factors, each of which calls for study, if we would know the truth and
arrive at safe and practical conclusions. Even plants and animals have
what may be called _vital souls_ or _monads_, which, working behind
physical matter, cause it to grow and develop. In the case of man there
is still more, for such a process would produce merely an idiot. There
is the human Soul, and this has its own character and destiny--its
Karma--brought from its previous lives. This Karma is a potent
determining influence in heredity, and it operates much more powerfully
in some individuals than in others, this depending upon the stage of
development which the particular Soul has reached.
The principle of heredity, as defined by most biologists, is incomplete
and needs the Theosophical teachings to complete it. It is often
wrongly supposed to conflict with the Theosophical teachings, but so
far as it conforms to facts it cannot do this. Theosophists may find
themselves unable to accept all the speculations of biologists, but
they can never have any quarrel with the facts.
In biological and anthropological works, in quasi-scientific or
quasi-sociologic novels by immature and frequently morbid thinkers,
and to some extent even in stage plays, we see the speculations of
theorists brought forward as the basis for proposed social polities;
and bad indeed would be our case should such experimenters ever attain
the influence they covet. Frightful doctrines regarding marriage and
parentage, inhuman suggestions as to the treatment of malefactors and
weaklings, and other horrors, now growing familiar, will readily
suggest themselves to the reader. And as these signs spring from a
misuse of science, which science itself seems unable to prevent; while
no religious organization seems competent to deal with the problem; the
importance of teachings which really can tell us something about our
own nature is evident. But it is not of new dogmas that we speak; the
teachings referred to are of the nature of demonstrations. When anyone
is _shown_ something which he did not before perceive, and recognizes
it for a truth, and makes effectual use of it, then he is satisfied and
needs not inquire into its authenticity. The purpose of Theosophy is
to _demonstrate_ the laws of human nature and nature in general. Its
appeal is to the understanding.
INCORRODIBLE BRONZE: by Travers
It has frequently been maintained that ancient nations, some of whose
art-works remain to us, knew secrets in metallurgy which have been
lost and not yet recovered by us; and that in this way they were able
to make bronze tools as hard as steel, or harder, to make metals which
would not corrode, etc. Where one has a wish to prove that ancient
races did not possess such knowledge, there is a conflict between
theories and facts, resulting in attempts to find an explanation which
will solve the dilemma. But where one has no reason for desiring to
represent the ancients as not being so endowed, the facts present no
difficulty. On the one hand we have monuments of the hardest stone,
elaborately engraved with deep and accurate intaglio. On the other
hand we know that many ancient civilizations were of extremely long
duration, and that surviving offshoots of these great civilizations
show a remarkable skill in many arts and industries. There is an _a
priori_ probability that many processes were known which have not yet
been rediscovered; and the fact that these architectural and sculptural
remains exist merely increases that probability.
With regard to incorruptible bronze, the following, which is condensed
from the _Journal_ of the Royal Society of Arts (Britain), is
interesting.
Figures of the Buddha are found in the north of Siam in great numbers,
on the sites of ancient temples which have been crumbling for
centuries, leaving the figures standing amid the forest trees. The
interesting thing about these figures is the perfect condition of the
bronze after centuries of exposure to tropical suns and rains.
This bronze is called by the natives "samrit"--the perfect or
auspicious alloy--and its composition for a long time remained a
secret, until, according to the American Consul at Bangkok, a few years
ago the formula was discovered in an old Siamese manuscript belonging
to the late King of Siam. The following is a translation:
Take twelve ticals (one tical is equal to one half-ounce avoirdupois)
weight of pure tin, melt it at a slow fire, avoiding bringing it to
red heat. Pour two ticals weight of quicksilver, stir until the latter
has become thoroughly absorbed and amalgamated, then cast the mixture
in a mold, forming it into a bar. Take one catty in weight (eighty
ticals) of refined copper and melt it; then gradually incorporate with
it the amalgam, keeping in the meantime the fused mass well stirred.
When this has been done, throw into the crucible a sufficient quantity
of ashes obtained from the stems of the bua-bok (lotus) creeper so as
to cover the molten metal. Remove the dross with an iron ladle. The
metal remaining is samrit bronze.
It is surely easy to understand that many such formulas might have been
known and never hit upon since. The possibilities in the way of making
alloys are endless, especially when it comes to using ingredients
or reagents other than metals. It would be strange indeed if an
industrious, highly intelligent, and very patient people, working for
ages, inspired by enthusiastic motives, should _not_ have discovered
many things which are unknown to us whose history is so recent and
whose records have been so largely concerned with less peaceful arts.
SCIENTIFIC ODDMENTS: by the Busy Bee
The largest flower in the world is said to be _Rafflesia_, a native
of Sumatra. It is composed of five round petals of a brickish color,
each measuring a foot across. These are covered with numerous irregular
yellowish white swellings. The petals surround a cup nearly a foot
wide, the margin of which bears the stamens. The cup is filled with a
fleshy disk, the upper surface of which is covered with projections
like miniature cows' horns. When empty, the cup will hold about twelve
pints. The flower weighs about fifteen pounds, the petals being
three-quarters of an inch thick.
* * * * *
QUITE a field of discovery lies open in connexion with photography
by invisible light, for it can reveal objects whose existence was
not suspected, especially on the moon and other celestial bodies.
The photograph is taken through a quartz lens coated with silver,
which is impenetrable to visible light but not to ultra-violet rays.
White flowers come out black, and a glass porch looks as if made of
sheet-iron. A man standing in the sunlight was seen to have no shadow,
which shows that the ultra-violet rays do not come directly from the
sun but are present in diffused light.
* * * * *
IT is often desirable, in delicate scientific measuring, to convey a
cool beam of light to a small scale which is to be read; and one clever
device for doing this is to send the light along a glass rod. It might
be thought that the light would escape through the sides of the rod
and that it would therefore be necessary to coat them with some opaque
substance; but this is not the case. Light does not pass through glass
when it strikes the glass very obliquely. If we look very obliquely at
a sheet of glass, we do not see the objects on the other side of it,
but we see the reflection of those on the same side as that from which
we look; the glass acts as if it were silvered. This is what is known
as "total reflection"; and in accordance therewith the beam cannot
escape through the sides of the rod. Thus the rod acts like a tube
along which the light, as though a fluid, runs; rather a suggestive
fact in connexion with currents and transmission generally.
* * * * *
NOW that we know of radium emanation, we have a scientific explanation
of the difference between natural curative waters when drunk at the
spring and the same waters after being bottled and exported. Things
may be chemically identical, and yet different--a reflection that
should help to prevent us from becoming too dogmatic. This discovery
about mineral waters has led to the invention of what may be called
"artificial genuine waters"; they are mineral waters artificially
impregnated with radium emanation. These have been used curatively with
success. Following their use came that of radium baths, and then radium
air-baths and radium inhalers. Patients can be put into a room whose
air is impregnated with emanation, or they can inhale through a nozzle
connected with a bottle. One naturally wonders how many more influences
there may be in nature which have not yet been detected, and how many
hygienic beliefs are consequently based on imperfect knowledge. What
happens to the fresh air after it has been drawn into a building,
heated in an apparatus, and distributed? Chemically the same it may
be, but it differs a good deal in its effects from the air outside.
And there is the question of prepared foods; is it enough that they be
chemically the same as the natural product?
* * * * *
THE devising of new luxuries is of doubtful advantage; for not only is
luxury itself enervating, but it is often not even achieved, for our
needs and susceptibilities increase with their satisfaction.
Soon it will not be necessary to have any circulation in your feet;
nor to use warm foot-gear or warm your feet at the fire. The carpet
on which you tread will itself be warm; or if it is not, you can make
it so in a moment by merely pressing the ubiquitous and indispensable
button in the wall. Stoop down and examine this magic carpet; it looks
just like any ordinary unpretending piece of floor-furniture. But
unravel some of its threads and you will find that they contain that
all-pervading nerve of modern life--a wire. Upon a woolen thread is
wound a tape made up of fine strands of nickel wire; over this again
goes more wool, and so the wire is made invisible and flexible. A cord
ending in a plug connects the carpet with the wall or the lighting
fixture. One would think there was risk of the carpet going up in a
puff of blue smoke; nor is one much reassured by the statement, in
a scientific paper, that "when overheated, the resistance rises and
cuts down the current, so that an automatic regulating action is given
which prevents overheating." The rise of resistance would increase
the quantity of heat generated, whereas the lessening of the current
strength would only reduce the quantity of heat in the proportion of
the square root of the diminution in current strength.
* * * * *
A NEW method of chemical analysis has been discovered by Sir J. J.
Thomson. It makes use of the Crookes vacuum tube, which, as is well
known, consists of a glass vessel containing a residuum of air or other
gas in a highly rarefied state. A platinum wire is sealed into each end
of the tube, each wire connected with an electrode within the tube. A
high-potential electric current is transmitted across the rarefied gas,
being carried by the particles, which, owing to the rarefaction, have
a greater freedom of movement. When these charged particles strike the
walls of the tube or an obstacle placed in their path they produce
beautiful luminous effects. Professor Thomson, in his new method of
analysis, pierces the negative electrode with a tube of very fine
bore, and it is found that the charged particles of gas pass through
this tube into the space behind, where they will produce luminosity
on a screen in their path. Now, as is known, these particles can be
deflected from their straight path and caused to take curved paths by
certain electric and magnetic methods. But the amount of deflection so
produced varies according to the mass and velocity of the particle.
Professor Thompson has so arranged the experiment that the amount of
deflection produced in the various particles present is indicated
by the spot at which they strike the screen. If they proceeded in a
straight path, they would strike the screen in the center; the more
they are deflected, the further from the center is the point at which
they strike. This affords a means of analysing the composition of the
gases present; but it is also necessary to take into account the fact
that the amount of deflection depends not only on the mass and velocity
of the particles but upon the amount of electric charge they are
carrying. But this merely multiplies or divides the results by integral
quantities.
It was found by these experiments that no matter what gas was being
examined, hydrogen was always present, and also carbon, nitrogen,
and mercury; mercury would be likely to be present in the air of
a laboratory. In examining marsh gas (CH_{4}), besides curves
corresponding to marsh gas, carbon, and hydrogen, there were found
other curves which by calculation would correspond to CH, CH_{2}, and
CH_{3}, compounds which are not known to the chemist and which must be
momentary transition stages in the decomposition of marsh gas.
This method of analysis is rapid, can be performed with minute
quantities, and is not hindered by the presence of impurities, for
these register themselves without interfering with the other elements.
Two prophecies by H. P. Blavatsky in _The Secret Doctrine_ were that
chemistry and biology were the twin magicians of the coming time,
and that it would soon be admitted by men of science that the Occult
teaching is true--that every cell, atom, and speck in the universe is
alive.
The microscopic germ is every day pushing more to the front and
threatening to elbow the mere molecule out of the field. Even familiar
chemical reactions will not come off if nothing else but the chemicals
concerned is present; there has to be something to start the reaction,
something electrical or who knows what. So we are told. Any day we
may expect to hear that the electrons are alive; at any rate they are
pretty lively and capable for "dead" things.
Bacteria are not all deadly or even maleficent. There are bacteria
that are good for us, necessary for our existence. The human body can
be described as made up of minute organisms. Disease means that the
destructive ones have prevailed over the constructive; but when there
is a proper balance of the two sorts we are healthy.
And now we learn that some of the beneficent bacteria shine--emit
light--a sure token of their saintly character! But they do not merely
absorb it and give it out again like some chemicals and phosphorescent
bodies; they create their own light. "_Fiat Lux_," they say, _et lux
fit_. This light, too, is without heat, wherefore it is the most
economical light possible. When _we_ create light we create with it
enough heat to run a hell, and all this represents waste. The most
efficient electric filament, it is said, gives only 5% of the energy
in the form of light. The luminous bacteria must have a nutritive
substance and oxygen. They abound most in sea-water, and on the Pacific
Coast the sea at certain seasons is a magnificent spectacle at night,
each wave shining with a soft bright light of undefinable colors.
But they can be experimented with in the laboratory. _Photobacterium
phosphorescens_ is obtained from the herring, duly fed and bottled, and
can be used to read by. A scientific magazine shows a photograph of a
picture of Lord Lister most appropriately illuminated by bacteria which
are contained in glass tubes near the picture.
Light has been regarded mainly as a means of vision; but it is
evidently more than this. In ancient science it is spoken of as one of
the creative powers. In physics we recognize it as among the active
transforming forces. We can regard it either as a form of energy or
as a form of matter--these amounting to little more than alternative
points of view. Behind the various phenomena classed as "light" lies
their ultra-physical _cause_--the _being_, the _thing-in-itself_.
When we speak of light as illuminating the mind or emanating from the
source of inspiration, we are commonly held to be employing a figure
of speech, a metaphor. But we might as well turn the matter around and
regard the scientific use of the word light as a metaphor.
There are various kinds of light. Moonlight may be mistaken for the
light of the sun by some creatures that have not seen the latter; also
there are owls and bats which prefer it. Candles prove a source of
destruction to ignorant moths. The lowliest germs, as we see, can emit
a certain luminosity; even decaying matter shines. And so there are
various kinds of light in the world of mind; but best of all is the
sunlight.
Twinkle, twinkle, little germ,
How I wonder why you squirm,
Down among my flesh and blood,
Like a diamond in the mud.
How doth the little busy bug
Improve each shining hour
By causing it to shine some more
With half a candle-power.
_Dr. What's-his-name_
LINNAEUS AND THE DIVINING-ROD:
Contributed by P. F.
Linnaeus in one of his works relates an experience he had in the
finding of noble metals by means of the divining-rod, and does it in
the simple good-humored way that marks all his writings and makes them
such delightful reading. He says:
The divining-rod is a curious contrivance, and people will have us
believe that the rod can tell where metals are hidden. Now and again
my secretary would take a twig of hazel forked evenly at one end and
would amuse the company with it. This happened also at this place, one
person concealing his silver snuff-box, another his watch, here and
there in the bushes, and in most cases the secretary found them. Now
I had never believed in the divining-rod and did not like to hear it
mentioned. It provoked me that it should be recommended in this way,
and I imagined that my friends and my secretary were in collusion to
deceive the company. So going to a large field north of the barn,
I cut out a piece of turf, placed my little purse in the hole, and
covered it up so carefully that nobody could see the least trace
of it. My own mark was a great ranunculus growing near the place,
and there was no other tall flower in the whole field. When all was
arranged I went back to the company, told them that I had concealed my
purse in the field, and asked the secretary to find it with the help
of his divining-rod. If he found it, then I would believe in the rod,
so sure was I that no mortal but myself knew the place where the money
was.
The secretary was delighted with such an opportunity to make me think
better of the rod which I used always to ridicule; and the company too
were most anxious to watch this master-test. The secretary searched
for a long while, a full hour at least, and my host and hostess and I
had the pleasure of seeing the rod work in vain; and as we did not get
the money back, the rod was held up to ridicule.
At last I repaired to the spot with the intention of recovering my
purse, but only to find that our rod-walkers had trampled down all the
grass by their perambulations. Not a trace was left of my ranunculus,
and I was compelled to search for my money with the same uncertainty
as the rod. I felt no inclination to bet a hundred crowns on
the rod, for all of us were engaged in a vain search which provoked
both irritation and amusement. Finally I had to give it up, but the
baron and the secretary asked me to tell them the place approximately,
which I did. The wicked rod, however, refused to strike and pointed
to a place right opposite. Finally, when all of us were tired of it,
and I most of all, the secretary stopped at a place quite far from
the one I had indicated, saying that if the purse was not there it
would be useless to try to tell the place. I did not care to seek, as
it was not at all in this direction that I had (as I thought) placed
the purse. But Baron Oxenstjerna lay down upon the ground and put his
fingers around the little piece of turf where the money was lying!
Thus the rod was right that time, and gave me back the money I should
otherwise have lost. This is fact. If I see more such instances, I
suppose I must believe what I do not want to believe. For it is quite
different from the magnet and attraction between iron and iron; that
a hazel twig can tell me the place where noble metals are--to that
neither our outer nor our inner senses consent. Still I am not settled
as to the divining-rod; yet I will not venture to bet as many crowns
on it another time.
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. I. THE HEAD OF A
CAÑON, POINT LOMA: A STUDY OF COLOR AND SHADE]
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. II. ENTRANCE TO A
CAÑON, POINT LOMA: A VIEW OF SINGULAR BEAUTY]
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. III. ANOTHER
STRIKING VIEW IN A LOMALAND CAÑON
"Spirit that formed this scene ...
These formless wild arrays, for reasons of their own...."]
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. IV. WHERE THE CAÑON
LEAVES THE DAYLIGHT The last glimpse of bay and mountains before
descending 150 feet. At the bottom it is chill and damp, the sky a blue
ribbon.]
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. V. IN THE HEART OF
THE CAÑON Though too large for the camera, every foot of the rock's
surface is interesting and beautiful to the eye.]
[Illustration: Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept. VI. A CAÑON, POINT
LOMA; VIEW FROM ABOVE]
LOMALAND CAÑONS: by W. J. Renshaw
Point Loma is an age-old peninsula at the extreme south of southern
California, close to the Mexican border, "Table" and "Tent" mountains
in old Mexico forming part of the unsurpassable view across San Diego
Bay. It is situated between the thirtieth and thirty-fifth parallels
of latitude (N.), about half way between the latitudes of Gibraltar
and Cairo. It runs within a few points of due south from the mainland
and is roughly wedge- or pennant-shaped, its eastern curve forming the
western shore of San Diego Bay, its rocky west receiving the impact
of "the league-long rollers" of the Pacific. Except on the eastern
sand flats there is probably not five hundred yards of the main road
along the Point that is either level or straight, but up and down it
goes from level to level, winding in and out along the contours of
the ridge. From the ridge the sides fall away in slopes, terraces or
cliffs. On the flats on the eastern side are Roseville and La Playa and
the government coaling station, quarantine station, and military fort.
The western side is mainly abrupt cliffs fifty to sixty feet high,
affording descent to the shore in few places, and hollowed with caves.
The major surface formation of Point Loma is a friable sandstone
containing clays, gypsum, marls, pebbles, and a curious reddish iron
nodule varying in size from a small pea to a large marble. This occurs
in great quantities and is apparently of igneous origin, though whether
volcanic or meteoric is not known.
On both sides of the ridge deep cañons have been washed out by the
rains and here and there are irregular amphitheaters as if a former
cave had fallen in. Such a spot is shown in illustration No. I, the
characteristic washing of the adobe face of the break being very
picturesque, giving wonderful light and shade and color effects in the
brilliant sunshine. The prevailing color is a rich brown, shading from
gold to red, which seems to complement the intense blue of the sky. The
shrubs and vines add every gradation and "tone" of green. Wild flowers,
ferns, and cacti abound in these cañons, and many of the shrubs are
aromatic, not only beautiful to the eye when in bloom, but a fragrant
balsam to the sense of smell. Large owls and hawks nest in inaccessible
places, living on the prolific smaller fauna; and a large tufted-eared
wild cat has been met with.
The cañons on the west side are tame and uninteresting compared with
those on the east. Here many a delightful outing can be had, with a
spice of adventure in negotiating difficult ascents and descents,
needing agility and a quick strong frame and muscles; or, if one
does not possess such, the help of those who do. In some of the most
difficult places niches have been cut with a hatchet, making the climb
fairly easy.
Every few yards the character of these cañons alters, revealing views
of the most varied beauty. One such is shown in illustration No. II,
the entrance to one of the cañons: the silver sand of the bottom, the
varied greens of the scrub, the rich red-gold-brown of the cliffs with
the green chaparral peeping over, all flooded with golden sunshine
almost palpitating with vibrant life, and over all the bluest blue
sky, make a feast of color which must be seen to be appreciated. Or
again, as in illustration No. III, there is rugged and savage grandeur
recalling Whitman's words:
Spirit that formed this scene
These tumbled rock-piles grim and red
* * * * *