be called     
movement in this1 any more than if you  
are standing still and saying1          
,here--,here--,here--relating to ,space4
 ,time is1 as it were1 marking time1 and
 as the present in time is common to all
 space1 ,time is marking time           
everywhere1 and the ,now therefore      
includes the whole of the past and the  

whole of future eternity everywhere4 ,we
 shall get a clearer understanding of   
this later on2 meanwhile1 we are face to
 face with the fact that we look upon   
the future as non-existent4  ,this      
curious state of things is probably only
 accidental to the present stage of     
development of the human mind1 and may1 
at any time1 be rectified by perhaps    
either a slight rearrangement of that   
slender network of nerves upon which    
depends our faculty of thinking1 or the 
joining together of a few microscopical 
filaments attached to the cells in the  
grey cortical layer1 or even a single   
bridge thrown across from one           
convolution to another of the brain2 a  
very slight alteration would open up to 
our consciousness the present existence 
of the future4 ,the prime perceivable   
difference between our brains and those 
of the ,apes and lower animals is the   
larger number of enfoldments1 or        
convolutions1 that are developed by the 
,human4 ,each new line of thought1 or   

sequence of thoughts1 requires1 and is  
provided with1 a new wrinkle or small   
convolution1 and it probably only       
requires the attention of the human race
 to be fixed1 for a time1 on the        
consideration of this subject1 to evolve
 the slight alteration1 or bridge1      
necessary to enable us to see that the  
future1 as also the past1 does actually 
exist and is included in the ,now4 ,it  
may make this a little clearer to       
consider that if you maintain that1 in  
traversing the duration of time1 the    
future does not exist until you arrive  
there1 you should also in fairness      
insist that1 in travelling through the  
extension of ,space1 your destination1  
say ,rome1 does not exist until you get 
there and can see it with your senses4  
,as we have1 in the former six ,views1  
been gradually mounting above the mists 
and illusions of our everyday thoughts1 
and can look through our ,window with1  
,i hope1 a clearer vision1 ,i shall     
venture in this present ,view to carry  

the subject of the ,future still        
further1 and show that1 just as we have 
now before us and can read the papyri   
which were written #ejjj years ago1 so  
it is possible to conceive that books1  
written and being written and printed   
#ejjj years hence1 are at present in    
existence1 and that it is even possible 
the human race has actually already read
 them2 whether we shall be able to see  
them and read them in our own lifetime  
may be open to question2 that may again 
depend upon the development of special  
cross-circuiting of brain filaments4    
,meanwhile1 in order to carry our       
present ,view to the utmost limit of our
 conception1 in a manner somewhat       
similar to what we did for ,space1 ,i   
will again ask you to join me in a      
thought-flight towards the appreciation 
of this second great ,mystery4  ,with   
this object in view we will first       
consider the human senses of sight and  
hearing1 commencing with sound1 or the  
vibrations which affect the tympanum of 

the human ear4 ,sound travels in air at 
about #aacj feet per second1 and if the 
vibrating body1 giving out the sound1   
oscillates sixteen times in one second1 
it follows that1 spreading over this    
#aacj feet1 there will be sixteen waves1
 giving a length of about #gj feet to   
each wave4 ,this is the lowest sound    
that the human ear can appreciate as a  
musical note1 and is1 what may be       
called1 the fourth ,octave above one    
vibration in one second4 ,when the      
number of vibrations in a second sinks  
below sixteen1 the ear no longer        
appreciates them as a musical sound1 but
 is able to hear them as separate       
vibrations or beats4 ,the easiest way of
 illustrating this is by means of a     
revolving disc1 with sixteen holes      
pierced at regular intervals round the  
edge1 and a jet of high-pressure air1   
which is forced through each of the     
holes successively as they revolve4     
,when the disc does not quite complete  
one revolution in a second1 only fifteen

 puffs come to the ear in a second of   
time1 and they are heard as puffs2 but  
when the rate reaches one revolution in 
a second1 the sound1 as if by magic1    
changes into the lowest musical sound4  
,the same result may be obtained in a   
more pronounced form by means of        
explosions or pistol shots2 when these  
are slow and heard separately1 they are 
painful and almost unbearable to the    
ear1 but1 as soon as their rapidity1    
namely1 at sixteen per second1 gets     
beyond the power of the ear to          
differentiate between the explosions1   
the impression1 as if by magic1 changes 
into a continuous or musical sound1 like
 a thirty-foot pipe note of an organ4   
,to go back to our disc4 ,the octave    
above this lowest musical note is       
obtained by doubling the rate of puffs1 
namely1 by revolving the disc twice in  
one second1 and the next octave by      
revolving four times in a second1 and so
 on1 doubling each time1 until1 at about
 the thirteenth octave1 the sound has   

become so high that the majority of     
listeners cannot hear it1 and fancy it  
must have stopped1 whereas a few will   
still be saying3 ,how shrill it is6 ,at 
last1 at about the fourteenth octave1   
when there are #bj1jjj beats to the     
second and each wave is about half an   
inch long1 it passes beyond human       
audition1 and1 although we can show that
 the air is still vibrating1 all is     
silent1 the human ear being incapable of
 hearing so many beats in a second even 
as a continuous sound1 though ,i have   
evidence to show that many insects can  
hear probably considerably beyond this  
limit4 ,it is1 however1 possible to make
 these higher vibrations perceptible to 
our senses by means of what are called  
sensitive flames3 we can actually1 by   
these1 measure the length of these      
silent waves1 and as we know the rate at
 which they travel1 we can at once      
compute the number which occur in a     
second of time1 and thus ascertain their
 pitch4 ,by this means we can follow for

 about three more octaves above the     
audible limit1 namely1 up to #afj1jjj   
pulsations per second1 with a length of 
wave of one-twelfth of an inch4  ,two   
and a half octaves above these          
numerically1 i4e4 at about the twentieth
 octave1 we reach the frequency of      
,electro-,magnetic ,rills1 used by the  
,marconi ,system of wireless telegraphy1
 which pulsate at about #iej1jjj per    
second1 and have a wave-length of       
something like #ajjj feet4 ,the reason  
for this great increase in length of    
wave is caused by these frequencies     
being propagated in the ,ether at the   
rate of #ahf1jjj miles per second1      
instead of1 as with sound waves1 in the 
air1 at only #aacj feet per second4 ,we 
can trace these particular frequencies1 
called1 after their discoverer1         
,hertzian waves1 for about fifteen      
octaves1 when we arrive at the frequency
 of #cb1jjj1jjj1jjj in a second1 with a 
wave-length decreased to a quarter of an
 inch2 we can render the effect of these

 waves visible1 but have no physical    
organ by which we can feel these        
pulsations4 ,after this1 however1 we get
 into the region of frequencies which1  
though still of exactly the same kind1  
we know and can feel as ,radiant heat2  
these are situated in the next fourteen 
octaves1 and bring us up to those subtle
 frequencies which affect another of our
 sense organs1 and which we appreciate  
as light2 these we have already seen    
have the enormous frequency of          
#ecj1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj pulsations per     
second for red light1 up to             
#icj1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj per second for     
violet1 and having wave-lengths so small
 that it takes #dj1jjj and #gj1jjj of   
them respectively to cover one inch in  
length4 ,there is only a little over    
half an octave that the eye can         
appreciate as light1 and then all is    
darkness2 but we can still go on further
 by the help of ,science3 beyond the    
violet we have the actinic or chemical  
rays1 which are used in photography1 and

 which enable us to trace the           
frequencies for a further two octaves4  
,beyond this we cannot pierce with our  
present knowledge2 but there may be1 and
 probably are1 latent in our nature1    
senses which1 properly developed1 will  
be able to appreciate still more subtle 
vibrations1 and organs which1 perhaps1  
even now are being prepared for the     
reception of these influences4  ,we have
 no organs yet developed for receiving  
and appreciating what are called        
,wireless waves1 but we have already    
been able to devise physical ,receivers1
 of wonderful sensitiveness1 for them   
and other waves of the same nature1 such
 as those of ,radiant heat4 ,in the case
 of ,radiant heat1 the ,bolometer       
invented by ,professor ,langley has been
 able to receive and record a change of 
temperature of the one millionth of a   
degree ,centigrade1 and can easily make 
visible the heat of a candle at a       
distance of one and a half miles4 ,in   
wireless telegraphy also the ,receiver1 

perfected by ,marconi1 is affected by   
rills1 made by a splash of electric     
discharge1 over #cjjj miles away4 ,if   
our eyes were sensitive to these        
frequencies1 both of which are composed1
 as is also light1 of electro-magnetic  
rills1 we could see anything that was   
happening anywhere in the world1 for    
they go through matter as though it did 
not exist1 as light passes through      
glass2 indeed1 if our region of ,sight  
waves was only put an octave lower we   
could not use glass in our windows1 it  
would be too opaque1 we should be       
obliged to have our windows made of thin
 slabs of carbon or other substances    
permeable to ,radiant heat waves4       
,science indeed steadily points to      
electricity and magnetism being a form  
of motion1 and it may be that in these  
invisible rays we may some day discover 
the nature of those mysterious forces2  
and1 even far beyond those1 as suggested
 in ,view ,four1 we may in the not far  
distant future be able to appreciate    

,physical ,life itself as a mode of     
frequency4  ,we want1 as it were1 a     
special ,time ,microscope1 which ,i have
 already referred to1 to examine these  
vibrations1 and a method similar to that
 already mentioned in ,space1 under     
,celestial ,photography1 by which we may
 traverse and examine hundreds or       
thousands of octaves by each second of  
exposure2 for1 although the path extends
 to infinity1 we have already arrived at
 the utmost limits of our finite senses1
 and find that after all we can only    
appreciate fifty-one octaves1 a few     
inches only1 as it were1 along the line 
of ,infinite extent1 reaching from the  
finite up to the ,reality2 and even so  
it must be borne in mind that we have   
only travelled in one direction1 whereas
 the path we have taken extends in the  
opposite direction also to infinity4 ,we
 started with sixteen vibrations in a   
second1 as the lowest number of beats we
 human beings can appreciate as a       
musical sound2 let us now descend by    

octaves4 ,the octave below is eight     
vibrations in a second1 and there are   
probably many animals that can only hear
 these as a musical sound2 the next     
octave is four1 then two1 and then one  
vibration in a second4 ,but we do not   
stop there2 the octave below this is one
 vibration in two seconds1 then in four 
seconds1 eight seconds1 sixteen seconds1
 and so on1 until it is possible to     
conceive that even one frequency in a   
million years might be appreciated as a 
musical sound1 or even as one of the    
colours of the spectrum1 by a being     
whose time sensations were enormously   
extended in both directions1 but still  
finite4  ,once more we must call a halt4
 ,our finite minds become bewildered in 
attempting even to glance at these      
infinities of time4  ,we measure space  
by miles1 yards1 feet1 and inches2 we   
measure time by years1 hours1 minutes1  
and seconds2 and by these finite units  
we try to fathom these two marvellous   
infinities4 ,with our greatest efforts  

of thought we find1 however1 that we can
 get relatively no distance whatever    
from the ,,here of ,space and the ,,now 
of ,time4 ,it is true that the present1 
as a mathematical point1 appears to be  
hurrying and bearing us with it along   
the line stretching from the past to    
future eternity1 but in reality we get  
no further from the one nor nearer to   
the other4 ,let us change our view and  
examine this subject under a different  
aspect4  ,first of all1 look round a    
room and note the different objects to  
be seen4 ,even in a small room we do not
 see the objects as they really are at  
this instant1 but only as they were at a
 certain fixed length of time ago4 ,the 
present time is common to every point in
 space and each person is in the        
present1 but only to his own perception2
 to everyone else in the room1 each     
individual is1 at this moment1 being    
seen acting in the past2 those objects  
which are further away are being seen   
further behind in point of time than    

those that are nearer2 in fact1 however 
near we are to an object1 we can never  
see it as it is but only as it was4 ,we 
are dealing with very minute differences
 here1 they being based upon the rate at
 which light travels2 but they are      
differences which are known with a      
wonderful degree of accuracy4  ,we have 
here another example of how perception  
without knowledge leads to false        
concepts4 ,when anyone views an extended
 landscape1 he thinks that his sight    
shows him that the same point of ,time1 
which he is experiencing1 is common to  
every man1 animal1 plant1 or material   
visible there1 but we know now that he  
is seeing every part of that scene in   
the past compared with himself4 ,just as
 all objects therein are situated at    
separate distinct points of space1 so to
 our vision the objects of that scene   
are acting or existing in different     
epochs of time4 ,an ,artist gives us on 
a flat surface a picture of that        
landscape1 and his representations of   

all objects in that scene appear        
therefore to us as being in the same    
moment of ,time1 but to get that effect 
he has to draw objects at a distance    
smaller than those close at hand2 a fly 
in the foreground has to be drawn larger
 than a horse supposed to be in the     
distance1 though both are on the same   
flat surface2 they have the same        
parallax and are therefore the same     
distance from the observer1 and as this 
produces a similar image on our retina1 
we accept it though we know it is only a
 make-believe2 it serves its purpose by 
giving us an impression on our retina   
which we have learnt to interpret as    
representing that landscape1 but such a 
picture would indeed be a marvel of     
absurdity to a being who had perfect    
sight1 such as we have already referred 
to1 and who could appreciate parallel   
rays2 in such a vision there would be no
 perspective1 no vanishing point in     
perception4  ,now let us take a wider   
landscape4 ,the ,moon is #bdj1jjj miles 

distant4 ,we do not1 therefore1 ever see
 her as she is but as she was #a-a_/d   
seconds ago4 ,in the same way we see the
 ,sun as he was eight minutes ago1 and  
we see ,jupiter as he was nearly an hour
 ago4 ,let us look still further to one 
of the nearest fixed stars4 ,we at this 
moment only see that star as it was more
 than ten years ago2 that star may      
therefore have exploded or disappeared  
ten long years ago1 and yet we still see
 it shining1 and shall continue to see  
it there until the long line of light   
has run itself out2 all around us1 in   
fact1 we see the appearance of blazing  
suns not as they are now but as they    
were thousands of years ago1 and1 by the
 aid of the telescope and of our        
sensitive plate1 we are only now        
recording the light which started from  
clusters and firmaments probably        
millions of years ago4  ,now let us take
 the converse of this4 ,to anybody on   
the moon at this moment the earth would 
be seen from there not as it is1 but as 

it was #a-a_/d seconds ago1 and from the
 sun as it was eight minutes ago1 and if
 we were in ,jupiter1 and were looking  
back1 we should1 at this particular     
moment1 be viewing what was happening on
 this earth1 and seeing what each of us 
was doing an hour ago4 ,now let us go in
 imagination to one of the nearest fixed
 stars1 and looking back we should see  
what was happening ten years ago2 going 
still further to a far-off cluster1 the 
light would only just now be arriving   
there1 which started from the earth at  
the time when man first appeared2 or we 
might go to so remote a distance that   
the scene of the formation of the ,solar
 ,system would be only now arriving     
there1 and all the events which have    
taken place from that remote time to the
 present would1 as time rolled on1 reach
 there in exactly the same succession as
 they have happened on this earth2 and  
remember that we should be looking1 from
 that great distance1 at all these past 
events with the same intuitional        

advantage as though we were actually    
present here in time1 for however near  
we are to an object1 we never see it as 
it is but only as it was in the past4   
,let us but turn to any point of space  
and we shall find at each point1        
according to its remoteness1 the actual 
scenes of the past being enacted1 in    
fact it may be said that throughout     
infinite space every event in past      
eternity is now indelibly recorded4  ,a 
murder committed hundreds of years ago1 
in a country house1 may never have been 
found out1 the criminal and his victim  
have alike turned to dust1 the blood has
 been washed from the floor1 the very   
house and its surroundings have crumbled
 and disappeared1 and in their place a  
waving corn field is all that can be    
seen1 but at this very moment if we were
 at a certain point in space1 we should 
now be witnessing there1 the whole      
actual living scene from beginning to   
end1 as though we were present here     
hundreds of years ago3 the murderer     

standing over his victim1 the knife     
driven in and the blood gushing out4 ,if
 we went further away we should at this 
same moment be seeing the criminal just 
arriving and knocking at the door of    
that house1 then going upstairs into the
 room1 and the same terrible scene with 
all its minutiae would again be enacted4
 ,from a point still further removed1 we
 should now see him1 say1 having lunch  
at a country inn some miles away1       
concocting his villainy1 then he would  
be seen walking across the fields       
towards the house1 again knocking at the
 door1 mounting the staircase1 and once 
more would that murderous scene be      
enacted before our eyes1 and so on for  
ever2 the scene1 with the house and its 
surroundings1 have indeed been          
completely swept away from the present  
here1 but the whole tragedy will always 
be acting in the future there in the    
presence of the ,reality4  ,let us now  
come1 in imagination1 towards the earth1
 from some far-off cluster of stars4 ,if

 we traverse the distance in one year1  
the whole of the events from the        
formation of this world would appear    
before us1 only thousands of times      
quicker4 ,make the journey in a month1 a
 day1 an hour1 a second1 or a moment of 
time1 and all past events1 from the     
grandest to the most trivial1 would be  
acted in an infinitesimal portion of    
time4  ,when we have fully grasped this 
we recognise that ,omniscience is       
synonymous with ,omnipresence1 and some 
may find1 in this thought1 a glimpse of 
that ,great ,book wherein are said to be
 registered every thought1 word1 and    
deed1 which1 in the direction of the    
,reality1 has helped to nourish1 or1 in 
the direction of the shadow1 has tended 
to starve the personality of each one of
 us2 for we know that every word we     
utter1 or that has been uttered from the
 beginning of the world1 and every      
motion of our brain connected with      
thought is indelibly imprinted upon     
every atom of matter4 ,if our sense of  

perception were greatly increased we    
need not go to ,palestine to see on the 
rocks there the impressions of the image
 of ,christ and ,his disciples1 or of   
the words they uttered as they passed   
by1 but any stone by the wayside here   
would show ,his every action and resound
 with every word ,he uttered4 ,in fact1 
every particle of matter on this earth  
is a witness to that which has happened1
 every point in space and every moment  
of time contains the history of the past
 in the smallest minutiae4 ,the ,here1  
embracing all space1 and the ,now1      
embracing all time1 are the only        
realities to the ,omniscient4  ,let us  
once more change the scene and we may   
grasp even more clearly that ,time and  
,space are not realities but are only   
modes or conditions under which our     
material senses act4 ,a tune may be     
played either a thousand times slower or
 a thousand times quicker1 but it still 
remains the same tune1 it contains the  
same sequence of notes and proportion in

 time1 the only characteristics by which
 we recognise a tune4 ,and so in the    
same way with our sense of sight1 an    
event may be drawn out to a thousand    
times its length or acted a thousand    
times quicker1 it is still the same     
scene4 ,an insect vibrates its wings    
several thousands of times in a second  
and must be cognisant of each beat1     
whereas we have seen that we1 with our  
,senses of ,sight and ,hearing1 can only
 appreciate respectively at the most    
seven and sixteen vibrations in a second
 as separate beats4 ,that insect must   
therefore be able to follow a flash of  
lightning under the conditions of a     
,time microscope magnifying a thousand  
times compared with our vision4 ,the    
whole life of some of these insects     
extends over a few hours only1 but owing
 to their quick unit of perception it is
 to them as full of detail as our life  
of seventy years2 but to them there is  
no day and night1 the ,sun is always    
stationary in the ,heavens1 they can    

have no cognisance of ,seasons4  ,i have
 already referred in ,view ,one to the  
curious results of increasing our unit  
of perception by a ,time ,microscope1   
and ,i will now carry the investigation 
of this subject a step further4  ,as    
conceptional knowledge is based on      
perceptional knowledge1 and we can only 
perceive about six times per second1 and
 as the principal forms of knowledge are
 gained through the eye1 we are         
conceiving progress in phenomena under a
 very restricted outlook2 we cannot     
recognise such slow motions as1 for     
instance1 the hour-hand of a watch1 the 
growth of a tree1 or rise of the tide1  
except by noting the change that has    
occurred after a long interval2 there is
 therefore a whole world of events which
 we cannot see4 ,owing to this limit1 in
 our unit of time perception1 we also   
cannot perceive events which are taking 
place beyond a certain quickness1 they  
become blurred and give the impression  
of continuity1 and constitute another   

world of events lost to us4 ,for the    
same reason there is a whole world of   
sensation lost to us by our limited unit
 of sound perception2 we cannot follow  
separate sound-events if they occur     
quicker than sixteen in a second1 beyond
 that they become blurred and give the  
impression of continuity4 ,if1 on the   
other hand1 our units of perception were
 increased a thousandfold1 as is        
probably the case with some insects1 our
 conscious lives would contain a        
thousand more events than they do at    
present1 and1 as the consciousness of   
length of life is dependent upon the    
number of events that have been         
perceived1 we should under these        
conditions have passed on this earth a  
life equivalent to1 say1 #gj1jjj years  
under our present restricted unit2 every
 second of that long period would have  
been as full of events for us as is a   
second in our present life of seventy   
years4 ,if1 on the other hand1 our unit 
of perception were decreased a          

thousandfold1 our length of life1 based 
upon perception of events1 would be no  
longer than #be-a_/b of our present     
days2 if our life were actually reduced 
to that period 7so as to regain our     
present units of perception7 we should  
be old and grey-headed before the sun   
had risen for the twenty-fifth time     
since our birth4 ,if our unit of        
perception1 with our length of life1    
were again reduced a thousandfold1 the  
whole of our life of seventy years would
 now only be equal to forty-three       
minutes1 and1 in the whole of that life1
 we could only see the sun move ten     
degrees1 namely1 twenty of its own      
diameters in the heaven2 if we were     
born1 say1 at noon on midsummer's day1  
we could never have any idea of anything
 but daytime1 and neither our fathers1  
nor grandfathers1 nor great-grandfathers
 for fifteen generations before them    
could have seen the sun rise2 but there 
would have been a tradition1 handed down
 from a far distant past generation1    

that a long time ago1 beyond the memory 
of man1 there was no sun at all1        
everything was pitch dark1 and that time
 was called the ,great ,shadow4 ,if     
their records could have gone still     
further back for the same length of time
 they would have heard that1 before the 
,great ,shadow1 the sun was always      
shining in the heavens1 and that that   
great ,sun day lasted twice as long as  
the great shadow4  ,to understand more  
clearly this subject of ,time perception
 let me put another aspect before you2  
we are looking1 say1 at an insect whose 
wings are beating several thousand times
 per second1 and1 with our vision       
limited to six times per second1 it     
would be impossible to count the number 
of hairs on that wing1 or to see which  
of those hairs were split1 or were bent 
from the straight1 but1 if we travelled 
away from that insect into space at the 
rate of light1 and were looking back1   
the present would then always be with   
us2 the wing1 although still vibrating  

at that enormous rate1 would appear to  
be stationary1 and so would every other 
moving thing on the earth1 however quick
 its movement1 and everything would     
continue in that motionless state for a 
million years1 provided we continued our
 flight with the rays of light4 ,if we  
travelled a little slower than light1   
say one minute less in a thousand years1
 the same scene would be presented to   
us1 but1 that which was acted upon this 
earth during one minute of ,time1 would 
now take a thousand years to accomplish2
 the swiftest railway train would appear
 standing still1 it would take #e-c_/d  
days and nights to cover each inch of   
ground4 ,it is thus possible to again   
understand how the flight of a bird or  
the lightning flash might be examined   
under conditions of time which would    
lead to the discovery and tracing of    
even the principle of life itself4 ,but 
let us go one step further and increase 
our flight beyond the rate at which     
light travels3 scenes would now progress

 in the opposite direction to that which
 we are accustomed to2 men would get out
 of bed and dress themselves at night   
and go to bed in the morning2 old men   
would grow young again2 tall trees would
 grow backwards and enter the earth1    
embedding themselves in the seed1 and   
the seed would rise upwards to the      
branch that nourished it2 the blood     
would turn into chyle1 into food in the 
stomach1 into the piece of meat1 which  
would be transferred from the mouth to  
the plate1 and would then be cut on to  
the joint1 the joint would go down to   
the kitchen and be uncooked1 would be   
carried to the butcher to be cut on to  
the carcase1 and the animal would come  
to life and go out into the fields4     
,human bodies would be formed in the    
ground from the dust of the ,earth1     
passing through what we call corruption 
to incorruption1 the dead would be taken
 from their graves1 brought back to     
their homes and put to bed2 the ,doctor 
would arrive1 a miracle would happen1   

the patient would come to life2 though  
this would hardly be a feather in the   
cap of the ,doctor1 as it would be seen 
that the medicine came out from the     
mouth of the patient1 would be put into 
bottles to be thrown away1 and it would 
be the ,doctor who had to pay the ,fee1 
and the bigger the ,doctor the bigger   
the ,fee he would have to pay4 ,the     
future would in fact change places with 
the past1 the effect would give birth to
 the cause as presented to our finite   
senses1 and1 though it is difficult to  
realise1 it is indeed just as true1 or  
untrue1 that we come into this world    
through the grave1 instead of in the way
 we are accustomed to1 because to the   
,reality there is no change1 the ,here  
and the ,now comprising all beginnings  
and ends1 all causes and effects4  ,in  
this flight on the wings of light we did
 not in reality depart in the least from
 the ,here1 because there is no such    
thing as space1 it is all included in a 
mathematical point1 the ,here2 and as   

the whole of time is included in the    
,now1 the ,future1 however remote with  
all events therein1 is existent in the  
present2 the writers of books #ejjj     
years hence are therefore writing them  
now1 and the ,human ,race has read and  
is reading them now2 we have always     
hitherto maintained that these things   
are only going to happen #ejjj years    
hence1 but in reality all events in the 
future are events in the same ,now in   
which we are living at the present      
moment1 and1 as it is just as true1 that
 time is flowing from the ,future to the
 ,present and on to the ,past1 as in the
 contrary direction 7of our present     
outlook71 so it is quite conceivable    
that we may some day1 in the not far    
distant future1 not only realise that   
the future exists already1 but that we  
may even be able to handle and read the 
books written #ejjj years hence1 in a   
similar manner to that which enables us 
now to handle and read those which were 
written #ejjj years ago4     ,,view     

,,eight  ,,creation   ,in our first     
,view we saw the necessity of clearing  
away the weeds1 the moss1 and the lichen
 from the stem of our ,real ,personality
 before that ,transcendental ,self could
 send forth fresh buds for the          
advancement of conscious thought to     
higher levels2 we found that the first  
step towards this clearing the approach 
to our window1 was to recognise that a  
knowledge of the ,truth was to be gained
 by the use of ,introspection rather    
than by ,intellectualism--to realise1 in
 fact1 that it is not we1 with our      
intellects1 who are looking out upon    
,nature1 but that it is the ,absolute   
looking into us and ever trying to teach
 us divine truths concerning the        
,reality of ,being4 ,we saw that the    
phenomena1 which our senses would have  
us believe to be the reality or solidity
 of our material surroundings1 are      
illusions created by the fact that those
 senses are limited in their perception 
to that which is conditioned in ,time   

and ,space1 necessitating motion as the 
basis of our perceptions1 and that1 when
 the rate of motion exceeds our units of
 perception1 we have the impression of  
continuity of events1 which we accept as
 the objective existence of matter2 we  
also saw that the duration of ,time and 
extension of ,space had no existence for
 us apart from those senses1 our very   
consciousness of these two non-realities
 depending upon relativity--they could1 
in fact1 be increased or diminished     
indefinitely1 without our knowing that  
any change had been made4  ,in our      
second ,view ,i attempted to take       
another step forward by showing how1 by 
means of this ,introspection1 it was    
even possible to understand that these  
two limitations might be eliminated from
 consciousness2 we then realised that   
the whole ,physical ,universe is but a  
thin film1 set up by our finite ,senses1
 between our ,consciousness and the     
,reality of ,being2 we saw that this    
could only be understood when1 by the   

,mystical ,sense1 we realised that      
physical phenomena were but symbols or  
shadows of the ,reality or ,noumenon    
underlying them4  ,in our next ,view ,i 
gave an example of the use of ,mystical 
and ,symbolical thought1 leading1 in the
 fourth ,view1 to the subject of        
,everlasting ,life and the ,efficacy of 
,prayer1 wherein ,i tried to show that  
by examining the phenomena of ,nature1  
as depicted on the ,physical ,film1 it  
is possible to reach a point where we   
may even feel that we are actually      
listening to1 or having divulged to us1 
the very thoughts of the ,absolute4     
,this led to the next ,view1 where we   
examined the ,physical ,film itself1 and
 this we analysed in the next two ,views
 into those component parts1 by means of
 which this ,film presents to our senses
 the impression of the whole ,physical  
,universe as an objective reality4  ,we 
have seen that it is the ,invisible     
which is the ,real1 that the visible is 
only its shadow2 that the ,invisible1 as

 distinguished from the ,visible1 is not
 in a place apart from the ,physical1   
but is the ,reality of which the visible
 constitutes the boundary lines or      
planes in our consciousness1 as lines   
and planes are the visible boundaries of
 solids4 ,the ,kingdom of ,heaven is not
 a locality but a state of ,divine      
loving and knowing communion2 it is     
within us in the sense that we are      
interior and not exterior entities of   
the ,reality of ,being4  ,we have now   
arrived at a point where we can better  
realise that the ,absolute cannot be    
localised or bounded by space1 and must 
be ,omnipresent--cannot be conditioned  
in ,time1 and must therefore be         
,omniscient--the ,here comprising all   
,space1 and the ,now all ,time in the   
,reality of ,being4  ,with these        
conclusions before us ,i will ask you to
 form a new conception of ,creation4    
,all creation around us is the          
materialisation of the ,thought of the  
,deity4 ,he does not require time to    

think as we do--the whole of the        
,universe is therefore one instantaneous
 ,thought of the ,great ,reality2 the   
forming of this world and its           
destruction1 the appearance of man1 the 
birth and death of each one of us are   
absolutely at the same instant2 it is   
only our finite minds which necessitate 
drawing this ,thought out into a long   
line1 and our want of knowledge and     
inability to grasp the whole1 which     
force us to conceive that one event     
happened before or after another4 ,in   
our finite way we examine and strive to 
understand this wondrous ,thought1 and  
at last1 a ,darwin1 after a life spent  
in accumulating facts on this little    
isolated spot of the ,universe1         
discovers what appears to be a law of   
sequence1 and calls it the evolution    
theory2 but this is probably only one of
 countless other modes by which the     
intent of that ,thought is working      
towards completion1 the apparent        
direction of certain lines on that great

 tracing board of the ,creator1 whereon 
is depicted the whole plan of ,his work4
  ,let me give a simple example of      
,creation by a word1 which even our     
finite minds can grasp4 ,when ,i utter  
the word ,cat1 it starts a practically  
instantaneous thought in your minds1 the
 power of that thought being dependent  
upon the knowledge you have gained4 ,if 
you analyse it you will find that1      
though practically instantaneous1 it    
comprises all the sensations you have   
ever felt on that subject throughout    
your life4 ,it commenced1 perhaps1 when 
you were only a year old1 and1 sitting  
on your mother's knee1 your hand was    
made to stroke a kitten1 and you felt it
 was soft and it gave you pleasure4     
,later on1 when you were older1 you had 
it in your arms1 and you felt the first 
intimation of that wonderful ,greek3    
storge1 which manifests itself in most  
children in their love for dolls2 you   
found it delightful to cuddle and that  
it purred4 ,later on1 you found that it 

played with a reel of cotton1 and that  
it could scratch1 make horrid noises1   
and countless other things1 which not   
only make up the life of a cat1 but     
connect it with the world around us4    
,all these thousand and one facts are   
now drawn out1 by analysis in ,time and 
,space1 into a long line1 and are placed
 one in front of the other2 but the     
thought started by the word ,cat was a  
fair example of an instantaneous        
creation4  ,one other example of an     
instantaneous thought4 ,let us suppose a
 large room fitted with1 say1 a hundred 
thousand volumes1 comprising all the    
knowledge gained by every ,specialist in
 every ,science concerning the plan of  
,creation4 ,in our finite minds1 under  
the limits of ,time and ,space1 the word
 representing the contents of that      
library would start1 when uttered1 an   
instantaneous thought analogous to that 
of our last example1 according to the   
knowledge that each individual had      
already acquired of the contents of     

those books2 but this knowledge had only
 been gained by taking down each volume 
separately and reading one book at a    
time1 beginning at the beginning and    
taking each page and each word in       
succession1 and a lifetime would not    
suffice to enable us to read them all2  
whereas1 if our knowledge were complete1
 the word representing the contents of  
that room would start an instantaneous  
thought1 comprising not only every book1
 but every chapter1 page1 word1 letter1 
and punctuation contained in that       
library1 or in one which comprised all  
knowledge from the beginning to the end 
of ,time4  ,it is a well-known fact that
 at the approach of death1 when the     
perceptive senses are completely1 or    
almost completely1 in abeyance1 as in   
the self-forgetting referred to in ,the 
,vision1 the duration of ,time appears  
to have no reality2 in numerous cases of
 drowning1 where the person has been no 
more than one or two minutes under      
water1 the whole of a long life1 with   

every forgotten trivial occurrence and  
the multitude of thoughts attached      
thereto1 have been brought vividly      
before the mind1 as it were1            
instantaneously2 those also who have    
been put under nitrous-oxide gas1 though
 the life of the body is not affected1  
know how1 with departure of sense       
perception1 the sense of ,time is       
completely annihilated4 ,i have myself  
experimented under such conditions1 and 
attempted to realise the duration of    
time by counting steadily1 one1 two1    
three1 four1 c41 and had no knowledge   
whatever that between1 say1 four and    
five there was a complete hiatus of     
several minutes when1 for me1 time had  
vanished2 ,i was still counting steadily
 when the anaesthetic had passed away1  
and it was quite impossible to realise  
that such time had elapsed1 as ,i had   
not reached more than the twelfth count1
 whereas1 according to the time expired1
 ,i should have reached the fiftieth or 
sixtieth4 ,a number of examples of what 

may be called instantaneous thoughts    
created in the mind of a sleeper have   
been collected1 and many of us have had 
similar experiences4 ,i give one as an  
example3 ,maury was ill in bed and      
dreamed of the ,french ,revolution4     
,bloody scenes passed before him4 ,he   
held long conversations with            
,robespierre1 ,marat1 and other monsters
 of that time1 was dragged before the   
tribunal1 was condemned to death1 and   
carried through a great crowd of people1
 bound to a plank4 ,the guillotine      
severed his head from his shoulders4 ,he
 woke with terror to find that a rail   
over the bed had got unfastened and had 
fallen upon his neck like a guillotine1 
and1 as his mother who was sitting by   
him declared1 at that very moment4  ,in 
the above case the whole scene was      
started instantaneously in his brain1   
but in waking his mind analysed it in   
,time and ,space and spread it out into 
a long historical record4 ,the opposite 
process to this1 namely1 the building up

 a thought-picture1 is what we do every 
day when we form and combine our        
conceptions under the dominion of ,time 
and ,space1 until we have accumulated in
 our minds a multitude of concepts which
 form as it were a single subject1      
somewhat analogous to a painter when he 
has completed his picture1 a writer his 
book1 an architect his house1 or even a 
mechanic his machine4 ,an interesting   
example of a musician constructing a    
thought-picture is given by ,mozart     
himself3       ,when ,i am all right and
 in good spirits1 either in a           
carriage or walking1 and at night when  
,i cannot sleep1      thoughts come     
streaming in and at their best4 ,whence 
and how      ,i know not1 ,i cannot make
 out4 ,the things which occur to me     
,i keep in my head1 and hum them also to
 myself--at least      others have told 
me so4 ,if ,i stick to it1 there soon   
come1      one after another1 useful    
crumbs for the pie1 according to        
counterpoint1 harmony of the different  

instruments1 c4 ,this      now inflames 
my soul1 that is if ,i am not disturbed4
 ,then it      keeps on growing1 and ,i 
keep on expanding it more distinctly1   
and the thing1 however long it be1      
becomes indeed almost      finished in  
my head1 so that ,i can always survey it
 in spirit      like a beautiful picture
 or a fine person1 and also hear in     
imagination1 not indeed successively1 as
 by and by it must      come out1 but   
all together4 ,that is a delight6 ,all  
the      invention and construction go  
on in me as in a fine strong      dream1
 but the overhearing it all at once is  
still the best4  ,with these            
illustrations before us may we not carry
 the analogy even further1 and see that1
 as our conception of a ,cat was made up
 of numberless small acquisitions of    
knowledge1 some of which had to be      
discarded1 or eliminated as errors1 from
 our minds as our knowledge grew1 and as
 each true fact became confirmed and    
impressed upon our brain it made itself 

a permanent record and became a centre  
to be used for gaining further          
knowledge2 so in this wonderful ,thought
 of the ,great ,reality1 whose mind may 
be said to be omnipresent1 each         
individual soul is a working unit in the
 plan of ,creation2 each unit as it     
gains a knowledge of the ,will of the   
,deity forms for itself a personality   
helping forward the work towards its    
fulfilment2 without that knowledge there
 can be no personality1 no unit in the  
great completed thought1 no life        
hereafter4  ,the ,true ,life is         
fulfilled by him who has progressed so  
far in the knowledge of the ,divine as  
to realise that he is the offspring of  
the ,absolute1 and therefore stands face
 to face with his ,transcendental       
,personality1 his ,greek3 ,christos1 of 
which the ,physical ,ego is only the    
outline or boundary form visible in the 
physical universe4 ,each individual has 
free will to define his own boundaries1 
his own limitations2 he builds up the   

walls of the house in which he lives1   
and he has power to brick up or open out
 the windows through which he may see   
the ,truth2 happy are those whose       
windows are open1 but many1 alas1 choose
 to make the wall opaque by confining   
their attention to the physical shadows1
 or by strangling their spiritual       
intuition and preventing all advance in 
thought by blind subservience to        
obsolete dogmas4  ,we are instruments of
 ,divine purpose in the scheme of       
,creation4 ,each individual ,physical   
,ego seems to be a ,micro-,cosmos1      
imaging the ,universe1 the              
,macro-,cosmos4 ,as the phagocytes1 the 
policemen of the blood1 flock to a      
breach in the human body to overcome any
 invasion of the enemy1 whether poisons 
or bacteria1 which would otherwise      
detract from that progress of cell      
formation upon which the scheme of human
 life depends1 so do the true lovers of 
the ,divine meet1 by active resistance1 
any attempt of the enemies of the ,good1

 ,beautiful and ,true to retard the     
advancement of the scheme of ,creation  
to its ultimate goal of perfection4 ,the
 human body is composed of innumerable  
cells and several special colonies of   
cells1 which we call organs1 each of    
which has its special work to do1 and   
secretes and discharges special fluids  
necessary for the welfare of the whole  
body4 ,all of these cells are alive1 and
 myriads of them are moving on their own
 account1 apparently quite independent  
of1 and in complete ignorance of1 the   
feeling and perception of the whole     
body2 they are1 however1 microscopical  
units of that body1 and its welfare     
depends upon their contribution of work2
 it is1 in fact1 only through their     
ceaseless activities that the life in   
that body is maintained--a phenomenon   
analogous to that described in the      
simile of a ,forest ,tree in ,view      
,four4 ,so are we integral parts of the 
scheme of ,creation1 and each act1      
either in accordance with the ,divine   

purpose or the reverse1 is helping      
forward or retarding the completion of  
that ,thought1 though like the cells we 
are ignorant of the end which ,creation 
has in view4  ,in this life we seem     
indeed to be only1 as it were1 in       
embryo6 ,the study of embryology has    
lately shown us clearly how the clothing
 of our ,physical ,ego has been formed1 
during the past millions of years1 from 
the lowest forms of life4 ,each one of  
us has1 during what may be called his   
lifetime1 gone through all the different
 stages of evolutionary development     
which1 since the beginning of life on   
this planet1 have been employed to build
 up the human body in its present form4 
,embryology has shown us that1 during   
gestation1 each human embryo is a       
replica of the past2 it passes through  
the different ,imago stages from        
protoplasm to man1 being unrecognisable 
at certain stages from a monad1 an      
amoeba1 a fish with gills1 a lizard1 and
 a monkey with a tail and dense clothing

 of hair over the whole body4 ,the human
 embryo has also1 at an early stage1 the
 thirteenth pair of ribs1 which is found
 in lower animals and is still seen in a
 rudimentary form in anthropoid apes1   
but which disappears from the human     
embryo before birth4 ,each generation1  
under evolutionary development1 will    
witness a further advancement in the    
clothing of the ,physical ,ego1 until it
 may be conceived that a hundred        
thousand years hence our present stage  
of development will be seen only as one 
of the stages through which the embryo  
has to pass before birth at that distant
 time4 ,may we not even glimpse at the  
future to which evolution is carrying   
us8 ,for in any of these stages we see  
organs forming whose use only comes into
 play long after that stage has been    
passed2 so also1 in the new rudimentary 
forms of thought which are started by   
every fresh discovery may we not some   
day be able to descry the heights which 
we are destined to attain if we         

earnestly seek after ,truth8            
,radio-,activity has shown us that all  
forms of matter are but different       
combinations of one primal brick2 by    
synthesis thousands of new forms of     
matter1 unknown in ,nature1 are actually
 now being built up in our laboratories1
 and the number of such combinations    
cannot conceivably be limited2 so do we 
also see that all the known forms of    
energy in nature are interchangeable1   
one with another1 with exactly known    
equivalents and ratios1 pointing to     
their being only different combinations 
of one unit of energy4 ,if such is the  
case1 it would seem to follow that there
 are countless other forces of which we 
at present have no cognisance1 but which
 may at any time come within our field  
of investigation4  ,in our life here we 
are steadily progressing from the lower 
to the higher form of being1 from the   
purely ,physical towards the            
,transcendental1 each generation        
starting from a higher level2 the       

boundary line between the ,physical and 
,transcendental is being continually    
advanced towards the latter1 and it may 
well be1 as ,i have already suggested in
 ,view ,,iv1 that we are even now on the
 eve of discovering a new force1 or     
aspect of ,creation1 which will open a  
wider view and give us a clearer        
knowledge of the goal which we are      
destined to reach hereafter4  ,each     
generation will1 according to the       
teaching of ,embryology1 gradually come 
into the world at a higher stage of     
development than its predecessors1 until
 the last ,physical ,ego1 at its birth1 
will coincide with the final stage of   
development1 when there will be no more 
physical clothing1 the disintegration of
 ,matter being completed1 and1 it can be
 pictured that at the final             
consummation1 there will be nothing     
imperfect1 no shadow left1 that all will
 be spiritual4 ,the object of ,creation 
would therefore appear to be the        
population of the ,real ,universe with  

spiritual entities1 until the whole     
,spiritual ,universe will be taken up by
 ,transcendental ,personalities1 which  
will be one with the ,reality1 and the  
,great ,thought completed4  ,once more  
let us recognise that we are dependent  
for knowledge of surroundings upon our  
perception of movements1 and that as our
 conceptional knowledge is based on     
perceptional knowledge1 our thoughts are
 limited by ,time and ,space and can    
only deal with finite subjects4 ,from   
this arises all our difficulty of       
understanding the ,infinite2 we cannot  
under our present conditions know the   
whole ,truth2 if we could do that we    
should be able1 as it were1 to look all 
round the subject1 and ,infinity would  
then be seen to be a pseudo-conception  
of our finite thoughts4 ,we can only    
think of one finite subject at a time1  
and1 at that moment1 all other subjects 
are cancelled2 we can1 in fact1 only    
think in sequences1 and1 taking the     
particular ,infinities of duration and  

extension which we have been examining1 
we can only think of points in ,time and
 ,space as existing beyond or before    
other fixed points1 which again must be 
followed by other points4 ,we cannot fix
 a point in ,time or ,space so as to    
exclude the thought of a point beyond2  
the idea of an ,infinite is therefore a 
necessary result of the limitation of   
our thoughts4 ,the whole ,truth is there
 before us1 but we can only examine it  
in a form of finite sequences4 ,a book  
contains a complete story1 but we can   
only know that story by taking each word
 in succession and insisting that one   
word comes in front of another1 and yet 
the story is lying before us complete4  
,so with ,creation2 we are forced to    
look upon it as a long line going back  
to past eternity1 and another long line 
going on to future eternity1 and1 with  
our limitations1 we can only think of   
all events therein as happening in      
sequence2 but eliminate ,time and we    
become ,omniscient1 the whole of        

,creation would be before us as an      
,instantaneous ,thought of ,god4        
,accordingly under the dominion of ,time
 we appear to be in a similar position  
to that of a being whose senses are     
limited to one-dimensional              
space--namely1 to a line2 we can only   
have cognisance of what is in front and 
behind1 we have no knowledge of what is 
to the right or left1 we appear to be   
limited to looking lengthwise in ,time1 
whereas an ,omniscient and ,omnipresent 
,being looks at ,time crosswise and sees
 it as a whole4 ,a small light1 when at 
rest1 appears as a point of light1 but  
when we apply quick motion1 the product 
of ,time and ,space1 to it1 we get the  
appearance of a line of light1 and this 
continuous line1 formed by motion of a  
point1 is1 ,i think1 analogous to the   
,physical ,universe appearing to our    
finite senses as continuous in ,time    
duration and ,space extension1 though   
really comprised in the ,now and the    
,here1 the whole of ,creation being     

therefore an ,instantaneous ,thought4   
,a consideration of our limitation in   
,space may also be useful to show how   
impossible it is for us to hope to see  
by our senses the ,reality or by our    
thoughts to know the ,spiritual4 ,our   
senses and thoughts are limited to a    
,space of three dimensions1 and we can  
therefore only see or know that part of 
the ,absolute which is or can be        
represented to us in three dimensions2 a
 being whose senses were limited to a   
,universe of one dimension--namely1 a   
line1 could have no real knowledge of   
another being who was in a ,universe of 
two dimensions--namely1 a flat surface1 
except so far as the two-dimensional    
being could be represented within his   
line of sensation2 so also the          
two-dimensional being1 on a plane1 could
 have no true knowledge of a being like 
ourselves in a ,universe of three       
dimensions4 ,to his thoughts1 limited   
within two dimensions1 a being like     
ourselves would be unthinkable1 except  

so far as our nature could be made      
manifest on his plane2 so can it be seen
 that we1 limited by our finite senses  
to ,time and ,space1 and our            
consciousness dependent upon that       
limited basis of thought1 can only know 
that aspect of the ,reality which can be
 manifested within that range of        
thought--namely1 as ,motion1 or what we 
call physical phenomena4  ,let me       
attempt just one more view before we    
part1 which may make this conception of 
,creation1 as an ,instantaneous         
,thought1 even clearer to our finite    
senses4 ,imagine a ,spectator endowed   
with the same sense of vision that we   
have--namely1 limited to six units of   
perception per second1 but able to look 
on1 as it were1 from outside the        
,universe1 without himself being        
affected by any alteration that takes   
place in what may be called the flow of 
time4 ,consider some of the changes he  
would witness if ,time were gradually   
eliminated from phenomena4 ,the         

inhabitants1 who at first were seen     
walking by slow1 successive steps1 would
 soon be seen gliding from place to     
place1 the movement of their legs having
 passed beyond the sense of vision2 the 
next stage would see the inhabitants    
unrecognisable as human beings when     
walking1 although they would still be   
visible if they stood still1 they would 
be moving too fast for sight1 they would
 be seen only as lines or bands extended
 between their points of departure and  
destination2 then day and night would be
 following each other so quickly that   
soon the day would only be a flicker of 
light1 till1 when the week became equal 
to one second of the ,spectator's time1 
day and night would disappear as        
separate phenomena2 then the week1 the  
month1 and the year would in turn       
flicker1 solidify1 or become continuous1
 and disappear with all the             
multitudinous events contained therein2 
human life would then be affected1 would
 flicker1 and follow the same course2 to

 the ,spectator the birth of each       
individual would become coincident with 
his death1 and ,nations would be seen to
 rise and progress towards their        
destination without any evidence of     
individual existence2 the ,human ,race  
itself would next succumb1 then the     
whole of planetary life1 then the       
formation and destruction of ,solar     
,systems1 then the gathering together   
and dissemination of firmaments1 and1   
finally1 the beginning and end of the   
very ,universe would coincide4 ,motion1 
or ,physical phenomena1 and therefore   
,matter1 would vanish1 and the ,great   
instantaneous ,thought be complete4 ,we 
seem to have been able to glimpse from  
our ,watch ,tower1 though through a     
glass darkly1 the whole ,truth1 and to  
see that the ,infinity of ,time is a    
figment of our finite senses and is     
comprised in the ,now4 ,the same        
treatment1 followed by the same result1 
may be applied to the ,infinity of      
,space1 and we again see that all ,space

 is comprised in the ,here2 it is only  
by the conditions of our existence in   
this physical universe1 insisting on our
 analysing everything in ,time and      
,space that ,motion or ,change become   
the very basis of our ,consciousness4   
,we have seen that the ,idea of         
,infinity is a necessary result of our  
finite senses1 that the only ,reality is
 the ,spiritual1 the ,here and the ,now2
 that the ,riddle of the ,universe is   
not to be solved by the ,intellect but  
by that method which is employed by     
those who are earnestly following the   
,quest of the ,grail--namely1 by        
realising that our ,true ,personality or
 ,transcendental ,ego is an emanation   
from the ,absolute2 that we are one-with
 ,him1 and that it is by following the  
old ,hellenic command ,greek3 ,gnothi   
seauton 7,know thyself7--namely1 by     
,introspection1 that we can hope to     
attain to the understanding of what is  
the ,reality of ,being4   ,,finis       
99       99       99       99       99  

,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,by   
,,neill ,,and ,,co41 ,,ltd41            
,,edinburgh4            99       99     
99       99       99     ,transcriber's 
,notes     ,page #bg3 ,braces  on       
multiple lines represent one large brace
    encompassing those lines4     ,page 
#ec3 ,huios or ,hyios4 ,the ,rule       
doesn't seem to address the             
possibility of upsilon coming first in a
 diphthong3 upsilon iota    is not      
common1 but ,hui looks more plausible   
than ,hyi4     ,page #agf3 ,the word    
amoeba had an oe ligature in the        
original book4     ,page #ahd3 ,typo    
,gnothe changed to ,gnothi4