Transcriber's Note: The many inconsistently spelt words in this book(e. G. Samskrit/Sanskrit) have been retained as in the original. ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITYORTHE LESSER MYSTERIES. BYANNIE BESANT. [SECOND EDITION] The Theosophical Publishing Society. LONDON AND BENARES. 1905. In proceeding to the contemplation of the mysteries of knowledge, we shall adhere to the celebrated and venerable rule of tradition, commencing from the origin of the universe, setting forth those points of physical contemplation which are necessary to be premised, and removing whatever can be an obstacle on the way; so that the ear may be prepared for the reception of the tradition of the Gnosis, the ground being cleared of weeds and fitted for the planting of the vineyard; for there is a conflict before the conflict, and mysteries before the mysteries. --_S. Clement of Alexandria. _ Let the specimen suffice to those who have ears. For it is not required to unfold the mystery, but only to indicate what is sufficient. --_Ibid. _ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. --_S. Matthew. _ FOREWORD. The object of this book is to suggest certain lines of thought as tothe deep truths underlying Christianity, truths generally overlooked, and only too often denied. The generous wish to share with all what isprecious, to spread broadcast priceless truths, to shut out none fromthe illumination of true knowledge, has resulted in a zeal withoutdiscretion that has vulgarised Christianity, and has presented itsteachings in a form that often repels the heart and alienates theintellect. The command to "preach the Gospel to everycreature"[1]--though admittedly of doubtful authenticity--has beeninterpreted as forbidding the teaching of the Gnosis to a few, and hasapparently erased the less popular saying of the same Great Teacher:"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye yourpearls before swine. "[2] This spurious sentimentality--which refuses to recognise the obviousinequalities of intelligence and morality, and thereby reduces theteaching of the highly developed to the level attainable by the leastevolved, sacrificing the higher to the lower in a way that injuresboth--had no place in the virile common sense of the early Christians. S. Clement of Alexandria says quite bluntly, after alluding to theMysteries: "Even now I fear, as it is said, 'to cast the pearls beforeswine, lest they tread them underfoot, and turn and rend us. ' For it isdifficult to exhibit the really pure and transparent words respectingthe true Light to swinish and untrained hearers. "[3] If true knowledge, the Gnosis, is again to form a part of Christianteachings, it can only be under the old restrictions, and the idea oflevelling down to the capacities of the least developed must bedefinitely surrendered. Only by teaching above the grasp of the littleevolved can the way be opened up for a restoration of arcane knowledge, and the study of the Lesser Mysteries must precede that of the Greater. The Greater will never be published through the printing-press; they canonly be given by Teacher to pupil, "from mouth to ear. " But the LesserMysteries, the partial unveiling of deep truths, can even now berestored, and such a volume as the present is intended to outline these, and to show the _nature_ of the teachings which have to be mastered. Where only hints are given, quiet meditation on the truths hinted atwill cause their outlines to become visible, and the clearer lightobtained by continued meditation will gradually show them more fully. For meditation quiets the lower mind, ever engaged in thinking aboutexternal objects, and when the lower mind is tranquil then only can itbe illuminated by the Spirit. Knowledge of spiritual truths must be thusobtained, from within and not from without, from the divine Spirit whosetemple we are[4] and not from an external Teacher. These things are"spiritually discerned" by that divine indwelling Spirit, that "mind ofChrist, " whereof speaks the Great Apostle, [5] and that inner light isshed upon the lower mind. This is the way of the Divine Wisdom, the true THEOSOPHY. It is not, assome think, a diluted version of Hinduism, or Buddhism, or Taoism, or ofany special religion. It is Esoteric Christianity as truly as it isEsoteric Buddhism, and belongs equally to all religions, exclusively tonone. This is the source of the suggestions made in this little volume, for the helping of those who seek the Light--that "true Light whichlighteth every man that cometh into the world, "[6] though most have notyet opened their eyes to it. It does not bring the Light. It only says:"Behold the Light!" For thus have we heard. It appeals only to the fewwho hunger for more than the exoteric teachings give them. For those whoare fully satisfied with the exoteric teachings, it is not intended; forwhy should bread be forced on those who are not hungry? For those whohunger, may it prove bread, and not a stone. CONTENTS. PAGEFOREWORD vii. CHAPTER I. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF RELIGIONS 1 CHAPTER II. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY 36 CHAPTER III. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY 69 (_concluded_) CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORICAL JESUS 120 CHAPTER V. THE MYTHIC CHRIST 145 CHAPTER VI. THE MYSTIC CHRIST 170 CHAPTER VII. THE ATONEMENT 193 CHAPTER VIII. RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION 231 CHAPTER IX. THE TRINITY 253 CHAPTER X. PRAYER 276 CHAPTER XI. THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 301 CHAPTER XII. SACRAMENTS 324 CHAPTER XIII. SACRAMENTS (_continued_) 346 CHAPTER XIV. REVELATION 369 AFTERWORD 386 INDEX 388 ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY. CHAPTER I. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF RELIGIONS. Many, perhaps most, who see the title of this book will at once traverseit, and will deny that there is anything valuable which can be rightlydescribed as "Esoteric Christianity. " There is a wide-spread, and withala popular, idea that there is no such thing as an occult teaching inconnection with Christianity, and that "The Mysteries, " whether Lesseror Greater, were a purely Pagan institution. The very name of "TheMysteries of Jesus, " so familiar in the ears of the Christians of thefirst centuries, would come with a shock of surprise on those of theirmodern successors, and, if spoken as denoting a special and definiteinstitution in the Early Church, would cause a smile of incredulity. Ithas actually been made a matter of boast that Christianity has nosecrets, that whatever it has to say it says to all, and whatever it hasto teach it teaches to all. Its truths are supposed to be so simple, that "a way-faring man, though a fool, may not err therein, " and the"simple Gospel" has become a stock phrase. It is necessary, therefore, to prove clearly that in the Early Church, at least, Christianity was no whit behind other great religions inpossessing a hidden side, and that it guarded, as a priceless treasure, the secrets revealed only to a select few in its Mysteries. But eredoing this it will be well to consider the whole question of this hiddenside of religions, and to see why such a side must exist if a religionis to be strong and stable; for thus its existence in Christianity willappear as a foregone conclusion, and the references to it in thewritings of the Christian Fathers will appear simple and natural insteadof surprising and unintelligible. As a historical fact, the existenceof this esotericism is demonstrable; but it may also be shown thatintellectually it is a necessity. The first question we have to answer is: What is the object ofreligions? They are given to the world by men wiser than the masses ofthe people on whom they are bestowed, and are intended to quicken humanevolution. In order to do this effectively they must reach individualsand influence them. Now all men are not at the same level of evolution, but evolution might be figured as a rising gradient, with men stationedon it at every point. The most highly evolved are far above the leastevolved, both in intelligence and character; the capacity alike tounderstand and to act varies at every stage. It is, therefore, uselessto give to all the same religious teaching; that which would help theintellectual man would be entirely unintelligible to the stupid, whilethat which would throw the saint into ecstasy would leave the criminaluntouched. If, on the other hand, the teaching be suitable to help theunintelligent, it is intolerably crude and jejune to the philosopher, while that which redeems the criminal is utterly useless to the saint. Yet all the types need religion, so that each may reach upward to a lifehigher than that which he is leading, and no type or grade should besacrificed to any other. Religion must be as graduated as evolution, else it fails in its object. Next comes the question: In what way do religions seek to quicken humanevolution? Religions seek to evolve the moral and intellectual natures, and to aid the spiritual nature to unfold itself. Regarding man as acomplex being, they seek to meet him at every point of his constitution, and therefore to bring messages suitable for each, teachings adequate tothe most diverse human needs. Teachings must therefore be adapted toeach mind and heart to which they are addressed. If a religion does notreach and master the intelligence, if it does not purify and inspire theemotions, it has failed in its object, so far as the person addressed isconcerned. Not only does it thus direct itself to the intelligence and theemotions, but it seeks, as said, to stimulate the unfoldment of thespiritual nature. It answers to that inner impulse which exists inhumanity, and which is ever pushing the race onwards. For deeply withinthe heart of all--often overlaid by transitory conditions, oftensubmerged under pressing interests and anxieties--there exists acontinual seeking after God. "As the hart panteth after thewater-brooks, so panteth"[7] humanity after God. The search is sometimeschecked for a space, and the yearning seems to disappear. Phases recurin civilisation and in thought, wherein this cry of the human Spirit forthe divine--seeking its source as water seeks its level, to borrow asimile from Giordano Bruno--this yearning of the human Spirit for thatwhich is akin to it in the universe, of the part for the whole, seems tobe stilled, to have vanished; none the less does that yearning reappear, and once more the same cry rings out from the Spirit. Trampled on for atime, apparently destroyed, though the tendency may be, it rises againand again with inextinguishable persistence, it repeats itself againand again, no matter how often it is silenced; and it thus proves itselfto be an inherent tendency in human nature, an ineradicable constituentthereof. Those who declare triumphantly, "Lo! it is dead!" find itfacing them again with undiminished vitality. Those who build withoutallowing for it find their well-constructed edifices riven as by anearthquake. Those who hold it to be outgrown find the wildestsuperstitions succeed its denial. So much is it an integral part ofhumanity, that man _will_ have some answer to his questionings; ratheran answer that is false, than none. If he cannot find religious truth, he will take religious error rather than no religion, and will acceptthe crudest and most incongruous ideals rather than admit that the idealis non-existent. Religion, then, meets this craving, and taking hold of the constituentin human nature that gives rise to it, trains it, strengthens it, purifies it and guides it towards its proper ending--the union of thehuman Spirit with the divine, so "that God may be all in all. "[8] The next question which meets us in our enquiry is: What is the sourceof religions? To this question two answers have been given in moderntimes--that of the Comparative Mythologists and that of the ComparativeReligionists. Both base their answers on a common basis of admittedfacts. Research has indisputably proved that the religions of the worldare markedly similar in their main teachings, in their possession ofFounders who display superhuman powers and extraordinary moralelevation, in their ethical precepts, in their use of means to come intotouch with invisible worlds, and in the symbols by which they expresstheir leading beliefs. This similarity, amounting in many cases toidentity, proves--according to both the above schools--a common origin. But on the nature of this common origin the two schools are at issue. The Comparative Mythologists contend that the common origin is thecommon ignorance, and that the loftiest religious doctrines are simplyrefined expressions of the crude and barbarous guesses of savages, ofprimitive men, regarding themselves and their surroundings. Animism, fetishism, nature-worship, sun-worship--these are the constituents ofthe primeval mud out of which has grown the splendid lily of religion. AKrishna, a Buddha, a Lao-tze, a Jesus, are the highly civilisedbut lineal descendants of the whirling medicine-man of the savage. Godis a composite photograph of the innumerable Gods who are thepersonifications of the forces of nature. And so forth. It is all summedup in the phrase: Religions are branches from a common trunk--humanignorance. The Comparative Religionists consider, on the other hand, that allreligions originate from the teachings of Divine Men, who give out tothe different nations of the world, from time to time, such parts of thefundamental verities of religion as the people are capable of receiving, teaching ever the same morality, inculcating the use of similar means, employing the same significant symbols. The savage religions--animismand the rest--are degenerations, the results of decadence, distorted anddwarfed descendants of true religious beliefs. Sun-worship and pureforms of nature-worship were, in their day, noble religions, highlyallegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge. The greatTeachers--it is alleged by Hindus, Buddhists, and by some ComparativeReligionists, such as Theosophists--form an enduring Brotherhood of menwho have risen beyond humanity, who appear at certain periods toenlighten the world, and who are the spiritual guardians of the humanrace. This view may be summed up in the phrase: "Religions are branchesfrom a common trunk--Divine Wisdom. " This Divine Wisdom is spoken of as the Wisdom, the Gnosis, theTheosophia, and some, in different ages of the world, have so desired toemphasise their belief in this unity of religions, that they havepreferred the eclectic name of Theosophist to any narrower designation. The relative value of the contentions of these two opposed schools mustbe judged by the cogency of the evidence put forth by each. Theappearance of a degenerate form of a noble idea may closely resemblethat of a refined product of a coarse idea, and the only method ofdeciding between degeneration and evolution would be the examination, ifpossible, of intermediate and remote ancestors. The evidence broughtforward by believers in the Wisdom is of this kind. They allege: thatthe Founders of religions, judged by the records of their teachings, were far above the level of average humanity; that the Scriptures ofreligions contain moral precepts, sublime ideals, poetical aspirations, profound philosophical statements, which are not even approached inbeauty and elevation by later writings in the same religions--that is, that the old is higher than the new, instead of the new being higherthan the old; that no case can be shown of the refining and improvingprocess alleged to be the source of current religions, whereas manycases of degeneracy from pure teachings can be adduced; that even amongsavages, if their religions be carefully studied, many traces of loftyideas can be found, ideas which are obviously above the productivecapacity of the savages themselves. This last idea has been worked out by Mr. Andrew Lang, who--judging byhis book on _The Making of Religion_--should be classed as a ComparativeReligionist rather than as a Comparative Mythologist. He points to theexistence of a common tradition, which, he alleges, cannot have beenevolved by the savages for themselves, being men whose ordinary beliefsare of the crudest kind and whose minds are little developed. He shows, under crude beliefs and degraded views, lofty traditions of a sublimecharacter, touching the nature of the Divine Being and His relationswith men. The deities who are worshipped are, for the most part, theveriest devils, but behind, beyond all these, there is a dim butglorious over-arching Presence, seldom or never named, but whispered ofas source of all, as power and love and goodness, too tender to awakenterror, too good to require supplication. Such ideas manifestly cannothave been conceived by the savages among whom they are found, and theyremain as eloquent witnesses of the revelations made by some greatTeacher--dim tradition of whom is generally also discoverable--who wasa Son of the Wisdom, and imparted some of its teachings in a longbye-gone age. The reason, and, indeed, the justification, of the view taken by theComparative Mythologists is patent. They found in every direction lowforms of religious belief, existing among savage tribes. These were seento accompany general lack of civilisation. Regarding civilised men asevolving from uncivilised, what more natural than to regard civilisedreligion as evolving from uncivilised? It is the first obvious idea. Only later and deeper study can show that the savages of to-day are notour ancestral types, but are the degenerated offsprings of greatcivilised stocks of the past, and that man in his infancy was not leftto grow up untrained, but was nursed and educated by his elders, fromwhom he received his first guidance alike in religion and civilisation. This view is being substantiated by such facts as those dwelt on byLang, and will presently raise the question, "Who were these elders, ofwhom traditions are everywhere found?" Still pursuing our enquiry, we come next to the question: To what peoplewere religions given? And here we come at once to the difficulty withwhich every Founder of a religion must deal, that already spoken of asbearing on the primary object of religion itself, the quickening ofhuman evolution, with its corollary that all grades of evolving humanitymust be considered by Him. Men are at every stage of evolution, from themost barbarous to the most developed; men are found of loftyintelligence, but also of the most unevolved mentality; in one placethere is a highly developed and complex civilisation, in another a crudeand simple polity. Even within any given civilisation we find the mostvaried types--the most ignorant and the most educated, the mostthoughtful and the most careless, the most spiritual and the mostbrutal; yet each one of these types must be reached, and each must behelped in the place where he is. If evolution be true, this difficultyis inevitable, and must be faced and overcome by the divine Teacher, else will His work be a failure. If man is evolving as all around himis evolving, these differences of development, these varied grades ofintelligence, must be a characteristic of humanity everywhere, and mustbe provided for in each of the religions of the world. We are thus brought face to face with the position that we cannot haveone and the same religious teaching even for a single nation, still lessfor a single civilisation, or for the whole world. If there be but oneteaching, a large number of those to whom it is addressed will entirelyescape its influence. If it be made suitable for those whoseintelligence is limited, whose morality is elementary, whose perceptionsare obtuse, so that it may help and train them, and thus enable them toevolve, it will be a religion utterly unsuitable for those men, livingin the same nation, forming part of the same civilisation, who have keenand delicate moral perceptions, bright and subtle intelligence, andevolving spirituality. But if, on the other hand, this latter class isto be helped, if intelligence is to be given a philosophy that it canregard as admirable, if delicate moral perceptions are to be stillfurther refined, if the dawning spiritual nature is to be enabled todevelope into the perfect day, then the religion will be so spiritual, so intellectual, and so moral, that when it is preached to the formerclass it will not touch their minds or their hearts, it will be to thema string of meaningless phrases, incapable of arousing their latentintelligence, or of giving them any motive for conduct which will helpthem to grow into a purer morality. Looking, then, at these facts concerning religion, considering itsobject, its means, its origin, the nature and varying needs of thepeople to whom it is addressed, recognising the evolution of spiritual, intellectual, and moral faculties in man, and the need of each man forsuch training as is suitable for the stage of evolution at which he hasarrived, we are led to the absolute necessity of a varied and graduatedreligious teaching, such as will meet these different needs and helpeach man in his own place. There is yet another reason why esoteric teaching is desirable withrespect to a certain class of truths. It is eminently the fact inregard to this class that "knowledge is power. " The public promulgationof a philosophy profoundly intellectual, sufficient to train an alreadyhighly developed intellect, and to draw the allegiance of a lofty mind, cannot injure any. It can be preached without hesitation, for it doesnot attract the ignorant, who turn away from it as dry, stiff, anduninteresting. But there are teachings which deal with the constitutionof nature, explain recondite laws, and throw light on hidden processes, the knowledge of which gives control over natural energies, and enablesits possessor to direct these energies to certain ends, as a chemistdeals with the production of chemical compounds. Such knowledge may bevery useful to highly developed men, and may much increase their powerof serving the race. But if this knowledge were published to the world, it might and would be misused, just as the knowledge of subtle poisonswas misused in the Middle Ages by the Borgias and by others. It wouldpass into the hands of people of strong intellect, but of unregulateddesires, men moved by separative instincts, seeking the gain of theirseparate selves and careless of the common good. They would be attractedby the idea of gaining powers which would raise them above the generallevel, and place ordinary humanity at their mercy, and would rush toacquire the knowledge which exalts its possessors to a superhuman rank. They would, by its possession, become yet more selfish and confirmed intheir separateness, their pride would be nourished and their sense ofaloofness intensified, and thus they would inevitably be driven alongthe road which leads to diabolism, the Left Hand Path, whose goal isisolation and not union. And they would not only themselves suffer intheir inner nature, but they would also become a menace to Society, already suffering sufficiently at the hands of men whose intellect ismore evolved than their conscience. Hence arises the necessity ofwithholding certain teachings from those who, morally, are as yetunfitted to receive them; and this necessity presses on every Teacherwho is able to impart such knowledge. He desires to give it to thosewho will use the powers it confers for the general good, for quickeninghuman evolution; but he equally desires to be no party to giving it tothose who would use it for their own aggrandisement at the cost ofothers. Nor is this a matter of theory only, according to the Occult Records, which give the details of the events alluded to in Genesis vi. _et seq. _This knowledge was, in those ancient times and on the continent ofAtlantis, given without any rigid conditions as to the moral elevation, purity, and unselfishness of the candidates. Those who wereintellectually qualified were taught, just as men are taught ordinaryscience in modern days. The publicity now so imperiously demanded wasthen given, with the result that men became giants in knowledge but alsogiants in evil, till the earth groaned under her oppressors and the cryof a trampled humanity rang through the worlds. Then came thedestruction of Atlantis, the whelming of that vast continent beneath thewaters of the ocean, some particulars of which are given in the HebrewScriptures in the story of the Noachian deluge, and in the HinduScriptures of the further East in the story of Vaivasvata Manu. Since that experience of the danger of allowing unpurified hands tograsp the knowledge which is power, the great Teachers have imposedrigid conditions as regards purity, unselfishness, and self-control onall candidates for such instruction. They distinctly refuse to impartknowledge of this kind to any who will not consent to a rigiddiscipline, intended to eliminate separateness of feeling and interest. They measure the moral strength of the candidate even more than hisintellectual development, for the teaching itself will develope theintellect while it puts a strain on the moral nature. Far better thatthe Great Ones should be assailed by the ignorant for Their supposedselfishness in withholding knowledge, than that They should precipitatethe world into another Atlantean catastrophe. So much of theory we lay down as bearing on the necessity of a hiddenside in all religions. When from theory we turn to facts, we naturallyask: Has this hidden side existed in the past, forming a part of thereligions of the world? The answer must be an immediate and unhesitatingaffirmative; every great religion has claimed to possess a hiddenteaching, and has declared that it is the repository of theoreticalmystic, and further of practical mystic, or occult, knowledge. Themystic explanation of popular teaching was public, and expounded thelatter as an allegory, giving to crude and irrational statements andstories a meaning which the intellect could accept. Behind thistheoretical mysticism, as it was behind the popular, there existedfurther the practical mysticism, a hidden spiritual teaching, which wasonly imparted under definite conditions, conditions known and published, that must be fulfilled by every candidate. S. Clement of Alexandriamentions this division of the Mysteries. After purification, he says, "are the Minor Mysteries, which have some foundation of instruction andof preliminary preparation for what is to come after; and the GreatMysteries, in which nothing remains to be learned of the universe, butonly to contemplate and comprehend nature and things. "[9] This position cannot be controverted as regards the ancient religions. The Mysteries of Egypt were the glory of that ancient land, and thenoblest sons of Greece, such as Plato, went to Saïs and to Thebes to beinitiated by Egyptian Teachers of Wisdom. The Mithraic Mysteries of thePersians, the Orphic and Bacchic Mysteries and the later Eleusiniansemi-Mysteries of the Greeks, the Mysteries of Samothrace, Scythia, Chaldea, are familiar in name, at least, as household words. Even in theextremely diluted form of the Eleusinian Mysteries, their value is mosthighly praised by the most eminent men of Greece, as Pindar, Sophocles, Isocrates, Plutarch, and Plato. Especially were they regarded as usefulwith regard to _post-mortem_ existence, as the Initiated learned thatwhich ensured his future happiness. Sopater further alleged thatInitiation established a kinship of the soul with the divine Nature, andin the exoteric Hymn to Demeter covert references are made to the holychild, Iacchus, and to his death and resurrection, as dealt with in theMysteries. [10] From Iamblichus, the great theurgist of the third and fourth centuriesA. D. , much may be learned as to the object of the Mysteries. Theurgy wasmagic, "the last part of the sacerdotal science, "[11] and was practisedin the Greater Mysteries, to evoke the appearance of superior Beings. The theory on which these Mysteries were based may be very briefly thusstated: There is ONE, prior to all beings, immovable, abiding in thesolitude of His own unity. From THAT arises the Supreme God, theSelf-begotten, the Good, the Source of all things, the Root, the God ofGods, the First Cause, unfolding Himself into Light. [12] From Himsprings the Intelligible World, or ideal universe, the Universal Mind, the _Nous_ and the incorporeal or intelligible Gods belong to this. From this the World-Soul, to which belong the "divine intellectual formswhich are present with the visible bodies of the Gods. "[13] Then comevarious hierarchies of superhuman beings, Archangels, Archons (Rulers)or Cosmocratores, Angels, Daimons, &c. Man is a being of a lower order, allied to these in his nature, and is capable of knowing them; thisknowledge was achieved in the Mysteries, and it led to union withGod. [14] In the Mysteries these doctrines are expounded, "theprogression from, and the regression of all things to, the One, and theentire domination of the One, "[15] and, further, these different Beingswere evoked, and appeared, sometimes to teach, sometimes, by Their merepresence, to elevate and purify. "The Gods, " says Iamblichus, "beingbenevolent and propitious, impart their light to theurgists in unenvyingabundance, calling upwards their souls to themselves, procuring them aunion with themselves, and accustoming them, while they are yet in body, to be separated from bodies, and to be led round to their eternal andintelligible principle. "[16] For "the soul having a twofold life, onebeing in conjunction with body, but the other being separate from allbody, "[17] it is most necessary to learn to separate it from the body, that thus it may unite itself with the Gods by its intellectual anddivine part, and learn the genuine principles of knowledge, and thetruths of the intelligible world. [18] "The presence of the Gods, indeed, imparts to us health of body, virtue of soul, purity of intellect, and, in one word, elevates everything in us to its proper nature. It exhibitsthat which is not body as body to the eyes of the soul, through those ofthe body. "[19] When the Gods appear, the soul receives "a liberationfrom the passions, a transcendent perfection, and an energy entirelymore excellent, and participates of divine love and an immense joy. "[20]By this we gain a divine life, and are rendered in reality divine. [21] The culminating point of the Mysteries was when the Initiate became aGod, whether by union with a divine Being outside himself, or by therealisation of the divine Self within him. This was termed ecstasy, andwas a state of what the Indian Yogî would term high Samâdhi, the grossbody being entranced and the freed soul effecting its own union with theGreat One. This "ecstasy is not a faculty properly so called, it is astate of the soul, which transforms it in such a way that it thenperceives what was previously hidden from it. The state will not bepermanent until our union with God is irrevocable; here, in earth life, ecstasy is but a flash. .. . Man can cease to become man, and become God;but man cannot be God and man at the same time. "[22] Plotinus statesthat he had reached this state "but three times as yet. " So also Proclus taught that the one salvation of the soul was to returnto her intellectual form, and thus escape from the "circle ofgeneration, from abundant wanderings, " and reach true Being, "to theuniform and simple energy of the period of sameness, instead of theabundantly wandering motion of the period which is characterised bydifference. " This is the life sought by those initiated by Orpheus intothe Mysteries of Bacchus and Proserpine, and this is the result of thepractice of the purificatory, or cathartic, virtues. [23] These virtues were necessary for the Greater Mysteries, as theyconcerned the purifying of the subtle body, in which the soul workedwhen out of the gross body. The political or practical virtues belongedto man's ordinary life, and were required to some extent before he couldbe a candidate even for such a School as is described below. Then camethe cathartic virtues, by which the subtle body, that of the emotionsand lower mind, was purified; thirdly the intellectual, belonging to theAugöeides, or the light-form of the intellect; fourthly thecontemplative, or paradigmatic, by which union with God was realised. Porphyry writes: "He who energises according to the practical virtues isa worthy man; but he who energises according to the purifying virtues isan angelic man, or is also a good daimon. He who energises according tothe intellectual virtues alone is a God; but he who energises accordingto the paradigmatic virtues is the Father of the Gods. "[24] Much instruction was also given in the Mysteries by the archangelic andother hierarchies, and Pythagoras, the great teacher who was initiatedin India, and who gave "the knowledge of things that are" to his pledgeddisciples, is said to have possessed such a knowledge of music that hecould use it for the controlling of men's wildest passions, and theilluminating of their minds. Of this, instances are given by Iamblichusin his _Life of Pythagoras_. It seems probable that the title ofTheodidaktos, given to Ammonius Saccas, the master of Plotinus, referredless to the sublimity of his teachings than to this divine instructionreceived by him in the Mysteries. Some of the symbols used are explained by Iamblichus, [25] who bidsPorphyry remove from his thought the image of the thing symbolised andreach its intellectual meaning. Thus "mire" meant everything that wasbodily and material; the "God sitting above the lotus" signified thatGod transcended both the mire and the intellect, symbolised by thelotus, and was established in Himself, being seated. If "sailing in aship, " His rule over the world was pictured. And so on. [26] On this useof symbols Proclus remarks that "the Orphic method aimed at revealingdivine things by means of symbols, a method common to all writers ofdivine lore. "[27] The Pythagorean School in Magna Græcia was closed at the end of thesixth century B. C. , owing to the persecution of the civil power, butother communities existed, keeping up the sacred tradition. [28] Meadstates that Plato intellectualised it, in order to protect it from anincreasing profanation, and the Eleusinian rites preserved some of itsforms, having lost its substance. The Neo-Platonists inherited fromPythagoras and Plato, and their works should be studied by those whowould realise something of the grandeur and the beauty preserved forthe world in the Mysteries. The Pythagorean School itself may serve as a type of the disciplineenforced. On this Mead gives many interesting details, [29] and remarks:"The authors of antiquity are agreed that this discipline had succeededin producing the highest examples, not only of the purest chastity andsentiment, but also a simplicity of manners, a delicacy, and a taste forserious pursuits which was unparalleled. This is admitted even byChristian writers. " The School had outer disciples, leading the familyand social life, and the above quotation refers to these. In the innerSchool were three degrees--the first of Hearers, who studied for twoyears in silence, doing their best to master the teachings; the seconddegree was of Mathematici, wherein were taught geometry and music, thenature of number, form, colour, and sound; the third degree was ofPhysici, who mastered cosmogony and metaphysics. This led up to the trueMysteries. Candidates for the School must be "of an unblemishedreputation and of a contented disposition. " The close identity between the methods and aims pursued in these variousMysteries and those of Yoga in India is patent to the most superficialobserver. It is not, however, necessary to suppose that the nations ofantiquity drew from India; all alike drew from the one source, the GrandLodge of Central Asia, which sent out its Initiates to every land. Theyall taught the same doctrines, and pursued the same methods, leading tothe same ends. But there was much intercommunication between theInitiates of all nations, and there was a common language and a commonsymbolism. Thus Pythagoras journeyed among the Indians, and received inIndia a high Initiation, and Apollonius of Tyana later followed in hissteps. Quite Indian in phrase as well as thought were the dying words ofPlotinus: "Now I seek to lead back the Self within me to theAll-self. "[30] Among the Hindus the duty of teaching the supreme knowledge only to theworthy was strictly insisted on. "The deepest mystery of the end ofknowledge . .. Is not to be declared to one who is not a son or a pupil, and who is not tranquil in mind. "[31] So again, after a sketch of Yogawe read: "Stand up! awake! having found the Great Ones, listen! The roadis as difficult to tread as the sharp edge of a razor. Thus say thewise. "[32] The Teacher is needed, for written teaching alone does notsuffice. The "end of knowledge" is to know God--not only to believe; tobecome one with God--not only to worship afar off. Man must know thereality of the divine Existence, and then know--not only vaguely believeand hope--that his own innermost Self is one with God, and that the aimof life is to realise that unity. Unless religion can guide a man tothat realisation, it is but "as sounding brass or a tinklingcymbal. "[33] So also it was asserted that man should learn to leave the gross body:"Let a man with firmness separate it [the soul] from his own body, as agrass-stalk from its sheath. "[34] And it was written! "In the goldenhighest sheath dwells the stainless, changeless Brahman; It is theradiant white Light of lights, known to the knowers of the Self. "[35]"When the seer sees the golden-coloured Creator, the Lord, the Spirit, whose womb is Brahman, then, having thrown away merit and demerit, stainless, the wise one reaches the highest union. "[36] Nor were the Hebrews without their secret knowledge and their Schools ofInitiation. The company of prophets at Naioth presided over bySamuel[37] formed such a School, and the oral teaching was handed downby them. Similar Schools existed at Bethel and Jericho, [38] and inCruden's _Concordance_[39] there is the following interesting note: "TheSchools or Colleges of the prophets are the first [schools] of which wehave any account in Scripture; where the children of the prophets, thatis, their disciples, lived in the exercises of a retired and austerelife, in study and meditation, and reading of the law of God. .. . TheseSchools, or Societies, of the prophets were succeeded by theSynagogues. " The _Kabbala_, which contains the semi-public teaching, is, as it now stands, a modern compilation, part of it being the work ofRabbi Moses de Leon, who died A. D. 1305. It consists of five books, Bahir, Zohar, Sepher Sephiroth, Sepher Yetzirah, and Asch Metzareth, andis asserted to have been transmitted orally from very ancient times--asantiquity is reckoned historically. Dr. Wynn Westcott says that "Hebrewtradition assigns the oldest parts of the Zohar to a date antecedent tothe building of the second Temple;" and Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai is saidto have written down some of it in the first century A. D. The SepherYetzirah is spoken of by Saadjah Gaon, who died A. D. 940, as "veryancient. "[40] Some portions of the ancient oral teaching have beenincorporated in the _Kabbala_ as it now stands, but the true archaicwisdom of the Hebrews remains in the guardianship of a few of the truesons of Israel. Brief as is this outline, it is sufficient to show the existence of ahidden side in the religions of the world outside Christianity, and wemay now examine the question whether Christianity was an exception tothis universal rule. CHAPTER II. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY. _(a)_ THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES. Having seen that the religions of the past claimed with one voice tohave a hidden side, to be custodians of "Mysteries, " and that this claimwas endorsed by the seeking of initiation by the greatest men, we mustnow ascertain whether Christianity stands outside this circle ofreligions, and alone is without a Gnosis, offering to the world only asimple faith and not a profound knowledge. Were it so, it would indeedbe a sad and lamentable fact, proving Christianity to be intended for aclass only, and not for all types of human beings. But that it is notso, we shall be able to prove beyond the possibility of rational doubt. And that proof is the thing which Christendom at this time most sorelyneeds, for the very flower of Christendom is perishing for lack ofknowledge. If the esoteric teaching can be re-established and winpatient and earnest students, it will not be long before the occult isalso restored. Disciples of the Lesser Mysteries will become candidatesfor the Greater, and with the regaining of knowledge will come again theauthority of teaching. And truly the need is great. For, looking at theworld around us, we find that religion in the West is suffering from thevery difficulty that theoretically we should expect to find. Christianity, having lost its mystic and esoteric teaching, is losingits hold on a large number of the more highly educated, and the partialrevival during the past few years is co-incident with there-introduction of some mystic teaching. It is patent to every studentof the closing forty years of the last century, that crowds ofthoughtful and moral people have slipped away from the churches, becausethe teachings they received there outraged their intelligence andshocked their moral sense. It is idle to pretend that the wide-spreadagnosticism of this period had its root either in lack of morality or indeliberate crookedness of mind. Everyone who carefully studies thephenomena presented will admit that men of strong intellect have beendriven out of Christianity by the crudity of the religious ideas setbefore them, the contradictions in the authoritative teachings, theviews as to God, man, and the universe that no trained intelligencecould possibly admit. Nor can it be said that any kind of moraldegradation lay at the root of the revolt against the dogmas of theChurch. The rebels were not too bad for their religion; on the contrary, it was the religion that was too bad for them. The rebellion againstpopular Christianity was due to the awakening and the growth ofconscience; it was the conscience that revolted, as well as theintelligence, against teachings dishonouring to God and man alike, thatrepresented God as a tyrant, and man as essentially evil, gainingsalvation by slavish submission. The reason for this revolt lay in the gradual descent of Christianteaching into so-called simplicity, so that the most ignorant might beable to grasp it. Protestant religionists asserted loudly that nothingought to be preached save that which every one could grasp, that theglory of the Gospel lay in its simplicity, and that the child and theunlearned ought to be able to understand and apply it to life. Trueenough, if by this it were meant that there are some religious truthsthat all can grasp, and that a religion fails if it leaves the lowest, the most ignorant, the most dull, outside the pale of its elevatinginfluence. But false, utterly false, if by this it be meant thatreligion has no truths that the ignorant cannot understand, that it isso poor and limited a thing that it has nothing to teach which is abovethe thought of the unintelligent or above the moral purview of thedegraded. False, fatally false, if such be the meaning; for as that viewspreads, occupying the pulpits and being sounded in the churches, manynoble men and women, whose hearts are half-broken as they sever thelinks that bind them to their early faith, withdraw from the churches, and leave their places to be filled by the hypocritical and theignorant. They pass either into a state of passive agnosticism, or--ifthey be young and enthusiastic--into a condition of active aggression, not believing that that can be the highest which outrages alikeintellect and conscience, and preferring the honesty of open unbelief tothe drugging of the intellect and the conscience at the bidding of anauthority in which they recognise nothing that is divine. In thus studying the thought of our time we see that the question of ahidden teaching in connection with Christianity becomes of vitalimportance. Is Christianity to survive as _the_ religion of the West? Isit to live through the centuries of the future, and to continue to playa part in moulding the thought of the evolving western races? If it isto live, it must regain the knowledge it has lost, and again have itsmystic and its occult teachings; it must again stand forth as anauthoritative teacher of spiritual verities, clothed with the onlyauthority worth anything, the authority of knowledge. If these teachingsbe regained, their influence will soon be seen in wider and deeperviews of truth; dogmas, which now seem like mere shells and fetters, shall again be seen to be partial presentments of fundamental realities. First, Esoteric Christianity will reappear in the "Holy Place, " in theTemple, so that all who are capable of receiving it may follow its linesof published thought; and secondly, Occult Christianity will againdescend into the Adytum, dwelling behind the Veil which guards the "Holyof Holies, " into which only the Initiate may enter. Then again willoccult teaching be within the reach of those who qualify themselves toreceive it, according to the ancient rules, those who are willing inmodern days to meet the ancient demands, made on all those who wouldfain know the reality and truth of spiritual things. Once again we turn our eyes to history, to see whether Christianity wasunique among religions in having no inner teaching, or whether itresembled all others in possessing this hidden treasure. Such a questionis a matter of evidence, not of theory, and must be decided by theauthority of the existing documents and not by the mere _ipse dixit_ ofmodern Christians. As a matter of fact both the "New Testament" and the writings of theearly Church make the same declarations as to the possession by theChurch of such teachings, and we learn from these the fact of theexistence of Mysteries--called the Mysteries of Jesus, or the Mystery ofthe Kingdom--the conditions imposed on candidates, something of thegeneral nature of the teachings given, and other details. Certainpassages in the "New Testament" would remain entirely obscure, if itwere not for the light thrown on them by the definite statements of theFathers and Bishops of the Church, but in that light they became clearand intelligible. It would indeed have been strange had it been otherwise when we considerthe lines of religious thought which influenced primitive Christianity. Allied to the Hebrews, the Persians, and the Greeks, tinged by the olderfaiths of India, deeply coloured by Syrian and Egyptian thought, thislater branch of the great religious stem could not do other than againre-affirm the ancient traditions, and place in the grasp of westernraces the full treasure of the ancient teaching. "The faith oncedelivered to the saints" would indeed have been shorn of its chief valueif, when delivered to the West, the pearl of esoteric teaching had beenwithheld. The first evidence to be examined is that of the "New Testament. " Forour purpose we may put aside all the vexed questions of differentreadings and different authors, that can only be decided by scholars. Critical scholarship has much to say on the age of MSS. , on theauthenticity of documents, and so on. But we need not concern ourselveswith these. We may accept the canonical Scriptures, as showing what wasbelieved in the early Church as to the teaching of the Christ and of Hisimmediate followers, and see what they say as to the existence of asecret teaching given only to the few. Having seen the words put intothe mouth of Jesus Himself, and regarded by the Church as of supremeauthority, we will look at the writings of the great apostle S. Paul;then we will consider the statements made by those who inherited theapostolic tradition and guided the Church during the first centuriesA. D. Along this unbroken line of tradition and written testimony theproposition that Christianity had a hidden side can be established. Weshall further find that the Lesser Mysteries of mystic interpretationcan be traced through the centuries to the beginning of the 19thcentury, and that though there were no Schools of Mysticism recognisedas preparatory to Initiation, after the disappearance of the Mysteries, yet great Mystics, from time to time, reached the lower stages ofexstasy, by their own sustained efforts, aided doubtless by invisibleTeachers. The words of the Master Himself are clear and definite, and were, as weshall see, quoted by Origen as referring to the secret teachingpreserved in the Church. "And when he was alone, they that were aboutHim with the twelve asked of Him the parable. And He said unto them, 'Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, butunto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. '" Andlater: "With many such parables spake He the word unto them, as theywere able to hear it. But without a parable spake He not unto them; andwhen they were alone He expounded all things to His disciples. "[41] Markthe significant words, "when they were alone, " and the phrase, "themthat are without. " So also in the version of S. Matthew: "Jesus sent themultitude away, and went into the house; and His disciples came untoHim. " These teachings given "in the house, " the innermost meanings ofHis instructions, were alleged to be handed on from teacher to teacher. The Gospel gives, it will be noted, the allegorical mystic explanation, that which we have called The Lesser Mysteries, but the deeper meaningwas said to be given only to the Initiates. Again, Jesus tells even His apostles: "I have yet many things to say toyou, but ye cannot bear them now. "[42] Some of them were probably saidafter His death, when He was seen of His disciples, "speaking of thethings pertaining to the kingdom of God. "[43] None of these have beenpublicly recorded, but who can believe that they were neglected orforgotten, and were not handed down as a priceless possession? There wasa tradition in the Church that He visited His apostles for aconsiderable period after His death, for the sake of giving theminstruction--a fact that will be referred to later--and in the famousGnostic treatise, the _Pistis Sophia_, we read: "It came to pass, whenJesus had risen from the dead, that He passed eleven years speaking withHis disciples and instructing them. "[44] Then there is the phrase, whichmany would fain soften and explain away: "Give not that which is holy tothe dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine"[45]--a precept whichis of general application indeed, but was considered by the earlyChurch to refer to the secret teachings. It should be remembered thatthe words had not the same harshness of sound in the ancient days asthey have now; for the words "dogs"--like "the vulgar, " "theprofane"--was applied by those within a certain circle to all who wereoutside its pale, whether by a society or association, or by anation--as by the Jews to all Gentiles. [46] It was sometimes used todesignate those who were outside the circle of Initiates, and we find itemployed in that sense in the early Church; those who, not having beeninitiated into the Mysteries, were regarded as being outside "thekingdom of God, " or "the spiritual Israel, " had this name applied tothem. There were several names, exclusive of the term "The Mystery, " or "TheMysteries, " used to designate the sacred circle of the Initiates orconnected with Initiation: "The Kingdom, " "The Kingdom of God, " "TheKingdom of Heaven, " "The Narrow Path, " "The Strait Gate, " "ThePerfect, " "The Saved, " "Life Eternal, " "Life, " "The Second Birth, " "ALittle One, " "A Little Child. " The meaning is made plain by the use ofthese words in early Christian writings, and in some cases even outsidethe Christian pale. Thus the term, "The Perfect, " was used by theEssenes, who had three orders in their communities: the Neophytes, theBrethren, and the Perfect--the latter being Initiates; and it isemployed generally in that sense in old writings. "The Little Child" wasthe ordinary name for a candidate just initiated, _i. E. _, who had justtaken his "second birth. " When we know this use, many obscure and otherwise harsh passages becomeintelligible. "Then said one unto Him: Lord, are there few that besaved? And He said unto them: Strive to enter in at the strait gate; formany, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able. "[47]If this be applied in the ordinary Protestant way to salvation fromeverlasting hell-fire, the statement becomes incredible, shocking. NoSaviour of the world can be supposed to assert that many will seek toavoid hell and enter heaven, but will not be able to do so. But asapplied to the narrow gateway of Initiation and to salvation fromrebirth, it is perfectly true and natural. So again: "Enter ye in at thestrait gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth todestruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait isthe gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life; and few there bethat find it. "[48] The warning which immediately follows against thefalse prophets, the teachers of the dark Mysteries, is most apposite inthis connection. No student can miss the familiar ring of these wordsused in this same sense in other writings. The "ancient narrow way" isfamiliar to all; the path "difficult to tread as the sharp edge of arazor, "[49] already mentioned; the going "from death to death" of thosewho follow the flower-strewn path of desires, who do not know God; forthose men only become immortal and escape from the wide mouth of death, from ever repeated destruction, who have quitted all desires. [50] Theallusion to death is, of course, to the repeated births of the soul intogross material existence, regarded always as "death" compared to the"life" of the higher and subtler worlds. This "Strait Gate" was the gateway of Initiation, and through it acandidate entered "The Kingdom. " And it ever has been, and must be, truethat only a few can enter that gateway, though myriads--an exceedingly"great multitude, which no man could number, "[51] not a few--enter intothe happiness of the heaven-world. So also spoke another great Teacher, nearly three thousand years earlier: "Among thousands of men scarce onestriveth for perfection; of the successful strivers scarce one knowethme in essence. "[52] For the Initiates are few in each generation, theflower of humanity; but no gloomy sentence of everlasting woe ispronounced in this statement on the vast majority of the human race. The saved are, as Proclus taught, [53] those who escape from the circleof generation, within which humanity is bound. In this connection we may recall the story of the young man who came toJesus, and, addressing Him as "Good Master, " asked how he might wineternal life--the well-recognised liberation from rebirth by knowledgeof God. [54] His first answer was the regular exoteric precept: "Keep thecommandments. " But when the young man answered: "All these things have Ikept from my youth up;" then, to that conscience free from all knowledgeof transgression, came the answer of the true Teacher: "If thou wilt beperfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thoushalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me. " "If thou wilt beperfect, " be a member of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience must beembraced. And then to His own disciples Jesus explains that a rich mancan hardly enter the Kingdom of Heaven, such entrance being moredifficult than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle; with mensuch entrance could not be, with God all things were possible. [55] OnlyGod in man can pass that barrier. This text has been variously explained away, it being obviouslyimpossible to take it in its surface meaning, that a rich man cannotenter a post-mortem state of happiness. Into that state the rich man mayenter as well as the poor, and the universal practice of Christiansshows that they do not for one moment believe that riches imperil theirhappiness after death. But if the real meaning of the Kingdom of Heavenbe taken, we have the expression of a simple and direct fact. For thatknowledge of God which is Eternal Life[56] cannot be gained tilleverything earthly is surrendered, cannot be learned until everythinghas been sacrificed. The man must give up not only earthly wealth, whichhenceforth may only pass through his hands as steward, but he must giveup his inner wealth as well, so far as he holds it as his own againstthe world; until he is stripped naked he cannot pass the narrow gateway. Such has ever been a condition of Initiation, and "poverty, obedience, chastity, " has been the vow of the candidate. The "second birth" is another well-recognised term for Initiation; evennow in India the higher castes are called "twice-born, " and the ceremonythat makes them twice-born is a ceremony of Initiation--mere husk truly, in these modern days, but the "pattern of things in the heavens. "[57]When Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, He states that "Except a man beborn again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, " and this birth is spokenof as that "of water and the Spirit;"[58] this is the first Initiation;a later one is that of "the Holy Ghost and fire, "[59] the baptism of theInitiate in his manhood, as the first is that of birth, which welcomeshim as "the Little Child" entering the Kingdom. [60] How thoroughly thisimagery was familiar among the mystic of the Jews is shown by thesurprise evinced by Jesus when Nicodemus stumbled over His mysticphraseology: "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not thesethings?"[61] Another precept of Jesus which remains as "a hard saying" to hisfollowers is: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is inheaven is perfect. "[62] The ordinary Christian knows that he cannotpossibly obey this command; full of ordinary human frailties andweaknesses, how can he become perfect as God is perfect? Seeing theimpossibility of the achievement set before him, he quietly puts itaside, and thinks no more about it. But seen as the crowning effort ofmany lives of steady improvement, as the triumph of the God within usover the lower nature, it comes within calculable distance, and werecall the words of Porphyry, how the man who achieves "the paradigmaticvirtues is the Father of the Gods, "[63] and that in the Mysteries thesevirtues were acquired. S. Paul follows in the footsteps of his Master, and speaks in exactlythe same sense, but, as might be expected from his organising work inthe Church, with greater explicitness and clearness. The student shouldread with attention chapters ii. And iii. , and verse 1 of chapter iv. Ofthe First Epistle to the Corinthians, remembering, as he reads, that thewords are addressed to baptised and communicant members of the Church, full members from the modern standpoint, although described as babes andcarnal by the Apostle. They were not catechumens or neophytes, but menand women who were in complete possession of all the privileges andresponsibilities of Church membership, recognised by the Apostle asbeing separate from the world, and expected not to behave as men of theworld. They were, in fact, in possession of all that the modern Churchgives to its members. Let us summarise the Apostle's words: "I came to you bearing the divine testimony, not alluring you with humanwisdom but with the power of the Spirit. Truly 'we speak wisdom amongthem that are perfect, ' but it is no human wisdom. 'We speak the wisdomof God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained beforethe world' began, and which none even of the princes of this world know. The things of that wisdom are beyond men's thinking, 'but God hathrevealed them unto us by his Spirit . .. The deep things of God, ' 'whichthe Holy Ghost teacheth. '[64] These are spiritual things, to bediscerned only by the spiritual man, in whom is the mind of Christ. 'AndI, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as untocarnal, even as unto babes in Christ. .. . Ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal. ' 'As a wisemaster-builder[65] I have laid the foundation, ' and 'ye are the templeof God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. ' 'Let a man so accountof us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the Mysteries ofGod. '" Can any one read this passage--and all that has been done in the summaryis to bring out the salient points--without recognising the fact thatthe Apostle possessed a divine wisdom given in the Mysteries, that hisCorinthian followers were not yet able to receive? And note therecurring technical terms: the "wisdom, " the "wisdom of God in amystery, " the "hidden wisdom, " known only to the "spiritual" man, spokenof only among the "perfect, " wisdom from which the non-"spiritual, " the"babes in Christ, " the "carnal, " were excluded, known to the "wisemaster-builder, " the "steward of the Mysteries of God. " Again and again he refers to these Mysteries. Writing to the EphesianChristians he says that "by revelation, " by the unveiling, had been"made known unto me the Mystery, " and hence his "knowledge in theMystery of Christ"; all might know of the "fellowship of theMystery. "[66] Of this Mystery, he repeated to the Colossians, he was"made a minister, " "the Mystery which hath been hid from ages and fromgenerations, but now is made manifest to His saints"; not to the world, nor even to Christians, but only to the Holy Ones. To them was unveiled"the glory of this Mystery"; and what was it? "Christ _in you_"--asignificant phrase, which we shall see, in a moment, belonged to thelife of the Initiate; thus ultimately must every man learn the wisdom, and become "perfect in Christ Jesus. "[67] These Colossians he bids pray"that God would open to us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery ofChrist, "[68] a passage to which S. Clement refers as one in which theapostle "clearly reveals that knowledge belongs not to all. "[69] Soalso he writes to his loved Timothy, bidding him select his deacons fromthose who hold "the Mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, " thatgreat "Mystery of Godliness, " that he had learned, [70] knowledge ofwhich was necessary for the teachers of the Church. Now S. Timothy holds an important position, as representing the nextgeneration of Christian teachers. He was a pupil of S. Paul, and wasappointed by him to guide and rule a portion of the Church. He had been, we learn, initiated into the Mysteries by S. Paul himself, and referenceis made to this, the technical phrases once more serving as a clue. "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to theprophecies which went before on thee, "[71] the solemn benediction of theInitiator, who admitted the candidate; but not alone was the Initiatorpresent: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee byprophecy, by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, "[72] of theElder Brothers. And he reminds him to lay hold of that "eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good professionbefore many witnesses"[73]--the vow of the new Initiate, pledged in thepresence of the Elder Brothers, and of the assembly of Initiates. Theknowledge then given was the sacred charge of which S. Paul cries out soforcibly: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thytrust"[74]--not the knowledge commonly possessed by Christians, as towhich no special obligation lay upon S. Timothy, but the sacred depositcommitted to his trust as an Initiate, and essential to the welfare ofthe Church. S. Paul later recurs again to this, laying stress on thesupreme importance of the matter in a way that would be exaggerated hadthe knowledge been the common property of Christian men: "Hold fast theform of sound words which thou hast heard of me. .. . That good thingwhich was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth inus"[75]--as serious an adjuration as human lips could frame. Further, it was his duty to provide for the due transmission of this sacreddeposit, that it might be handed on to the future, and the Church mightnever be left without teachers: "The things that thou hast heard of meamong many witnesses"--the sacred oral teachings given in the assemblyof Initiates, who bore witness to the accuracy of the transmission--"thesame commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach othersalso. "[76] The knowledge--or, if the phrase be preferred, the supposition--that theChurch possessed these hidden teachings throws a flood of light on thescattered remarks made by S. Paul about himself, and when they aregathered together, we have an outline of the evolution of the Initiate. S. Paul asserts that though he was already among the perfect, theinitiated--for he says: "Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, bethus minded"--he had not yet "attained, " was indeed not yet wholly"perfect, " for he had not yet won Christ, he had not yet reached the"high calling of God in Christ, " "the power of His resurrection, andthe fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto Hisdeath;" and he was striving, he says, "if by any means I might attainunto the resurrection of the dead. "[77] For this was the Initiation thatliberated, that made the Initiate the Perfect Master, the Risen Christ, freeing Him finally from the "dead, " from the humanity within the circleof generation, from the bonds that fettered the soul to gross matter. Here again we have a number of technical terms, and even the surfacereader should realise that the "resurrection of the dead" here spoken ofcannot be the ordinary resurrection of the modern Christian, supposed tobe inevitable for all men, and therefore obviously not requiring anyspecial struggle on the part of any one to attain to it. In fact thevery word "attain" would be out of place in referring to a universal andinevitable human experience. S. Paul could not avoid _that_resurrection, according to the modern Christian view. What then was theresurrection to attain which he was making such strenuous efforts? Oncemore the only answer comes from the Mysteries. In them the Initiateapproaching the Initiation that liberated from the cycle of rebirth, thecircle of generation, was called "the suffering Christ;" he shared thesufferings of the Saviour of the world, was crucified mystically, "madeconformable to His death, " and then attained the resurrection, thefellowship of the glorified Christ, and, after, that death had over himno power. [78] This was "the prize" towards which the great Apostle waspressing, and he urged "as many as be perfect, " _not the ordinarybeliever_, thus also to strive. Let them not be content with what theyhad gained, but still press onwards. This resemblance of the Initiate to the Christ is, indeed, the verygroundwork of the Greater Mysteries, as we shall see more in detail whenwe study "The Mystical Christ. " The Initiate was no longer to look onChrist as outside himself: "Though we have known Christ after theflesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. "[79] The ordinary believer had "put on Christ;" "as many of you as have beenbaptised into Christ have put on Christ. "[80] Then they were the "babesin Christ" to whom reference has already been made, and Christ was theSaviour to whom they looked for help, knowing Him "after the flesh. " Butwhen they had conquered the lower nature and were no longer "carnal, "then they were to enter on a higher path, and were themselves to becomeChrist. This which he himself had already reached, was the longing ofthe Apostle for his followers: "My little children, of whom I travail inbirth again until Christ be formed _in you_. "[81] Already he was theirspiritual father, having "begotten you through the gospel. "[82] But now"again" he was as a parent, as their mother to bring them to the secondbirth. Then the infant Christ, the Holy Child, was born in the soul, "the hidden man of the heart;"[83] the Initiate thus became that"Little Child"; henceforth he was to live out in his own person the lifeof the Christ, until he became the "perfect man, " growing "unto themeasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. "[84] Then he, as S. Paul was doing, filled up the sufferings of Christ in his own flesh, [85]and always bore "about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, "[86] sothat he could truly say: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless Ilive; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. "[87] Thus was the Apostlehimself suffering; thus he describes himself. And when the struggle isover, how different is the calm tone of triumph from the strained effortof the earlier years: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of mydeparture is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished mycourse, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me acrown of righteousness. "[88] This was the crown given to "him thatovercometh, " of whom it is said by the ascended Christ: "I will make hima pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go no more out. "[89] Forafter the "Resurrection" the Initiate has become the Perfect Man, theMaster, and He goes out no more from the Temple, but from it serves andguides the worlds. It may be well to point out, ere closing this chapter, that S. Paulhimself sanctions the use of the theoretical mystic teaching inexplaining the historical events recorded in the Scriptures. The historytherein written is not regarded by him as a mere record of facts, whichoccurred on the physical plane. A true mystic, he saw in the physicalevents the shadows of the universal truths ever unfolding in higher andinner worlds, and knew that the events selected for preservation inoccult writings were such as were typical, the explanation of whichwould subserve human instruction. Thus he takes the story of Abraham, Sarai, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac, and saying, "which things are anallegory, " he proceeds to give the mystical interpretation. [90]Referring to the escape of the Israelites from Egypt, he speaks of theRed Sea as a baptism, of the manna and the water as spiritual meat andspiritual drink, of the rock from which the water flowed as Christ. [91]He sees the great mystery of the union of Christ and His Church in thehuman relation of husband and wife, and speaks of Christians as theflesh and the bones of the body of Christ. [92] The writer of the Epistleto the Hebrews allegorises the whole Jewish system of worship. In theTemple he sees a pattern of the heavenly Temple, in the High Priest hesees Christ, in the sacrifices the offering of the spotless Son; thepriests of the Temple are but "the example and shadow of heavenlythings, " of the heavenly priesthood serving in "the true tabernacle. " Amost elaborate allegory is thus worked out in chapters iii. -x. , and thewriter alleges that the Holy Ghost thus signified the deeper meaning;all was "a figure for the time. " In this view of the sacred writings, it is not alleged that the eventsrecorded did not take place, but only that their physical happening wasa matter of minor importance. And such explanation is the unveiling ofthe Lesser Mysteries, the mystic teaching which is permitted to be givento the world. It is not, as many think, a mere play of the imagination, but is the outcome of a true intuition, seeing the patterns in theheavens, and not only the shadows cast by them on the screen of earthlytime. CHAPTER III. THE HIDDEN SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY(_concluded_). (_(b)_) THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH. While it may be that some would be willing to admit the possession bythe Apostles and their immediate successors of a deeper knowledge ofspiritual things than was current among the masses of the believersaround them, few will probably be willing to take the next step, and, leaving that charmed circle, accept as the depository of their sacredlearning the Mysteries of the Early Church. Yet we have S. Paulproviding for the transmission of the unwritten teaching, himselfinitiating S. Timothy, and instructing S. Timothy to initiate others inhis turn, who should again hand it on to yet others. We thus see theprovision of four successive generations of teachers, spoken of in theScriptures themselves, and these would far more than overlap the writersof the Early Church, who bear witness to the existence of the Mysteries. For among these are pupils of the Apostles themselves, though the mostdefinite statements belong to those removed from the Apostles by oneintermediate teacher. Now, as soon as we begin to study the writings ofthe Early Church, we are met by the facts that there are allusions whichare only intelligible by the existence of the Mysteries, and thenstatements that the Mysteries are existing. This might, of course, havebeen expected, seeing the point at which the New Testament leaves thematter, but it is satisfactory to find the facts answer to theexpectation. The first witnesses are those called the Apostolic Fathers, thedisciples of the Apostles; but very little of their writings, and thatdisputed, remains. Not being written controversially, the statements arenot as categorical as those of the later writers. Their letters are forthe encouragement of the believers. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, andfellow-disciple with Ignatius of S. John, [93] expresses a hope that hiscorrespondents are "well versed in the sacred Scriptures and thatnothing is hid from you; but to me this privilege is not yetgranted"[94]--writing, apparently, before reaching full Initiation. Barnabas speaks of communicating "some portion of what I have myselfreceived, "[95] and after expounding the Law mystically, declares that"we then, rightly understanding His commandments, explain them as theLord intended. "[96] Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, a disciple of S. John, [97] speaks of himself as "not yet perfect in Jesus Christ. For Inow begin to be a disciple, and I speak to you as myfellow-disciples, "[98] and he speaks of them as "initiated into themysteries of the Gospel with Paul, the holy, the martyred. "[99] Againhe says: "Might I not write to you things more full of mystery? But Ifear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are but babes. Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive theirweighty import, ye should be strangled by them. For even I, though I ambound [for Christ] and am able to understand heavenly things, theangelic orders, and the different sorts of angels and hosts, thedistinction between powers and dominions, and the diversities betweenthrones and authorities, the mightiness of the æons, and thepre-eminence of the cherubim and seraphim, the sublimity of the Spirit, the kingdom of the Lord, and above all the incomparable majesty ofAlmighty God--though I am acquainted with these things, yet am I nottherefore by any means perfect, nor am I such a disciple as Paul orPeter. "[100] This passage is interesting, as indicating that theorganisation of the celestial hierarchies was one of the subjects inwhich instruction was given in the Mysteries. Again he speaks of theHigh Priest, the Hierophant, "to whom the holy of holies has beencommitted, and who alone has been entrusted with the secrets ofGod. "[101] We come next to S. Clement of Alexandria and his pupil Origen, the twowriters of the second and third centuries who tell us most about theMysteries in the Early Church; though the general atmosphere is full ofmystic allusions, these two are clear and categorical in theirstatements that the Mysteries were a recognised institution. Now S. Clement was a disciple of Pantænus, and he speaks of him and oftwo others, said to be probably Tatian and Theodotus, as "preserving thetradition of the blessed doctrine derived directly from the holyApostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, "[102] his link with the Apostlesthemselves consisting thus of only one intermediary. He was the head ofthe Catechetical School of Alexandria in A. D. 189, and died about A. D. 220. Origen, born about A. D. 185, was his pupil, and he is, perhaps, the most learned of the Fathers, and a man of the rarest moral beauty. These are the witnesses from whom we receive the most importanttestimony as to the existence of definite Mysteries in the Early Church. The _Stromata_, or Miscellanies, of S. Clement are our source ofinformation about the Mysteries in his time. He himself speaks of thesewritings as a "miscellany of Gnostic notes, according to the truephilosophy, "[103] and also describes them as memoranda of the teachingshe had himself received from Pantænus. The passage is instructive: "TheLord . .. Allowed us to communicate of those divine Mysteries, and ofthat holy light, to those who are able to receive them. He did notcertainly disclose to the many what did not belong to the many; but tothe few to whom He knew that they belonged, who were capable ofreceiving and being moulded according to them. But secret things areentrusted to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And ifone say[104] that it is written, 'There is nothing secret which shallnot be revealed, nor hidden which shall not be disclosed, ' let him alsohear from us, that to him who hears secretly, even what is secret shallbe manifested. This is what was predicted by this oracle. And to him whois able secretly to observe what is delivered to him, that which isveiled shall be disclosed as truth; and what is hidden to the many shallappear manifest to the few. .. . The Mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth of the speaker; rather not inhis voice, but in his understanding. .. . The writing of these memorandaof mine, I well know, is weak when compared with that spirit, full ofgrace, which I was privileged to hear. But it will be an image to recallthe archetype to him who was struck with the Thyrsus. " The Thyrsus, wemay here interject, was the wand borne by Initiates, and candidates weretouched with it during the ceremony of Initiation. It had a mysticsignificance, symbolising the spinal cord and the pineal gland in theLesser Mysteries, and a Rod, known to Occultists, in the Greater. Tosay, therefore, "to him who was struck with the Thyrsus" was exactly thesame as to say, "to him who was initiated in the Mysteries. " Clementproceeds: "We profess not to explain secret things sufficiently--farfrom it--but only to recall them to memory, whether we have forgotaught, or whether for the purpose of not forgetting. Many things, I wellknow, have escaped us, through length of time, that have dropped awayunwritten. .. . There are then some things of which we have norecollection; for the power that was in the blessed men was great. " Afrequent experience of those taught by the Great Ones, for Theirpresence stimulates and renders active powers which are normally latent, and which the pupil, unassisted, cannot evoke. "There are also somethings which remained unnoted long, which have now escaped; and otherswhich are effaced, having faded away in the mind itself, since such atask is not easy to those not experienced; these I revive in mycommentaries. Some things I purposely omit, in the exercise of a wiseselection, afraid to write what I guarded against speaking; notgrudging--for that were wrong--but fearing for my readers, lest theyshould stumble by taking them in a wrong sense; and, as the proverbsays, we should be found 'reaching a sword to a child. ' For it isimpossible that what has been written should not escape [become known], although remaining unpublished by me. But being always revolved, usingthe one only voice, that of writing, they answer nothing to him thatmakes enquiries beyond what is written; for they require of necessitythe aid of some one, either of him who wrote, or of some one else whohas walked in his footsteps. Some things my treatise will hint; on someit will linger; some it will merely mention. It will try to speakimperceptibly, to exhibit secretly, and to demonstrate silently. "[105] This passage, if it stood alone, would suffice to establish theexistence of a secret teaching in the Early Church. But it stands by nomeans alone. In Chapter xii. Of this same Book I. , headed, "TheMysteries of the Faith not to be divulged to all, " Clement declaresthat, since others than the wise may see his work, "it is requisite, therefore, to hide in a Mystery the wisdom spoken, which the Son of Godtaught. " Purified tongue of the speaker, purified ears of the hearer, these were necessary. "Such were the impediments in the way of mywriting. And even now I fear, as it is said, 'to cast the pearls beforeswine, lest they tread them under foot and turn and rend us. ' For it isdifficult to exhibit the really pure and transparent words respectingthe true light, to swinish and untrained hearers. For scarcely couldanything which they could hear be more ludicrous than these to themultitude; nor any subjects on the other hand more admirable or moreinspiring to those of noble nature. But the wise do not utter with theirmouth what they reason in council. 'But what ye hear in the ear, ' saidthe Lord, 'proclaim upon the houses'; bidding them receive the secrettraditions of the true knowledge, and expound them aloft andconspicuously; and as we have heard in the ear, so to deliver them towhom it is requisite; but not enjoining us to communicate to all withoutdistinction, what is said to them in parables. But there is only adelineation in the memoranda, which have the truth sown sparse andbroadcast, that it may escape the notice of those who pick up seeds likejackdaws; but when they find a good husbandman, each one of them willgerminate and will produce corn. " Clement might have added that to "proclaim upon the houses" was toproclaim or expound in the assembly of the Perfect, the Initiated, andby no means to shout aloud to the man in the street. Again he says that those who are "still blind and dumb, not havingunderstanding, or the undazzled and keen vision of the contemplativesoul . .. Must stand outside of the divine choir. .. . Wherefore, inaccordance with the method of concealment, the truly sacred Word, trulydivine and most necessary for us, deposited in the shrine of truth, wasby the Egyptians indicated by what were called among them _adyta_, andby the Hebrews by the veil. Only the consecrated . .. Were allowed accessto them. For Plato also thought it not lawful for 'the impure to touchthe pure. ' Thence the prophecies and oracles are spoken in enigmas, andthe Mysteries are not exhibited incontinently to all and sundry, butonly after certain purifications and previous instructions. "[106] Hethen descants at great length on Symbols, expounding Pythagorean, Hebrew, Egyptian, [107] and then remarks that the ignorant and unlearnedman fails in understanding them. "But the Gnostic apprehends. Now thenit is not wished that all things should be exposed indiscriminately toall and sundry, or the benefits of wisdom communicated to those who havenot even in a dream been purified in soul (for it is not allowed to handto every chance comer what has been procured with such laboriousefforts); nor are the Mysteries of the Word to be expounded to theprofane. " The Pythagoreans and Plato, Zeno, and Aristotle had exotericand esoteric teachings. The philosophers established the Mysteries, for"was it not more beneficial for the holy and blessed contemplation ofrealities to be concealed?"[108] The Apostles also approved of "veilingthe Mysteries of the Faith, " "for there is an instruction to theperfect, " alluded to in Colossians i. 9-11 and 25-27. "So that, on theone hand, then, there are the Mysteries which were hid till the time ofthe Apostles, and were delivered by them as they received from the Lord, and, concealed in the Old Testament, were manifested to the saints. And, on the other hand, there is 'the riches of the glory of the mystery inthe Gentiles, ' which is faith and hope in Christ; which in another placehe has called the 'foundation. '" He quotes S. Paul to show that this"knowledge belongs not to all, " and says, referring to Heb. V. And vi. , that "there were certainly among the Hebrews, some things deliveredunwritten;" and then refers to S. Barnabas, who speaks of God, "who hasput into our hearts wisdom and the understanding of His secrets, " andsays that "it is but for few to comprehend these things, " as showing a"trace of Gnostic tradition. " "Wherefore instruction, which revealshidden things, is called illumination, as it is the teacher only whouncovers the lid of the ark. "[109] Further referring to S. Paul, hecomments on his remark to the Romans that he will "come in the fulnessof the blessing of Christ, "[110] and says that he thus designates "thespiritual gift and the Gnostic interpretation, while being present hedesires to impart to them present as 'the fulness of Christ, accordingto the revelation of the Mystery sealed in the ages of eternity, but nowmanifested by the prophetic Scriptures'[111]. .. . But only to a few ofthem is shown what those things are which are contained in the Mystery. Rightly, then, Plato, in the epistles, treating of God, says: 'We mustspeak in enigmas; that should the tablet come by any mischance on itsleaves either by sea or land, he who reads may remain ignorant. '"[112] After much examination of Greek writers, and an investigation intophilosophy, S. Clement declares that the Gnosis "imparted and revealedby the Son of God, is wisdom. .. . And the Gnosis itself is that which hasdescended by transmission to a few, having been imparted unwritten bythe Apostles. "[113] A very long exposition of the life of the Gnostic, the Initiate, is given, and S. Clement concludes it by saying: "Let thespecimen suffice to those who have ears. For it is not required tounfold the mystery, but only to indicate what is sufficient for thosewho are partakers in knowledge to bring it to mind. "[114] Regarding Scripture as consisting of allegories and symbols, and ashiding the sense in order to stimulate enquiry and to preserve theignorant from danger. [115] S. Clement naturally confined the higherinstruction to the learned. "Our Gnostic will be deeply learned, "[116]he says. "Now the Gnostic must be erudite. "[117] Those who had acquiredreadiness by previous training could master the deeper knowledge, forthough "a man can be a believer without learning, so also we assert thatit is impossible for a man without learning to comprehend the thingswhich are declared in the faith. "[118] "Some who think themselvesnaturally gifted, do not wish to touch either philosophy or logic; naymore, they do not wish to learn natural science. They demand bare faithalone. .. . So also I call him truly learned who brings everything to bearon the truth--so that, from geometry, and music, and grammar, andphilosophy itself, culling what is useful, he guards the faith againstassault. .. . How necessary is it for him who desires to be partaker ofthe power of God, to treat of intellectual subjects byphilosophising. "[119] "The Gnostic avails himself of branches oflearning as auxiliary preparatory exercises. "[120] So far was S. Clement from thinking that the teaching of Christianity should bemeasured by the ignorance of the unlearned. "He who is conversant withall kinds of wisdom will be pre-eminently a Gnostic. "[121] Thus while hewelcomed the ignorant and the sinner, and found in the Gospel what wassuited to their needs, he considered that only the learned and the purewere fit candidates for the Mysteries. "The Apostle, incontradistinction to Gnostic perfection, calls the common faith _thefoundation_, and sometimes _milk_, "[122] but on that foundation theedifice of the Gnosis was to be raised, and the food of men was tosucceed that of babes. There is nothing of harshness nor of contempt inthe distinction he draws, but only a calm and wise recognition of thefacts. Even the well-prepared candidate, the learned and trained pupil, couldonly hope to advance step by step in the profound truths unveiled in theMysteries. This appears clearly in his comments on the vision ofHermas, in which he also throws out some hints on methods of readingoccult works. "Did not the Power also, that appeared to Hermas in theVision, in the form of the Church, give for transcription the book whichshe wished to be made known to the elect? And this, he says, hetranscribed to the letter, without finding how to complete thesyllables. And this signified that the Scripture is clear to all, whentaken according to base reading; and that this is the faith whichoccupies the place of the rudiments. Wherefore also the figurativeexpression is employed, 'reading according to the letter, ' while weunderstand that the gnostic unfolding of Scriptures, when faith hasalready reached an advanced state, is likened to reading according tothe syllables. .. . Now that the Saviour has taught the Apostles theunwritten rendering of the written (scriptures) has been handed downalso to us, inscribed by the power of God on hearts new, according tothe renovation of the book. Thus those of highest repute among theGreeks dedicate the fruit of the pomegranate to Hermes, who they say isspeech, on account of its interpretation. For speech conceals much. .. . That it is therefore not only to those who read simply that theacquisition of the truth is so difficult, but that not even to thosewhose prerogative the knowledge of the truth is, is the contemplation ofit vouchsafed all at once, the history of Moses teaches; untilaccustomed to gaze, as the Hebrews on the glory of Moses, and theprophets of Israel on the visions of angels, so we also become able tolook the splendours of truth in the face. "[123] Yet more references might be given, but these should suffice toestablish the fact that S. Clement knew of, had been initiated into, andwrote for the benefit of those who had also been initiated into, theMysteries in the Church. The next witness is his pupil Origen, that most shining light oflearning, courage, sanctity, devotion, meekness, and zeal, whose worksremain as mines of gold wherein the student may dig for the treasures ofwisdom. In his famous controversy with Celsus attacks were made on Christianitywhich drew out a defence of the Christian position in which frequentreferences were made to the secret teachings. [124] Celsus had alleged, as a matter of attack, that Christianity was asecret system, and Origen traverses this by saying that while certaindoctrines were secret, many others were public, and that this system ofexoteric and esoteric teachings, adopted in Christianity, was also ingeneral use among philosophers. The reader should note, in the followingpassage, the distinction drawn between the resurrection of Jesus, regarded in a historical light, and the "mystery of the resurrection. " "Moreover, since he [Celsus] frequently calls the Christian doctrine asecret system [of belief], we must confute him on this point also, sincealmost the entire world is better acquainted with what Christians preachthan with the favourite opinions of philosophers. For who is ignorantof the statement that Jesus was born of a virgin, and that He wascrucified, and that His resurrection is an article of faith among many, and that a general judgment is announced to come, in which the wickedare to be punished according to their deserts, and the righteous to beduly rewarded? And yet the Mystery of the resurrection, not beingunderstood, is made a subject of ridicule among unbelievers. In thesecircumstances, to speak of the Christian doctrine as a _secret_ system, is altogether absurd. But that there should be certain doctrines, notmade known to the multitude, which are [revealed] after the exotericones have been taught, is not a peculiarity of Christianity alone, butalso of philosophic systems, in which certain truths are exoteric andothers esoteric. Some of the hearers of Pythagoras were content with his_ipse dixit_; while others were taught in secret those doctrines whichwere not deemed fit to be communicated to profane and insufficientlyprepared ears. Moreover, all the Mysteries that are celebratedeverywhere throughout Greece and barbarous countries, although held insecret, have no discredit thrown upon them, so that it is in vain heendeavours to calumniate the secret doctrines of Christianity, seeingthat he does not correctly understand its nature. "[125] It is impossible to deny that, in this important passage, Origendistinctly places the Christian Mysteries in the same category as thoseof the Pagan world, and claims that what is not regarded as a discreditto other religions should not form a subject of attack when found inChristianity. Still writing against Celsus, he declares that the secret teachings ofJesus were preserved in the Church, and refers specifically to theexplanations that He gave to His disciples of His parables, in answeringCelsus' comparison of "the inner Mysteries of the Church of God" withthe Egyptian worship of animals. "I have not yet spoken of theobservance of all that is written in the Gospels, each one of whichcontains much doctrine difficult to be understood, not merely by themultitude, but even by certain of the more intelligent, including avery profound explanation of the parables which Jesus delivered to'those without, ' while reserving the exhibition of their full meaningfor those who had passed beyond the stage of exoteric teaching, and whocame to Him privately in the house. And when he comes to understand it, he will admire the reason why some are said to be 'without, ' and others'in the house. '"[126] And he refers guardedly to the "mountain" which Jesus ascended, fromwhich he came down again to help "those who were unable to follow Himwhither His disciples went. " The allusion is to "the Mountain ofInitiation, " a well-known mystical phrase, as Moses also made theTabernacle after the pattern "showed thee in the mount. "[127] Origenrefers to it again later, saying that Jesus showed himself to be verydifferent in his real appearance when on the "Mountain, " from what thosesaw who could not "follow Him on high. "[128] So also, in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chap, xv. , dealingwith the episode of the Syro-Phœnician woman, Origen remarks: "Andperhaps, also, of the words of Jesus there are some loaves which it ispossible to give to the more rational, as to children, only; and othersas it were crumbs from the great house and table of the well-born, whichmay be used by some souls like dogs. " Celsus complaining that sinners were brought into the Church, Origenanswers that the Church had medicine for those that were sick, but alsothe study and the knowledge of divine things for those who were inhealth. Sinners were taught not to sin, and only when it was seen thatprogress had been made, and men were "purified by the Word, " "then andnot before do we invite them to participation in our Mysteries. For wespeak wisdom among them that are perfect. "[129] Sinners came to behealed: "For there are in the divinity of the Word some helps towardsthe cure of those who are sick. .. . Others, again, which to the pure insoul and body exhibit the 'revelation of the Mystery, which was keptsecret since the world began, but now is made manifest by the Scripturesof the prophets, ' and 'by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ' which'appearing' is manifested to each one of those who are perfect, andwhich enlightens the reason in the true knowledge of things. "[130] Suchappearances of divine Beings took place, we have seen, in the PaganMysteries, and those of the Church had equally glorious visitants. "Godthe Word, " he says, "was sent as a physician to sinners, but as aTeacher of Divine Mysteries to those who are already pure, and who sinno more. "[131] "Wisdom will not enter into the soul of a base man, nordwell in a body that is involved in sin;" hence these higher teachingsare given only to those who are "athletes in piety and in every virtue. " Christians did not admit the impure to this knowledge, but said:"Whoever has clean hands, and, therefore, lifts up holy hands to God . .. Let him come to us . .. Whoever is pure not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions, let him be boldlyinitiated in the Mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known onlyto the holy and the pure. " Hence also, ere the ceremony of Initiationbegan, he who acts as Initiator, according to the precepts of Jesus, theHierophant, made the significant proclamation "to those who have beenpurified in heart: He, whose soul has, for a long time, been consciousof no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of theWord, let such a one hear the doctrines which were spoken in private byJesus to His genuine disciples. " This was the opening of the "initiatingthose who were already purified into the sacred Mysteries. "[132] Suchonly might learn the realities of the unseen worlds, and might enterinto the sacred precincts where, as of old, angels were the teachers, and where knowledge was given by sight and not only by words. It isimpossible not to be struck with the different tone of these Christiansfrom that of their modern successors. With them perfect purity of life, the practice of virtue, the fulfilling of the divine Law in every detailof outer conduct, the perfection of righteousness, were--as with thePagans--only the beginning of the way instead of the end. Nowadaysreligion is considered to have gloriously accomplished its object whenit has made the Saint; then, it was to the Saints that it devoted itshighest energies, and, taking the pure in heart, it led them to theBeatific Vision. The same fact of secret teaching comes out again, when Origen isdiscussing the arguments of Celsus as to the wisdom of retainingancestral customs, based on the belief that "the various quarters of theearth were from the beginning allotted to different superintendingSpirits, and were thus distributed among certain governing Powers, andin this way the administration of the world is carried on. "[133] Origen having animadverted on the deductions of Celsus, proceeds: "Butas we think it likely that some of those who are accustomed to deeperinvestigation will fall in with this treatise, let us venture to laydown some considerations of a profounder kind, conveying a mystical andsecret view respecting the original distribution of the various quartersof the earth among different superintending Spirits. "[134] He says thatCelsus has misunderstood the deeper reasons relating to the arrangementof terrestrial affairs, some of which are even touched upon in Grecianhistory. Then he quotes Deut. Xxxii. 8-9: "When the Most High dividedthe nations, when he dispersed the sons of Adam, He set the bounds ofthe people according to the number of the Angels of God; and the Lord'sportion was his people Jacob, and Israel the cord of his inheritance. "This is the wording of the Septuagint, not that of the Englishauthorised version, but it is very suggestive of the title the "Lord"being regarded as that of the Ruling Angel of the Jews only, and not ofthe "Most High, " _i. E. _ God. This view has disappeared, from ignorance, and hence the impropriety of many of the statements referring to the"Lord, " when they are transferred to the "Most High, " _e. G. _ Judges i. 19. Origen then relates the history of the Tower of Babel, and continues:"But on these subjects much, and that of a mystical kind, might be said;in keeping with which is the following: 'It is good to keep close thesecret of a king, ' Tobit xii. 7, in order that the doctrine of theentrance of souls into bodies (not, however, that of the transmigrationfrom one body into another) may not be thrown before the commonunderstanding, nor what is holy given to the dogs, nor pearls be castbefore swine. For such a procedure would be impious, being equivalent toa betrayal of the mysterious declarations of God's wisdom. .. . It issufficient, however, to represent in the style of a historic narrativewhat is intended to convey a secret meaning in the garb of history, thatthose who have the capacity may work out for themselves all that relatesto the subject. "[135] He then expounds more fully the Tower of Babelstory, and writes: "Now, in the next place, if any one has the capacitylet him understand that in what assumes the form of history, and whichcontains some things that are literally true, while yet it conveys adeeper meaning. .. . "[136] After endeavouring to show that the "Lord" was more powerful than theother superintending Spirits of the different quarters of the earth, andthat he sent his people forth to be punished by living under thedominion of the other powers, and afterwards reclaimed them with all ofthe less favoured nations who could be drawn in, Origen concludes bysaying: "As we have previously observed, these remarks are to beunderstood as being made by us with a concealed meaning, by way ofpointing out the mistakes of those who assert . .. "[137] as did Celsus. After remarking that "the object of Christianity is that we shouldbecome wise, "[138] Origen proceeds: "If you come to the books writtenafter the time of Jesus, you will find that those multitudes ofbelievers who hear the parables are, as it were, 'without, ' and worthyonly of exoteric doctrines, while the disciples learn in private theexplanation of the parables. For, privately, to His own disciples didJesus open up all things, esteeming above the multitudes those whodesired to know His wisdom. And He promises to those who believe on Himto send them wise men and scribes. .. . And Paul also in the catalogue of'Charismata' bestowed by God, placed first 'the Word of wisdom, ' andsecond, as being inferior to it, 'the word of knowledge, ' but third, andlower down, 'faith. ' And because he regarded 'the Word' as higher thanmiraculous powers, he for that reason places 'workings of miracles' and'gifts of healings' in a lower place than gifts of the Word. "[139] The Gospel truly helped the ignorant, "but it is no hindrance to theknowledge of God, but an assistance, to have been educated, and to havestudied the best opinions, and to be wise. "[140] As for theunintelligent, "I endeavour to improve such also to the best of myability, although I would not desire to build up the Christian communityout of such materials. For I seek in preference those who are moreclever and acute, because they are able to comprehend the meaning of thehard sayings. "[141] Here we have plainly stated the ancient Christianidea, entirely at one with the considerations submitted in Chapter I. Ofthis book. There is room for the ignorant in Christianity, but it is notintended _only_ for them, and has deep teachings for the "clever andacute. " It is for these that he takes much pains to show that the Jewish andChristian Scriptures have hidden meanings, veiled under stories theouter meaning of which repels them as absurd, alluding to the serpentand the tree of life, and "the other statements which follow, whichmight of themselves lead a candid reader to see that all these thingshad, not inappropriately, an allegorical meaning. "[142] Many chaptersare devoted to these allegorical and mystical meanings, hidden beneaththe words of the Old and New Testaments, and he alleges that Moses, likethe Egyptians, gave histories with concealed meanings. [143] "He whodeals candidly with histories"--this is Origen's general canon ofinterpretation--"and would wish to keep himself also from being imposedon by them, will exercise his judgment as to what statements he willgive his assent to, and what he will accept figuratively, seeking todiscover the meaning of the authors of such inventions, and from whatstatements he will withhold his beliefs, as having been written for thegratification of certain individuals. And we have said this by way ofanticipation respecting the whole history related in the Gospelsconcerning Jesus. "[144] A great part of his Fourth Book is taken up withillustrations of the mystical explanations of the Scripture stories, andanyone who wishes to pursue the subject can read through it. In the _De Principiis_, Origen gives it as the received teaching of theChurch "that the Scriptures were written by the Spirit of God, and havea meaning, not only such as is apparent at first sight, but alsoanother, which escapes the notice of most. For those [words] which arewritten are the forms of certain Mysteries, and the images of divinethings. Respecting which there is one opinion throughout the wholeChurch, that the whole law is indeed spiritual; but that the spiritualmeaning which the law conveys is not known to all, but to those only onwhom the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom andknowledge. "[145] Those who remember what has already been quoted willsee in the "Word of wisdom" and "the word of knowledge" the two typicalmystical instructions, the spiritual and the intellectual. In the Fourth Book of _De Principiis_, Origen explains at length hisviews on the interpretation of Scripture. It has a "body, " which is the"common and historical sense"; a "soul, " a figurative meaning to bediscovered by the exercise of the intellect; and a "spirit, " an innerand divine sense, to be known only by those who have "the mind ofChrist. " He considers that incongruous and impossible things areintroduced into the history to arouse an intelligent reader, and compelhim to search for a deeper explanation, while simple people would readon without appreciating the difficulties. [146] Cardinal Newman, in his _Arians of the Fourth Century_, has someinteresting remarks on the _Disciplina Arcani_, but, with thedeeply-rooted ingrained scepticism of the nineteenth century, he cannotbelieve to the full in the "riches of the glory of the Mystery, " orprobably never for a moment conceived the possibility of the existenceof such splendid realities. Yet he was a believer in Jesus, and thewords of the promise of Jesus were clear and definite: "I will not leaveyou comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the worldseeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. Atthat day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I inyou. "[147] The promise was amply redeemed, for He came to them andtaught them in His Mysteries; therein they saw Him, though the world sawHim no more, and they knew the Christ as in them, and their life asChrist's. Cardinal Newman recognises a secret tradition, handed down from theApostles, but he considers that it consisted of Christian doctrines, later divulged, forgetting that those who were told that they were notyet fit to receive it were not heathen, nor even catechumens underinstruction, but full communicating members of the Christian Church. Thus he states that this secret tradition was later "authoritativelydivulged and perpetuated in the form of symbols, " and was embodied "inthe creeds of the early Councils. "[148] But as the doctrines in thecreeds are to be found clearly stated in the Gospels and Epistles, thisposition is wholly untenable, all these having been already divulged tothe world at large; and in all of them the members of the Church werecertainly thoroughly instructed. The repeated statements as to secrecybecome meaningless if thus explained. The Cardinal, however, says thatwhatever "has not been thus authenticated, whether it was propheticalinformation or comment on the past dispensations, is, from thecircumstances of the case, lost to the Church. "[149] That is veryprobably, in fact certainly, true, so far as the Church is concerned, but it is none the less recoverable. Commenting on Irenæus, who in his work _Against Heresies_ lays muchstress on the existence of an Apostolic Tradition in the Church, theCardinal writes: "He then proceeds to speak of the clearness and cogencyof the traditions preserved in the Church, as containing that truewisdom of the perfect, of which S. Paul speaks, and to which theGnostics pretended. And, indeed, without formal proofs of the existenceand the authority in primitive times of an Apostolic Tradition, it isplain that there must have been such a tradition, granting that theApostles conversed, and their friends had memories, like other men. Itis quite inconceivable that they should not have been led to arrangethe series of revealed doctrines more systematically than they recordthem in Scripture, as soon as their converts became exposed to theattacks and misrepresentations of heretics; unless they were forbiddento do so, a supposition which cannot be maintained. Their statementsthus occasioned would be preserved as a matter of course; together withthose other secret but less important truths, to which S. Paul seems toallude, and which the early writers more or less acknowledge, whetherconcerning the types of the Jewish Church, or the prospective fortunesof the Christian. And such recollections of apostolical teaching wouldevidently be binding on the faith of those who were instructed in them;unless it can be supposed that, though coming from inspired teachers, they were not of divine origin. "[150] In a part of the section dealingwith the allegorising method, he writes in reference to the sacrifice ofIsaac, &c. , as "typical of the New Testament revelation": "Incorroboration of this remark, let it be observed, that there seems tohave been[151] in the Church a traditionary explanation of thesehistorical types, derived from the Apostles, but kept among the secretdoctrines, as being dangerous to the majority of hearers; and certainlyS. Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, affords us an instance of such atradition, both as existing and as secret (even though it be shown to beof Jewish origin), when, first checking himself and questioning hisbrethren's faith, he communicates, not without hesitation, theevangelical scope of the account of Melchisedec, as introduced into thebook of Genesis. "[152] The social and political convulsions that accompanied its dying nowbegan to torture the vast frame of the Roman Empire, and even theChristians were caught up in the whirlpool of selfish warring interests. We still find scattered references to special knowledge imparted to theleaders and teachers of the Church, knowledge of the heavenlyhierarchies, instructions given by angels, and so on. But the lack ofsuitable pupils caused the Mysteries to be withdrawn as an institutionpublicly known to exist, and teaching was given more and more secretlyto those rarer and rarer souls, who by learning, purity, and devotionshowed themselves capable of receiving it. No longer were schools to befound wherein the preliminary teachings were given, and with thedisappearance of these the "door was shut. " Two streams may nevertheless be tracked through Christendom, streamswhich had as their source the vanished Mysteries. One was the stream ofmystic learning, flowing from the Wisdom, the Gnosis, imparted in theMysteries; the other was the stream of mystic contemplation, equallypart of the Gnosis, leading to the exstasy, to spiritual vision. Thislatter, however, divorced from knowledge, rarely attained the trueexstasis, and tended either to run riot in the lower regions of theinvisible worlds, or to lose itself amid a variegated crowd of subtlesuperphysical forms, visible as objective appearances to the innervision--prematurely forced by fastings, vigils, and strainedattention--but mostly born of the thoughts and emotions of the seer. Even when the forms observed were not externalised thoughts, they wereseen through a distorting atmosphere of preconceived ideas and beliefs, and were thus rendered largely unreliable. None the less, some of thevisions were verily of heavenly things, and Jesus truly appeared fromtime to time to His devoted lovers, and angels would sometimes brightenwith their presence the cell of monk and nun, the solitude of raptdevotee and patient seeker after God. To deny the possibility of suchexperiences would be to strike at the very root of that "which has beenmost surely believed" in all religions, and is known to allOccultists--the intercommunication between Spirits veiled in flesh andthose clad in subtler vestures, the touching of mind with mind acrossthe barriers of matter, the unfolding of the Divinity in man, the sureknowledge of a life beyond the gates of death. Glancing down the centuries we find no time in which Christendom wasleft wholly devoid of mysteries. "It was probably about the end of the5th century, just as ancient philosophy was dying out in the Schools ofAthens, that the speculative philosophy of neo-Platonism made a definitelodgment in Christian thought through the literary forgeries of thePseudo-Dionysius. The doctrines of Christianity were by that time sofirmly established that the Church could look upon a symbolical ormystical interpretation of them without anxiety. The author of the_Theologica Mystica_ and the other works ascribed to the Areopagiteproceeds, therefore, to develop the doctrines of Proclus with verylittle modification into a system of esoteric Christianity. God is thenameless and supra-essential One, elevated above goodness itself. Hence'negative theology, ' which ascends from the creature to God by droppingone after another every determinate predicate, leads us nearest to thetruth. The return to God is the consummation of all things and the goalindicated by Christian teaching. The same doctrines were preached withmore of churchly fervour by Maximus the Confessor (580-622). Maximusrepresents almost the last speculative activity of the Greek Church, butthe influence of the Pseudo-Dionysian writing was transmitted to theWest in the ninth century by Erigena, in whose speculative spirit boththe scholasticism and the mysticism of the Middle Ages have their rise. Erigena translated Dionysius into Latin along with the commentaries ofMaximus, and his system is essentially based upon theirs. The negativetheology is adopted, and God is stated to be predicateless Being, aboveall categories, and therefore not improperly called Nothing [_query_, No-Thing]. Out of this Nothing or incomprehensible essence the world ofideas or primordial causes is eternally created. This is the Word or Sonof God, in whom all things exist, so far as they have substantialexistence. All existence is a theophany, and as God is the beginning ofall things, so also is He the end. Erigena teaches the restitution ofall things under the form of the Dionysian _adunatio_ or _deificatio_. These are the permanent outlines of what may be called the philosophyof mysticism in Christian times, and it is remarkable with how littlevariation they are repeated from age to age. "[153] In the eleventh century Bernard of Clairvaux (A. D. 1091-1153) and Hugoof S. Victor carry on the mystic tradition, with Richard of S. Victor inthe following century, and S. Bonaventura the Seraphic Doctor, and thegreat S. Thomas Aquinas (A. D. 1227-1274) in the thirteenth. ThomasAquinas dominates the Europe of the Middle Ages, by his force ofcharacter no less than by his learning and piety. He asserts"Revelation" as one source of knowledge, Scripture and tradition beingthe two channels in which it runs, and the influence, seen in hiswritings, of the Pseudo-Dionysius links him to the Neo-Platonists. Thesecond source is Reason, and here the channels are the Platonicphilosophy and the methods of Aristotle--the latter an alliance that didChristianity no good, for Aristotle became an obstacle to the advance ofthe higher thought, as was made manifest in the struggles of GiordanoBruno, the Pythagorean. Thomas Aquinas was canonised in A. D. 1323, andthe great Dominican remains as a type of the union of theology andphilosophy--the aim of his life. These belong to the great Church ofwestern Europe, vindicating her claim to be regarded as the transmitterof the holy torch of mystic learning. Around her there also sprang upmany sects, deemed heretical, yet containing true traditions of thesacred secret learning, the Cathari and many others, persecuted by aChurch jealous of her authority, and fearing lest the holy pearls shouldpass into profane custody. In this century also S. Elizabeth of Hungaryshines out with sweetness and purity, while Eckhart (A. D. 1260-1329)proves himself a worthy inheritor of the Alexandrian Schools. Eckharttaught that "The Godhead is the absolute Essence (Wesen), unknowable notonly by man but also by Itself; It is darkness and absoluteindeterminateness, _Nicht_ in contrast to _Icht_, or definite andknowable existence. Yet It is the potentiality of all things, and Itsnature is, in a triadic process, to come to consciousness of Itself asthe triune God. Creation is not a temporal act, but an eternalnecessity, of the divine nature. I am as necessary to God, Eckhart isfond of saying, as God is necessary to me. In my knowledge and love Godknows and loves Himself. "[154] Eckhart is followed, in the fourteenth century, by John Tauler, andNicolas of Basel, "the Friend of God in the Oberland. " From these sprangup the Society of the Friends of God, true mystics and followers of theold tradition. Mead remarks that Thomas Aquinas, Tauler, and Eckhartfollowed the Pseudo-Dionysius, who followed Plotinus, Iamblichus, andProclus, who in turn followed Plato and Pythagoras. [155] So linkedtogether are the followers of the Wisdom in all ages. It was probably a"Friend" who was the author of _Die Deutsche Theologie_, a book ofmystical devotion, which had the curious fortune of being approved byStaupitz, the Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order, who recommended itto Luther, and by Luther himself, who published it A. D. 1516, as a bookwhich should rank immediately after the _Bible_ and the writings of S. Augustine of Hippo. Another "Friend" was Ruysbroeck, to whose influencewith Groot was due the founding of the Brethren of the Common Lot orCommon Life--a Society that must remain ever memorable, as it numberedamong its members that prince of mystics, Thomas à Kempis (A. D. 1380-1471), the author of the immortal _Imitation of Christ_. In the fifteenth century the more purely intellectual side of mysticismcomes out more strongly than the exstatic--so dominant in thesesocieties of the fourteenth--and we have Cardinal Nicolas of Cusa, withGiordano Bruno, the martyred knight-errant of philosophy, andParacelsus, the much slandered scientist, who drew his knowledgedirectly from the original eastern fountain, instead of through Greekchannels. The sixteenth century saw the birth of Jacob Böhme (A. D. 1575-1624), the"inspired cobbler, " an Initiate in obscuration truly, sorely persecutedby unenlightened men; and then too came S. Teresa, the much-oppressedand suffering Spanish mystic; and S. John of the Cross, a burning flameof intense devotion; and S. Francois de Sales. Wise was Rome incanonising these, wiser than the Reformation that persecuted Böhme, butthe spirit of the Reformation was ever intensely anti-mystical, andwherever its breath hath passed the fair flowers of mysticism havewithered as under the sirocco. Rome, however, who, though she canonised Teresa dead, had sorely harriedher while living--did ill with Mme. De Guyon (A. D. 1648-1717), a truemystic, and with Miguel de Molinos (1627-1696), worthy to sit near S. John of the Cross, who carried on in the seventeenth century the highdevotion of the mystic, turned into a peculiarly passive form--theQuietist. In this same century arose the school of Platonists in Cambridge, ofwhom Henry More (A. D. 1614-1687) may serve as salient example; alsoThomas Vaughan, and Robert Fludd the Rosicrucian; and there is formedalso the Philadelphian Society, and we see William Law (A. D. 1686-1761)active in the eighteenth century, and overlapping S. Martin (A. D. 1743-1803), whose writings have fascinated so many nineteenth centurystudents. [156] Nor should we omit Christian Rosenkreutz (d. A. D. 1484), whose mysticSociety of the Rosy Cross, appearing in 1614, held true knowledge, andwhose spirit was reborn in the "Comte de S. Germain, " the mysteriousfigure that appears and disappears through the gloom, lit by luridflashes, of the closing eighteenth century. Mystics too were some of theQuakers, the much-persecuted sect of Friends, seeking the illuminationof the Inner Light, and listening ever for the Inner Voice. And manyanother mystic was there, "of whom the world was not worthy, " like thewholly delightful and wise Mother Juliana of Norwich, of the fourteenthcentury, jewels of Christendom, too little known, but justifyingChristianity to the world. Yet, as we salute reverently these Children of the Light, scattered overthe centuries, we are forced to recognise in them the absence of thatunion of acute intellect and high devotion which were welded together bythe training of the Mysteries, and while we marvel that they soared sohigh, we cannot but wish that their rare gifts had been developed underthat magnificent _disciplina arcani_. Alphonse Louis Constant, better known under his pseudonym, Eliphas Lévi, has put rather well the loss of the Mysteries, and the need for theirre-institution. "A great misfortune befell Christianity. The betrayal ofthe Mysteries by the false Gnostics--for the Gnostics, that is, _thosewho know_, were the Initiates of primitive Christianity--caused theGnosis to be rejected, and alienated the Church from the supreme truthsof the Kabbala, which contain all the secrets of transcendentaltheology. .. . Let the most absolute science, let the highest reason, become once more the patrimony of the leaders of the people; let thesacerdotal art and the royal art take the double sceptre of antiqueinitiations, and the social world will once more issue from its chaos. Burn the holy images no longer; demolish the temples no more; templesand images are necessary for men; but drive the hirelings from the houseof prayer; let the blind be no longer leaders of the blind, reconstructthe hierarchy of intelligence and holiness, and recognise only those whoknow as the teachers of those who believe. "[157] Will the Churches of to-day again take up the mystic teaching, theLesser Mysteries, and so prepare their children for the re-establishmentof the Greater Mysteries, again drawing down the Angels as Teachers, andhaving as Hierophant the Divine Master, Jesus? On the answer to thatquestion depends the future of Christianity. CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORICAL CHRIST. We have already spoken, in the first chapter, on the identities existingin all the religions of the world, and we have seen that out of a studyof these identities in beliefs, symbolisms, rites, ceremonies, histories, and commemorative festivals, has arisen a modern school whichrelates the whole of these to a common source in human ignorance, and ina primitive explanation of natural phenomena. From these identities havebeen drawn weapons for the stabbing of each religion in turn, and themost effective attacks on Christianity and on the historical existenceof its Founder have been armed from this source. On entering now on thestudy of the life of the Christ, of the rites of Christianity, itssacraments, its doctrines, it would be fatal to ignore the factsmarshalled by Comparative Mythologists. Rightly understood, they may bemade serviceable instead of mischievous. We have seen that the Apostlesand their successors dealt very freely with the Old Testament as havingan allegorical and mystic sense far more important than the historical, though by no means negating it, and that they did not scruple to teachthe instructed believer that some of the stories that were apparentlyhistorical were really purely allegorical. Nowhere, perhaps, is it morenecessary to understand this than when we are studying the story ofJesus, surnamed the Christ, for when we do not disentangle theintertwisted threads, and see where symbols have been taken as events, allegories as histories, we lose most of the instructiveness of thenarrative and much of its rarest beauty. We cannot too much insist onthe fact that Christianity gains, it does not lose, when knowledge isadded to faith and virtue, according to the apostolic injunction. [158]Men fear that Christianity will be weakened when reason studies it, andthat it is "dangerous" to admit that events thought to be historicalhave the deeper significance of the mythical or mystical meaning. It is, on the contrary, strengthened, and the student finds, with joy, that thepearl of great price shines with a purer, clearer lustre when thecoating of ignorance is removed and its many colours are seen. There are two schools of thought at the present time, bitterly opposedto each other, who dispute over the story of the great Hebrew Teacher. According to one school there is nothing at all in the accounts of Hislife save myths and legends--myths and legends that were given asexplanations of certain natural phenomena, survivals of a pictorial wayof teaching certain facts of nature, of impressing on the minds of theuneducated certain grand classifications of natural events that wereimportant in themselves, and that lent themselves to moral instruction. Those who endorse this view form a well-defined school to which belongmany men of high education and strong intelligence, and round themgather crowds of the less instructed, who emphasise with crudevehemence the more destructive elements in their pronouncements. Thisschool is opposed by that of the believers in orthodox Christianity, whodeclare that the whole story of Jesus is history, unadulterated bylegend or myth. They maintain that this history is nothing more than thehistory of the life of a man born some nineteen centuries ago inPalestine, who passed through all the experiences set down in theGospels, and they deny that the story has any significance beyond thatof a divine and human life. These two schools stand in directantagonism, one asserting that everything is legend, the other declaringthat everything is history. Between them lie many phases of opiniongenerally labelled "freethinking, " which regard the life-story as partlylegendary and partly historical, but offer no definite and rationalmethod of interpretation, no adequate explanation of the complex whole. And we also find, within the limits of the Christian Church, a large andever-increasing number of faithful and devout Christians of refinedintelligence, men and women who are earnest in their faith andreligious in their aspirations, but who see in the Gospel story morethan the history of a single divine Man. They allege--defending theirposition from the received Scriptures--that the story of the Christ hasa deeper and more significant meaning than lies on the surface; whilethey maintain the historical character of Jesus, they at the same timedeclare that THE CHRIST is more than the man Jesus, and has a mysticalmeaning. In support of this contention they point to such phrases asthat used by S. Paul: "My little children, of whom I travail in birthagain again until Christ be formed in you";[159] here S. Paul obviouslycannot refer to a historical Jesus, but to some forthputting from thehuman soul which is to him the shaping of Christ therein. Again the sameteacher declares that though he had known Christ after the flesh yetfrom henceforth he would know him thus no more;[160] obviously implyingthat while he recognised the Christ of the flesh--Jesus--there was ahigher view to which he had attained which threw into the shade thehistorical Christ. This is the view which many are seeking in our owndays, and--faced by the facts of Comparative Religion, puzzled by thecontradictions of the Gospels, confused by problems they cannot solve solong as they are tied down to the mere surface meanings of theirScripture--they cry despairingly that the letter killeth while thespirit giveth life, and seek to trace some deep and wide significance ina story which is as old as the religions of the world, and has alwaysserved as the very centre and life of every religion in which it hasreappeared. These struggling thinkers, too unrelated and indefinite tobe spoken of as forming a school, seem to stretch out a hand on one sideto those who think that all is legend, asking them to accept ahistorical basis; on the other side they say to their fellow Christiansthat there is a growing danger lest, in clinging to a literal and uniquemeaning, which cannot be defended before the increasing knowledge of theday, the spiritual meaning should be entirely lost. There is a danger oflosing "the story of the Christ, " with that thought of the Christ whichhas been the support and inspiration of millions of noble lives in Eastand West, though the Christ be called by other names and worshippedunder other forms; a danger lest the pearl of great price should escapefrom our hold, and man be left the poorer for evermore. What is needed, in order that this danger may be averted, is todisentangle the different threads in the story of the Christ, and to laythem side by side--the thread of history, the thread of legend, thethread of mysticism. These have been intertwined into a single strand, to the great loss of the thoughtful, and in disentangling them we shallfind that the story becomes more, not less, valuable as knowledge isadded to it, and that here, as in all that is basically of the truth, the brighter the light thrown upon it the greater the beauty that isrevealed. We will study first the historical Christ; secondly, the mythic Christ;thirdly, the mystic Christ. And we shall find that elements drawn fromall these make up the Jesus Christ of the Churches. They all enter intothe composition of the grandiose and pathetic Figure which dominates thethoughts and the emotions of Christendom, the Man of Sorrows, theSaviour, the Lover and Lord of Men. THE HISTORICAL CHRIST, OR JESUS THE HEALER AND TEACHER. The thread of the life-story of Jesus is one which may be disentangledfrom those with which it is intertwined without any great difficulty. Wemay fairly here aid our study by reference to those records of the pastwhich experts can reverify for themselves, and from which certaindetails regarding the Hebrew Teacher have been given to the world by H. P. Blavatsky and by others who are experts in occult investigation. Nowin the minds of many there is apt to arise a challenge when this word"expert" is used in connection with occultism. Yet it only means aperson who by special study, by special training, has accumulated aspecial kind of knowledge, and has developed powers that enable him togive an opinion founded on his own individual knowledge of the subjectwith which he is dealing. Just as we speak of Huxley as an expert inbiology, as we speak of a Senior Wrangler as an expert in mathematics, or of Lyell as an expert in geology, so we may fairly call a man anexpert in occultism who has first mastered intellectually certainfundamental theories of the constitution of man and the universe, andsecondly has developed within himself the powers that are latent ineveryone--and are capable of being developed by those who givethemselves to appropriate studies--capacities which enable him toexamine for himself the more obscure processes of nature. As a man maybe born with a mathematical faculty, and by training that faculty yearafter year may immensely increase his mathematical capacity, so may aman be born with certain faculties within him, faculties belonging tothe Soul, which he can develop by training and by discipline. When, having developed those faculties, he applies them to the study of theinvisible world, such a man becomes an expert in Occult Science, andsuch a man can at his will reverify the records to which I havereferred. Such reverification is as much out of the reach of theordinary person as a mathematical book written in the symbols of thehigher mathematics is out of the reach of those who are untrained inmathematical science. There is nothing exclusive in the knowledge saveas every science is exclusive; those who are born with a faculty, andtrain the faculty, can master its appropriate science, while those whostart in life without any faculty, or those who do not develop it ifthey have it, must be content to remain in ignorance. These are therules everywhere of the obtaining of knowledge, in Occultism as in everyother science. The occult records partly endorse the story told in the Gospels, andpartly do not endorse it; they show us the life, and thus enable us todisentangle it from the myths which are intertwined therewith. The child whose Jewish name has been turned into that of Jesus was bornin Palestine B. C. 105, during the consulate of Publius Rutilius Rufusand Gnaeus Mallius Maximus. His parents were well-born though poor, andhe was educated in a knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. His ferventdevotion and a gravity beyond his years led his parents to dedicate himto the religious and ascetic life, and soon after a visit to Jerusalem, in which the extraordinary intelligence and eagerness for knowledge ofthe youth were shown in his seeking of the doctors in the Temple, he wassent to be trained in an Essene community in the southern Judæan desert. When he had reached the age of nineteen he went on to the Essenemonastery near Mount Serbal, a monastery which was much visited bylearned men travelling from Persia and India to Egypt, and where amagnificent library of occult works--many of them Indian of theTrans-Himâlayan regions--had been established. From this seat of mysticlearning he proceeded later to Egypt. He had been fully instructed inthe secret teachings which were the real fount of life among theEssenes, and was initiated in Egypt as a disciple of that one sublimeLodge from which every great religion has its Founder. For Egypt hasremained one of the world-centres of the true Mysteries, whereof allsemi-public Mysteries are the faint and far-off reflections. TheMysteries spoken of in history as Egyptian were the shadows of the truethings "in the Mount, " and there the young Hebrew received the solemnconsecration which prepared him for the Royal Priesthood he was later toattain. So superhumanly pure and so full of devotion was he, that in hisgracious manhood he stood out pre-eminently from the severe and somewhatfanatical ascetics among whom he had been trained, shedding on the sternJews around him the fragrance of a gentle and tender wisdom, as arose-tree strangely planted in a desert would shed its sweetness on thebarrenness around. The fair and stately grace of his white purity wasround him as a radiant moonlit halo, and his words, though few, wereever sweet and loving, winning even the most harsh to a temporarygentleness, and the most rigid to a passing softness. Thus he livedthrough nine-and-twenty years of mortal life, growing from grace tograce. This superhuman purity and devotion fitted the man Jesus, the disciple, to become the temple of a loftier Power, of a mighty, indwellingPresence. The time had come for one of those Divine manifestations whichfrom age to age are made for the helping of humanity, when a new impulseis needed to quicken the spiritual evolution of mankind, when a newcivilisation is about to dawn. The world of the West was then in thewomb of time, ready for the birth, and the Teutonic sub-race was tocatch the sceptre of empire falling from the failing hands of Rome. Ereit started on its journey a World-Saviour must appear, to stand inblessing beside the cradle of the infant Hercules. A mighty "Son of God" was to take flesh upon earth, a supreme Teacher, "full of grace and truth"--[161] One in whom the Divine Wisdom abode infullest measure, who was verily "the Word" incarnate, Light and Life inoutpouring richness, a very Fountain of the Waters of Life. Lord ofCompassion and of Wisdom--such was His name--and from His dwelling inthe Secret Places He came forth into the world of men. For Him was needed an earthly tabernacle, a human form, the body of aman, and who so fit to yield his body in glad and willing service to Onebefore whom Angels and men bow down in lowliest reverence, as thisHebrew of the Hebrews, this purest and noblest of "the Perfect, " whosespotless body and stainless mind offered the best that humanity couldbring? The man Jesus yielded himself a willing sacrifice, "offeredhimself without spot" to the Lord of Love, who took unto Himself thatpure form as tabernacle, and dwelt therein for three years of mortallife. This epoch is marked in the traditions embodied in the Gospels as thatof the Baptism of Jesus, when the Spirit was seen "descending fromheaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him, "[162] and a celestial voiceproclaimed Him as the beloved Son, to whom men should give ear. Trulywas He the beloved Son in whom the Father was well-pleased, [163] andfrom that time forward "Jesus began to preach, "[164] and was thatwondrous mystery, "God manifest in the flesh"[165]--not unique in thatHe was God, for: "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods? Ifhe called them Gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripturecannot be broken; say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified andsent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son ofGod?"[166] Truly all men are Gods, in respect to the Spirit within them, but not in all is the Godhead manifested, as in that well-beloved Son ofthe Most High. To that manifested Presence the name of "the Christ" may rightly begiven, and it was He who lived and moved in the form of the man Jesusover the hills and plains of Palestine, teaching, healing diseases, andgathering round Him as disciples a few of the more advanced souls. Therare charm of His royal love, outpouring from Him as rays from a sun, drew round Him the suffering, the weary, and the oppressed, and thesubtly tender magic of His gentle wisdom purified, ennobled, andsweetened the lives that came into contact with His own. By parable andluminous imagery He taught the uninstructed crowds who pressed aroundHim, and, using the powers of the free Spirit, He healed many a diseaseby word or touch, reinforcing the magnetic energies belonging to Hispure body with the compelling force of His inner life. Rejected by HisEssene brethren among whom He first laboured--whose arguments againstHis purposed life of loving labour are summarised in the story of thetemptation--because he carried to the people the spiritual wisdom thatthey regarded as their proudest and most secret treasure, and becauseHis all-embracing love drew within its circle the outcast and thedegraded--ever loving in the lowest as in the highest the DivineSelf--He saw gathering round Him all too quickly the dark clouds ofhatred and suspicion. The teachers and rulers of His nation soon came toeye Him with jealousy and anger; His spirituality was a constantreproach to their materialism, His power a constant, though silent, exposure of their weakness. Three years had scarcely passed since Hisbaptism when the gathering storm outbroke, and the human body of Jesuspaid the penalty for enshrining the glorious Presence of a Teacher morethan man. The little band of chosen disciples whom He had selected as repositoriesof His teachings were thus deprived of their Master's physical presenceere they had assimilated His instructions, but they were souls of highand advanced type, ready to learn the Wisdom, and fit to hand it on tolesser men. Most receptive of all was that "disciple whom Jesus loved, "young, eager, and fervid, profoundly devoted to his Master, and sharingHis spirit of all-embracing love. He represented, through the centurythat followed the physical departure of the Christ, the spirit of mysticdevotion that sought the exstasis, the vision of and the union with theDivine, while the later great Apostle, S. Paul, represented the wisdomside of the Mysteries. The Master did not forget His promise to come to them after the worldhad lost sight of Him, [167] and for something over fifty years Hevisited them in His subtle spiritual body, continuing the teachings Hehad begun while with them, and training them in a knowledge of occulttruths. They lived together, for the most part, in a retired spot on theoutskirts of Judæa, attracting no attention among the many apparentlysimilar communities of the time, studying the profound truths He taughtthem and acquiring "the gifts of the Spirit. " These inner instructions, commenced during His physical life among themand carried on after He had left the body, formed the basis of the"Mysteries of Jesus, " which we have seen in early Church History, andgave the inner life which was the nucleus round which gathered theheterogeneous materials which formed ecclesiastical Christianity. In the remarkable fragment called the _Pistis Sophia_, we have adocument of the greatest interest bearing on the hidden teaching, written by the famous Valentinus. In this it is said that during theeleven years immediately after His death Jesus instructed His disciplesso far as "the regions of the first statutes only, and up to the regionsof the first mystery, the mystery within the veil. "[168] They had not sofar learned the distribution of the angelic orders, of part whereofIgnatius speaks. [169] Then Jesus, being "in the Mount" with Hisdisciples, and having received His mystic Vesture, the knowledge of allthe regions and the Words of Power which unlocked them, taught Hisdisciples further, promising: "I will perfect you in every perfection, from the mysteries of the interior to the mysteries of the exterior: Iwill fill you with the Spirit, so that ye shall be called spiritual, perfect in all perfections. "[170] And He taught them of Sophia, theWisdom, and of her fall into matter in her attempt to rise unto theHighest, and of her cries to the Light in which she had trusted, and ofthe sending of Jesus to redeem her from chaos, and of her crowning withHis light, and leading forth from bondage. And He told them further ofthe highest Mystery the ineffable, the simplest and clearest of all, though the highest, to be known by him alone who utterly renounced theworld;[171] by that knowledge men became Christs for such "men aremyself, and I am these men, " for Christ is that highest Mystery. [172]Knowing that, men are "transformed into pure light and are brought intothe light. "[173] And He performed for them the great ceremony ofInitiation, the baptism "which leadeth to the region of truth and intothe region of light, " and bade them celebrate it for others who wereworthy: "But hide ye this mystery, give it not unto every man, but untohim [only] who shall do all things which I have said unto you in mycommandments. "[174] Thereafter, being fully instructed, the apostles went forth to preach, ever aided by their Master. Moreover these same disciples and their earliest colleagues wrote downfrom memory all the public sayings and parables of the Master that theyhad heard, and collected with great eagerness any reports they couldfind, writing down these also, and circulating them all among those whogradually attached themselves to their small community. Variouscollections were made, any member writing down what he himselfremembered, and adding selections from the accounts of others. The innerteachings, given by the Christ to His chosen ones, were not writtendown, but were taught orally to those deemed worthy to receive them, tostudents who formed small communities for leading a retired life, andremained in touch with the central body. The historical Christ, then, is a glorious Being belonging to the greatspiritual hierarchy that guides the spiritual evolution of humanity, whoused for some three years the human body of the disciple Jesus; whospent the last of these three years in public teaching throughout Judæaand Samaria; who was a healer of diseases and performed other remarkableoccult works; who gathered round Him a small band of disciples whom Heinstructed in the deeper truths of the spiritual life; who drew men toHim by the singular love and tenderness and the rich wisdom thatbreathed from His Person; and who was finally put to death forblasphemy, for teaching the inherent Divinity of Himself and of all men. He came to give a new impulse of spiritual life to the world; tore-issue the inner teachings affecting spiritual life; to mark out againthe narrow ancient way; to proclaim the existence of the "Kingdom ofHeaven, " of the Initiation which admits to that knowledge of God whichis eternal life; and to admit a few to that Kingdom who should be ableto teach others. Round this glorious Figure gathered the myths whichunited Him to the long array of His predecessors, the myths telling inallegory the story of all such lives, as they symbolise the work of theLogos in the Kosmos and the higher evolution of the individual humansoul. But it must not be supposed that the work of the Christ for Hisfollowers was over after He had established the Mysteries, or wasconfined to rare appearances therein. That Mighty One who had used thebody of Jesus as His vehicle, and whose guardian care extends over thewhole spiritual evolution of the fifth race of humanity, gave into thestrong hands of the holy disciple who had surrendered to Him his bodythe care of the infant Church. Perfecting his human evolution, Jesusbecame one of the Masters of Wisdom, and took Christianity under Hisspecial charge, ever seeking to guide it to the right lines, to protect, to guard and nourish it. He was the Hierophant in the ChristianMysteries, the direct Teacher of the Initiates. His the inspiration thatkept alight the Gnosis in the Church, until the superincumbent mass ofignorance became so great that even His breath could not fan the flamesufficiently to prevent its extinguishment. His the patient labour whichstrengthened soul after soul to endure through the darkness, and cherishwithin itself the spark of mystic longing, the thirst to find the HiddenGod. His the steady inpouring of truth into every brain ready toreceive it, so that hand stretched out to hand across the centuries andpassed on the torch of knowledge, which thus was never extinguished. Histhe Form which stood beside the rack and in the flames of the burningpile, cheering His confessors and His martyrs, soothing the anguish oftheir pains, and filling their hearts with His peace. His the impulsewhich spoke in the thunder of Savonarola, which guided the calm wisdomof Erasmus, which inspired the deep ethics of the God-intoxicatedSpinoza. His the energy which impelled Roger Bacon, Galileo, andParacelsus in their searchings into nature. His the beauty that alluredFra Angelica and Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, that inspired the geniusof Michelangelo, that shone before the eyes of Murillo, and that gavethe power that raised the marvels of the world, the Duomo of Milan, theSan Marco of Venice, the Cathedral of Florence. His the melody thatbreathed in the masses of Mozart, the sonatas of Beethoven, theoratorios of Handel, the fugues of Bach, the austere splendour ofBrahms. His the Presence that cheered the solitary mystics, the huntedoccultists, the patient seekers after truth. By persuasion and bymenace, by the eloquence of a S. Francis and by the gibes of a Voltaire, by the sweet submission of a Thomas à Kempis, and the rough virility ofa Luther, He sought to instruct and awaken, to win into holiness or toscourge from evil. Through the long centuries He has striven andlaboured, and, with all the mighty burden of the Churches to carry, Hehas never left uncared for or unsolaced one human heart that cried toHim for help. And now He is striving to turn to the benefit ofChristendom part of the great flood of the Wisdom poured out for therefreshing of the world, and He is seeking through the Churches for somewho have ears to hear the Wisdom, and who will answer to His appeal formessengers to carry it to His flock: "Here am I; send me. " CHAPTER V. THE MYTHIC CHRIST. We have already seen the use that is made of Comparative Mythologyagainst Religion, and some of its most destructive attacks have beenlevelled against the Christ. His birth of a Virgin at "Christmas, " theslaughter of the Innocents, His wonder-working and His teachings, Hiscrucifixion, resurrection, and ascension--all these events in the storyof His life are pointed to in the stories of other lives, and Hishistorical existence is challenged on the strength of these identities. So far as the wonder-working and the teachings are concerned, we maybriefly dismiss these first with the acknowledgment that most greatTeachers have wrought works which, on the physical plane, appear asmiracles in the sight of their contemporaries, but are known byoccultists to be done by the exercise of powers possessed by allInitiates above a certain grade. The teachings He gave may also beacknowledged to be non-original; but where the student of ComparativeMythology thinks that he has proved that none is divinely inspired, whenhe shows that similar moral teachings fell from the lips of Manu, fromthe lips of the Buddha, from the lips of Jesus, the occultist says thatcertainly Jesus must have repeated the teachings of His predecessors, since He was a messenger from the same Lodge. The profound veritiestouching the divine and the human Spirit were as much truths twentythousand years before Jesus was born in Palestine as after He was born;and to say that the world was left without such teaching, and that manwas left in moral darkness from his beginnings to twenty centuries ago, is to say that there was a humanity without a Teacher, children withouta Father, human souls crying for light into a darkness that gave them noanswer--a conception as blasphemous of God as it is desperate for man, aconception contradicted by the appearance of every Sage, by the mightyliterature, by the noble lives, in the thousands of ages ere the Christcame forth. Recognising then in Jesus the great Master of the West, the leadingMessenger of the Lodge to the western world, we must face the difficultywhich has made havoc of this belief in the minds of many: Why are thefestivals that commemorate events in the life of Jesus found inpre-Christian religions, and in them commemorate identical events in thelives of other Teachers? Comparative Mythology, which has drawn public attention to this questionin modern times, may be said to be about a century old, dating from theappearance of Dulaure's _Histoire Abrégée de differens Cultes_, ofDupuis' _Origine de tous les Cultes_, of Moor's _Hindu Pantheon_, and ofGodfrey Higgins' _Anacalypsis_. These works were followed by a shoal ofothers, growing more scientific and rigid in their collection andcomparison of facts, until it has become impossible for any educatedperson to even challenge the identities and similarities existing inevery direction. Christians are not to be found, in these days, who areprepared to contend that Christian symbols, rites, and ceremonies areunique--except, indeed, among the ignorant. There we still beholdsimplicity of belief hand-in-hand with ignorance of facts; but outsidethis class we do not find even the most devout Christians alleging thatChristianity has not very much in common with faiths older than itself. But it is well known that in the first centuries "after Christ" theselikenesses were on all hands admitted, and that modern ComparativeMythology is only repeating with great precision that which wasuniversally recognised in the Early Church. Justin Martyr, for instance, crowds his pages with references to the religions of his time, and if amodern assailant of Christianity would cite a number of cases in whichChristian teachings are identical with those of elder religions, he canfind no better guides than the apologists of the second century. Theyquote Pagan teachings, stories, and symbols, pleading that the veryidentity of the Christian with these should prevent the off-handrejection of the latter as in themselves incredible. A curious reasonis, indeed, given for this identity, one that will scarcely find manyadherents in modern days. Says Justin Martyr: "Those who hand down themyths which the poets have made adduce no proof to the youths who learnthem; and we proceed to demonstrate that they have been uttered by theinfluence of the wicked demons, to deceive and lead astray the humanrace. For having heard it proclaimed through the prophets that theChrist was to come, and that the ungodly among men were to be punishedby fire, they put forward many to be called sons of Jupiter, under theimpression that they would be able to produce in men the idea that thethings which were said with regard to Christ were mere marvellous tales, like the things which were said by the poets. " "And the devils, indeed, having heard this washing published by the prophet, instigated those whoenter their temples, and are about to approach them with libations andburnt offerings, also to sprinkle themselves; and they cause them alsoto wash themselves entirely as they depart. " "Which [the Lord's Supper]the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commandingthe same thing to be done. "[175] "For I myself, when I discovered thewicked disguise which the evil spirits had thrown around the divinedoctrines of the Christians, to turn aside others from joining them, laughed. "[176] These identities were thus regarded as the work of devils, copies of theChristian originals, largely circulated in the pre-Christian world withthe object of prejudicing the reception of the truth when it came. Thereis a certain difficulty in accepting the earlier statements as copiesand the later as originals, but without disputing with Justin Martyrwhether the copies preceded the original or the original the copies, wemay be content to accept his testimony as to the existence of theseidentities between the faith flourishing in the Roman empire of histime and the new religion he was engaged in defending. Tertullian speaks equally plainly, stating the objection made in hisdays also to Christianity, that "the nations who are strangers to allunderstanding of spiritual powers, ascribe to their idols the imbuing ofwaters with the self-same efficacy. " "So they do, " he answers quitefrankly, "but these cheat themselves with waters that are widowed. Forwashing is the channel through which they are initiated into some sacredrites of some notorious Isis or Mithra; and the Gods themselves theyhonour by washings. .. . At the Apollinarian and Eleusinian games theyare baptised; and they presume that the effect of their doing that isthe regeneration and the remission of the penalties due to theirperjuries. Which fact, being acknowledged, we recognise here also thezeal of the devil rivalling the things of God, while we find him toopractising baptism in his subjects. "[177] To solve the difficulty of these identities we must study the MythicChrist, the Christ of the solar myths or legends, these myths being thepictorial forms in which certain profound truths were given to theworld. Now a "myth" is by no means what most people imagine it to be--a merefanciful story erected on a basis of fact, or even altogether apart fromfact. A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives astory of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story of the substancesthat cast the shadows. As above so below; and _first_ above and _then_below. There are certain great principles according to which our systemis built; there are certain laws by which these principles are workedout in detail; there are certain Beings who embody the principles andwhose activities are the laws; there are hosts of inferior beings whoact as vehicles for these activities, as agents, as instruments; thereare the Egos of men intermingled with all these, performing their shareof the great kosmic drama. These multifarious workers in the invisibleworlds cast their shadows on physical matter, and these shadows are"things"--the bodies, the objects, that make up the physical universe. These shadows give but a poor idea of the objects that cast them, justas what we call shadows down here give but a poor idea of the objectsthat cast them; they are mere outlines, with blank darkness in lieu ofdetails, and have only length and breadth, no depth. History is an account, very imperfect and often distorted, of the danceof these shadows in the shadow-world of physical matter. Anyone who hasseen a clever Shadow-Play, and has compared what goes on behind thescreen on which the shadows are cast with the movements of the shadowson the screen, may have a vivid idea of the illusory nature of theshadow-actions, and may draw therefrom several not misleadinganalogies. [178] Myth is an account of the movements of those who cast the shadows; andthe language in which the account is given is what is called thelanguage of symbols. Just as here we have words which stand forthings--as the word "table" is a symbol for a recognised article of acertain kind--so do symbols stand for objects on higher planes. They area pictorial alphabet, used by all myth-writers, and each has itsrecognised meaning. A symbol is used to signify a certain object just aswords are used down here to distinguish one thing from another, and so aknowledge of symbols is necessary for the reading of a myth. For theoriginal tellers of great myths are ever Initiates, who are accustomedto use the symbolic language, and who, of course, use symbols in theirfixed and accepted meanings. A symbol has a chief meaning, and then various subsidiary meaningsrelated to that chief meaning. For instance, the Sun is the symbol ofthe Logos; that is its chief or primary significance. But it stands alsofor an incarnation of the Logos, or for any of the great Messengers whorepresent Him for the time, as an ambassador represents his King. HighInitiates who are sent on special missions to incarnate among men andlive with them for a time as Rulers or Teachers, would be designated bythe symbol of the Sun; for though it is not their symbol in anindividual sense, it is theirs in virtue of their office. All those who are signified by this symbol have certain characteristics, pass through certain situations, perform certain activities, duringtheir lives on earth. The Sun is the physical shadow, or body, as it iscalled, of the Logos; hence its yearly course in nature reflects Hisactivity, in the partial way in which a shadow represents the activityof the object that casts it. The Logos, "the Son of God, " descendinginto matter, has as shadow the annual course of the Sun, and theSun-Myth tells it. Hence, again, an incarnation of the Logos, or one ofHis high ambassadors, will also represent that activity, shadow-like, inHis body as a man. Thus will necessarily arise identities in thelife-histories of these ambassadors. In fact, the absence of suchidentities would at once point out that the person concerned was not afull ambassador, and that his mission was of a lower order. The Solar Myth, then, is a story which primarily representing theactivity of the Logos, or Word, in the kosmos, secondarily embodies thelife of one who is an incarnation of the Logos, or is one of Hisambassadors. The Hero of the myth is usually represented as a God, orDemi-God, and his life, as will be understood by what has been saidabove, must be outlined by the course of the Sun, as the shadow of theLogos. The part of the course lived out during the human life is thatwhich falls between the winter solstice and the reaching of the zenithin summer. The Hero is born at the winter solstice, dies at the springequinox, and, conquering death, rises into mid-heaven. The following remarks are interesting in this connection, though lookingat myth in a more general way, as an allegory, picturing inner truths:"Alfred de Vigny has said that legend is frequently more true thanhistory, because legend recounts not acts which are often incompleteand abortive, but the genius itself of great men and great nations. Itis pre-eminently to the Gospel that this beautiful thought isapplicable, for the Gospel is not merely the narration of what has been;it is the sublime narration of what is and what always will be. Everwill the Saviour of the world be adored by the kings of intelligence, represented by the Magi; ever will He multiply the eucharistic bread, tonourish and comfort our souls; ever, when we invoke Him in the night andthe tempest, will He come to us walking on the waters, ever will Hestretch forth His hand and make us pass over the crests of the billows;ever will He cure our distempers and give back light to our eyes; everwill He appear to His faithful, luminous and transfigured upon Tabor, interpreting the law of Moses and moderating the zeal of Elias. "[179] We shall find that myths are very closely related to the Mysteries, forpart of the Mysteries consisted in showing living pictures of theoccurrences in the higher worlds that became embodied in myths. In factin the Pseudo-Mysteries, mutilated fragments of the living pictures ofthe true Mysteries were represented by actors who acted out a drama, andmany secondary myths are these dramas put into words. The broad outlines of the story of the Sun-God are very clear, theeventful life of the Sun-God being spanned within the first six monthsof the solar year, the other six being employed in the generalprotecting and preserving. He is always born at the winter solstice, after the shortest day in the year, at the midnight of the 24th ofDecember, when the sign Virgo is rising above the horizon; born as thissign is rising, he is born always of a virgin, and she remains a virginafter she has given birth to her Sun-Child, as the celestial Virgoremains unchanged and unsullied when the Sun comes forth from her in theheavens. Weak, feeble as an infant is he, born when the days areshortest and the nights are longest--we are on the north of theequatorial line--surrounded with perils in his infancy, and the reign ofthe darkness far longer than his in his early days. But he livesthrough all the threatening dangers, and the day lengthens towards thespring equinox, till the time comes for the crossing over, thecrucifixion, the date varying with each year. The Sun-God is sometimesfound sculptured within the circle of the horizon, with the head andfeet touching the circle at north and south, and the outstretched handsat east and west--"He was crucified. " After this he rises triumphantlyand ascends into heaven, and ripens the corn and the grape, giving hisvery life to them to make their substance and through them to hisworshippers. The God who is born at the dawning of December 25th is evercrucified at the spring equinox, and ever gives his life as food to hisworshippers--these are among the most salient marks of the Sun-God. Thefixity of the birth-date and the variableness of the death-date are fullof significance, when we remember that the one is a fixed and the othera variable solar position. "Easter" is a movable event, calculated bythe relative positions of sun and moon, an impossible way of fixing yearby year the anniversary of a historical event, but a very natural andindeed inevitable way of calculating a solar festival. These changingdates do not point to the history of a man, but to the Hero of a solarmyth. These events are reproduced in the lives of the various Solar Gods, andantiquity teems with illustrations of them. Isis of Egypt like Mary ofBethlehem was our Immaculate Lady, Star of the Sea, Queen of Heaven, Mother of God. We see her in pictures standing on the crescent moon, star-crowned; she nurses her child Horus, and the cross appears on theback of the seat in which he sits on his mother's knee. The Virgo of theZodiac is represented in ancient drawings as a woman suckling achild--the type of all future Madonnas with their divine Babes, showingthe origin of the symbol. Devakî is likewise figured with the divineKrishna in her arms, as is Mylitta, or Istar, of Babylon, alsowith the recurrent crown of stars, and with her child Tammuz on herknee. Mercury and Æsculapius, Bacchus and Hercules, Perseus and theDioscuri, Mithras and Zarathustra, were all of divine and human birth. The relation of the winter solstice to Jesus is also significant. Thebirth of Mithras was celebrated in the winter solstice with greatrejoicings, and Horus was also then born: "His birth is one of thegreatest mysteries of the [Egyptian] religion. Pictures representing itappeared on the walls of temples. .. . He was the child of Deity. AtChristmas time, or that answering to our festival, his image was broughtout of the sanctuary with peculiar ceremonies, as the image of theinfant Bambino is still brought out and exhibited at Rome. "[180] On the fixing of the 25th December as the birthday of Jesus, Williamsonhas the following: "All Christians know that the 25th December is _now_the recognised festival of the birth of Jesus, but few are aware thatthis has not always been so. There have been, it is said, one hundredand thirty-six different dates fixed on by different Christian sects. Lightfoot gives it as 15th September, others as in February or August. Epiphanius mentions two sects, one celebrating it in June, the other inJuly. The matter was finally settled by Pope Julius I. , in 337 A. D. , andS. Chrysostom, writing in 390, says: 'On this day [_i. E. _ 25th December]also the birth of Christ was lately fixed at Rome, in order that whilethe heathen were busy with their ceremonies [the Brumalia, in honour ofBacchus] the Christians might perform their rites undisturbed. ' Gibbonin his _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, writes: 'The [Christian]Romans, as ignorant as their brethren of the real date of his [Christ'sbirth] fixed the solemn festival to the 25th December, the Brumalia orwinter solstice, when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of theSun. ' King, in his _Gnostics and their Remains_, also says: 'The ancientfestival held on the 25th December in honour of the birthday of theInvincible One, [181] and celebrated by the great games at the Circus, was afterwards transferred to the commemoration of the birth of Christ, the precise date of which many of the Fathers confess was then unknown;'while at the present day Canon Farrar writes that 'all attempts todiscover the month and day of the nativity are useless. No data whateverexist to enable us to determine them with even approximate accuracy. 'From the foregoing it is apparent that the great festival of the wintersolstice has been celebrated during past ages, and in widely separatedlands, in honour of the birth of a God, who is almost invariably alludedto as a 'Saviour, ' and whose mother is referred to as a pure virgin. Thestriking resemblances, too, which have been instanced not only in thebirth but in the life of so many of these Saviour-Gods are far toonumerous to be accounted for by any mere coincidence. "[182] In the case of the Lord Buddha we may see how a myth attaches itself toa historical personage. The story of His life is well known, and in thecurrent Indian accounts the birth-story is simple and human. But in theChinese account He is born of a virgin, Mâyâdevî, the archaic mythfinding in Him a new Hero. Williamson also tells us that fires were and are lighted on the 25thDecember on the hills among Keltic peoples, and these are still knownamong the Irish and the Scotch Highlanders as Bheil or Baaltinne, thefires thus bearing the name of Bel, Bal, or Baal, their ancient Deity, the Sun-God, though now lighted in honour of Christ. [183] Rightly considered, the Christmas festival should take on new elementsof rejoicing and of sacredness, when the lovers of Christ see in it therepetition of an ancient solemnity, see it stretching all the worldover, and far, far back into dim antiquity; so that the Christmas bellsare ringing throughout human history, and sound musically out of thefar-off night of time. Not in exclusive possession, but in universalacceptance, is found the hallmark of truth. The death-date, as said above, is not a fixed one, like the birth-date. The date of the death is calculated by the relative positions of Sun andMoon at the spring equinox, varying with each year, and the death-dateof each Solar Hero is found to be celebrated in this connection. Theanimal adopted as the symbol of the Hero is the sign of the Zodiac inwhich the Sun is at the vernal equinox of his age, and this varies withthe precession of the equinoxes. Oannes of Assyria had the sign ofPisces, the Fish, and is thus figured. Mithra is in Taurus, and, therefore, rides on a Bull, and Osiris was worshipped as Osiris-Apis, orSerapis, the Bull. Merodach of Babylon was worshipped as a Bull, as wasAstarte of Syria. When the Sun is in the sign of Aries, the Ram or Lamb, we have Osiris again as Ram, and so also Astarte, and Jupiter Ammon, andit is this same animal that became the symbol of Jesus--the Lamb of God. The use of the Lamb as His symbol, often leaning on a cross, is commonin the sculptures of the catacombs. On this Williamson says: "In thecourse of time the Lamb was represented on the cross, but it was notuntil the sixth synod of Constantinople, held about the year 680, thatit was ordained that instead of the ancient symbol, the figure of a_man_ fastened to a cross should be represented. This canon wasconfirmed by Pope Adrian I. "[184] The very ancient Pisces is alsoassigned to Jesus, and He is thus pictured in the catacombs. The death and resurrection of the Solar Hero at or about the vernalequinox is as wide-spread as his birth at the winter solstice. Osiriswas then slain by Typhon, and He is pictured on the circle of thehorizon, with outstretched arms, as if crucified--a posture originallyof benediction, not of suffering. The death of Tammuz was annuallybewailed at the spring equinox in Babylonia and Syria, as were Adonis inSyria and Greece, and Attis in Phrygia, pictured "as a man fastened witha lamb at the foot. "[185] Mithras' death was similarly celebrated inPersia, and that of Bacchus and Dionysius--one and the same--in Greece. In Mexico the same idea re-appears, as usual accompanied with the cross. In all these cases the mourning for the death is immediately followed bythe rejoicing over the resurrection, and on this it is interesting tonotice that the name of Easter has been traced to the virgin-mother ofthe slain Tammuz, Ishtar. [186] It is interesting also to notice that the fast preceding the death atthe vernal equinox, --the modern Lent--is found in Mexico, Egypt, Persia, Babylon, Assyria, Asia Minor, in some cases definitely for fortydays. [187] In the Pseudo-Mysteries, the Sun-God story was dramatised, and in theancient Mysteries it was lived by the Initiate, and hence the solar"myths" and the great facts of Initiation became interwoven together. Hence when the Master Christ became the Christ of the Mysteries, thelegends of the older Heroes of those Mysteries gathered round Him, andthe stories were again recited with the latest divine Teacher as therepresentative of the Logos in the Sun. Then the festival of Hisnativity became the immemorial date when the Sun was born of the Virgin, when the midnight sky was filled with the rejoicing hosts of thecelestials, and Very early, very early, Christ was born. As the great legend of the Sun gathered round Him, the sign of the Lambbecame that of His crucifixion as the sign of the Virgin had become thatof His birth. We have seen that the Bull was sacred to Mithras and theFish to Oannes, and that the Lamb was sacred to Christ, and for the samereason; it was the sign of the spring equinox, at the period of historyin which He crossed the great circle of the horizon, was "crucified inspace. " These Sun myths, ever recurring throughout the ages, with a differentname for their Hero in each new recension, cannot pass unrecognised bythe student, though they may naturally and rightly be ignored by thedevotee; and when they are used as a weapon to mutilate or destroy themajestic figure of the Christ, they must be met, not by denying thefacts, but by understanding the deeper meaning of the stories, thespiritual truths that the legends expressed under a veil. Why have these legends mingled with the history of Jesus, andcrystallised round Him, as a historical personage? These are really thestories not of a particular individual named Jesus but of the universalChrist; of a Man who symbolised a Divine Being, and who represented afundamental truth in nature; a Man who filled a certain office and helda certain characteristic position towards humanity; standing towardshumanity in a special relationship, renewed age after age, as generationsucceeded generation, as race gave way to race. Hence He was, as are allsuch, the "Son of Man, " a peculiar and distinctive title, the title ofan office, not of an individual. The Christ of the Solar Myth was theChrist of the Mysteries, and we find the secret of the mythic in themystic Christ. CHAPTER VI. THE MYSTIC CHRIST. We now approach that deeper side of the Christ story that gives it itsreal hold upon the hearts of men. We approach that perennial life whichbubbles up from an unseen source, and so baptises its representativewith its lucent flood that human hearts cling round the Christ, and feelthat they could almost more readily reject the apparent facts of historythan deny that which they intuitively feel to be a vital, an essentialtruth of the higher life. We draw near the sacred portal of theMysteries, and lift a corner of the veil that hides the sanctuary. We have seen that, go back as far as we may into antiquity, we findeverywhere recognised the existence of a hidden teaching, a secretdoctrine, given under strict and exacting conditions to approvedcandidates by the Masters of Wisdom. Such candidates were initiated into"The Mysteries"--a name that covers in antiquity, as we have seen, allthat was most spiritual in religion, all that was most profound inphilosophy, all that was most valuable in science. Every great Teacherof antiquity passed through the Mysteries and the greatest were theHierophants of the Mysteries; each who came forth into the world tospeak of the invisible worlds had passed through the portal ofInitiation and had learned the secret of the Holy Ones from Their ownlips: each who came forth came forth with the same story, and the solarmyths are all versions of this story, identical in their essentialfeatures, varying only in their local colour. This story is primarily that of the descent of the Logos into matter, and the Sun-God is aptly His symbol, since the Sun is His body, and Heis often described as "He that dwelleth in the Sun. " In one aspect, theChrist of the Mysteries is the Logos descending into matter, and thegreat Sun-Myth is the popular teaching of this sublime truth. As inprevious cases, the Divine Teacher, who brought the Ancient Wisdom andrepublished it in the world, was regarded as a special manifestation ofthe Logos, and the Jesus of the Churches was gradually draped with thestories which belonged to this great One; thus He became identified, inChristian nomenclature, with the Second Person in the Trinity, theLogos, or Word of God, [188] and the salient events recounted in the mythof the Sun-God became the salient events of the story of Jesus, regardedas the incarnate Deity, the "mythic Christ. " As in the macrocosm, thekosmos, the Christ of the Mysteries represents the Logos, the SecondPerson in the Trinity, so in the microcosm, man, does He represent thesecond aspect of the Divine Spirit in man--hence called in man "theChrist. "[189] The second aspect of the Christ of the Mysteries is thenthe life of the Initiate, the life which is entered on at the firstgreat Initiation, at which the Christ is born in man, and after which Hedevelops in man. To make this quite intelligible, we must consider theconditions imposed on the candidate for Initiation, and the nature ofthe Spirit in man. Only those could be recognised as candidates for Initiation who werealready good as men count goodness, according to the strict measure ofthe law. Pure, holy, without defilement, clean from sin, living withouttransgression--such were some of the descriptive phrases used ofthem. [190] Intelligent also must they be, of well-developed andwell-trained minds. [191] The evolution carried on in the world lifeafter life, developing and mastering the powers of the mind, theemotions, and the moral sense, learning through exoteric religions, practising the discharge of duties, seeking to help and lift others--allthis belongs to the ordinary life of an evolving man. When all this isdone, the man has become "a good man, " the Chrêstos of the Greeks, andthis he must be ere he can become the Christos, the Anointed. Havingaccomplished the exoteric good life, he becomes a candidate for theesoteric life, and enters on the preparation for Initiation, whichconsists in the fulfilment of certain conditions. These conditions mark out the attributes he is to acquire, and while heis labouring to create these, he is sometimes said to be treading theProbationary Path, the Path which leads up to the "Strait Gate, " beyondwhich is the "Narrow Way, " or the "Path of Holiness, " the "Way of theCross. " He is not expected to develop these attributes perfectly, but hemust have made some progress in all of them, ere the Christ can be bornin him. He must prepare a pure home for that Divine Child who is todevelop within him. The first of these attributes--they are all mental and moral--is_Discrimination_; this means that the aspirant must begin to separate inhis mind the Eternal from the Temporary, the Real from the Unreal, theTrue from the False, the Heavenly from the Earthly. "The things whichare seen are temporal, " says the Apostle; "but the things which are notseen are eternal. "[192] Men are constantly living under the glamour ofthe seen, and are blinded by it to the unseen. The aspirant must learnto discriminate between them, so that what is unreal to the world maybecome real to him, and that which is real to the world may to himbecome unreal, for thus only is it possible to "walk by faith, not bysight. "[193] And thus also must a man become one of those of whom theApostle says that they "are of full age, even those who by reason of usehave their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. "[194] Next, this sense of unreality must breed in him _Disgust_ with the unreal andthe fleeting, the mere husks of life, unfit to satisfy hunger, save thehunger of swine. [195] This stage is described in the emphatic languageof Jesus: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own lifealso, he cannot be my disciple. "[196] Truly a "hard saying, " and yet outof this hatred will spring a deeper, truer, love, and the stage may notbe escaped on the way to the Strait Gate. Then the aspirant must learn_Control of thoughts_, and this will lead to _Control of actions_, thethought being, to the inner eye, the same as the action: "Whosoeverlooketh on a woman to lust after her, _hath committed adultery_ with heralready in his heart. "[197] He must acquire _Endurance_, for they whoaspire to tread "the Way of the Cross" will have to brave long andbitter sufferings, and they must be able to endure, "as seeing Him whois invisible. "[198] He must add to these _Tolerance_, if he would be thechild of Him who "maketh His sun to rise on the evil, and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, "[199] the disciple ofHim who bade His apostles not to forbid a man to use His name because hedid not follow with them. [200] Further, he must acquire the _Faith_ towhich nothing is impossible, [201] and the _Balance_ which is describedby the Apostle. [202] Lastly, he must seek only "those things which areabove, "[203] and long to reach the beatitude of the vision of and unionwith God. [204] When a man has wrought these qualities into his characterhe is regarded as fit for Initiation, and the Guardians of the Mysterieswill open for him the Strait Gate. Thus, but thus only, he becomes theprepared candidate. Now, the Spirit in man is the gift of the Supreme God, and containswithin itself the three aspects of the Divine Life--Intelligence, Love, Will--being the Image of God. As it evolves, it first develops theaspect of Intelligence, develops the intellect, and this evolution iseffected in the ordinary life in the world. To have done this to a highpoint, accompanying it with moral development, brings the evolving manto the condition of the candidate. The second aspect of the Spirit isthat of Love, and the evolution of that is the evolution of the Christ. In the true Mysteries this evolution is undergone--the disciple's lifeis the Mystery Drama, and the Great Initiations mark its stages. In theMysteries performed on the physical plane these used to be dramaticallyrepresented, and the ceremonies followed in many respects "the pattern"ever shown forth "on the Mount, " for they were the shadows in adeteriorating age of the mighty Realities in the spiritual world. The Mystic Christ, then, is twofold--the Logos, the Second Person of theTrinity, descending into matter, and the Love, or second, aspect of theunfolding Divine Spirit in man. The one represents kosmic processescarried on in the past and is the root of the Solar Myth; the otherrepresents a process carried on in the individual, the concluding stageof his human evolution, and added many details in the Myth. Both ofthese have contributed to the Gospel story, and together form the Imageof the "Mystic Christ. " Let us consider first the kosmic Christ, Deity becoming enveloped inmatter, the becoming incarnate of the Logos, the clothing of God in"flesh. " When the matter which is to form our solar system is separated off fromthe infinite ocean of matter which fills space, the Third Person of theTrinity--the Holy Spirit--pours His Life into this matter to vivify it, that it may presently take form. It is then drawn together, and form isgiven to it by the life of the Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity, who sacrifices Himself by putting on the limitations of matter, becomingthe "Heavenly Man, " in whose Body all forms exist, of whose Body allforms are part. This was the kosmic story, dramatically shown in theMysteries--in the true Mysteries seen as it occurred in space, in thephysical plane Mysteries represented by magical or other means, and insome parts by actors. These processes are very distinctly stated in the _Bible_; when the"Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" in the darkness thatwas "upon the face of the deep, "[205] the great deep of matter showedno forms, it was void, inchoate. Form was given by the Logos, the Word, of whom it is written that "all things were made by Him; and without Himwas not anything made that was made. "[206] C. W. Leadbeater has well putit: "The result of this first great outpouring [the 'moving' of theSpirit] is the quickening of that wonderful and glorious vitality whichpervades all matter (inert though it may seem to our dim physical eyes), so that the atoms of the various planes develop, when electrified by it, all sorts of previously latent attractions and repulsions, and enterinto combinations of all kinds. "[207] Only when this work of the Spirit has been done can the Logos, thekosmic Mystic Christ, take on Himself the clothing of matter, enteringin very truth the Virgin's womb, the womb of Matter as yet virgin, unproductive. This matter had been vivified by the Holy Spirit, who, overshadowing the Virgin, poured into it His life, thus preparing it toreceive the life of the Second Logos, who took this matter as thevehicle for His energies. This is the becoming incarnate of the Christ, the taking flesh--"Thou did'st not despise the Virgin's womb. " In the Latin and English translations of the original Greek text of theNicene Creed, the phrase which describes this phase of the descent haschanged the prepositions and so changed the sense. The original ran:"and was incarnate _of_ the Holy Ghost _and_ the Virgin Mary, " whereasthe translation reads: "and was incarnate _by_ the Holy Ghost _of_ theVirgin Mary. "[208] The Christ "takes form not of the 'Virgin' matteralone, but of matter which is already instinct and pulsating with thelife of the Third Logos, [209] so that both the life and the mattersurround Him as a vesture. "[210] This is the descent of the Logos into matter, described as the birth ofthe Christ of a Virgin, and this, in the Solar Myth, becomes the birthof the Sun-God as the sign Virgo rises. Then come the early workings of the Logos in matter, aptly typified bythe infancy of the myth. To all the feebleness of infancy His majesticpowers bow themselves, letting but little play forth on the tender formsthey ensoul. Matter imprisons, seems as though threatening to slay, itsinfant King, whose glory is veiled by the limitations He has assumed. Slowly He shapes it towards high ends, and lifts it into manhood, andthen stretches Himself on the cross of matter that He may pour forthfrom that cross all the powers of His surrendered life. This is theLogos of whom Plato said that He was in the figure of a cross on theuniverse; this is the Heavenly Man, standing in space, with armsoutstretched in blessing; this is the Christ crucified, whose death onthe cross of matter fills all matter with His life. Dead He seems andburied out of sight, but He rises again clothed in the very matter inwhich He seemed to perish, and carries up His body of now radiantmatter into heaven, where it receives the downpouring life of theFather, and becomes the vehicle of man's immortal life. For it is thelife of the Logos which forms the garment of the Soul in man, and Hegives it that men may live through the ages and grow to the measure ofHis own stature. Truly are we clothed in Him, first materially and thenspiritually. He sacrificed Himself to bring many sons into glory, and Heis with us always, even to the end of the age. The crucifixion of Christ, then, is part of the great kosmic sacrifice, and the allegorical representation of this in the physical Mysteries, and the sacred symbol of the crucified man in space, became materialisedinto an actual death by crucifixion, and a crucifix bearing a dyinghuman form; then this story, now the story of a man, was attached to theDivine Teacher, Jesus, and became the story of His physical death, whilethe birth from a Virgin, the danger-encircled infancy, the resurrectionand ascension, became also incidents in His human life. The Mysteriesdisappeared, but their grandiose and graphic representations of thekosmic work of the Logos encircled and uplifted the beloved figure ofthe Teacher of Judæa, and the kosmic Christ of the Mysteries, with thelineaments of the Jesus of history, thus became the central Figure ofthe Christian Church. But even this was not all; the last touch of fascination is added to theChrist-story by the fact that there is another Christ of the Mysteries, close and dear to the human heart--the Christ of the human Spirit, theChrist who is in every one of us, is born and lives, is crucified, risesfrom the dead, and ascends into heaven, in every suffering andtriumphant "Son of Man. " The life-story of every Initiate into the true, the heavenly Mysteries, is told in its salient features in the Gospel biography. For thisreason, S. Paul speaks as we have seen[211] of the birth of the Christin the disciple, and of His evolution and His full stature therein. Every man is a potential Christ, and the unfolding of the Christ-lifein a man follows the outline of the Gospel story in its strikingincidents, which we have seen to be universal, and not particular. There are five great Initiations in the life of a Christ, each onemarking a stage in the unfolding of the Life of Love. They are givennow, as of old, and the last marks the final triumph of the Man who hasdeveloped into Divinity, who has transcended humanity, and has become aSaviour of the world. Let us trace this life-story, ever newly repeated in spiritualexperience, and see the Initiate living out the life of the Christ. At the first great Initiation the Christ is born in the disciple; it isthen that he realises for the first time _in himself_ the outpouring ofthe divine Love, and experiences that marvellous change which makes himfeel himself to be one with all that lives. This is the "Second Birth, "and at that birth the heavenly ones rejoice, for he is born into "thekingdom of heaven, " as one of the "little ones, " as "a littlechild"--the names ever given to the new Initiates. Such is the meaningof the words of Jesus, that a man must become a little child to enterinto the Kingdom. [212] It is significantly said in some of the earlyChristian writers that Jesus was "born in a cave"--the "stable" of thegospel narrative; the "Cave of Initiation" is a well-known ancientphrase, and the Initiate is ever born therein; over that cave "where theyoung child" is burns the "Star of Initiation, " the Star that evershines forth in the East when a Child-Christ is born. Every such childis surrounded by perils and menaces, strange dangers that befall notother babes; for he is anointed with the chrism of the second birth andthe Dark Powers of the unseen world ever seek his undoing. Despite alltrials, however, he grows into manhood, for the Christ once born cannever perish, the Christ once beginning to develop can never fail in hisevolution; his fair life expands and grows, ever-increasing in wisdomand in spiritual stature, until the time comes for the second greatInitiation, the Baptism of the Christ by Water and the Spirit, thatgives him the powers necessary for the Teacher, who is to go forth andlabour in the world as "the beloved Son. " Then there descends upon him in rich measure the divine Spirit, and theglory of the unseen Father pours down its pure radiance on him; but fromthat scene of blessing is he led by the Spirit into the wilderness andis once more exposed to the ordeal of fierce temptations. For now thepowers of the Spirit are unfolding themselves in him, and the Dark Onesstrive to lure him from his path by these very powers, bidding him usethem for his own helping instead of resting on his Father in patienttrust. In the swift, sudden transitions which test his strength andfaith, the whisper of the embodied Tempter follows the voice of theFather, and the burning sands of the wilderness scorch the feeterstwhile laved in the cool waters of the holy river. Conqueror overthese temptations he passes into the world of men to use for theirhelping the powers he would not put forth for his own needs, and he whowould not turn one stone to bread for the stilling of his own cravingsfeeds "five thousand men, besides women and children, " with a fewloaves. Into his life of ceaseless service comes another brief period of glory, when he ascends "a high mountain apart"--the sacred Mount of Initiation. There he is transfigured and there meets some of his great Forerunners, the Mighty Ones of old who trod where he now is treading. He passes thusthe third great Initiation, and then the shadow of his coming Passionfalls on him, and he steadfastly sets his face to go toJerusalem--repelling the tempting words of one of hisdisciples--Jerusalem, where awaits him the baptism of the Holy Ghost andof Fire. After the Birth, the attack by Herod; after the Baptism, thetemptation in the wilderness; after the Transfiguration, the settingforth towards the last stage of the Way of the Cross. Thus is triumphever followed by ordeal, until the goal is reached. Still grows the life of love, ever fuller and more perfect, the Son ofMan shining forth more clearly as the Son of God, until the time drawsnear for his final battle; and the fourth great Initiation leads him intriumph into Jerusalem, into sight of Gethsemane and Calvary. He is nowthe Christ ready to be offered, ready for the sacrifice on the cross. Heis now to face the bitter agony in the Garden, where even his chosenones sleep while he wrestles with his mortal anguish, and for a momentprays that the cup may pass from his lips; but the strong will triumphsand he stretches out his hand to take and drink, and in his lonelinessan angel comes to him and strengthens him, as angels are wont to do whenthey see a Son of Man bending beneath his load of agony. The drinking ofthe bitter cup of betrayal, of desertion, of denial, meets him as hegoes forth, and alone amid his jeering foes he passes to his last fiercetrial. Scourged by physical pain, pierced by cruel thorns of suspicion, stripped of his fair garments of purity in the eyes of the world, leftin the hands of his foes, deserted apparently by God and man, he endurespatiently all that befalls him, wistfully looking in his last extremityfor aid. Left still to suffer, crucified, to die to the life of form, to surrender all life that belongs to the lower world, surrounded bytriumphant foes who mock him, the last horror of great darknessenvelopes him, and in the darkness he meets all the forces of evil; hisinner vision is blinded, he finds himself alone, utterly alone, till thestrong heart, sinking in despair, cries out to the Father who seems tohave abandoned him, and the human soul faces, in uttermost loneliness, the crushing agony of apparent defeat. Yet, summoning all the strengthof the "unconquerable spirit, " the lower life is yielded up, its deathis willingly embraced, the body of desire is abandoned, and the Initiate"descends into hell, " that no region of the universe he is to help mayremain untrodden by him, that none may be too outcast to be reached byhis all-embracing love. And then springing upwards from the darkness, hesees the light once more, feels himself again as the Son, inseparablefrom the Father whose he is, rises to the life that knows no ending, radiant in the consciousness of death faced and overcome, strong to helpto the uttermost every child of man, able to pour out his life intoevery struggling soul. Among his disciples he remains awhile to teach, unveiling to them the mysteries of the spiritual worlds, preparing themalso to tread the path he has trodden, until, the earth-life over, heascends to the Father, and, in the fifth great Initiation, becomes theMaster triumphant, the link between God and man. Such was the story lived through in the true Mysteries of old and now, and dramatically pourtrayed in symbols in the physical plane Mysteries, half veiled, half shown. Such is the Christ of the Mysteries in His dualaspect, Logos and man, kosmic and individual. Is it any wonder that thisstory, dimly felt, even when unknown, by the mystic, has woven itselfinto the heart, and served as an inspiration to all noble living? TheChrist of the human heart is, for the most part, Jesus seen as themystic human Christ, struggling, suffering, dying, finally triumphant, the Man in whom humanity is seen crucified and risen, whose victory isthe promise of victory to every one who, like Him, is faithful throughdeath and beyond--the Christ who can never be forgotten while He is bornagain and again in humanity, while the world needs Saviours, andSaviours give themselves for men. CHAPTER VII. THE ATONEMENT. We will now proceed to study certain aspects of the Christ-Life, as theyappear among the doctrines of Christianity. In the exoteric teachingsthey appear as attached only to the Person of the Christ; in theesoteric they are seen as belonging indeed to Him, since in theirprimary, their fullest and deepest meaning they form part of theactivities of the Logos, but as being only secondarily reflected in theChrist, and therefore also in every Christ-Soul that treads the way ofthe Cross. Thus studied they will be seen to be profoundly true, whilein their exoteric form they often bewilder the intelligence and jar theemotions. Among these stands prominently forward the doctrine of the Atonement;not only has it been a point of bitter attack from those outside thepale of Christianity, but it has wrung many sensitive consciences withinthat pale. Some of the most deeply Christian thinkers of the last halfof the nineteenth century have been tortured with doubts as to theteaching of the churches on this matter, and have striven to see, and topresent it, in a way that softens or explains away the cruder notionsbased on an unintelligent reading of a few profoundly mystical texts. Nowhere, perhaps, more than in connection with these should the warningof S. Peter be borne in mind: "Our beloved brother Paul also, accordingto the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you--as also in all hisepistles--speaking in them of these things; in which are some thingshard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto own destruction. "[213] Forthe texts that tell of the identity of the Christ with His brother-menhave been wrested into a legal substitution of Himself for them, andhave thus been used as an escape from the results of sin, instead of asan inspiration to righteousness. The general teaching in the Early Church on the doctrine of theAtonement was that Christ, as the Representative of Humanity, faced andconquered Satan, the representative of the Dark Powers, who heldhumanity in bondage, wrested his captive from him, and set him free. Slowly, as Christian teachers lost touch with spiritual truths, and theyreflected their own increasing intolerance and harshness on the pure andloving Father of the teachings of the Christ, they represented Him asangry with man, and the Christ was made to save man from the wrath ofGod instead of from the bondage of evil. Then legal phrases intruded, still further materialising the once spiritual idea, and the "scheme ofredemption" was forensically outlined. "The seal was set on the'redemption scheme' by Anselm in his great work, _Cur Deus Homo_, andthe doctrine which had been slowly growing into the theology ofChristendom was thenceforward stamped with the signet of the Church. Roman Catholics and Protestants, at the time of the Reformation, alikebelieved in the vicarious and substitutionary character of the atonementwrought by Christ. There is no dispute between them on this point. Iprefer to allow the Christian divines to speak for themselves as to thecharacter of the atonement. .. . Luther teaches that 'Christ did truly andeffectually feel for all mankind the wrath of God, malediction, anddeath. ' Flavel says that 'to wrath, to the wrath of an infinite Godwithout mixture, to the very torments of hell, was Christ delivered, andthat by the hand of his own father. ' The Anglican homily preaches that'sin did pluck God out of heaven to make him feel the horrors and painsof death, ' and that man, being a firebrand of hell and a bondsman of thedevil, 'was ransomed by the death of his only and well-beloved son'; the'heat of his wrath, ' 'his burning wrath, ' could only be 'pacified' byJesus, 'so pleasant was the sacrifice and oblation of his son's death. 'Edwards, being logical, saw that there was a gross injustice in sinbeing twice punished, and in the pains of hell, the penalty of sin, being twice inflicted, first on Jesus, the substitute of mankind, andthen on the lost, a portion of mankind; so he, in common with mostCalvinists, finds himself compelled to restrict the atonement to theelect, and declared that Christ bore the sins, not of the world, but ofthe chosen out of the world; he suffers 'not for the world, but for themwhom thou hast given me. ' But Edwards adheres firmly to the belief insubstitution, and rejects the universal atonement for the very reasonthat 'to believe Christ died for all is the surest way of proving thathe died for none in the sense Christians have hitherto believed. ' Hedeclares that 'Christ suffered the wrath of God for men's sins'; that'God imposed his wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of hellfor, ' sin. Owen regards Christ's sufferings as 'a full valuablecompensation to the justice of God for all the sins' of the elect, andsays that he underwent 'that same punishment which . .. They themselveswere bound to undergo. '"[214] To show that these views were still authoritatively taught in thechurches, I wrote further: "Stroud makes Christ drink 'the cup of thewrath of God. ' Jenkyn says 'He suffered as one disowned and reprobatedand forsaken of God. ' Dwight considers that he endured God's 'hatred andcontempt. ' Bishop Jeune tells us that 'after man had done his worst, worse remained for Christ to bear. He had fallen into his father'shands. ' Archbishop Thomson preaches that 'the clouds of God's wrathgathered thick over the whole human race: they discharged themselves onJesus only. ' He 'becomes a curse for us and a vessel of wrath. ' Liddonechoes the same sentiment: 'The apostles teach that mankind are slaves, and that Christ on the cross is paying their ransom. Christ crucified isvoluntarily devoted and accursed'; he even speaks of 'the precise amountof ignominy and pain needed for the redemption, ' and says that the'divine victim' paid more than was absolutely necessary. "[215] These are the views against which the learned and deeply religious Dr. McLeod Campbell wrote his well-known work, _On the Atonement_, a volumecontaining many true and beautiful thoughts; F. D. Maurice and manyother Christian men have also striven to lift from Christianity theburden of a doctrine so destructive of all true ideas as to therelations between God and man. None the less, as we look backwards over the effects produced by thisdoctrine, we find that belief in it, even in its legal--and to us crudeexoteric--form, is connected with some of the very highest developmentsof Christian conduct, and that some of the noblest examples of Christianmanhood and womanhood have drawn from it their strength, theirinspiration, and their comfort. It would be unjust not to recognise thisfact. And whenever we come upon a fact that seems to us startling andincongruous, we do well to pause upon that fact, and to endeavour tounderstand it. For if this doctrine contained nothing more than is seenin it by its assailants inside and outside the churches, if it were inits true meaning as repellent to the conscience and the intellect as itis found to be by many thoughtful Christians, then it could not possiblyhave exercised over the minds and hearts of men a compellingfascination, nor could it have been the root of heroic self-surrenders, of touching and pathetic examples of self-sacrifice in the service ofman. Something more there must be in it than lies on the surface, somehidden kernel of life which has nourished those who have drawn from ittheir inspiration. In studying it as one of the Lesser Mysteries weshall find the hidden life which these noble ones have unconsciouslyabsorbed, these souls which were so at one with that life that the formin which it was veiled could not repel them. When we come to study it as one of the Lesser Mysteries, we shall feelthat for its understanding some spiritual development is needed, someopening of the inner eyes. To grasp it requires that its spirit shouldbe partly evolved in the life, and only those who know practicallysomething of the meaning of self-surrender will be able to catch aglimpse of what is implied in the esoteric teaching on this doctrine, asthe typical manifestation of the Law of Sacrifice. We can onlyunderstand it as applied to the Christ, when we see it as a specialmanifestation of the universal law, a reflection below of the Patternabove, showing us in a concrete human life what sacrifice means. The Law of Sacrifice underlies our system and all systems, and on it alluniverses are builded. It lies at the root of evolution, and alone makesit intelligible. In the doctrine of the Atonement it takes a concreteform in connection with men who have reached a certain stage inspiritual development, the stage that enables them to realise theironeness with humanity, and to become, in very deed and truth, Savioursof men. All the great religions of the world have declared that the universebegins by an act of sacrifice, and have incorporated the idea ofsacrifice into their most solemn rites. In Hinduism, the dawn ofmanifestation is said to be by sacrifice, [216] mankind is emanated withsacrifice, [217] and it is Deity who sacrifices Himself;[218] the objectof the sacrifice is manifestation; He cannot become manifest unless anact of sacrifice be performed, and inasmuch as nothing can be manifestuntil He manifests, [219] the act of sacrifice is called "the dawn" ofcreation. In the Zoroastrian religion it was taught that in the Existence that isboundless, unknowable, unnameable, sacrifice was performed and manifestDeity appeared; Ahura-mazdâo was born of an act of sacrifice. [220] In the Christian religion the same idea is indicated in the phrase: "theLamb slain from the foundation of the world, "[221] slain at the originof things. These words can but refer to the important truth that therecan be no founding of a world until the Deity has made an act ofsacrifice. This act is explained as limiting Himself in order to becomemanifest. "The Law of Sacrifice might perhaps more truly be called TheLaw of Manifestation, or the Law of Love and of Life, for throughout theuniverse, from the highest to the lowest, it is the cause ofmanifestation and life. "[222] "Now, if we study this physical world, as being the most availablematerial, we find that all life in it, all growth, all progress, alikefor units and for aggregates, depend on continual sacrifice and theendurance of pain. Mineral is sacrificed to vegetable, vegetable toanimal, both to man, men to men, and all the higher forms again breakup, and reinforce again with their separated constituents the lowestkingdom. It is a continual sequence of sacrifices from the lowest to thehighest, and the very mark of progress is that the sacrifice from beinginvoluntary and imposed becomes voluntary and self-chosen, and those whoare recognised as greatest by man's intellect and loved most by man'sheart are the supreme sufferers, those heroic souls who wrought, endured, and died that the race might profit by their pain. If the worldbe the work of the Logos, and the law of the world's progress in thewhole and the parts is sacrifice, then the Law of Sacrifice must pointto something in the very nature of the Logos; it must have its root inthe Divine Nature itself. A little further thought shows us that ifthere is to be a world, a universe at all, this can only be by the OneExistence conditioning Itself and thus making manifestation possible, and that the very Logos is the Self-limited God; limited to becomemanifest; manifested to bring a universe into being; suchself-limitation and manifestation can only be a supreme act ofsacrifice, and what wonder that on every hand the world should show itsbirth-mark, and that the Law of Sacrifice should be the law of being, the law of the derived lives. "Further, as it is an act of sacrifice in order that individuals maycome into existence to share the Divine bliss, it is very truly avicarious act--an act done for the sake of others; hence the factalready noted, that progress is marked by sacrifice becoming voluntaryand self-chosen, and we realise that humanity reaches its perfection inthe man who gives himself for men, and by his own suffering purchasesfor the race some lofty good. "Here, in the highest regions, is the inmost verity of vicarioussacrifice, and however it may be degraded and distorted, this innerspiritual truth makes it indestructible, eternal, and the fount whenceflows the spiritual energy which, in manifold forms and ways, redeemsthe world from evil and draws it home to God. "[223] When the Logos comes forth from "the bosom of the Father" in that "Day"when He is said to be "begotten, "[224] the dawn of the Day of Creation, of Manifestation, when by Him God "made the worlds, "[225] He by His ownwill limits Himself, making as it were a sphere enclosing the DivineLife, coming forth as a radiant orb of Deity, the Divine Substance, Spirit within and limitation, or Matter, without. This is the veil ofmatter which makes possible the birth of the Logos, Mary, theWorld-Mother, necessary for the manifestation in time of the Eternal, that Deity may manifest for the building of the worlds. That circumscription, that self-limitation, is the act of sacrifice, avoluntary action done for love's sake, that other lives may be born fromHim. Such a manifestation has been regarded as a death, for, incomparison with the unimaginable life of God in Himself, suchcircumscription in matter may truly be called death. It has beenregarded, as we have seen, as a crucifixion in matter, and has been thusfigured, the true origin of the symbol of the cross, whether in itsso-called Greek form, wherein the vivifying of matter by the Holy Ghostis signified, or in its so-called Latin, whereby the Heavenly Man isfigured, the supernal Christ. [226] "In tracing the symbolism of the Latin cross, or rather of the crucifix, back into the night of time, the investigators had expected to find thefigure disappear, leaving behind what they supposed to be the earliercross-emblem. As a matter of fact exactly the reverse took place, andthey were startled to find that eventually the cross drops away, leavingonly the figure with uplifted arms. No longer is there any thought ofpain or sorrow connected with that figure, though still it tells ofsacrifice; rather is it now the symbol of the purest joy the world canhold--the joy of freely giving--for it typifies the Divine Man standingin space with arms upraised in blessing, casting abroad His gifts to allhumanity, pouring forth freely of Himself in all directions, descendinginto that 'dense sea' of matter, to be cribbed, cabined, and confinedtherein, in order that through that descent _we_ may come intobeing. "[227] This sacrifice is perpetual, for in every form in this universe ofinfinite diversity this life is enfolded, and is its very heart, the"Heart of Silence" of the Egyptian ritual, the "Hidden God. " Thissacrifice is the secret of evolution. The Divine Life, cabined within aform, ever presses outwards in order that the form may expand, butpresses gently, lest the form should break ere yet it had reached itsutmost limit of expansion. With infinite patience and tact anddiscretion, the divine One keeps up the constant pressure that expands, without loosing a force that would disrupt. In every form, in mineral, in vegetable, in animal, in man, this expansive energy of the Logos isceaselessly working. That is the evolutionary force, the lifting lifewithin the forms, the rising energy that science glimpses, but knows notwhence it comes. The botanist tells of an energy within the plant, thatpulls ever upwards; he knows not how, he knows not why, but he gives ita name--the _vis a fronte_--because he finds it there, or rather findsits results. Just as it is in plant life, so is it in other forms aswell, making them more and more expressive of the life within them. Whenthe limit of any form is reached, and it can grow no further, so thatnothing more can be gained through it by the soul of it--that germ ofHimself, which the Logos is brooding over--then He draws away Hisenergy, and the form disintegrates--we call it death and decay. But thesoul is with Him, and He shapes for it a new form, and the death of theform is the birth of the soul into fuller life. If we saw with the eyesof the Spirit instead of with the eyes of the flesh, we should not weepover a form, which is a corpse giving back the materials out of which itwas builded, but we should joy over the life passing onwards into noblerform, to expand under the unchanging process the powers still latentwithin. Through that perpetual sacrifice of the Logos all lives exist; it is thelife by which the universe is ever becoming. This life is One, but itembodies itself in myriad forms, ever drawing them together and gentlyovercoming their resistance. Thus it is an At-one-ment, a unifyingforce, by which the separated lives are gradually made conscious oftheir unity, labouring to develop in each a self-consciousness, whichshall at last know itself to be one with all others, and its root Oneand divine. This is the primary and ever-continued sacrifice, and it will be seenthat it is an outpouring of Life directed by Love, a voluntary and gladpouring forth of Self for the making of other Selves. This is "the joyof thy Lord"[228] into which the faithful servant enters, significantlyfollowed by the statement that He was hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, astranger and in prison, in the helped or neglected children of men. Tothe free Spirit to give itself is joy, and it feels its life the morekeenly, the more it pours itself forth. And the more it gives, the moreit grows, for the law of the growth of life is that it increases bypouring itself forth and not by drawing from without--by giving, not bytaking. Sacrifice, then, in its primary meaning, is a thing of joy; theLogos pours Himself out to make a world, and, seeing the travail of Hissoul, is satisfied. [229] But the word has come to be associated with suffering, and in allreligious rites of sacrifice some suffering, if only that of a trivialloss to the sacrificer, is present. It is well to understand how thischange has come about, so that when the word "sacrifice" is used theinstinctive connotation is one of pain. The explanation is seen when we turn from the manifesting Life to theforms in which it is embodied, and look at the question of sacrificefrom the side of the forms. While the life of Life is in giving, thelife, or persistence, of form is in taking, for the form is wasted as itis exercised, it is diminished as it is exerted. If the form is tocontinue, it must draw fresh material from outside itself in order torepair its losses, else will it waste and vanish away. The form mustgrasp, keep, build into itself what it has grasped, else it cannotpersist; and the law of growth of the form is to take and assimilatethat which the wider universe supplies. As the consciousness identifiesitself with the form, regarding the form as itself, sacrifice takes on apainful aspect; to give, to surrender, to lose what has been acquired, is felt to undermine the persistence of the form, and thus the Law ofSacrifice becomes a law of pain instead of a law of joy. Man had to learn by the constant breaking up of forms, and the paininvolved in the breaking, that he must not identify himself with thewasting and changing forms, but with the growing persistent life, and hewas taught his lesson not only by external nature, but by the deliberatelessons of the Teachers who gave him religions. We can trace in the religions of the world four great stages ofinstruction in the Law of Sacrifice. First, man was taught to sacrificepart of his material possession in order to gain increased materialprosperity, and sacrifices were made in charity to men and in offeringsto Deities, as we may read in the scriptures of the Hindus, theZoroastrians, the Hebrews, indeed all the world over. The man gave upsomething he valued to insure future prosperity to himself, his family, his community, his nation. He sacrificed in the present to gain in thefuture. Secondly, came a lesson a little harder to learn; instead ofphysical prosperity and worldly good, the fruit to be gained bysacrifice was celestial bliss. Heaven was to be won, happiness was tobe enjoyed on the other side of death--such was the reward forsacrifices made during the life led on earth. A considerable step forward was made when a man learned to give up thethings for which his body craved for the sake of a distant good which hecould not see nor demonstrate. He learned to surrender the visible forthe invisible, and in so doing rose in the scale of being; for so greatis the fascination of the visible and the tangible, that if a man beable to surrender them for the sake of an unseen world in which hebelieves, he has acquired much strength and has made a long step towardsthe realisation of that unseen world. Over and over again martyrdom hasbeen endured, obloquy has been faced, man has learned to stand alone, bearing all that his race could pour upon him of pain, misery, andshame, looking to that which is beyond the grave. True, there stillremains in this a longing for celestial glory, but it is no small thingto be able to stand alone on earth and rest on spiritual companionship, to cling firmly to the inner life when the outer is all torture. The third lesson came when a man, seeing himself as part of a greaterlife, was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the whole, and sobecame strong enough to recognise that sacrifice was right, that a part, a fragment, a unit in the sum total of life, should subordinate the partto the whole, the fragment to the totality. Then he learned to do right, without being affected by the outcome to his own person, to do duty, without wishing for result to himself, to endure because endurance wasright not because it would be crowned, to give because gifts were due tohumanity not because they would be repaid by the Lord. The hero-soulthus trained was ready for the fourth lesson: that sacrifice of all theseparated fragment possesses is to be offered because the Spirit is notreally separate but is part of the divine Life, and knowing nodifference, feeling no separation, the man pours himself forth as partof the Life Universal, and in the expression of that Life he shares thejoy of his Lord. It is in the three earlier stages that the pain-aspect of sacrifice isseen. The first meets but small sufferings; in the second the physicallife and all that earth has to give may be sacrificed; the third is thegreat time of testing, of trying, of the growth and evolution of thehuman soul. For in that stage duty may demand all in which life seems toconsist, and the man, still identified in _feeling_ with the form, though _knowing_ himself theoretically to transcend it, finds that allhe feels as life is demanded of him, and questions: "If I let this go, what then will remain?" It seems as though consciousness itself wouldcease with this surrender, for it must loose its hold on all itrealises, and it sees nothing to grasp on the other side. Anover-mastering conviction, an imperious voice, call on him to surrenderhis very life. If he shrinks back, he must go on in the life ofsensation, the life of the intellect, the life of the world, and as hehas the joys he dared not resign, he finds a constant dissatisfaction, aconstant craving, a constant regret and lack of pleasure in the world, and he realises the truth of the saying of the Christ that "he thatwill save his life shall lose it, "[230] and that the life that was lovedand clung to is only lost at last. Whereas if he risks all in obedienceto the voice that summons, if he throws away his life, then in losingit, he finds it unto life eternal, [231] and he discovers that the lifehe surrendered was only death in life, that all he gave up was illusion, and that he found reality. In that choice the metal of the soul isproved, and only the pure gold comes forth from the fiery furnace, wherelife seemed to be surrendered but where life was won. And then followsthe joyous discovery that the life thus won is won for all, not for theseparated self, that the abandoning of the separated self has meant therealising of the Self in man, and that the resignation of the limitwhich alone seemed to make life possible has meant the pouring out intomyriad forms, an undreamed vividness and fulness, "the power of anendless life. "[232] Such is an outline of the Law of Sacrifice, based on the primarySacrifice of the Logos, that Sacrifice of which all other sacrifices arereflexions. We have seen how the man Jesus, the Hebrew disciple, laid down His bodyin glad surrender that a higher Life might descend and become embodiedin the form He thus willingly sacrificed, and how by that act He becamea Christ of full stature, to be the Guardian of Christianity, and topour out His life into the great religion founded by the Mighty One withwhom the sacrifice had identified Him. We have seen the Christ-Soulpassing through the great Initiations--born as a little child, steppingdown into the river of the world's sorrows, with the waters of which hemust be baptised into his active ministry, transfigured on the Mount, led to the scene of his last combat, and triumphing over death. We havenow to see in what sense he is an atonement, how in the Christ-life theLaw of Sacrifice finds a perfect expression. The beginning of what may be called the ministry of the Christ come tomanhood is in that intense and permanent sympathy with the world'ssorrows which is typified by the stepping down into the river. From thattime forward the life must be summed up in the phrase, "He went aboutdoing good;" for those who sacrifice the separated life to be a channelof the divine Life, can have no interest in this world save the helpingof others. He learns to identify himself with the consciousness of thosearound him, to feel as they feel, think as they think, enjoy as theyenjoy, suffer as they suffer, and thus he brings into his daily wakinglife that sense of unity with others which he experiences in the higherrealms of being. He must develop a sympathy which vibrates in perfectharmony with the many-toned chord of human life, so that he may link inhimself the human and the divine lives, and become a mediator betweenheaven and earth. Power is now manifested in him, for the Spirit is resting on him, and hebegins to stand out in the eyes of men as one of those who are able tohelp their younger brethren to tread the path of life. As they gatherround him, they feel the power that comes out from him, the divine Lifein the accredited Son of the Highest. The souls that are hungry come tohim and he feeds them with the bread of life; the diseased with sinapproach him, and he heals them with the living word which cures thesickness and makes whole the soul; the blind with ignorance draw nighhim, and he opens their eyes by the light of his wisdom. It is the chiefmark in his ministry that the lowest and the poorest, the most desperateand the most degraded, feel in approaching him no wall of separation, feel as they throng around him welcome and not repulsion; for thereradiates from him a love that understands and that can therefore neverwish to repel. However low the soul may be, he never feels theChrist-Soul as standing above him but rather as standing beside him, treading with human feet the ground he also treads; yet as filled withsome strange uplifting power that raises him upwards and fills him alsowith new impulse and fresh inspiration. Thus he lives and labours, a true Saviour of men, until the time comeswhen he must learn another lesson, losing for awhile his consciousnessof that divine Life of which his own has been becoming ever more andmore the expression. And this lesson is that the true centre of divineLife lies within and not without. The Self has its centre within eachhuman soul--truly is "the centre everywhere, " for Christ is _in_ all, and God in Christ--and no embodied life, nothing "out of theEternal"[233] can help him in his direst need. He has to learn that thetrue unity of Father and Son is to be found within and not without, andthis lesson can only come in uttermost isolation, when he feels forsakenby the God outside himself. As this trial approaches, he cries out tothose who are nearest to him to watch with him through his hour ofdarkness; and then, by the breaking of every human sympathy, the failingof every human love, he finds himself thrown back on the life of thedivine Spirit, and cries out to his Father, feeling himself in consciousunion with Him, that the cup may pass away. Having stood alone, save forthat divine Helper, he is worthy to face the last ordeal, where the Godwithout him vanishes, and only the God within is left. "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" rings out the bitter cry of startled loveand fear. The last loneliness descends on him, and he feels himselfforsaken and alone. Yet never is the Father nearer to the Son than atthe moment when the Christ-Soul feels himself forsaken, for as he thustouches the lowest depth of sorrow, the hour of his triumph begins todawn. For now he learns that he must himself become the God to whom hecries, and by feeling the last pang of separation he finds the eternalunity, he feels the fount of life is within, and knows himself eternal. None can become fully a Saviour of men nor sympathise perfectly with allhuman suffering, unless he has faced and conquered pain and fear anddeath unaided, save by the aid he draws from the God within him. It iseasy to suffer when there is unbroken consciousness between the higherand the lower; nay, suffering is not, while that consciousness remainsunbroken, for the light of the higher makes darkness in the lowerimpossible, and pain is not pain when borne in the smile of God. Thereis a suffering that men have to face, that every Saviour of man mustface, where darkness is on the human consciousness, and never a glimmerof light comes through; he must know the pang of the despair felt by thehuman soul when there is darkness on every side, and the gropingconsciousness cannot find a hand to clasp. Into that darkness every Sonof Man goes down, ere he rises triumphant; that bitterest experience istasted by every Christ, ere he is "able to save them to theuttermost"[234] who seek the Divine through him. Such a one has become truly divine, a Saviour of men, and he takes upthe world-work for which all this has been the preparation. Into himmust pour all the forces that make against man, in order that in himthey may be changed into forces that help. Thus he becomes one of thePeace-centres of the world, which transmute the forces of combat thatwould otherwise crush man. For the Christs of the world are thesePeace-centres into which pour all warring forces, to be changed withinthem and then poured out as forces that work for harmony. Part of the sufferings of the Christ not yet perfect lies in thisharmonising of the discord-making forces in the world. Although a Son, he yet learns by suffering and is thus "made perfect. "[235] Humanitywould be far more full of combat and rent with strife were it not forthe Christ-disciples living in its midst, and harmonising many of thewarring forces into peace. When it is said that the Christ suffers "for men, " that His strengthreplaces their weakness, His purity their sin, His wisdom theirignorance, a truth is spoken; for the Christ so becomes one with menthat they share with Him and He with them. There is no substitution ofHim for them, but the taking of their lives into His, and the pouring ofHis life into theirs. For, having risen to the plane of unity, He isable to share all He has gained, to give all He has won. Standing abovethe plane of separateness and looking down at the souls immersed inseparateness, He can reach each while they cannot reach each other. Water can flow from above into many pipes, open to the reservoir thoughclosed as regards each other, and so He can send His life into eachsoul. Only one condition is needed in order that a Christ may share Hisstrength with a younger brother: that in the separated life the humanconsciousness will open itself to the divine, will show itself receptiveof the offered life, and take the freely outpoured gift. For so reverentis God to that Spirit which is Himself in man, that He will not evenpour into the human soul a flood of strength and life unless that soulis willing to receive it. There must be an opening from below as well asan outpouring from above, the receptiveness of the lower nature as wellas the willingness of the higher to give. That is the link between theChrist and the man; that is what the churches have called the outpouringof "divine grace"; that is what is meant by the "faith" necessary tomake the grace effective. As Giordano Bruno once put it--the human soulhas windows, and can shut those windows close. The sun outside isshining, the light is unchanging; let the windows be opened and thesunlight must stream in. The light of God is beating against the windowsof every human soul, and when the windows are thrown open, the soulbecomes illuminated. There is no change in God, but there is a change inman; and man's will may not be forced, else were the divine Life in himblocked in its due evolution. Thus in every Christ that rises, all humanity is lifted a step higher, and by His wisdom the ignorance of the whole world is lessened. Each manis less weak because of His strength, which pours out over all humanityand enters the separated soul. Out of that doctrine, seen narrowly, andtherefore mis-seen, grew the idea of the vicarious Atonement as a legaltransaction between God and man, in which Jesus took the place of thesinner. It was not understood that One who had touched that height wasverily one with all His brethren; identity of nature was mistaken for apersonal substitution, and thus the spiritual truth was lost in theharshness of a judicial exchange. "Then he comes to a knowledge of his place in the world, of his functionin nature--to be a Saviour and to make atonement for the sins of thepeople. He stands in the inner Heart of the world, the Holy of Holies, as a High Priest of Humanity. He is one with all his brethren, not by avicarious substitution, but by the unity of a common life. Is anysinful? he is sinful in them, that his purity may purge them. Is anysorrowful? in them he is the man of sorrows; every broken heart breakshis, in every pierced heart his heart is pierced. Is any glad? in themhe is joyous, and pours out his bliss. Is any craving? in them he isfeeling want that he may fill them with his utter satisfaction. He haseverything, and because it is his it is theirs. He is perfect; then theyare perfect with him. He is strong; who then can be weak, since he is inthem? He climbed to his high place that he might pour out to all belowhim, and he lives in order that all may share his life. He lifts thewhole world with him as he rises, the path is easier for all men, because he has trodden it. "Every son of man may become such a manifested Son of God, such aSaviour of the world. In each such Son is 'God manifest in theflesh, '[236] the atonement that aids all mankind, the living power thatmakes all things new. Only one thing is needed to bring that power intomanifested activity in any individual soul; the soul must open the doorand let Him in. Even He, all-permeating, cannot force His way againstHis brother's will; the human will can hold its own alike against Godand man, and by the law of evolution it must voluntarily associateitself with divine action, and not be broken into sullen submission. Letthe will throw open the door, and the life will flood the soul. Whilethe door is closed it will only gently breathe through it itsunutterable fragrance, that the sweetness of that fragrance may win, where the barrier may not be forced by strength. "This it is, in part, to be a Christ; but how can mortal pen mirror theimmortal, or mortal words tell of that which is beyond the power ofspeech? Tongue may not utter, the unillumined mind may not grasp, thatmystery of the Son who has become one with the Father, carrying in Hisbosom the sons of men. "[237] Those who would prepare to rise to such a life in the future must begineven now to tread in the lower life the path of the Shadow of the Cross. Nor should they doubt their power to rise, for to do so is to doubt theGod within them. "Have faith in yourself, " is one of the lessons thatcomes from the higher view of man, for that faith is really in the Godwithin. There is a way by which the shadow of the Christ-life may fallon the common life of man, and that is by doing every act as asacrifice, not for what it will bring to the doer but for what it willbring to others, and, in the daily common life of small duties, pettyactions, narrow interests, by changing the motive and thus changing all. Not one thing in the outer life need necessarily be varied; in any lifesacrifice may be offered, amid any surroundings God may be served. Evolving spirituality is marked not by what a man does, but by how hedoes it; not in the circumstances, but in the attitude of a man towardsthem, lies the opportunity of growth. "And indeed this symbol of thecross may be to us as a touchstone to distinguish the good from the evilin many of the difficulties of life. 'Only those actions through whichshines the light of the cross are worthy of the life of the disciple, 'says one of the verses in a book of occult maxims; and it is interpretedto mean that all that the aspirant does should be prompted by thefervour of self-sacrificing love. The same thought appears in a laterverse: 'When one enters the path, he lays his heart upon the cross; whenthe cross and the heart have become one, then hath he reached the goal. 'So, perchance, we may measure our progress by watching whetherselfishness or self-sacrifice is dominant in our lives. "[238] Every life which begins thus to shape itself is preparing the cave inwhich the Child-Christ shall be born, and the life shall become aconstant at-one-ment, bringing the divine more and more into the human. Every such life shall grow into the life of a "beloved Son, " and shallhave in it the glory of the Christ. Every man may work in that directionby making every act and power a sacrifice, until the gold is purged fromthe dross, and only the pure ore remains. CHAPTER VIII. RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION The doctrines of the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ also form partof the Lesser Mysteries, being integral portions of "The Solar Myth, "and of the life-story of the Christ in man. As regards Christ Himself they have their historical basis in the factsof His continuing to teach His apostles after His physical death, and ofHis appearance in the Greater Mysteries as Hierophant after His directinstructions had ceased, until Jesus took His place. In the mythic talesthe resurrection of the hero and his glorification invariably formed theconclusion of his death-story; and in the Mysteries, the body of thecandidate was always thrown into a death-like trance, during which he, as a liberated soul, travelled through the invisible world, returningand reviving the body after three days. And in the life-story of theindividual, who is becoming a Christ, we shall find, as we study it, that the dramas of the Resurrection and Ascension are repeated. But before we can intelligently follow that story, we must master theoutlines of the human constitution, and understand the natural andspiritual bodies of man. "There is a natural body, and there is aspiritual body. "[239] There are still some uninstructed people who regard man as a mereduality, made up of "soul" and "body. " Such people use the words "soul"and "spirit" as synonyms, and speak indifferently of "soul and body" or"spirit and body, " meaning that man is composed of two constituents, oneof which perishes at death, while the other survives. For the verysimple and ignorant this rough division is sufficient, but it will notenable us to understand the mysteries of the Resurrection andAscension. Every Christian who has made even a superficial study of the humanconstitution recognises in it three distinct constituents--Spirit, Soul, and Body. This division is sound, though needing further subdivision formore profound study, and it has been used by S. Paul in his prayer that"your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. "[240] Thatthreefold division is accepted in Christian Theology. The Spirit itself is really a Trinity, the reflexion and image of theSupreme Trinity, and this we shall study in the following chapter. [241]The true man, the immortal, who is the Spirit, is the Trinity in man. This is life, consciousness, and to this the spiritual body belongs, each aspect of the Trinity having its own Body. The Soul is dual, andcomprises the mind and the emotional nature, with its appropriategarments. And the Body is the material instrument of Spirit and Soul. Inone Christian view of man he is a twelve-fold being, six modificationsforming the spiritual man, and six the natural man; according toanother, he is divisible into fourteen, seven modifications ofconsciousness and seven corresponding types of form. This latter view ispractically identical with that studied by Mystics, and it is usuallyspoken of as seven-fold, because there are really seven divisions, eachbeing two-fold, having a life-side and a form-side. These divisions and sub-divisions are somewhat confusing and perplexingto the dull, and hence Origen and Clement, as we have seen, [242] laidgreat stress on the need for intelligence on the part of all who desiredto become Gnostics. After all, those who find them troublesome can leavethem on one side, without grudging them to the earnest student, whofinds them not only illuminative, but absolutely necessary to any clearunderstanding of the Mysteries of Life and Man. The word Body means a vehicle of consciousness, or an instrument ofconsciousness; that in which consciousness is carried about, as in avehicle, or which consciousness uses to contact the external world, as amechanic uses an instrument. Or, we may liken it to a vessel, in whichconsciousness is held, as a jar holds liquid. It is a form used by alife, and we know nothing of consciousness save as connected with suchforms. The form may be of rarest, subtlest, materials, may be sodiaphanous that we are only conscious of the indwelling life; still itis there, and it is composed of Matter. It may be so dense, that ithides the indwelling life, and we are conscious only of the form; stillthe life is there, and it is composed of the opposite of Matter--Spirit. The student must study and re-study this fundamental fact--the dualityof all manifested existence, the inseparable co-existence of Spirit andMatter in a grain of dust, in the Logos, the God manifested. The ideamust become part of him; else must he give up the study of the LesserMysteries. The Christ, as God and Man, only shows out on the kosmicscale the same fact of duality that is repeated everywhere in nature. Onthat original duality everything in the universe is formed. Man has a "natural body, " and this is made up of four different andseparable portions, and is subject to death. Two of these are composedof physical matter, and are never completely separated from each otheruntil death, though a partial separation may be caused by anæsthetics, or by disease. These two may be classed together as the Physical Body. In this the man carries on his conscious activities while he is awake;speaking technically, it is his vehicle of consciousness in the physicalworld. The third portion is the Desire Body, so called because man's feelingand passional nature finds in this its special vehicle. In sleep, theman leaves the physical body, and carries on his conscious activities inthis, which functions in the invisible world closest to our visibleearth. It is therefore his vehicle of consciousness in the lowest of thesuper-physical worlds, which is also the first world into which men passat death. The fourth portion is the Mental Body, so called because man'sintellectual nature, so far as it deals with the concrete, functions inthis. It is his vehicle of consciousness in the second of thesuper-physical worlds, which is also the second, or lower heavenlyworld, into which men pass after death, when freed from the worldalluded to in the preceding paragraph. These four portions of his encircling form, made up of the dual physicalbody, the desire body, and the mental body, form the natural body ofwhich S. Paul speaks. This scientific analysis has fallen out of the ordinary Christianteaching, which is vague and confused on this matter. It is not that thechurches have never possessed it; on the contrary, this knowledge of theconstitution of man formed part of the teachings in the LesserMysteries; the simple division into Spirit, Soul, and Body was exoteric, the first rough and ready division given as a foundation. Thesubdivision as regards the "Body" was made in the course of laterinstruction, as a preliminary to the training by which the instructorenabled his pupil to separate one vehicle from another, and to use eachas a vehicle of consciousness in its appropriate region. This conception should be readily enough grasped. If a man wants totravel on the solid earth, he uses as his vehicle a carriage or a train. If he wants to travel on the liquid seas, he changes his vehicle, andtakes a ship. If he wants to travel in the air, he changes his vehicleagain and uses a balloon. He is the same man throughout, but he is usingthree different vehicles, according to the kind of matter he wants totravel in. The analogy is rough and inadequate, but it is notmisleading. When a man is busy in the physical world, his vehicle is thephysical body, and his consciousness works in and through that body. When he passes into the world beyond the physical, in sleep and atdeath, his vehicle is the desire body, and he may learn to use thisconsciously, as he uses the physical consciously. He already uses itunconsciously every day of his life when he is feeling and desiring, aswell as every night of his life. When he goes on into the heavenly worldafter death, his vehicle is the mental body, and this also he is dailyusing, when he is thinking, and there would be no thought in the brainwere there none in the mental body. Man has further "a spiritual body. " This is made up of three separableportions, each portion belonging to one of, and separating off, thethree Persons in the Trinity of the human Spirit. S. Paul speaks ofbeing "caught up to the third heaven, " and of there hearing "unspeakablewords which it is not lawful for a man to utter. "[243] These differentregions of the invisible supernal worlds are known to Initiates, andthey are well aware that those who pass beyond the first heaven need thetruly spiritual body as their vehicle, and that according to thedevelopment of its three divisions is the heaven into which they canpenetrate. The lowest of these three divisions is usually called the Causal Body, for a reason that will be only fully assimilable by those who havestudied the teaching of Reincarnation--taught in the Early Church--andwho understand that human evolution needs very many successive lives onearth, ere the germinal soul of the savage can become the perfectedsoul of the Christ, and then, becoming perfect as the Father inHeaven, [244] can realise the union of the Son with the Father. [245] Itis a body that lasts from life to life, and in it all memory of the pastis stored. From it come forth the causes that build up the lower bodies. It is the receptacle of human experience, the treasure-house in whichall we gather in our lives is stored up, the seat of Conscience, thewielder of the Will. The second of the three divisions of the spiritual body is spoken of byS. Paul in the significant words: "We have a building of God, an housenot made with hands, eternal in the heavens. "[246] That is the BlissBody, the glorified body of the Christ, "the Resurrection Body. " It isnot a body which is "made with hands, " by the working of consciousnessin the the lower vehicles; it is not formed by experience, not buildedout of the materials gathered by man in his long pilgrimage. It is abody which belongs to the Christ-life, the life of Initiation; to thedivine unfoldment in man; it is builded of God, by the activity of theSpirit, and grows during the whole life or lives of the Initiate, onlyreaching its perfection at "the Resurrection. " The third division of the spiritual body is the fine film of subtlematter that separates off the individual Spirit as a Being, and yetpermits the interpenetration of all by all, and is thus the expressionof the fundamental unity. In the day when the Son Himself shall "besubject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all inall, "[247] this film will be transcended, but for us it remains thehighest division of the spiritual body, in which we ascend to theFather, and are united with Him. Christianity has always recognised the existence of three worlds, orregions, through which a man passes; first, the physical world;secondly, an intermediate state into which he passes at death; thirdly, the heavenly world. These three worlds are universally believed in byeducated Christians; only the uninstructed imagine that a man passesfrom his death-bed into the final state of beatitude. But there is somedifference of opinion as to the nature of the intermediate world. TheRoman Catholic names it Purgatory, and believes that every soul passesinto it, save that of the Saint, the man who has reached perfection, orthat of a man who has died in "mortal sin. " The great mass of humanitypass into a purifying region, wherein a man remains for a period varyingin length according to the sins he has committed, only passing out of itinto the heavenly world when he has become pure. The various communitiesthat are called Protestant vary in their teachings as to details, andmostly repudiate the idea of _post mortem_ purification; but they agreebroadly that there is an intermediate state, sometimes spoken of as"Paradise, " or as a "waiting period. " The heavenly world is almostuniversally, in modern Christendom, regarded as a final state, with novery definite or general idea as to its nature, or as to the progress orstationary condition of those attaining to it. In early Christianitythis heaven was considered to be, as it really is, a stage in theprogress of the soul, re-incarnation in one form or another, thepre-existence of the soul, being then very generally taught. The resultwas, of course, that the heavenly state was a temporary condition, though often a very prolonged one, lasting for "an age"--as stated inthe Greek of the New Testament, the age being ended by the return of theman for the next stage of his continuing life and progress--and not"everlasting, " as in the mistranslation of the English authorisedversion. [248] In order to complete the outline necessary for the understanding of theResurrection and Ascension, we must see how these various bodies aredeveloped in the higher evolution. The physical body is in a constant state of flux, its minute particlesbeing continually renewed, so that it is ever building; and as it iscomposed of the food we eat, the liquids we drink, the air we breathe, and particles drawn from our physical surroundings, both people andthings, we can steadily purify it, by choosing its materials well, andthus make it an ever purer vehicle through which to act, receptive ofsubtler vibrations, responsive to purer desires, to nobler and moreelevated thoughts. For this reason all who aspired to attain to theMysteries were subjected to rules of diet, ablution, &c. , and weredesired to be very careful as to the people with whom they associated, and the places to which they went. The desire body also changes, in similar fashion, but the materials forit are expelled and drawn in by the play of the desires, arising fromthe feelings, passions, and emotions. If these are coarse, the materialsbuilt into the desire body are also coarse, while as these are purified, the desire body grows subtle and becomes very sensitive to the higherinfluences. In proportion as a man dominates his lower nature, andbecomes unselfish in his wishes, feelings, and emotions, as he makes hislove for those around him less selfish and grasping, he is purifyingthis higher vehicle of consciousness; the result is that when out of thebody in sleep he has higher, purer, and more instructive experiences, and when he leaves the physical body at death, he passes swiftly throughthe intermediate state, the desire body disintegrating with greatrapidity, and not delaying him in his onward journey. The mental body is similarly being built now, in this case by thoughts. It will be the vehicle of consciousness in the heavenly world, but isbeing built now by aspirations, by imagination, reason, judgment, artistic faculties, by the use of all the mental powers. Such as the manmakes it, so must he wear it, and the length and richness of hisheavenly state depend on the kind of mental body he has built during hislife on earth. As a man enters the higher evolution, this body comes into independentactivity on this side of death, and he gradually becomes conscious ofhis heavenly life, even amid the whirl of mundane existence. Then hebecomes "the Son of man which is in heaven, "[249] who can speak with theauthority of knowledge on heavenly things. When the man begins to livethe life of the Son, having passed on to the Path of Holiness, he livesin heaven while remaining on earth, coming into conscious possession anduse of this heavenly body. And inasmuch as heaven is not far away fromus, but surrounds us on every side, and we are only shut out from it byour incapacity to feel its vibrations, not by their absence; inasmuch asthose vibrations are playing upon us at every moment of our lives; allthat is needed to be in Heaven is to become conscious of thosevibrations. We become conscious of them with the vitalising, theorganising, the evolution of this heavenly body, which, being buildedout of the heavenly materials, answers to the vibrations of the matterof the heavenly world. Hence the "Son of man" is ever in heaven. But weknow that the "Son of man" is a term applied to the Initiate, not tothe Christ risen and glorified but to the Son while he is yet "beingmade perfect. "[250] During the stages of evolution that lead up to and include theProbationary Path, the first division of the spiritual body--the CausalBody--develops rapidly, and enables the man, after death, to rise intothe second heaven. After the Second Birth, the birth of the Christ inman, begins the building of the Bliss Body "in the heavens. " This is thebody of the Christ, developing during the days of His service on earth, and, as it develops, the consciousness of the "Son of God" becomes moreand more marked, and the coming union with the Father illuminates theunfolding Spirit. In the Christian Mysteries--as in the ancient Egyptian, Chaldean, andothers--there was an outer symbolism which expressed the stages throughwhich the man was passing. He was brought into the chamber ofInitiation, and was stretched on the ground with his arms extended, sometimes on a cross of wood, sometimes merely on the stone floor, inthe posture of a crucified man. He was then touched with the thyrsus onthe heart--the "spear" of the crucifixion--and, leaving the body, hepassed into the worlds beyond, the body falling into a deep trance, thedeath of the crucified. The body was placed in a sarcophagus of stone, and there left, carefully guarded. Meanwhile the man himself wastreading first the strange obscure regions called "the heart of theearth, " and thereafter the heavenly mount, where he put on the perfectedbliss body, now fully organised as a vehicle of consciousness. In thathe returned to the body of flesh, to re-animate it. The cross bearingthat body, or the entranced and rigid body, if no cross had been used, was lifted out of the sarcophagus and placed on a sloping surface, facing the east, ready for the rising of the sun on the third day. Atthe moment that the rays of the sun touched the face, the Christ, theperfected Initiate or Master, re-entered the body, glorifying it by thebliss body He was wearing, changing the body of flesh by contact withthe body of bliss, giving it new properties, new powers, new capacities, transmuting it into His own likeness. That was the Resurrection of theChrist, and thereafter the body of flesh itself was changed, and took ona new nature. This is why the sun has ever been taken as the symbol of the risingChrist, and why, in Easter hymns, there is constant reference to therising of the Sun of Righteousness. So also is it written of thetriumphant Christ: "I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I amalive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. "[251]All the powers of the lower worlds have been taken under the dominion ofthe Son, who has triumphed gloriously; over Him death no more has power, "He holdeth life and death in His strong hand. "[252] He is the risenChrist, the Christ triumphant. The Ascension of the Christ was the Mystery of the third part of thespiritual body, the putting on of the Vesture of Glory, preparatory tothe union of the Son with the Father, of man with God, when the Spiritre-entered the glory it had "before the world was. "[253] Then the tripleSpirit becomes one, knows itself eternal, and the Hidden God is found. That is imaged in the doctrine of the Ascension, so far as theindividual is concerned. The Ascension for humanity is when the whole race has attained theChrist condition, the state of the Son, and that Son becomes one withthe Father, and God is all in all. That is the goal, prefigured in thetriumph of the Initiate, but reached only when the human race isperfected, and when "the great orphan Humanity" is no longer an orphan, but consciously recognises itself as the Son of God. Thus studying the doctrines of the Atonement, the Resurrection, and theAscension, we reach the truths unfolded concerning them in the LesserMysteries, and we begin to understand the full truth of the apostolicteaching that Christ was not a unique personality, but "the firstfruits of them that slept, "[254] and that every man was to become aChrist. Not then was the Christ regarded as an external Saviour, bywhose imputed righteousness men were to be saved from divine wrath. There was current in the Church the glorious and inspiring teaching thatHe was but the first fruits of humanity, the model that every man shouldreproduce in himself, the life that all should share. The Initiates haveever been regarded as these first fruits, the promise of a race madeperfect. To the early Christian, Christ was the living symbol of his owndivinity, the glorious fruit of the seed he bore in his own heart. Notto be saved by an external Christ, but to be glorified into an innerChrist, was the teaching of esoteric Christianity, of the LesserMysteries. The stage of discipleship was to pass into that of Sonship. The life of the Son was to be lived among men till it was closed by theResurrection, and the glorified Christ became one of the perfectedSaviours of the world. How far greater a Gospel than the one of modern days! Placed beside thatgrandiose ideal of esoteric Christianity, the exoteric teaching of thechurches seems narrow and poor indeed. CHAPTER IX. THE TRINITY. All fruitful study of the Divine Existence must start from theaffirmation that it is One. All the Sages have thus proclaimed It; everyreligion has thus affirmed It; every philosophy thus posits It--"Oneonly without a second. "[255] "Hear, O Israel!" cried Moses, "The Lordour God is one Lord. "[256] "To us there is but one God, "[257] declaresS. Paul. "There is no God but God, " affirms the founder of Islâm, andmakes the phrase the symbol of his faith. One Existence unbounded, knownin Its fulness only to Itself--the word It seems more reverent andinclusive than He, and is therefore used. That is the Eternal Darkness, out of which is born the Light. But as the Manifested God, the One appears as Three. A Trinity of DivineBeings, One as God, Three as manifested Powers. This also has ever beendeclared, and the truth is so vital in its relation to man and hisevolution that it is one which ever forms an essential part of theLesser Mysteries. Among the Hebrews, in consequence of their anthropomorphisingtendencies, the doctrine was kept secret, but the Rabbis studied andworshipped the Ancient of Days, from whom came forth the Wisdom, fromwhom the Understanding--Kether, Chochmah, Binah, these formed theSupreme Trinity, the shining forth in time of the One beyond time. TheBook of the Wisdom of Solomon refers to this teaching, making Wisdom aBeing. "According to Maurice, 'The first Sephira, who is denominatedKether the Crown, Kadmon the pure Light, and En Soph the Infinite, [258]is the omnipotent Father of the universe. .. . The second is theChochmah, whom we have sufficiently proved, both from sacred andRabbinical writings, to be the creative Wisdom. The third is the Binah, or heavenly Intelligence, whence the Egyptians had their Cneph, andPlato his _Nous Demiurgos_. He is the Holy Spirit who . .. Pervades, animates, and governs this boundless universe. '"[259] The bearing of this doctrine on Christian teaching is indicated by DeanMilman in his _History of Christianity_. He says: "This Being [the Wordor the Wisdom] was more or less distinctly impersonated, according tothe more popular or more philosophic, the more material or the moreabstract, notions of the age or people. This was the doctrine from theGanges, or even the shores of the Yellow Sea, to the Ilissus; it was thefundamental principle of the Indian religion and the Indian philosophy;it was the basis of Zoroastrianism; it was pure Platonism; it was thePlatonic Judaism of the Alexandrian school. Many fine passages might bequoted from Philo on the impossibility that the first self-existingBeing should become cognisable to the sense of man; and even inPalestine, no doubt, John the Baptist and our Lord Himself spoke no newdoctrine, but rather the common sentiment of the more enlightened, whenthey declared 'that no man had seen God at any time. ' In conformity withthis principle the Jews, in the interpretation of the older Scriptures, instead of direct and sensible communication from the one great Deity, had interposed either one or more intermediate beings as the channels ofcommunication. According to one accredited tradition alluded to by S. Stephen, the law was delivered 'by the disposition of angels'; accordingto another this office was delegated to a single angel, sometimes calledthe Angel of the Law (see Gal. Iii. 19); at others the Metatron. But themore ordinary representative, as it were, of God, to the sense and mindof man, was the Memra, or the Divine Word; and it is remarkable that thesame appellation is found in the Indian, the Persian, the Platonic, andthe Alexandrian systems. By the Targumists, the earliest Jewishcommentators on the Scriptures, this term had been already applied tothe Messiah; nor is it necessary to observe the manner in which it hasbeen sanctified by its introduction into the Christian scheme. "[260] As above said by the learned Dean, the idea of the Word, the Logos, wasuniversal, and it formed part of the idea of a Trinity. Among theHindus, the philosophers speak of the manifested Brahman asSat-Chit-Ananda, Existence, Intelligence, and Bliss. Popularly, theManifested God is a Trinity; Shiva, the Beginning and the End; Vishnu, the Preserver; Brahmâ, the Creator of the Universe. The Zoroastrianfaith presents a similar Trinity; Ahuramazdao, the Great One, the First;then "the twins, " the dual Second Person--for the Second Person in aTrinity is ever dual, deteriorated in modern days into an opposing Godand Devil--and the Universal Wisdom, Armaiti. In Northern Buddhism wefind Amitâbha, the boundless Light; Avalokiteshvara, the source ofincarnations, and the Universal Mind, Mandjusri. In Southern Buddhismthe idea of God has faded away, but with significant tenacity thetriplicity re-appears as that in which the Southern Buddhist takes hisrefuge--the Buddha, the Dharma (the Doctrine), the Sangha (the Order). But the Buddha Himself is sometimes worshipped as a Trinity; on a stonein Buddha Gaya is inscribed a salutation to Him as an incarnation of theEternal One, and it is said: "Om! Thou art Brahmâ, Vishnu, and Mahesha(Shiva) . .. I adore Thee, who art celebrated by a thousand names andunder various forms, in the shape of Buddha, the God of Mercy. "[261] In extinct religions the same idea of a Trinity is found. In Egypt itdominated all religious worship. "We have a hieoroglyphical inscriptionin the British Museum as early as the reign of Senechus of the eighthcentury before the Christian era, showing that the doctrine of Trinityin Unity already formed part of their religion. "[262] This is true of afar earlier date. Râ, Osiris, and Horus formed one widely worshippedTrinity; Osiris, Isis, and Horus were worshipped at Abydos; other namesare given in different cities, and the triangle is the frequently usedsymbol of the Triune God. The idea which underlay these Trinities, however named, is shown in a passage quoted from Marutho, in which anoracle, rebuking the pride of Alexander the Great, speaks of: "FirstGod, then the Word, and with Them the Spirit. "[263] In Chaldæa, Anu, Ea, and Bel were the Supreme Trinity, Anu being theOrigin of all, Ea the Wisdom, and Bel the creative Spirit. Of ChinaWilliamson remarks: "In ancient China the emperors used to sacrificeevery third year to 'Him who is one and three. ' There was a Chinesesaying, 'Fo is one person but has three forms. ' . .. In the loftyphilosophical system known in China as Taoism, a trinity also figures:'Eternal Reason produced One, One produced Two, Two produced Three, andThree produced all things, ' which, as Le Compte goes on to say, 'seemsto show as if they had some knowledge of the Trinity. '"[264] In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity we find a complete agreementwith other faiths as to the functions of the three Divine Persons, theword Person coming from _persona_, a mask, that which covers something, the mask of the One Existence, Its Self-revelation under a form. TheFather is the Origin and End of all; the Son is dual in His nature, andis the Word, or the Wisdom; the Holy Spirit is the creativeIntelligence, that brooding over the chaos of primeval matter organisesit into the materials out of which forms can be constructed. It is this identity of functions under so many varying names which showsthat we have here not a mere outer likeness, but an expression of aninner truth. There is something of which this triplicity is amanifestation, something that can be traced in nature and in evolution, and which, being recognised, will render intelligible the growth of man, the stages of his evolving life. Further, we find that in the universallanguage of symbolism the Persons are distinguished by certain emblems, and may be recognised by these under diversity of forms and names. But there is one other point that must be remembered ere we leave theexoteric statement of the Trinity--that in connection with all theseTrinities there is a fourth fundamental manifestation, the Power of theGod, and this has always a feminine form. In Hinduism each Person in theTrinity has His manifested Power, the One and these six aspects makingup the sacred Seven. With many of the Trinities one feminine formappears, then ever specially connected with the Second Person, and thenthere is the sacred Quaternary. Let us now see the inner truth. The One becomes manifest as the First Being, the Self-Existent Lord, theRoot of all, the Supreme Father; the word Will, or Power, seems best toexpress this primary Self-revealing, since until there is Will tomanifest there can be no manifestation, and until there is Willmanifested, impulse is lacking for further unfoldment. The universe maybe said to be rooted in the divine Will. Then follows the second aspectof the One--Wisdom; Power is guided by Wisdom, and therefore it iswritten that "without Him was not anything made that is made;"[265]Wisdom is dual in its nature, as will presently be seen. When theaspects of Will and Wisdom are revealed, a third aspect must follow tomake them effective--Creative Intelligence, the divine mind in Action. AJewish prophet writes: "He hath made the earth by His Power, He hathestablished the world by His Wisdom; and hath stretched out the heavenby His Understanding, "[266] the reference to the three functions beingvery clear. [267] These Three are inseparable, indivisible, three aspectsof One. Their functions may be thought of separately, for the sake ofclearness, but cannot be disjoined. Each is necessary to each, and eachis present in each. In the First Being, Will, Power, is seen aspredominant, as characteristic, but Wisdom and Creative Action are alsopresent; in the Second Being, Wisdom is seen as predominant, but Powerand Creative Action are none the less inherent in Him; in the ThirdBeing, Creative Action is seen as predominant, but Power and Wisdom areever also to be seen. And though the words First, Second, Third areused, because the Beings are thus manifested in Time, in the order ofSelf-unfolding, yet in Eternity they are known as interdependent andco-equal, "None is greater or less than Another. "[268] This Trinity is the divine Self, the divine Spirit, the Manifested God, He that "was and is and is to come, "[269] and He is the root of thefundamental triplicity in life, in consciousness. But we saw that there was a Fourth Person, or in some religions a secondTrinity, feminine, the Mother. This is That which makes manifestationpossible, That which eternally in the One is the root of limitation anddivision, and which, when manifested, is called Matter. This is thedivine Not-Self, the divine Matter, the manifested Nature. Regarded asOne, She is the Fourth, making possible the activity of the Three, theField of Their operations by virtue of Her infinite divisibility, atonce the "Handmaid of the Lord, "[270] and also His Mother, yielding ofHer substance to form His Body, the universe, when overshadowed by Hispower. [271] Regarded carefully She is seen to be triple also, existingin three inseparable aspects, without which She could not be. These areStability--Inertia or Resistance--Motion, and Rhythm; the fundamental oressential qualities of Matter, these are called. They alone renderSpirit effective, and have therefore been regarded as the manifestedPowers of the Trinity. Stability or Inertia affords a basis, the fulcrumfor the lever; Motion is then rendered manifest, but could make onlychaos, then Rhythm is imposed, and there is Matter in vibration, capableof being shaped and moulded. When the three qualities are inequilibrium, there is the One, the Virgin Matter, unproductive. When thepower of the Highest overshadows Her, and the breath of the Spirit comesupon Her, the qualities are thrown out of equilibrium, and She becomesthe divine Mother of the worlds. The first interaction is between Her and the Third Person of theTrinity; by His action She becomes capable of giving birth to form. Thenis revealed the Second Person, who clothes Himself in the material thusprovided, and thus become the Mediator, linking in His own Person Spiritand Matter, the Archetype of all forms. Only through Him does the FirstPerson become revealed, as the Father of all Spirits. It is now possible to see why the Second Person of the Trinity of Spiritis ever dual; He is the One who clothes Himself in Matter, in whom thetwin-halves of Deity appear in union, not as one. Hence also is HeWisdom; for Wisdom on the side of Spirit is the Pure Reason that knowsitself as the One Self and knows all things in that Self, and on theside of Matter it is Love, drawing the infinite diversity of formstogether, and making each form a unit, not a mere heap of particles--theprinciple of attraction which holds the worlds and all in them in aperfect order and balance. This is the Wisdom which is spoken of as"mightily and sweetly ordering all things, "[272] which sustains andpreserves the universe. In the world-symbols, found in every religion, the Point--that which hasposition only--has been taken as a symbol of the First Person in theTrinity. On this symbol St. Clement of Alexandria remarks that weabstract from a body its properties, then depth, then breadth, thenlength; "the point which remains is a unit, so to speak, havingposition; from which if we abstract position, there is the conception ofunity. "[273] He shines out, as it were, from the infinite Darkness, aPoint of Light, the centre of a future universe, a Unit, in whom allexists inseparate; the matter which is to form the universe, the fieldof His work, is marked out by the backward and forward vibration of thePoint in every direction, a vast sphere, limited by His Will, His Power. This is the making of "the earth by His Power, " spoken of byJeremiah. [274] Thus the full symbol is a Point within a sphere, represented usually as a Point within a circle. The Second Person isrepresented by a Line, a diameter of this circle, a single completevibration of the Point, and this Line is equally in every directionwithin the sphere; this Line dividing the circle in twain signifies alsoHis duality, that in Him Matter and Spirit--a unity in the FirstPerson--are visibly two, though in union. The Third Person isrepresented by a Cross formed by two diameters at right angles to eachother within the circle, the second line of the Cross separating theupper part of the circle from the lower. This is the Greek Cross. [275] When the Trinity is represented as a Unity, the Triangle is used, either inscribed within a circle, or free. The universe is symbolisedby two triangles interlaced, the Trinity of Spirit with the apex of thetriangle upward, the Trinity of Matter with the apex of the triangledownward, and if colours are used, the first is white, yellow, golden orflame-coloured, and the second black, or some dark shade. The kosmic process can now be readily followed. The One has become Two, and the Two Three, and the Trinity is revealed. The Matter of theuniverse is marked out and awaits the action of Spirit. This is the "inthe beginning" of Genesis, when "God created the heaven and theearth, "[276] a statement further elucidated by the repeated phrases thatHe "laid the foundations of the earth;"[277] we have here the markingout of the material, but a mere chaos, "without form and void. "[278] On this begins the action of the Creative Intelligence, the Holy Spirit, who "moved upon the face of the waters, "[279] the vast ocean of matter. Thus His was the first activity, though He was the Third Person--a pointof great importance. In the Mysteries this work was shown in its detail as the preparation ofthe matter of the universe, the formation of atoms, the drawing of thesetogether into aggregates, and the grouping of these together intoelements, and of these again into gaseous, liquid, and solid compounds. This work includes not only the kind of matter called physical, but alsoall the subtle states of matter in the invisible worlds. He further asthe "Spirit of Understanding" conceived the forms into which theprepared matter should be shaped, not building the forms, but by theaction of the Creative Intelligence producing the Ideas of them, theheavenly prototypes, as they are often called. This is the work referredto when it is written, He "stretched out the heaven by HisUnderstanding. "[280] The work of the Second Person follows that of the Third. He by virtue ofHis Wisdom "established the world, "[281] building all globes and allthings upon them, "all things were made by Him. "[282] He is theorganising Life of the worlds, and all beings are rooted in Him. [283]The life of the Son thus manifested in the matter prepared by the HolySpirit--again the great "Myth" of the Incarnation--is the life thatbuilds up, preserves, and maintains all forms, for He is the Love, theattracting power, that gives cohesion to forms, enabling them to growwithout falling apart, the Preserver, the Supporter, the Saviour. Thatis why all must be subject to the Son, [284] all must be gathered up inHim, and why "no man cometh unto the Father but by" Him. [285] For the work of the First Person follows that of the Second, as that ofthe Second follows that of the Third. He is spoken of as "the Father ofSpirits, "[286] the "God of the Spirits of all flesh, "[287] and His isthe gift of the divine Spirit, the true Self in man. The human Spiritis the outpoured divine Life of the Father, poured into the vesselprepared by the Son, out of the materials vivified by the Spirit. Andthis Spirit in man, being from the Father--from whom came forth the Sonand the Holy Spirit--is a Unity like Himself, with the three aspects inOne, and man is thus truly made "in our image, after our likeness, "[288]and is able to become "perfect, even as your Father which is in heavenis perfect. "[289] Such is the kosmic process, and in human evolution it is repeated; "asabove, so below. " The Trinity of the Spirit in man, being in the divine likeness, mustshow out the divine characteristics, and thus we find in him Power, which, whether in its higher form of Will or its lower form of Desire, gives the impulse to his evolution. We find also in him Wisdom, the PureReason, which has Love as its expression in the world of forms, andlastly Intelligence, or Mind, the active shaping energy. And in manalso we find that the manifestation of these in his evolution is fromthe third to the second, and from the second to the first. The mass ofhumanity is unfolding the mind, evolving the intelligence, and we cansee its separative action everywhere, isolating, as it were, the humanatoms and developing each severally, so that they may be fit materialsfor building up a divine Humanity. To this point only has the racearrived, and here it is still working. As we study a small minority of our race, we see that the second aspectof the divine Spirit in man is appearing, and we speak of it inChristendom as the Christ in man. Its evolution lies, as we have seen, beyond the first of the Great Initiations, and Wisdom and Love are themarks of the Initiate, shining out more and more as he develops thisaspect of the Spirit. Here again is it true that "no man cometh to theFather but by Me, " for only when the life of the Son is touching oncompletion can He pray: "Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine ownSelf, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. "[290]Then the Son ascends to the Father and becomes one with Him in thedivine glory; He manifests self-existence, the existence inherent in hisdivine nature, unfolded from seed to flower, for "as the Father hathlife in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life inHimself. "[291] He becomes a living self-conscious Centre in the Life ofGod, a Centre able to exist as such, no longer bound by the limitationsof his earlier life, expanding to divine consciousness, while keepingthe identity of his life unshaken, a living, fiery Centre in the divineFlame. In this evolution now lies the possibility of divine Incarnations in thefuture, as this evolution in the past has rendered possible divineIncarnations in our own world. These living Centres do not lose Theiridentity, nor the memory of Their past, of aught that They haveexperienced in the long climb upwards; and such a Self-conscious Beingcan come forth from the Bosom of the Father, and reveal Himself for thehelping of the world. He has maintained the union in Himself of Spiritand Matter, the duality of the Second Person--all divine Incarnations inall religions are therefore connected with the Second Person in theTrinity--and hence can readily re-clothe Himself for physicalmanifestation, and again become Man. This nature of the Mediator He hasretained, and is thus a link between the celestial and terrestrialTrinities, "God with us"[292] He has ever been called. Such a Being, the glorious fruit of a past universe, can come into thepresent world with all the perfection of His divine Wisdom and Love, with all the memory of His past, able by virtue of that memory to be theperfect Helper of every living Being, knowing every stage because He haslived it, able to help at every point because He has experienced all. "In that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succourthem that are tempted. "[293] It is in the humanity behind Him that lies this possibility of divineIncarnation; He comes down, having climbed up, in order to help othersto climb the ladder. And as we understand these truths, and something ofthe meaning of the Trinity, above and below, what was once a mere hardunintelligible dogma becomes a living and vivifying truth. Only by theexistence of the Trinity in man is human evolution intelligible, and wesee how man evolves the life of the intellect, and then the life of theChrist. On that fact mysticism is based, and our sure hope that we shallknow God. Thus have the Sages taught, and as we tread the Path theyshow, we find that their testimony is true. CHAPTER X. PRAYER. [294] What is sometimes called "the modern spirit" is exceedingly antagonisticto prayer, failing to see any causal nexus between the uttering of apetition and the happening of an event, whereas the religious spirit isas strongly attached to it, and finds its very life in prayer. Yet eventhe religious man sometimes feels uneasy as to the rationale of prayer;is he teaching the All-wise, is he urging beneficence on the All-Good, is he altering the will of Him in "whom is no variableness, neithershadow of turning?"[295] Yet he finds in his own experience and in thatof others "answers to prayer, " a definite sequence of a request and afulfilment. Many of these do not refer to subjective experiences, but to hard factsof the so-called objective world. A man has prayed for money, and thepost has brought him the required amount; a woman has prayed for food, and food has been brought to her door. In connection with charitableundertakings, especially, there is plenty of evidence of help prayed forin urgent need, and of speedy and liberal response. On the other hand, there is also plenty of evidence of prayers left unanswered; of thehungry starving to death, of the child snatched from its mother's armsby disease, despite the most passionate appeals to God. Any true view ofprayer must take into account all these facts. Nor is this all. There are many facts in this experience which arestrange and puzzling. A prayer that perhaps is trivial meets with ananswer, while another on an important matter fails; a passing trouble isrelieved, while a prayer poured out to save a passionately beloved lifefinds no response. It seems almost impossible for the ordinary studentto discover the law according to which a prayer is or is notproductive. The first thing necessary in seeking to understand this law is toanalyse prayer itself, for the word is used to cover various activitiesof the consciousness, and prayers cannot be dealt with as though theyformed a simple whole. There are prayers which are petitions fordefinite worldly advantages, for the supply of physicalnecessities--prayers for food, clothing, money, employment, success inbusiness, recovery from illness, &c. These may be grouped together asclass A. Then we have prayers for help in moral and intellectualdifficulties and for spiritual growth--for the overcoming oftemptations, for strength, for insight, for enlightenment. These may begrouped as Class B. Lastly, there are the prayers that ask for nothing, that consist in meditation on and adoration of the divine Perfection, inintense aspiration for union with God--the ecstasy of the mystic, themeditation of the sage, the soaring rapture of the saint. This is thetrue "communion between the Divine and the human, " when the man pourshimself out in love and veneration for THAT which is inherentlyattractive, that compels the love of the heart. These we will call Class C. In the invisible worlds there exist many kinds of Intelligences, whichcome into relationship with man, a veritable Jacob's ladder, on whichthe Angels of God ascend and descend, and above which stands the LordHimself. [296] Some of these Intelligences are mighty spiritual Powers, others are exceedingly limited beings, inferior in consciousness to man. This occult side of Nature--of which more will presently besaid[297]--is a fact, recognised by all religions. All the world isfilled with living things, invisible to fleshly eyes. The invisibleworlds interpenetrate the visible, and crowds of intelligent beingsthrong round us on every side. Some of these are accessible to humanrequests, and others are amenable to the human will. Christianityrecognises the existence of the higher classes of Intelligences underthe general name of Angels, and teaches that they are "ministeringspirits, sent forth to minister;"[298] but what is their ministry, whatthe nature of their work, what their relationship to human beings, allthat was part of the instruction given in the Lesser Mysteries, as theactual communication with them was enjoyed in the Greater, but in moderndays these truths have sunk into the background, except the little thatis taught in the Greek and Roman communions. For the Protestant, "theministry of angels" is little more than a phrase. In addition to allthese, man is himself a constant creator of invisible beings, for thevibrations of his thoughts and desires create forms of subtle matter theonly life of which is the thought or the desire which ensouls them; hethus creates an army of invisible servants, who range through theinvisible worlds seeking to do his will. Yet, again, there are in theseworlds human helpers, who work there in their subtle bodies while theirphysical bodies are sleeping, whose attentive ear may catch a cry forhelp. And to crown all, there is the ever-present, ever-conscious Lifeof God Himself, potent and responsive at every point of His realm, ofHim without whose knowledge not a sparrow falleth to the ground, [299]not a dumb creature thrills in joy or pain, not a child laughs orsobs--that all-pervading, all-embracing, all-sustaining Life and Love, in which we live and move. [300] As nought that can give pleasure or paincan touch the human body without the sensory nerves carrying the messageof its impact to the brain-centres, and as there thrills down from thosecentres through the motor nerves the answer that welcomes or repels, sodoes every vibration in the universe, which is His body, touch theconsciousness of God, and draw thence responsive action. Nerve-cells, nerve-threads, and muscular fibres may be the agents of feeling andmoving, but it is the _man_ that feels and acts; so may myriads ofIntelligences be the agents, but it is God who knows and answers. Nothing can be so small as not to affect that delicate omnipresentconsciousness, nothing so vast as to transcend it. We are so limitedthat the very idea of such an all-embracing consciousness staggers andconfounds us; yet perhaps a gnat might be as hard bestead if he tried tomeasure the consciousness of Pythagoras. Professor Huxley, in aremarkable passage, has imagined the possibility of the existence ofbeings rising higher and higher in intelligence, the consciousness everexpanding, and the reaching of a stage as much above the human as thehuman is above that of the blackbeetle. [301] That is not a flight of thescientific imagination, but a description of a fact. There is a Beingwhose consciousness is present at every point of His universe, andtherefore can be affected from any point. That consciousness is not onlyvast in its field, but inconceivably acute, not diminished in delicatecapacity to respond because it stretches its vast area in everydirection, but is more responsive than a more limited consciousness, more perfect in understanding than the more restricted. So far from itbeing the case that the more exalted the Being the more difficult wouldit be to reach His consciousness, the very reverse is true. The moreexalted the Being, the more easily is His consciousness affected. Now this all-pervading Life is everywhere utilising as channels all theembodied lives to which He has given birth, and any one of them may beused as an agent of that all-conscious Will. In order that that Will mayexpress itself in the outer world, a means of expression must be found, and these beings, in proportion to their receptivity, offer thenecessary channels, and become the intermediary workers between onepoint of the kosmos and another. They act as the motor nerves of Hisbody, and bring about the required action. Let us now take the classes into which we have divided prayers, and seethe methods by which they will be answered. When a man utters a prayer of Class A there are several means by whichhis prayer may be answered. Such a man is simple in his nature, with aconception of God natural, inevitable, at the stage of evolution inwhich he is; he regards Him as the supplier of his own needs, in closeand immediate touch with his daily necessities, and he turns to Him forhis daily bread as naturally as a child turns to his father or mother. Atypical instance of this is the case of George Müller, of Bristol, before he was known to the world as a philanthropist, when he wasbeginning his charitable work, and was without friends or money. Heprayed for food for the children who had no resource save his bounty, and money always came sufficient for the immediate needs. What hadhappened? His prayer was a strong, energetic desire, and that desirecreates a form, of which it is the life and directing energy. Thatvibrating, living creature has but one idea, the idea that ensoulsit--help is wanted, food is wanted; and it ranges the subtle world, seeking. A charitable man desires to give help to the needy, is seekingopportunity to give. As the magnet to soft iron, so is such a person tothe desire-form, and it is attracted to him. It rouses in his brainvibrations identical with its own--George Müller, his orphanage, itsneeds--and he sees the outlet for his charitable impulse, draws acheque, and sends it. Quite naturally, George Müller would say that Godput it into the heart of such a one to give the needed help. In thedeepest sense of the words that is true, since there is no life, noenergy, in His universe that does not come from God; but theintermediate agency, according to the divine laws, is the desire-formcreated by the prayer. The result could be obtained equally well by a deliberate exercise ofthe will, without any prayer, by a person who understood the mechanismconcerned, and the way to put it in motion. Such a man would thinkclearly of what he needed, would draw to him the kind of subtle matterbest suited to his purpose to clothe the thought, and by a deliberateexercise of his will would either send it to a definite person torepresent his need, or to range his neighbourhood and be attracted by acharitably disposed person. There is here no prayer, but a consciousexercise of will and knowledge. In the case of most people, however, ignorant of the forces of theinvisible worlds and unaccustomed to exercise their wills, theconcentration of mind and the earnest desire which are necessary forsuccessful action are far more easily reached by prayer than by adeliberate mental effort to put forth their own strength. They woulddoubt their own power, even if they understood the theory, and doubt isfatal to the exercise of the will. That the person who prays does notunderstand the machinery he sets going in no wise affects the result. Achild who stretches out his hand and grasps an object need notunderstand anything of the working of the muscles, nor of the electricaland chemical changes set up by the movement in muscles and nerves, norneed he elaborately calculate the distance of the object by measuringthe angle made by the optic axes; he wills to take hold of the thing hewants, and the apparatus of his body obeys his will though he does noteven know of its existence. So is it with the man who prays, unknowingof the creative force of his thought, of the living creature he hassent out to do his bidding. He acts as unconsciously as the child, andlike the child grasps what he wants. In both cases God is equally theprimal Agent, all power being from Him; in both cases the actual work isdone by the apparatus provided by His laws. But this is not the only way in which prayers of this class areanswered. Some one temporarily out of the physical body and at work inthe invisible worlds, or a passing Angel, may hear the cry for help, andmay then put the thought of sending the required aid into the brain ofsome charitable person. "The thought of so-and-so came into my head thismorning, " such a person will say. "I daresay a cheque would be useful tohim. " Very many prayers are answered in this way, the link between theneed and the supply being some invisible Intelligence. Herein is part ofthe ministry of the lower Angels, and they will thus supply personalnecessities, as well as bring aid to charitable undertakings. The failure of prayers of this class is due to another hidden cause. Every man has contracted debts which have to be paid; his wrongthoughts, wrong desires, and wrong actions have built up obstacles inhis way, and sometimes even hem him in as the walls of a prison-house. Adebt of wrong is discharged by a payment of suffering; a man must bearthe consequences of the wrongs he has wrought. A man condemned to die ofstarvation by his own wrong-doing in the past, may hurl his prayersagainst that destiny in vain. The desire-form he creates will seek butwill not find; it will be met and thrown back by the current of pastwrong. Here, as everywhere, we are living in a realm of law, and forcesmay be modified or entirely frustrated by the play of other forces withwhich they come into contact. Two exactly similar forces might beapplied to two exactly similar balls; in one case, no other force mightbe applied to the ball, and it might strike the mark aimed at; in theother, a second force might strike the ball and send it entirely out ofits course. And so with two similar prayers; one may go on its wayunopposed and effect its object; the other may be flung aside by thefar stronger force of a past wrong. One prayer is answered, the otherunanswered; but in both cases the result is by law. Let us consider Class B. Prayers for help in moral and intellectualdifficulties have a double result; they act directly to attract help, and they react on the person who prays. They draw the attention of theAngels, of the disciples working outside the body, who are ever seekingto help the bewildered mind, and counsel, encouragement, illumination, are thrown into the brain-consciousness, thus giving the answer toprayer in the most direct way. "And he kneeled down and prayed . .. Andthere appeared an Angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. "[302]Ideas are suggested which clear away an intellectual difficulty, orthrow light on an obscure moral problem, or the sweetest comfort ispoured into the distressed heart, soothing its perturbations and calmingits anxieties. And truly if no Angel were passing that way, the cry ofthe distressed would reach the "Hidden Heart of Heaven, " and a messengerwould be sent to carry comfort, some Angel, ever ready to fly swiftly onfeeling the impulse, bearing the divine will to help. There is also what is sometimes called a subjective answer to suchprayers, the re-action of the prayer on the utterer. His prayer placeshis heart and mind in the receptive attitude, and this stills the lowernature, and thus allows the strength and illuminative power of thehigher to stream into it unchecked. The currents of energy whichnormally flow downwards, or outwards, from the Inner Man, are, as arule, directed to the external world, and are utilised in the ordinaryaffairs of life by the brain-consciousness, for the carrying on of itsdaily activities. But when this brain-consciousness turns away from theouter world, and shutting its outward-going doors, directs its gazeinwards; when it deliberately closes itself to the outer and opensitself to the inner; then it becomes a vessel able to receive and tohold, instead of a mere conduit-pipe between the interior and exteriorworlds. In the silence obtained by the cessation of the noises ofexternal activities, the "still small voice" of the Spirit can makeitself heard, and the concentrated attention of the expectant mindenables it to catch the soft whisper of the Inner Self. Even more markedly does help come from without and from within, when theprayer is for spiritual enlightenment, for spiritual growth. Not only doall helpers, angelic and human, most eagerly seek to forward spiritualprogress, seizing on every opportunity offered by the upward-aspiringsoul; but the longing for such growth liberates energy of a high kind, the spiritual longing calling forth an answer from the spiritual realm. Once more the law of sympathetic vibrations asserts itself, and the noteof lofty aspiration is answered by a note of its own order, by aliberation of energy of its own kind, by a vibration synchronous withitself. The divine Life is ever pressing from above against the limitsthat bind it, and when the upward-rising force strikes against thoselimits from below, the separating wall is broken through, and the divineLife floods the Soul. When a man feels that inflow of spiritual life, he cries: "My prayer has been answered, and God has sent down His Spiritinto my heart. " Truly so; yet he rarely understands that that Spirit isever seeking entrance, but that coming to His own, His own receive Himnot. [303] "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear myvoice, and open the door, I will come in to him. "[304] The general principle with regard to all prayers of this class is thatjust in proportion to the submergence of the personality and theintensity of the upward aspiration will be the answer from the widerlife within and without us. We separate ourselves. If we cease theseparation and make ourselves one with the greater, we find that lightand life and strength flow into us. When the separate will is turnedaway from its own objects and set to serve the divine purpose, then thestrength of the Divine pours into it. As a man swims against the stream, he makes slow progress; but with it, he is carried on by all the forceof the current. In every department of Nature the divine energies areworking, and everything that a man does he does by means of the energiesthat are working in the line along which he desires to do; his greatestachievements are wrought, not by his own energies, but by the skill withwhich he selects and combines the forces that aid him, and neutralisesthose that oppose him by those that are favourable. Forces that wouldwhirl us away as straws in the wind become our most effective servantswhen we work with them. Is it then any wonder that in prayer, as ineverything else, the divine energies become associated with the man who, by his prayer, seeks to work as part of the Divine? This highest form of prayer in Class B merges almost imperceptibly intoClass C, where prayer loses its petitionary character, and becomeseither a meditation on, or a worship of, God. Meditation is the steadyquiet fixing of the mind on God, whereby the lower mind is stilled andpresently left vacant, so that the Spirit, escaping from it, rises intocontemplation of the divine Perfection, and reflects within himself thedivine Image. "Meditation is silent or _unuttered_ prayer, or as Platoexpressed it: 'the ardent turning of the Soul towards the Divine; not toask any particular good (as in the common meaning of prayer), but forgood itself, for the Universal Supreme Good. '"[305] This is the prayer that, by thus liberating the Spirit, is the means ofunion between man and God. By the working of the laws of thought a manbecomes that which he thinks, and when he meditates on the divineperfections he gradually reproduces in himself that on which his mind isfixed. Such a mind, shaped to the higher and not the lower, cannot bindthe Spirit, and the freed Spirit leaping upward to his source, prayer islost in union and separateness is left behind. Worship also, the rapt adoration from which all petition is absent, andwhich seeks to pour itself forth in sheer love of the Perfect, dimlysensed, is a means--the easiest means--of union with God. In this theconsciousness, limited by the brain, contemplates in mute exstasy theImage it creates of Him whom it knows to be beyond imagining, and oft, rapt by the intensity of his love beyond the limits of the intellect, the man as a free Spirit soars upwards into realms where these limitsare transcended, and feels and knows far more than on his return he cantell in words or clothe in form. Thus the Mystic gazes on the Beatific Vision; thus the Sage rests in thecalm of the Wisdom that is beyond knowledge; thus the Saint reaches thepurity wherein God is seen. Such prayer irradiates the worshipper, andfrom the mount of such high communion descending to the plains of earth, the very face of flesh shines with supernal glory, translucent to theflame that burns within. Happy they who know the reality which no wordsmay convey to those who know it not. Those whose eyes have seen "theKing in His beauty"[306] will remember, and they will understand. When prayer is thus understood, its perennial necessity for all whobelieve in religion will be patent, and we see why its practice hasbeen so much advocated by all who study the higher life. For the studentof the Lesser Mysteries prayer should be of the kinds grouped underClass B, and he should endeavour to rise to the pure meditation andworship of the last class, eschewing altogether the lower kinds. For himthe teaching of Iamblichus on this subject is useful. Iamblichus saysthat prayers "produce an indissoluble and sacred communion with theGods, " and then proceeds to give some interesting details on prayer, asconsidered by the practical Occultist. "For this is of itself a thingworthy to be known, and renders more perfect the science concerning theGods. I say, therefore, that the first species of prayer is Collective;and that it is also the leader of contact with, and a knowledge of, divinity. The second species is the bond of concordant Communion, calling forth, prior to the energy of speech, the gifts imparted by theGods, and perfecting the whole of our operations prior to ourintellectual conceptions. And the third and most perfect species ofprayer is the seal of ineffable Union with the divinities, in whom itestablishes all the power and authority of prayer; and thus causes thesoul to repose in the Gods, as in a never failing port. But from thesethree terms, in which all the divine measures are contained, suppliantadoration not only conciliates to us the friendship of the Gods, butsupernally extends to us three fruits, being as it were three Hesperianapples of gold. The first of these pertains to illumination; the secondto a communion of operation; but through the energy of the third wereceive a perfect plenitude of divine fire. .. . No operation, however, insacred concerns, can succeed without the intervention of prayer. Lastly, the continual exercise of prayer nourishes the vigour of our intellect, and renders the receptacle of the soul far more capacious for thecommunications of the Gods. It likewise is the divine key, which opensto men the penetralia of the Gods; accustoms us to the splendid riversof supernal light; in a short time perfects our inmost recesses, anddisposes them for the ineffable embrace and contact of the Gods; anddoes not desist till it raises us to the summit of all. It alsogradually and silently draws upward the manners of our soul, bydivesting them of everything foreign to a divine nature, and clothes uswith the perfections of the Gods. Besides this, it produces anindissoluble communion and friendship with divinity, nourishes a divinelove, and inflames the divine part of the soul. Whatever is of anopposing and contrary nature in the soul, it expiates and purifies;expels whatever is prone to generation and retains anything of the dregsof mortality in its ethereal and splendid spirit; perfects a good hopeand faith concerning the reception of divine light; and in one word, renders those by whom it is employed the familiars and domestics of theGods. "[307] Out of such study and practice one inevitable result arises, as a manbegins to understand, and as the wider range of human life unfoldsbefore him. He sees that by knowledge his strength is much increased, that there are forces around him that he can understand and control, andthat in proportion to his knowledge is his power. Then he learns thatDivinity lies hidden within himself, and that nothing that is fleetingcan satisfy that God within; that only union with the One, the Perfect, can still his cravings. Then there gradually arises within him the willto set himself at one with the Divine; he ceases to vehemently seek tochange circumstances, and to throw fresh causes into the stream ofeffects. He recognises himself as an agent rather than an actor, achannel rather than a source, a servant rather than a master, and seeksto discover the divine purposes and to work in harmony therewith. When a man has reached that point, he has risen above all prayer, savethat which is meditation and worship; he has nothing to ask for, in thisworld or in any other; he remains in a steadfast serenity, seeking butto serve God. That is the state of Sonship, where the will of the Son isone with the will of the Father, where the one calm surrender is made, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. I am content to do it; yea, Thy lawis within my heart. "[308] Then all prayer is seen to be unnecessary;all asking is felt as an impertinence; nothing can be longed for that isnot already in the purposes of that Will, and all will be brought intoactive manifestation as the agents of that Will perfect themselves inthe work. CHAPTER XI. THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. "I believe in . .. The forgiveness of sins. " "I acknowledge one baptismfor the remission of sins. " The words fall facilely from the lips ofworshippers in every Christian church throughout the world, as theyrepeat the familiar creeds called those of the Apostles and the Nicene. Among the sayings of Jesus the words frequently recur: "Thy sins areforgiven thee, " and it is noteworthy that this phrase constantlyaccompanies the exercise of His healing powers, the release fromphysical and moral disease being thus marked as simultaneous. In fact, on one occasion He pointed to the healing of a palsy-stricken man as asign that he had a right to declare to a man that his sins wereforgiven. [309] So also of one woman it was said: "Her sins, which aremany, are forgiven, for she loved much. "[310] In the famous Gnostictreatise, the _Pistis Sophia_, the very purpose of the Mysteries is saidto be the remission of sins. "Should they have been sinners, should theyhave been in all the sins and all the iniquities of the world, of whichI have spoken unto you, nevertheless if they turn themselves and repent, and have made the renunciation which I have just described unto you, give ye unto them the mysteries of the kingdom of light; hide them notfrom them at all. It is because of sin that I have brought thesemysteries into the world, for the remission of all the sins which theyhave committed from the beginning. Wherefore have I said unto youaforetime, 'I came not to call the righteous. ' Now, therefore, I havebrought the mysteries, that the sins of all men may be remitted, andthey be brought into the kingdom of light. For these mysteries are theboon of the first mystery of the destruction of the sins and iniquitiesof all sinners. "[311] In these Mysteries, the remission of sin is by baptism, as in theacknowledgment in the Nicene Creed. Jesus says: "Hearken, again, that Imay tell you the word in truth, of what type is the mystery of baptismwhich remitteth sins. .. . When a man receiveth the mysteries of thebaptisms, those mysteries become a mighty fire, exceedingly fierce, wise, which burneth up all sins; they enter into the soul occultly, anddevour all the sins which the spiritual counterfeit hath implanted init. " And after describing further the process of purification, Jesusadds: "This is the way in which the mysteries of the baptisms remit sinsand every iniquity. "[312] In one form or another the "forgiveness of sins" appears in most, if notin all, religions; and wherever this consensus of opinion is found, wemay safely conclude, according to the principle already laid down, thatsome fact in nature underlies it. Moreover, there is a response inhuman nature to this idea that sins are forgiven; we notice that peoplesuffer under a consciousness of wrong-doing, and that when they shakethemselves clear of their past, and free themselves from the shacklingfetters of remorse, they go forward with glad heart and sunlit eyes, though erstwhile enclouded by darkness. They feel as though a burdenwere lifted off them, a clog removed. The "sense of sin" hasdisappeared, and with it the gnawing pain. They know the springtime ofthe soul, the word of power which makes all things new. A song ofgratitude wells up as the natural outburst of the heart, the time forthe singing of birds is come, there is "joy among the Angels. " This notuncommon experience is one that becomes puzzling, when the personexperiencing it, or seeing it in another, begins to ask himself what hasreally taken place, what has brought about the change in consciousness, the effects of which are so manifest. Modern thinkers, who have thoroughly assimilated the idea of changelesslaws underlying all phenomena, and who have studied the workings ofthese laws, are at first apt to reject any and every theory of theforgiveness of sins as being inconsistent with that fundamental truth, just as the scientist, penetrated with the idea of the inviolability oflaw, repels all thought which is inconsistent with it. And both areright in founding themselves on the unfaltering working of law, for lawis but the expression of the divine Nature, in which there is novariableness, neither shadow of turning. Any view of the forgiveness ofsins that we may adopt must not clash with this fundamental idea, asnecessary to ethical as to physical science. "The bottom would fall outof everything" if we could not rest securely in the everlasting arms ofthe Good Law. But in pursuing our investigations, we are struck with the fact that thevery Teachers who are most insistent on the changeless working of laware also those who emphatically proclaim the forgiveness of sins. At onetime Jesus is saying: "That every idle word that men shall speak, theyshall give account thereof in the day of judgment, "[313] and atanother: "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. "[314] So inthe _Bhagavad Gîtâ_ we read constantly of the bonds of action, that "theworld is bound by action, "[315] and that a man "recovereth thecharacteristics of his former body;"[316] and yet it is said that "evenif the most sinful worship me, with undivided heart, he, too, must beaccounted righteous. "[317] It would seem, then, that whatever may havebeen intended in the world's Scriptures by the phrase, "the forgivenessof sins, " it was not thought, by Those who best know the law, to clashwith the inviolable sequence of cause and effect. If we examine even the crudest idea of the forgiveness of sins prevalentin our own day, we find that the believer in it does not mean that theforgiven sinner is to escape from the consequences of his sin in thisworld; the drunkard, whose sins are forgiven on his repentance, is stillseen to suffer from shaken nerves, impaired digestion, and the lack ofconfidence shown towards him by his fellow-men. The statements made asto forgiveness, when they are examined, are ultimately found to refer tothe relations between the repentant sinner and God, and to the_post-mortem_ penalties attached to unforgiven sin in the creed of thespeaker, and not to any escape from the mundane consequences of sin. Theloss of belief in reincarnation, and of a sane view as to the continuityof life, whether it were spent in this or in the next two worlds, [318]brought with it various incongruities and indefensible assertions, amongthem the blasphemous and terrible idea of the eternal torture of thehuman soul for sins committed during the brief span of one life spent onearth. In order to escape from this nightmare, theologians posited aforgiveness which should release the sinner from this dread imprisonmentin an eternal hell. It did not, and was never supposed to, set him freein this world from the natural consequences of his ill-doings, nor--except in modern Protestant communities--was it held to deliverhim from prolonged purgatorial sufferings, the direct results of sin, after the death of the physical body. The law had its course, both inthis world and in purgatory, and in each world sorrow followed on theheels of sin, even as the wheels follow the ox. It was but eternaltorture--which existed only in the clouded imagination of thebeliever--that was escaped by the forgiveness of sins; and we mayperhaps go so far as to suggest that the dogmatist, having postulated aneternal hell as the monstrous result of transient errors, felt compelledto provide a way of escape from an incredible and unjust fate, andtherefore further postulated an incredible and unjust forgiveness. Schemes that are elaborated by human speculation, without regard to thefacts of life, are apt to land the speculator in thought-morasses, whence he can only extricate himself by blundering through the mire inan opposite direction. A superfluous eternal hell was balanced by asuperfluous forgiveness, and thus the uneven scales of justice wereagain rendered level. Leaving these aberrations of the unenlightened, let us return into the realm of fact and right reason. When a man has committed an evil action he has attached himself to asorrow, for sorrow is ever the plant that springs from the seed of sin. It may be said, even more accurately, that sin and sorrow are but thetwo sides of one act, not two separate events. As every object has twosides, one of which is behind, out of sight, when the other is in front, in sight, so every act has two sides, which cannot both be seen at oncein the physical world. In other worlds, good and happiness, evil andsorrow, are seen as the two sides of the same thing. This is what iscalled karma--a convenient and now widely-used term, originallySamskrit, expressing this connection or identity, literally meaning"action"--and the suffering is therefore called the karmic result of thewrong. The result, the "other side, " may not follow immediately, may noteven accrue during the present incarnation, but sooner or later it willappear and clasp the sinner with its arms of pain. Now a result in thephysical world, an effect experienced through our physicalconsciousness, is the final outcome of a cause set going in the past; itis the ripened fruit; in it a particular force becomes manifest andexhausts itself. That force has been working outwards, and its effectsare already over in the mind ere it appears in the body. Its bodilymanifestation, its appearance, in the physical world, is the sign of thecompletion of its course. [319] If at such a moment the sinner, havingexhausted the karma of his sin, comes into contact with a Sage who cansee the past and the present, the invisible and the visible, such a Sagemay discern the ending of the particular karma, and, the sentence beingcompleted, may declare the captive free. Such an instance seems to begiven in the story of the man sick of the palsy, already alluded to, acase typical of many. A physical ailment is the last expression of apast ill-doing; the mental and moral outworking is completed, and thesufferer is brought--by the agency of some Angel, as an administrator ofthe law--into the presence of One able to relieve physical disease bythe exertion of a higher energy. First, the Initiate declares that theman's sins are forgiven, and then justifies his insight by theauthoritative word, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. "Had no such enlightened One been there, the disease would have passedaway under the restoring touch of nature, under a force applied by theinvisible angelic Intelligences, who carry out in this world theworkings of karmic law; when a greater One is acting, this force is ofmore swiftly compelling power, and the physical vibrations are at onceattuned to the harmony that is health. All such forgiveness of sins maybe termed declaratory; the karma is exhausted, and a "knower of karma"declares the fact. The assurance brings a relief to the mind that isakin to the relief experienced by a prisoner when the order for hisrelease is given, that order being as much a part of the law as theoriginal sentence; but the relief of the man who thus learns of theexhaustion of an evil karma is keener, because he cannot himself tellthe term of its action. It is noticeable that these declarations of forgiveness are constantlycoupled with the statement that the sufferer showed "faith, " and thatwithout this nothing could be done; _i. E. _, the real agent in the endingof this karma is the sinner himself. In the case of the "woman that wasa sinner, " the two declarations are coupled: "Thy sins are forgiven. .. . Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. "[320] This "faith" is theup-welling in man of his own divine essence, seeking the divine ocean oflike essence, and when this breaks through the lower nature that holdsit in--as the water-spring breaks through the encumberingearth-clods--the power thus liberated works on the whole nature, bringing it into harmony with itself. The man only becomes conscious ofthis as the karmic crust of evil is broken up by its force, and thatglad consciousness of a power within himself hitherto unknown, asserting itself as soon as the evil karma is exhausted, is a largefactor in the joy, relief, and new strength that follow on the feelingthat sin is "forgiven, " that its results are past. And this brings us to the heart of the subject--the changes that go onin a man's inner nature, unrecognised by that part of his consciousnesswhich works within the limits of his brain, until they suddenly assertthemselves within those limits, coming apparently from nowhere, burstingforth "from the blue, " pouring from an unknown source. What wonder thata man, bewildered by their downrush--knowing nothing of the mysteries ofhis own nature, nothing of "the inner God" that is verilyhimself--imagines that to be from without which is really from within, and, unconscious of his own Divinity, thinks only of Divinities in theworld external to himself. And this misconception is the more easy, because the final touch, the vibration that breaks the imprisoningshell, is often the answer from the Divinity within another man, orwithin some superhuman being, responding to the insistent cry from theimprisoned Divinity within himself; he oft-times recognises thebrotherly aid, while not recognising that he himself, the cry from hisinner nature, called it forth. As an explanation from a wiser thanourselves may make an intellectual difficulty clear to our mind, thoughit is our own mind that, thus aided, grasps the solution; as anencouraging word from one purer than ourselves may nerve us to a moraleffort that we should have thought beyond our power, though it is ourown strength that makes it; so may a loftier Spirit than our own, onemore conscious of its Divinity, aid us to put forth our own divineenergy, though it is that very putting forth that lifts us to a higherplane. We are all bound by ties of brotherly help to those above us asto those below us, and why should we, who so constantly find ourselvesable to help in their development souls less advanced than ourselves, hesitate to admit that we can receive similar help from Those far aboveus, and that our progress may be rendered much swifter by Their aid? Now among the changes that go on in a man's inner nature, unknown to hislower consciousness, are those that have to do with the putting forth ofhis will. The Ego, glancing backward over his past, balancing up itsresults, suffering under its mistakes, determines on a change ofattitude, on a change of activity. While his lower vehicle is still, under his former impulses, plunging along lines of action that bring itinto sharp collisions with the law, the Ego determines on an oppositecourse of conduct. Hitherto he has turned his face longingly to theanimal, the pleasures of the lower world have held him fast enchained. Now he turns his face to the true goal of evolution, and determines towork for loftier joys. He sees that the whole world is evolving, andthat if he sets himself against that mighty current it clashes himaside, bruising him sorely in the process; he sees that if he setshimself with it, it will bear him onwards on its bosom and land him inthe desired haven. He then resolves to change his life, he turns determinedly on his steps, he faces the other way. The first result of the effort to turn hislower nature into the changed course, is much distress and disturbance. The habits formed under the impacts of the old views resist stubbornlythe impulses flowing from the new, and a bitter conflict arises. Gradually the consciousness working in the brain accepts the decisionmade on higher planes, and then "becomes conscious of sin" by this veryrecognition of the law. The sense of error deepens, remorse preys on themind; spasmodic efforts are made towards improvement, and, frustrated byold habits, repeatedly fail, till the man, overwhelmed by grief for thepast, despair of the present, is plunged into hopeless gloom. At last, the ever-increasing suffering wrings from the Ego a cry for help, answered from the inner depths of his own nature, from the God within aswell as around him, the Life of his life. He turns from the lower naturethat is thwarting him to the higher which is his innermost being, fromthe separated self that tortures him to the One Self that is the Heartof all. But this change of front means that he turns his face from thedarkness, that he turns his face to the light. The light was alwaysthere, but his back was towards it; now he sees the sun, and itsradiance cheers his eyes, and overfloods his being with delight. Hisheart was closed; it is now flung open, and the ocean of life flows in, in full tide, suffusing him with joy. Wave after wave of new lifeuplifts him, and the gladness of the dawn surrounds him. He sees hispast as past, because his will is set to follow a higher path, and herecks little of the suffering that the past may bequeath to him, sincehe knows he will not hand on such bitter legacy from his present. Thissense of peace, of joy, of freedom, is the feeling spoken of as theresult of the forgiveness of sins. The obstacles set up by the lowernature between the God within and the God without are swept away, andthat nature scarce recognises that the change is in itself and not inthe Oversoul. As a child, having thrust away the mother's guiding handand hidden its face against the wall, may fancy itself alone andforgotten, until, turning with a cry, it finds around it the protectingmother-arms that were never but a handsbreadth away; so does man in hiswilfulness push away the shielding arms of the divine Mother of theworlds, only to find, when he turns back his face, that he has neverbeen outside their protecting shelter, and that wherever he may wanderthat guarding love is round him still. The key to this change in the man, that brings about "forgiveness, " isgiven in the verse of the _Bhagavad-Gîtâ_ already partly quoted: "Evenif the most sinful worship me, with undivided heart, he too must beaccounted righteous, _for he hath rightly resolved_. " On that rightresolution follows the inevitable result: "Speedily he becometh dutifuland goeth to peace. "[321] The essence of sin lies in setting the will ofthe part against the will of the whole, the human against the Divine. When this is changed, when the Ego puts his separate will into unionwith the will that works for evolution, then, in the world where to willis to do, in the world where effects are seen as present in causes, theman is "accounted righteous;" the effects on the lower planes mustinevitably follow; "speedily he becometh dutiful" in action, havingalready become dutiful in will. Here we judge by actions, the deadleaves of the past; there they judge by wills, the germinating seeds ofthe future. Hence the Christ ever says to men in the lower world: "Judgenot. "[322] Even after the new direction has been definitely followed, and hasbecome the normal habit of the life, there come times of failure, alluded to in the _Pistis Sophia_, when Jesus is asked whether a man maybe again admitted to the Mysteries, after he has fallen away, if heagain repents. The answer of Jesus is in the affirmative, but he statesthat a time comes when re-admission is beyond the power of any save ofthe highest Mystery, who pardons ever. "Amen, amen, I say unto you, whosoever shall receive the mysteries of the first mystery, and thenshall turn back and transgress twelve times [even], and then shouldagain repent twelve times, offering prayer in the mystery of the firstmystery, he shall be forgiven. But if he should transgress after twelvetimes, should he turn back and transgress, it shall not be remitted untohim for ever, so that he may turn again unto his mystery, whatever itbe. For him there is no means of repentance unless he have received themysteries of that ineffable, which hath compassion at all times andremitteth sins for ever and ever. "[323] These restorations afterfailure, in which "sin is remitted, " meet us in human life, especiallyin the higher phases of evolution. A man is offered an opportunity, which, taken, would open up to him new possibilities of growth. He failsto grasp it, and falls away from the position he had gained that madethe further opportunity possible. For him, for the time, furtherprogress is blocked; he must turn all his efforts wearily to retread theground he had already trodden, and to regain and make sure his footingon the place from which he had slipped. Only when this is accomplishedwill he hear the gentle Voice that tells him that the past is out-worn, the weakness turned to strength, and that the gateway is again open forhis passage. Here again the "forgiveness" is but the declaration by aproper authority of the true state of affairs, the opening of the gateto the competent, its closure to the incompetent. Where there had beenfailure, with its accompanying suffering, this declaration would be feltas a "baptism for the remission of sins, " re-admitting the aspirant to aprivilege lost by his own act; this would certainly give rise tofeelings of joy and peace, to a relief from the burden of sorrow, to afeeling that the clog of the past had at last fallen from the feet. Remains one truth that should never be forgotten: that we are living inan ocean of light, of love, of bliss, that surrounds us at all times, the Life of God. As the sun floods the earth with his radiance so doesthat Life enlighten all, only that Sun of the world never sets to anypart of it. We shut this light out of our consciousness by ourselfishness, our heartlessness, our impurity, our intolerance, but itshines on us ever the same, bathing us on every side, pressing againstour self-built walls with gentle, strong persistence. When the soulthrows down these excluding walls, the light flows in, and the soulfinds itself flooded with sunshine, breathing the blissful air ofheaven. "For the Son of man is in heaven, " though he know it not, andits breezes fan his brow if he bares it to their breaths. God everrespects man's individuality, and will not enter his consciousness untilthat consciousness opens to give welcome; "Behold I stand at the doorand knock"[324] is the attitude of every spiritual Intelligence towardsthe evolving human soul; not in lack of sympathy is rooted that waitingfor the open door, but in deepest wisdom. Man is not to be compelled; he is to be free. He is not a slave, but aGod in the making, and the growth cannot be forced, but must be willedfrom within. Only when the will consents, as Giordano Bruno teaches, will God influence man, though He be "everywhere present, and ready tocome to the aid of whosoever turns to Him through the act of theintelligence, and who unreservedly presents himself with the affectionof the will. "[325] "The divine potency which is all in all does notproffer or withhold, except through assimilation or rejection byoneself. "[326] "It is taken in quickly, as the solar light, withouthesitation, and makes itself present to whoever turns himself to it andopens himself to it . .. The windows are opened, but the sun enters in amoment, so does it happen similarly in this case. "[327] The sense of "forgiveness, " then, is the feeling which fills the heartwith joy when the will is tuned to harmony with the Divine, when, thesoul having opened its windows, the sunshine of love and light and blisspours in, when the part feels its oneness with the whole, and the OneLife thrills each vein. This is the noble truth that gives vitality toeven the crudest presentation of the "forgiveness of sins, " and thatmakes it often, despite its intellectual incompleteness, an inspirer topure and spiritual living. And this is the truth, as seen in the LesserMysteries. CHAPTER XII. SACRAMENTS. In all religions there exist certain ceremonials, or rites, which areregarded as of vital importance by the believers in the religion, andwhich are held to confer certain benefits on those taking part in them. The word Sacrament, or some equivalent term, has been applied to theseceremonials, and they all have the same character. Little exactexposition has been given as to their nature and meaning, but this isanother of the subjects explained of old in the Lesser Mysteries. The peculiar characteristic of a Sacrament resides in two of itsproperties. First, there is the exoteric ceremony, which is a pictorialallegory, a representation of something by actions and materials--not averbal allegory, a teaching given in words, conveying a truth; but anacted representation, certain definite material things used in aparticular way. The object in choosing these materials, and aimed at inthe ceremonies by which their manipulation is accompanied, is torepresent, as in a picture, some truth which it is desired to impressupon the minds of the people present. That is the first and obviousproperty of a Sacrament, differentiating it from other forms of worshipand meditation. It appeals to those who without this imagery would failto catch a subtle truth, and shows to them in a vivid and graphic formthe truth which otherwise would escape them. Every Sacrament, when it isstudied, should be taken first from this standpoint, that it is apictorial allegory; the essential things to be studied will thereforebe: the material objects which enter into the allegory, the method inwhich they are employed, and the meaning which the whole is intended toconvey. The second characteristic property of a Sacrament belongs to the factsof the invisible worlds, and is studied by occult science. The personwho officiates in the Sacrament should possess this knowledge, as much, though not all, of the operative power of the Sacrament depends on theknowledge of the officiator. A Sacrament links the material world withthe subtle and invisible regions to which that world is related; it is alink between the visible and the invisible. And it is not only a linkbetween this world and other worlds, but it is also a method by whichthe energies of the invisible world are transmuted into action in thephysical; an actual method of changing energies of one kind intoenergies of another, as literally as in the galvanic cell chemicalenergies are changed into electrical. The essence of all energies is oneand the same, whether in the visible or invisible worlds; but theenergies differ according to the grades of matter through which theymanifest. A Sacrament serves as a kind of crucible in which spiritualalchemy takes place. An energy placed in this crucible and subjected tocertain manipulations comes forth different in expression. Thus anenergy of a subtle kind, belonging to one of the higher regions of theuniverse, may be brought into direct relation with people living in thephysical world, and may be made to affect them in the physical world aswell as in its own realm; the Sacrament forms the last bridge from theinvisible to the visible, and enables the energies to be directlyapplied to those who fulfil the necessary conditions and who take partin the Sacrament. The Sacraments of the Christian Church lost much of their dignity and ofthe recognition of their occult power among those who separated from theRoman Catholic Church at the time of the "Reformation. " The previousseparation between the East and the West, leaving the Greek OrthodoxChurch on the one side and the Roman Church on the other, in no wayaffected belief in the Sacraments. They remained in both greatcommunities as the recognised links between the seen and the unseen, andsanctified the life of the believer from cradle to grave. The SevenSacraments of Christianity cover the whole of life, from the welcome ofBaptism to the farewell of Extreme Unction. They were established byOccultists, by men who knew the invisible worlds; and the materialsused, the words spoken, the signs made, were all deliberately chosen andarranged with a view to bringing about certain results. At the time of the Reformation, the seceding Churches, which threw offthe yoke of Rome, were not led by Occultists, but by ordinary men of theworld, some good and some bad, but all profoundly ignorant of the factsof the invisible worlds, and conscious only of the outer shell ofChristianity, its literal dogmas and exoteric worship. The consequenceof this was that the Sacraments lost their supreme place in Christianworship, and in most Protestant communities were reduced to two, Baptismand the Eucharist. The sacramental nature of the others was notexplicitly denied in the most important of the seceding Churches, butthe two were set apart from the five, as of universal obligation, ofwhich every member of the Church must partake in order to be recognisedas a full member. The general definition of a Sacrament is given quite accurately, savefor the superfluous words, "ordained by Christ Himself, " in theCatechism of the Church of England, and even these words might beretained if the mystic meaning be given to the word "Christ. " ASacrament is there said to be: "An outward and visible sign of an inwardand spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself, as ameans whereby we receive the same and a pledge to assure us thereof. " In this definition we find laid down the two distinguishingcharacteristics of a Sacrament as given above. The "outward and visiblesign" is the pictorial allegory, and the phrase, the "means whereby wereceive the" "inward and spiritual grace" covers the second property. This last phrase should be carefully noted by those members ofProtestant Churches who regard Sacraments as mere external forms andouter ceremonies. For it distinctly alleges that the Sacrament is reallya means whereby the grace is conveyed, and thus implies that without itthe grace does not pass in the same fashion from the spiritual to thephysical world. It is the distinct recognition of a Sacrament in itssecond aspect, as a means whereby spiritual powers are brought intoactivity on earth. In order to understand a Sacrament, it is necessary that we shoulddefinitely recognise the existence of an occult, or hidden, side ofNature; this is spoken of as the life-side of Nature, theconsciousness-side, more accurately the mind _in_ Nature. Underlying allsacramental action there is the belief that the invisible worldexercises a potent influence over the visible, and to understand aSacrament we must understand something of the invisible Intelligenceswho administer Nature. We have seen in studying the doctrine of theTrinity that Spirit is manifested as the triple Self, and that as theField for His manifestation there is Matter, the form-side of Nature, often regarded, and rightly, as Nature herself. We have to study boththese aspects, the side of life and that of form, in order to understanda Sacrament. Stretching between the Trinity and humanity are many grades andhierarchies of invisible beings; the highest of these are the sevenSpirits of God, the seven Fires, or Flames, that are before the throneof God. [328] Each of these stands at the head of a vast host ofIntelligences, all of whom share His nature and act under His direction;these are themselves graded, and are the Thrones, Powers, Princes, Dominations, Archangels, Angels, of whom mention is found in thewritings of the Christian Fathers, who were versed in the Mysteries. Thus there are seven great hosts of these Beings, and they represent intheir intelligence the divine Mind in Nature. They are found in allregions, and they ensoul the energies of Nature. From the standpoint ofoccultism there is no dead force and no dead matter. Force and matteralike are living and active, and an energy or a group of energies is theveil of an Intelligence, of a Consciousness, who has that energy as hisouter expression, and the matter in which that energy moves yields aform which he guides or ensouls. Unless a man can thus look at Natureall esoteric teaching must remain for him a sealed book. Without theseangelic Lives, these countless invisible Intelligences, theseConsciousnesses which ensoul the force and matter[329] which is Nature, Nature herself would not only remain unintelligible, but she would beout of relation alike to the divine Life that moves within and aroundher, and to the human lives that are developing in her midst. Theseinnumerable Angels link the worlds together; they are themselvesevolving while helping the evolution of beings lower than themselves, and a new light is shed on evolution when we see that men form grades inthese hierarchies of intelligent beings. These angels are the "sons ofGod" of an earlier birth than ours, who "shouted for joy"[330] when thefoundations of the earth were laid amid the choiring of the MorningStars. Others beings are below us in evolution--animals, plants, minerals, andelemental lives--as the Angels are above us; and as we thus study, aconception dawns upon us of a vast Wheel of Life, of numberlessexistences, inter-related and necessary each to each, man as a livingIntelligence, as a self-conscious being, having his own place in thisWheel. The Wheel is ever turning by the divine Will, and the livingIntelligences who form it learn to co-operate with that Will, and if inthe action of those Intelligences there is any break or gap due toneglect or opposition, then the Wheel drags, turning slowly, and thechariot of the evolution of the worlds goes but heavily upon its way. These numberless Lives, above and below man, come into touch with humanconsciousness in very definite ways, and among these ways are sounds andcolours. Each sound has a form in the invisible world, and combinationsof sounds create complicated shapes. [331] In the subtle matter of thoseworlds all sounds are accompanied by colours, so that they give rise tomany-hued shapes, in many cases exceedingly beautiful. The vibrationsset up in the visible world when a note is sounded set up vibrations inthe worlds invisible, each one with its own specific character, andcapable of producing certain effects. In communicating with thesub-human Intelligences connected with the lower invisible world andwith the physical, and in controlling and directing these, sounds mustbe used fitted to bring about the desired results, as language made upof definite sounds is used here. And in communicating with the higherIntelligences certain sounds are useful, to create a harmoniousatmosphere, suitable for their activities, and to make our own subtlebodies receptive of their influences. This effect on the subtle bodies is a most important part of the occultuse of sounds. These bodies, like the physical, are in constantvibratory motion, the vibrations changing with every thought or desire. These changing irregular vibrations offer an obstacle to any freshvibration coming from outside, and, in order to render the bodiessusceptible to the higher influences, sounds are used which reduce theirregular vibrations to a steady rhythm, like in its nature to therhythm of the Intelligence sought to be reached. The object of alloften-repeated sentences is to effect this, as a musician sounds thesame note over and over again, until all the instruments are in tune. The subtle bodies must be tuned to the note of the Being sought, if hisinfluence is to find free way through the nature of the worshipper, andthis was ever done of old by the use of sounds. Hence, music has everformed an integral part of worship, and certain definite cadences havebeen preserved with care, handed on from age to age. In every religion there exist sounds of a peculiar character, called"Words of Power, " consisting of sentences in a particular languagechanted in a particular way; each religion possesses a stock of suchsentences, special successions of sounds, now very generally called"mantras, " that being the name given to them in the East, where thescience of mantras has been much studied and elaborated. It is notnecessary that a mantra--a succession of sounds arranged in a particularmanner to bring about a definite result--should be in any one particularlanguage. Any language can be used for the purpose, though some are moresuitable than others, provided that the person who makes the mantrapossesses the requisite occult knowledge. There are hundreds of mantrasin the Samskrit tongue, made by Occultists of the past, who werefamiliar with the laws of the invisible worlds. These have been handeddown from generation to generation, definite words in a definite orderchanted in a definite way. The effect of the chanting is to createvibrations, hence forms, in the physical and super-physical worlds, andaccording to the knowledge and purity of the singer will be the worldshis song is able to affect If his knowledge be wide and deep, if hiswill be strong and his heart pure, there is scarcely any limit to thepowers he may exercise in using some of these ancient mantras. As said, it is not necessary that any one particular language should beused. They may be in Samskrit, or in any one of the languages of theworld, in which men of knowledge have put them together. This is the reason why, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Latin languageis always used in important acts of worship. It is not used as a deadlanguage here, a tongue "not understanded of the people, " but as aliving force in the invisible worlds. It is not used to hide knowledgefrom the people, but in order that certain vibrations may be set up inthe invisible worlds which cannot be set up in the ordinary languages ofEurope, unless a great Occultist should compose in them the necessarysuccessions of sounds. To translate a mantra is to change it from a"Word of Power" into an ordinary sentence; the sounds being changed, other sound-forms are created. Some of the arrangements of Latin words, with the music wedded to themin Christian worship, cause the most marked effects in thesupra-physical worlds, and any one who is at all sensitive will beconscious of peculiar effects caused by the chanting of some of the mostsacred sentences, especially in the Mass. Vibratory effects may be feltby any one who will sit quiet and receptive as some of these sentencesare uttered by priest or choristers. And at the same time effects arecaused in the higher worlds directly affecting the subtle bodies of theworshippers in the way above described, and also appealing to theIntelligences in those worlds with a meaning as definite as the wordsaddressed by one person to another on the physical plane, whether asprayer or, in some cases, as command. The sounds, causing activeflashing forms, rise through the worlds, affecting the consciousness ofthe Intelligences residing in them, and bringing some of them to renderthe definite services required by those who are taking part in thechurch office. Such mantras form an essential part of every Sacrament. The next essential part of the Sacrament, in its outward and visibleform, are certain gestures. These are called Signs, or Seals, orSigils--the three words meaning the same thing in a Sacrament. Each signhas its own particular meaning, and marks the direction imposed on theinvisible forces with which the celebrant is dealing, whether thoseforces be his own or poured through him. In any case, they are needed tobring about the desired result, and they are an essential portion of thesacramental rite. Such a sign is called a "Sign of Power, " as the mantrais a "Word of Power. " It is interesting to read in occult works of the past references tothese facts, true then as now, true now as then. In the Egyptian _Bookof the Dead_ is described the _post-mortem_ journey of the Soul, and weread how he is stopped and challenged at various stages of that journey. He is stopped and challenged by the Guardians of the Gate of eachsuccessive world, and the Soul cannot pass through the Gate and go onhis way unless he knows two things: he must pronounce a word, the Wordof Power: he must make a sign, the Sign of Power. When that Word isspoken, when that Sign is given, the bars of the Gate fall down, andthe Guardians stand aside to let the Soul pass through. A similaraccount is given in the great mystic Christian Gospel, the _PistisSophia_, before mentioned. [332] Here the passage through the worlds isnot of a Soul set free from the body by death, but of one who hasvoluntarily left it in the course of Initiation. There are great Powers, the Powers of Nature, that bar his way, and till the Initiate gives theWord and the Sign, they will not allow him to pass through the portalsof their realms. This double knowledge, then, was necessary--to speakthe Word of Power, to make the Sign of Power. Without these progress wasblocked, and without these a Sacrament is no Sacrament. Further, in all Sacraments some physical material is used, or should beused. [333] This is ever a symbol of that which is to be gained by theSacrament, and points to the nature of the "inward and spiritual grace"received through it. This is also the material means of conveying thegrace, not symbolically, but actually, and a subtle change in thismaterial adapts it for high ends. Now a physical object consists of the solid, liquid, and gaseousparticles into which a chemist would resolve it by analysis, and furtherof ether, which interpenetrates the grosser stuffs. In this ether playthe magnetic energies. It is further connected with counterparts ofsubtle matter, in which play energies subtler than the magnetic, butlike them in nature and more powerful. When such an object is magnetised a change is effected in the etherealportion, the wave-motions are altered and systematised, and made tofollow the wave-motions of the ether of the magnetiser; it thus comes toshare his nature, and the denser particles of the object, played on bythe ether, slowly change their rates of vibration. If the magnetiser hasthe power of affecting the subtler counterparts also he makes themsimilarly vibrate in assonance with his own. This is the secret of magnetic cures: the irregular vibrations of thediseased person are so worked on as to accord with the regularvibrations of the healthy operator, as definitely as an irregularlyswinging object may be made to swing regularly by repeated and timedblows. A doctor will magnetise water and cure his patient therewith. Hewill magnetise a cloth, and the cloth, laid on the seat of pain, willheal. He will use a powerful magnet, or a current from a galvanic cell, and restore energy to a nerve. In all cases the ether is thrown intomotion, and by this the denser physical particles are affected. A similar result accrues when the materials used in a Sacrament areacted on by the Word of Power and the Sign of Power. Magnetic changesare caused in the ether of the physical substance, and the subtlecounterparts are affected according to the knowledge, purity, anddevotion of the celebrant who magnetises--or, in the religious term, consecrates--it. Further, the Word and the Sign of Power summon to thecelebration the Angels specially concerned with the materials used andthe nature of the act performed, and they lend their powerful aid, pouring their own magnetic energies into the subtle counterparts, andeven into the physical ether, thus reinforcing the energies of thecelebrant. No one who knows anything of the powers of magnetism candoubt the possibility of the changes in material objects thus indicated. And if a man of science, who may have no faith in the unseen, has thepower to so impregnate water with his own vital energy that it cures aphysical disease, why should power of a loftier, though _similar_, nature be denied to those of saintly life, of noble character, ofknowledge of the invisible? Those who are able to sense the higher formsof magnetism know very well that consecrated objects vary much in theirpower, and that the magnetic difference is due to the varying knowledge, purity, and spirituality of the priest who consecrates them. Some denyall vital magnetism, and would reject alike the holy water of religionand the magnetised water of medical science. They are consistent, butignorant. But those who admit the utility of the one, and laugh at theother, show themselves to be not wise but prejudiced, not learned butone-sided, and prove that their want of belief in religion biases theirintelligence, predisposing them to reject from the hand of religion thatwhich they accept from the hand of science. A little will be added tothis with regard to "sacred objects" generally in Chapter XIV. We thus see that the outer part of the Sacrament is of very greatimportance. Real changes are made in the materials used. They are madethe vehicles of energies higher than those which naturally belong tothem; persons approaching them, touching them, will have their ownetheric and subtle bodies affected by their potent magnetism, and willbe brought into a condition very receptive of higher influences, beingtuned into accord with the lofty Beings connected with the Word and theSign used in consecration; Beings belonging to the invisible world willbe present during the sacramental rite, pouring out their benign andgracious influences; and thus all who are worthy participants in theceremony--sufficiently pure and devoted to be tuned by the vibrationscaused--will find their emotions purified and stimulated, theirspirituality quickened, and their hearts filled with peace, by cominginto such close touch with the unseen realities. CHAPTER XIII. SACRAMENTS (_continued_). We have now to apply these general principles to concrete examples, andto see how they explain and justify the sacramental rites found in allreligions. It will be sufficient if we take as examples three out of the SevenSacraments used in the Church Catholic. Two are recognised as obligatoryby all Christians, although extreme Protestants deprive them of theirsacramental character, giving them a declaratory and remembrance valueonly instead of a sacramental; yet even among them the heart of truedevotion wins something of the sacramental blessing the head denies. Thethird is not recognised as even nominally a Sacrament by ProtestantChurches, though it shows the essential signs of a Sacrament, as givenin the definition in the Catechism of the Church of England alreadyquoted. [334] The first is that of Baptism; the second that of theEucharist; the third that of Marriage. The putting of Marriage out ofthe rank of a Sacrament has much degraded its lofty ideal, and has ledto much of that loosening of its tie that thinking men deplore. The Sacrament of Baptism is found in all religions, not only at theentrance into earth-life, but more generally as a ceremony ofpurification. The ceremony which admits the new-born--or adult--incomerinto a religion has a sprinkling with water as an essential part of therite, and this was as universal in ancient days as it is now. The Rev. Dr. Giles remarks: "The idea of using water as emblematic of spiritualwashing is too obvious to allow surprise at the antiquity of this rite. Dr. Hyde, in his treatise on the _Religion of the Ancient Persians_, xxxiv. 406, tells us that it prevailed among that people. 'They do notuse circumcision for their children, but only baptism, or washing forthe purification of the soul. They bring the child to the priest intothe church, and place him in front of the sun and fire, which ceremonybeing completed, they look upon him as more sacred than before. Lordsays that they bring the water for this purpose in bark of theHolm-tree; that tree is in truth the Haum of the Magi, of which we spokebefore on another occasion. Sometimes also it is otherwise done byimmersing him in a large vessel of water, as Tavernier tells us. Aftersuch washing, or baptism, the priest imposes on the child the name givenby the parents. '"[335] A few weeks after the birth of a Hindu child aceremony is performed, a part of which consists in sprinkling the childwith water--such sprinkling entering into all Hindu worship. Williamsongives authorities for the practise of Baptism in Egypt, Persia, Thibet, Mongolia, Mexico, Peru, Greece, Rome, Scandinavia, and among theDruids. [336] Some of the prayers quoted are very fine: "I pray that thiscelestial water, blue and light blue, may enter into thy body and therelive. I pray that it may destroy in thee, and put away from thee, allthe things evil and adverse that were given to thee before the beginningof the world. " "O child! receive the water of the Lord of the world whois our life: it is to wash and to purify; may these drops remove the sinwhich was given to thee before the creation of the world, since all ofus are under its power. " Tertullian mentions the very general use of Baptism among non-Christiannations in a passage already quoted, [337] and others of the Fathersrefer to it. In most religious communities a minor form of Baptism accompanies allreligious ceremonies, water being used as a symbol of purification, andthe idea being that no man should enter upon worship until he haspurified his heart and conscience, the outer washing symbolising theinner lustration. In the Greek and Roman Churches a small receptacle forholy water is placed near every door, and every incoming worshippertouches it, making with it on himself the sign of the cross ere he goesonward towards the altar. On this Robert Taylor remarks: "The baptismalfonts in our Protestant churches, and we need hardly say more especiallythe little cisterns at the entrance of our Catholic chapels, are notimitations, but an unbroken and never interrupted continuation of thesame _aqua minaria_, or _amula_, which the learned Montfaucon, in his_Antiquities_, shows to have been vases of holy water, which were placedby the heathens at the entrance of their temples, to sprinkle themselveswith upon entering those sacred edifices. "[338] Whether in the Baptism of initial reception into the Church, or in theseminor lustrations, water is the material agent employed, the greatcleansing fluid in Nature, and therefore the best symbol forpurification. Over this water a mantra is pronounced, in the Englishritual represented by the prayer, "Sanctify this water to the mysticalwashing away of sin, " concluding with the formula, "In the name of theFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. " This is the Wordof Power, and it is accompanied by the Sign of Power, the Sign of theCross made over the surface of the water. The Word and the Sign give to the water, as before explained, a propertyit previously had not, and it is rightly named "holy water. " The darkpowers will not approach it; sprinkled on the body it gives a sense ofpeace, and conveys new spiritual life. When a child is baptised, thespiritual energy given to the water by the Word and the Sign reinforcesthe spiritual life in the child, and then the Word of Power is againspoken, this time over the child, and the Sign is traced on hisforehead, and in his subtle bodies the vibrations are felt, and thesummons to guard the life thus sanctified goes forth through theinvisible world; for this Sign is at once purifying andprotective--purifying by the life that is poured forth through it, protective by the vibrations it sets up in the subtle bodies. Thosevibrations form a guardian wall against the attacks of hostileinfluences in the invisible worlds, and every time that holy water istouched, the Word pronounced, and the Sign made, the energy is renewed, the vibrations are reinforced, both being recognised as potent in theinvisible worlds, and bringing aid to the operator. In the early Church, Baptism was preceded by a very careful preparation, those admitted to the Church being mostly converts from surroundingfaiths. A convert passed through three definite stages of instruction, remaining in each grade till he had mastered its teachings, and he wasthen admitted to the Church by Baptism. Only after that was he taughtthe Creed, which was not committed to writing, nor ever repeated in thepresence of an unbeliever; it thus served as a sign of recognition, anda proof of the position of the man who was able to recite it, showingthat he was a baptised member of the Church. How truly in those days thegrace conveyed by Baptism was believed in is shown by the custom ofdeath-bed Baptism that grew up. Believing in the reality of Baptism, menand women of the world, unwilling to resign its pleasures or to keeptheir lives pure from stain, would put off the rite of Baptism untilDeath's hand was upon them, so that they might benefit by thesacramental grace, and pass through Death's portal pure and clean, fullof spiritual energy. Against that abuse some of the great Fathers of theChurch struggled, and struggled effectively. There is a quaint storytold by one of them, I think by S. Athanasius, who was a man of causticwit, not averse to the use of humour in the attempt to make his hearersunderstand at times the folly or perversity of their behaviour. He toldhis congregation that he had had a vision, and had gone up to thegateway of heaven, where S. Peter stood as Warder. No pleased smile hadhe for the visitant, but a frown of stern displeasure. "Athanasius, "said he, "why are you continually sending me these empty bags, carefullysealed up, with nothing inside?" It was one of the piercing sayings wemeet with in Christian antiquity, when these things were real toChristian men, and not mere forms, as they too often are to-day. The custom of Infant Baptism gradually grew up in the Church, and hencethe instruction which in the early days preceded Baptism came to be thepreparation for Confirmation, when the awakened mind and intelligencetake up and re-affirm the baptismal promises. The reception of theinfant into the Church is seen to be rightly done, when man's life isrecognised as being lived in the three worlds, and when the Spirit andSoul who have come to inhabit the new-born body are known to be notunconscious and unintelligent, but conscious, intelligent, and potent inthe invisible worlds. It is right and just that the "Hidden Man of theheart"[339] should be welcomed to the new stage of his pilgrimage, andthat the most helpful influences should be brought to bear upon thevehicle in which he is to dwell, and which he has to mould to hisservice. If the eyes of men were opened, as were of old those of theservant of Elisha, they would still see the horses and chariots of firegathered round the mountain where is the prophet of the Lord. [340] We come to the second of the Sacraments selected for study, that of theSacrifice of the Eucharist, a symbol of the eternal Sacrifice alreadyexplained, the daily sacrifice of the Church Catholic throughout theworld imaging that eternal Sacrifice by which the worlds were made, andby which they are evermore sustained. It is to be daily offered, as itsarchetype is perpetually existent, and men in that act take part in theworking of the Law of Sacrifice, identify themselves with it, recogniseits binding nature, and voluntarily associate themselves with it in itsworking in the worlds; in such identification, to partake of thematerial part of the Sacrament is necessary, if the identification is tobe complete, but many of the benefits may be shared, and the influencegoing forth to the worlds may be increased, by devout worshippers, whoassociate themselves mentally, but not physically, with the act. This great function of Christian worship loses its force and meaningwhen it is regarded as nothing more than a mere commemoration of a pastsacrifice, as a pictorial allegory without a deep ensouling truth, as abreaking of bread and a pouring out of wine without a sharing in theeternal Sacrifice. So to see it is to make it a mere shell, a deadpicture instead of a living reality. "The cup of blessing which webless, is it not the communion [the communication of, the sharing in] ofthe blood of Christ?" asks the apostle. "The bread which we break, is itnot the communion of the body of Christ?"[341] And he goes on to pointout that all who eat of a sacrifice become partakers of a common nature, and are joined into a single body, which is united to, shares the natureof, that Being who is, present in the sacrifice. A fact of the invisibleworld is here concerned, and he speaks with the authority of knowledge. Invisible Beings pour of their essence into the materials used in anysacramental rite, and those who partake of those materials--which becomeassimilated in the body and enter into its ingredients--are therebyunited to those whose essence is in it, and they all share a commonnature. This is true when we take even ordinary food from the hand ofanother--part of his nature, his vital magnetism, mingles with our own;how much more true then when the food has been solemnly and purposelyimpregnated with higher magnetisms, which affect the subtle bodies aswell as the physical. If we would understand the meaning and use of theEucharist we must realise these facts of the invisible worlds, and wemust see in it a link between the earthly and the heavenly, as well asan act of the universal worship, a co-operation, an association, withthe Law of Sacrifice, else it loses the greater part of itssignificance. The employment of bread and wine as the materials for thisSacrament--like the use of water in the Sacrament of Baptism--is of veryancient and general usage. The Persians offered bread and wine toMithra, and similar offerings were made in Tibet and Tartary. Jeremiahspeaks of the cakes and the drink offered to the Queen of Heaven by theJews in Egypt, they taking part in the Egyptian worship. [342] In Genesiswe read that Melchisedek, the King-Initiate, used bread and wine in theblessing of Abraham. [343] In the various Greek Mysteries bread and winewere used, and Williamson mentions their use also among the Mexicans, Peruvians, and Druids. [344] The bread stands as the general symbol for the food that builds up thebody, and the wine as symbol of the blood, regarded as the life-fluid, "for the life of the flesh is in the blood. "[345] Hence members of afamily are said to share the same blood, and to be of the blood of aperson is to be of his kin. Hence, also, the old ceremonies of the"blood-covenant"; when a stranger was made one of a family or of atribe, some drops of blood from a member were transfused into his veins, or he drank them--usually mingled with water--and was thenceforthconsidered as being a born member of the family or tribe, as being ofits blood. Similarly, in the Eucharist, the worshippers partake of thebread, symbolising the body, the nature, of the Christ, and of the winesymbolising the blood, the life of the Christ, and become of His kin, one with Him. The Word of Power is the formula "This is My Body, " "This is My Blood. "This it is which works the change which we shall consider in a moment, and transforms the materials into vehicles of spiritual energies. TheSign of Power is the hand extended over the bread and the wine, and theSign of the Cross should be made upon them, though this is not alwaysdone among Protestants. These are the outer essentials of the Sacramentof the Eucharist. It is important to understand the change which takes place in thisSacrament, for it is more than the magnetisation previously explained, though this also is wrought. We have here a special instance of ageneral law. By the occultist, a visible thing is regarded as the last, the physical, expression of an invisible truth. Everything is the physical expressionof a thought. An object is but an idea externalised and densified. Allthe objects in the world are Divine ideas expressed in physical matter. That being so, the reality of the object does not lie in the outer formbut in the inner life, in the idea that has shaped and moulded thematter into an expression of itself. In the higher worlds, the matterbeing very subtle and plastic, shapes itself very swiftly to the idea, and changes form as the thought changes. As matter becomes denser, heavier, it changes form less readily, more slowly, until, in thephysical world, the changes are at their slowest in consequence of theresistance of the dense matter of which the physical world is composed. Let sufficient time be given, however, and even this heavy matterchanges under the pressure of the ensouling idea, as may be seen by thegraving on the face of the expressions of habitual thoughts andemotions. This is the truth which underlies what is called the doctrine ofTransubstantiation, so extraordinarily misunderstood by the ordinaryProtestant. But such is the fate of occult truths when they arepresented to the ignorant. The "substance" that is changed is the ideawhich makes a thing to be what it is; "bread" is not mere flour andwater; the idea which governs the mixing, the manipulation, of the flourand water, that is the "substance" which makes it "bread, " and the flourand the water are what are technically called the "accidents, " thearrangements of matter that give form to the idea. With a differentidea, or substance, flour and water would take a different form, asindeed they do when assimilated by the body. So also chemists havediscovered that the same kind and the same number of chemical atoms maybe arranged in different ways and thus become entirely different thingsin their properties, though the materials are unchanged; such "isomericcompounds" are among the most interesting of modern chemicaldiscoveries; the arrangement of similar atoms under different ideasgives different bodies. What, then, is this change of substance in the materials used in theEucharist? The idea that makes the object has been changed; in theirnormal condition bread and wine are food-stuffs, expressive of thedivine ideas of nutritive objects, objects fitted for the building up ofbodies. The new idea is that of the Christ nature and life, fitted forthe building up of the spiritual nature and life of man. That is thechange of substance; the object remains unchanged in its "accidents, "its physical material, but the subtle matter connected with it haschanged under the pressure of the changed idea, and new properties areimparted by this change. They affect the subtle bodies of theparticipants, and attune them to the nature and life of the Christ. Onthe "worthiness" of the participant depends the extent to which he canbe thus attuned. The unworthy participant, subjected to the same process, is injuriouslyaffected by it, for his nature, resisting the pressure, is bruised andrent by the forces to which it is unable to respond, as an object may bebroken into pieces by vibrations which it is unable to reproduce. The worthy partaker, then, becomes one with the Sacrifice, with theChrist, and so becomes at one with also, united to, the divine Life, which is the Father of the Christ. Inasmuch as the act of Sacrifice onthe side of form is the yielding up of the life it separates from othersto be part of the common Life, the offering of the separated channel tobe a channel of the one Life, so by that surrender the sacrificerbecomes one with God. It is the giving itself of the lower to be a partof the higher, the yielding of the body as an instrument of theseparated will to be an instrument of the divine Will, the presenting ofmen's "bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. "[346]Thus it has been truly taught in the Church that those who rightly takepart in the Eucharist enjoy a partaking of the Christ-life poured outfor men. The transmuting of the lower into the higher is the object ofthis, as of all, Sacraments. The changing of the lower force by itsunion with the loftier is what is sought by those who participate in it;and those who know the inner truth, and realise the fact of the higherlife, may in any religion, by means of its sacraments, come into fuller, completer touch with the divine Life that upholds the worlds, if theybring to the rite the receptive nature, the act of faith, the openedheart, which are necessary for the possibilities of the Sacrament to berealised. The Sacrament of Marriage shows out the marks of a Sacrament as clearlyand as definitely as do Baptism and the Eucharist. Both the outer signand the inward grace are there. The material is the Ring--the circlewhich is the symbol of the everlasting. The Word of Power is the ancientformula, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the HolyGhost. " The Sign of Power is the joining of hands, symbolising thejoining of the lives. These make up the outer essentials of theSacrament. The inner grace is the union of mind with mind, of heart with heart, which makes possible the realisation of the unity of spirit, withoutwhich Marriage is no Marriage, but a mere temporary conjunction ofbodies. The giving and receiving of the ring, the pronouncing of theformula, the joining of hands, these form the pictorial allegory; if theinner grace be not received, if the participants do not open themselvesto it by their wish for the union of their whole natures, the Sacramentfor them loses its beneficent properties, and becomes a mere form. But Marriage has a yet deeper meaning; religions with one voice haveproclaimed it to be the image on earth of the union between the earthlyand the heavenly, the union between God and man. And even then itssignificance is not exhausted, for it is the image of the relationbetween Spirit and Matter, between the Trinity and the Universe. Sodeep, so far-reaching, is the meaning of the joining of man and woman inMarriage. Herein the man stands as representing the Spirit, the Trinity of Life, and the woman as representing the Matter, the Trinity of formativematerial. One gives life, the other receives and nourishes it. They arecomplementary to each other, two inseparable halves of one whole, neither existing apart from the other. As Spirit implies Matter andMatter Spirit, so husband implies wife and wife husband. As the abstractExistence manifests in two aspects, as a duality of Spirit and Matter, neither independent of the other, but each coming into manifestationwith the other, so is humanity manifested in two aspects--husband andwife, neither able to exist apart, and appearing together. They are nottwain but one, a dual-faced unity. God and the Universe are imaged inMarriage; thus closely linked are husband and wife. It is said above that Marriage is also an image of the union between Godand man, between the universal and the individualised Spirits. Thissymbolism is used in all the great scriptures of the world--Hindu, Hebrew, Christian. And it has been extended by taking the individualisedSpirit as a Nation or a Church, a collection of such Spirits knit into aunity. So Isaiah declared to Israel: "Thy Maker is thine Husband; theLord of hosts is His name. .. . As the bridegroom rejoiceth over thebride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. "[347] So S. Paul wrote thatthe mystery of Marriage represented Christ and the Church. [348] If we think of Spirit and Matter as latent, unmanifested, then we see noproduction; manifested together, there is evolution. And so when thehalves of humanity are not manifested as husband and wife, there is noproduction of fresh life. Moreover, they should be united in order thatthere may be a growth of life in each, a swifter evolution, a more rapidprogress, by the half that each can give to each, each supplying whatthe other lacks. The twain should be blended into one, setting forth thespiritual possibilities of man. And they show forth also the perfectMan, in whose nature Spirit and Matter are both completely developed andperfectly balanced, the divine Man who unites in his own person husbandand wife, the male and female elements in nature, as "God and Man areone Christ. "[349] Those who thus study the Sacrament of Marriage will understand whyreligions have ever regarded Marriage as indissoluble, and have thoughtit better that a few ill-matched pairs should suffer for a few yearsthan that the ideal of true Marriage should be permanently lowered forall. A nation must choose whether it will adopt as its national ideal aspiritual or an earthly bond in Marriage, the seeking in it of aspiritual unity, or the regarding it as merely a physical union. The oneis the religious idea of Marriage as a Sacrament; the other thematerialistic idea of it as an ordinary terminable contract. The studentof the Lesser Mysteries must ever see in it a sacramental rite. CHAPTER XIV. REVELATION. All the religions known to us are the custodians of Sacred Books, andappeal to these books for the settlement of disputed questions. Theyalways contain the teachings given by the founder of the religion, or bylater teachers regarded as possessing super-human knowledge. Even when areligion gives birth to many discordant sects, each sect will cling tothe Sacred Canon, and will put upon its word the interpretation whichbest fits in with its own peculiar doctrines. However widely may beseparated in belief the extreme Roman Catholic and the extremeProtestant, they both appeal to the same _Bible_. However far apart maybe the philosophic Vedântin and the most illiterate Vallabhâchârya, theyboth regard the same _Vedas_ as supreme. However bitterly opposed toeach other may be the Shias and the Sunnis, they both regard as sacredthe same _Kurân_. Controversies and quarrels may arise as to the meaningof texts, but the Book itself, in every case, is looked on with theutmost reverence. And rightly so; for all such books contain fragmentsof The Revelation, selected by One of the great Ones who hold it intrust; such a fragment is embodied in what down here we call aRevelation, or a Scripture, and some part of the world rejoices in it asin a treasure of vast value. The fragment is chosen according to theneeds of the time, the capacity of the people to whom it is given, thetype of the race whom it is intended to instruct. It is generally givenin a peculiar form, in which the outer history, or story, or song, orpsalm, or prophecy, appears to the superficial or ignorant reader to bethe whole book; but in these deeper meanings lie concealed, sometimes innumbers, sometimes in words constructed on a hidden plan--a cypher, infact--sometimes in symbols, recognisable by the instructed, sometimes inallegories written as histories, and in many other ways. These Books, indeed, have something of a sacramental character about them, an outerform and an inner life, an outer symbol and an inner truth. Those onlycan explain the hidden meaning who have been trained by those instructedin it; hence the dictum of S. Peter that "no prophecy of the Scriptureis of any private interpretation. "[350] The elaborate explanations oftexts of the Bible, with which the volumes of patristic literatureabound, seem fanciful and overstrained to the prosaic modern mind. Theplay upon numbers, upon letters, the apparently fantasticinterpretations of paragraphs that, on the face of them, are ordinaryhistorical statements of a simple character, exasperate the modernreader, who demands to have his facts presented clearly and coherently, and above all, requires what he feels to be solid ground under his feet. He declines absolutely to follow the light-footed mystic over what seemto him to be quaking morasses, in a wild chase after dancingwill-o'-the-wisps, which appear and disappear with bewildering andirrational caprice. Yet the men who wrote these exasperating treatiseswere men of brilliant intellect and calm judgment, the master-buildersof the Church. And to those who read them aright they are still full ofhints and suggestions, and indicate many an obscure pathway that leadsto the goal of knowledge, and that might otherwise be missed. We have already seen that Origen, one of the sanest of men, and versedin occult knowledge, teaches that the Scriptures are three-fold, consisting of Body, Soul, and Spirit. [351] He says that the Body of theScriptures is made up of the outer words of the histories and thestories, and he does not hesitate to say that these are not literallytrue, but are only stories for the instruction of the ignorant. He evengoes so far as to remark that statements are made in those stories thatare obviously untrue, in order that the glaring contradictions that lieon the surface may stir people up to inquire as to the real meaning ofthese impossible relations. He says that so long as men are ignorant, the Body is enough for them; it conveys teaching, it gives instruction, and they do not see the self-contradictions and impossibilities involvedin the literal statements, and therefore are not disturbed by them. Asthe mind grows, as the intellect develops, these contradictions andimpossibilities strike the attention, and bewilder the student; then heis stirred up to seek for a deeper meaning, and he begins to find theSoul of the Scriptures. That Soul is the reward of the intelligentseeker, and he escapes from the bonds of the letter that killeth. [352]The Spirit of the Scriptures may only be seen by the spirituallyenlightened man; only those in whom the Spirit is evolved can understandthe spiritual meaning: "the things of God knoweth no man but the Spiritof God . .. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man'swisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. "[353] The reason for this method of Revelation is not far to seek; it is theonly way in which one teaching can be made available for minds atdifferent stages of evolution, and thus train not only those to whom itis immediately given, but also those who, later in time, shall haveprogressed beyond those to whom the Revelation was first made. Man isprogressive; the outer meaning given long ago to unevolved men mustneeds be very limited, and unless something deeper and fuller than thisouter meaning were hidden within it, the value of the Scripture wouldperish when a few millennia had passed away. Whereas by this method ofsuccessive meanings it is given a perennial value, and evolved men mayfind in it hidden treasures, until the day when, possessing the whole, they no longer need the part. The world-Bibles, then, are fragments--fragments of Revelation, andtherefore are rightly described as Revelation. The next deeper sense of the word describes the mass of teaching held bythe great Brotherhood of spiritual Teachers in trust for men; thisteaching is embodied in books, written in symbols, and in these iscontained an account of kosmic laws, of the principles on which thekosmos is founded, of the methods by which it is evolved, of all thebeings that compose it, of its past, its present, its future; this isThe Revelation. This is the priceless treasure which the Guardians ofhumanity hold in charge, and from which they select, from time to time, fragments to form the Bibles of the world. Thirdly, the Revelation, highest, fullest, best, is the Self-unveilingof Deity in the kosmos, the revealing of attribute after attribute, power after power, beauty after beauty, in all the various forms whichin their totality compose the universe. He shows His splendour in thesun, His infinity in the star-flecked fields of space, His strength inmountains, His purity in snow-clad peaks and translucent air, His energyin rolling ocean-billows, His beauty in tumbling mountain-torrent, insmooth, clear lake, in cool, deep forest and in sunlit plain, Hisfearlessness in the hero, His patience in the saint, His tenderness inmother-love, His protecting care in father and in king, His wisdom inthe philosopher, His knowledge in the scientist, His healing power inthe physician, His justice in the judge, His wealth in the merchant, Histeaching power in the priest, His industry in the artisan. He whispersto us in the breeze, He smiles on us in the sunshine, He chides us indisease, He stimulates us, now by success and now by failure. Everywhereand in everything He gives us glimpses of Himself to lure us on to loveHim, and He hides Himself that we may learn to stand alone. To know Himeverywhere is the true Wisdom; to love Him everywhere is the trueDesire; to serve Him everywhere is the true Action. This Self-revealingof God is the highest Revelation; all others are subsidiary and partial. The inspired man is the man to whom some of this Revelation has come bythe direct action of the universal Spirit on the separated Spirit thatis His offspring, who has felt the illuminating influence of Spirit onSpirit. No man knows the truth so that he can never lose it, no manknows the truth so that he can never doubt it, until the Revelation hascome to him as though he stood alone on earth, until the Divine withouthas spoken to the Divine within, in the temple of the human heart, andthe man thus knows by himself and not by another. In a lesser degree a man is inspired when one greater than he stimulateswithin him powers which as yet are normally inactive, or even takespossession of him, temporarily using his body as a vehicle. Such anilluminated man, at the time of his inspiration, can speak that which isbeyond his knowledge, and utter truths till then unguessed. Truths aresometimes thus poured out through a human channel for the helping of theworld, and some One greater than the speaker sends down his life intothe human vehicle, and they rush forth from human lips; then a greatteacher speaks yet more greatly than he knows, the Angel of the Lordhaving touched his lips with fire. [354] Such are the Prophets of therace, who at some periods have spoken with overwhelming conviction, withclear insight, with complete understanding of the spiritual needs ofman. Then the words live with a life immortal, and the speaker is trulya messenger from God. The man who has thus known can never again quitelose the memory of the knowledge, and he carries within his heart acertainty which can never quite disappear. The light may vanish and thedarkness come down upon him; the gleam from heaven may fade and cloudsmay surround him; threat, question, challenge, may assail him; butwithin his heart there nestles the Secret of Peace--he knows, or knowsthat he has known. That remembrance of true inspiration, that reality of the hidden life, has been put into beautiful and true words by Frederick Myers, in hiswell-known poem, _S. Paul_. The apostle is speaking of his ownexperience, and is trying to give articulate expression to that which heremembers; he is figured as unable to thoroughly reproduce hisknowledge, although he knows and his certainty does not waver: So, even I, athirst for His inspiring, I, who have talked with Him, forget again; Yes, many days with sobs and with desiring, Offer to God a patience and a pain. Then through the mid complaint of my confession, Then through the pang and passion of my prayer, Leaps with a start the shock of His possession, Thrills me and touches, and the Lord is there. Lo, if some pen should write upon your rafter Mene and Mene in the folds of flame, Think ye could any memories thereafter Wholly retrace the couplet as it came? Lo, if some strange intelligible thunder Sang to the earth the secret of a star, Scarce should ye catch, for terror and for wonder, Shreds of the story that was pealed so far! Scarcely I catch the words of His revealing, Hardly I hear Him, dimly understand. Only the power that is within me pealing Lives on my lips, and beckons to my hand. Whoso hath felt the Spirit of the Highest Cannot confound, nor doubt Him, nor deny; Yea, with one voice, O world, though thou deniest, Stand thou on that side, for on this am I. Rather the world shall doubt when her retrieving Pours in the rain and rushes from the sod; Rather than he in whom the great conceiving Stirs in his soul to quicken into God. Nay, though thou then shouldst strike him from his glory, Blind and tormented, maddened and alone, E'en on the cross would he maintain his story, Yes, and in Hell would whisper, "I have known. " Those who have in any sense realised that God is around them, in them, and in everything, will be able to understand how a place or an objectmay become "sacred" by a slight objectivisation of this perennialuniversal Presence, so that those become able to sense Him who do notnormally feel His omnipresence. This is generally effected by somehighly advanced man, in whom the inner Divinity is largely unfolded, andwhose subtle bodies are therefore responsive to the subtler vibrationsof consciousness. Through such a man, or by such a man, spiritualenergies may be poured forth, and these will unite themselves with hispure vital magnetism. He can then pour them forth on any object, and itsether and bodies of subtler matter will become attuned to hisvibrations, as before explained, and further, the Divinity within it canmore easily manifest. Such an object becomes "magnetised, " and, if thisbe strongly done, the object will itself become a magnetic centre, capable in turn of magnetising those who approach it. Thus a bodyelectrified by an electric machine will affect other bodies near whichit may be placed. An object thus rendered "sacred" is a very useful adjunct to prayer andmeditation. The subtle bodies of the worshipper are attuned to its highvibrations, and he finds himself quieted, soothed, pacified, withouteffort on his own part. He is thrown into a condition in which prayerand meditation are easy and fruitful instead of difficult and barren, and an irksome exercise becomes insensibly delightful. If the object bea representation of some sacred Person--a Crucifix, a Madonna and Child, an Angel, a Saint--there is a yet further gain. The Being represented, if his magnetism has been thrown into the image by the appropriate Wordand Sign of Power, can re-inforce that magnetism with a very slightexpenditure of spiritual energy, and may thus influence the devotee, oreven show himself through the image, when otherwise he would not havedone so. For in the spiritual world economy of forces is observed, and asmall amount of energy will be expended where a larger would bewithheld. An application of these same occult laws may be made to explain the useof all consecrated objects--relics, amulets, &c. They are all magnetisedobjects, more or less powerful, or useless, according to the knowledge, purity, and spirituality of the person who magnetises them. Places may similarly be made sacred, by the living in them of saints, whose pure magnetism, radiating from them, attunes the whole atmosphereto peace-giving vibrations. Sometimes holy men, or Beings from thehigher worlds, will directly magnetise a certain place, as in the casementioned in the Fourth Gospel, where an Angel came at a certain seasonand touched the water, giving it healing qualities. [355] In such placeseven careless worldly men will sometimes feel the blessed influence, andwill be temporarily softened and inclined toward higher things. Thedivine Life in each man is ever trying to subdue the form, and mould itinto an expression of itself; and it is easy to see how that Life willbe aided by the form being thrown into vibrations sympathetic withthose of a more highly evolved Being, its own efforts being reinforcedby a stronger power. The outer recognition of this effect is a sense ofquiet, calm, and peace; the mind loses its restlessness, the heart itsanxiety. Any one who observes himself will find that some places aremore conducive to calm, to meditation, to religious thought, to worship, than others. In a room, a building, where there has been a great deal ofworldly thought, of frivolous conversation, of mere rush of ordinaryworldly life, it is far harder to quiet the mind and to concentrate thethought, than in a place where religious thought has been carried onyear after year, century after century; there the mind becomes calm andtranquillised insensibly, and that which would have demanded seriouseffort in the first place is done without effort in the second. This is the rationale of places of pilgrimage, of temporary retreatsinto seclusion; the man turns inward to seek the God within him, and isaided by the atmosphere created by thousands of others, who before himhave sought the same in the same place. For in such a place there is notonly the magnetisation produced by a single saint, or by the visit ofsome great Being of the invisible world; each person, who visits thespot with a heart full of reverence and devotion, and is attuned to itsvibrations, reinforces those vibrations with his own life, and leavesthe spot better than it was when he came to it. Magnetic energy slowlydisperses, and a sacred object or place becomes gradually demagnetisedif put aside or deserted. It becomes more magnetised as it is used orfrequented. But the presence of the ignorant scoffer injures suchobjects and places, by setting up antagonistic vibrations which weakenthose already existing there. As a wave of sound may be met by anotherwhich extinguishes it, and the result is silence, so do the vibrationsof the scoffing thought weaken or extinguish the vibrations of thereverent and loving one. The effect produced will, of course, vary withthe relative strengths of the vibrations, but the mischievous one cannotbe without result, for the laws of vibration are the same in the higherworlds as in the physical, and thought vibrations are the expression ofreal energies. The reason and the effect of the consecration of churches, chapels, cemeteries, will now be apparent. The act of consecration is not themere public setting aside of a place for a particular purpose; it is themagnetisation of the place for the benefit of all those who frequent it. For the visible and the invisible worlds are inter-related, interwoven, each with each, and those can best serve the visible by whom theenergies of the invisible can be wielded. AFTERWORD. We have reached the end of a small book on a great subject, and haveonly lifted a corner of the Veil that hides the Virgin of Eternal Truthfrom the careless eyes of men. The hem of her garment only has beenseen, heavy with gold, richly dight with pearls. Yet even this, as itwaves slowly, breathes out celestial fragrances--the sandal androse-attar of fairer worlds than ours. What should be the unimaginableglory, if the Veil were lifted, and we saw the splendour of the Face ofthe divine Mother, and in Her arms the Child who is the very Truth?Before that Child the Seraphim ever veil their faces; who then of mortalbirth may look on Him and live? Yet since in man abides His very Self, who shall forbid him to passwithin the Veil, and to see with "open face the glory of the Lord"?From the Cave to highest Heaven; such was the pathway of the Word madeFlesh, and known as the Way of the Cross. Those who share the manhoodshare also the Divinity, and may tread where He has trodden. "What Thouart, That am I. " PEACE TO ALL BEINGS. INDEX. PAGE _Acts of the Apostles_ referred to; 281 À Kempis, Thomas; 115 Afterword; 376 Allegory; 66 Allegories, Old Testament; 121 All-wide Consciousness; 281 _et seq. _ Ammonius Saccas; 28 Animal Symbols of Zodiac; 165 Anselm and Redemption; 195 Answers to Prayer; 277 " Subjective Prayer; 290 Apollonius of Tyana; 31 Apostolic Fathers; 70 Appearances of Divine Beings; 93 Aquinas, Thomas; 112 _Arians of the Fourth Century_, quoted; 103 Aristotle, Effect on Mediæval Christianity; 112 Ascension, The; 231, 250 " and Solar Myth; 231 " of the Christ; 249 _Asiatic Researches_, quoted; 258 Aspects of the ONE; 262 Athanasius, Story of; 353 Athanasian Creed, quoted; 263, 367 Atlantis, Continent of; 18 At-one-ment; 209 Atonement as one of Lesser Mysteries; 200 " Early Church on the; 195 " Calvinistic View of; 197 " Edwards on the; 197 " Flavel on the; 196 " Luther's Views on the; 196 " Dr. McLeod Campbell on the; 199 " F. D. Maurice on the; 199 " Vicarious and Substitutionary; 196 Atonement--Views of Dwight, Jeune, Jenkyn, Liddon, Owen, Stroud, and Thomson; 198 " Truth underlying the Doctrine of; 199 " Pamphlet on, quoted; 198 " _Nineteenth Century_ quoted on; 205 Augöeides; 27 Barnabas; 71 Baptism, A Mantram in; 350 " A Minor Form of; 349 " Belief in Death-bed; 352 " Infant; 353 " In the Early Church; 352 " In Other Religions; 348 " of Initiate; 53 " of Holy Ghost and Fire; 188 " of Jesus; 133 " of the Christ; 186 " Tertullian on; 349 Beatific Vision, The; 95, 295 Bernard of Clairvaux; 112 Bel-fires; 164 _Bhagavad Gîtâ_ referred to; 50, 202, 270, 306, 318 Bible Account of Creation; 179 Birth, Second; 247 Blavatsky, H. P. , referred to; 127 Blood of Christ symbolised in Eucharist; 359 Böhme, Jacob; 115 Body, Causal; 239, 247 " Desire, Changes in; 244 " Meaning of a; 234 " Mental; 236 " " Building of; 245 " Natural or Physical; 236 " Natural, of St. Paul; 237 " of Bliss; 240 " of Desire; 236 " Physical, Changes in; 243 " Resurrection; 240 Body, Spiritual; 239 _Book of Job_, quoted; 268, 332 " _of the Dead_, referred to; 339 " _of Wisdom_, quoted; 266 Bread, General Symbol in Sacraments; 358 _Brihadâranyakopanishat_, quoted; 50, 202 Brotherhood of Great Teachers; 9 Bruno, Giordano, referred to; 5, 113, 115, 225, 322 Buddha, Birth Story of; 164 Buddhist Trinity; 258 Calvinistic Doctrine; 197 Cardinal Nicolas of Cusa; 115 Cathari, The, referred to; 113 Cave of Initiation; 186 Celsus--Controversy with Origen; 88 _Chhândogyopanishat_, quoted; 253 Chrêstos and Christos; 174 Christ as Hierophant of Mysteries; 231 " Baptism of; 186 " Crucifixion of; 183 " Disciples of; 223 " in the Spiritual Body; 137 " Life of the; 217 " of the Mysteries; 191 " The; 132, 134 " the Crucified; 182 " the Historical; 120, 140 " the Kosmic; 179 " the Mystic; 170 " the Mythic; 145 " Sufferings of the; 223 _Christian Creed_, referred to; 180, 181 " quoted; 206, 207, 229 Christian Disciples--their work; 223 _Christian Records_, quoted; 348 Christian Symbols, &c. , not unique; 148 Christianity has the Gnosis; 36 Christmas Day; 159, 161 Christmas Festival, rightly regarded; 164 _Clarke's Ante-Nicene_ Library, quoted; viii. , 21, 58, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80 _et seq. _, 87, 88, 90 _et seq. _, 103, 150, 151, 266 Classes of Prayers; 283 Clement of Alexandria, quoted; viii. , 20 " " referred to; 73 " " on the Gnosis; 83, 84 " " on Scripture Allegories; 83 " " on Symbols; 80 " " and Catechetical School; 73 " " a Pupil of Pantænus; 73 _Colossians, Epistle to_, referred to; 58, 65, 81, 177 Comparative Mythologists; 7 " " Theory of; 8 " Religionists; 7, 8 " Mythology; 147 Consecrated Objects; 382 Consecration of Churches, Cemeteries, &c. ; 385 Constant, Alphonse Louis; 118 Conversion, Phenomenon of; 313 _et seq. _ _Corinthians, Epistles to_, quoted; ix. , x. , 6, 32, 55, 64, 67, 124, 175, 177, 232, 239, 240, 241, 251, 253, 270, 356, 373 Creed, taught after Baptism in Early Church; 352 _Cruden's Concordance_, quoted; 33 _Cur Deus Homo_ of Anselm; 195 Dangers to Christianity; 125 Dark Powers in Nature; 186, 187 Dean Milman, quoted; 255 _et seq. _ Death of Solar Heroes; 166 _De Principiis_ of Origen; 101, 102 _Deuteronomy_, quoted; 96, 253 _Diegesis_ of R. Taylor, quoted; 350 _Die Deutsche Theologie_; 114 Dionysius the Areopagite; 110 Disappearance of the Mysteries; 184 Disciples, The; 136 " Work of the; 223 " Writings of the; 140 Divine Beings, Appearance in Mysteries; 93 "Divine Grace, " What it is; 224 " Ideation; 359 " Illumination; 377 " Incarnations; 273, 274 Duality of Manifested Existence; 235 " of Second Person of Trinity; 265 Easter Festival; 159 Eckhart, Teachings of; 113 Edwards on the Atonement; 197 Egypt and the Mysteries; 131 _Encyclopædia Britannica_, referred to; 22, 23, 117 " " quoted; 110 _et seq. _ _Ephesians, Epistle to_, quoted; 57, 65, 67, 366 _Epistle of James_, quoted; 276 " _of Peter_, quoted; 64, 121, 194, 354, 371 Esoteric Christianity, Popular Denial of; 2 " Teaching in Early Church; 2 Essentials of Religion; 4 Eucharist, Bread and Wine of; 357 " Change of Substance in; 361 " connected with Law of Sacrifice; 357 " Meaning and Use of; 357 " Sacrifice of; 355 " Unworthy Participants in; 362 _Exodus, Book of_, quoted; 91 Exstasy; 295 Faith Needed for Forgiveness; 312 Fathers, The Christian, on Scriptures; 371 Festivals; 147 Fish Symbol in Religions; 166 Flavel on Atonement; 196 Fludd, Robert; 116 Forgiveness of Sins; 301 " in Lesser Mysteries; 323 " in most Religions; 303 " ultimately refers to _Post-Mortem_ Penalties; 307 Fourth Manifestation Feminine; 261 " Person; 263 Free-thinking in Christianity; 123 _Friends of God in the Oberland_; 114 Friends, Society of; 117 Future of Christianity; 41 _Galatians, Epistle to_, quoted; 64, 65, 66, 124 _Genesis_, quoted; 18, 180, 268, 269, 271, 279, 358 Germain, Comte de S. ; 117 Gestures in Sacraments; 338 Gibbon's _Decline and Fall of R. Empire_, quoted; 162 Giles, Rev. Dr. , quoted; 347 Gnosis, The; viii. , 9, 108 " " in Christianity; 36 Gnostic, The, of S. Clement; 84 _et seq. _ _Gnostics and their Remains_, quoted; 162 Gods in the Mysteries; 25 Grades of Hierarchies; 331 Grand Lodge of Central Asia; 31 Greek Cross, The; 267 Guyon, Mme. De; 116 Haug, Dr. , _Essay on Parsis_, cited; 202 _Hebrews, Epistle to_, quoted; 53, 67, 81, 91, 175, 176, 205, 216, 222, 223, 247, 270, 274, 280 Hebrew Trinity; 254 Hell-fire Dogma, The; 48 _Heroic Enthusiasts, The_, quoted; 323 Hidden God, The; 207 " Meanings in Jewish and Christian Scriptures; 100 " Side of Christianity; 36 " Teaching in all Religions; 20 Hierarchies of Divine Beings; 331 " of Superhuman Beings; 23 Hindu, Trinity, The; 257 History _versus_ Myth; 153 Holy Spirit as Creator; 269 Holy Water; 343, 349, 351 Human Evolution repeats Kosmic Process; 271 Huxley, T. H. , quoted; 282 Hyde, Dr. , quoted; 347 _Hymn to Demeter_; 22 Iamblichus, _On the Mysteries_, quoted; 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 296 _et seq. _ Iamblichus, _Life of Pythagoras_, referred to; 28 Ignatius; 71 Incarnation of Logos; 179 Initiation and Rebirth; 51, 53 " Cave of; 186 " Ceremonies of; 247 _et seq. _ " Conditions of; 173 " Mount of; 91 Inspiration, True; 378 Intelligences in Invisible Worlds; 279 Inviolability of Law; 305 Invisible Helpers; 280 Invisible Worlds interpenetrate the Visible; 279 Irenæus, _Against Heresies_, referred to; 105 _Isaiah_, quoted; 210, 295, 366, 377 Isomeric Compounds; 361 _Jeremiah, Book of_, quoted; 262, 357 Jesus at Mount Serbal; 130 " Baptism of; 133 " Date and Place of Birth; 130 " His Work in Christendom; 143 " in Egypt; 130 " Inner Instructions of; 137 " Master of the West; 147 " Sacrifice of; 133 " the Divine Teacher; 183 " the Healer and Teacher; 127 " training in Essene Community; 130 " the Master; 142 _Judges, Book of_, quoted; 97 Juliana Mother; 117 Justin Martyr; 148 " " quoted; 149 _et seq. _ _Kabbala_, Five Books of, referred to; 34 Karma; 288, 309 _Kathopanishat_, quoted; 32, 33, 49 _Key to Theosophy_, quoted; 294 Kingdom of Heaven--real meaning; 52 _Kings, Book of_, quoted; 33, 354 Kosmic Christ, The; 179 " Process of becoming; 268 " Sacrifice; 183 Lang, Andrew, referred to; 11, 12 Language of Symbols; 153 Latin Cross, Origin of; 206 " Use of, in Roman Church; 337 Law of Sacrifice; 201 " " in Hinduism; 202 " " in Nature of Logos; 204 " " in Zoroastrianism; 202 " " or Manifestation; 203 Law, William; 117 Left-hand Path; 17 Lent; 167 Levi Eliphas; 118 _Leviticus_, quoted; 358 _Light on the Path_, quoted; 220 "Little Child"; 65 Logos, Birth of the; 205 " and Sacrifice; 204 " Life of, in every form; 208 " Meaning of the Term; 172 " of Plato; 182 " Perpetual Sacrifice of; 209 Loss of Mystic Teaching in Christianity; 37 _Luke, Gospel of_, quoted; 45, 48, 175, 176, 264, 289, 302, 312 Luther on the Atonement; 196 Madonnas; 160 Magnetic Cures, Secret of; 342 " Change in Sacramental Substance; 342 " Energies in Ether; 341 Magnetisation of Substances; 341 _Making_ of _Religion_, The, referred to; 11 Man as Microcosm; 271 " and Woman Complementary; 365 " develops Second Aspect; 272 Man's Manifold Nature; 234 _Mandakopanishat_, quoted; 202 "Mantras"; 335 " essential in Sacraments; 338 " in rite of Baptism; 350 " in Sanskrit; 336 " spoilt by translation; 337 _Mark, Gospel of_, quoted; vii. , 45, 47 Martin, St. ; 117 Marriage, Deeper meaning of; 365 " in Lesser Mysteries; 368 " Mystery of; 366 " Sacrament of; 364 " type of union between God and Man; 366 Mary, the World Mother; 206 Master, Jesus, the; 142 _Matthew, Gospel of_, quoted; vii. , 45, 46, 49, 52, 53, 54, 92, 134, 176, 177, 186, 210, 216, 240, 271, 274, 281, 306, 319 Maurice, cited; 254 Mead, G. R. S. , quoted; 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 114 Mediator, Nature of; 274 Meditation--What it is; 293 " Growth by; 299 Men at different levels; 3 Miguel de Molinos; 116 Ministry of Angels, The; 287, 289 Miracles; 145 Mithras, Birth of; 161 Modern Spirit antagonistic to Prayer; 276 More, Henry; 116 Mother Juliana of Norwich; 117 Mount Serbal; 130 Mount of Initiation; 91, 188 Müller, George, Case of; 284 _et seq. _ Music in Worship; 335, 337 Myers (F. ), St. Paul; 378 Mystery Gods; 25 " of Christ; 57 Mysteries, Christian, Symbolism of; 247 Mysteries and Yoga; 31 " Christ as Hierophant of; 231 " Disappearance of the; 184 " Eliphas Levi on the; 118 " established by Christ; 142 " Greater, The; ix. , 1, 22, 27, 63 " in the Gospels; 45 " in Egypt; 131 " in relation to Myth; 157 " Lesser; ix. , 1, 22 " " and Prayer; 280 " " as to Bodies; 237 " " Teaching of; 251 " Names in Christianity; 47 " of Bacchus; 21, 27 " of Chaldæa, Egypt, Eleusis, Mithras, Orpheus, Samothrace, Scythia; 21 " of God; 57 " of Jesus; 1, 42, 94 " of the Early Church; 69 _et seq_. " of Magic, quoted; 157 " praised by Learned Greeks; 21 " Pseudo, and Sun-God Story; 167 " source of Mystic Learning; 108 " The; 171, 178 " taught, _Post-mortem_ Existence; 21 " The True; 179 " The Christ of the; 184 " Theory of the; 22 " withdrawn; 108 Mystic Christ, The; 170 " " Twofold; 178 " Vesture, The; 138 Mythic Christ, The; 145 Myth, Meaning of; 152, 153 " Solar; 156 Mythology Comparative; 147 Natural and Spiritual Bodies; 232 " Body--of St. Paul; 237 Natural Body, The; 235 _et seq. _ Need for Graded Religion; 14 Neoplatonists; 29, 112 Newman, Cardinal, quoted; 103 _et seq. _ " Recognises a Secret Tradition; 104 New Testament Proofs of Esotericism; 42 _et seq. _ Nicene Creed; 181 Nicolas of Basel; 114 Noachian Deluge; 19 _Nous Demiurgos_ of Plato; 255 _Numbers, Book of_, quoted; 270 Object of all Religions; 3 Occult Experts; 127 " Knowledge, Danger of; 16 " Records; 18 " " and the Gospels; 129 " side of Nature; 279 " use of Sounds; 334 Old Testament Allegories; 121 One Existence, The; 253 One, The, Three aspects of; 262 " " Manifest; 261 Origen _Against Celsus_; 88 _et seq. _ " " "; 95 " on the Need of Wisdom; 99 " " Mysteries; 89 " " Scriptures; 372 " " Tower of Babel; 97 " referred to; 44 " Shining Light of Learning; 87 _Orpheus_, Mead's, quoted; 28, 29, 30, 114 Owen on Atonement; 197 Pantænus; 73, 74 Paracelsus; 115 Paradise; 242 Path of Discipleship; 174 _Philippians, Epistle to_, quoted; 62 Physical Ailments final expression of Karma; 310 Physical Body, Changes in; 243 " Material in Sacraments; 340 Pilgrimages, Rationale of; 382 _Pistis Sophia_, quoted; 46, 138, 139, 302 _et seq. _, 319 _et seq. _, 340 " " referred to; 137 Plato's Cave; 153 Plato initiated in Egypt; 21 Platonists of Cambridge; 116 Plotinus, Dying Words of; 31 " referred to; 23 " Mead's, quoted; 31 Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna; 70 Popular Christianity, Mistake of; vii. " Denial of Esoteric Christianity; 1 Porphyry, quoted; 27, 54 Prayer; 276 " Answers to; 277 " as Will; 285 " Class B--general principle; 292 " Failure of; 287 " for Spiritual Enlightenment; 291 " for the Student of Lesser Mysteries; 296 " Highest form of; 293 " Puzzling Facts as to; 277 Prayers classified; 278 Probationary Path, The; 247 "Proclaim upon the houses"--Mystical meaning; 79 Proclus, Teaching of; 26, 29, 51 Psalms, quoted; 5, 299 Pseudo-Mysteries and Sun-God Drama; 167 Pupils of the Apostles; 70 Purgatory; 242 Purification; 244 Pythagoras, referred to; 28 " in India; 31 Pythagorean School, Discipline of; 29, 30 Qualifications of Disciple; 175 Quietists, The; 116 Regions of the Invisible Worlds; 239 Re-incarnation; 239 Religion, Need for graded; 14 _Religion of Ancient Persians_, quoted; 347 Religions, Common origin of; 7 " Custodians of Sacred Books; 369 " Essentials of; 4 " fitted for Stages of Growth; 13 " Object of all; 3 " Source of all; 7 Religious Founders; 10 " Scriptures; 10 " Teachers; 9 Resurrection and Solar Myth; 231, 250 " Body; 240 " of the Christ; 249 " of the Dead; 62 " The--Part of Lesser Mysteries; 231 Revelation; 369 " Fragments of in Sacred Books; 370 " in Cypher; 370 " of Deity in Kosmos; 375 _Revelations, Book of_, quoted; 50, 63, 66, 249, 263, 292, 322, 331 Revolt against Dogma; 38 Roman Empire dying; 107 _Romans, Epistle to_, quoted; 82, 363 Rosenkreutz Christian; 117 Ruling Angel of Jews; 96, 98 Ruysbroeck; 115 Sacrament, a kind of crucible; 326 " a Pictorial Allegory; 325 " Change in substance at; 343 " link between Visible and Invisible; 326, 327 " of Baptism; 347 " of Eucharist; 347 " of Marriage; 347, 364 " of Penance; 340 Sacraments; 324 " Angels connected with; 343 " defined in Church Catechism; 329 Sacraments, Gestures used in; 338 " in all Religions; 324 " Lost at Reformation; 327 " Mantrams in; 338 " of Christian Church; 327 " Peculiar Characteristics; 324 " Seven, of Christianity; 327, 346 " Signs, Seals, or Sigils in; 339 " "Substance" and "Accidents" of; 361 " Twofold Nature of; 324 _et seq. _ " Two, In Protestant Communities; 328, 346 Sacred Places and Objects; 380 Sacred Quaternery, The; 261 Sacrifice as Joy; 210 _et seq. _ " Law of; 201 " " Four Stages in; 212 " Lessons in; 212 _et seq. _ " of Jesus; 133 Saint Bonaventura; 112 " Elizabeth; 113 " Francois de Sales; 116 " John of the Cross; 116 " _John's Gospel_, quoted; x. , 46, 52, 53, 54, 56, 103, 132, 133, 134, 137, 177, 180, 216, 240, 246, 250, 262, 270, 273, 292, 382 " Paul, quoted; 55 _et seq. _, 124, 184 " Paul an Initiate; 61 " " and Mysteries; 57 " " and Timothy; 59, 69 " " on Allegory; 66 " Peter, quoted; 194 " Teresa; 116 " Timothy, referred to; 59 _Samuel, Book of_, quoted; 33 Savage Deities; 11 Savages as Descendants of Civilisation; 12 Saviour, The True; 219 _et seq. _ Sayings of Jesus; 53, 54, 301 Scientific Analysis of Vehicles; 237 Search for God, The; 5 Secret Teachings of Jesus; 90 " Tradition recognised by Newman; 104 Second Birth; 185, 247 _Sepher Yetzirah_, quoted; 34 _Sharpe's Egyptian Mythology_, quoted; 259 _Shvetâshvataropanishat_, quoted; 32 "Sign of Power"; 339 Society of Friends; 117 Solar Gods; 160 " Myth, Root of; 178 Sopater, quoted; 21 Sophia--The Wisdom; 138 Soul--Dual; 233 Sound and Form in the Invisible Worlds; 333 Sound, Occult use of; 334 Source of Religions; 7 Spirit and Matter; 367 Spirit threefold; 233 " manifested as triple Self; 330 Spiritual Body, Divisions of; 240 _et seq. _ "Star of Initiation"; 186 "Strait Gate" term of Initiation; 49, 50, 174, 177 _Stromata_ or Miscellanies of S. Clement, quoted; 58, 74 _et seq. _, 78, 83, 84, 85, 87 Sufferings of the Christ; 223 Superintending Spirits; 98 Sun God Legend; 158 " " Symbol of Logos; 171 " Heroes; 165 " Myths, recurring; 169 " of Righteousness; 249 " Symbol of the Logos; 154 " Symbols; 155 Survival of Christianity?; 40 Symbol of Jesus; 165 " of Trinity; 267 Symbols--animal, in Zodiac; 165 " Language of; 153 Symbols of Logoi; 266 _et seq. _ Tatian and Theodotus, referred to; 73 Tauler, John; 114 Taylor, Robert, quoted; 350 Teachings common to all Religions; 146 " in the hands of Spiritual Brotherhood; 374 Tertullian on Baptism; 151 The Christ; 132, 134 The Hidden Side of Religions; 1 " of Christianity; 36 The Disciples; 136 The "Simple Gospel"; 39 The title of Lord; 96 The Testimony of the Scriptures; 36 The Tower of Babel; 97 The Thyrsus; 75 The True Exstasis; 108 The Trinity; 253 " among the Hebrews; 254 " Hindu; 257 " in Buddhism; 258 " in Chaldæa; 259 " in China; 259 " in Extinct Religions; 258 " in Egypt; 259 " in Man; 177, 233 " in Manifestation; 254 " in Zoroastrianism; 257 The Word of Wisdom, of Knowledge; 102 Theological Hell; 308 _Theosophical Review_, quoted; 228 _Thessalonians, Epistle to_, quoted; 233 Three Worlds, The; 241 _Timothy, Epistle to_, quoted; 59, 60, 61, 65, 134, 227 Tradition of _Post-mortem_ Teaching of Jesus; 46 Transubstantiation--Truth Underlying; 360 Triangle as a Symbol of Trinity; 267 Trinity, A Second; 263 " of Spirit; 233 Trinity in Christian agrees with other Faiths; 260 Triple Aspect of Matter; 264 Triplicity in Nature; 261 True Theosophy defined; x. Two Schools of Christian Interpretation; 122 Two-fold Division of Man Insufficient; 232 Vaivasvata Manu; 19 Valentinus; 137 Vaughan, Thomas; 116 Vehicles of Consciousness, Need for Different; 238 Vibrations; 334 Vibratory Effects of Mass; 338 Virgin Matter; 264 " " and Third Person of Trinity; 265 " " and Second " " ; 265 " Mother; 264 Virgin's Womb, Meaning of; 180 Virgo, Zodiacal Sign of; 158, 160 Virtues in the Mysteries; 27 _Voice of the Silence_, quoted; 249 _Voice Figures_--Mrs. Watts Hughes, referred to; 333 Williamson's _Great Law_, quoted; 161, 163 _et seq. _, 166, 167, 203, 255, 259, 348, 358. Will as Prayer; 285 Words of Power; 335 Work of the Holy Spirit; 179, 268 " Second Person; 179, 269 " First Person; 270 Working of Logos in Matter; 182 Workers in Kosmos; 283 " the Invisible Worlds; 152, 280 World Bibles, fragments of Revelation; 374 World Soul, The; 23 World Symbols; 266 Writings of the Disciples; 140 _Zechariah_, quoted; 268 Zodiac, The; 160 * * * * * FOOTNOTES: [1] S. Mark xvi. 15. [2] S. Matt vii. 6. [3] Clarke's Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol. IV. Clement ofAlexandria. _Stromata_, bk. I. , ch. Xii. [4] I. Cor. Iii. 16. [5] _Ibid. _, ii. 14, 16. [6] S. John, i. 9. [7] Psalms, xlii. 1. [8] 1 Cor. Xv. 28. [9] Ante-Nicene Library, Vol. XII. Clement of Alexandria. _Stromata_, bk. V. , ch. Xi. [10] See Article on "Mysteries, " _Encyc. Britannica_ ninth edition. [11] Psellus, quoted in _Iamblichus on the Mysteries_. T. Taylor, p. 343, note on p. 23, second edition. [12] _Iamblichus_, as _ante_, p. 301. [13] _Ibid. _, p. 72. [14] The article on "Mysticism" in the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ hasthe following on the teaching of Plotinus (204-206 A. D. ): "The One[the Supreme God spoken of above] is exalted above the _nous_ and the'ideas'; it transcends existence altogether and is not cognisable byreason. Remaining itself in repose, it rays out, as it were, from itsown fulness, an image of itself, which is called _nous_, and whichconstitutes the system of ideas of the intelligible world. The soul isin turn the image or product of the _nous_, and the soul by its motionbegets corporeal matter. The soul thus faces two ways--towards the_nous_, from which it springs, and towards the material life, which isits own product. Ethical endeavour consists in the repudiation of thesensible; material existence is itself estrangement from God. .. . Toreach the ultimate goal, thought itself must be left behind; forthought is a form of motion, and the desire of the soul is for themotionless rest which belongs to the One. The union with transcendentdeity is not so much knowledge or vision as ecstasy, coalescence, _contact_. " Neo-Platonism is thus "first of all a system of completerationalism; it is assumed, in other words, that reason is capable ofmapping out the whole system of things. But, inasmuch as a God isaffirmed beyond reason, the mysticism becomes in a sense the necessarycomplement of the would-be all-embracing rationalism. The systemculminates in a mystical act. " [15] _Iamblichus_, as _ante_, p. 73. [16] _Ibid_, pp. 55, 56. [17] _Ibid_, pp. 118, 119. [18] _Ibid_, p. 118, 119. [19] _Ibid_, pp. 95, 100. [20] _Ibid_, p. 101. [21] _Ibid_, p. 330. [22] G. R. S. Mead. _Plotinus_, p. 42. [23] _Iamblichus_, p. 364, note on p. 134. [24] G. R. S. Mead. _Orpheus_, pp. 285, 286. [25] _Iamblichus_, p. 364, note on p. 134. [26] _Iamblichus_, p. 285, _et seq. _ [27] G. R. S. Mead. _Orpheus_, p. 59. [28] _Ibid_, p. 30. [29] _Ibid_, pp. 263, 271. [30] G. R. S. Mead. _Plotinus_, p. 20. [31] _Shvetâshvataropanishat_, vi. , 22. [32] _Kathopanishat_, iii. , 14. [33] I. Cor. Xiii. 1. [34] _Kathopanishat_, vi. 17. [35] _Mundakopanishat_, II. , ii. 9. [36] _Ibid_. , III. , i. 3. [37] I Sam. Xix. 20. [38] II. Kings ii. 2, 5. [39] Under "School. " [40] Dr. Wynn Westcott. _Sepher Yetzirah_, p. 9. [41] S. Mark iv. 10, 11, 33, 34. See also S. Matt. Xiii. 11, 34, 36, and S. Luke viii. 10. [42] S. John xvi. 12. [43] Acts i. 3. [44] _Loc. Cit. _ Trans. By G. R. S. Mead. I. I. 1. [45] S. Matt. Vii. 6. [46] As to the Greek woman: "It is not meet to take the children'sbread, and to cast it unto the dogs. "--S. Mark vii. 27. [47] S. Luke xiii. 23, 24. [48] S. Matt. Vii. 13, 14. [49] _Kathopanishat_ II. Iv. 10, 11. [50] _Brihadâranyakopanishat_. IV. Iv. 7. [51] Rev. Vii. 9. [52] _Bahgavad Gîtâ_, vii. 3. [53] _Ante_, p. 26. [54] It must be remembered that the Jews believed that all imperfectsouls returned to live again on earth. [55] S. Matt. Xix. 16-26. [56] S. John xvii. 3. [57] Heb. Ix. 23. [58] S. John. Iii. 3, 5. [59] S. Matt. Iii. 11. [60] _Ibid. _ xviii. 3. [61] S. John iii. 10. [62] S. Matt. V. 48. [63] _Ante_, p. 24 [64] Note how this chimes in with the promise of Jesus in S. John xvi. 12-14: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bearthem now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guideyou into all truth. .. . He will show you things to come. .. . He shallreceive of mine, and shall show it unto you. " [65] Another technical name in the Mysteries. [66] Eph. Iii. 3, 4, 9. [67] Col i. 23, 25-28. But S. Clement, in his _Stromata_, translates"every man, " as "the whole man. " See Bk. V. , ch. X. [68] Col. Iv. 3. [69] Ante-Nicene Library, Vol. XII. Clement of Alexandria. _Stromata_, bk. V. Ch. X. Some additional sayings of the Apostles will be found inthe quotations from Clement, showing what meaning they bore in theminds of those who succeeded the apostles, and were living in the sameatmosphere of thought. [70] I. Tim. Iii. 9, 16. [71] I. Tim. I. 18. [72] _Ibid. _, iv. 14. [73] _Ibid. _, vi. 13. [74] _Ibid. _, 20. [75] II. Tim. I. 13, 14. [76] _Ibid. _, ii. 2. [77] Phil. Iii. 8, 10-12, 14, 15. [78] Rev. I. 18. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I amalive for evermore. Amen. " [79] II. Cor. V. 16. [80] Gal. Iii. 27. [81] Gal. Iv. 19. [82] I. Cor. Iv. 15. [83] I. S. Pet. Iii. 4. [84] Eph. Iv. 13. [85] Col. I. 24. [86] II. Cor. Iv. 10. [87] Gal. Ii. 20. [88] II. Tim. Iv. 6, 8. [89] Rev. Iii. 12. [90] Gal. Iv. 22-31. [91] I Cor. X. 1-4. [92] Eph. V. 23-32. [93] Vol. I. _The Martyrdom of Ignatius_, ch. Iii. The translationsused are those of Clarke's Ante-Nicene Library, a most usefulcompendium of Christian antiquity. The number of the volume whichstands first in the references is the number of the volume in thatSeries. [94] _Ibid. The Epistle of Polycarp_, ch. Xii. [95] _Ibid. The Epistle of Barnabas_, ch. I. [96] _Ibid. _ ch. X. [97] _Ibid. The Martyrdom of Ignatius, _ ch. I. [98] _Ibid. Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians_, ch. Iii. [99] _Ibid. _ ch. Xii. [100] _Ibid. To the Trallians_, ch. V. [101] _Ibid. To the Philadelphians_, ch. Ix. [102] Vol. IV. Clement of Alexandria _Stromata_, bk. I. Ch. I. [103] Vol. IV. _Stromata_, bk. I. Ch. Xxviii. [104] It appears that even in those days there were some who objectedto any truth being taught secretly! [105] _Ibid. _ bk. I, ch. I. [106] _Ibid. _ bk. V. , ch. Iv. [107] _Ibid. _ ch. V. -viii. [108] _Ibid. _ ch. Ix. [109] _Ibid. _ bk. V. , ch. X. [110] Loc. Cit. Xv. 29. [111] _Ibid. _ xvi. 25, 26; the version quoted differs in words, butnot in meaning, from the English Authorised Version. [112] _Stromata_, bk. V. , ch. X. [113] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. , ch. Vii. [114] _Ibid. _ bk. VII. , ch. Xiv. [115] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. , ch. Xv. [116] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. X. [117] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. Vii. [118] _Ibid. _ bk. I. Ch. Vi. [119] _Ibid. _ ch. Ix. [120] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. Ch. X. [121] _Ibid. _ bk. I. Ch. Xiii. [122] Vol XII. _Stromata_, bk. V. Ch. Iv. [123] _Ibid. _ bk. VI. Ch. Xv. [124] Book I. Of _Against Celsus_ is found in Vol. X. Of theAnte-Nicene Library. The remaining books are in Vol. XXIII. [125] Vol. X. _Origen against Celsus_, bk. I. Ch. Vii. [126] _Ibid. _ [127] Ex. Xxv. 40, xxvi. 30, and compare with Heb. Viii. 5, and ix. 25. [128] _Origen against Celsus_, bk. IV. Ch. Xvi. [129] _Ibid. _ bk. III. Ch. Lix. [130] _Ibid. _ ch. Lxi. [131] _Ibid. _ ch. Lxii. [132] _Ibid. _, ch. Lx. [133] Vol. XXIII. _Origen against Celsus_, bk. V. Ch. Xxv. [134] _Ibid. _ ch. Xxviii. [135] _Ibid. _ ch. Xxix. [136] _Ibid. _ ch. Xx xi. [137] _Ibid. _ ch. Xxxii. [138] _Ibid. _ ch. Xlv. [139] _Ibid. _ ch. Xlvi. [140] _Ibid. _ chs. Xlvii. -liv. [141] _Ibid. _ ch. Lxxiv. [142] _Ibid. _ bk. IV. , ch. Xxxix. [143] Vol. X. _Origen against Celsus_, bk. I. , ch. Xvii, and others. [144] _Ibid. _ ch. Xlii. [145] Vol. X. _De Principiis_, Preface, p. 8. [146] _Ibid. _ ch. I. [147] S. John xiv. 18-20. [148] _Loc. Cit. _ ch. I. Sec. III. P. 55. [149] _Ibid. _ ch. I. Sec. III. Pp. 55, 56. [150] _Ibid. _ pp. 54, 55. [151] "Seems to have been" is a somewhat weak expression, after whatis said by Clement and Origen, of which some specimens are given inthe text. [152] _Ibid. _, p. 62. [153] Article on "Mysticism. "--_Encyc. Britan. _ [154] Article "Mysticism. " _Encyclopædia Britannica. _ [155] _Orpheus_, pp. 53, 54. [156] Obligation must be here acknowledged to the Article "Mysticism, "in the _Encyc. Brit. _, though that publication is by no meansresponsible for the opinions expressed. [157] _The Mysteries of Magic. _ Trans. By A. E. Waite, pp. 58 and 60. [158] II. S. Peter i. 5. [159] Gal. Iv. 19. [160] II. Cor. V. 16. [161] S. John i. 14. [162] S. John i. 32. [163] S. Matt. Iii. 17. [164] _Ibid. _ iv. 17. [165] I. Tim. Iii. 16. [166] S. John x. 34-36. [167] S. John xiv. 18, 19. [168] Valentinus. Trans. By G. R. S. Mead. _Pistis Sophia_, bk. I. , I. [169] _Ante_, p. 72. [170] _Ibid. _ 60. [171] _Ibid. _ bk. Ii. , 218. [172] _Ibid. _ 230. [173] _Ibid. _ 357. [174] _Ibid. _ 377. [175] Vol. II. Justin Martyr. _First Apology_, §§ liv. , lxii. , andlxvi. [176] Vol. II. Justin Martyr. _Second Apology_, § xiii. [177] Vol. VII. Tertullian, _On Baptism_, ch. V. [178] The student might read Plato's account of the "Cave" and itsinhabitants, remembering that Plato was an Initiate. _Republic_, Bk. Vii. [179] Eliphas Lévi _The Mysteries of Magic_, p. 48. [180] Bonwick. _Egyptian Belief_, p. 157. Quoted in Williamson's_Great Law_, p. 26. [181] The festival "Natalis Solis Invicti, " the birthday of theInvincible Sun. [182] Williamson. _The Great Law_, pp. 40-42. Those who wish to studythis matter as one of Comparative Religion cannot do better than read_The Great Law_, whose author is a profoundly religious man and aChristian. [183] _Ibid. _ pp. 36, 37. [184] _The Great Law_, p. 116. [185] _Ibid. _ p. 58. [186] _Ibid. _ p. 56. [187] _Ibid. _ pp. 120-123. [188] See on this the opening of the Johannine Gospel, i. 1-5. Thename Logos, ascribed to the manifested God, shaping matter--"allthings were made by Him"--is Platonic, and is hence directly derivedfrom the Mysteries; ages before Plato, Vâk, Voice, derived from thesame source, was used among Hindus. [189] See _Ante_, pp. 124. [190] See _Ante_, pp. 93-94. [191] See _Ante_, p. 85. [192] II. Cor. Iv. 18. [193] II. Cor. V. 7. [194] Heb. V. 14. [195] S. Luke xv. 16. [196] _Ibid. _ xiv. 26. [197] S. Matt. V. 28. [198] Heb. Xi. 27. [199] S. Matt v. 45. [200] S. Luke ix. 49, 50. [201] S. Matt xvii. 20. [202] II. Cor. Vi. 8-10. [203] Col. Iii. 1. [204] S. Matt. V. 8, and S. John xvii. 21. [205] Gen. I. 2. [206] S. John i. 3. [207] _The Christian Creed_, p. 29. This is a most valuable andfascinating little book, on the mystical meaning of the creeds. [208] _Ibid. _ p. 42. [209] A name of the Holy Ghost. [210] _Ibid. _ p. 43. [211] _Ante_, p. 124. [212] S. Matt. Xviii. 3. [213] 2 S. Peter iii. 15, 16. [214] A. Besant. _Essay on the Atonement. _ [215] _Ibid. _ [216] _Brihadâranyakopanishat_, I. I. 1. [217] _Bhagavad Gîtâ_, iii. 10. [218] _Brihadâranyakopanishat_, I. Ii. 7. [219] _Mundakopanishat_, II. Ii. 10. [220] Haug. _Essays on the Parsîs_, pp. 12-14. [221] Rev. Xiii. 8. [222] W. Williamson. _The Great Law_, p. 406. [223] A. Besant. _Nineteenth Century_, June, 1895, "The Atonement. " [224] Heb. I. 5. [225] _Ibid. _, 2. [226] C. W. Leadbeater. _The Christian Creed_, pp. 54-56. [227] _Ibid. _ pp. 56, 57. [228] S. Matt. Xxv. 21, 23, 31-45. [229] Is. Liii. 11. [230] S. Matt. Xvi. 25. [231] S. John xii. 25. [232] Heb. Vii. 16. [233] _Light on the Path_, § 8. [234] Heb. Vii. 25. [235] Heb. V. 8, 9. [236] I Tim. Iii. 16. [237] Annie Besant. _Theosophical Review_, Dec. , 1898, pp. 344, 345. [238] C. W. Leadbeater. _The Christian Creed_, pp. 61, 62. [239] I Cor. Xv. 44. [240] I Thess. V. 23. [241] See Chapter IX. , "The Trinity. " [242] See _Ante_, pp. 84, 99, 100. [243] 2 Cor. Xii. 2, 4. [244] S. Matt. V. 48. [245] S. John xvii. 22, 23. [246] 2 Cor. V. 1. [247] 1 Cor. Xv. 28. [248] This mistranslation was a very natural one, as the translationwas made in the seventeenth century, and all idea of the pre-existenceof the soul and of its evolution had long faded out of Christendom, save in the teachings of a few sects regarded as heretical andpersecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. [249] S. John iii. 13. [250] Heb. V. 9. [251] Rev. I. 18. [252] H. P. Blavatsky. _The Voice of the Silence_, p. 90, 5th Edition. [253] S. John. Xvii. 5. [254] 1 Cor. Xv. 20. [255] _Chhândogyopanishat_, VI. Ii. , 1. [256] Deut. Vi. 4. [257] 1 Cor. Viii. 6. [258] An error: En, or Ain, Soph is not one of the Trinity, but theOne Existence, manifested in the Three; nor is Kadmon, or Adam Kadmon, one Sephira, but their totality. [259] Quoted in Williamson's _The Great Law_, pp. 201, 202. [260] H. H. Milman. _The History of Christianity_, 1867, pp. 70-72. [261] _Asiatic Researches_, i. 285. [262] S. Sharpe. _Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christology_, p. 14. [263] See Williamson's _The Great Law_, p. 196. [264] _Loc. Cit. _, pp. 208, 209. [265] S. John i. 3. [266] Jer. Li. 15. [267] See _Ante_, pp. 179-180. [268] Athanasian Creed. [269] Rev. Iv. 8. [270] S. Luke. I. 38. [271] _Ibid_, 35. [272] Book of Wisdom, viii. 1. [273] Vol. IV. Ante-Nicene Library. S. Clement of Alexandria. _Stromata_, bk. V. , ch. Ii. [274] See _Ante_, p. 262. [275] See _Ante_, p. 207. [276] Gen. I. 1. [277] Job xxxviii. 4; Zech. Xii. 1; &c. [278] Gen. I. 2. [279] Gen. I. 2. [280] See _Ante_, p. 262. [281] See _Ante_, p. 262. [282] S. John i. 3. [283] _Bhagavad Gîtâ_ ix. 4. [284] 1 Cor. Xv. 27, 28. [285] S. John xiv. 6. See also the further meaning of this text on p. 272. [286] Heb. Xii. 9. [287] Numb. Xvi. 22. [288] Gen. I. 26. [289] S. Matt. V. 48. [290] S. John xvii. 5. [291] S. John v. 26. [292] S. Matt. I. 22. [293] Heb. Ii. 18. [294] Much of this chapter has already appeared in an earlier work bythe author, entitled, _Some Problems of Life_. [295] S. James i. 17. [296] Gen. Xxviii. 12, 13. [297] See Chapter xii. [298] Heb. I. 14. [299] S. Matt. X. 29. [300] Acts xvii. 28. [301] T. H. Huxley. _Essays on some Controverted Questions_, p. 36. [302] S. Luke xxii. 41, 43. [303] S. John i. 11. [304] Rev. Iii. 20. [305] H. P. Blavatsky. _Key to Theosophy_, p. 10. [306] Is. Xxxiii. 17. [307] _On the Mysteries_, sec. V. Ch. 26. [308] Ps. Xl. 7, 8, Prayer Book version. [309] S. Luke, v. 18-26. [310] _Ibid. _ vii. 47. [311] G. R. S. Mead, translated. _Loc. Cit. _, bk. Ii. , §§ 260, 261. [312] _Ibid. _ §§ 299, 300. [313] S. Matt. Xii. 36. [314] _Ibid. _ ix. 2. [315] _Loc. Cit. _ iii. 9. [316] _Ibid. _ vi. 43. [317] _Ibid. _ ix. 30. [318] See _ante_, Chap. VIII. [319] This is the cause of the sweetness and patience often noticed inthe sick who are of very pure nature. They have learned the lesson ofsuffering, and they do not make fresh evil karma by impatience underthe result of past bad karma, then exhausting itself. [320] S. Luke, vii. 48, 50. [321] _Loc. Cit. _, ix. 31. [322] S. Matt. Vii. 1. [323] _Loc. Cit. _, bk. Ii. § 305. [324] Rev. Iii. 20. [325] G. Bruno, trans. By L. Williams. _The Heroic Enthusiasts_, vol. I. , p. 133. [326] _Ibid. _, vol. Ii. , pp. 27, 28. [327] _Ibid. _, pp. 102, 103. [328] Rev. Iv. 5. [329] The phrase "force and matter" is used as it is so well-known inscience. But force is one of the properties of matter, the onementioned as Motion. See _Ante_, p. 264. [330] Job xxxviii. 7. [331] See on forms created by musical notes any scientific book onSound, and also Mrs. Watts-Hughes' illustrated book on _VoiceFigures_. [332] See _ante_, p. 138 and p. 302. [333] In the Sacrament of Penance the ashes are now usually omitted, except on special occasions, but none the less they form part of therite. [334] See _ante_ p. 329. [335] _Christian Records_, p. 129. [336] _The Great Law_, pp. 161-166. [337] See _ante_, p. 151. [338] _Diegesis_, p. 219. [339] 1 Pet. Iii. 4. [340] 2 Kings vi. 17. [341] 1 Cor. X. 16. [342] Jer. Xliv. [343] Gen. Xiv. 18, 19. [344] _The Great Law_, pp. 177-181, 185. [345] Lev. Xvii. 11. [346] Rom. Xii. 1. [347] Isaiah liv. 5; lxii. 5. [348] Eph. V. 23-32. [349] Athanasian Creed. [350] 2 Pet. I. 20. [351] 1 See _ante_, p. 102. [352] 2 Cor. Iii. 6. [353] 1 Cor. Ii. 11, 13. [354] Is. Vi. 6, 7. [355] S. John v. 4. * * * * * WILLIAM BYLES & SONS, PRINTERS, BRADFORD.