,,pythagoras                8,know      
thyself1 and thou wilt know the         
,universe and the                       
,gods40--,inscription on the ,temple of 
,delphi4                ,evolution is   
the law of ,life1              ,number  
is the law of the ,universe1            
,unity is the law of ,god4              
,,pythagoras                            
,,and                              ,,the
 ,,delphic ,,mysteries                  
,,by                                    
,,edouard ,,schur                       
,,translated ,,by                       
,f4 ,,rothwell1 ,b4,a4                  
,,new ,,york                       ,,the
 ,,theosophical ,,publishing ,,co4      
#bdd1 ,,lenox ,,avenue                  
#aiji                                   
,,contents          ,,chapter           
,,page           ,i4 ,,greece ,,in ,,the
 ,,sixth ,,century                      
#c          ,,ii4 ,,years ,,of ,,travel 
#ab         ,,iii4 ,,the ,,temple ,,of  
,,delphi                                

#cb              ,the ,science of       
,apollo--,theory of ,divination--,the   
,pythoness ,theoclea4          ,,iv4    
,,the ,,order ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine    
#fc              ,the ,test--,first     
,degree3 ,preparation--,second          
,degree3 ,purification--,third ,degree3 
,perfection--              ,fourth      
,degree3 ,epiphany4            ,v4      
,,marriage ,,of                         
,,pythagoras--,,revolution ,,at         
,,croton--,,the                         
,,master',s ,,end--,,the ,,school ,,and 
,,its ,,destiny           #afb          
,,pythagoras                            
,,chapter ,i                            
,,greece ,,in ,,the ,,sixth ,,century   
,the soul of ,orpheus had passed like a 
divine meteor across the troubled       
heavens of a new-born ,greece4 ,when the
 meteor had disappeared1 the land  was  
again wrapt in darkness4 ,after a series
 of revolutions1 the tyrants  of ,thrace
 committed his books to the flames1     
overthrew his temples and  drove away   

his disciples4 ,the ,greek kings and    
numerous cities followed  this example1 
more jealous of their unbridled licence 
than of that  justice which is the      
source of pure doctrine4 ,they were     
determined to  efface his very memory1  
to leave no sign of his existence1 and  
they  succeeded so well1 that1 a few    
centuries after his death1 a portion of 
,greece even doubted whether he had ever
 lived4 ,it was in vain that the        
initiates kept alive his tradition for  
over a thousand years2 in vain  that    
,pythagoras and ,plato spoke of him as  
divine2 the sophists and  the           
rhetoricians saw in him no more than a  
legend regarding the origin  of music4  
,even at the present time1 savants      
stoutly deny the existence  of ,orpheus1
 basing their assertion on the fact that
 neither ,homer  nor ,hesiod mentioned  
his name4 ,the silence of these poets1  
however1  is fully explained by the     
interdict under which the local         
government  had placed the great        

initiator4 ,the disciples of ,orpheus   
lost no  opportunity of rallying all the
 powers under the supreme authority of  
the temple of ,delphi1 and never tired  
of repeating that the differences       
arising between the divers states of    
,greece must be laid before the  council
 of the ,amphictyons4 ,this was         
displeasing to demagogues and  tyrants  
alike4 ,homer1 who probably received his
 initiation in the  sanctuary of ,tyre1 
and whose mythology is the poetical     
translation of  the theology of         
,sankoniaton1 ,homer the ,ionian might  
very well have  known nothing of the    
,dorian ,orpheus whose tradition was    
kept all the  more secret as it was the 
more exposed to persecution4 ,as regards
  ,hesiod1 who was born near ,parnassus1
 he must have known the name and        
doctrine of ,orpheus through the temple 
at ,delphi2 but silence was  imposed on 
him by his initiators1 and that for good
 reasons4    ,and yet ,orpheus was      
living in his work1 in his disciples1   

and even in  those who denied his very  
existence4 ,what is this work1 where can
 the  soul of his life be sought8 ,in   
the ferocious1 military oligarchy of    
,sparta1 where science was despised1    
ignorance erected into a system1  and   
brutality exacted as being the          
complement of courage8 ,in those        
implacable wars of ,messenia in which   
the ,spartans were seen persecuting  a  
neighbouring people to the point of     
extermination1 and these ,romans  of    
,greece preparing for the ,tarpeian rock
 and the bleeding laurels of  the       
,capitol by hurling the heroic          
,aristomenes1 the defender of his       
country1 into an abyss8 ,or should it   
rather be sought in the turbulent       
democracy of ,athens1 ever ready to     
convert itself into a tyranny8 ,or  in  
the praetorian guard of ,pisistratus1 or
 the dagger of ,harmodius and           
,aristogiton1 concealed under a myrtle  
branch8 ,or in the many towns and       
cities of ,hellas1 of greater ,greece   

and ,asia ,minor1 of which ,athens and  
,sparta offer us two opposing types8 ,is
 it in all these envious1 these  jealous
 democracies and tyrannies ever ready to
 tear one another into  pieces8--,no2   
the soul of ,greece is not there4 ,it is
 in her temples1  her mysteries and     
their initiates4 ,it is in the sanctuary
 of ,jupiter  at ,olympia1 of ,juno at  
,argos1 of ,ceres at ,eleusis2 it reigns
 over  ,athens with ,minerva1 it sheds  
its beams over ,delphi with ,apollo1 who
  penetrates every temple with his      
light4 ,here is the centre of ,hellenic 
life1 the heart and brain of ,greece4   
,here come for instruction poets  who   
translate sublime truth into living     
images for the masses1 sages  who       
propagate these truths in subtle        
dialectics4 ,the spirit of ,orpheus  is 
felt wherever beats the heart of        
immortal ,greece4 ,we find it in  poetry
 and gymnastic contests1 in the ,delphic
 and ,olympian games1  a glorious       
project instituted by the successors of 

the ,master with  the object of drawing 
nearer together and uniting the twelve  
,greek  tribes4 ,we are brought into    
direct contact with it in the court of  
the ,amphictyons1 in that assembly of   
the great initiates1 a supreme1         
arbitrary tribunal1 which met at        
,delphi1 a mighty centre of justice and 
concord1 in which alone ,greece         
recovered her unity in times of heroism 
and abnegation4#a    ,and yet ,greece in
 the time of ,orpheus2 her intellect1 an
 unsullied1  temple-guarded doctrine2   
her soul1 a plastic religion2 and her   
body1  a lofty court of justice with    
,delphi as its centre1 had begun to     
decline early in the seventh century4   
,the orders sent out from ,delphi  were 
no longer respected1 the sacred         
territories were violated4 ,the  race of
 men of mighty inspiration had          
disappeared1 the intellectual and  moral
 tone of the temples deteriorated2 the  
priests sold themselves to  politicians4
 ,from that time the ,mysteries         

themselves became corrupted4    ,the    
general aspect of ,greece had changed4  
,the old sacerdotal and  agricultural   
royalty was succeeded either by tyranny 
pure and simple1  by military           
aristocracy1 or by anarchical democracy4
 ,the temples had  become powerless to  
check the threatening ruin4 ,a new      
helper was  needed4 ,it was therefore   
necessary to popularize esoteric        
teaching4 ,to  enable the thought of    
,orpheus to live and expand in all its  
beauty1  the knowledge of the temples   
must pass over to the lay classes4      
,accordingly1 under different disguises1
 it penetrated the brains of  civil     
legislators1 the schools of the poets1  
and the porticoes of the  philosophers4 
,the latter felt in their teachings the 
very necessity  ,orpheus had recognized 
in religion1 that of two doctrines3 the 
one  public and the other secret1       
manifesting the same truth in different 
degree and form1 and suited to the      
development of the pupil4 ,this         

evolution gave ,greece her three great  
centuries of artistic creation  and     
intellectual splendour4 ,it permitted   
the ,orphic thought1 at once  the       
initial impulse and the ideal synthesis 
of ,greece1 to concentrate  its entire  
light and radiate it over the whole     
world1 before her  political edifice1   
undermined by internal dissensions1     
tottered beneath  the power of          
,macedonia and finally crumbled away    
under the iron hand of  ,rome4    ,many 
contributed to the evolution we are     
speaking of4 ,it brought out  natural   
philosophers like ,thales1 legislators  
like ,solon1 poets like  ,pindar1 and   
heroes like ,epaminondas4 ,it had also a
 recognized head1  an initiate of the   
very first rank1 a sovereign1           
organizing1 creating  intelligence4     
,pythagoras is the master of lay as     
,orpheus is the master  of sacerdotal   
,greece4 ,he translates and continues   
the religious thought  of his           
predecessor1 applying it to the new     

times4 ,his translation1  however1 is a 
creation1 for he co-ordinates the       
,orphic inspirations  into a complete   
system1 gives scientific proof of them  
in his teachings  and moral proof in his
 institute of education1 and in the     
,pythagorean  order which survived him4 
,although appearing in the full light of
 historical times1 ,pythagoras  has come
 down to us as almost a legendary       
character4 ,the main reason  for this is
 the terrible persecution of which he   
was the victim in  ,sicily1 and which   
cost so many of his followers their     
lives4 ,some  were crushed to death     
beneath the ruins of their burning      
schools1  others died of hunger in      
temples4 ,the ,master's memory and      
teaching  were only perpetuated by such 
survivors as were able to escape into   
,greece4 ,plato1 at great trouble and   
cost1 obtained through ,archytas a      
manuscript of the ,master1 who1 it must 
be mentioned1 never transferred  to     
writing his esoteric teachings except   

under symbols and secret  characters4   
,his real work1 like that of all        
reformers1 was effected  by oral        
instruction4 ,the essence of the system1
 however1 comes down  to us in the      
,golden ,verses of ,lysis1 the          
commentary of ,hierocles1  fragments of 
,philolaus and in the ,timaeus of       
,plato1 which contains the  cosmogony of
 ,pythagoras4 ,to sum up1 the writers of
 antiquity are full  of the spirit of   
the ,croton philosopher4 ,they never    
tire of relating  anecdotes depicting   
his wisdom and beauty1 his marvellous   
power over  men4 ,the ,neoplatonists of 
,alexandria1 the ,gnostics1 and even the
 early  ,fathers of the ,church quote   
him as an authority4 ,these are precious
  witnesses through whom may be felt    
continually vibrating that mighty  wave 
of enthusiasm the great personality of  
,pythagoras succeeded in  communicating 
to ,greece1 the final eddies of which   
were still to be  felt eight hundred    
years after his death4    ,his teaching1

 regarded from above1 and unlocked with 
the keys of  comparative esoterism1     
affords a magnificent whole1 the        
different  parts of which are bound     
together by one fundamental conception4 
,in  it we find a rational reproduction 
of the esoteric teaching of ,india  and 
,egypt1 which he illumined with         
,hellenic simplicity and clearness1     
giving it a stronger sentiment and a    
clearer idea of human liberty4    ,at   
the same time and at different parts of 
the globe1 mighty reformers  were       
popularizing similar doctrines4         
,lao-,tse in ,china was emerging from   
the esoterism of ,fo-,hi2 the last      
,buddha ,sakya-,mouni was preaching on  
the banks of the ,ganges2 in ,italy1 the
 ,etrurian priesthood sent to ,rome  an 
initiate possessed of the ,sibylline    
books4 ,this was ,king ,numa1 who1  by  
wise institutions1 attempted to check   
the threatening ambition of  the ,roman 
,senate4 ,it was not by chance that     
these reformers appeared  simultaneously

 among such different peoples4 ,their   
diverse missions  had one common end in 
view4 ,they prove that1 at certain      
periods1 one  identical spiritual       
current passes mysteriously through the 
whole of  humanity4 ,whence comes it8   
,it has its source in that divine world1
 far  away from human vision1 but of    
which prophets and seers are the envoys 
and witnesses4    ,pythagoras crossed   
the whole of the ancient world before   
giving his  message to ,greece4 ,he saw 
,africa and ,asia1 ,memphis and         
,babylon1 along  with their methods of  
initiation and political life4 ,his own 
troubled  life resembles a ship driving 
through a storm1 pursuing its course1   
with sails unfurled1 a symbol of        
strength and calmness in the midst  of  
the furious elements4 ,his teachings    
convey the impression of a  cool        
fragrant night after the bitter fire and
 passion of an angry1  blood-stained    
day4 ,they call to mind the beauty of   
the firmament  unrolling1 by degrees1   

its sparkling archipelagoes and ethereal
  harmonies over the head of the seer4  
,and now we will attempt to set forth   
both his life and his teaching  apart   
from the obscurities of legend and the  
prejudices of the schools  alike4       
,,chapter ,,ii                          
,,years ,,of ,,travel      ,at the      
beginning of the sixth century before   
our era1 ,samos was one of  the most    
flourishing islands of ,ionia4 ,its     
harbour fronted the violet  peaks of a  
slumbering ,asia ,minor1 the abode of   
luxury and charm4 ,the  town was        
situated on a wide bay with verdant     
coasts1 and retreated1  tier upon tier1 
up the mountain in the form of an       
amphitheatre1  itself lying at the foot 
of a promontory on which stood the      
temple of  ,neptune4 ,it was dominated  
by the colonnades of a magnificent      
palace1  the abode of the tyrant        
,polycrates4 ,after depriving ,samos of 
her  liberty he had given the island all
 the lustre of art and ,asiatic         

splendour4 ,courtesans from ,lesbos had1
 at his bidding1 taken up their  abode  
in a neighbouring palace to which they  
invited the young men  and maidens of   
the town4 ,at these ftes they taught    
them the most  refined voluptuousness1  
accompanied with music1 dancing and     
feasting4  ,anacreon1 on the invitation 
of ,polycrates1 was transported to      
,samos in  a trireme with purple sails  
and gilded masts2 the poet1 a goblet of 
chased silver in his hand1 sang before  
this high court of pleasure his         
languishing odes4 ,the good fortune of  
,polycrates had become proverbial       
throughout ,greece4 ,he had as a friend 
the ,pharaoh ,amasis who often  warned  
him to be on his guard against such     
unbroken fortune1 and above  all not to 
pride himself on it4 ,polycrates        
answered the ,egyptian  monarch's advice
 by flinging his ring into the sea4     
8,this sacrifice ,i  offer unto the     
gods10 he said4 ,the following day a    
fisherman brought  back to the tyrant   

the precious jewel1 which he had found  
in the belly  of a fish4 ,when the      
,pharaoh heard of this1 he said he would
 break off  his friendship with         
,polycrates1 for such insolent good     
fortune would  draw down on him the     
vengeance of the gods4--,whatever we may
 think  of the anecdote1 the end of     
,polycrates was a tragic one4 ,one of   
his  satraps enticed him into a         
neighbouring province1 tortured him to  
death1 and ordered his body to be       
fastened to a cross on ,mount ,mycale4  
,and so1 one evening as the blood-red   
orb of the sun was sinking in  the west1
 the inhabitants of ,samos saw the      
corpse of their tyrant1  crucified on a 
promontory in sight of the island over  
which he had  reigned in glory and      
abandonment4    ,to return to the       
beginning of ,polycrates' reign4 ,one   
star-lit night a  young man was seated  
in a wood of agnus castus1 with its     
glimmering  foliage1 not far from the   
temple of ,juno1 the ,doric front of    

which was  bathed in the rays of the    
moon1 whose light added to the mystic   
majesty  of the building4 ,a papyrus    
roll1 containing a song of ,homer1 had  
slipped to the ground1 and lay at his   
feet4 ,his meditation1 begun at         
twilight1 was continued into the silence
 of the night4 ,the sun had long  ago   
disappeared beneath the horizon1 but its
 flaming disc still danced  in unreal   
presence before the eyes of the young   
dreamer4 ,his thoughts  had wandered far
 from the world of visible things4      
,pythagoras was the son of a wealthy    
jeweller of ,samos and of a woman  named
 ,parthenis4 ,the ,pythoness of ,delphi1
 when consulted during a  journey by the
 young married couple1 had promised     
them3 8a son who  would be useful to all
 men and throughout all time40 ,the     
oracle had  sent them to ,sidon1 in     
,phoenicia1 so that the predestined son 
might be  conceived1 formed1 and born   
far from the disturbing influences of   
his  own land4 ,even before his birth   

the wonderful child1 in the moon of     
love1 had been fervently consecrated to 
the worship of ,apollo by his  parents4 
,the child was born2 and when he was a  
year old his mother1  acting on advice  
already received from the priest of     
,delphi1 bore him  away to the temple of
 ,adona1 in a valley of ,lebanon4 ,here 
the high  priest had given him his      
blessing and the family returned to     
,samos4  ,the child of ,parthenis was   
very beautiful and gentle1 calm and     
sedate4  ,intellectual passion alone    
gleamed from his eyes1 giving a secret  
energy to his actions4 ,far from        
opposing1 his parents had encouraged    
him in his precocious leaning towards   
the study of wisdom4 ,he had been  left 
free to confer with the priests of      
,samos and the savants who were         
beginning to establish in ,ionia schools
 in which the principles of  natural    
philosophy were taught4 ,at the age of  
eighteen he had attended  the classes of
 ,hermodamas of ,samos1 at twenty those 

of ,pherecydes at  ,syros2 he had even  
conferred with ,thales and ,anaximander 
at ,miletus4  ,these masters had opened 
out new horizons1 though none had       
satisfied  him4 ,in their contradictory 
teachings he tried to discover the bond 
and synthesis1 the unity of the great   
whole4 ,the son of ,parthenis had  now  
reached one of those crises in which the
 mind1 over-excited by the              
contradictions of things1 concentrates  
all its faculties in one supreme  effort
 to obtain a glimpse of the end1 to find
 a path leading to the  sun of truth1 to
 the centre of life4    ,throughout that
 glorious night ,pythagoras fixed his   
gaze on the earth1  the temple1 and the 
starry heavens in turn4 ,demeter1 the   
earth-mother1  the ,nature whose secrets
 he wished to pierce1 was there1 beneath
 and  around him4 ,he inhaled her       
powerful emanations1 felt the invincible
  attraction which enchained him1 the   
thinking atom1 to her bosom1 an         
inseparable part of herself4 ,the sages 

he had consulted had said to  him3 8,it 
is from her that all springs4 ,nothing  
comes from nothing4 ,the  soul comes    
from water1 or fire1 or from both4 ,this
 subtle emanation of  the elements      
issues from them only to return4        
,eternal ,nature is blind  and          
inflexible1 resign thyself to her fatal 
laws4 ,the only merit thou  wilt have   
will be that thou knowest them1 and art 
resigned thereto40    ,then he looked at
 the firmament and the fiery letters    
formed by the  constellations in the    
unfathomable depths of space4 ,these    
letters must  have a meaning4 ,for if   
the infinitely small1 the movement of   
atoms1  has its raison d'tre1 why not   
also the infinitely great1 the widely   
scattered stars1 whose grouping         
represents the body of the universe8    
,yes2 each of these worlds has its own  
law2 all move together according  to    
number and in supreme harmony4 ,but who 
will ever decipher the  alphabet of the 
stars8 ,the priests of ,juno had said to

 him3 8,this is  the heaven of the gods1
 which was before the earth4 ,thy soul  
comes  therefrom4 ,pray to them1 that it
 may mount again to heaven40    ,these  
meditations were interrupted by a       
voluptuous chant1 coming from  a garden 
on the banks of the ,imbrasus4 ,the     
lascivious voices of the  ,lesbian      
women1 in languishing strains1 were     
heard accompanying the  music of the    
cithara1 responded to in the ,bacchic   
airs chanted by the  youths4 ,suddenly  
other cries1 piercing and mournful1 from
 the direction  of the harbour1 mingled 
with these voices4 ,they were the cries 
of  rebels whom ,polycrates was         
embarking to sell as slaves in ,asia4   
,they  were being struck with           
nail-studded thongs1 to compel them to  
crouch  beneath the pontoons of the     
rowers4 ,their shrieks and blasphemous  
cries  died away in the night and       
silence reigned over all4    ,a painful 
thrill ran through the young man's      
frame2 he checked it in  an attempt to  

regain possession of himself4 ,the      
problem lay before  him1 more pressing  
and poignant than before4 ,earth said3  
,fatality4  ,heaven said3 ,providence4  
,mankind1 between the two1 replied3     
,madness6  ,pain6 ,slavery6 ,in the     
depths of his own nature1 however1 the  
future  adept heard an invincible voice 
replying to the chains of earth and  the
 flaming heavens with the cry3 ,liberty6
 ,who were right2 sages1 or  priests1   
the wretched or the mad1 or was it      
himself8 ,in reality all  these voices  
spoke the truth1 each triumphed in its  
own sphere1 but  none gave up to him its
 raison d'tre4 ,the three worlds all    
existed1  unchangeable as the heart of  
,demeter1 the light of the              
constellations  and the human breast1   
but only the one who could find         
agreement between  them and the law of  
their equilibrium would be truly wise2  
he alone  would be in possession of     
divine knowledge and capable of aiding  
mankind4 ,it was in the synthesis of the

 three worlds that the secret of  the   
,kosmos lay6    ,as he gave utterance to
 this discovery he had just made1       
,pythagoras  rose to his feet4 ,his     
eager glance was fixed on the ,doric    
faade of  the temple2 the majestic      
building seemed transfigured beneath    
,diana's  chaste beams4 ,there he       
believed that he saw the ideal image of 
the  world and the solution of the      
problem he was seeking4 ,the base1      
columns1 architrave1 and triangular     
pediment suddenly represented1 in  his  
eyes1 the triple nature of man and the  
universe1 of the microcosm  and the     
macrocosm crowned by divine unity1      
itself a trinity4 ,the  ,kosmos1        
controlled and penetrated by ,god1      
formed    8,the sacred ,quaternion1 the 
source of ,nature2 whose cause is       
eternal40#b    ,yes1 here concealed in  
these geometrical lines was the key of  
the  universe1 the science of numbers1  
the ternary law regulating the          
constitution of beings1 and the         

septenary law that governs their        
evolution4 ,pythagoras saw the worlds   
move through space in accordance  with  
the rhythm and harmony of the sacred    
numbers4 ,he saw the  balance of earth  
and heaven of which human liberty holds 
control2  the three worlds1 the natural1
 the human1 and the divine1 sustaining  
and determining one another1 and playing
 the universal drama in a               
double--ascending and                   
descending--movement4 ,he divided the   
spheres  of the invisible enveloping the
 visible world and ever animating it2   
finally1 he conceived of the            
purification and liberation of man1 on  
this globe1 by triple initiation4 ,all  
this he saw1 along with his life  and   
work1 in an instantaneous flash of      
illumination1 with the absolute         
certainty of the spirit brought face to 
face with ,truth4 ,now he must  prove by
 ,reason what his pure ,intelligence had
 obtained from the  ,absolute1 and this 
needed a human life1 it was the task of 

a ,hercules4    ,where could he find the
 knowledge necessary to bring such a    
labour to a  successful issue8 ,neither 
the songs of ,homer1 nor the sages of   
,ionia1  nor the temples of ,greece     
would suffice4    ,the spirit of        
,pythagoras1 which had suddenly found   
wings1 began to  plunge into his past   
life1 into his mist-enveloped birth and 
his  mother's mysterious love4          
,childhood's memory returned to him with
  striking clearness4 ,he recalled the  
fact that his mother had carried  him in
 her arms1 when only a babe of twelve   
months1 to the temple  of ,adona1 in a  
vale of ,lebanon4 ,he saw himself again 
as a child1  clinging to the neck of    
,parthenis1 with mighty forests and     
mountains  all around1 whilst the river 
formed a waterfall close by4 ,she was   
standing on a terrace shaded with giant 
cedars4 ,in front of her stood a        
majestic-looking1 white-bearded priest1 
smiling on the mother and child  as he  
uttered grave-sounding words the little 

one did not understand4  ,often had his 
mother brought back to his mind the     
strange utterance of  the hierophant of 
,adona3 8,o woman of ,ionia1 thy son    
shall be great  in wisdom2 but remember 
that1 though the ,greeks still possess  
the  science of the gods1 the knowledge 
of ,god can no longer be found          
elsewhere than in ,egypt40 ,these words 
came back to him along with his         
mother's smile1 the old man's beautiful 
face1 and the distant murmur of  the    
waterfall dominated by the priest's     
voice1 with that magnificent  scenery   
all around1 like the dream of another   
life4 ,for the first  time he guessed   
the meaning of the oracle4 ,he had      
indeed heard of the  wonderful knowledge
 of ,egyptian priests and their dreadful
 mysteries1  though he thought he could 
do without it all4 ,now he understood   
that  he needed this 8science of ,god10 
to penetrate to the very heart of       
nature1 and that he could find it only  
in the temples of ,egypt4 ,it was  the  

gentle ,parthenis who1 with maternal    
instinct1 had prepared him for  this    
work1 and borne him as an offering to   
the sovereign ,god6 ,from this  moment  
he made up his mind to go to ,egypt1 and
 there undergo initiation4              
,polycrates prided himself on being the 
protector of philosophers  as well as of
 poets4 ,he willingly gave ,pythagoras a
 letter of  recommendation to ,pharaoh  
,amasis1 who introduced him to the      
priests of  ,memphis4 ,the latter were  
opposed to receiving him1 and were      
induced  to consent only with the utmost
 difficulty4 ,egyptian sages distrusted 
,greeks1 whom they charged with being   
fickle and inconstant4 ,they did  all   
they could to discourage the young      
,samian4 ,the novice1 however1          
submitted with unfaltering patience and 
courage to the delays and  tests imposed
 on him4 ,he knew beforehand that he    
would only attain to  knowledge by      
entirely mastering his will throughout  
his entire being4  ,his initiation under

 the pontificate of ,sonchis the high   
priest lasted  twenty-two years4 ,all   
the trials and temptations1 the         
soul-rending  dread and ecstatic joy    
passed through by ,hermes1 the initiate 
of  ,isis1 even to the apparent1 or     
cataleptic death of the adept and his   
resurrection in the light of ,osiris1   
were experienced by ,pythagoras1  so    
that he now realized1 not as a vain     
theory1 but as something lived  through1
 the doctrine of the ,logos-,light1 or  
of the universal ,word1 and  that of    
human evolution through seven planetary 
cycles4 ,at each step  of this giddy    
ascent the tests became more formidable4
 ,a hundred times  the risk of death was
 incurred1 especially if one's object   
was to gain  control over occult forces1
 and attain to the dangerous practice of
  magic and theurgy4 ,like all great    
men1 ,pythagoras believed in his star4  
,no path that led to knowledge          
disheartened him1 the fear of death     
could  not check him1 for he saw life   

beyond4 ,when the ,egyptian priests had 
recognized that he possessed            
extraordinary strength of soul and that 
impersonal passion for wisdom1 which is 
the rarest thing in the world1  they    
opened out to him the treasures of their
 experience4 ,whilst with  them he daily
 improved1 and became filled with divine
 knowledge4 ,he  mastered sacred        
mathematics and the science of numbers1 
or universal  principles1 which he      
formulated anew and made the centre of  
his system4  ,the severity of the       
,egyptian discipline in the temples also
 impressed  on him the prodigious power 
of the human will when wisely trained   
and  exercised1 the endless             
applications1 both to body and to soul1 
that  can be made of it4 8,the science  
of numbers and the art of will-power10  
said the priests of ,memphis1 8are the  
two keys of magic2 they open  up all the
 gates of the universe40 ,it was in     
,egypt that ,pythagoras  obtained that  
view from above1 which allows of one    

seeing the spheres  of life and the     
sciences in concentric order1 and       
understanding the  involution of the    
spirit into matter by universal         
creation1 and  its evolution or         
re-ascent towards unity by way of that  
individual  creation called the         
development of a consciousness4         
,pythagoras had reached the summit of   
,egyptian priesthood1 and was  perhaps  
thinking of returning to ,greece1 when  
war1 with all its misery1  burst upon   
the valley of the ,nile1 carrying away  
the initiate of ,osiris  in another     
direction4 ,the despots of ,asia had    
long been meditating  the ruin of       
,egypt4 ,their repeated attacks had     
failed1 for centuries  past1 before the 
wisdom of the ,egyptian institutions1   
the power of  the priesthood1 and the   
energy of the ,pharaohs4 ,but the refuge
 of the  science of ,hermes1 the kingdom
 from time immemorial1 was not to remain
  for ever4 ,cambyses1 son of the       
conqueror of ,babylon1 descended on     

,egypt  with his innumerable hosts1     
famished as clouds of locusts1 and put  
an  end to the institution of the       
,pharaohs1 the origin of which was lost 
in the night of time4 ,in the eyes of   
the sages this was a catastrophe  for   
the whole world4 ,hitherto ,egypt had   
sheltered ,europe against  ,asia4 ,her  
protecting influence still extended over
 the whole basin  of the ,mediterranean1
 by means of the temples of ,phoenicia1 
,greece1  and ,etruria1 with which the  
high ,egyptian priesthood were in       
constant  connection4 ,this rampart once
 overthrown1 the ,bull1 with lowered    
head1  was about to burst upon the land 
of ,greece4 ,pythagoras saw ,cambyses   
invade ,egypt1 he may have beheld the   
,persian despot1 worthy scion of  the   
crowned villains of ,nineveh and        
,babylon1 plunder the temples of        
,memphis and ,thebes1 and destroy that  
of ,ammon4 ,he may have seen the        
,pharaoh ,psammitichus brought in chains
 before ,cambyses1 placed on a  mound1  

and surrounded by the priests1 the      
principal families1 and the  royal      
court4 ,he may have witnessed the       
,pharaoh's daughter1 clad in  rags and  
followed by all her maids of honour     
similarly demeaned1 the  royal prince   
and two thousand young men1 brought     
forward1 bit in mouth  and bridle on    
neck1 before being beheaded2 the        
,pharaoh ,psammitichus1  choking back   
his sobs before the frightful scene1 and
 the infamous  ,cambyses1 seated on his 
throne1 gloating over the anguish of his
  vanquished enemy4 ,cruel though       
instructive this lesson of history      
after those of science6 ,what a picture 
of the animal nature let  loose in man1 
culminating in this monster of despotism
 who tramples  everything under foot1   
and1 by his horrible apotheosis1 imposes
 on  humanity the reign of a most       
implacable destiny6    ,cambyses had    
,pythagoras taken to ,babylon1 with a   
portion of the  ,egyptian priesthood1   
and kept him within the gates4#c ,this  

colossal  city1 which ,aristotle        
compares to a country surrounded by     
walls1  offered at that time an immense 
field for observation4 ,ancient ,babel1 
the great prostitute of the ,hebrew     
prophets1 was more than ever1  after the
 ,persian conquest1 a pandemonium of    
nations1 tongues1 and  religions1 in    
whose midst ,asiatic despotism raised   
aloft its dizzy  tower4 ,according to   
,persian tradition1 its foundation dates
 back to the  legendary ,semiramis4 ,she
 it is who was said to have constructed 
the  monster enceinte1 over fifty miles 
in circumference3 the ,imgur-,bel1  its 
walls on which two chariots ran abreast1
 its superimposed terraces1  massive    
palaces with polychrome reliefs1 temples
 supported on stone  elephants and      
surmounted by many-coloured dragons4    
,there had followed  in succession the  
series of despots who had brought into  
subjection  ,chaldea1 ,assyria1 ,persia1
 a part of ,tartara1 ,judaea1 ,syria1   
and ,asia  ,minor4 ,hither              

,nebuchadnezzar1 the assassin of the    
magi1 had led  captive the ,jewish      
people who continued to practise their  
religion  in one corner of the immense  
city which would have contained ,london 
four times over4 ,the ,jews had even    
given the great king a powerful         
minister in the person of the prophet   
,daniel4 ,with ,balthazar1 the son  of  
,nebuchadnezzar1 the walls of the old   
,babel had finally disappeared  beneath 
the avenging hand of ,cyrus1 and        
,babylon passed for several  centuries  
under ,persian rule4 ,by reason of this 
series of preceding  events1 at the time
 ,pythagoras came there1 there were     
three different  religions side by side 
in the high priesthood of ,babylon3 the 
ancient  ,chaldean priests1 the         
survivors of the ,persian magi1 and the 
lite of  the ,jewish captivity4 ,the    
proof that these different priesthoods  
were  in mutual agreement1 on the       
esoteric side1 is found in the part     
played  by ,daniel1 who1 whilst         

acknowledging the ,god of ,moses1       
remained first  minister under          
,nebuchadnezzar1 ,balthazar1 and ,cyrus4
    ,pythagoras was now obliged to      
enlarge his horizon1 already so vast1   
by studying these doctrines and         
religions1 the synthesis of which  was  
still preserved by a few initiates4 ,in 
,babylon he was able to  thoroughly     
study the knowledge in the possession of
 the magi1 the heirs  of ,zoroaster4    
,though the ,egyptian priests alone     
possessed the universal  keys of the    
sacred sciences1 the ,persian magi had  
the reputation  of carrying farther the 
practice of certain arts4 ,they claimed 
to  control those occult powers of      
nature called pantomorphic fire and     
astral light4 ,in their temples1 it was 
said1 darkness reigned in broad         
daylight1 lamps were lit without human  
agency1 the radiance of the ,gods  was  
visible and the rumble of thunder could 
be heard4 ,the magi gave  the name of   
celestial lion to this incorporeal fire1

 the agent that  generates electricity1 
which they could condense or disperse at
 will1  and that of serpents to the     
electric currents of the atmosphere and 
the magnetic currents of the earth1     
which they claimed to be able to  direct
 like arrows against mankind4 ,they had 
also made a special study  of the       
suggestive1 attractive1 and creative    
power of the human word4  ,to evoke     
spirits they employed graduated         
formulas1 borrowed from the  most       
ancient languages on earth4 ,the        
following is the psychic reasoning  they
 themselves gave thereof3 8,make no     
change in the barbarous  names employed 
in evocation2 for they are the          
pantheistic names of  ,god2 they are    
magnetized with the worship of          
multitudes1 and their  power is         
ineffable40#d ,these evocations1        
accompanied by prayer and  purification1
 were1 properly speaking1 what was      
called at a later date1  white magic4   
,accordingly we now see ,pythagoras in  

,babylon1 penetrating the arcana of     
ancient magic4 ,at the same time1 in    
this den of despotism1 he witnessed  a  
glorious spectacle2 on the ruins of the 
crumbling religions of the  ,east1 above
 their decimated and degenerate         
priesthood1 a band of  dauntless        
initiates1 grouped together1 were       
defending their science1  their faith1  
and as well as they could1 justice4     
,boldly facing the  despots1 like       
,daniel in the den of lions1 ever       
prepared to be torn to  pieces1 they    
tamed and fascinated the wild beast of  
absolute power by  their intellectual   
might1 disputing1 foot by foot1 the     
ground they had  won4    ,after his     
,egyptian and ,chaldaean initiation1 the
 child of ,samos knew  far more than his
 teachers of natural philosophy1 far    
more than any  ,greek1 either priest or 
laic1 of his time4 ,he was acquainted   
with the  eternal principles of the     
universe and their application4 ,nature 
had  opened up to him her secrets2 the  

gross veils of matter had been torn     
from his eyes1 enabling him to see the  
marvellous spheres of nature and        
spiritualized humanity4 ,in the temples 
of ,neith-,isis in ,memphis1 and  ,bel  
in ,babylon1 he had learned many secrets
 as to the past history  of religions1  
continents1 and races4 ,he had been able
 to compare the  advantages with the    
disadvantages of the ,jewish monotheism1
 the ,greek  polytheism1 the ,hindu     
trinitarianism1 and the ,persian        
dualism4 ,he knew  that all these       
religions were rays of one same truth1  
strained down  through different degrees
 of intelligence and intended for       
different  social conditions4 ,he held  
the key1 i4 e4 the synthesis of all     
these  doctrines1 in esoteric science4  
,his vision1 compassing the past and    
plunging into the future1 was bound to  
judge the present with singular         
lucidity4 ,his experience showed him    
humanity threatened with the most       
terrible evils1 through the ignorance of

 the priests1 the materialism  of the   
savants1 and the lack of discipline in  
the democracies4 ,in the  midst of this 
universal decay he saw ,asiatic         
despotism increase2 from  this dark     
cloud a terrible cyclone was about to   
burst upon defenceless  ,europe4        
,accordingly it was now the hour to     
return to ,greece1 there to fulfil  his 
mission and begin his work4             
,pythagoras had been kept in ,babylon   
for twelve years4 ,to leave the  city1  
an order from the king of ,persia was   
necessary4 ,democedes1  a compatriot of 
his and the king's physician1 interceded
 in his  favour and obtained liberty for
 the philosopher4 ,after an absence of  
thirty-four years ,pythagoras returned  
to ,samos4 ,he found his country        
crushed and ruined by a satrap of the   
great king4 ,schools and temples  were  
closed1 poets and savants had fled like 
a cloud of swallows  before ,persian    
caesarism4 ,he had the consolation      
however1 of seeing  ,hermodamas1 his    

first master1 take his last breath1 and 
of meeting  ,parthenis1 his mother1 the 
only one who had never doubted that he  
would  return4 ,for everyone thought    
that the adventurous son of the jeweller
  of ,samos was dead4 ,not for a moment 
had she doubted the oracle of  ,apollo4 
,well she divined that beneath the      
,egyptian priest's white robe1  her son 
was preparing himself for some lofty    
mission4 ,she knew that  there would    
come forth from the temple of           
,neith-,isis the beneficent  master1 the
 light-bearing prophet1 of whom she had 
dreamed in the  sacred wood of ,delphi1 
and whom the hierophant of ,adona had   
promised  her beneath the cedars of     
,lebanon4    ,and now a light skiff was 
bearing away mother and son to a new    
exile  over the azure waves of the      
,aegean sea4 ,they were fleeing1 with   
all  their possessions1 from an         
oppressed and ruined ,samos1 and were   
making sail for ,greece4 ,neither the   
,olympic crowns nor the poet's  laurels 

tempted the son of ,parthenis4 ,his work
 was greater and more  mysterious2 it   
was to rouse to life the slumbering soul
 of the gods in  the sanctuaries1 to    
restore the temple of ,apollo to its    
former might  and prestige1 and then to 
found somewhere a school of science and 
of  life whence should come forth1 not  
politicians and sophists1 but men  and  
women initiates1 true mothers and pure  
heroes6                                 
,,chapter ,,iii                         
,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,delphi--,,the     
,,science ,,of                          
,,apollo--,,theory ,,of                 
,,divination--,,the                     
,,pythoness ,,theoclea    ,from the     
plain of ,phocis the traveller mounts   
the smiling meadows  bordering the banks
 of the ,pleistus to plunge into a      
winding valley  shut in between lofty   
mountains4 ,at every step the way       
becomes narrower  and the country more  
sublime and deserted4 ,finally a circle 
of rugged  mountains1 crowned with      

wild-looking peaks1 a veritable         
storehouse of  electricity1 over which  
storms often raged1 is reached4         
,suddenly1 far  up the sombre gorge     
appears the town of ,delphi1 like an    
eagle's nest1  on a rock surrounded by  
precipices and dominated by the two     
peaks of  ,parnassus4 ,from the distance
 the bronze ,victories are seen         
sparkling  in the light1 as well as the 
brazen horses1 the innumerable statues  
of  gold1 marshalled along the sacred   
path and arranged like a guard of       
heroes and gods round the ,doric temple 
of ,phbus ,apollo4    ,this was the most
 sacred spot in ,greece4 ,here1 the     
,pythoness  prophesied and the          
,amphictyons assembled2 here1 the       
different ,hellenic  peoples had built  
round the sanctuary chapels containing  
treasured  offerings4 ,here1 processions
 of men1 women1 and children1 coming    
from afar1 mounted the sacred path to   
greet the ,god of ,light4 ,from  time   
immemorial religion had consecrated     

,delphi to the veneration of  the       
people4 ,its central situation in       
,hellas1 its rock sheltered from        
profane hands and easy to defend1 had   
contributed to this result4  ,the place 
was calculated to strike the            
imagination1 for a singular  quality    
gave it great prestige4 ,in a cavern    
behind the temple was a  cleft in the   
rock from which issued a cold1 vapoury  
mist1 inducing1 it  was said1 a state of
 inspiration and ecstasy4 ,plutarch     
relates that  in by-gone times a        
shepherd1 when seated by the side of    
this cleft1  began to prophesy4 ,at     
first he was looked upon as mad1 but    
when his  predictions became realized1  
people began to investigate4 ,the       
priests  took possession of the spot and
 consecrated it to the divinity4 ,hence 
the institution of the ,pythoness1 who  
was seated above the cleft on a  tripod4
 ,the vapours exhaling from the abyss   
occasioned convulsions and  strange     
crises1 provoking in her that second    

sight noticed in certain  somnambulists4
 ,eschylus1 whose affirmation is not    
without weight1 for  he was the son of a
 priest of ,eleusis1 and an initiate    
himself1 tells  us in his ,eumenides1 by
 the mouth of the ,pythoness1 that      
,delphi  had first been consecrated to  
the ,earth1 then to ,themis 7,justice71 
afterwards to ,phbe 7the interceding    
moon71 and finally to ,apollo1 the      
solar god4 ,in temple symbolism each of 
these names represents long  periods1   
and embraces centuries of time4 ,the    
fame of ,delphi1 however1  dates from   
,apollo4 ,jupiter1 according to the     
poets1 wishing to find  the centre of   
the earth1 started two eagles in their  
flight from east  and west1 and they met
 at ,delphi4 ,whence comes this         
prestige1 this  world-wide and          
unchallenged authority which constituted
 ,apollo as the  god of ,greece par     
excellence1 and now makes the glory of  
his name  inexplicable to us8           
,history is dumb on this important      

point4 ,question orators1 poets1 and    
philosophers1 they will only give you   
superficial explanations4 ,the  real    
answer to this question remained the    
secret of the temple4 ,let us  try to   
fathom it4    ,in ,orphic thought1      
,dionysos and ,apollo were two different
 revelations  of the same divinity4     
,dionysos represented esoteric truth1   
the  foundation and interior of things1 
open to initiates alone4 ,he held the   
mysteries of life1 past and future      
existences1 the relations between  soul 
and body1 heaven and earth4 ,apollo     
personified the same truth  applied to  
life on earth and social order4 ,the    
inspirer of poetry1  medicine1 and laws1
 he was science by divination1 beauty by
 art1  peace among nations by justice1  
and harmony between soul and body by    
purification4 ,in a word1 to the        
initiate ,dionysos signified nothing    
less than the divine spirit in evolution
 in the universe2 and ,apollo1  the     
manifestation thereof to mankind on     

earth4 ,the people had been made  to    
understand this by a legend4 ,the       
priests had told them that1 in the  time
 of ,orpheus1 ,bacchus and ,apollo had  
vied with one another for the  tripod of
 ,delphi4 ,bacchus had willingly given  
it up to his brother1 and  withdrawn to 
one of the peaks of ,parnassus1 where   
the ,theban women were  wont to         
celebrate his mysteries4 ,in reality the
 two sons of ,jupiter  divided between  
themselves the empire of the world4 ,the
 one reigned  over the mysterious       
,beyond1 the other over the ,world of   
the ,living4    ,so that we find in     
,apollo the solar ,logos1 the universal 
,word1 the  mighty ,mediator1 the       
,vishnu of the ,hindus1 the ,mithras of 
the ,persians1  and the ,horus of the   
,egyptians4 ,the old ideas of ,asiatic  
esoterism1  however1 took on1 in the    
legend of ,apollo1 a plastic beauty1 and
 an  incisive splendour which made them 
penetrate the more deeply into human    
consciousness1 like the shafts of the   

,god4 8,white-winged serpents  springing
 forth from his golden bow10 says       
,eschylus4    ,apollo springs forth from
 the mighty night at ,delos2 all the    
goddesses  greet his birth2 he walks and
 takes up his bow and lyre1 his locks   
stream in the air and his quiver rattles
 on his shoulder2 the sea  quivers1 and 
the whole island shines with his glory  
scattered abroad  in floods of golden   
flame4 ,this is the epiphany of divine  
light1 which  by its august presence    
creates order1 splendour1 and harmony1  
of which  poetry is the marvellous echo4
 ,the god goes to ,delphi and pierces   
with  his arrows a monstrous serpent    
which was ravaging and laying waste the 
land1 he purifies the country and       
establishes the temple2 the image of    
the victory of this divine light over   
darkness and evil4 ,in ancient          
religions1 the serpent symbolized at    
once the fatal circle of life and  the  
evil resulting therefrom4 ,and yet1 from
 this life once understood  and         

overcome1 springs forth knowledge4      
,apollo1 slayer of the serpent1  is the 
symbol of the initiate who pierces      
nature by science1 tames it  by his     
will1 and breaking the ,karmic circle of
 the flesh mounts aloft  in spiritual   
splendour1 whilst the broken fragments  
of human animality  lie writhing in the 
sand4 ,for this reason ,apollo is the   
master of  expiation1 of the            
purification of soul and body4          
,bespattered with the  monster's blood1 
he performed expiation1 purified himself
 during an  eight years' exile beneath  
the bitter1 health-giving laurels of the
  vale of ,tempe4--,apollo1 trainer of  
men1 likes to take up his abode in      
their midst1 he is pleased to be in     
towns with the youths and young  men1 at
 contests of poetry and the palaestra1  
though he remains only  for a time4 ,in 
autumn he returns to his own land1 the  
home of the  ,hyperboreans4 ,this is the
 mysterious people of luminous and      
transparent  souls who dwell in the     

eternal dawn of perfect felicity4 ,here 
are his  true priests1 his beloved      
priestesses4 ,he lives with them in     
strong1  intimate communion1 and when he
 wishes to make mankind a royal gift1 he
  brings back from the country of the   
,hyperboreans one of those mighty1      
radiant souls who is born on earth to   
teach and delight mortals4 ,he  himself 
returns to ,delphi every spring1 when   
poems and hymns are sung  in his honour4
 ,visible to none but initiates he comes
 in dazzling  ,hyperborean glory1 in a  
chariot drawn by sweetly-singing swans4 
,again  he takes up his abode in the    
sanctuary1 where the ,pythoness speaks  
forth his oracles1 and sages and poets  
listen4 ,then is heard the song  of     
nightingales1 the fountain of ,castalia 
scatters silver spray on  every hand1   
dazzling light and celestial music      
penetrate the heart of  man and reach   
the very veins of nature4    ,in this   
legend of the ,hyperboreans may be found
 much light thrown on  the esoteric     

basis of the ,apollo myth4 ,the land of 
the ,hyperboreans is  the ,beyond1 the  
empyrean of victorious souls1 whose     
astral dawns light  up its many-coloured
 zones4 ,apollo himself personifies the 
immaterial  and intelligible light of   
which the sun is merely the physical    
image1  and from which flows down all   
truth4 ,the wonderful swans which bring 
him are poets and divine geniuses1      
messengers of his mighty solar soul1    
leaving behind them flashes of light and
 strains of glorious music4             
,hyperborean ,apollo1 accordingly1      
personifies the descent of heaven on  to
 earth1 the incarnation of spiritual    
beauty in flesh and blood1 the  inflow  
of transcendent truth by inspiration and
 divination4    ,it is now the moment to
 raise the golden veil of legend and    
enter the  temple itself4 ,how was      
divination practised therein8 ,here we  
touch upon  the secrets of ,apollonian  
science and of the mysteries of ,delphi4
    ,in antiquity1 a strong tie united  

divination to the solar cults1 and  here
 we have the golden key to all the      
so-called magic mysteries4    ,the      
worship of ,aryan humanity from the     
beginning of civilization was  directed 
towards the sun as the source of light1 
heat1 and life4 ,when1  however1 the    
thought of the sages rose from the      
phenomenon to the  cause1 behind this   
sensible fire1 this visible light1 they 
formed the  concept of an immaterial    
fire1 an intelligible light4 ,they      
identified  the form with the male      
principle1 the creative spirit or       
intellectual  essence of the universe1  
and the latter with its female          
principle1 its  formative soul1 its     
plastic substance4 ,this intuition dates
 back to  time immemorial4 ,the         
conception ,i speak of is connected with
 the most  ancient mythologies4 ,it     
circulates in the ,vedic hymns under the
 form  of ,agni1 the universal fire     
which penetrates all things4 ,it        
blossoms  forth in the religion of      

,zoroaster1 the esoteric part of which  
is  represented by the cult of ,mithras4
 ,mithras is the male fire and ,mitra   
the female light4 ,zoroaster formally   
states that the ,eternal1 by means  of  
the living ,word1 created the heavenly  
light1 the seed of ,ormuzd1  the        
principle of material light and material
 fire4 ,for the initiate of  ,mithras   
the sun is only a rude reflection of    
this light4 ,in his obscure  grotto1    
whose vault is painted with stars1 he   
invokes the sun of grace1  the fire of  
love1 conqueror of evil1 reconciler of  
,ormuzd and ,ahriman1  purifier and     
mediator1 who dwells in the soul of the 
holy prophets4 ,in  the crypts of       
,egypt1 the initiates seek this same sun
 under the name  of ,osiris4 ,when      
,hermes asks to be allowed to           
contemplate the origin  of things1 at   
first he feels himself plunged into the 
ethereal waves  of a delicious light1 in
 which move all living forms4 ,then1    
plunging  into the darkness of dense    

matter1 he hears a voice which he       
recognizes  as the voice of light4 ,at  
the same time fire darts forth from the 
depths1 immediately all is light and    
chaos becomes order4 ,in the ,book  of  
the ,dead of the ,egyptians the souls   
journey painfully towards that  light in
 the barque of ,isis4 ,moses fully      
adopted this doctrine in  ,genesis3     
8,elohim said3 ,let there be light2 and 
there was light40 ,now  the creation of 
this light precedes that of the sun and 
stars4 ,this  means that1 in the order  
of principles and cosmogony1            
intelligible  precedes material light4  
,the ,greeks1 who moulded into human    
form and  dramatized the most abstract  
ideas1 expressed the same doctrine in   
the  myth of ,hyperborean ,apollo4      
,consequently the human mind1 by inner  
contemplation of the universe1  from the
 point of view of the soul and the      
intelligence1 came to  conceive of an   
intelligible light1 an imponderable     
element serving as  an intermediary     

between matter and spirit4 ,it would be 
easy to show  that natural philosophers 
of modern times insensibly draw         
somewhere  near the same conclusion     
along an opposite path1 i4 e4 by        
searching  for the constitution of      
matter and seeing the impossibility of  
explaining it by itself4 ,even in the   
sixteenth century1 ,paracelsus1  whilst 
studying the chemical combinations and  
metamorphoses of bodies1  went so far as
 to admit of a universal occult agent by
 means of which  they are brought about4
 ,the natural philosophers of the       
sixteenth and  seventeenth centuries1   
who conceived of the universe as being a
 dead  machine1 believed in the absolute
 void of celestial space4 ,yet when  it 
was discovered that light is not the    
emission of a radiant matter1  but      
rather the vibration of an imponderable 
element1 one was obliged  to admit that 
the whole of space is filled by an      
infinitely subtile  fluid penetrating   
all bodies and through which waves of   

heat and light  are transmitted4 ,thus a
 return was made to the ,greek ideas of 
natural  philosophy and theosophy4      
,newton1 who had spent his whole life in
  studying the movements of the heavenly
 bodies1 went even farther than  this4  
,he called this ether sensorium ,dei1 or
 the brain of ,god1 i4  e4 the organ by 
which divine thought acts in the        
infinitely great  as well as in the     
infinitely small4 ,in emitting this     
idea1 which he  regarded as necessary to
 explain the simple rotation of the     
heavenly  bodies1 the great natural     
philosopher had embarked on the open sea
 of  esoteric philosophy4 ,the very     
ether ,newton's thought found in space  
,paracelsus had discovered at the bottom
 of his alembics1 and had named  it     
astral light4 ,now this imponderable    
fluid1 which is everywhere  present1    
penetrating all things1 this subtile but
 indispensable agent1  this light1      
invisible to our eyes1 but which is at  
the bottom of all  phosphorescence and  

scintillation1 has been proved to exist 
by a  ,german natural philosopher in a  
series of well-appointed experiments4   
,reichenbach had noticed that subjects  
of very sensitive nerve fibre1  when    
placed in a perfectly dark room in front
 of a magnet1 saw at its  two ends      
strong rays of red1 yellow1 and blue    
light4 ,sometimes these  rays vibrated  
with an undulatory movement4 ,he        
continued his experiments  with all     
kinds of bodies1 especially with        
crystals4 ,luminous emanations  were    
seen1 by sensitive subjects1 round all  
these bodies4 ,around the  heads of men 
placed in the dark room they saw white  
rays2 from their  fingers issued small  
flames4 ,in the first portion of their  
sleep  somnambulists sometimes see their
 magnetizer with these same signs4      
,pure astral light appears only in a    
condition of lofty ecstasy1 but  it is  
polarized in all bodies1 combines with  
all terrestrial fluids  and plays       
diverse rles in electricity1 in         

terrestrial and animal  magnetism4#e    
,the interest of ,reichenbach's         
experiments is that  they make precise  
the limits and transition from physical 
to astral  vision capable of leading on 
to spiritual vision4 ,they also enable  
us  to obtain a faint glimpse of the    
infinite subtleties of imponderable     
matter4 ,along this path there is       
nothing to prevent our conceiving it  as
 so fluid1 so subtile and penetrating1  
that it becomes in some way  homogeneous
 with spirit1 serving the latter as a   
perfect garment4    ,we have just seen  
that modern natural philosophy1 in order
 to explain  the world1 has been obliged
 to recognize an imponderable1 universal
  agent1 that it has even proved its    
presence1 and1 in this way1 without     
knowing it1 has fallen in with the      
notions of ancient theosophies4  ,let us
 now try to define the nature and       
function of cosmic fluid in  accordance 
with the philosophy of occultism in all 
ages4 ,on this main  principle of       

cosmogony1 ,zoroaster is in agreement   
with ,heraclitus1  ,pythagoras with     
,saint ,paul1 the ,kabbalists with      
,paracelsus4 ,cybele-,maa  reigns       
everywhere1 the mighty soul of the      
world1 the vibrating and  plastic       
substance which the breath of the       
creative spirit uses at its  will4 ,her 
oceans of ether serve to cement together
 all the worlds4 ,she  is the great     
mediator between the invisible and the  
visible1 between  spirit and matter1    
between the within and the without of   
the universe4  ,condensed in enormous   
masses in the atmosphere beneath the    
action of  the sun1 she flashes forth in
 a thunderbolt4 ,absorbed by the earth  
she circulates in magnetic currents4    
,subtilized in the nervous system  of   
the animal she transmits her will to the
 limbs1 her sensations to  the brain4   
,more than that1 this subtile fluid     
forms living organisms  similar to      
material bodies4 ,it serves as substance
 to the astral body  of the soul1 a     

garment of light which the spirit is    
ever weaving  for itself4 ,the fluid    
becomes transformed1 it rarefies or     
densifies  according to the souls it    
clothes or the worlds it envelops4 ,not 
only  does it embody spirit and         
spiritualize matter in its living bosom1
 it  reflects in a perpetual mirage both
 things and the thoughts and wills  of  
mankind4 ,the strength and duration of  
these images is in proportion  to the   
intensity of the will producing them4   
,and1 in truth1 there  is no other means
 of explaining thought suggestion and   
transmission  at a distance1 that       
principle of magic now-a-days           
acknowledged and  recognized by         
science4#f ,thus in the astral light the
 past of the  worlds trembles in vague  
images1 and the future is there also1   
with the  living souls inevitably       
destined to descend into flesh4 ,this is
 the  meaning of the veil of ,isis and  
the mantle of ,cybele1 into which all   
beings are woven4    ,it is now seen    

that the theosophical doctrine of the   
astral light is  identical with the     
secret doctrine of the solar ,word in   
the religions  of ,greece and the ,east4
 ,it is also seen how closely allied    
this  doctrine is to that of divination4
 ,the astral light is there revealed  as
 the universal medium of the phenomena  
of vision and of ecstasy which  it      
explains4 ,it is at once the vehicle    
which transmits the movements  of       
thought1 and the living mirror in which 
the soul contemplates the  images of the
 material and spiritual world4 ,once    
transported into this  element1 the     
spirit of the seer leaves corporeal     
conditions4 ,for him  the measure of    
time and space is changed4 ,in some way 
he participates  in the ubiquity of the 
universal fluid4 ,for him opaque matter 
becomes  transparent1 and the soul1     
disengaging itself from the body and    
rising  in its own light1 penetrates1 in
 a state of ecstasy1 into the spiritual 
world1 sees souls clothed in their      

ethereal bodies and communicates  with  
them4 ,all the initiates of former times
 had a clear notion of this  second     
sight1 or direct spiritual vision4      
,witness ,eschylus1 who puts  into the  
mouth of the shade of ,clytemnestra3    
8,look at these wounds1  thy spirit can 
see them2 when one is asleep1 the spirit
 possesses a  more piercing vision2 in  
broad daylight1 the eyes of mortals see 
but a  little way40    ,let me add that 
this theory of clairvoyance and ecstasy 
is in wonderful  agreement with the     
numerous experiments1 scientifically    
carried out  by savants and doctors of  
modern times1 on lucid somnambulists and
  clairvoyants of every kind4#g ,from   
these contemporary facts ,i shall       
endeavour briefly to characterize the   
successive psychic conditions  from     
simple clairvoyance to cataleptic       
ecstasy4    ,the state of clairvoyance1 
as is seen by thousands of              
well-established  facts1 is a psychic   
one1 differing as greatly from sleep as 

from a  waking condition4 ,the          
intellectual faculties of the           
clairvoyant1 far  from diminishing1     
increase in marvellous fashion4 ,his    
memory is more  correct1 his imagination
 more active1 his intelligence more     
alert4 ,the  main point1 in a word1 is  
that we have here developed a new sense1
  which is no longer corporeal1 but     
rather belongs to the soul4 ,not  only  
are the thoughts of the magnetizer      
transmitted to him as in the  simple    
phenomenon of suggestion1 which itself  
is outside the physical  plane1 but the 
clairvoyant even reads the thoughts of  
those present1  sees through walls1     
penetrates hundreds of miles into homes 
where he  has never been1 and reads the 
private life of people he does not know4
  ,his eyes are closed1 incapable of    
seeing anything1 but his spirit sees    
farther and better than his open eyes   
and seems to travel about freely  in    
space4#h ,in a word1 though clairvoyance
 may be abnormal from the  bodily point 

of view1 it is a normal and superior    
state from the point  of view of the    
spirit4 ,the consciousness has become   
deeper1 the vision  wider4 ,the ego     
remains the same1 but it has passed over
 to a higher  plane1 where the vision1  
freed from the coarse organs of the     
body1  embraces and penetrates a vaster 
horizon4#i ,it is to be noted that      
certain somnambulists1 when submitting  
to the passes of the magnetizer1  feel  
themselves flooded with increasingly    
dazzling light1 whilst the  awaking     
seems to them an unpleasant return to   
darkness4    ,suggestion1 thought       
reading1 and distant vision are facts   
which already  prove the independent    
existence of the soul1 and transport us 
above the  physical plane of the        
universe without making us leave it     
altogether4  ,clairvoyance1 however1 has
 infinite varieties and a scale of      
different  states far wider than that of
 the waking condition4 ,in proportion as
  the scale is mounted the phenomena    

become rarer and more extraordinary4  ,i
 will mention only the principal stages4
 ,retrospection is a  vision of past    
events preserved in the astral light and
 revived by  the sympathy of the seer4  
,divination1 properly so called1 is a   
problematical vision of things to come  
either by introspection of the  thoughts
 of the living which contain future     
actions in germ1 or by  the occult      
influence of superior spirits which     
unfold the future in  living images     
before the soul of the clairvoyant4 ,in 
both cases they  are projections of     
thoughts into the astral light4 ,finally
 ecstasy is  defined as a vision of the 
spiritual world1 where good or evil     
spirits  appear to the seer in human    
form and communicate with him4 ,the soul
  seems really to be transported out of 
the body1 which life has almost  left1  
and which stiffens into a state of      
catalepsy resembling death4  ,from what 
those who have been in a condition of   
sublime ecstasy tell  us1 nothing in the

 universe can express the beauty and    
splendour of  these visions1 or the     
sentiment of an ineffable fusion with   
the divine  essence which they bring    
back1 a very transport of light and     
music4  ,the reality of these visions   
may be doubted4 ,it must1 nevertheless1 
be  added that if the soul1 in the      
average state of clairvoyance1 has a    
correct perception of distant places and
 of absent ones1 it is logical  to admit
 that1 in its loftiest exaltation1 it   
may have the vision of a  higher and an 
immaterial reality4    ,in my opinion1  
it will be the task of the future to    
restore to the  transcendent faculties  
of the human soul their dignity and     
social  function1 by reorganizing them  
under the control of science and on the 
basis of a religion which is truly      
universal1 open to all truths4 ,then    
science1 regenerated by real faith and  
the spirit of love1 will1 with  open    
eyes1 mount aloft to those spheres in   
which speculative philosophy  gropes    

about with bandaged eyes4 ,yes1 science 
will become clear-sighted  and redeeming
 in her mission1 just in proportion as  
the consciousness  and love of humanity 
increase in her4 ,perhaps it is through 
8the gate  of sleep and dreams10 as     
,homer said1 that divine ,psyche1       
banished from  our civilized life and   
weeping in silence beneath her veil1    
will regain  possession of her altars4  
,anyhow1 the phenomena of clairvoyance1 
studied from every aspect by            
present-day savants and doctors1 throw  
an altogether new light on  the rle of  
divination in antiquity and on a host of
 apparently  supernatural phenomena1    
with which the annals of every nation   
and  people are filled4 ,of course1 a   
distinction must be made between legend 
and history1 hallucination and real     
vision4 ,still1 the experimental        
psychology of our times teaches us not  
to reject1 in a body1 facts  which fall 
within human possibility1 but rather to 
investigate them  from the point of view

 of well-ascertained laws4 ,if          
clairvoyance is a  faculty of the soul1 
we may no longer simply consign         
prophets1 oracles1  and sybils to the   
domain of superstition4 ,divination has 
really been  known and practised in     
temples of old1 with fixed principles   
and a  social and religious end in view4
 ,the comparative study of religions    
and esoteric traditions shows that these
 principles were the same  everywhere1  
although their application may have     
varied infinitely4 ,what  has           
discredited the art of divination is    
that its corruption has given  rise to  
the worst abuses1 and that its glorious 
manifestations are  possible only in    
beings of exceptional purity4           
,divination1 as practised at ,delphi1   
was founded on the principles we  have  
just set forth1 the inner organization  
of the temple corresponded  thereto4 ,as
 in the great temples of ,egypt1 it     
consisted of an art  and a science4 ,the
 art consisted in penetrating the       

far-away past  and future by            
clairvoyance or prophetic ecstasy2 the  
science1 in  calculating the future in  
accordance with the laws of universal   
evolution4 ,art and science checked one 
another4 ,all ,i will say of  this      
science1 called genethlialogy by the    
ancients1 and of which  the astrology of
 the middle ages is only an imperfectly 
understood  fragment1 is that it took   
for granted the esoteric encyclopedia as
  applied to the future of peoples and  
individuals4 ,though very useful  in    
showing the direction things were       
taking1 it was always of very  doubtful 
application4 ,only the very loftiest    
minds knew how to use it4  ,pythagoras  
had thoroughly mastered it in ,egypt1   
but in ,greece it was  practised with a 
less thorough or clear understanding4   
,on the other  hand1 clairvoyance and   
prophecy had made considerable progress4
    ,it is well known that this art was 
practised in ,delphi through the  agency
 of women1 both young and old4 ,they    

were called ,pythonesses1  and played   
the passive rle of clairvoyant          
somnambulists4 ,their  oracles1 often   
obscure1 were interpreted1 translated1  
and arranged by  the priests in         
accordance with their own lights4       
,modern historians have  seen in the    
institution of ,delphi scarcely anything
 more than the  exploitation of         
superstition by intelligent charlatans4 
,besides the  assent1 however1 given by 
the whole of philosophic antiquity to   
the  ,delphic science of divination1    
several oracles related by ,herodotus1  
such as those regarding ,croesus and the
 battle of ,salamis1 speak in  its      
favour4 ,doubtless their art had its    
beginning1 its condition of  prosperity1
 and its decay4 ,charlatanism and       
corruption exercised  their demoralizing
 influence in the end1 as we see in the 
case of  king ,cleomenes1 who bribed the
 high priestess of ,delphi to deprive   
,demaratus of his throne4 ,plutarch     
wrote a treatise inquiring into the     

reasons for the decline and extinction  
of the oracles2 this degeneracy  was    
felt to be a misfortune throughout all  
classes of antiquity4 ,at  first1       
divination was practised with a degree  
of religious sincerity  and scientific  
thoroughness which raised it to the     
height of a  real ministration4 ,on the 
pediment of the temple could be read the
  inscription3 8,know thyself10 and     
another one above the entrance door3    
8,let no one enter here with impure     
hands40 ,these words explained to  all  
comers that earthly passions1 falsehood 
and hypocrisy were not to  pass the     
threshold of the sanctuary1 that within1
 in awe-inspiring  solemnity1 reigned   
divine ,truth4    ,pythagoras reached   
,delphi only after having visited all   
the temples  of ,greece4 ,he had stayed 
with ,epimenides in the sanctuary of    
,idaean  ,jupiter2 he had been present  
at the ,olympic games1 and presided over
  the mysteries of ,eleusis1 where the  
hierophant had given up his place  to   

him4 ,everywhere had he been received as
 a master1 and now he was  expected at  
,delphi4 ,here the art of divination was
 in a languishing  condition1 and       
,pythagoras wished to restore its former
 prestige and  might4 ,accordingly he   
went there not so much to consult       
,apollo as to  enlighten his            
interpreters and revive their enthusiasm
 and energy4  ,through them his         
influence would mould the soul of       
,greece and prepare a  future for the   
land4    ,fortunately he found in the   
temple a marvellous instrument reserved 
for  him1 to all appearance1 by the hand
 of ,providence4    ,young ,theoclea    
belonged to the college of the          
priestesses of ,apollo4  ,she sprang    
from one of those families in which the 
priestly dignity  is hereditary4 ,her   
childhood had been fed on the mighty    
impressions  imparted by the sanctuary1 
the ceremonies1 pans1 and ftes of       
,pythian and ,hyperborean ,apollo4      
,evidently she was one of those maidens 

born with an instinctive abhorrence for 
the things which attracted  others4     
,they love not ,ceres and fear ,venus1  
for the heavy atmosphere  of earth      
troubles them1 and the vague glimpse    
they have obtained of  physical love    
seems to them the rape of the soul1 the 
pollution of  their undefiled1 virginal 
being4 ,on the other hand1 they are     
strangely  sensitive to mysterious      
currents1 to astral influences4 ,when   
the moon  was shedding her soft beams on
 the sombre groves near the fountain  of
 ,castalia1 ,theoclea would see white   
forms gliding by4 ,she heard  voices in 
open daylight4 ,on exposing herself to  
the rays of the rising  sun1 their      
vibration threw her into a kind of      
ecstasy1 during which  she heard the    
singing of invisible choirs4 ,at the    
same time she was  quite indifferent to 
popular superstition and idolatry2 a    
feeling of  horror overcame her at the  
sacrifices of animals4 ,she spoke to no 
one  regarding the apparitions which    

disturbed her sleep1 feeling with       
clairvoyant instinct that the priests of
 ,apollo were not in possession  of that
 supreme light she needed4 ,the latter1 
however1 had fixed on  her with the     
object of persuading her to become      
,pythoness4 ,she felt  herself attracted
 by a higher world to which she had not 
the key4 ,what  were these gods who     
manifested themselves to her in         
vibrations which  troubled her being1   
and to whom she owed her inspiration8   
,this she  would know before giving     
herself up to them1 for great souls need
 to  see clearly even in abandoning     
themselves to divine powers4    ,with   
what a deep thrill1 with how mysterious 
a presentiment the soul  of ,theoclea   
must have been stirred when she saw     
,pythagoras for the  first time1 and    
heard his eloquent voice resound among  
the columns of  the sanctuary of        
,apollo6 ,she felt the presence of the  
initiator for  whom she was waiting1 she
 recognized her master4 ,she wished to  

know2  knowledge would come by him2 he  
would make this inner world speak1 this 
world she bore within herself6--,he1 on 
his side1 must have recognized  in her1 
with sure and penetrating glance1 the   
living1 thrilling soul  he was seeking1 
to become the interpreter of his        
thoughts in the  temple and instil      
therein a new spirit4 ,no sooner had    
their eyes met1  their lips spoken1 than
 an invisible chain bound the sage of   
,samos to  the young priestess1 who     
listened to him without a word1 drinking
 in  his utterances with eager1         
attentive eyes4 ,some one has said that 
a  profound vibration enables poet and  
lyre to recognize one another as  they  
approach4 ,thus did ,pythagoras and     
,theoclea recognize one another4    ,at 
sunrise1 ,pythagoras had long           
conversations with the priests of       
,apollo1 ordained saints and prophets4  
,he requested that the young  priestess 
should be received by them1 so that he  
might initiate her  into his secret     

teaching and prepare her for her        
mission4 ,accordingly  she was permitted
 to follow the lessons given daily in   
the sanctuary by  the master4           
,pythagoras was now in the prime of     
life4 ,he wore a white  robe1 girdled in
 ,egyptian fashion2 a purple band was   
wrapped round  his majestic brow4 ,when 
he spoke1 his grave1 mild eyes were     
fastened  on his interlocutor1          
enveloping him in a warm1 tender light4 
,the very  atmosphere seemed to become  
lighter and electric with intelligence4 
,the conversations of the sage of ,samos
 with the highest representatives  of   
the ,greek religion were of the utmost  
importance4 ,it was not merely  a       
question of divination and inspiration1 
the future of ,greece and  the destiny  
of the whole world were at stake4 ,the  
knowledge1 titles1  and powers he had   
acquired in the temples of ,memphis and 
,babylon  gave him the greatest         
authority and influence4 ,to those who  
inspired  ,greece he had the right to   

speak as a superior and a guide4 ,this  
he  did with all the eloquence of his   
genius and the enthusiasm of his        
mission4 ,to enlighten their minds1 he  
began by telling them of his  youthful  
days1 his struggles and ,egyptian       
initiation4 ,he spoke to them  of       
,egypt1 the mother of ,greece1 old as   
the world itself1 immovable as  a mummy1
 covered with hieroglyphs in the        
recesses of its pyramids1  though       
possessing in its tombs the secrets of  
peoples1 languages1 and  religions4     
,before their eyes he unfolded the      
mysteries of great ,isis1  goddess of   
earth and heaven1 mother of gods and    
men2 then1 relating  his trials and     
ordeals1 he plunged them1 with himself1 
into the light  of ,osiris4 ,afterwards 
came the turn of ,babylon1 of the       
,chaldaean magi1  their occult sciences1
 and those deep solid temples where they
 call  forth the living fire1 the abode 
of demons and gods4    ,as she listened 
to ,pythagoras1 ,theoclea passed through

 wonderful  sensations4 ,all he said was
 branded in letters of fire in her mind4
  ,these things appeared to her both    
marvellous and yet well known4  ,instead
 of hearing something new she seemed to 
be recalling what she  had already      
learned4 ,the master's words set her    
turning over the pages  of the universe 
like those of a book4 ,no longer did she
 see the gods in  their human image1 but
 in their essence1 forming things and   
spirits4  ,with them she flowed in      
space1 rising and falling4 ,at times    
there came  the illusion that she no    
longer felt the limits of her body1 and 
was  fading away into infinity4 ,thus   
her imagination entered by degrees into 
the invisible world1 and the former     
traces she found of it in her own  soul 
told her that this was the true and only
 reality2 the other was  only apparent4 
,she felt that her inner eyes would soon
 open and read  the truth4    ,from     
these heights the master suddenly       
brought her back to earth by  relating  

the misfortunes of ,egypt4 ,after       
developing the greatness of  ,egyptian  
science1 he showed how it was dying away
 under the ,persian  invasion4 ,he      
depicted the horrible atrocities        
committed by ,cambyses1  the pillaged   
temples1 the sacred books committed to  
the flames1 the  priests of ,osiris     
killed or dispersed1 the monster of     
,persian despotism  collecting beneath  
his iron hand all the old barbaric      
tribes of ,asia1  the half-savage nomad 
races of ,india1 and the centre of the  
continent1  awaiting only a favourable  
opportunity to fall upon ,europe4 ,yes1 
this  ever-increasing cyclone must burst
 upon ,greece as certainly as the       
thunderbolt1 collecting in the sky1 must
 flash forth from the cloud4  ,was      
divided ,greece prepared to resist this 
terrible attack8 ,she did not  even     
suspect it4 ,nations cannot avoid their 
destinies1 which the gods  precipitate  
upon them1 unless they are ever         
watchful4 ,had not ,egypt1  that wise   

nation of ,hermes1 crumbled to ruin     
after six thousand years  of prosperity8
 ,greece1 alas6 and beautiful ,ionia    
will pass away even  sooner6 ,a time    
will come when the solar god will       
abandon this temple1  when barbarian    
tribes will overthrow its very walls1   
and shepherds lead  their flocks to     
pasture on the ruins of ,delphi4        
,before such sinister prophecies the    
countenance of ,theoclea became         
transformed1 assuming a terrified       
expression4 ,she sank to the ground1    
and1 with arms clasped round a column   
and eyes fixed as though plunged  in    
thought1 she resembled the genius of    
,grief weeping over the tomb of         
,greece4    8,those are secrets10       
continued ,pythagoras1 8which must be   
buried in the  depths of the temples4   
,the initiate attracts death or repels  
it at his  pleasure4 ,by forming the    
magic chain of wills1 initiates in this 
way  prolong the life of nations4 ,it is
 for you to postpone the fatal hour1  to

 cause ,greece to shine in splendour and
 beam forth with the word of  ,apollo4  
,nations and peoples are what their gods
 make them1 but the  gods reveal        
themselves only to such as appeal to    
them4 ,what is ,apollo8  ,the word of   
the one ,god manifesting himself        
eternally in the world4  ,truth is the  
soul of ,god1 his body is the light4    
,only seers1 sages1  and prophets behold
 it2 men see only its shadow4 ,legions  
of glorified  spirits1 whom we call     
heroes and demi-gods1 inhabit this light
 in  spheres beyond number4 ,this is the
 real body of ,apollo1 the sun of       
initiates1 without his rays nothing     
great is done on earth4 ,as the  magnet 
attracts iron1 so by our thoughts1 our  
prayers1 and actions do  we attract     
divine inspiration4 ,it is for you to   
hand over to ,greece the  word of       
,apollo1 and ,greece shall be           
resplendent with immortal light60       
,with such language ,pythagoras         
succeeded in restoring to the priests   

of ,delphi the consciousness of their   
mission4 ,theoclea drank in every  word 
with silent1 concentrated passion4 ,she 
was visibly becoming  transformed       
beneath the thought and will of the     
master as by a slow  incantation4       
,standing in the midst of the astonished
 elders1 she untied  her raven-black    
locks and thrust them back from her head
 as though she  felt flames of fire     
playing in and about them4 ,her eyes1   
transfigured  and wide open1 seemed to  
behold the solar and planetary gods in  
their  radiant1 glowing orbs4    ,one   
day she fell into a deep1 lucid sleep4  
,the five prophets surrounded  her1 but 
she remained insensible alike to their  
voice and touch4  ,pythagoras drew near 
and said3 8,rise and go where my thought
 sends  thee4 ,for now thou art the     
,pythoness60    ,on hearing the master's
 voice1 a long vibrating thrill ran     
through the  whole of her body and she  
rose to her feet4 ,her eyes were closed1
 but  she saw from within4    8,where   

art thou80 asked ,pythagoras4    8,i am 
ascending----ascending all the time40   
8,and now80    8,i am bathing in the    
light of ,orpheus40    8,what seest thou
 in the future80    8,great wars----men 
of might----,apollo returns to dwell in 
his  sanctuary1 and ,i shall be his     
voice----6 ,but thou1 his messenger1    
thou  art about to leave me1 alas6 thou 
wilt bear the torch of his light into   
,italy40    ,long did the seer speak1   
with closed eyes1 in musical1 panting1  
rhythmic voice2 then suddenly1 with a   
sob1 she fell to the ground like  one   
dead4    ,thus did ,pythagoras pour a   
pure1 undefiled stream of knowledge into
  ,theoclea's breast1 tuning her like a 
lyre for divine inspiration4 ,once      
exalted to these heights she became his 
torch1 thanks to which he was  able to  
sound his own destiny1 see into the     
possible future1 and direct  his path   
along the strandless zones of the       
invisible4 ,such a striking             
counter-verification of the truths he   

taught filled the priests with          
admiration1 aroused their courage and   
revived their faith4 ,the temple  now   
possessed an inspired ,pythoness1 and   
priests initiated into the  divine      
sciences and arts2 ,delphi could once   
again become a centre of  life and      
action4    ,pythagoras remained there   
for a whole year4 ,it was only after    
imparting  to the priests all the       
secrets of his doctrine1 and preparing  
,theoclea  for his ministry1 that he    
took his departure for ,greater ,greece4
                                        
,,chapter ,,iv                          
,,the ,,order ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine    
,the town of ,croton was situated at the
 extremity of the ,gulf of  ,tarentum1  
near the ,lacinian promontory1 in front 
of the open sea4 ,like  ,sybaris1 it was
 one of the most flourishing cities in  
,southern ,italy4  ,it was famed for its
 ,doric constitution1 its victorious    
athletes at  the ,olympian games1 and   
its doctors1 rivals of the ,asclepiads4 

,the  ,sybarites owe their immortality  
to their luxury and effeminacy4 ,the    
inhabitants of ,croton would perhaps be 
forgotten1 spite of their  virtues1 had 
theirs not been the glory of offering a 
home to the great  school of esoteric   
philosophy1 known under the name of the 
,pythagorean  sect1 which may be looked 
upon as the mother of the school of     
,plato and  the ancestor of all idealist
 schools4 ,however noble the            
descendants1  their ancestors greatly   
surpassed them4 ,the school of ,plato   
issues from  an incomplete tradition1   
whereas the ,stoic school has already   
lost the  true tradition4 ,other systems
 of ancient and modern philosophy are   
more  or less fortunate speculations1   
whilst the teaching of ,pythagoras  was 
based on experimental science and       
accompanied by a complete  organization 
of life4    ,the secrets of the master's
 order and thought are now1 like the    
ruins  of the ancient town1 buried deep 
underground4 ,all the same we will try  

to resurrect them1 for thus we shall    
have an opportunity of penetrating  to  
the very heart of the theosophic        
doctrine1 the arcanum of religions  and 
philosophies1 and raising a corner of   
the veil of ,isis to the light  of      
,greek genius4    ,several reasons      
influenced ,pythagoras in choosing this 
,dorian colony  as a centre of action4  
,his aim was not merely to teach the    
esoteric  doctrine to a circle of chosen
 disciples1 but also to apply its       
principles to the education of youth and
 to the life of the state4 ,this  plan  
comprised the foundation of an          
institution for laic initiation1  with  
the object of finally transforming the  
political organization of  the cities by
 degrees into the image of that         
philosophic and religious  ideal4       
,certainly none of the republics of     
,hellas or of ,peloponnesus  would have 
tolerated this innovation4 ,the         
philosopher would have been  accused of 
conspiring against the ,state4 ,the     

,greek towns of the ,gulf  of ,tarentum1
 which were less preyed upon by         
demagogues1 were more  liberal-minded4  
,pythagoras made no mistake in expecting
 to find a  favourable reception for his
 reforms at the hands of the ,croton    
senate4  ,his designs went also beyond  
,greece4 ,foreseeing the evolution of   
ideas1  he was prepared for the fall of 
,hellenism1 and was thinking of sowing  
in the human mind the principles of a   
scientific religion4 ,by founding  his  
school in the ,gulf of ,tarentum1 he was
 spreading esoteric ideas  throughout   
,italy1 and keeping in the precious vase
 of his doctrine the  purified essence  
of ,oriental wisdom for the peoples of  
the ,west4    ,on coming to ,croton1    
which was at the time inclined to adopt 
the  voluptuous life of its neighbour   
,sybaris1 ,pythagoras produced a        
veritable revolution4 ,porphyry and     
,iamblichus have depicted the           
commencement of his life there as being 
rather that of a magician  than of a    

philosopher4 ,assembling the youth in   
the ,temple of ,apollo1  he succeeded by
 his eloquence in tearing them away from
 a life of  debauchery4 ,summoning the  
women to the ,temple of ,juno1 he       
persuaded  them to bring their golden   
robes and ornaments as trophies to      
celebrate  the defeat of vanity and     
luxury4 ,he threw a veil of grace over  
the  austerity of his teachings1 a      
communicating flame flashed forth from  
his words of wisdom4 ,his beautiful face
 and noble bearing1 the charm  of his   
countenance and of his voice completely 
captivated them4 ,the  women compared   
him to ,jupiter1 the young men to       
,hyperborean ,apollo4 ,he  captivated   
and seduced the crowds which1 whilst    
listening to him1 were  greatly         
astonished to find themselves enamoured 
of truth and virtue4    ,the senate of  
,croton1 or the ,council of the         
,thousand1 grew uneasy at  the influence
 he was obtaining4 ,they summoned       
,pythagoras to explain  his conduct1 and

 to state the means he was making use of
 to master  the minds of the citizens4  
,this gave him an opportunity to develop
  his ideas on education1 and           
demonstrate that1 far from threatening  
with ruin the ,doric constitution of    
,croton1 they only strengthened  it the 
more4 ,when he had won over to his side 
the wealthiest of the  citizens and the 
majority of the senate1 he proposed that
 they should  found an institute for    
himself and his disciples4 ,this        
brotherhood  of laic initiates should   
live in common in a building constructed
  for the purpose1 though without       
separating themselves from civil  life4 
,those of them who already deserved the 
name of master1 might  teach physical1  
psychic1 and religious sciences4 ,young 
men should be  admitted to the lessons  
of the masters and to the different     
grades of  initiation according to their
 intelligence or earnestness in study1  
under the control of the head of the    
order4 ,at the beginning1 they  must    

submit to the rules of the common life  
and spend the whole day in  the         
institute1 under the supervision of the 
masters4 ,those who should  wish to     
enter the order formally were to give up
 their fortune to a  trustee1 with      
permission to enter again into          
possession of it whenever  they pleased4
 ,in the institute there would be a     
section for women1  along with a        
parallel initiation1 though different   
and more adapted to  the duties of their
 sex4    ,this plan was enthusiastically
 adopted by the senate of ,croton1 and1 
after a few years1 near the entrance to 
the town there rose a building          
surrounded by vast porticoes and        
beautiful gardens4 ,the inhabitants of  
,croton called it the ,temple of the    
,muses1 and1 to tell the truth1 in  the 
centre of the buildings1 near the humble
 dwelling of the master1  stood a temple
 dedicated to these divinities4    ,thus
 sprang into being the ,pythagorean     
institute1 which became at  one and the 

same time a college of education1 a     
science academy1 and  a small model city
 under the control of a great initiate4 
,it is by  theory and practice1 by      
science and art combined that slow      
progress  was made to that science of   
sciences1 that magical harmony of soul  
and intellect with the universe which   
,pythagoreans looked upon as the        
arcanum of philosophy and religion4 ,the
 ,pythagorean school is of  supreme     
interest for us1 inasmuch as it was a   
most remarkable attempt  at laic        
initiation4 ,being an anticipated       
synthesis of ,hellenism and             
,christianity1 it grafted the fruit of  
science on the tree of life1  it        
acquired the knowledge of that inner1   
that living realization1 of  truth1     
which a profound faith alone can give4  
,it was an ephemeral  realization1      
though one of the greatest importance1  
instinct with the  fruitfulness of      
example4    ,to form some idea of it1   
let us enter the ,pythagorean institute 

along  with the novice and follow his   
initiation step by step4                
,,the ,,test    ,the white dwelling of  
the brother initiates was situated on a 
hill1  surrounded by olive and cypress  
trees4 ,on mounting from below1 the     
porticoes1 gardens1 and gymnasium could 
distinctly be seen4 ,the ,temple  of the
 ,muses1 with its circular colonnade of 
airy elegance1 towered  above the two   
wings of the building4 ,the terrace of  
the outer gardens  overlooked the town  
with its ,prytaneum1 its harbour and    
meeting-place4  ,away in the distance   
stretched the gulf1 between sharp rugged
 parts of  the coast as though in a cup 
of agate1 whilst the ,ionian sea shut in
  the horizon with its line of azure    
blue4 ,at times one might see women     
clad in divers-coloured costumes issue  
on the left and make their way  in long 
files down to the sea1 along the alley  
of cypresses4 ,they were  going to      
worship at the ,temple of ,ceres4 ,and  
on the right also1 men  might often be  

seen mounting in white robes to the     
,temple of ,apollo4 ,it  was not the    
least attraction to the inquiring       
imagination of youth to  think that the 
school of the initiates was placed under
 the protection  of these two           
divinities1 one of whom1 the ,mighty    
,goddess1 held the  profound mysteries  
of ,woman and of ,earth1 whilst the     
other1 the ,solar  ,god1 revealed those 
of ,man and of ,heaven4    ,so we find  
this little city of the elect smiling   
down upon the populous  town beneath4   
,the noble instincts of youth were      
attracted by its  peaceful serenity1    
though nothing was seen of what was     
taking place  within1 and it was        
generally known that admittance was not 
easily  obtained4 ,the gardens connected
 with the institute of ,pythagoras were 
separated from the outside by nothing   
but a simple green hedge1 and  the      
entrance gate remained open all day     
long4 ,a statue of ,hermes1  however1   
might be seen there1 and on its pedestal

 were the words3  ,eskato ,bebeloi2 ,no 
entrance for the profane6 ,this         
commandment of the  mysteries was       
universally respected4    ,pythagoras   
was very stern in admitting novices1    
saying1 8that not every  kind of wood   
was fit for making a ,mercury40 ,the    
young men who wished  to enter the      
association were obliged to undergo a   
period of test and  trial4 ,on being    
introduced by their parents or by one of
 the masters1  they were first of all   
permitted to enter the ,pythagorean     
gymnasium in  which the novices played  
the games appropriate to their age4 ,the
 young  man at once noticed that this   
gymnasium was unlike that in the town4  
,there were no violent cries or noisy   
groups1 no ridiculous boasting  or vain 
display of strength by athletes in      
embryo1 challenging one  another and    
exhibiting their muscles2 but rather    
groups of courteous  and                
distinguished-looking young men1 walking
 in couples beneath the  porticoes or   

playing in the arena4 ,they invited him 
with graceful  simplicity to join in    
their conversation as though he were one
 of them1  without greeting him with a  
suspicious glance or jeering smile4 ,in 
the  arena they were racing1 throwing   
quoits and javelins1 and engaging in    
mock fights under the form of ,doric    
dances4 ,pythagoras had1 however1       
strictly abolished wrestling1 saying    
that it was superfluous and even        
dangerous to develop pride and hatred by
 strength and agility2 that  men        
intended to practise the virtues of     
friendship ought not to begin  by       
flinging one another on the ground and  
rolling in the sand like wild  beasts2  
that a real hero could fight with great 
courage though without  fury2 that      
hatred makes us inferior to any opponent
 whoever he be4 ,the  new-comer heard   
these maxims from the lips of the       
masters repeated by  the novices1 who   
were quite proud to impart their        
precocious wisdom4 ,at  the same time   

they encouraged him to state his own    
opinions and freely  contradict them4   
,emboldened by such advances1 the       
ingenuous aspirant  quickly showed forth
 his real nature4 ,pleased at being     
listened to  and admired1 he would speak
 and dilate at his ease4 ,meanwhile the 
masters closely watched him without ever
 uttering the slightest word of         
reprimand4 ,pythagoras would come up    
unexpectedly and study his gestures  and
 words4 ,he paid special attention to   
the gait and the laugh of young  men4   
,laughter1 he said1 is an infallible    
index to character1 no amount  of       
dissimulation can render agreeable the  
laugh of an evil-disposed  man4 ,he had 
also made such a profound study of the  
human face that he  could read therein  
the very depths of the soul4#aj    ,such
 minute observation enabled the master  
to form a precise idea  regarding his   
future disciples4 ,a few months         
afterwards came decisive  tests in      
imitation of ,egyptian initiation1      

though greatly modified and  adapted to 
the ,greek nature1 whose sensitiveness  
had not submitted  to the mortal terrors
 of the crypts of ,memphis and ,thebes4 
,the  ,pythagorean aspirant was made to 
spend the night in a cavern1 in the     
outskirts of the town1 alleged to be    
haunted by various apparitions and      
monsters4 ,those who had not sufficient 
strength to endure the terrible         
impressions of solitude and night1 who  
refused to enter or made their  escape  
before the morning1 were deemed too weak
 for initiation and  rejected4    ,the  
moral test was a more serious one4      
,suddenly1 without the least            
preparation1 the would-be disciple would
 one fine morning find himself          
imprisoned in an empty1 dismal-looking  
cell4 ,a slate was given him and  he was
 coldly ordered to discover the meaning 
of one of the ,pythagorean  symbols1 as1
 for instance3 ,what is the             
signification of the triangle  inscribed
 in a circle8 or3 ,why is the           

dodecahedron1 confined within the       
sphere1 the symbol of the universe8 ,he 
spent a dozen hours in his cell  with   
his slate and the problem1 and no other 
companion than a vase of  water and a   
piece of dry bread4 ,then he was taken  
into a room to face  the assembled      
novices4 ,under these circumstances the 
order had been  passed round that they  
should ridicule without pity the        
wretched youth1  who1 hungry and sullen1
 stood before them like a culprit4 8,so 
this is  the new philosopher10 they     
would say4 8,how inspired he looks6 ,he 
will  now tell us of his meditations4   
,do not conceal from us what you have   
discovered4 ,you will in the same way go
 through all the symbols in  turn4 ,a   
month of this rgime and you will have   
become a great sage60    ,at this point 
the master would attentively observe the
 young man's  attitude and expression4  
,irritated by his fast1 overwhelmed with
  these sarcastic words1 and humiliated 
at not being able to solve  an          

incomprehensible problem1 no small      
effort was needed to control  himself4  
,some would weep with rage1 others gave 
sarcastic replies1  whilst others again1
 unable to control themselves1 dashed   
their slate  madly to the ground and    
burst out in imprecations against       
school1  master1 and disciples alike4   
,then ,pythagoras came forward and      
calmly  said that1 as they had failed in
 the test of self-respect1 they were    
begged not to return to a school of     
which they had so bad an opinion1  in   
which friendship and respect for the    
masters should be the most  elementary  
of virtues4 ,the rejected candidate     
would shamefacedly  retire and sometimes
 become a redoubtable enemy of the      
order1 like  the well-known ,cylon who1 
later on1 excited the people against the
  ,pythagoreans and brought about their 
downfall4 ,on the other hand1 those  who
 bore everything with firmness1 and gave
 just and witty replies  to the         
provoking words they listened to1       

declaring they were ready  to repeat the
 test a hundred times if only they could
 attain to the  least degree of wisdom1 
were solemnly welcomed into the         
novitiate and  received the enthusiastic
 congratulations of their new           
companions4                             
,,first ,,degree--,,preparation         
,the novitiate and the ,pythagorean life
    ,then only began the novitiate      
called the preparation 7paraskeia71     
which lasted at least two years1 and    
might be prolonged to five4 ,the        
novices1 or listeners 7akousikoi71      
during the lessons they received1  were 
subjected to the rule of absolute       
silence4 ,they had no right  either to  
offer any objection to their masters or 
to discuss the  teaching they were      
absorbing4 ,this latter they were to    
receive with  respect and to meditate   
upon at length4 ,to impress this rule in
 the  mind of the new listener1 he was  
shown the statue of a woman1 enveloped  
in a long veil1 her finger raised to her

 mouth1 ,the ,muse of ,silence4         
,pythagoras did not regard youth as     
being capable of understanding the      
origin and the end of things4 ,he       
thought that exercising them in logic   
and reasoning1 before inculcating in    
them the meaning of truth1 made  them   
ignorant and assuming sophists4 ,his    
idea was to develop in his  pupils1     
before everything else1 intuition1 that 
primordial and superior  faculty of     
mankind4 ,to do this1 he did not teach  
anything mysterious or  difficult4      
,starting from natural sentiments1 the  
first duties of man on  entering life1  
he showed their relations with the laws 
of the universe4  ,whilst first of all  
inculcating in youth parental love1 he  
magnified  this sentiment by            
assimilating the idea of father to that 
of ,god1 the  mighty creator of the     
universe4 8,nothing is more venerable10 
he said1  8than the quality of          
fatherhood4 ,homer named ,jupiter king  
of the gods1  but in order to show forth

 all his greatness1 he called him the   
,father  of gods and men40 ,he compared 
the mother to generous and beneficent   
,nature2 as heavenly ,cybele produces   
the stars and ,demeter gives birth  to  
the fruits and flowers of the earth1 so 
does the mother feed the  child with    
every joy4 ,accordingly the son ought to
 honour in his father  and mother the   
representatives1 the earthly images1 of 
these mighty  divinities4 ,he also      
showed that the love of fatherland comes
 from the  affection one feels in       
childhood for one's mother4 ,parents are
 given  to us1 not by chance1 as is     
commonly believed1 but in accordance    
with  a previous1 a superior order1     
called ,fortune or ,necessity4 ,to      
honour  them is an obligation2 but a    
friend must be chosen4 ,the novices     
were invited to form themselves into    
couples1 according to their  several    
affinities4 ,the younger should seek in 
the elder the virtues  he is himself    
aiming after1 and the two companions    

should encourage  each other towards a  
better life4 8,a friend is another self2
 he must  be honoured as a god10 said   
the master4 ,though the ,pythagorean    
rules  imposed on the 8listener0 novice 
absolute submission to his masters1  it 
gave him full liberty in enjoying the   
charms of friendship1 it even  made of  
this latter the stimulus of every       
virtue1 the poetry of life1  the path   
leading to the ideal4    ,individual    
energy was thus roused1 morality became 
poetical and  instinct with life1 a rule
 lovingly accepted ceased to be a       
constraint1  it became the very         
affirmation of an individuality4 ,it was
 the wish of  ,pythagoras that obedience
 should be an assent and an approval4   
,besides  this1 the moral prepared the  
way for the philosophical teaching4 ,the
  relations set up between social duties
 and the harmonies of the kosmos  gave  
one a glimpse into the law of universal 
agreement and analogy4 ,in  this law    
dwells the principle of the ,mysteries1 

of occult teaching and  of the whole of 
philosophy4 ,the mind of the pupil thus 
grew accustomed  to find the impress of 
an invisible order on visible realities4
 ,general  maxims and concise           
prescriptions opened out perspectives of
 this  superior world4 ,morning and     
evening the ,golden ,verses rang in the 
pupil's ear3       8,first worship the  
immortal ,gods1 as they are             
established and ordained by the ,law4   
,reverence the ,oath1 and next the      
,heroes1 full        of goodness and    
light40    ,in commenting on this maxim1
 it was shown that the gods1 though     
apparently different1 were really the   
same among all people1 since  they      
corresponded with the same intellectual 
and soul forces active  throughout the  
universe4 ,the sage could consequently  
honour the gods of  his own country1    
whilst forming of their very essence a  
different idea  from that generally     
held4 ,tolerance for every cult2 unity  
of people  in one humanity2 unity of    

religions in esoteric science3 these new
  ideas became vaguely outlined in the  
mind of the novice like glorious        
divinities one might catch a glimpse of 
in the splendour of the  setting sun4   
,and the golden lyre continued its lofty
 teachings3        8,honour likewise the
 terrestrial ,dmons by rendering them   
the worship lawfully due to them40      
,besides these lines the novice saw     
beaming as through a veil the divine    
,psyche1 the human soul4 ,the heavenly  
pathway shone like a stream of  light1  
for in the worship of heroes and        
demi-gods1 the initiate saw the         
doctrine of the future life and the     
mystery of universal evolution4  ,this  
secret was not revealed to the novice1  
but he was made ready for  its          
understanding by being told of a        
hierarchy of beings superior to         
humanity1 its guides and protectors1    
called heroes and demi-gods4 ,it  was   
also stated that they served as         
intermediaries between man and          

divinity1 that by their help he might   
step by step succeed in drawing  nearer 
to them if he practised heroic and      
divine virtues4 8,but how  could        
communication be obtained with these    
invisible spirits8 ,whence  comes the   
soul8 ,whither does it proceed8         
,wherefore the sombre mystery  of       
death80 ,the novice dared not formulate 
these questions in words1 but  his looks
 revealed them1 and the only reply his  
masters gave him was to  point to the   
strugglers on earth1 the statues in the 
temple1 and the  glorified souls in     
heaven1 8in the fiery citadel of the    
god0 to which  ,hercules had attained4  
,at the foundation of the ancient       
mysteries1 all the gods were  included  
in the only supreme ,god4 ,this         
revelation1 including all its           
consequences1 became the key of the     
,kosmos4 ,this was the reason it  was   
entirely reserved for initiation1       
properly so called4 ,the novice  knew   
nothing of this1 he was only permitted  

to catch a faint glimpse  of this truth 
from what he was told of the powers of  
,music and ,number4  8,numbers10 said   
the master1 8contain the secret of      
things1 and ,god is  universal harmony40
 ,the seven sacred modes1 built up on   
the seven notes  of the heptachord1     
correspond to the seven colours of      
light1 to the  seven planets1 and to the
 seven modes of existence reproduced in 
all  the spheres of material and        
spiritual life from the smallest to the 
greatest4 ,the melodies of these modes  
when skilfully fused should tune  the   
soul and make it sufficiently harmonious
 to vibrate in accord with  the accents 
of truth4    ,with this purification of 
the soul corresponded of necessity that 
of  the body1 which was obtained by     
means of hygiene and strict moral       
discipline4 ,the first duty of          
initiation was to overcome one's        
passions4 ,he who has not harmonized his
 own being cannot reflect  divine       
harmony4 ,and yet the ideal of the      

,pythagorean life contained  nothing of 
asceticism in it1 for marriage was      
looked upon as sacred4  ,chastity1      
however1 was recommended to the novices1
 and moderation to  the initiates1 as   
being a source of strength and          
perfection3 8,only  yield to            
voluptuousness when you consent to be   
less than yourself10  said the master4  
,he added that voluptuousness exists    
only in itself1  comparing it 8to the   
song of the ,sirens who disappear when  
one  approaches them1 to find in their  
place nothing but broken bones and      
bleeding flesh on a wave-beaten rock1   
whilst true joy is like the  concert of 
the ,muses1 leaving celestial harmony   
behind in the soul40  ,pythagoras       
believed in the virtues of the woman    
initiate1 he greatly  mistrusted the    
untrained woman4 ,on a disciple asking  
him when he might  be permitted to      
approach a woman he replied in ironical 
accents3 8,when  you are tired of your  
peace of mind40    ,the ,pythagorean day

 was spent in the following manner4 ,as 
soon as  the sun's glorious orb rose    
above the blue waves of the ,ionian sea1
  gilding the columns of the ,temple of 
the ,muses1 above the abode of  the     
initiates1 the young ,pythagoreans      
chanted a hymn to ,apollo1 the  while   
performing a sacred1 dignified dance4   
,after the obligatory  ablutions1 they  
proceeded in silence to the temple4     
,each awakening is a  resurrection      
possessed of its flower of innocence4   
,the soul must retire  within itself at 
the beginning of the day and remain     
unsullied for the  morning lesson4 ,in  
the sacred wood1 groups were formed     
round the master  or his interpreters   
and the lesson was given beneath the    
fragrance  of the mighty trees or the   
shade of the porticoes4 ,at noon1 prayer
  was offered to the heroes and         
benevolent spirits4 ,esoteric tradition 
affirmed that good spirits preferred to 
approach the earth with the  radiance of
 the sun1 whilst evil spirits haunted   

the shades and filled  the air when     
night came on4 ,the frugal midday meal  
generally consisted  of bread1 honey1   
and olives4 ,the afternoon was devoted  
to gymnastic  exercises1 then to study  
and meditation1 afterwards to some      
mental work  on the morning's lesson4   
,after the sun had set1 prayer was      
offered in  common1 a hymn sung to the  
gods of the ,kosmos1 to heavenly        
,jupiter1  to ,minerva1 ,providence1 and
 to ,diana1 guardian of the dead4       
,meanwhile  storax1 manna1 or incense   
were burning on the altar in the open   
air1  and the hymn1 mingling with the   
perfume1 rose gently in the twilight1   
whilst the early stars pierced the pale 
azure sky4 ,the day ended with  the     
evening meal1 after which the youngest  
member read aloud1 comments  being made 
thereon by the eldest4    ,thus the day 
passed like a limpid spring1 clear as a 
cloudless morn4  ,the year was divided  
according to the great astronomical     
events4 ,thus  the return of hyperborean

 ,apollo and the celebration of the     
,mysteries  of ,ceres saw novices and   
initiates of every degree1 both men and 
women1  assembled together4 ,young girls
 played on ivory lyres1 married women1  
in purple and saffron-coloured cloaks1  
performed alternate choruses1           
accompanied by songs1 along with the    
harmonious movements of strophe  and    
antistrophe1 imitated later on in       
tragedy4 ,in the midst of these  great  
ftes1 at which a divine presence was    
manifested in grace of  form and        
movement and the penetrating melody of  
the choruses1 the  novice was conscious 
of a kind of presentiment of occult     
forces1 the  all-powerful laws of the   
animated universe1 the deep1 transparent
  heavens4 ,marriages and funeral rites 
were of a more intimate1 but none  the  
less solemn1 character4 ,there was one  
original ceremony1 calculated  to strike
 the imagination4 ,when a novice1 of his
 own accord1 left  the institute to take
 up once more the ordinary every-day    

life1 or  when a disciple had betrayed a
 secret of the doctrine1 an occurrence  
which happened only once1 the initiates 
raised a tomb for him in the            
consecrated precincts1 as though he were
 dead4 ,the master said3 8,he is  more  
dead than the dead1 for he has returned 
to an evil life2 his body  appears among
 men1 but his soul is dead2 let us weep 
for it60 ,this tomb  erected to a living
 man1 persecuted him like his own       
phantom1 like an  evil omen4            
,,second ,,degree--,,purification#aa    
,numbers--,theogony    ,it was a happy  
day1 8a day of gold10 as the ancients   
said1 when  ,pythagoras received the    
novice into his dwelling and solemnly   
welcomed  him into the rank of his      
disciples4 ,first of all he entered into
 direct  and connected relations with   
the master2 he came into the inner court
  of his dwelling reserved for his      
faithful followers4 ,hence the name  of 
esoteric 7those from within7 in         
opposition to that of exoteric  7those  

from without74 ,the real initiation now 
began4    ,this revelation consisted of 
a complete1 rational exposition of      
occult  doctrine1 from its principles as
 contained in the mysterious science of 
numbers to the final consequences of    
universal evolution1 the destiny  and   
end of divine ,psyche1 the human soul4  
,this science of numbers  was known     
under different names in the temples of 
,egypt and ,asia4 ,as  it afforded a key
 to the whole doctrine1 it was carefully
 concealed  from the people4 ,the       
figures and letters1 the geometric forms
 and  human representations1 which      
served as signs in this algebra of the  
occult world1 were understood by none   
but the initiate4 ,he divulged  their   
meaning to the adepts only after        
receiving from them the oath of         
silence4 ,pythagoras formulated this    
science in a book he wrote with  his own
 hand1 called hieros logos 7the sacred  
word74 ,this book has  not come down to 
us1 but we are acquainted with its      

principles from  the subsequent writings
 of the ,pythagoreans1 ,philolaus1      
,archytas1 and  ,hierocles1 the         
dialogues of ,plato1 and the treatises  
of ,porphyry and  ,iamblichus4 ,the     
reason they have remained a dead letter 
for modern  philosophers is that their  
meaning and bearing can only be         
understood  by comparison with all the  
esoteric doctrines of the ,east4        
,pythagoras called his disciples        
mathematicians1 because his higher      
teaching began by the doctrine of       
numbers4 ,these sacred mathematics1     
however1 or science of principles1 were 
both more transcendent and more  living 
than profane mathematics1 which alone   
are known to our savants  and           
philosophers4 ,in them ,number was not  
regarded as an abstract  quantity but as
 the intrinsic and active virtue of the 
supreme ,one1  of ,god the source of    
universal harmony4 ,the science of      
numbers was  that of the living forces1 
of the divine faculties in action in the

  universe and in man1 in the macrocosm 
and in the microcosm4----,in  examining 
them1 distinguishing and explaining     
their working1 ,pythagoras  was evolving
 nothing less than a rational theogony  
or theology4 ,in a  real theology we    
should look for the principles of every 
science2 it  will be the science of ,god
 only if it shows the unity and         
concatenation  of the sciences of       
nature4 ,it deserves its name only on   
condition it  constitutes the organ and 
the synthesis of all the rest4 ,now this
 is  exactly the part played in the     
,egyptian temples by the science of the 
holy ,word1 formulated and made exact by
 ,pythagoras under the name of  the     
science of numbers4 ,it claimed to      
supply the key of being1 of  science1   
and of life4 ,the adept1 under the      
guidance of his master1  had to begin by
 contemplating its principles in the    
light of his own  intelligence1 before  
following its many applications in the  
concentric  immensity of the spheres of 

evolution4    ,a modern poet has had a  
presentiment of this truth in causing   
,faust to  descend to the ,mothers to   
restore life to the phantom of ,helen4  
,faust  seizes the magic key1 the earth 
melts away beneath him1 he becomes      
unconscious and plunges into the void of
 space4 ,finally he reaches the         
,mothers who keep watch over the first  
forms of the mighty ,all1 and  cause    
beings to issue from the mould of the   
archetypes4 ,these ,mothers  are the    
,numbers of ,pythagoras1 the divine     
forces of the world4 ,the poet  has     
communicated to us the thrill of his own
 thought before this plunge  into the   
abyss of the ,unfathomable4 ,for the    
ancient initiate1 in whom  the direct   
view of intelligence was gradually      
aroused as though it  were a new sense1 
this inner revelation seemed rather an  
ascent into  the incandescent sun of    
,truth1 whence he contemplated in the   
fulness  of light the forms and beings  
thrown out in the whirl of lives by a   

vertiginous irradiation4    ,he did not 
reach in a single day that inner        
possession of truth  in which man       
realizes universal life by the          
concentration of his  faculties4 ,years 
of training were needed1 and that       
agreement1 so  difficult to effect1 of  
the intelligence and the will4 ,before  
using the  creative word--and how few   
succeed in this6--one must spell out the
  sacred logos1 letter by letter1       
syllable by syllable4    ,pythagoras was
 in the habit of giving this teaching in
 the ,temple of  the ,muses4 ,this      
temple had been built by the magistrates
 of ,croton  at his express request and 
according to his plans1 in an enclosed  
garden near his abode4 ,the disciples of
 the second degree came there  alone    
with the master4 ,inside this circular  
temple were the marble  statues of the  
nine ,muses4 ,standing in the centre the
 solemn and  mysterious ,hestia1 covered
 with a veil1 kept watch4 ,her left hand
  afforded protection to the fire on the

 hearth1 whilst with her right  she     
pointed to heaven4 ,both ,greeks and    
,romans looked upon ,hestia1 or  ,vesta1
 as the guardian of the divine principle
 present in all things4  ,the soul of   
sacred fire1 she has her altar in the   
temple of ,delphi1  at the ,prytaneum of
 ,athens1 as well as on the humblest    
hearth4 ,in the  sanctuary of           
,pythagoras she symbolized divine and   
central ,science1 or  ,theogony4 ,in a  
circle around her1 the esoteric ,muses  
bore1 in addition  to their traditional 
and mythological names1 that of the     
occult  sciences and sacred arts of     
which they had the guardianship4 ,urania
  presided over astrology and astronomy2
 ,polyhymnia over the science of  souls 
in the other life and the art of        
divination2 ,melpomene1 with  her tragic
 mask1 over the science of life and     
death1 of transformations  and          
re-births4 ,these three superior ,muses 
constituted together the  cosmogony1 or 
heavenly physics4 ,calliope1 ,clio1 and 

,euterpe  presided over the science of  
man1 or psychology1 with its            
corresponding  arts1 medicine1 magic1   
and moral philosophy4 ,the last group1  
,terpsichore1 ,erato1 and ,thalia1      
embraced terrestrial physics1 the       
science of elements1 stones1 plants1 and
 animals4    ,thus at a glance the      
organism of the sciences1 following that
 of the  universe1 appeared to the      
disciple in the living circle of the    
,muses1  illumined by the divine flame4 
,after leading his disciples into this  
small sanctuary1 ,pythagoras  opened the
 book of the ,word1 and began his       
esoteric teaching4    8,these ,muses10  
he said1 8are only the earthly images of
 the divine  powers whose immaterial and
 sublime beauty you will contemplate    
each  one in himself4 ,just as they have
 their eyes fixed upon the fire  of     
,hestia1 from which they spring and     
which gives them movement1  rhythm1 and 
melody--so you must plunge into the     
central fire of the  universe1 into the 

divine spirit1 to mingle with it in its 
visible  manifestations40 ,then with    
bold1 powerful hand1 ,pythagoras carried
 away  his disciples from the world of  
forms and realities2 he effaced time    
and space and took them with him down   
into the great ,monad1 into the         
presence of the increate ,being4        
,pythagoras called it the first ,one in 
which existed harmony1 the  masculine   
,fire traversing everything1 the ,spirit
 which moves by  itself1 the            
,indivisible and mighty non-,manifested 
of which the  ephemeral worlds manifest 
the creative thought1 the ,only1 the    
,eternal1  the ,unchangeable1 concealed 
beneath the many things which pass away 
and change4 8,essence in itself escapes 
man10 said ,philolaus1 the              
,pythagorean4 8,he knows only the things
 of this world in which the  finite     
combines with the infinite4 ,and how can
 he know them8 for  between things and  
himself there is a harmony and relation1
 a common  principle2 and this principle

 is given them by the ,one who gives to 
them along with their very essence1     
measure and intelligibility4 ,it is  the
 common measure between subject and     
object1 the reason of things by  which  
the soul participates in the final      
reason of the ,one40#ab ,but  how can   
one approach ,it1 the inconceivable     
,being8 ,has any one ever seen  the     
,master of time1 the ,soul of the suns1 
the ,spring of intelligences8  ,no2 and 
it is only by mingling with it that one 
penetrates its  essence4 ,it is like an 
invisible fire placed in the centre of  
the  universe1 its nimble flame         
circulating throughout the worlds and   
moving  the circumference4 ,he added    
that it was the work of initiation to   
draw  near the great ,being1 by         
resembling it1 by making oneself as     
perfect  as possible1 dominating things 
by intelligence1 thus becoming active   
like it1 and not passive like them4 8,is
 not your being1 your soul1 a           
microcosm1 a small universe8 ,still1 it 

is full of storm and discord4  ,well1   
the thing to do is to realize therein   
unity in harmony4 ,then  and then only  
will ,god descend into your             
consciousness1 and you will  share in   
his power and make of your will the     
hearth-stone1 the altar of  ,hestia1 the
 throne of ,jupiter60    ,god1 the      
indivisible substance1 has accordingly  
for number the ,unity  which contains   
the ,infinite1 for name1 that of        
,father1 ,creator1 or                   
,eternal-,masculine1 and for sign1 the  
living ,fire1 symbol of the ,spirit1    
essence of the ,whole4 ,this is the     
first of the principles4    ,but the    
divine faculties are like the mystic    
lotus which the ,egyptian  initiate1    
lying in his tomb1 sees emerging from   
the blackness of the  night4 ,at first  
it is only a shining spot1 then it opens
 like a flower1  and the glowing centre 
expands like the thousand leaves of a   
rose of  light4    ,pythagoras said that
 the great ,monad acts as a creative    

,dyad4  ,immediately ,god manifests     
himself1 he is double2 indivisible      
essence  and divisible substance2       
active1 animating1 masculine principle1 
and  passive1 feminine principle1 or    
animated plastic matter4 ,accordingly   
the ,dyad represented the union of the  
,eternal-,masculine and the             
,eternal-,feminine in ,god1 the two     
essential and corresponding divine      
faculties4 ,orpheus had poetically      
expressed this idea in the line3        
,jupiter is the divine ,bridegroom and  
,spouse4    ,all polytheisms have       
intuitively been conscious of this idea1
  representing the ,divinity under the  
masculine1 sometimes under the  feminine
 form4    ,this living1 eternal ,nature1
 this mighty ,spouse of ,god1 is not    
only the  terrestrial but also the      
celestial nature1 invisible to our eyes 
of  flesh1 the ,soul of the world1 the  
primordial ,light1 in turn ,maia1 ,isis 
or ,cybele1 who1 first vibrating beneath
 the divine impulse1 contains  the      

essences of all souls1 the spiritual    
types of all beings4 ,then  it is       
,demeter1 the living earth1 and all     
earths with the bodies they  enfold in  
which these souls have come to be       
incarnated4 ,afterwards it  is ,woman1  
the companion of ,man4 ,in humanity     
,woman represents ,nature1  and the     
perfect image of ,god is not ,man alone1
 but ,man and ,woman4  ,hence their     
invincible and fascinating1 their fatal 
attraction1 the  intoxication of ,love1 
in which the dream of infinite creations
 has  play1 and the dim presentiment    
that the ,eternal-,masculine and the    
,eternal-,feminine enjoy perfect union  
in the bosom of ,god4 8,honour be to    
,woman1 on earth as in heaven10 said    
,pythagoras and all the initiates  of   
old4 8,she enables us to understand that
 mighty ,woman1 ,nature4 ,may  she be   
the sanctified image of ,nature and help
 us to mount gradually to  that great   
,soul of the ,world which gives birth1  
preserves and renews1  to divine ,cybele

 who bears along the people of souls in 
her mantle of  light40    ,the ,monad   
represents the essence of ,god1 the     
,dyad1 his generative  and reproductive 
faculty4 ,the latter brings the world   
into being1  the visible unfolding of   
,god in time and space4 ,now the real   
world  is triple4 ,for just as man is   
composed of three elements1 which are   
distinct though blended in one another1 
body1 soul1 and spirit2 so  the universe
 is divided into three concentric       
spheres3 the natural1  the human1 and   
the divine world4 ,the ,triad or ternary
 law is  accordingly the constitutive   
life of things and the real key to      
life4 ,it is met with at every step on  
the ladder of life1 from the            
constitution of the organic cell through
 the physiological constitution  of the 
animal body1 the working of the blood   
and the cerebro-spinal  systems1 right  
on to the super-physical constitution of
 man1 to that of  the universe and of   
,god4 ,thus1 as by enchantment1 it opens

 up to the  amazed spirit the inner     
structure of the universe1 shows the    
infinite  correspondences of the        
microcosm and the macrocosm4 ,it acts   
like a  light1 passing into things to   
make them transparent1 lighting up small
  and great worlds like so many magic   
lanterns4    ,let us explain this law by
 the essential correspondence of man    
with the  universe4    ,pythagoras      
affirmed that the mind of man1 or the   
intellect1 takes  from ,god its immortal
 and invisible1 its absolutely active1  
nature4  ,for the mind is that which    
moves itself4 ,he defined the body as   
being  its mortal1 divisible1 and       
passive part1 and thought that what we  
call soul is closely united to the mind1
 though formed of a third  intermediate 
element1 coming from the cosmic fluid4  
,the soul1  therefore1 resembles an     
ethereal body which the spirit weaves   
and  builds for itself4 ,without this   
ethereal body1 the material body could  
not be purified1 it would be only an    

inert and lifeless mass4#ac ,the  soul  
possesses a form like that of the body  
it vivifies1 and which it  survives     
after dissolution or death4 ,then1 as   
,pythagoras expresses  it1 in terms     
repeated by ,plato1 the subtile chariot 
either carries  off the spirit to divine
 spheres or allows it to fall back into 
the  dusky regions of matter1 according 
as it is more or less good or bad4  ,the
 constitution and evolution of man is   
repeated in ever-increasing  circles    
over the whole scale of beings and in   
every sphere4 ,just as the  human       
,psyche struggles between the spirit    
which attracts and the body  which holds
 it back1 so also humanity evolves      
between the natural and  animal world   
into which it plunges by reason of its  
earthly roots1 and  the divine world of 
pure spirits1 its heavenly source1      
towards which  it aspires to rise4 ,and 
what happens in humanity happens in all 
lands  and solar systems in ever        
differing proportions1 ever new modes4  

,extend  the circle to infinity1 and1 if
 you can1 form one single concept of the
  limitless worlds4 ,what will you find 
there8 ,the creative thought1 the       
astral fluid1 and worlds in evolution3  
the spirit1 soul1 and body of  divinity4
 ,raising veil after veil and fathoming 
the faculties of this  divinity itself1 
you will there see ,tryad and ,dyad     
clothing themselves  in the dull depths 
of the ,monad1 like an efflorescence of 
stars in the  abyss of immensity4       
,from this rapid outline some estimate  
may be formed of the great  importance  
,pythagoras attached to the ternary law1
 which may be said  to form the         
corner-stone of esoteric science4 ,all  
the mighty religious  initiators have   
been conscious of it1 every theosophist 
has had a  presentiment of the same4 ,an
 oracle of ,zoroaster says as follows3  
,the number three reigns everywhere in  
the universe1      ,the ,monad is its   
principle4    ,the incomparable merit of
 ,pythagoras consists in having         

formulated it  with all the clearness of
 ,greek genius4 ,he made of it the      
centre of  his theogony and the         
foundation of the sciences4 ,already    
veiled in  the exoteric writings of     
,plato1 though altogether misunderstood 
by  subsequent philosophers1 this       
conception1 in modern times1 has been   
comprehended by only a few rare         
initiates of the occult sciences4#ad    
,henceforth may be seen what a broad and
 solid basis the law of the  universal  
ternary offered to the classification of
 sciences1 and to the  building up of   
cosmogony and psychology4    ,just as   
the universal ternary is concentrated in
 the unity of ,god or in  the ,monad1 so
 the human ternary is concentrated in   
the conscience of  the ego and in the   
will which gathers together in its      
living unity all  the faculties of body1
 soul1 and spirit4 ,the human and divine
 ternary1  summed up in the ,monad1     
constitutes the sacred ,tetrad4 ,but it 
is only  relatively that man realizes   

his own unity4 ,his will which acts over
  the whole of his being cannot1        
however1 act fully and simultaneously   
in its three organs1 i4 e4 in instinct1 
soul1 and intellect4 ,the  universe and 
,god himself appear to him only in      
turns1 successively  reflected by these 
three mirrors3--#a4 ,seen through       
instinct and the  kaleidoscope of the   
senses1 ,god is multiple and as infinite
 as his  manifestations4 ,hence         
polytheism where the number of the gods 
is  unlimited4--#b4 ,seen through the   
reasonable soul1 ,god is double1 i4 e4  
matter and spirit4 ,hence the dualism of
 ,zoroaster1 the ,manichaeans1  and     
several other religions4--#c4 ,seen     
through pure intellect1 he is           
threefold1 i4e4 spirit1 soul and body in
 all the manifestations of  the         
universe4 ,hence the trinitarian cults  
of ,india 7,brahma1 ,vishnu and  ,siva7 
and the trinity of ,christianity        
7,father1 ,son and ,holy ,ghost74--#d4  
,conceived of by the will which sums up 

the whole1 ,god is one1 and we  have the
 ,hermetic monotheism of ,moses in all  
its rigour4 ,here there is  no longer   
personification or incarnation1 we leave
 the visible universe  and return to the
 ,absolute4 ,the ,eternal alone rules   
over the world1 now  reduced to dust4   
,the diversity of religions1            
accordingly1 comes from  the fact that  
man realizes divinity only through his  
own being which is  relative and finite1
 whilst ,god is continually realizing   
the unity of  the three worlds in the   
harmony of the universe4    ,this final 
application would alone demonstrate     
the--in some way--magic  virtue of the  
,tetragram in the order of ideas4 ,in it
 was found not  only the principles of  
the sciences1 the law of beings and     
their mode  of evolution1 but also the  
very reason of the different religions  
and  their superior unity4 ,this was in 
reality the universal key4 ,hence the   
enthusiasm with which ,lysis speaks of  
it in the ,golden ,verses2 one  can now 

understand why the ,pythagoreans swore  
by this great symbol3        8,i swear  
it by him who has transmitted into our  
souls the       ,sacred ,quaternion1 the
 source of nature1 whose cause is       
eternal40    ,pythagoras carried a great
 deal farther the teaching of numbers4  
,in  each of them he defined a          
principle1 a law1 an active force of the
  universe4 ,he said1 however1 that the 
essential principles are contained  in  
the first four numbers1 since all the   
others are formed by adding  or         
multiplying them4 ,in the same way the  
infinite variety of beings  composing   
the universe is produced by the         
combinations of the three  primordial   
forces3 matter1 soul1 spirit1 under the 
creating impulse of  the divine unity   
which mingles and differentiates1       
concentrates and  separates4 ,along with
 the chief masters of esoteric science  
,pythagoras  attached great importance  
to the numbers seven and ten4 ,seven1   
the  compound of three and four1        

signifies the union of man and divinity4
  ,it is the figure of the adepts1 of   
the great initiates1 and1 since it      
expresses the complete realization in   
all things through seven degrees1  it   
represents the law of evolution4 ,the   
number ten formed by the  addition of   
the first four numbers1 and containing  
the former number1  is the perfect      
number1 par excellence1 for it          
represents all the  principles of       
divinity1 evolved and re-united in a new
 unity4    ,on finishing the teaching of
 his theogony1 ,pythagoras showed his   
disciples the nine ,muses1 personifying 
the sciences1 grouped three  by three1  
presiding over the triple ternary       
evolved in nine worlds1  and forming1   
along with ,hestia1 the divine science1 
guardian of the  primordial ,fire--the  
sacred ,decad4                          
,,third ,,degree--,,perfection#ae       
,cosmogony and psychology4--,the        
evolution                               
of the soul4    ,the disciple had       

received the principles of science from 
his master4  ,this first initiation had 
dispelled the dense scales of matter    
which covered the eyes of his spirit4   
,tearing away the shining veil  of      
mythology1 it had removed him from the  
visible world to cast  him blindly into 
boundless space and plunge him into the 
sun of  ,intelligence1 whence ,truth    
beams forth over the three worlds4 ,the 
science of numbers1 however1 was nothing
 but the beginning of the  great        
initiation4 ,armed with these           
principles1 he had now to descend  the  
heights of the ,absolute and plunge into
 the depths of nature1  there to lay    
hold of the divine thought in the       
formation of things and  the evolution  
of the soul through the worlds4         
,esoteric cosmogony and  psychology     
touched the greatest mysteries of life  
as well as dangerous  and               
jealously-guarded secrets of the occult 
arts and sciences4    ,for this reason  
,pythagoras loved to give these lessons1

 when the  profane light of day had     
disappeared1 at night by the sea-side1  
on  the terraces of the ,temple of      
,ceres1 before the gentle murmur of  the
 ,ionian sea with its melodious cadence1
 and beneath the distant                
phosphorescence of the starry kosmos2 or
 else in the crypts of the  sanctuary   
where a gentle steady light was given by
 ,egyptian lamps of  naphtha4 ,female   
initiates were present at these night   
meetings4 ,at  times1 priests or        
priestesses from ,delphi or ,eleusis    
came to confirm  the master's teachings 
by relating their experiences or through
 the  lucid words of clairvoyant sleep4 
,the material and the spiritual         
evolution of the world are two inverse  
movements1 though parallel and          
concordant along the whole scale of     
being4 ,the one can be explained only by
 the other1 and1 considered  together1  
they explain the world4 ,material       
evolution represents the  manifestation 
of ,god in matter by the soul of the    

world which works out  matter4          
,spiritual evolution represents the     
working out of consciousness  in the    
individual monads and their attempts1   
through the cycle of  lives1 to rejoin  
the divine spirit from which they       
emanate4 ,to see the  universe from the 
physical or from the ,spiritual point of
 view is not  considering something     
different1 it is looking at the world by
 the  two opposite ends4 ,from the      
terrestrial point of view1 the rational 
explanation of the world ought to begin 
by material evolution1 for it  is this  
side of it which appears to us1 but by  
enabling us to see the  work of the     
universal spirit in matter and to follow
 up the development  of the individual  
monads1 it insensibly leads on to the   
spiritual point  of view and causes us  
to pass from the without to the within  
of things1  from the reverse of the     
world to its face side4    ,this1 at any
 rate1 was the procedure of ,pythagoras1
 who regarded the  universe as a living 

being1 animated by a great soul and     
filled with  a mighty intelligence4 ,the
 second part of his teaching began with 
the  cosmogony4    ,if we relied on the 
divisions of the heavens we find in the 
exoteric  fragments of the              
,pythagoreans1 this astronomy would be  
similar to that  of ,ptolemy2 the earth 
motionless and the sun with the planets 
and the  whole of the firmament turning 
round it4 ,the very principle of this   
astronomy1 however1 warns us that it is 
purely symbolical4 ,in the  centre of   
his universe ,pythagoras places ,fire   
7of which the sun is  only a            
reflection74 ,now in the whole of       
,eastern esoterism1 ,fire is the        
representative sign of ,spirit1 of      
divine1 universal ,consciousness4 ,what 
our philosophers generally take as the  
natural philosophy of ,pythagoras  and  
,plato is accordingly nothing else than 
an imaged description of  their secret  
philosophy1 clear and light-giving to   
initiates1 but all  the more            

impenetrable by the mass of people as it
 was considered to  be simple natural   
philosophy4 ,we must consequently seek  
therein a kind  of cosmography of the   
life of souls and nothing else4 ,the    
sublunary  region designates the sphere 
in which terrestrial attraction operates
  and is called the circle of           
generation4 ,initiates mean by this that
 for  us the earth is the region of     
corporeal life4 ,here take place all the
  operations accompanying the           
incarnation and disincarnation of souls4
  ,the sphere of the six planets and of 
the sun responds to ascending           
categories of spirits4 ,olympus1        
conceived as a rolling sphere1 is       
called the heaven of the stationary1    
because it is assimilated to the  sphere
 of perfect souls4 ,this infantile      
astronomy accordingly masks a           
conception of the spiritual universe4   
,everything1 nevertheless1 inclines us  
to believe that the initiates of  old1  
and especially ,pythagoras1 had far more

 correct notions of the  physical       
universe4 ,aristotle positively affirms 
that the ,pythagoreans  believed in the 
movement of the earth around the sun4   
,copernicus  asserts that the idea of   
the rotation of the earth on its axis   
came to  him whilst reading1 in ,cicero1
 that a certain ,hycetas of ,syracuse   
had  spoken of the daily motion of the  
earth4 ,pythagoras taught the double    
movement of the earth to his disciples  
of the third degree4 ,without  having   
the exact measurements of modern        
science1 he knew1 as did the  priests of
 ,memphis1 that the planets which come  
from the sun turn  around it2 that the  
stars are so many solar systems governed
 by the  same laws as ours1 and that    
each has its place in the immense       
universe4  ,he also knew that each solar
 world forms a small universe which has 
its  correspondence in the spiritual    
world and its own heaven4 ,the planets  
served to mark the scale thereof4       
,still1 these notions which would  have 

overthrown popular mythology1 and would 
have been set down by the  people as    
sacrilegious1 were never entrusted to   
popular writing4 ,they  were taught only
 under the seal of profound secrecy4#af 
,the visible universe1 said ,pythagoras1
 the heavens with all their  stars1 are 
only a passing form of the soul of the  
world1 of the great  ,maia who          
concentrates the scattered matter in the
 infinitudes of space  and then         
dissolves it and scatters it in an      
imponderable cosmic fluid4  ,each solar 
vortex possesses a fragment of this     
universal soul1 which  evolves in its   
bosom for millions of centuries with a  
special force of  impulse and measure4  
,as regards the powers and kingdoms1 the
 species  and the living souls which    
appear successively in the              
constellations of  this little world1   
they come from ,god1 descending from the
 ,father2 that  is to say1 they emanate 
from an immutable and superior spiritual
 order1  as well as from a former       

material evolution1 ,i mean an extinct  
solar  system4 ,of these invisible      
powers1 some1 which are altogether      
immortal1  direct the formation of this 
world1 the others await its unfolding in
  cosmic sleep or in divine dream1 to   
return into visible generations1        
according to their rank and in obedience
 to eternal law4 ,all the same1  the    
solar soul and its central fire1 moved  
directly by the great ,monad1  works the
 matter into a state of fusion4 ,the    
planets are daughters  of the sun4 ,each
 of them1 elaborated by the forces of   
attraction and  rotation inherent in    
matter1 is endowed with a semi-conscious
 soul  issuing from the solar soul2 it  
has its distinct character1 its special 
rle in evolution4 ,as each planet is a  
different expression of the  thought of 
,god1 as it exercises a special function
 in the planetary  chain1 the ancient   
sages have identified the names of the  
planets with  those of the great gods   
who represent the divine faculties in   

action in  the universe4    ,the four   
elements1 of which the constellations   
and all beings are  formed1 designate   
four graduated states of matter4 ,the   
first1 being the  densest1 is the one   
most refractory to spirit2 the last1    
being the most  refined1 shows great    
affinity for spirit4 ,earth represents  
the solid  state2 water1 the liquid     
state2 air1 the gaseous state1 and fire1
  the imponderable state4 ,the fifth1   
the etheric element1 represents  a state
 of matter so fine and vivid that it is 
no longer atomic1 and  possesses the    
property of universal penetration4 ,it  
is the original1  cosmic fluid1 the     
astral light or soul of the world4      
,afterwards ,pythagoras spoke to his    
disciples of the earth's  revolutions1  
according to the traditions of ,egypt   
and ,asia4 ,he knew  that the earth1 in 
a state of fusion1 was first surrounded 
by a gaseous  atmosphere which1 becoming
 liquefied by successive coolings1 had  
formed  the seas4 ,as was his wont1 he  

summed up this idea metaphorically by   
saying that the seas were produced by   
the tears of ,saturn 7cosmic  time74    
,and now the kingdoms appear1 and       
invisible germs1 floating in the        
ethereal aura of the earth1 whirl about 
in its gaseous robe and  are then       
attracted to the deep bosom of the ocean
 and over the first  continents that    
pierce their way to the surface4 ,the   
vegetable and  animal worlds1 still in  
confusion1 appear almost at the same    
time4  ,esoteric teachings admit of the 
transformation of animal species1 not   
only in accordance with the secondary   
law of selection1 but also by  the      
primary law of the percussion of the    
earth by celestial powers1  and of all  
living beings by intelligible principles
 and invisible  forces4 ,when a new     
species appears on the globe1 the reason
 is that a  race of souls of a superior 
type is being incarnated at a given     
epoch  in the descendants of the former 
species1 to cause it to mount a step  in

 the ladder of evolution by moulding it 
afresh and transforming it  into its    
image4 ,thus the esoteric doctrine      
explains the appearance of  man on      
earth4 ,from the point of view of       
terrestrial evolution1 man  is the      
latest branch1 the crown of all the     
former species4 ,but this  point of view
 is no more sufficient to explain his   
entrance on to  the stage of life1 than 
it would be to explain the appearance of
 the  first sea-weed or the first       
crustacean in the depths of the sea4    
,all  these successive creations infer1 
as does each birth1 the percussion  of  
the earth by the invisible powers which 
create life4 ,that of man  infers the   
previous reign of a celestial humanity  
presiding over the  unfolding of        
terrestrial humanity1 and sends it1 like
 the waves of a  formidable tide1 fresh 
torrents of souls which become incarnate
 in its  womb and cause to shine forth  
the first beams of a divine light in    
that  bold1 impulsive1 terrified being  

who1 though only just freed from the    
darkness of animality1 is forced1 in    
order to live1 to struggle with  all the
 powers of nature4    ,pythagoras had   
obtained in ,egyptian temples clear     
notions as to the  mighty revolutions of
 the globe4 ,the ,indian and ,egyptian  
teachings  spoke of the existence of the
 ancient austral continent which had    
produced the red race and a powerful    
civilization1 called by the  ,greeks1   
the ,atlantides4 ,they attributed the   
alternate emergence  and immersion of   
continents to the oscillation of the    
poles and  acknowledged that humanity   
had thus passed through six deluges4    
,each  interdiluvian cycle brings about 
the predominance of a great human  race4
 ,in the midst of the partial eclipses  
of civilization and human  faculties1   
there is a general ascending movement4  
,here we have humanity constituted and  
the races launched in their  career     
through the cataclysms of the globe4    
,but on this globe which1  at birth1 we 

take as being the immutable base of the 
world and which  itself is carried along
 floating in space1 on these continents 
which  emerge from the seas to disappear
 afresh1 amid these passing peoples1    
these crumbling civilizations1 what is  
the mighty and poignant1 the  eternal   
mystery8 ,this is the great inner       
problem1 that of each and all1  the     
problem of the soul which discovers in  
itself an abyss of darkness  and light1 
regarding itself with a mixture of      
delight and terror and  saying to       
itself3 8,i am not of this world1 for it
 is not sufficient to  explain me4 ,i do
 not come from earth and ,i am going    
elsewhere4 ,where80  ,that is the       
mystery of ,psyche1 the mystery         
containing all the rest4    ,the        
cosmogony of the visible world1 said    
,pythagoras1 has led us to  the history 
of the earth1 and the latter to the     
mystery of the human  soul4 ,with it we 
touch the sanctuary of sanctuaries1 the 
holy of  holies4 ,once its consciousness

 aroused1 the soul becomes for itself   
the most astonishing of sights4 ,but    
even this consciousness is only  the    
enlightened surface of its being1 in    
which it suspects there to  be dark and 
unfathomable abysses4 ,in its unknown   
depths1 the divine  ,psyche contemplates
 with fascinated look all lives and     
worlds1 past  and present1 and the      
future joined to them by ,eternity4     
8,know thyself1  and thou shalt know the
 universe of the gods40 ,such was the   
secret of  the sages and initiates4 ,to 
penetrate through this narrow door into 
the immensity of the invisible universe1
 let us awake in ourselves  direct      
vision of the purified soul1 and arm    
ourselves with the torch of             
intelligence1 with the science of the   
sacred principles and numbers4          
,pythagoras thus passed from physical   
cosmogony to spiritual cosmogony4       
,after the evolution of the earth1 he   
told of that of the soul through  the   
different worlds4 ,outside of           

initiation1 this doctrine is known      
under the name of transmigration of     
souls4 ,regarding no part of  secret    
doctrine has there been more false      
reasoning than here1 to such  an extent 
indeed that ancient and modern          
literature are acquainted with  it only 
through puerile travesties4 ,plato      
himself1 who more than any  other       
philosopher contributed to the          
popularizing of the doctrine1 has  only 
given fantastic and at times extravagant
 glimpses of it1 either  because        
prudence or his oath of secrecy         
prevented him from telling all  he knew4
 ,few now doubt the fact that it must   
have had for initiates  a scientific    
aspect1 opening up endless perspectives 
and affording  divine consolation to the
 soul4 ,the doctrine of the ascensional 
life  of the soul through series of     
existences is the common feature of     
esoteric traditions and the crown of    
theosophy4 ,i will add that it is  of   
the utmost importance to us4 ,for the   

man of the present day rejects  with    
equal scorn the abstract and vague      
immortality of philosophy  and the      
childish heaven of an infant religion4  
,and yet he abhors the  dryness and     
nothingness of materialism4             
,unconsciously he aspires to  the       
consciousness of an organic immortality 
responding at once to  the demands of   
his reason and the indestructible needs 
of his soul4  ,besides1 it can well be  
understood why the initiates of the     
ancient  religions1 though they were    
acquainted with these truths1 kept them 
so secret4 ,they are of a nature to turn
 the minds of those untrained  to       
receive them4 ,they are closely allied  
to the profound mysteries of  spiritual 
generation1 of sex and generation by    
flesh1 on which hang the  destinies of  
future humanity4    ,it was therefore   
with a kind of dread that the supreme   
hour for this  esoteric teaching was    
awaited4 ,through the words of          
,pythagoras1 as by  some slow           

incantation1 heavy matter seemed to lose
 its weight1 the  things of earth became
 transparent1 those of heaven visible to
 the  spirit4 ,golden and azure spheres1
 furrowed with luminous essence1        
unfolded their orbs right into the      
infinitudes of space4    ,the disciples1
 both men and women1 grouped round the  
master in  a subterranean part of the   
,temple of ,ceres called the crypt of   
,proserpine1 listened with throbbing    
emotions to the celestial history  of   
,psyche4    ,what is the human soul8 ,a 
portion of the mighty soul of the world1
  a spark of the divine spirit1 an      
immortal monad4 ,still1 though its      
possible future opens out into the      
unfathomable splendours of divine       
consciousness1 its mysterious dawn dates
 back to the origin of  organized       
matter4 ,to become what it is in        
present-day humanity1 it  must have     
passed through all the reigns of nature1
 the whole scale of  beings gradually   
developing through a series of          

innumerable existences4  ,the spirit    
which fashions the worlds and condenses 
cosmic matter into  enormous masses     
manifests itself with varying intensity 
and an ever  greater concentration in   
the successive reigns of nature4 ,a     
blind and  confused force in the        
mineral1 individualized in the plant1   
polarized  in the sensations and        
instincts of animals1 it stretches      
towards  the conscious monad in this    
slow elaboration2 and the elementary    
monad is visible in the most inferior of
 animals4 ,the animal and  spiritual    
element accordingly exists in every     
kingdom1 though only in  infinitesimal  
quantities in the lower kingdoms4 ,the  
souls which exist  in the state of germs
 in the lower kingdoms stay there       
without moving  away for immense periods
 of time1 and it is only after great    
cosmic  revolutions that1 in changing   
planets1 they pass to a higher reign4   
,all they can do during a planet's      
period of life is to mount a few        

degrees4 ,where does the monad begin8   
,as well ask at what hour a nebula  was 
formed or a sun shone for the first     
time4 ,anyhow1 what constitutes  the    
essence of any man must have evolved for
 millions of years through  a chain of  
lower planets and kingdoms1 keeping     
through all these  existences an        
individual principle which follows it   
everywhere4 ,this  obscure but          
indestructible individuality constitutes
 the divine seal of  the monad in which 
,god wills to manifest himself through  
consciousness4    ,the higher one       
ascends in the series of organisms1 the 
more the  monad develops the principles 
latent in it4 ,polarized force becomes  
capable of sensation1 capacity of       
sensation becomes instinct1 and         
instinct becomes intelligence4 ,in      
proportion as the flickering flame  of  
consciousness is lit1 this soul becomes 
more independent of the  body1 more     
capable of existing freely4 ,the fluid1 
nonpolarized soul  of minerals and      

vegetables is bound to the elements of  
earth4 ,that  of animals1 strongly      
attracted by terrestrial fire1 stays    
there for  some time after leaving its  
body1 and then returns to the surface   
of the globe to re-incarnate in its     
species without ever having the         
possibility of leaving the lower layers 
of the air4 ,these are peopled  with    
elementals or animal souls which play   
their part in atmospheric  life and have
 a great occult influence over man4 ,the
 human soul alone  comes from the sky1  
and returns there after death4 ,at what 
period of  its long cosmic existence has
 the elementary become the human soul8  
,through what incandescent crucible1    
what ethereal flame has it passed8  ,the
 transformation has been possible in an 
interplanetary period only  by the      
meeting of human souls already fully    
formed which have developed  in the     
elementary soul its spiritual principle 
and have impressed their  divine        
prototype like a seal of fire in its    

plastic substance4    ,but what journeys
 and incarnations1 what planetary cycles
 must still  be traversed for the human 
soul thus formed to become the man we   
are  acquainted with6 ,according to the 
esoteric traditions of ,india and       
,egypt1 the individuals of whom mankind 
at present consists1 began their  human 
existence on other planets1 in which    
matter is far less dense  than our own4 
,man's body was then almost vaporous1   
his incarnations  light and easy4 ,his  
faculties of direct spiritual perception
 were  evidently very powerful and      
subtile in this first human phase2      
reason  and intelligence on the other   
hand were in an embryonic condition4 ,in
  this half-corporeal1 half-spiritual   
state1 man saw spirits1 everything  was 
full of splendour and charm to his eyes1
 full of music to his  ears4 ,he could  
hear the harmony of the spheres4 ,he    
neither thought nor  reflected1 scarcely
 even willed1 but simply lived1 drinking
 in sounds1  forms and light1 floating  

like a dream from life to death and from
  death to life4 ,it was this that the  
,orphic poems called the heaven  of     
,saturn4 ,it is only by becoming        
incarnate on planets ever denser  and   
denser that man became materialized1    
according to the doctrine  of ,hermes4  
,by becoming incarnate in denser matter1
 humanity has lost  its spiritual sense1
 but by an ever-increasing struggle with
 the  outside world1 it has powerfully  
developed its reason1 intelligence  and 
will4 ,the earth is the last rung of    
this descent into matter which  ,moses  
calls the exit from paradise1 and       
,orpheus1 the fall into the  sublunary  
circle4 ,from these depths man can1 with
 difficulty1 reascend  the circles in a 
series of new existences and regain his 
spiritual  faculties by the free        
exercise of his intellect and           
will-power4 ,then  only1 say the        
disciples of ,hermes and ,orpheus1 does 
man acquire by his  action the          
consciousness and the possession of the 

divine2 then only  does he become the   
son of ,god4 ,those who have borne this 
name on  earth must1 before appearing   
among us1 have descended and remounted  
the  dreadful spiral4    ,then what is  
the humble ,psyche at its origin8 ,a    
passing breath1 a  floating germ1 a     
wind-swept bird1 migrating from life to 
life4 ,and yet1  after innumerable      
lapses1 and millions of years1 it has   
become the  daughter of ,god and no     
longer recognizes any other home than   
heaven6  ,this is why ,greek poetry1 so 
profound and luminous in its symbolism1 
compared the soul sometimes to the      
winged insect1 sometimes to the         
earth-worm1 and again to the heavenly   
butterfly4 ,how often has it been  a    
chrysalis1 and how often a winged       
creature of light8 ,though it will      
never know this1 it still feels that it 
has wings6    ,such is the vertiginous  
past of the human soul4 ,it affords us  
an  explanation of its present condition
 and enables us to glimpse into its     

future4    ,what is the position of     
divine ,psyche in earth life8 ,the      
slightest  reflection suffices to show  
us that we could not imagine a stranger 
or  more tragic one1 since being        
painfully roused to consciousness in the
  dense atmosphere of earth1 the soul   
has entwined itself in the folds  of the
 body4 ,only through it does the soul   
live1 breathe1 and think1  and yet it is
 not the body4 ,in proportion as it     
develops1 it feels  increasing within   
itself a quivering light1 something     
invisible and  immaterial which it calls
 its spirit1 its conscience4 ,yes1 man  
has an  innate sentiment of his triple  
nature1 for1 even in his instinctive    
language1 he distinguishes his body from
 his soul1 and his soul from  his       
spirit4 ,the soul1 however1 captive and 
troubled1 struggles between  its two    
companions as between the thousand      
twining folds of a serpent  and an      
invisible genius calling it1 whose      
presence1 however1 can only  be felt by 

passing gleams and the beating of his   
wings4 ,at times this  body absorbs it  
to such an extent that it is only       
through its passions  and sensations    
that the soul lives2 with the body it   
rolls in the  blood-stained orgies of   
anger or the dense mist of carnal       
pleasures1  until1 of its own accord1 it
 becomes terrified by reason of the     
profound silence of its invisible       
companion4 ,then again1 attracted by    
the latter1 it rises to such lofty      
heights of thought1 that it forgets  the
 existence of the body until a          
peremptory call reminds it of its       
presence4 ,and yet an inner voice tells 
it that between itself and the          
invisible guest the bond cannot be      
broken1 whilst death will break its     
connection with the body4    ,tossed to 
and fro between the two in an eternal   
struggle1 the soul  seeks in vain for   
happiness and truth4 ,in vain does it   
seek to find  itself in passing         
sensations1 in fugitive thoughts1 in the

 world which  changes like a mirage4    
,finding that nothing is lasting1       
troubled and  driven about like a leaf  
in the wind1 it has doubts of itself and
 of  a divine world which is only       
revealed to it by its own pain and the  
impossibility it feels of reaching this 
world4 ,human ignorance is  written in  
the contradictions of pretended sages1  
and human sadness  in the unfathomable  
hunger of the human glance4 ,finally1   
whatever the  range of his knowledge1   
birth and death shut in man between two 
fatal  bounds4 ,these are two gates of  
darkness1 beyond which he sees nothing4 
,the flame of his life is lit as he     
enters the one and extinguished as  he  
leaves the other4 ,can it be so with the
 soul8 ,if not1 then what  becomes of   
it8    ,many have been the replies which
 philosophers have given to this        
poignant problem4 ,in its essence that  
given by theosophical initiates  of all 
times is the same4 ,it is in accord with
 universal feeling and  the inner spirit

 of religions4 ,the latter has expressed
 the truth only  under superstitious or 
symbolical forms4 ,the esoteric doctrine
 opens  up far wider perspectives2 its  
affirmations are strictly related to    
the laws of universal evolution4 ,this  
is what initiates1 instructed  by       
tradition and by the many experiences of
 psychic life1 have said  to man3 ,that 
which is restless in thyself1 which thou
 callest thy  soul1 is an ethereal      
double of the body which contains in    
itself an  immortal spirit4 ,the spirit 
builds and forms for itself1 by its own 
activity1 its spiritual body4           
,pythagoras calls it the subtile chariot
  of the soul1 because it is destined to
 remove it from earth after  death4     
,this spiritual body is the organ of the
 spirit1 its sensitive  envelope and    
instrument of volition2 it serves to    
animate the body1  which would otherwise
 remain inert4 ,in apparitions of the   
dying or the  dead1 this double becomes 
visible1 under circumstances1 however1  

which always presuppose a special       
nervous condition of the seer4 ,the     
degree of fineness1 power and perfection
 of the spiritual body varies  according
 to the quality of the spirit which it  
contains1 and between  the substance of 
souls woven in the astral light1 though 
impregnated  with the imponderable      
fluids of earth and heaven1 there are   
more  numerous distinctions1 greater    
differences than between all earthly    
bodies and all states of ponderable     
matter4 ,this astral body1 though  far  
finer and more perfect than the earthly 
one1 is not immortal as is  the monad   
which it contains4 ,it changes and      
becomes purified according  to its      
different environments4 ,the spirit is  
perpetually moulding and  transforming  
it into its own image2 it never leaves  
it however1 though  it unrobes itself of
 it by degrees2 it is continually       
clothing itself  with more ethereal     
substances4 ,this was the teaching of   
,pythagoras1 who  could not conceive of 

abstract spiritual entity1 the formless 
monad4  ,spirit in itself1 whether in   
the far-away sky or on earth1 must have 
an organ2 that organ is the living soul1
 whether bestial or sublime1  obscure or
 radiant1 retaining1 however1 the human 
form1 the image of  ,god4    ,what      
happens at death8 ,when the final hour  
approaches1 the soul  generally has a   
presentiment of its coming separation   
from the body4  ,it sees over again its 
earthly existence in abridged scenes    
rapidly  succeeding one another and of  
startling clearness4 ,when the exhausted
  life stops in the brain1 the soul     
becomes perplexed and altogether  loses 
consciousness4 ,if it is holy and pure1 
its spiritual senses  have already been 
aroused by gradual detachment from      
matter4 ,before  dying1 in some way or  
other1 if only by the introspection of  
its own  state1 it has already felt the 
presence of another world4 ,beneath the 
silent1 distant appeals1 the vague beams
 of the ,invisible1 earth has  already  

lost its consistence1 and when the soul 
finally leaves the  cold corpse1        
rejoicing in its deliverance1 it feels  
itself carried  away into a glorious    
light1 towards the spiritual family to  
which it  belongs4 ,it is not so1       
however1 with the ordinary man1 whose   
life has  been divided between material 
instincts and higher aspirations4 ,he   
awakes in a state of semi-consciousness1
 as though in the torpor of a           
nightmare4 ,no longer has he an arm to  
stretch forth or a voice to cry  out    
with2 still1 he remembers and suffers1  
existing1 as he does1 in a  limbus of   
darkness and terror4 ,all that he sees  
is the body from which  he is detached1 
but for which he still feels an         
invincible attraction4  ,it is for it   
that he lived2 and now1 what is it8 ,in 
terror he looks  for himself in the icy 
fibres of his brain1 in the stagnant    
blood of  his veins1 and no longer finds
 himself4 ,is he dead or living8 ,he    
would  like to see1 to hold on to       

something1 but he cannot see1 he can    
take  hold of nothing4 ,darkness is all 
around1 chaos within4 ,he sees only one 
thing1 and this thing attracts and      
terrifies him at the same time--the     
sinister phosphorescence of his own     
earthly tenement2 and the nightmare     
recommences4    ,this state may be      
prolonged for months or years4 ,its     
duration depends  on the strength of the
 material instincts of the soul4 ,still1
 good or  evil1 infernal or celestial1  
this soul will gradually become         
conscious  of itself and of its new     
condition4 ,once free from its body1 it 
will  escape into the abysses of the    
terrestrial atmosphere1 whose electric  
streams carry it here and there1 and    
whose many-shaped inhabitants1          
wandering about1 more or less like      
itself1 it is beginning to perceive1    
like fugitive flashes in a thick mist4  
,then there begins a desperate1         
vertiginous struggle on the part of the 
soul1 which is still dull and  heavy1 to

 rise into the upper strata of the air1 
to free itself from  earthly attraction 
and reach1 in the heaven of our         
planetary system1  the region proper to 
it and which friendly guides alone can  
show it4  ,but before this can take     
place1 a long period must often         
intervene4  ,this phase of the life of  
the soul has borne different names in   
religions and mythologies4 ,moses called
 it ,horeb2 ,orpheus1 ,erebus2          
,christianity1 ,purgatory1 or the       
,valley of the ,shadow of ,death4 ,the  
,greek initiates identified it with the 
cone of shadow which the earth  is      
always trailing behind it1 which shadow 
reaches as far as the moon2  for this   
reason they called it the abyss of      
,hecate4 ,in these mirky  depths1 say   
the disciples of ,orpheus and of        
,pythagoras1 are tossed to  and fro the 
souls which make desperate efforts to   
reach the circle of  the moon1 though   
the violence of the winds beats them    
back to earth  by thousands4 ,homer and 

,virgil compare them with whirling      
leaves1 or  swarms of birds maddened by 
the tempest4    ,the moon played an     
important part in ancient esoterism4 ,on
 its surface1  facing the heavens1 the  
souls were regarded as purifying their  
astral  body before continuing their    
celestial ascent4 ,it was also supposed 
that heroes and great spirits took up   
their abode for a time on the  portion  
of its surface turned towards the earth1
 in order to clothe  themselves in      
bodies appropriate to our world before  
reincarnation4  ,there was attributed to
 the moon1 in a certain measure1 the    
power to  magnetize the soul for earthly
 incarnation1 and to demagnetize it  for
 its heavenly abode4 ,in a general way1 
these assertions1 to which  initiates   
attached a meaning that was at once real
 and symbolical1  signified that the    
soul must pass through an intermediary  
stage of  purification and free itself  
from the impurities of earth before     
continuing its journey4    ,in what     

terms can one describe the arrival of   
the pure soul into its  own world8 ,the 
earth has disappeared like a dream4 ,a  
fresh sleep1 a  delightful swoon now    
envelops it as in a caressing embrace4  
,all that it  now sees is its winged    
guide carrying it away with lightning   
rapidity  into the depths of space4     
,what can we say of its awakening in the
  vales of some ethereal star1 devoid of
 elemental atmosphere1 where            
everything--mountains1 flowers and      
vegetation--is of an exquisite1         
sensitive and eloquent nature8 ,above   
all else1 what can one say of  those    
luminous forms1 men and women1          
surrounding it like a sacred            
procession1 to initiate it into the     
sacred mystery of its new life8  ,are   
they gods or goddesses8 ,no2 they are   
souls like itself2 the wonder  consists 
in the fact that their inmost thoughts  
beam forth in their  countenance1 that  
tenderness and love1 desire or fear     
radiate through  those diaphanous bodies

 in a scale of luminous colorations4    
,here1 body  and countenance are no     
longer the mask of the soul2 the        
transparent  soul appears in its real   
form1 shining forth in the clear light  
of  unpolluted truth4 ,psyche has       
returned to her divine home4 ,the secret
  light in which she laves herself1     
which emanates from her and returns  in 
the smile of beloved ones2 this light of
 great felicity is the soul  of the     
world wherein she is conscious of the   
presence of ,god6 ,no more  obstacles   
now6 ,she will love and know2 she will  
live with no other  limit than her own  
desire to soar4 ,strange and marvellous 
happiness6  ,she feels that strong1     
profound affinities unite her to all her
  companions4 ,for in the life beyond1  
those who do not love flee from one     
another2 those alone meet together who  
understand one another4 ,with  them she 
will celebrate the divine mysteries in  
more beautiful temples1  in a more      
perfect communion4 ,these will be living

 poems1 ever new1  each soul of which   
will be a strophe1 and each one will    
live again  its life in that of others4 
,then1 quivering with delight1 she will 
spring forth into the radiance on high1 
to the call of the ,messengers1  the    
winged ,spirits1 those who are called   
,gods1 for they have escaped  the circle
 of generations4 ,led on by these       
sublime intelligences1 she  will try to 
decipher the great poem of the ,secret  
,word1 to understand  what she can grasp
 of the symphony of the universe4 ,she  
will receive  hierarchical information  
from the circles of ,divine ,love2 she  
will  endeavour to see the ,essences    
which the animating ,spirits scatter    
throughout the worlds2 she will         
contemplate the glorified ,spirits1     
living rays of the ,god of ,gods1 but   
without being able to bear their        
blinding glory which makes suns look    
pale as smoky lamps6 ,then1 when  she   
returns terrified from these dazzling   
flights--for she shudders  in presence  

of such immensities--she will hear from 
afar the call of  beloved voices1 and   
will fall back on the golden strands of 
her star1  beneath the rose-coloured    
veil of a billowy sleep1 peopled with   
forms  clothed in white1 and filled with
 sweet perfumes and melodious strains4  
,such is the heavenly life of the soul1 
scarcely conceived of by our            
earth-clouded minds1 but divined by     
initiates1 lived by seers and           
demonstrated by the law of analogy and  
universal concordance4 ,in vain  do our 
rude imagery and imperfect language     
attempt to translate it2  each living   
soul1 however1 feels the germ of this   
life in its hidden  depths4 ,though in  
our present condition it is impossible  
for us to  realize it1 the philosophy of
 occultism has formulated its psychical 
conditions4 ,the idea of ethereal       
constellations1 invisible to us1  though
 forming part of our solar system and   
serving as an abode for  happy souls1 is
 often found in the secrets of esoteric 

tradition4  ,pythagoras calls it a      
counterpart of the earth3 the           
antichthone1  lit up by the central     
,fire1 i4e41 by the divine light4 ,at   
the end  of the ,phaedo1 ,plato         
describes this spiritual land at some   
length1  though in disguised fashion4   
,he says that it is as light as air1 and
 is  surrounded by an ethereal          
atmosphere4 ,in the other life1 we see  
that  the soul preserves the whole of   
its individuality4 ,of its terrestrial  
existence it retains none but noble     
memories1 leaving the others to  fall   
into that forgetfulness which the poets 
called the waves of ,lethe4  ,freed from
 all defilement1 the human soul feels   
its consciousness  restored1 so to      
speak4 ,from without the universe1 it   
has come back to  within it2            
,cybele-,maa1 the soul of the world1    
has1 with deep yearning1  drawn it back 
to her bosom4 ,here1 ,psyche will work  
out her dream1  that dream continually  
broken and ever being recommenced on    

earth4 ,she  will work it out in        
accordance with her earthly effort and  
acquired  intelligence1 but she will    
magnify it an hundredfold4 ,crushed     
hopes  will again revive beneath the    
dawn of her divine life2 the gloomy     
sunsets of earth will kindle into the   
dazzling light of day4 ,though man  had 
lived only one hour of enthusiasm or    
self-denial1 that single pure  note1    
torn away from the discordant scale of  
his earthly life1 will  be repeated in  
his after-life in marvellous            
progressions and olian  harmonies4 ,the 
fugitive delights that we obtain from   
the enchantment  of music1 the ecstasy  
of love or the raptures of charity are  
only  the stray notes of a harmony to   
which we shall then be listening4 ,is   
this simply saying that such life will  
be only one long dream1 one  magnificent
 hallucination8 ,what is there truer    
than that which the soul  feels within  
itself and which it realizes by its     
divine communion with  other souls8     

,initiates1 being consistent and        
transcendent idealists1  have always    
thought that the only real and lasting  
things on earth are  manifestations of  
spiritual ,beauty1 ,love and ,truth4 ,as
 the after-life  can have no other      
object than this ,truth1 this ,beauty   
and this ,love for  those who make them 
the object of their lives1 they are     
convinced that  heaven will be truer    
than earth4    ,the heavenly life of the
 soul may last hundreds or thousands of 
years1  according to its degree or      
strength of impulse4 ,it belongs1       
however1  only to the perfect1 to the   
most sublime souls1 to those which have 
passed beyond the circle of generations1
 to prolong it indefinitely4  ,the      
latter have not only attained to        
temporary rest1 but to immortal  action 
in truth2 they have created wings for   
themselves4 ,being light  itself1 they  
are inviolable2 seeing across the       
worlds1 they rule them4  ,the rest are  
carried along by an inflexible law to   

re-incarnation1 in  order to undergo a  
fresh trial1 and to rise to a higher    
rung or to fall  lower if they fail4    
,the spiritual1 like the terrestrial    
life1 has its beginning1 its apogee  and
 its decline4 ,when this life is        
exhausted1 the soul feels itself        
overcome with heaviness1 giddiness and  
melancholy4 ,an invincible force  once  
again attracts it to the struggles and  
sufferings of earth4 ,this  desire is   
mingled with terrible dread and a mighty
 grief at leaving  divine life4 ,but the
 time has come2 the law must be obeyed4 
,the  heaviness increases1 a sensation  
of dimness is felt4 ,the soul no longer 
sees its companions of light except     
through a veil1 and this veil1 ever     
denser and denser1 gives a presentiment 
of the coming separation4 ,it  hears    
their sad farewells2 the tears of the   
blest1 the loved ones whom  it is       
leaving1 fall over it like heavenly dew 
which will leave in its  heart the      
burning thirst of an unknown happiness4 

,then--with solemn  oaths--it promises  
to remember--to remember the light when 
in the  world of darkness1 to remember  
truth when in the world of falsehood1   
and love when in the world of hatred4   
,the return1 the immortal crown1  can   
only be acquired at this cost4 ,it      
awakens in a dense atmosphere2  ethereal
 constellation1 diaphanous souls1 oceans
 of light--all have  disappeared4 ,and  
now it is back on earth1 in the abyss of
 birth and  death4 ,nevertheless1 it has
 not yet lost its celestial memory2 the 
winged guide still visible to its eyes  
points out the woman who is to  be its  
mother4 ,the latter bears within her    
womb the germ of a child1  but this germ
 will only live if the spirit comes in  
to animate it4  ,then for nine months is
 accomplished the most impenetrable     
mystery of  earthly life1 that of       
incarnation and maternity4    ,the      
mysterious fusion operates slowly but   
with perfect wisdom--organ  by organ1   
fibre by fibre4 ,accordingly as the soul

 plunges into that  warm cavern1 which  
roars and swarms with life1 in          
proportion as it  feels itself caught up
 in the meanderings of the viscera with 
their  thousand recesses and folds1 the 
consciousness of its divine life        
becomes effaced and dies out4 ,for      
between it and the light above are      
interposed waves of blood and tissues of
 flesh1 crushing it and filling  it with
 darkness4 ,this distant light is       
already nothing more than a  dying      
flicker4 ,finally1 a terrible pang      
compresses it in a vice2 a  bloody      
convulsion tears it from the mother soul
 and fastens it down  into a throbbing1 
palpitating body4 ,the child is born1 a 
pitiful image  of earth1 and he cries   
aloud with fright4 ,the memory of the   
celestial  regions however has returned 
to the occult depths of the             
,unconscious2  it will only be revived  
either by ,knowledge or by ,pain1 by    
,love or by  ,death6    ,accordingly1   
the law of incarnation and              

disincarnation unfolds to us  the real  
meaning of life and death4 ,it          
constitutes the principal phase  in the 
evolution of the soul1 enabling us to   
follow it backwards and  forwards right 
into the depths of nature and divinity4 
,for this law  reveals to us the rhythm 
and measure1 the reason and object of   
the  soul's immortality4 ,from being    
abstract or fantastic1 it makes it      
living and logical by showing the       
correspondences of life and death4      
,terrestrial birth is death from the    
spiritual point of view1 and  death is a
 celestial resurrection4 ,the           
alternation of both lives is  necessary 
for the development of the soul1 and    
each of them is at once  the consequence
 and the explanation of the other4      
,whosoever is imbued  with these truths 
is at the very heart of the mysteries1  
at the centre  of initiation4    ,but1  
we shall be asked1 what is there to     
prove for us the continuity  of the     
soul1 of the monad1 the spiritual entity

 through all these  existences1 since it
 loses the memory of them in succession8
 ,what is  there to prove1 we shall     
reply1 the identity of your person      
during  waking existence and during     
sleep8 ,you wake up every morning from  
a state as strange1 as inexplicable as  
death2 you rise from this  condition of 
nothingness to return to it again at    
night4 ,was it  nothingness8 ,no1 for   
you have been dreaming1 and your dreams 
have  been as real to you as the reality
 of the waking state4 ,a change in  the 
physiological conditions of the brain   
has modified the relations  of soul and 
body and displaced your psychical point 
of view4 ,you were  the same individual 
but you found yourself in another       
environment1 and  living another        
existence4 ,in magnetized subjects1     
somnambulists and  clairvoyants1 sleep  
develops new faculties which to us seem 
miraculous1  though they are the natural
 faculties of the soul when detached    
from  the body4 ,once aroused1 these    

clairvoyants no longer remember what    
they have seen1 said or done during     
their lucid sleep1 but they  remember   
perfectly well in one sleep what        
happened in the previous  one1 and at   
times predict with mathematical         
certainty what will happen  in the next4
 ,they have1 then1 two consciousnesses  
as it were1 two  alternate lives        
entirely distinct from one another1 but 
each of which  has its own rational     
continuity4 ,they roll themselves round 
the same  individuality like cords of   
different colours round an invisible    
thread4    ,consequently1 it is in a    
very deep sense that the initiate poets 
of old  called sleep the brother of     
death4 ,a veil of forgetfulness         
separates  the sleeping from the waking 
state1 like birth and death1 and1 just  
as our earthly life is divided into two 
parts always alternating1 so  also the  
soul1 in the immensity of its cosmic    
evolution1 alternates  between          
incarnation and spiritual life1 between 

earth and heaven4  ,this alternate      
passage from one plane of the universe  
to another1  this reversing of the poles
 of its being1 is no less necessary for 
the development of the soul than        
alternate waking and sleeping is        
necessary for the bodily life of man4   
,when passing from one existence  to the
 other1 we need the waters of ,lethe4   
,in this present existence1  a salutary 
veil conceals from us past and future   
alike4 ,but oblivion  is not complete1  
since light passes through the veil4    
,innate ideas  alone prove a former     
existence4 ,there is more1 however2 we  
are born  with a world of vague         
remembrances1 mysterious impulses1      
divine  presentiments4 ,in children born
 of gentle quiet parents we find        
outbursts of wild passions which atavism
 does not sufficiently explain1  and    
which come from a former existence4     
,sometimes in the humblest life  we find
 fidelity to a sentiment or an idea1    
altogether sublime and  inexplicable4   

,is not this a result of the promises   
and oaths of the  celestial life8 ,the  
occult memory the soul has kept of them 
is stronger  than all earthly reasoning4
 ,according as it attaches itself to    
this  memory or abandons it1 is it seen 
to overcome or to succumb4 ,true faith  
consists in this mute fidelity of the   
soul to itself4 ,for this reason1  one  
may conceive that ,pythagoras like all  
theosophists considered  bodily life as 
a necessary elaboration of the will1 and
 heavenly life  as a spiritual growth1  
an accomplishment4    ,lives follow     
without resembling one another1 but a   
pitiless logic  links them together4    
,though each of them has its own law and
 special  destiny1 the succession is    
controlled by a general law1 which might
  be called the repercussion of         
lives4#ag ,in accordance with this  law1
 the actions of one life have1 fatally1 
their repercussion in  the following    
one4 ,not only will man be born again   
with the instincts  and faculties he has

 developed in his preceding incarnation1
 but the  very manner of his existence  
will be largely determined by the good  
or bad use he has made of his liberty in
 the preceding life4 ,there is  no word 
or action which has not its echo in     
eternity1 says a proverb4  ,according to
 esoteric doctrine1 this proverb is     
literally applied  from one life to     
another4 ,pythagoras considered that the
 apparent  injustice of destiny1 the    
difformity and wretchedness of one's    
lot1  misfortunes of every kind1 find   
their explanation in the fact that each 
existence is the reward or the          
punishment of the former one4 ,a        
criminal  life engenders one of         
expiation1 an imperfect life1 one of    
trial4 ,a  good life determines a       
mission1 a superior life1 a perfected   
mission  by the re-establishment of     
initiation and the spiritual selection  
of marriages4 ,in this way races follow 
one another and humanity  progresses4   
,the initiates of old saw much further  

into the future than  those of our days4
 ,they acknowledged that a time would   
come when the  great mass of people     
constituting present-day humanity would 
pass on  to another planet1 there to    
begin a new cycle4 ,in the series of    
cycles  of which the planetary chain    
consists1 the whole of humanity will    
develop the intellectual1 spiritual and 
transcendent principles which  great    
initiates have developed in themselves  
in this life1 and will  thus bring them 
to general fruition4 ,it goes without   
saying that such a  development embraces
 not merely thousands1 but millions of  
years1 and  that it will bring about    
changes in human conditions such as we  
cannot  at present form any imagination 
of4 ,in expressing them1 ,plato says    
that  in those times the gods will      
really inhabit the temples of men4 ,it  
is  logical to admit that in the        
planetary chain1 i4e4 in the successive 
evolutions of our humanity on other     
planets1 its incarnations should  become

 more and more ethereal in their nature1
 insensibly approaching  the purely     
spiritual state of that eighth sphere   
which is outside the  circle of         
generation1 and by which the divine     
state was denoted by  theosophists of   
old4 ,it is also natural that1 as all do
 not start from  the same point1 and    
many loiter on the way or fall back1 the
 number of  the elect should continually
 diminish in this marvellous ascent4    
,our  earth-limited intelligences are   
dazed by this conception1 but heavenly  
intelligences contemplate it without the
 least fear1 just as we regard  a single
 life4 ,is not the evolution of souls1  
thus understood1 in  conformity with the
 unity of the ,spirit1 the principle of 
principles2  with the homogeneity of    
,nature1 the law of laws2 and with the  
continuity of movement1 the force of    
forces8 ,seen through the prism of      
spiritual life1 a solar system does not 
constitute a material mechanism  only1  
but a living organism1 a celestial      

kingdom in which souls travel  from     
world to world like the very breath of  
,god animating it4    ,what then is the 
final end of man and humanity1 according
 to esoteric  doctrine8 ,after so many  
lives1 deaths1 re-births1 periods of    
calm and  poignant awakings1 is there   
any limit to the labours of ,psyche8    
,yes1  say the initiates1 when the soul 
has definitely conquered matter1  when1 
developing all its spiritual faculties1 
it has found in itself  the principle   
and end of all things1 then1 incarnation
 being no longer  necessary1 it will    
enter the divine state by a complete    
union with the  divine intelligence4    
,since we have scarcely any presentiment
 of the  spiritual life of the soul     
after each earthly life1 how shall we   
form  any idea of this perfect life     
which must follow the whole series of   
its spiritual existences8 ,this heaven  
of heavens will be to all former        
happiness as the ocean is to a river4   
,in the mind of ,pythagoras1 the        

apotheosis of man was not a plunge into 
unconsciousness1 but rather  creative   
activity in supreme consciousness4 ,the 
soul which has become  pure spirit does 
not lose its individuality1 but rather  
perfects  it as it rejoins its archetype
 in ,god4 ,it remembers all its former  
existences1 which it regards as so many 
ladders to reach the point at  which it 
embraces and penetrates the universe4   
,in this state1 man is no  longer man1  
as ,pythagoras said1 but demi-god4 ,for 
in his entire being  he reflects the    
ineffable light with which ,god fills   
immensity4 ,for  him1 knowledge is      
power2 love is creation2 being is       
radiating truth and  beauty4    ,is this
 a definite limit8 ,spiritual eternity  
has other measures than  solar time1    
though it1 too1 has its stages1 norms1  
and cycles4 ,they  entirely transcend   
human conception1 however4 ,still1 the  
law of  progressive analogy in the      
ascending scale of nature allows of our 
affirming that the spirit1 once it has  

reached this sublime state1  can no     
longer return1 that though the visible  
worlds change and pass  away1 the       
invisible world1 which is its raison    
d'tre1 its source and  basis1 and of    
which the divine ,psyche forms a part1  
is immortal4    ,it was in such a       
brilliant perspective that ,pythagoras  
ended the  history of the divine        
,psyche4 ,the last word had died away on
 the  lips of the sage1 but the meaning 
of that incommunicable truth  remained  
suspended in the motionless air of the  
crypt4 ,each listener  believed that he 
had finished the dream of lives1 and was
 awaking  to life in the mighty peace   
and boundless ocean of the one life4    
,the  naphtha lamps quietly lit up the  
statue of ,persephone1 standing there   
in the character of a heavenly reaper2  
they revived her symbolical  history in 
the sacred frescoes of the sanctuary4   
,at times1 a priestess  who had entered 
a state of ecstasy under the harmonious 
voice of  ,pythagoras seemed to         

incarnate in her attitude and the       
radiance of her  countenance the        
unspeakable beauty of the vision she    
saw4 ,then1 the  disciples--seized with 
a thrill of religious emotion--looked on
 in  silence4 ,soon1 however1 the       
master1 with a slow commanding gesture1 
brought back to earth the inspired      
prophetess4 ,by degrees the tension  of 
her features was relieved1 she sank back
 into the arms of her  companions and   
fell into a profound lethargy1 from     
which she awoke  troubled and sorrowful1
 and apparently exhausted after her     
heavenly  flight4    ,then1 leaving the 
crypt they mounted to the gardens of    
,ceres just as  morning was beginning to
 dawn over the sea1 and the stars to    
disappear  from mortal sight4           
,,fourth ,,degree--,,epiphany           
,the adept4--,the woman initiate4--,love
                               and      
marriage4    ,with ,pythagoras we have  
now reached the summit of initiation in 
ancient  times4 ,from these heights the 

earth appears drowned in shadow1 like  a
 dying star4 ,sidereal perspectives open
 out--and the vision from  on high1 the 
epiphany of the universe1#ah is unfolded
 before one's  wondering gaze in its    
entirety4 ,the object of his            
instruction1 however1  was not the      
absorption of man in contemplation or   
ecstasy4 ,the master  had brought his   
disciples into the unmeasurable regions 
of the ,kosmos1  plunging them into the 
abyss of the invisible4 ,after this     
terrifying  journey1 the true initiates 
were to return to earth better1 stronger
  and more prepared for the trials of   
life4    ,the initiation of the         
intelligence was to be followed by that 
of the  will1 the most difficult of all4
 ,the disciple had now to become imbued 
with truth in the very depths of his    
being1 to put it into practice  in      
everyday life4 ,to attain to this ideal1
 one must1 according to  ,pythagoras1   
unite three kinds of perfection3 the    
realization of truth  in intelligence1  

of virtue in soul and of purity in body4
 ,this latter  was to be maintained by a
 prudent system of hygiene and a        
well-balanced  chastity4 ,this was      
demanded not as an end but as a means to
 an end4 ,all  bodily excesses leave    
marks1 impurities1 so to speak1 in the  
astral  body1 the living organism of the
 soul1 and consequently in the mind4    
,for the astral body participates in all
 the acts of the physical body2  indeed1
 it is the former which gives effect to 
them1 the material body  being1 without 
it1 nothing but an inert mass4          
,accordingly the body  must be pure for 
the soul to be pure also4 ,then the     
soul1 continually  enlightened by the   
intelligence1 must acquire courage1     
self-denial1  devotion and faith1 in a  
word1 virtue1 by which a second nature  
must  be made to replace the first4     
,finally1 the intellect must reach      
wisdom  through knowledge1 so that in   
everything it may be able to distinguish
  good from evil and see ,god in the    

smallest of beings as well as in the    
immensity of worlds4 ,on reaching these 
heights1 man becomes an adept2  and1 if 
he possesses sufficient energy1 he      
enters into possession of  new faculties
 and powers4 ,the inner senses of the   
soul expand1 and  the senses of the body
 are dominated by the radiant will4 ,his
 bodily  magnetism1 penetrated by the   
potency of his astral soul1 electrified 
by his will1 acquires an apparently     
miraculous power4 ,at times he  cures   
the sick by the laying on of hands or   
simply by his presence4  ,his look alone
 often penetrates the thoughts of men4  
,sometimes1 in the  waking state1 he    
sees events taking place afar off4#ai   
,he acts at a  distance by the          
concentration of thought and will on    
such persons as  are attached to him by 
bonds of personal sympathy1 causing his 
image  to appear to them as though his  
astral body could be transported out  of
 his material body4 ,the appearance of  
the dying or the dead to their  friends 

affords exactly the same phenomenon4    
,the apparition however  which the dying
 man or the soul of the dead man        
generally produces  through an          
unconscious desire1 in the last few     
moments of life or in  the second death1
 is generally produced by the adept when
 in perfect  health and consciousness4  
,still1 he can only do this during      
sleep1 and  a sleep which is almost     
always of a lethargic nature4 ,finally1 
the  adept feels himself as it were     
surrounded and protected by invisible   
beings1 superior spirits of light1 who  
lend him their strength and aid  him in 
his mission4    ,adepts are rare1 but   
even more rare are those who attain to  
this  power4 ,greece knew but three3    
,orpheus at the dawn of ,hellenism1     
,pythagoras at its apogee1 and          
,apollonius of ,tyana in its final      
decline4  ,orpheus was the mighty and   
inspired initiator of ,greek religion2  
,pythagoras1 the organizer of esoteric  
science and the philosophy of  the      

schools2 ,apollonius1 the moralizing    
stoic and popular magician  of the      
decadence4 ,in all three1 however1 in   
spite of differences and  degrees1 there
 beams the divine ray1 the mind         
passionately inflamed for  the salvation
 of souls1 indomitable energy clothed in
 gentleness and  serenity4 ,but do not  
draw too near these mighty1 calm brows2 
a silent  fire is beneath1 the furnace  
of an ardent but ever restrained will4  
,pythagoras accordingly represents to us
 an adept of the highest type1          
possessed of the scientific mind and    
cast in philosophic mould to which  the 
spirit of modern times most nearly      
approaches4 ,but he himself  neither    
could1 nor pretended to make perfect    
adepts of his disciples4  ,a great      
inspirer is always at the beginning of  
every great epoch4  ,his disciples and  
their pupils form the magnetic chain    
which carries  his thought out into the 
world4 ,in the fourth degree of         
initiation1  ,pythagoras therefore      

contented himself with teaching his     
followers how  to apply his doctrine to 
life4 ,the ,epiphany1 the vision from   
above1  set forth an ensemble of        
profound1 regenerating views on things  
of  earth4    ,the origin of good and   
evil remains an incomprehensible mystery
 for  whomsoever has not taken into     
account the origin and the end of       
things4  ,a morality which does not     
consider the final destiny of man will  
be  merely utilitarian and very         
imperfect4 ,besides1 human liberty does 
not  really exist for such as always    
feel themselves the slaves of their     
passions1 nor does it by right exist for
 such as believe neither in the  soul   
nor in ,god1 for whom life is a         
lightning flash between two states  of  
darkness4 ,the first live in the        
servitude of the soul1 enchained by  the
 passions2 the latter in the slavery of 
intelligence limited to the  physical   
world4 ,it is not so for the religious  
man1 or for the true  philosopher1 nor  

with much greater reason for the        
theosophist initiate  who realizes truth
 in the trinity of his being and the    
unity of his  will4 ,to understand the  
origin of good and evil1 the initiate   
regards  the three worlds with the      
spiritual eye4 ,he sees the murky world 
of matter and animalism in which        
inevitable ,destiny holds sway4 ,he     
sees the luminous world of the ,spirit  
which1 for us1 is the invisible  world1 
the immense hierarchy of liberated souls
 who are themselves  ,providence in     
action1 the world where divine law      
reigns4 ,between  the two he catches a  
dim glimpse of humanity1 the lower      
elements of  which plunge into the      
natural world whilst the higher ones    
touch the  divine spheres4 ,the genius  
and spirit of humanity is ,liberty2 for 
the moment man perceives truth and      
error1 he is free to choose1 to         
associate with ,providence in           
accomplishing truth1 or1 by following   
error1 to fall beneath the law of       

destiny4 ,the act of will joined to     
that of intelligence is nothing but a   
mathematical point1 but from this  point
 springs forth the spiritual universe4  
,every spirit partially  feels by       
instinct what the theosophist totally   
understands by his  intellect3 that     
,evil is what causes man to descend to  
the fatality of  matter1 and that ,good 
is what makes him rise towards the      
divine law of  the ,spirit4 ,his true   
destiny is to be ever rising higher1 and
 that from  his own efforts4 ,but to do 
this he must also be free to descend    
again  to the very lowest4 ,the circle  
of liberty widens out to the infinitely 
great in proportion as one ascends1 it  
shrinks to the infinitely small  in     
proportion as one descends4 ,the higher 
one rises1 the freer he  becomes2 for   
the more one enters into light1 the more
 power for good  he acquires4 ,and the  
more one descends1 the more enslaved    
does he  become2 for each fall into evil
 diminishes the intelligence of the     

true and the capacity for good4 ,destiny
 accordingly reigns over the  past1     
,liberty over the future1 and           
,providence over both1 i4e4 over  the   
ever-existing present1 which may be     
called ,eternity4#bj ,from  the combined
 action of ,destiny1 ,liberty and       
,providence spring the  innumerable     
destinies1 the hells and the paradises  
of souls4 ,evil1  being discord with    
divine law1 is not the work of ,god but 
that of  man1 and has only a relative1  
an apparent and transitory existence4   
,good1 being accord with divine law1    
alone really and eternally  exists4     
,neither the priests of ,delphi and     
,eleusis1 nor the initiate  philosophers
 would ever reveal these profound       
thoughts to the people1  who might have 
misunderstood and misused them4 ,in the 
,mysteries this  doctrine was           
symbolically represented by the         
mutilation of ,dionysos1  though what   
was called the sufferings of ,god was   
hidden from the  profane by an          

impenetrable veil4    ,the greatest of  
all religious and philosophical         
discussions deal with  the question of  
the origin of good and evil4 ,we have   
just seen that  esoteric teachings hold 
the key to this question4 ,there is     
another  important question on which the
 social and political problem depends3  
the inequality of human conditions4 ,in 
the very spectacle of evil  and pain    
there is something terrifying4 ,their   
apparently arbitrary and  unjust        
distribution may be said to be the      
origin of all hatred1 revolt  and       
denial4 ,here again the profound        
esoteric teaching brings into our       
earthly darkness its sovereign light of 
peace and hope4 ,the diversity  of      
souls1 conditions and destinies can     
indeed only be justified by  plurality  
of existences and the doctrine of       
reincarnation4 ,if man is  born for the 
first time into this life1 what         
explanation can be given  of the        
innumerable evils which seem to fall on 

him as the effect of  chance8 ,how can  
it be admitted that there is such a     
thing as eternal  justice1 when some are
 born under conditions which fatally    
bring about  misery and humiliation1    
whilst others are born fortunate and    
live the  happiest of lives8 ,if1       
however1 it is true that we have lived  
other  lives1 and shall do so again     
after death1 that through all these     
existences there reigns the law of      
recurrence and repercussion--then  the  
differences of soul1 of condition and   
destiny1 will be nothing but  the       
results of previous lives and the       
manifold applications of this  law4     
,differences of condition spring from an
 unequal employment of  liberty in past 
lives1 and intellectual differences from
 the fact that  men belong to extremely 
different degrees of evolution1 which   
range  from the semi-animal condition of
 retrogressing races to the angelic     
states of saints and the divine kingship
 of genius4 ,in reality earth  resembles

 a vessel1 and all we who inhabit it are
 travellers coming  from far-away lands1
 dispersing1 by degrees1 in every       
direction of  the compass4 ,the doctrine
 of reincarnation gives a raison d'tre1 
in accordance with eternal justice and  
logic1 for the most terrible  suffering 
as well as for the most envied          
happiness4 ,the idiot will now  be      
understood by us if we think that his   
dull1 stupid condition1 of  which he is 
half conscious and from which he        
suffers1 is the punishment  for a       
criminal use of his intelligence in     
another life4 ,all the  degrees of      
physical and moral suffering1 of        
happiness and misfortune  in their      
innumerable varieties1 will appear to us
 as the natural and  wisely-graduated   
blossomings of the instincts and        
actions1 the faults  and virtues of a   
long past1 for in its occult depths the 
soul retains  everything it accumulates 
in its divers existences4 ,according to 
hour  and influence1 the former births  

reappear and disappear1 and destiny1  or
 rather the spirits who control it1     
proportion the soul's kind of           
reincarnation to its degree and quality4
 ,lysis expresses this truth1  beneath a
 veil1 in the ,golden ,verses--         
8,thou wilt likewise know1 that men draw
 upon themselves        their own       
misfortunes voluntarily1 and of their   
own free        choice4 ,unhappy that   
they are6 ,they neither see nor         
understand that their good is near      
them40    ,far from weakening the       
sentiment of brotherhood and of the     
solidarity  of all men1 such teaching is
 bound to strengthen it4 ,we owe help1  
sympathy and charity to all2 for we are 
all of the same race1 though  we have   
reached different stages4 ,all suffering
 is sacred1 for pain  is the test of the
 soul4 ,all sympathy is divine1 for it  
enables us to  feel1 as by a magnetic   
thrill1 the invisible chain binding     
together  all the worlds4 ,the virtue of
 grief is the reason of genius4 ,sages  

and  saints1 prophets and divine        
creators shine with more resplendent    
beauty  in the eyes of those who know   
that they too come forth from universal 
evolution4 ,how many lives1 what        
innumerable victories have been needed  
to acquire this might which fills us    
with wonder8 ,what heavens have  already
 been traversed to bring to us this     
innate light of genius8 ,we  know not2  
but these lives have been lived1 these  
heavens do exist4  ,the conscience of   
nations is not mistaken2 the prophets   
have not lied  in calling these men the 
sons of ,god1 messengers from heavenly  
places4  ,their mission is demanded by  
eternal ,truth1 they are protected by   
invisible legions and the living ,word  
speaks in them6    ,there is one        
difference in men springing from the    
primitive essence  of individuals1 and  
another1 as we have just said1 coming   
from the  degree of spiritual evolution 
to which they have attained4 ,from this 
latter point of view1 we see that men   

may be placed in four classes1          
comprising every subdivision and degree4
    #a4 ,in the great majority of men1  
the will acts especially in the body4   
,these may be designated as instinctive 
persons4 ,their sphere includes  not    
only physical work1 but also the        
exercise and development of the         
intelligence in the physical world1     
consequently commerce and industry4     
#b4 ,in the second degree of human      
development the will1 and consequently  
the consciousness1 has its abode in the 
soul1 i4 e4 in sensitiveness1  reacted  
on by intelligence1 which constitutes   
understanding4 ,these are  animic1 or   
passionate persons4 ,according to       
temperament1 they are  fitted to become 
warriors1 artists or poets4 ,the great  
majority of  savants and literary men   
belong to this class4 ,they live in     
relative  ideas1 modified by passions or
 limited by a fixed horizon1 without    
rising to the height of pure ,idea or   
,universality4    #c4 ,in a third class 

of men1 a far rarer one1 the will has   
acquired  the habit of acting           
principally in pure intellect1 of       
setting free  the intelligence1 in its  
special function1 from the tyranny of   
the  passions and of the limits of      
matter1 thus giving all their           
conceptions  a character of             
universality4 ,these are the            
intellectual persons4  ,they include    
such heroes as perish in martyrdom for  
their country1 the  highest type of     
poets1 and especially true philosophers 
and sages1  those whose mission it is1  
according to ,pythagoras and ,plato1 to 
govern  humanity4 ,in these men1 passion
 is not extinct2 for without it nothing 
could be effected2 it constitutes fire  
and electricity in the moral  world4    
,the passions have here become the      
servants of intelligence1  whilst in the
 former category intelligence is1       
oftener than not1 the  slave of the     
passions4    #d4 ,the loftiest human    
ideal is realized by a fourth class of  

men1  those who have added to the       
dominion of the intelligence over soul  
and instinct1 that of the will over     
their whole being4 ,they exercise       
supreme mastery through the control and 
possession of all their  faculties4 ,in 
the human trinity they have realized    
unity4 ,owing to  this marvellous       
concentration1 which collects together  
all the powers  of life1 their will1 by 
projecting itself into others1 acquires 
an  almost limitless strength1 a        
radiating and creative magic4 ,these    
men have borne different names in       
history4 ,they are primordial men1      
adepts1 great initiates1 sublime        
geniuses who transform and  metamorphose
 humanity4 ,so rare are they that they  
may be counted in  history2 ,providence 
scatters them here and there at long    
intervals of  time1 like stars in the   
heavens4#ba    ,evidently this last     
category is outside of all rule or      
classification1  still1 such a          
constitution of human society as takes  

no account of  the first three          
categories1 without granting each its   
normal function  and the means needed   
for self-development1 is merely         
external1 it is  anything but organic4  
,it is clear that1 in primitive times1  
probably  dating back to the ,vedic     
epoch1 the ,brahmans of ,india founded  
the  division of society into castes on 
the ternary principle4 ,in time1        
however1 this division1 so just and     
fruitful a one1 became changed into  an 
aristocratic and sacerdotal privilege4  
,the principle of vocation  and         
initiation was replaced by that of      
heredity4 ,the closed castes  finally   
became petrified and the irretrievable  
decadence of ,india  followed4 ,egypt1  
which maintained1 during the rule of the
 ,pharaohs1 the  ternary constitution   
with the movable and open castes1 the   
principle  of initiation as applied to  
the priesthood and that of examination  
and control of all military and civil   
functions1 existed for a  period ranging

 between five and six thousand years    
without a change  of constitution4 ,as  
for ,greece1 her lively1 versatile      
temperament  caused her to pass rapidly 
from aristocracy to democracy1 and from 
the latter to tyranny4 ,she turned round
 in this vicious circle like  a sick man
 passing from fever to lethargy and back
 again to fever4  ,perhaps she needed   
this excitement to produce her          
unparalleled work3  the translation of  
the profound though obscure wisdom of   
the ,east  into clear1 universal        
language2 the creation of the ,beautiful
 by ,art2  and the foundation of an open
 and reasonable science following on a  
secret1 intuitive initiation4 ,and none 
the less was she indebted to  the       
principle of initiation for her         
religious organization and her  loftiest
 inspirations4 ,speaking from a social  
and political standpoint1  it may be    
said that she always lived in whatever  
was provisional  and excessive4         
,pythagoras1 in his capacity as an      

adept1 had well  understood1 from the   
heights of initiation1 the eternal      
principles  which control society1 and  
was following out the plan of a mighty  
reform in accordance with these truths4 
,soon we shall see how his  school and  
himself suffered shipwreck in the storms
 of democracy4    ,from the pure1       
undefiled summits of his teachings the  
life of the  worlds rolls on1 in        
accordance with the rhythm of ,eternity4
 ,glorious  epiphany6 ,beneath the magic
 rays1 however1 of the unveiled         
firmament1  earth1 humanity and life    
also unfold to us their secret depths4  
,to feel  the presence of ,god1 the     
infinitely great must be recognized in  
the  infinitely small4 ,this is what the
 disciples of ,pythagoras experienced   
when1 to crown his teaching1 the master 
demonstrated to them how  eternal ,truth
 is manifested in the union of man and  
woman in marriage4  ,the beauty of the  
sacred numbers they had heard and       
contemplated in the  ,infinite they were

 about to recognize at the very heart of
 life1 for  them ,god was reflected in  
the great mystery of ,sex and ,love4    
,antiquity had grasped an important     
truth which succeeding ages have too    
long misunderstood4 ,woman1 effectively 
to fulfil her duties as wife  and       
mother1 needs special instruction and   
initiation4 ,hence a purely  feminine   
initiation2 that is to say1 one reserved
 altogether for women4  ,this existed in
 ,india1 where in ,vedic times the woman
 was a priestess  at the domestic altar4
 ,in ,egypt it dates back to the        
mysteries of ,isis4  ,orpheus organized 
this initiation in ,greece4 ,right on to
 the decay  of paganism we see it       
flourishing in the ,dionysiac mysteries 
as well  as in the temples of ,juno1    
,diana1 ,minerva and ,ceres4 ,it        
consisted of  symbolic rites and        
ceremonies1 in festivals by night as    
well as in  special instruction given by
 aged priestesses or by the high priest1
  and dealing with the most private     

concerns of married life4 ,advice and   
regulations were given regarding the    
relations between the sexes1 the  times 
of the year and month favourable for    
healthy conception4 ,the  highest       
importance was attached to the physical 
and moral hygiene of  woman during      
pregnancy1 so that the sacred work1 the 
creation of the  child1 might be        
accomplished in accordance with divine  
law4 ,in a word1  the science of        
conjugal life and the art of maternity  
were taught4 ,the  latter extended to   
some years after the birth of the child4
 ,up to the  age of seven1 the children 
remained in the gynceum--which the      
husband  never entered--under the       
mother's exclusive control4 ,the wisdom 
of  antiquity looked upon the child as  
being a delicate plant1 which1 if  it is
 to be kept from wasting away1 needs the
 warm1 cheering atmosphere  of a        
mother's love4 ,the father would stunt  
its growth1 a mother's kiss  and embrace
 are needed to enable it to blossom     

forth2 a woman's mighty  encircling love
 to protect from outside attack this    
soul which a new  life fills with terror
 and dismay4 ,it is because woman       
consciously  fulfilled these lofty      
functions which antiquity regarded as   
divine1  that she was in very truth the 
priestess of the family1 the guardian of
  the sacred fire of life1 the ,vesta of
 the hearth4 ,feminine initiation  may  
accordingly be regarded as the veritable
 reason of the beauty of  the race1 its 
robust descendants and the length of    
duration of the  family in ,greek and   
,roman antiquity4#bb    ,in establishing
 a section for women in his ,institute1 
,pythagoras merely  deepened and refined
 what already existed4 ,the women he    
initiated  received from him1 along with
 rites and precepts1 the final          
principles  of their functions4 ,in this
 way he bestowed the consciousness of   
their rle on such as were deserving of  
it4 ,he revealed to them the            
transfiguration of love in perfect      

marriage1 which is the blending  of two 
souls at the very centre of life and    
truth4 ,is not man in his  strength the 
representative of the creative spirit   
and principle8 ,and  does not woman in  
the totality of her power personify     
nature in its  plastic force1 its       
wonderful realizations1 at once         
terrestrial and  divine8 ,then if these 
two beings succeed in a complete        
mingling of  body1 soul and spirit1 they
 will form between them an epitome of   
the  universe4 ,to believe in ,god1     
however1 woman needs to see him living  
in  man2 and to effect this1 man must be
 an initiate4 ,he alone1 by reason  of  
his profound knowledge of life and      
creative will-power1 is capable  of     
fecundating the feminine soul1 of       
transforming it by means of his  divine 
ideal4 ,this ideal the loved one gives  
him back manifold in her  vibrating     
thoughts1 her keen sensations and       
profound divinations4 ,she  sends him   
back his image transfigured by          

enthusiasm1 she becomes  his ideal1 for 
she realizes it by the power of love in 
her own soul4  ,through her he becomes  
living and visible1 he is made flesh and
 blood4  ,for if man creates through    
desire and will1 woman1 both physically 
and  spiritually1 brings into being     
through love4    ,in her rle as lover or
 wife or mother or being inspired1 she  
is no less great and is even more divine
 than man4 ,for love is                 
self-forgetfulness4 ,the woman who      
forgets self and loses herself in  her  
love must ever be sublime4 ,in such     
self-abasement she finds her  celestial 
re-birth1 her crown of light and the    
immortal radiance of her  entire being4 
,in modern literature love has been     
reigning as a master for the past  two  
centuries4 ,this is not the purely      
sensual love1 born of bodily  beauty1 as
 in the poetry of old1 nor is it the    
insipid worship of an  abstract and     
conventional ideal as in the middle     
ages2 it is rather a  love both sensual 

and psychic which gives full scope to   
its liberty and  individual fancy4      
,oftener than not both sexes wage war in
 love itself4  ,there is the revolt of  
the woman against man's egoism and      
brutality2  the scorn of the man at     
woman's deceit and vanity1 carnal       
exclamations  and the ineffectual wrath 
of the victims to voluptuousness1 the   
slaves  to debauchery4 ,with all this we
 find deep-rooted passions and terrible 
attractions1 all the more powerful from 
being trammeled and fettered  by worldly
 conventions and social institutions4   
,hence a love full of  passion and      
storm1 of moral ruin and tragic         
catastrophe1 on which the  modern novel 
and drama are almost exclusively based4 
,one might say that  tired man1 finding 
,god neither in religion nor in science1
 in despair  seeks for him in woman4    
,and he does well1 but it is only       
through the  initiation of the great    
truths that he will find ,him in ,her   
and ,her in  ,him4 ,in these souls1     

which know neither themselves nor one   
another1  which sometimes leave one     
another with mutual maledictions1 there 
is1 as it were1 a mighty desire for     
self-penetration1 for finding in  such  
intermingling a happiness that is       
impossible4 ,in spite of the            
aberrations1 the outbursts of debauchery
 resulting therefrom1 this  desperate   
search is necessary2 it springs from an 
unconscious divinity4  ,it will be a    
vital element in the reconstruction of  
the future4 ,for  when man and woman    
have found themselves and one another   
through the  channels of profound love  
and initiation1 the fusion of the two   
will be  the radiating and creative     
force par excellence4    ,it is only    
quite recently1 then1 that psychic love1
 the soul's  love-passion1 has entered  
into literature and through it into     
universal  consciousness4 ,it has its   
origin1 however1 in the initiation of   
the  past4 ,the reason ,greek literature
 scarcely mentions it1 is that it was  a

 most rare exception4 ,another reason   
may be found in the profound  secrecy of
 the mysteries4 ,and yet religious and  
philosophic tradition  have handed down 
traces of the woman initiate4 ,away     
behind official  poetry and philosophy  
appear a few half-veiled though luminous
 woman  forms4 ,we have already         
mentioned ,theoclea who inspired        
,pythagoras2  later on will come        
,corinna1 the priestess1 ofttimes the   
fortunate  rival of ,pindar1 who himself
 was the greatest initiate among the    
,greek  lyric poets2 finally1 the       
mysterious ,diotima appeared at the     
banquet  of ,plato to give the supreme  
revelation of ,love4 ,by the side of    
these  exceptional rles the ,greek woman
 exercised her veritable priesthood  at 
the fireside and in the gynceum4        
,indeed1 she created those heroes1      
artists and poets whose sublime deeds1  
sculptures and songs we so  greatly     
admire4 ,it was she who conceived them  
in the mystery of love1  who formed them

 in her womb with the desire and love of
 beauty1 who  brought them to birth     
after protecting them beneath her       
motherly wings4  ,it must be added that 
for the man and woman who are real      
initiates  the creation of the child has
 an infinitely finer signification and  
greater importance than for us4 ,when   
father and mother know that the  soul of
 the child existed previous to its birth
 on earth1 conception  becomes a sacred 
act1 the summons of a soul to submit to 
incarnation4  ,between the incarnate    
soul and the mother there is almost     
always  considerable similarity4 ,just  
as evil-minded and wicked women attract 
spirits possessed of demons1 divine     
spirits are attracted to gentle         
tender-hearted mothers4 ,is not this    
invisible soul1 long waited for1  which 
is to come and finally appears--so      
wonderfully and yet so                  
surely--something divine in its nature8 
,painful will be its birth and          
imprisonment in flesh4 ,for though a    

dense veil gathers between itself  and  
the heaven it has left1 though it no    
longer remembers--alas6 it  suffers none
 the less on that account6 ,sacred and  
divine is the task of  the mother who is
 to create for it a fresh dwelling1 to  
mitigate the  harshness of its prison   
and render the trial easier to bear4    
,thus we see that the teaching of       
,pythagoras1 which had begun by the     
divine trinity in the profound recesses 
of the ,absolute1 ended in the  human   
trinity at the centre of life4 ,in      
,father1 ,mother and ,child1 the        
initiate could now recognize the        
,spirit1 ,soul and ,heart of the living 
universe4 ,for him this final initiation
 constituted the foundation  of the     
social work1 conceived of in all the    
height and beauty of the  ideal1 a      
building to whose construction each     
initiate had to bring his  stone4       
,,chapter ,v                            
,,marriage ,,of                         
,,pythagoras--,,revolution ,,at         

,,croton--,,the ,,master',s ,,end--,,the
 ,,school ,,and                         
,,its ,,destiny      ,among the women   
who followed the master's teaching was a
 maiden of  great beauty4 ,her father1  
an inhabitant of ,croton1 was named     
,brontinos4  ,his daughter's name was   
,theano4 ,pythagoras was now sixty years
 of  age1 but mastery over passion and a
 pure life wholly consecrated to  his   
mission1 had kept him in perfect health 
and strength4 ,the youth  of the soul1  
that immortal flame the great initiate  
draws from his  spiritual life and      
nourishes on the hidden forces of       
nature1 shone  forth in him1 throwing   
into subjection all around4 ,the        
,grecian mage was  not at the decline1  
but rather at the height of his might4  
,theano was  attracted to ,pythagoras by
 the almost supernatural radiance       
emanating  from his person4 ,grave and  
reserved1 she had sought from the master
 an  explanation of the mysteries she   
loved though without understanding      

them4 ,when1 however1 beneath the light 
of truth and the tender glow  which     
gradually enveloped her1 she felt her   
inmost soul expand like  the mystic rose
 with its thousand petals1 when she felt
 that this  blossoming forth came from  
him and his words--she silently         
conceived  for the master a boundless   
enthusiasm and a passionate love4       
,pythagoras had made no effort to       
attract her4 ,his love and affection    
were bestowed on all his disciples2 he  
thought only of his school1 of  ,greece 
and the future of the world4 ,like many 
great adepts1 he had  denied himself the
 pleasures of earthly love to devote    
himself to  his work4 ,the magic of his 
will1 the spiritual possession of so    
many  souls he had formed and who       
remained devoted to him as to a         
well-loved  father1 the mystic incense  
of all those unexpressed affections     
which  came to him1 and that exquisite  
fragrance of human sympathy which  bound
 together the ,pythagorean brethren--all

 this took the place of  voluptuousness1
 of human happiness and love4 ,one day1 
as he was alone1  meditating on the     
future of his school in the crypt of    
,proserpine1 he  saw coming to him1 with
 grave1 resolute steps1 this beautiful  
virgin  to whom he had never spoken in  
private4 ,she sank on her knees at his  
feet1 and with downcast eyes begged the 
master--the one who could do            
everything6--to set her free from an    
impossible1 an unhappy love which  was  
consuming her1 body and soul4           
,pythagoras wished to know the name  of 
the one she loved4 ,after much          
hesitation1 ,theano confessed that it   
was himself1 but that1 ready for any    
sacrifice1 she would submit to his      
will4 ,pythagoras made no reply4        
,encouraged by his silence1 she raised  
her head with suppliant look4 ,her eyes 
seemed to contain the very  essence of a
 life and soul offered as a sacrifice to
 the master4    ,the sage was greatly   
disturbed2 he could overcome his senses 

and  imagination1 but the electric flash
 from that soul had pierced his own4    
,in this virgin1 matured by passion1 her
 countenance transfigured by a          
sentiment of utter devotion1 he had     
found his companion1 and caught a  faint
 glimpse of a more complete realization 
of his work4 ,with troubled  look1      
,pythagoras raised the maiden to her    
feet1 and ,theano saw from the  master's
 eyes that their destinies were for ever
 united4    ,by his marriage with       
,theano1 ,pythagoras affixed the seal of
  realization to his work4 ,the union   
and fusion of the two lives was         
complete4 ,one day when the master's    
wife was asked what length of time      
elapsed before a woman could become pure
 after intercourse with a man1  she     
replied3 8,if it is with her husband1   
she is pure all the time2 if  with      
another man1 she is never pure40 ,many  
women would smilingly remark  that to   
give such a reply one must be the wife  
of ,pythagoras1 and love  him as ,theano

 did4    ,and they would be in the      
right1 for it is not marriage which     
sanctifies  love1 it is love which      
justifies marriage4 ,theano entered so  
thoroughly  into the thought and life of
 her husband1 that after his death she  
became a centre for the ,pythagorean    
order1 and a ,greek author quotes  her  
opinion as that of an authority on the  
doctrine of ,numbers4 ,she  bore        
,pythagoras two sons1 ,arimnestes and   
,telauges1 and a daughter ,damo4  ,at a 
later date ,telauges became the master  
of ,empedocles1 to whom he  handed down 
the secrets of the doctrine4    ,the    
family of ,pythagoras offered the order 
a real model to follow4 ,his  house was 
called the ,temple of ,ceres1 and his   
court the ,temple of the  ,muses4 ,in   
domestic and religious festivals1 the   
mother led the women's  chorus1 and     
,damo that of the maidens4 ,in all      
respects ,damo was worthy  of her       
parents4 ,pythagoras entrusted to her   
certain writings expressly  forbidding  

her to communicate them to any one      
outside the family4 ,after  the         
dispersion of the ,pythagoreans1 ,damo  
fell into great poverty4 ,she  was      
offered a large sum for the precious    
manuscript1 but1 faithful to  her       
father's will1 she always refused to    
part with it4    ,pythagoras lived in   
,croton for thirty years4 ,within twenty
 years this  extraordinary man had      
acquired such power that those who      
called him a  demi-god were not looked  
upon as exaggerating4 ,this power seemed
 to  have something miraculous about it1
 no like influence had ever been        
exercised by a philosopher4 ,it extended
 not merely to the school of  ,croton   
and its ramifications in other towns on 
the coast of ,italy1  but even to the   
politics of all these small states4     
,pythagoras was  a reformer in the whole
 acceptation of the term4 ,croton1 a    
colony  of ,achaa1 had an aristocratic  
constitution4 ,the ,council of the      
,thousand1 drawn from the noblest       

families1 carried on the legislative    
and kept watch over the executive power4
 ,popular assemblies existed1  though   
their power was restricted4 ,pythagoras1
 who wished the ,state  to be all order 
and harmony1 was no more enamoured of   
oligarchical  compression than of the   
chaos of demagogy4 ,accepting the ,doric
  constitution as it was1 he simply     
tried to introduce a fresh mechanism    
into it4 ,the idea was a bold one1 for  
it consisted in the creation1  over and 
above the political power1 of a         
scientific one with a  deliberative and 
consultative voice in questions of vital
 interest1  and becoming the key-stone1 
the supreme regulator of the ,state4    
,above  the ,council of the ,thousand1  
he organized the ,council of the ,three 
,hundred1 chosen by the former1 but     
recruited from among the initiates      
alone4 ,the number was sufficient for   
the task4 ,porphyrus relates  that two  
thousand of the citizens of ,croton gave
 up their wonted  mode of living and    

united in order to live together with   
their wives  and children after placing 
their possessions in one common stock4  
,it  was thus the wish of ,pythagoras   
that at the head of the ,state there    
should be a scientific government1 not  
so mysterious though quite as  important
 as the ,egyptian priesthood4 ,what he  
realized for a short time  remained the 
dream of all such initiates as dealt    
with politics1 viz4  the introduction of
 the principle of initiation and        
examination into  the government of the 
,state1 and the reconciliation in this  
superior  synthesis of the elective or  
democratic principle with a government  
constituted of a select number of       
intelligent and virtuous citizens4  ,the
 result was that the ,council of the    
,three ,hundred formed a kind  of       
political1 scientific and religious     
order1 of which ,pythagoras  himself was
 the recognized head4 ,the members were 
bound to him by a  solemn and an awful  
oath of absolute secrecy1 as was the    

case in the  ,mysteries4 ,these         
societies or  spread from ,croton1 the  
seat  of the original society1          
throughout almost the whole of the towns
 in  ,greater ,greece1 where they       
exercised a powerful political          
influence4  ,the ,pythagorean order also
 tended to become the head of the ,state
  throughout the whole of ,southern     
,italy4 ,its ramifications extended to  
,tarentum1 ,heracleium1 ,metapontum1    
,rhegium1 ,himera1 ,catana1 ,agrigentum1
  ,sybaris and1 according to            
,aristoxenes1 even among the ,etruscans4
 ,as  regards the influence of          
,pythagoras on the government of these  
rich and  mighty cities1 nothing        
loftier1 nothing more liberal or pacific
 could  be imagined4 ,wherever he       
appeared1 order1 justice and concord    
were  restored4 ,once1 when summoned    
into the presence of a tyrant of        
,sicily1  he persuaded him1 by his      
eloquence alone1 to restore the wealth  
he had  unjustly acquired and to        

abdicate a power he had usurped4 ,such  
towns as  were subject to one another he
 made independent and free4 ,so         
beneficent  were his actions that when  
he went into a town the inhabitants     
would  say3 8,he has not come to teach  
but rather to heal40    ,the sovereign  
influence of a great mind and character1
 that magic  of soul and intelligence1  
arouses jealousy and hatred which is    
only  the more terrible and violent     
because it is itself the less capable   
of attack4 ,his sway lasted a quarter of
 a century2 the reaction came  when the 
indefatigable adept had reached the age 
of ninety4 ,it began  in ,sybaris1 the  
rival of ,croton1 where a rising of the 
people took  place and the aristocratic 
party was overthrown4 ,five hundred     
exiles  asked the inhabitants of ,croton
 to receive them1 but the ,sybarites    
demanded their extradition4 ,dreading   
the anger of a hostile town1 the        
magistrates of ,croton were on the point
 of complying with this demand  when    

,pythagoras intervened4 ,at his         
entreaty1 they refused to hand over  the
 unhappy suppliants to their implacable 
enemies1 whereupon ,sybaris  declared   
war upon ,croton4 ,the ,croton army1    
however1 commanded by the  famous       
athlete1 ,milon1 a disciple of          
,pythagoras1 completely defeated  the   
,sybarites4 ,the downfall of ,sybaris   
followed2 the town was taken and        
plundered1 utterly destroyed and        
converted into a wilderness of ruins4   
,it is impossible to admit that         
,pythagoras could have approved of so   
terrible a revenge1 which was altogether
 opposed to his principles1 as1  indeed1
 to those of all initiates4 ,neither he 
nor ,milon1 however1 could  check the   
unbridled passions of a conquering army1
 when once inflamed  by long-standing   
jealousy and excited by an unjust       
attack4    ,revenge1 whether in         
individuals or in nations1 always brings
 about a  recoil of the passions let    
loose4 ,the ,nemesis of this vengeance  

was  a terrible one2 its consequences   
fell on ,pythagoras and the whole of    
his order4 ,after taking ,sybaris1 the  
people demanded a division of the  land4
 ,not content with obtaining this1 the  
democratic party proposed a  change of  
constitution1 depriving the ,council of 
the ,thousand of its  privileges1 and   
suppressing the ,council of the ,three  
,hundred2 they were  no longer willing  
to admit any other authority than       
universal suffrage4  ,naturally the     
,pythagoreans1 members of the ,council  
of the ,thousand1  were opposed to a    
reform which was contrary to their      
principles and was  undermining the     
patient work of their master4 ,they had 
already become  the object of that dull 
hatred which mystery and superiority    
ever  arouse in the masses4 ,their      
political attitude excited the anger of 
the  demagogy1 and personal hatred      
against the master proved the spark     
which  kindled the fire4    ,a certain  
,cylon had1 some time before this1      

offered himself as a  candidate for the 
,school4 ,pythagoras1 who was very      
strict in accepting  disciples1 refused 
him because of his violent and          
headstrong  disposition4 ,this rejected 
candidate became a bitter enemy4 ,when  
public opinion began to turn against    
,pythagoras he organized a club1  a     
large popular society in opposition to  
that of the ,pythagoreans4  ,he         
succeeded in attracting to himself the  
principal leaders of the  people1 and at
 the meetings hatched a revolution which
 was to begin by  the expulsion of the  
,pythagoreans4 ,cylon rises to his feet 
in front  of a sea of upturned excited  
faces and reads extracts stolen from the
  secret book of ,pythagoras1 entitled3 
,the ,sacred ,word 7hiros logos74       
,these extracts are then travestied and 
wrongly interpreted4 ,a few of  the     
speakers make an attempt to defend the  
brothers of silence1 who  respect even  
dumb animals4 ,such are greeted with    
outbursts of laughter4  ,cylon ascends  

the tribune again and again4 ,he        
demonstrates that the  religious        
catechism of the ,pythagoreans is a     
crime against liberty4  8,and that is a 
slight charge10 he adds4 8,is this      
master1 this would-be  demi-god1 whose  
least word is blindly obeyed1 and who   
has merely a  command to give1 to have  
all his brethren exclaiming3 #8,the     
master has  said it6'--any other than   
the tyrant of ,croton1 and the worst of 
all  tyrants1 an occult one8 ,what else 
than scorn and disdain for the people   
is this indissoluble friendship which   
unites all the members of the           
,pythagorean  composed of8 ,they are    
never tired of repeating  the words of  
,homer when he says that the prince     
should be the shepherd  of his people4  
,in their eyes the people are evidently 
nothing better  than a worthless flock4 
,the very existence of the order1 ,i    
say1 is a  permanent conspiracy against 
the rights of the people4 ,until it is  
destroyed liberty will be a vain word in

 ,croton60 ,one of the members  of the  
meeting1 animated by a feeling of       
loyalty1 exclaimed3 8,let  ,pythagoras  
and his followers be given an           
opportunity1 at any rate1 to  justify   
their conduct in our presence before we 
condemn them40 ,cylon  replied          
haughtily3 8,have not these             
,pythagoreans deprived you of the  right
 to judge and decide upon public        
matters8 ,what right have they  to ask  
you to listen to them now8 ,they did not
 consult you when they  deprived you of 
the right to exercise justice1 now it is
 your turn to  strike without listening 
to them60 ,such vehement opinions were  
greeted  with rounds of applause1 and   
popular frenzy and passion rose higher  
than ever4    ,one evening1 when forty  
of the principal members of the order   
had met  at the abode of ,milon1 the    
tribune collected his followers and the 
house was surrounded4 ,the              
,pythagoreans1 who had the master with  
them1  barricaded the doors4 ,the       

enraged crowd set fire to the building1 
which speedily became enveloped in      
flames4 ,thirty-eight ,pythagoreans1    
the very first of the master's disciples
 and constituting the flower  of the    
order1 along with ,pythagoras himself1  
perished either in the  flames or at the
 hands of the people4 ,archippus and    
,lysis alone escaped  massacre4#bc      
,thus died this mighty sage1 this divine
 man whose effort it had been  to instil
 his own wisdom into human rule and     
government4 ,the murder  of the         
,pythagoreans was the signal for a      
democratic revolution in  ,croton and   
about the ,gulf of ,tarentum4 ,the towns
 of ,italy expelled  from their walls   
the unfortunate disciples of the master4
 ,the order  was dispersed2 fragments of
 it1 however1 spread throughout ,sicily 
and ,greece1 propagating everywhere the 
master's words and teachings4  ,lysis   
became the teacher of ,epaminondas4     
,after fresh revolutions1 the           
,pythagoreans were permitted to return  

to ,italy on condition they no  longer  
formed a political body4 ,they were     
still united in a touching  fraternity1 
and looked upon themselves as one       
family4 ,one of them  who had fallen    
upon sickness and poverty was kindly    
taken in by an  inn-keeper4 ,before     
dying he traced a few mysterious signs  
on the door  of the inn and said to the 
host3 8,do not be uneasy1 one of my     
brothers  will pay my debt40 ,a year    
afterwards1 as a stranger was passing by
 this  inn he saw the signs and said to 
the host3 8,i am a ,pythagorean2 one  of
 my brothers died here2 tell me what ,i 
owe you on his account40 ,the  order    
existed for two hundred and fifty years2
 the ideas and traditions  of the master
 have come down to the present times4   
,the regenerating influence of          
,pythagoras over ,greece was immense4   
,this influence was exercised in        
mysterious though certain fashion1  by  
means of the temples he had visited4 ,at
 ,delphi we have seen that  he gave new 

might to the science of divination1     
strengthened the  priestly influence1   
and by his art formed a model           
,pythoness4 ,thanks to  this inner      
reform1 which aroused enthusiasm in the 
very heart of the  sanctuaries and in   
the soul of the initiates1 ,delphi      
became more than  ever the moral centre 
of ,greece4 ,this was especially evident
 during  the ,median wars4 ,scarcely had
 thirty years elapsed since the death of
  ,pythagoras when the ,asiatic cyclone1
 predicted by the ,samian sage1  burst  
out upon the coasts of ,hellas4 ,in this
 epic struggle of ,europe  against a    
barbaric ,asia1 ,greece1 representing   
liberty and civilization1  has behind   
her the science and genius of ,apollo4  
,he it is whose  patriotic and religious
 inspiration stirs up and silences the  
springing  rivalry between ,sparta and  
,athens4 ,it is he1 too1 who is the     
inspirer  of men like ,miltiades and    
,themistocles4 ,at ,marathon1 enthusiasm
 is so  great that the ,athenians       

believe they see two warriors1 clad in  
light1  fighting in their ranks4 ,some  
recognize in them ,theseus and ,echetos2
  others1 ,castor and ,pollux4 ,when the
 invasion of ,xerxes1 tenfold more      
formidable than that of ,darius1 breaks 
over ,thermopyl and submerges  ,hellas1 
it is the ,pythoness who1 on her tripod1
 points out the way  of safety to the   
envoys from ,athens1 and helps          
,themistocles to gain  the victory at   
,salamis4 ,the pages of ,herodotus      
thrill with her broken  phrases3        
8,abandon the homesteads and lofty hills
 if the city is built  in a circle 444  
fire and dreadful ,mars mounted on a    
,syrian chariot will  bring your towers 
to ruins 444 temples are tottering in   
their fall1  their walls are dripping   
with cold sweat1 whilst black blood is  
falling  from their pinnacles 444 depart
 from my sanctuary4 ,let a wooden wall  
be  your impregnable bulwark4 ,flee6    
turn your backs on numberless enemies   
on foot and on horseback6 ,o divine     

,salamis6 ,how deadly wilt thou be to   
those born of woman60#bd ,in the account
 given by ,eschylus the battle  begins  
with a cry resembling the pan1 ,apollo's
 hymn3 8,soon the day1  led on white    
coursers1 spreads throughout the world  
its resplendent  light4 ,immediately a  
mighty shout1 resembling a sacred chant1
 rises  from the ranks of the ,greeks   
and the echoes of the island respond in 
a  thousand loud-sounding voices40 ,what
 wonder that1 intoxicated with the  wine
 of victory1 the ,greeks at the battle  
of ,mycale1 in the presence  of stricken
 ,asia1 chose as a rallying cry3 8,hebe1
 ,eternal ,youth60 ,yes1  it is the     
breath of ,apollo that moves through    
these wonderful ,median  wars4          
,religious enthusiasm1 which works      
miracles1 carries off both  living and  
dead1 throws a dazzling light on        
victory1 and gives a golden  glory to   
the tomb4 ,all the temples were         
plundered and destroyed1 that  of       
,delphi alone remained intact4 ,the     

,persian hosts advanced to spoil  the   
holy town4 ,a quiver of dread came over 
all4 ,the solar god1 however1  said     
through the voice of the pontiff3 8,i   
will defend myself60 ,orders  were given
 from the temple that the city be       
deserted1 the inhabitants  take refuge  
in the grottoes of ,parnassus1 and the  
priests alone keep  sacred guard on the 
threshold of the sanctuary4 ,the        
,persian army enters  the town1 all     
still as death2 the statues alone look  
down as the hosts  march along4 ,a black
 cloud gathers at the foot of the gorge1
 the  thunders roll and the lightning   
flashes on the invaders4 ,two enormous  
rocks roll down from the summit of      
,parnassus1 crushing to death great     
numbers of ,persians4#be ,at the same   
time noises and shouts issue from  the  
,temple of ,minerva1 flames leap from   
the ground beneath the very  feet of the
 invaders4 ,before such wonders the     
barbarians fall back in  terror and the 
dismayed army takes to flight4 ,the god 

has undertaken  his own defence4        
,would these wonders have happened1     
would these victories humanity looks    
upon as its own have taken place1 had   
not ,pythagoras1 thirty years  earlier1 
appeared in the ,delphic sanctuary to   
kindle there the sacred  fire8 ,this    
may1 indeed1 be questioned4    ,one word
 more regarding the master's influence  
on philosophy4 ,before  his time1 there 
had been natural philosophers on the one
 hand1 and  moral philosophers on the   
other2 ,pythagoras included in a vast   
synthesis1 morality1 science and        
religion4 ,this synthesis is nothing    
else than the esoteric doctrine1 whose  
full glory ,i have endeavoured  to      
reveal in the very basis of ,pythagorean
 initiation4 ,the philosopher  of       
,croton was not the inventor but the    
light-bearing arranger of these         
fundamental truths1 in the scientific   
order of things4 ,consequently ,i  have 
chosen his system as offering the most  
favourable framework to a  complete     

account of the doctrine of the          
,mysteries as well as of true           
theosophy4    ,those who have followed  
the master up to this point will have   
seen that  at the basis of the doctrine 
there shines the sun of the one ,truth4 
,scattered rays may be discovered in    
philosophies and religions1 but  here is
 their centre4 ,what must be done to    
attain thereto8 ,observation  and       
reasoning are not sufficient4 ,in       
addition to and above all else  is      
intuition4 ,pythagoras was an adept and 
an initiate of the highest  order4 ,his 
was the direct vision of the spirit1 his
 the key to the  occult sciences and the
 spiritual world4 ,it was from the      
primal  fount of ,truth that he drew his
 supplies4 ,and as he joined to these   
transcendent faculties of an            
intellectual and spiritualized soul1  a 
careful and minute observation of       
physical nature and a masterly          
classification of ideas by the aid of   
his lofty reason1 no one could  have    

been better equipped than himself to    
build up the edifice of the  knowledge  
of the ,kosmos4    ,in truth this       
edifice was never destroyed4 ,plato1 who
 took from  ,pythagoras the whole of his
 metaphysics1 had a complete idea       
thereof1 though he unfolded it with less
 clearness and precision4  ,the         
,alexandrine school occupied the upper  
storeys of the edifice1  whilst modern  
science has taken the ground-floor and  
strengthened its  foundations4 ,numerous
 philosophical schools and mystical or  
religious  sects have inhabited its many
 chambers4 ,no philosophy1 however1 has 
yet  embraced the whole of it4 ,it is   
this whole ,i have endeavoured to reveal
  here in all its harmony and unity4    
,,the ,,end                 ,richard    
,clay  ,sons1 ,limited1 ,london and     
,bungay4      ,,footnotes3            #a
 ,the ,amphictyonic oath of the allied  
peoples gives              some idea of 
the greatness and social might of this  
institution3 8,we swear that we will    

never overthrow                         
,amphictyonic towns1 never1 during      
either peace              or war1       
prevent them from obtaining whatever is 
necessary for their needs4 ,should any  
power dare to              attempt this1
 we will march against it and destroy   
its towns4 ,should impious hands remove 
the offerings              of the temple
 of ,apollo1 we swear that we will use  
our feet1 our arms1 our voice1 and all  
our strength              against them  
and their accomplices40            #b   
,the ,golden ,verses of ,pythagoras4    
#c ,iamblichus relates this fact in his 
,life of              ,pythagoras4      
#d ,the ,oracles of ,zoroaster1 taken   
from the theurgy              of        
,proclus4            #e ,reichenbach    
called this fluid odyle4 ,his work      
has been translated into ,english by    
,gregory3              ,researches on   
,magnetism1 ,electricity1 ,heat1 ,light1
              ,crystalization and       
,chemical ,attraction4--,london1        

#ahej4            #f ,see the ,bulletin 
of the ,socit de ,pyschologie           
,physiologique4 ,m4 ,charcot1 president1
 #ahhe4 ,see more                       
especially the fine book by ,m4         
,ochorowicz1 ,de la                     
,suggestion ,mentale1 ,paris1 #ahhg4    
#g ,there is a great deal of literature 
on this subject1              very      
unequal in value1 in ,france1 ,germany  
and              ,england4 ,i will here 
mention two books in which the          
subject is treated scientifically by men
 of real              worth4            
7#a7 ,letters on ,animal ,magnetism1 by 
,william ,gregory1              ,london1
 #ahej4 ,gregory was a professor of     
chemistry              at the           
,university of ,edinburgh4 ,his book is 
a              profound study of the    
phenomena of animal magnetism1          
from suggestion to vision at a distance 
and lucid              clairvoyance1 on 
subjects observed by himself1 in        
accordance with scientific method1 and  

with minute              exactness4     
7#b7 ,die mystischen ,erscheinungen der 
menschlichen              ,natur1 von   
,maximilian ,perty1 ,leipzig1 #ahgb4    
,perty is a professor of philosophy and 
medicine              at the ,university
 of ,berne4 ,his book presents an       
immense repertory of all such occult    
phenomena as              have          
historical value4 ,the extremely        
remarkable              chapter on      
clairvoyance 7,schlafwachen71 ,volume   
,i41              contains twenty       
accounts of female and five of male     
clairvoyants1 related by the doctors who
 treated the              cases4 ,that  
of ,weiner1 treated by the author1 is   
most curious4 ,see also the treatises on
 magnetism by              ,dupotet and 
,deleuze1 and the very strange book1    
,die              ,seherin von ,prvorst1
 by ,justinus ,kerner4            #h    
,numerous examples in ,gregory's work3  
,letters ,,xvi1              ,,xvii1 and
 ,,xviii4            #i ,the ,german    

philosopher1 ,schelling1 has            
acknowledged              the great     
importance of somnambulism in the       
question              of the immortality
 of the soul4 ,he remarks that1 in      
lucid sleep1 there is produced an       
elevation of the              soul1 and 
its relative liberation with regard to  
the body1 which does not take place in  
the normal              state4 ,in      
somnambulists1 everything indicates the 
loftiest consciousness1 as though their 
whole being              were met in one
 luminous focus1 uniting together       
past1 present and future4 ,far from     
losing all memory              of the   
past1 it lies open before them1 and even
              the veil of the future is 
at times cast aside in              a   
glorious ray of light4 ,if this is      
possible in              earthly life1  
,schelling inquires1 is it not certain  
that our spiritual personality1 which   
follows us in              death1 is at 
this very moment present in us1 that    

it is not born then but simply set free1
 and shows              itself when it  
is no longer bound by the senses to     
the outside world8 ,the post-mortem     
condition is              accordingly   
more real than the earthly one4 ,for in 
this life1 that which is accidental1    
mingling with              the whole1   
paralyzes in us that which is essential4
              ,schelling calls the      
future state quite simply1              
clairvoyance4 ,the spirit liberated from
 everything              accidental in  
earthly life becomes stronger and more  
alive2 the wicked man becomes worse1 the
 good better4                ,quite     
recently ,charles du ,prel has advanced 
the same              opinion1          
supporting it with numerous facts and   
details in a well-written volume1       
,philosophie              der ,mystik   
7#ahhf74 ,he starts from this fact3 the 
consciousness of the ego does not       
exhaust its              object4 8,soul 
and consciousness are not two adequate  

terms2 they do not cover one another as 
they have              not an equal     
scope4 ,the sphere of the soul far      
surpasses that of the consciousness40   
,consequently              there is a   
latent ego in us4 ,this latent ego1     
which manifests itself in sleep and in  
dreams1 is              the real ego1   
supra-terrestrial and transcendent1     
whose existence precedes our terrestrial
 ego which              is bound to the 
body4 ,the terrestrial ego is           
perishable1 the transcendent ego is     
immortal4 ,this              is what    
,st4 ,paul meant when he said--8----the 
,lord              ,jesus ,christ1 who  
shall change our vile body1 so          
that it be fashioned like unto ,his     
glorious body40           #aj ,origen   
states that ,pythagoras was the inventor
 of              physiognomy4           
#aa ,katharsis in ,greek4           #ab 
,in transcendent mathematics it is      
demonstrated              algebraically 
that zero multiplied by infinity is     

equal to ,one4 ,zero1 in the order of   
absolute things1              signifies 
the indeterminate ,being4 ,the          
,infinite1              the ,eternal in 
the language of the temples1 was        
marked by a circle of a serpent biting  
its tail1              signifying the   
,infinite moving itself4 ,now1 once the 
,infinite is determined it produces all 
the numbers              it contains in 
its great unity1 and which it governs   
in perfect harmony4                ,such
 is the transcendent meaning of the     
first problem              of the       
,pythagorean theogony1 the reason which 
brings it              to pass that the 
great ,monad contains all the small     
ones1 and that all the numbers spring   
from the great              ,unity in   
movement4           #ac ,doctrine       
identical with that of the initiate ,st4
              ,paul1 who speaks of the  
spiritual body4           #ad ,in the   
first rank of these must be placed      
,fabre              d',olivet 7,vers    

dors de ,pythagore74 ,this living       
conception of the forces of the         
universe1 traversing              it    
from top to bottom1 has nothing to do   
with the              thesis1 the       
antithesis and the synthesis of         
,hegel1 which are simply jeux d'esprit4 
#ae ,in ,greek3 ,teleites4           #af
 ,certain strange definitions1 in       
metaphorical form1              which   
have been handed down to us and come    
from the              secret teaching of
 the master1 give us some idea1         
in their occult signification1 of the   
magnificent              conception     
,pythagoras had of the ,kosmos4         
,speaking              of the           
constellations1 he called the ,great and
              the ,little ,bear the     
hands of ,rhea-,kybele4 ,now            
,rhea-,kybele means1 esoterically1 the  
rolling astral              light1 the  
divine spouse of universal fire1 or of  
the creative ,spirit1 which1 becoming   
concentrated in              the solar  

systems1 attracts the immaterial        
essences              of beings1 seizes 
them1 and forces them into the          
whirl of lives4 ,he called the planets  
the dogs              of ,proserpine4   
,this strange expression has only       
an esoteric meaning4 ,proserpine1 the   
goddess of              souls1 presided 
over their incarnation in matter4       
,pythagoras accordingly called the      
planets the dogs              of        
,proserpine because they keep and retain
 the              incarnated souls1 just
 as the mythological ,cerberus          
guards the souls in the infernal        
regions4           #ag ,the law called  
,karma by ,brahmans and ,buddhists4     
#ah ,the epiphany1 or vision from above2
 the autopsy1              or direct    
vision2 the theophany1 or manifestation 
of ,god1 are so many correlative ideas  
and divers              expressions to  
indicate the state of perfection in     
which the initiate1 having united his   
soul to ,god1              contemplates 

truth in its entirety4           #ai ,i 
will here mention two well-known facts  
of              this kind1 which are    
quite authentic4 ,the first             
belongs to antiquity1 its hero being the
 famous                                 
philosopher-magician1 ,apollonius of    
,tyana4                #a4 ,second sight
 of ,apollonius of ,tyana4--8,whilst    
these things 7the assassination of the  
,emperor              ,domitian7 were   
taking place at ,rome1 ,apollonius saw  
them at ,ephesus4 ,domitian was assailed
 by ,clement              about noon2 on
 the very same day1 at that moment1     
,apollonius was discoursing in the      
gardens close to              the       
,xystes4 ,suddenly he lowered his voice 
as though              smitten with     
sudden terror4 ,he continued his speech1
              but his language was of a 
different character1 as              is 
the case often with those who are       
speaking or              thinking of    
something else4 ,then1 he stopped1 as   

though he had lost the thread of his    
argument1 gave              a terrified 
look on the ground1 took three or four  
steps forward and exclaimed3 #8,strike  
the tyrant6'              ,one would    
have said that he saw1 not the image of 
the deed in a mirror1 but the deed      
itself in all its              reality4 
,the ,ephesians 7for the whole of       
,ephesus was              present at the
 speech of ,apollonius7 were struck     
with wonder4 ,apollonius stopped like a 
man waiting              to see the     
result of some doubtful event4 ,finally 
he exclaimed3 #8,be of good courage1    
,ephesians1 the              tyrant has 
been killed to-day4 ,to-day8 ,yes1 by   
,minerva6 ,he was being assassinated the
 very moment              ,i interrupted
 my speech4' ,the ,ephesians thought    
that              ,apollonius had lost  
his senses2 it was their keen           
desire that he should have said what was
 true1              but they were afraid
 that some danger might come            

to them as the result of this speech4444
 ,soon1              however1 messengers
 came bringing the good news and        
testifying in favour of the knowledge of
 ,apollonius1              for every    
detail3 the murder of the tyrant1 the   
day of its consummation1 the hour of    
noon1 the              instigator of the
 murder whom ,apollonius had            
encouraged1 were found to be in perfect 
conformity              with those the  
,gods had shown him on the day of his   
discourse to the ,ephesians40--,life of 
,apollonius1              by            
,philostratus4                #b4       
,second sight of ,swedenborg4--,the     
second fact              refers to the  
greatest seer of modern times4 ,the     
objective reality of ,swedenborg's      
visions may be              discussed1  
but there can be no doubt regarding his 
second sight1 which has been attested by
 a multitude              of facts4     
,swedenborg's vision of the burning of  
,stockholm1 a distance of ninety miles  

away1 caused              much          
wonderment in the second half of the    
eighteenth              century4 ,kant1 
the well-known ,german philosopher1     
caused an inquiry to be made by a friend
 living at              ,gothenburg1 in 
,sweden2 the following is his account   
as related to a lady friend--           
8,in my opinion the following fact is of
 the greatest              demonstrative
 importance1 and ought to do away       
with any kind of doubt4 ,in #agei1 ,m4  
de ,swedenborg1              one        
,saturday about four in the afternoon1  
about              the end of ,december1
 landed at ,gothenburg1 after a         
journey to ,england4 ,m4 ,william       
,castel invited him              to his 
house1 where a company of fifteen       
persons              was present4 ,at   
six o'clock in the evening1 ,m4 de      
,swedenborg1 who had left the room1     
returned1 with              a look of   
consternation on his pallid face1 and   
said that #8at that very moment a fire  

had burst out              in           
,stockholm1 at the ,sudermalm1 and was  
rapidly              spreading its      
ravages in the direction of his own     
home4444' ,he said that the house of one
 of his              friends1 whom he   
named1 was in ashes1 and that           
his own was in danger4 ,at eight        
o'clock1 again              leaving the 
room1 he returned and said joyfully3    
#8,thank ,god6 ,the fire has been       
extinguished at the              third  
door from my own house4' ,that very     
evening              the governor was   
informed of the fact4 ,on ,sunday       
morning1 ,swedenborg was summoned before
 this              functionary1 who     
questioned him on the matter4           
,swedenborg gave an exact description of
 the fire1              its beginning   
and end1 and the time it had lasted4    
,the same day1 the news spread          
throughout the town1              which 
was all the more excited as the governor
 had              manifested interest in

 it1 and many people were               
anxious about their property and        
friends4 ,on ,monday                    
evening there arrived in ,gothenburg a  
courier whom              the business  
men of ,stockholm had despatched during 
the conflagration4 ,among the letters   
the fire was              described in  
exactly the manner above mentioned4     
,what can be alleged against the        
authenticity of              this event8
 ,the friend who wrote to me has        
examined              the whole affair1 
not only in ,stockholm1 but1 about      
two months ago1 at ,gothenburg also2 he 
is well              acquainted with the
 best-known families1 and has           
been able to obtain complete information
 in a town              where there are 
still living the majority of the        
eye-witnesses1 considering the short    
lapse of time              7nine years7 
since #ahei40--,letter to ,mademoiselle 
,charlotte de ,knoblich1 quoted by      
,matter1 in his              ,life of   

,swedenborg4           #bj ,this idea   
springs logically from the human and    
divine ternary1 from the trinity of the 
microcosm              and the macrocosm
 we have spoken of in the previous      
chapters4 ,the metaphysical correlation 
of ,destiny1              ,liberty and  
,providence has been admirably drawn by 
,fabre d',olivet1 in his commentary on  
the ,golden              ,verses of     
,pythagoras4           #ba ,this        
classing of men corresponds to the four 
stages              of ,pythagorean     
initiation1 and forms the basis         
of all initiations1 even that of the    
primitive              freemasons1 who  
were not without a smattering of        
esoteric teaching4--,see ,fabre         
d',olivet1 les ,vers              dors  
de ,pythagore4           #bb            
,montesquieu and ,michelet are almost   
the only writers              who have  
made mention of the virtue of ,greek    
wives4              ,neither of them    
states its cause1 which ,i point out    

in these few lines4           #bc ,this 
is the version of ,diogenes of ,larte   
regarding              the death of     
,pythagoras--according to ,dicearchus1  
quoted by ,porphyry1 the master escaped 
massacre1              along with       
,archippus and ,lysis4 ,he wandered from
              town to town until he     
reached ,metapontum1 where              
he died of hunger in the ,temple of the 
,muses4 ,the              inhabitants of
 ,metapontum1 on the other hand1        
affirmed that the sage they had taken   
in1 died              peacefully in     
their city4 ,they pointed out to        
,cicero his house1 seat and tomb4 ,it is
 noteworthy              that1 long     
after the master's death1 those cities  
which had persecuted ,pythagoras most1  
at the time              of the         
democratic change of opinion1 claimed   
for              themselves the honour  
of having offered him refuge            
and protection4 ,the towns around the   
,gulf of              ,tarentum claimed 

that they each contained the ashes      
of the philosopher with as much         
desperation as the              towns of
 ,ionia disputed among one another the  
honour              of having given     
birth to ,homer4--,see this question    
discussed in ,m4 ,chaignet's            
conscientious work3                     
,pythagore et la philosophie            
pythagoricienne4           #bd ,in      
temple language the term son of woman   
indicated              the lower degree 
of initiation1 woman here               
signifying nature4 ,above these were the
 sons of              man or initiates  
of the ,spirit and the ,soul1 the       
sons of the ,gods or initiates of the   
cosmogonic              sciences1 and   
the sons of ,god or initiates in the    
supreme science4 ,the ,pythoness calls  
the ,persians              sons of      
woman1 giving them this name from the   
character of their religion4            
,interpreted literally1              her
 words would be devoid of meaning4      

#be 8,these may still be seen in the    
enclosure of              ,minerva10    
said ,herodotus1 ,,viii4 #ci4 ,the      
invasion of              the ,gauls1    
which took place two centuries later1   
was repelled in like manner4 ,here1 too1
 a storm              gathers1          
thunderbolts fall time after time on the
              ,gauls2 the earth quakes  
beneath their feet1 they see            
supernatural visions2 and the temple of 
,apollo is              saved4 ,these   
facts seem to prove that the priests of 
,delphi were acquainted with the science
 of cosmic              fire and knew   
how to handle electricity by occult     
power as did the ,chaldan magi4--,see   
,amde ,thierry1              ,histoire  
des ,gaulois1 ,i4 #bdf4                 
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,transcriber's ,note3    ,five          
misspelled words were corrected4 ,words 
and phrases in italics are  surrounded  

by underscores1 like this4 ,those in    
bold are surrounded by  equal signs1    
like this4 ,footnotes were renumbered   
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of the book4 ,final stops missing at the
 end of  abbreviations were added4  was 
changed to 4