THE CROSS IN RELIGION AND THE CRUX IN SCIENCE
WITH THE GREAT WORK IN AMERICA
With the progress of civilization and the general growth and diffusion of
intelligence everywhere, there is one problem upon which all else
focalizes, though the fact seems to be seldom clearly apprehended or
realized.
Not only do science and religion face each other at one point, but the
life of each is at that one point involved. It is not only the often
recognized "conflict between Religion and Science," which was long ago
worn threadbare. It is the fact that both Science and Religion are out of
joint with themselves.
The battle-ground may, in a broad way, be named Psychology. All problems
and all discussions of the real issues arise from, involve, or center
around, the nature, laws that govern, and destiny of the Human Soul.
From the very nature of these problems, their intricacy and diversity,
they remained the latest in the categories of Science to be seriously
investigated.
For the same reasons they have been the subject of dogma and revelation in
religion, with doors slammed in the face of all investigation as not only
useless, but wicked, and often made dangerous.
Between the agnosticism of Science, and the dogmatism of Religion,
knowledge has been crucified, and there it hangs to-day, a crux to the
one, and the Cross to the other: The same problem, only facing different
ways.
And yet the Reconciliation is not far to seek. It is difficult for the
average churchman, or theologian, to apprehend and remember, that a
_fact_, in nature or in life, is one thing; and that the _interpretation_,
or _explanation_ put upon that fact, by any man, or body of men, is
another thing entirely. Here is where Belief, Dogma, and Heresy come in.
As soon as one denies the interpretation, he is accused of denying the
fact, no matter how illogical or absurd the interpretation may be, on the
one hand, or how openly he admits the fact as the basis of his own
conclusions, on the other.
Few individuals will be found nowadays who deny the _fact_ of the birth,
life, mission, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. But the interpretations
read into the fact differ so widely as to result in almost numberless
sects, and an endless war of words. All this theological wrangling may be
focalized at one point, almost on a single word. Did Jesus of Nazareth
differ in kind or in _Degree_, from the rest of Humanity?
If he had "a like nature with ours," as he and his disciples took the
utmost pains to declare, and to demonstrate, then he differed in _degree_
of unfoldment, and was indeed, our Elder Brother; He differed as the holy
differs from the unholy; as the pure differs from the impure; as the kind
and charitable differ from the unkind and the uncharitable. It is just at
this point that all the theological juggling comes in, in the effort to
reconcile contradictions and irreconcilable paradoxes, under the
designation--Mystery, Miracle, and Faith. Few theologians would admit that
it is desirable, even if possible, that the mystery and miracle should
disappear, and that wisdom and understanding should take their place. In
other words, that Jesus should be proved an evolution under both natural
and divine law, as the result of "Living the Life."
Bear in mind that we are dealing with _Interpretations_ only, and with the
opinions of men; and that there is nothing "sacred" or "holy" about these
opinions, no matter how they may be hedged about by dogma, or ecclesiastic
authority. The Immaculate Conception; the Virgin Birth; the Resurrection
of the physical body, and the Vicarious Atonement, are each and all
Dogmas; the opinions of men, in _interpreting_ the mystery, and miracle,
they have assigned to the nature of Jesus, in what they call the "plan,"
or the "Scheme of Salvation."
If the nature of Jesus were radically and essentially different from ours;
if he differed from us in _kind_, instead of in _degree_; if he were "very
God," instead of a perfected man, as the result of "Living the Life"; then
he can have little in common with us; and, so far as "like natures,"
"common temptations," and human sympathies, and destinies, are concerned,
he might as well have been born on the planet Mars.
But suppose that psychic and spiritual science could so define the
faculties, capacities, and powers of man, and the nature and laws of the
human soul, as to demonstrate the fact that Jesus became _Christos_
through "living the life," and "doing the will of the Father," in strict
conformity to both Natural and Divine Law, thus revealing the fact that
these _potencies_ are _latent_ in every human soul: that it does not
depend so much upon what we _believe_, as upon what we _do_; not so much
upon what we _profess_, as upon what we _are_; not so much upon what Jesus
did for us, as upon what we do for ourselves and for others, in strict
analogy with the life and the teachings of Jesus. Would not Jesus become,
indeed and in truth, a _Living Example_, in place of a "Blood Offering"?
Theology ignores and sophisticates _Personal Responsibility_, which
everything else, and every experience in life, justifies and enforces as
the basis of Morals.
On the other hand, so-called Psychic Science misapprehends, belittles, and
sophisticates the Human Will, the prime Motor Power of Man. It then
confuses Rational Volition and Domination by juggling with the words
_Suggestion_ and _Hypnosis_.
This reveals the fact that they have no rational concept whatever of the
psychical nature of man, not even a "working hypothesis" of the Human
Soul. Theologians affirm, "Science" denies, and so they still face each
other in this Twentieth Century with "A war of words," though, to a
considerable extent, they have ceased making faces and calling each other
names, because there is a deeper struggle going on.
The Theological Hierarchy, worldly-wise in every generation, has dropped
the cry of _Heresy_ and gone to the very foundations of our civilization.
They are sapping and mining the foundations of civil Liberty, the
"self-evident truths," and the "Inalienable Rights," upon which this
government was founded.
Here is a thoroughly-organized, relentless determination, openly declared,
and well under way to destroy our "Free Public Schools," and substitute
that "Organized Ignorance," the Parochial Schools, as the first step in
reuniting Church and State, through dogmatic authority instilled into the
youths of this country. Not one citizen in a thousand seems to realize
what is here being attempted, how thoroughly organized it is, or what
immense progress in this direction has already been made; or, if they
know, they do not seem to care.
It may thus be seen what practical and vital issues we are facing and how
much is involved in the "Cross of Religion," and the "Crux of Science."
Intelligence, Education, the Light of Science, and the Illumination of
true Religion, are pitted in a conflict with Ignorance, Superstition, and
Fear; dogmatism, degeneration, and devolution.
Science and Religion represent different departments in human interests
and the life of man. So far as they are each true, they must eventually,
and inevitably clasp hands, instead of working at cross-purposes.
Actual knowledge of the human soul, as a Science of psychology, on the one
hand; and the duty of man to himself, to his fellows, and to God, and the
destiny of the human soul as essential religion, on the other; must
constitute the basis of union, and the point of agreement.
The accredited psychology of to-day has hitherto failed to demonstrate any
actual knowledge of the human soul, or even to postulate its existence, as
a fact in nature.
The theologies and religions of to-day appeal largely to superstition and
fear, and support their dogmas by "revelations," the diverse
interpretations of which have segregated religions into a large number of
sects with no bond of union or basis of agreement.
Competition here, in securing proselytes, differs little, except in name,
from that everywhere in evidence between commercial organizations. It is
hardly "the survival of the fittest," but rather, as everywhere, and in
all ages, the triumph of the most powerful, aggressive, and unscrupulous.
The Roman Hierarchy is still in the lead, with its Pope "infallible," and
anathematizing all progress and enlightenment, under the designation of
"Modernism," and all its energy exerted to perpetuate the "Dark Ages."
It is thus that priestcraft masquerades in the name of religion to enslave
the human soul. Still outside this Babel of religion and science, lie
numberless cults and organizations professing both liberty and
enlightenment along the lines of man's spiritual nature, not one of which
puts forth any _clear and definite theorem_ of the human soul. With mere
assertions, instead of demonstrated facts, and appealing often to the
desire for wealth, health, and comfort in their followers, they often
declare that one has only to "_demand_" these things, in order to have
them. Justice and the law of compensation are often entirely ignored, and
the methods employed are _un_moral, to say the least, almost without
exception, unscientific, and wholly empirical.
Occasionally we find "Leaders," or "Official Heads," whose colossal
ignorance of either moral or spiritual Law, is only equaled by their
monumental egotism, and this does not prevent them from gaining
proselytes, and amassing fortunes in their own name.
It would be difficult to see how many of these cults differ, either in
principle or practice, or in the results wrought out in their disciples,
from the Priestcraft already referred to.
They advertise an open thoroughfare, and seem to promise something for
nothing, but from the vicarious atonement, up or down the scale, the
votaries pay in "mint, anise, and cummin," while ignorantly blind to the
weightier matters of the law.
To one who for half a century has studied these personal and social
problems, and witnessed the rise and fall of many of these cults, from the
Fox Sisters and Spiritualism, to Braid and Hypnotism, while Priestcraft
and Popery, like Tennyson's brook, "go on forever," it all seems pitiful
that mankind must pay so dearly for freedom, enlightenment, and
knowledge.
And yet, when the real teacher comes, the rabble so long exploited cry,
"Away with him," "Crucify him." When the rabble at last repent,
Priestcraft shifts its tactics and deifies the sacrifice, which it
instigated, and so perpetuates the eternal tragedy.
Those familiar with the "Seeking after God," and for real knowledge of the
essential nature of man, in all ages, are aware that there have always
been, in every age, those who have achieved it. It has been known, or
rather concealed, under many names. Its possessors and teachers have been
reviled, persecuted, crucified, and thus their work has been hindered and
often defeated.
The ignorant and superstitious feared it. The vicious, ambitious, and
time-serving hated it, because it prevented the few from dominating and
exploiting the many; liberating, as it does, the earnest seeker after
truth and enlightenment from the bondage of ignorance, dogma,
superstition, and fear, in every form.
Hence Institutional Religions, Schools of Philosophy, Coteries,
Syndicates, and many other organizations of men, constituted to dominate
and rule the masses, have been the sworn foes of individual liberty and
enlightenment, and of the "Illuminati," or real teachers in every age, and
a perpetual menace to their work.
Real knowledge of the nature and destiny of man, has first to be
discovered, then recovered, and possessed. To become available, it must be
simplified, formulated, and finally promulgated in some form, so as to
reach those ready and capable of receiving it.
It must be sought earnestly and deservedly. The candidate must demonstrate
that he is duly and truly prepared, worthy, and well qualified. Every step
in advance is determined by his understanding and use of what he has
hitherto received.
The real possession of this sublime wisdom is an evolution from within and
not something communicated from without.
It is, literally, the building of character and the growth of the soul, as
the highway of knowledge.
To discover, possess, exemplify, and promulgate this knowledge, this
higher evolution of the Individual Intelligence, in the face of all
obstacles and difficulties, has been known and designated for ages as the
_Magnum Opus_, the "Great Work." It is, indeed, the greatest work either
known, permitted or possible to man. It solves the riddle of the Sphinx of
Life and makes Man Master of his own destiny.
Such a Master lives in a new world, untrammeled by the things of sense and
time. He has indeed, "lived the life to know the doctrine," and can say
with Jesus, in sincerity and truth, "I, and the Father, are One," because
we are _at-one_.
There is not a particle of evidence in history, in philosophy, or in
science, to show that anyone has ever reached such knowledge, liberation,
and enlightenment, in any other way than that in which Jesus attained it;
viz.: by renouncing the ordinary ambitions of life, wealth, fame, and
power, and by overcoming selfishness and the lusts of the flesh; devoting
their lives to the good of mankind, "without the hope of fee or reward."
As the whole work is a spiritual unfoldment, and from beginning to end a
refining process, it is easy to see how and why the conditions are what
they are, and have always been the same.
This is why those who have no apprehension or conception of the process,
can see only mystery and miracle in the result.
If anyone cites the so-called "black magicians" of Egypt, and of
antiquity, to refute the moral code as the essential condition of
attainment, they will find that these priests and "magi climbing up some
other way," and whom Jesus designated as "thieves and robbers," could
never function or pass beyond the so-called "astral plane." Here is where
the Sibyl and the "virgin seer" came in.
This is clearly shown in that little book "The Idyll of the White Lotus,"
as in several of Bulwer's novels. Hypnotism and Ceremonial Magic, as
revealed in the writings of Abbé Constant, represent ambition for
knowledge and power without "living the life," and at any cost to mankind.
These _Margraves_ have often existed, sealed their own fate, and "gone to
their own place." H. P. Blavatsky referred to them as "lost souls," or
"soulless individuals." They are also graphically described in "The
Strange Story of Arinzeman."
There was always the "Right-hand Path," and the "Left-hand Path."
Even a slight familiarity with ancient literatures and philosophies
reveals the fact, that all these things have been known for ages. The
subtlety of the Hindoo mind has been such as to leave no phase of mental
or psychic phenomena uninvestigated.
To the casual and uninstructed reader, it often seems like an endless and
hopeless jungle, and he is unable to bring order out of the seemingly
endless confusion.
There is not a single percept or concept in what is now called "New
Thought," that may not be found repeated with almost endless variations
thousands of years ago.
Reference has already been made to the conditions imposed upon the student
who aspires to know, and to become.
The obligations upon the teacher are no less stringent, for both are, from
first to last, working under both natural and spiritual law to which they
are bound to conform.
To be possessed of such knowledge the teacher must have abandoned worldly
ambition, the love of wealth, and the applause of men. All motives of
time-serving and self-seeking must assail him in vain. He becomes the
almoner of the treasure-house of Light and Knowledge. He must exemplify
what he teaches. If he can impart his knowledge, or assist an aspiring and
worthy brother, it must be in the way he has himself received it, "without
money and without price," or any "hope of reward or fee," and the brother
so receiving, in his own degree, must be ready to pass it on under
precisely the same terms and conditions.
The teacher, therefore, must be in a position to give or to withhold;
promulgate or conceal; teach or refuse to teach; governed solely by Truth
and Law, and the solemn obligation under which he has himself received
it.
The meaning of the saying, "strait is the gate and narrow is the way, and
few there be who find it," may thus be made apparent.
Fragments of this wisdom are found scattered through the ages, with here
and there one who has achieved it.
For two or three centuries the early Christian Church undertook to work on
these lines, and instituted three degrees, as abundantly shown in the
writings of many of the so-called "Christian, or Church Fathers."
Jesus said to his disciples, "I have many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot bear them now." And again, "The works that I do, ye shall do also,
and greater things than these shall ye do, because I go to the Father."
And again, "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them who are without, it is not given."
Mysteries, indeed, to the ignorant monks who were already wrangling over
creed, and dogmas, and who, in 325 at the First Council at Nice, fought it
out surrounded by the soldiers of the Pagan Emperor, Constantine; and thus
settled the "orthodox _interpretation_," of what they were wholly
incompetent to understand. Their successors are still engaged in the same
wrangle of interpretation, so far as the "Infallible Pope," and dogma of
obedience, at Rome has been unable to suppress it.
Somewhere between the middle of the first and second centuries, an effort
at union and reconciliation arose from another quarter. Ammonius Saccas, a
Neo-Platonist, endeavored to unite men of different cults and beliefs on
the lines of the Great Work, precisely as the Philalethean Society is
doing in New York to-day; but his movement was soon engulfed and lost
sight of by the tide of Ecclesiasticism, or suppressed by the soldiers of
Constantine.
I am not attempting a history, for that would fill volumes. I am only
giving a few sidelights of the Great Work.
In the Tenth Century, at Baghdad, a society was formed admitting Jews,
Christians, Mohammedans, and atheists, with a similar purpose.
During the time of Martin Luther, John Reuchlin made a similar attempt.
Both Reuchlin and Luther were pupils of Trithemius, the Abbot of St.
Jacob's at Würzburg, one of whose books I possess, printed in the year
1600, and also another book, "The Theosophical Transactions of the
Philadelphian Society," printed in London in 1697. Browning's "Paracelsus"
gives a splendid outline of the philosophy and teachings of Trithemius,
and rescues Paracelsus with all who can understand, from the vile slanders
of his monkish enemies; and Robert Browning wrote his "Paracelsus" at the
age of twenty-three! Can you wonder why so few "understand Browning"?
For more than fifteen hundred years mankind has been involved between the
speculations of Philosophy, on the one hand, and the creeds and dogmas of
Theology, on the other.
There was also the deliberate destruction of ancient monuments, scrolls,
and records, by religious fanatics. Diocletian, in A.D. 296, burned the
books of the Egyptians. Cæsar burned 700,000 Rolls at Alexandria, and Leo
Isaurus 300,000 at Constantinople in the eighth century. Then came the
Mohammedans, who destroyed the remainder of the accessible scrolls at
Alexandria. Gangs of fanatical Monks, Christian and Pagan, roamed over
Europe destroying and defacing everything upon which they could lay their
hands, as witnesses against their dogmas and superstitions. Even to-day,
in India, it is difficult for Europeans to gain access to genuine ancient
records. The records of these barbarities are still fresh in the minds of
the guardians of sacred lore.
Even with such a record for thousands of years, Ecclesiasticism is as
arrogant and rampant as ever to-day. The wonder is, that there is anything
left but barbarism.
Two writers declare that the most ancient and valuable of the records of
the Alexandrian Library were kept in secret crypts known only to the
highest officials, and preserved still in secret crypts known only to the
Illuminati. In Baalbec and all through the East to-day these underground
temples are being explored, and even the fragments found excite wonder and
admiration. Ignorant Barbarians may be destructive on general principles,
but fanatical Ecclesiasticism has ever been destructive of all light,
knowledge and civilization, through insane hatred or pure "cussedness"! We
need only to regard intelligently what it has done, and is doing for
Southern Europe to-day.
Can you wonder that the real science of the Human Soul found little
recognition, or that it was denied as possible to man?
As already shown, the Science of to-day has neither recognized nor worked
up to it; and the Theology of to-day covers it with fable, mystery, and
miracle as of old.
In spite of both these the "Philalethean Society" exists, the "Seekers
after God" were never more numerous than now, and the _Magnum Opus_, the
Great Work, was never, in the whole history of man, more in evidence than
it is to-day.
"Truth crushed to Earth shall rise again,
The Eternal years of God are hers."
Can it be that there is no great truth back of all these struggles and
aspirations of the human soul? That there is no possible realization back
of these soulful endeavors?
Is Tantalus, after all, the creator and Father of Man? inspired only by
love of disappointment, defeat, and despair, in his children?
_For one, I do not believe it._
To plant these aspirations in the soul of man, and doom them to
everlasting disappointment and defeat, would brand the creator of man as
an Infinite Liar, instead of a Loving Father.
The earnest student must first learn to recognize, and to discriminate;
for the "blind leaders of the blind" are always legions.
This power of discrimination, to which I have referred, goes deeper, and
means far more, than most persons ever realize, and this is why so many
are continually deceived.
It is the light of understanding, of spiritual intelligence, within the
soul of man.
It may be likened to a traveler in a foreign country, and a strange land,
suddenly hearing one speaking fluently his own language, his native
tongue. It is impossible to deceive him. In this case, however, it is not
the mere words, the inflection or pronunciation, but the ideas,
sentiments, and principles expressed.
"Liberty, Fraternity, Equality," for example; or sympathy, Charity, and
loving kindness.
The "sign of the Master" is at once recognized by one already prepared to
receive and to understand it. The soul that really desires truth and
wisdom above all things, has thereby developed the power to recognize it.
This is the discrimination referred to. It is not what someone else tells
you, or what another claims. It is what _you_ discern and recognize, and
the teaching and the life are in perfect harmony, like chords in music;
and they strike a harmonic chord in you, that may be first a surprise, and
soon a great joy and a bright light.
It is not a question of authority, and of credentials, but of intrinsic
reality. You must know how to assay and test the gold yourself. This is
where the "Alchemy of the Great Work" comes in, and here lies the
beginning of Adeptship, the preparation for the "Great Work." I can
demonstrate this from a score of old books, some of them going back many
centuries.
It has also been symbolized and picturegraphed 'til the imagination ran
riot, and ingenuity and fancy became lost, like ideas in a fantasy of
words.
I know of but one place, one Institution, in modern times, where these
essential truths of the Great Work have been preserved as a consistent
whole, and that is in the symbolism of Free Masonry, but the craft long
ago lost the real interpretation, though many to-day are on the lines that
lead to it.
The whole symbolism and ritual of the Blue Lodge in Masonry is, from
beginning to end, _a symbol of the journey of the human soul on this
earth_, from darkness to light; from sin to righteousness; from ignorance
to wisdom and understanding.
In other words, it is an exact _theorem_ and solution of the _Magnum
Opus_; a symbol of the philosophy and accomplishment of the GREAT WORK.
The science and the theology of the present day have been briefly
contrasted. Neither of them pretends to give us any real science of the
human soul.
Science says frankly she "does not know." Theology bids us believe and
obey; trust and hope. Philosophy speculates and reasons, while amusing
itself with the kaleidoscope of "postulates" and "categories."
Science must deal with facts, demonstrate their actuality, and classify
them; that is, find their natural order and sequence.
In psychology, the facts are _within_ the realm of consciousness, and
therefore their demonstration is a matter of individual experience. This
is why psychology differs from all other sciences.
No one can transfer his individual experiences directly to another. He can
describe how he gained them, and give the result and conclusions, and here
is where those who know nothing of the real problem, are often both
incredulous and contemptuous. The only answer to these is, "they are
joined to their idols, let them alone." "They would not believe though one
arose from the dead," and yet we are told again and again that the "School
of Natural Science" is the "school of personal experience."
It may be well to reflect a moment, and ask ourselves, how it is that we
really know anything? Is it not through personal experience? Real
knowledge comes, and can come, in no other way.
No teacher of the real science of psychology can ever transmit or transfer
his knowledge to another. All he can do is to describe the methods, and
steps, by which he acquired it, and assist the student in acquiring it for
himself in the same way, or under the same processes and laws.
We have only to reflect on the ordinary experiences of life, to realize
that this is a universal principle and rule. In the deeper science of the
soul, and the higher life, instead of this law being relaxed, it becomes
all the more binding.
Do not the principles that adhere in atom, molecule and mass, still hold
in worlds and solar systems? Is not this precisely what is meant by "The
Reign of Law"? If man were built upon some other scheme or plan than the
rest of nature, how could he apprehend or adjust himself to Nature? The
very _concept_ of miracle is _lawlessness_, and mystery is but another
name for _ignorance_.
Knowledge means experience and apprehension of Law.
Neither can the laws of Nature and the laws of God be at cross-purposes,
for that would make harmony impossible and inconceivable.
The confusion and discord are all in us, and the Great Work means
adjustment, harmony, and then Knowledge.
It is the journey of the human soul on the Royal Highway to Light,
Liberation, and Eternal Day.
For many centuries those who have achieved this Wisdom, this "Great Work,"
have been trying to make it accessible to mankind, and to place it in such
form that the ethical, scientific, and philosophical principles involved,
and upon which it is based, should not again be lost. Every such effort
has hitherto failed.
The scientific spirit of the present age, in a very broad way, seemed to
offer a new and a more advantageous opportunity; for the whole process is
one of strict science.
The Psychology of the present day has become involved in phenomena and
automatism, and is in no sense _constructive_. It is one thing to build
theories, and quite a different thing to systematize demonstrated facts,
through the recognition of co-ordinate relations, and underlying law.
The work is open and accessible to all who manifest real interest, an open
mind, and who have the intelligence and discrimination to recognize the
character of the work. It has never, in the history of man, been open in
any other way, on any other terms, or to any other individuals.
Those who can fill these requirements constitute to-day a larger number
than have before existed at any one time, for perhaps many centuries.
The "School of Natural Science" is in evidence. The "Great Work" is
carefully outlined.
There is no bar to one's making a beginning on the path, except
indifference, incredulity, preoccupation, or prejudice; and these need not
be in the least disturbed, for they will be kindly and courteously passed
by.
Arguments, controversy, and proselyting, have no part in the Great Work,
as there is no organization, and no personal ambitions to serve.
Those who speak a common language, are inspired by a common purpose, and
aspire to a common and universal good, will, soon or late, find themselves
associated together and co-operating.
It is like a chorus of voices when an old song is started that we loved in
childhood. Each takes up the strain, falls into his own part, and helps to
swell the harmony, from the joy of his own heart.
Those who "never did like the song," will "quietly steal away." Both
Swedenborg and Emerson have sufficiently illustrated the "Law of
Correspondencies," and "compensation," to reveal the basis of all
harmonious human associations, whether on the earth, or on other planes of
being. Hence the "Harmonics of Evolution," was the forerunner of the
"Great Work."
The pitiable byplay and claptrap of "Affinities" so often seen and heard
nowadays, where all previous obligations are ignored, and personal
responsibilities set at naught, only serve to emphasize the real law of
harmony and constructive evolution, by showing what it is not.
The Great Work digs to the very foundations of life, and all human
associations, and reveals the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, in the
building of character, and the adornment of the Temple of the Human Soul.
This is indeed----
"Eternal Progress moving on,
From state to state the spirit walks."
Death is neither the end nor the beginning. It is only a change in pitch,
a shifting of keys, and the same old Song of Life goes on, if we have but
learned the score, and caught the harmony.
Salvation is not a thing accomplished once for all. We have only to
consider the monotony, the poverty of invention, and imagination, of those
who have tried to portray the joy of the Redeemed in heaven, in order to
realize what a bore it would soon become, if that were all.
Inspiration, achievement, and eternal progress, with more and more
helpfulness to others, with plane after plane achieved, revealing plane
after plane beyond--does not this appeal far more strongly to the highest
and best in us all?
And pray, what is this, but the _Great Work_, that I have tried herein to
outline, and as taught and lived by Jesus, and every great Master the
world has ever known? Each has achieved in his own degree, worded it in
his own way, and "stepped out of sunlight into shade, to make more room
for others."
Long before the birth of Jesus, it was said, "The wise and peaceful ones
live, renewing the earth like the coming of Spring." And having themselves
crossed the ocean of embodied existence, help all those who try to do the
same thing, without personal motive.
I have endeavored to give a general outline of the Great Work, drawn from
history, tradition, philosophy, and symbolism, down to the present year of
grace. I find many corroborations, many things pointing in the same
general direction. But I find but one concise and definite _formulation_
of the _scientific theorem_, in which the outline is clear, and the
analogy complete, and thereby made accessible and apprehensible to the
open-minded and intelligent student.
Such students need experience no real difficulty in finding a clew to the
labyrinth of life, or, as our ancient brothers put it in regard to the
_Magnum Opus_--"a key to the closed palace of the king."
This is the purpose of the "Harmonic Series" of books. They need rest upon
no authority beyond the intrinsic evidence of truth, on every page. If
they are not consistent in themselves, then they must fall in pieces. The
only appeal to the reader is: read them carefully, analyze your own mind
and soul, and come to your own conclusions. If they find no response, no
answering chord in you, then they were written for someone else, or in
vain.
One further consideration remains to be noted at this time, as the
question is sure to arise: "How about woman in the Great Work?" Seldom in
the past has she received recognition, since the earliest days in Old
India, though here and there have been the most noble women.
I heard Anna Dickinson, many years ago, open one of her famous lectures
with these words, "I claim for man and woman alike, the right to attempt
and win. I claim for man and woman alike, the right to attempt and fail."
It seems to me to-day, as it did more than thirty years ago, that this is
the whole problem in a nutshell, and that any number of words could add
nothing to the statement.
The Great Work is as open to woman as to man, and on the same terms. They
have perhaps more to overcome in some directions, and men more in others.
This is like saying, "man and woman are different," that is all.
One thing is certain; there will never be an ideal social state on earth,
or a heaven anywhere, except as men and women _co-operate_ together for
the happiness of each, and the highest, noblest, cleanest good of all, and
this is only another phase or department of the Great Work.