Parrots are taught to speak without understanding the
words. The method is to place a mirror between the
parrot and the trainer. The trainer, hidden by the
mirror, utters the words, and the parrot, seeing his
own reflection in the mirror, fancies another parrot
is speaking, and imitates all that is said by the
trainer behind the mirror. So God uses prophets and
saints as mirrors whereby to instruct men, viz., the
bodies of these saints and prophets; and men, when
they hear the words proceeding from these mirrors,
are utterly ignorant that they are really being
spoken by "Universal Reason" or the "Word of God"
behind the mirror of the saints.
"EARTHLY FORMS"
Earthly forms are only shadows of the Sun of Truth--a
cradle for babes, but too small to hold those who
have grown to spiritual manhood.
"THE BEATIFIC VISION OF ETERNAL TRUTH"
The end and object of all negation is to attain to
subsequent affirmation, as the negation in the creed,
"There is no God," finds its complement and purpose
in the affirmation "but God." Just so the purpose
of negation of self is to clear the way for the
apprehension of the fact that there is no existence
but the One. The intoxication of Life and its
pleasures and occupations veils the Truth from men's
eyes, and they ought to pass on to the spiritual
intoxication which makes men beside themselves and
lifts them to the beatific vision of eternal Truth.