GIFT OF Eoua v^.A THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 57 and yet are able to observe them with such clearness and minuteness in others'? Why is it that we condemn them so unmercifully in our Friends and associates, and treat them in ourselves as if they were virtues and marks of distinction and loveliness? WTiy is it that our * ' objective ' ' vision is so perfect while our *^ subjective*' vision is so de- fective ? But does not this aspect of the subject give us a very different understanding and appre- ciation of the ^^ Critical Mind'^f Surely, it would seem that those of us who have been congratulating ourselves on the fact that we are ^^ Critical'', and boasting of that fact in the presence of others, as if it were a virtue, instead of a vice, should turn the search-light of analysis upon ourselves. And this brings us back to the ''Spirit of the Work", upon the study of which there is an unlimited task for each Student to ac- complish, before he or she is in position to pass judgment upon the character or the con- duct of those who are entitled to honorable treatment, or consideration. If you will study carefully the literature that accompanies the "Test Course*', you will observe the fact that it is intended by 58 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. the School as a searching course of study in /S'^Z/i^-analysis. It never occurred to me that this basic fact could ever be overlooked by any Student or Friend of the Work, or lost sight of in the course of his efforts to accomplish the tasks set for him in the lines of his own spiritual unfoldment. It would seem, from the information at hand, that some of the Students have made it a course of critical analysis of OTHEES, with no application whatsoever to SELF. To whatever degree this may be true, it ex- emplifies the exact antithesis of the real ''Spirit of the Worh'\ To whatever extent it is true, it stands for the Destructive Principle of Nature in Indi- vidual Life, and will inevitably result in the spiritual and psychical paralysis of every Student of this School who persists in follow- ing that course. It is not only permissible, but one of the distinct and definite purposes of the Test Course, that therein the individual Student shall analyze HIMSELF as ''critically'' as possible, for the distinct purpose of discover- ing every defect of character — not that he may condemn himself, nor exploit his imper- fections ; but solely that he may know where, iib THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 59 and along what lines, to direct his personal efforts in order that he shall, in the shortest measure of time, overcome the defects of his own character and stand before the world **a just and upright man'*, or woman, and as such, exemplify the real Spirit of the Work, and merit the designation of an ** Accredited Eepresentative ' ' of the School and Work. But even here it is possible for one to be- come a**£ri/per",as the dear Lady would say; by which she meant an extremist. In other words, it is possible for one to become hyper- critical of himself, as well as of others. He may become hyper-sensitive, and experience much unhappiness as a result thereof. In the matter of *^ Criticism", one should be critical of himself, but never critical of others. And while he should be critical of himself, he should never become hyper-criti- cal. If he does he is sure to become morbid and unhappy. Such an attitude leads to dis- couragement, lack of necessary self-reliance and failure. Let me make clear the fact that I am fully convinced that not more than two or three of our Chicago Students have violated the Spirit of the Work as to this subject of ^^ Criti- cism* \ if indeed any of them have done so. But the fact that even one has done so, or 60 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. even has left that impression upon the minds of others, is deeply to be regretted. Whether we desire to occupy such a posi- tion or not, it is none the less a fact that those of us who constitute the Chicago Group, and more especially those of us who are known as the **01d Group'', are looked upon by the Students and Friends of the Work everywhere, as well as by the world in gen- eral, as those who have been tried, tested, and found to be **duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified ' \ Because of this fact, we are held by them to a rigid accountability, for every word we utter, every thought we express, every act we perform and every impression we create in the minds of others. Whether we so desire or not, we are under the critical observation of many who are in- terested in the School and the Work, and who feel that they have the right to judge us ; and they do judge us by what they conceive to be the^^Spiritof theWork''. Moreover [and here is where our heaviest responsibility rests], they not only judge ns — which they have a right to do, in just so far as we hold out to them the impression that we are ** Accredited Students and Eepre- sentatives'* of the School — but they judge THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 61 the Great School and the Great Friends also; and, worst of all, they judge them, not upon their own merits, but upon our demerits. It is perfectly natural for one who has read the text-books of thej School, and become deeply interested, to want to meet some of those who are known as ** Accredited Eepre- sentatives'\ He says to himself: — **I wonder what these people are like. I wonder if they are any different from the members of any other cult or movement. I wonder if they practice what they preach. If Natural Science is what the authors of the books claim for it, and if the Students of the School really live the life therein ex- plained and exemplify the Spirit of the Work in their relations with each other, then they must indeed be unlike the Students of other Schools and vastly different from the mem- bers of the average modern Cult. It ought to be a privilege to meet them, and a constant in- spiration to have the benefit of their friend- ship and association. ' ' This, my dear Friends, is what those on the outside expect of us. It is what they have the perfect right to expect of us, in just so far as we hold ourselves out to them as Ac- credited Students of the School. Moreover, it is what the School demands of us as the 62 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. only compensation we can render in return for the Gift it has made to us from the store- house of its knowledge. Now, let us suppose one of these on the out- side has read the books and been deeply im- pressed with the logic and the beauty of their teachings and findings, and he makes applica- tion to become an Accredited Student. Let us also suppose that he is brought in contact and into acquaintance with some one of the many Groups of Students throughout the country, in order that he may study more carefully the results of the Work upon the lives of those who have been admitted, and who have had the advantage of the instruc- tion. Suppose he finds that each Student is critical of all the others, and satisfied with nobody but himself ; that the spirit of just or- dinary kindness is entirely lacking ; that each Student has appointed himself a harsh and unsympathetic judge of all the rest; that fault-finding and uncharitableness are the rule of conduct : — what do you think would be the effect upon him? Do you not think that he would be entirely justified in the opinion that the Great School is no better than any other? Do you think such an exemplification of the Spirit of the Work by those who hold themselves out as THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 63 " Exemplars' \ would reflect credit upon any- one whomsoever? Certainly not. It could re- sult in nothing but MIS-representation of the School and the Work, and the deepest injury to every interest they represent and every principle for which they stand. The Spirit of Criticism is one of the things which every Accredited Student must abso- lutely eliminate from his consciousness, be- fore it is possible for him to become a Con- structive Factor in connection with this Move- ment. To that end, I hope that this letter will point the way so clearly as to make it impossible for any Student or Friend of the Work ever to become an unconscious violator of the principle of Kindness and Loyalty, so long as he is connected with the School or the Work in any way. I hope that, from this day forward, each and every Student will place a triple guard upon his tongue, to see that no word of criti- cism, unkindness, or unfavorable judgment shall ever pass his lips concerning any other fellow Student or Friend of the Work. I hope also that it will inspire every Ac- credited Student with the unalterable pur- pose, in future, to search only for those ele- ments of character in his fellow Students which merit his hearty approval. 64 THE SPIRIT OF THE WOHK. If, in any Student of this School, the Spirit of Criticism must be gratified, then let it be SELF-criticism alone, and never that of oth- ers. To that end it will help if we but re- member that a '^Criticar' attitude of Soul is but an evidence of Intellectual Vanity, and by no means a thing to be proud of. And it will help still more if we remember that the things for which we criticise others are but the re- flections of ourselves which we see in them. We are most deeply offended only by those things wherein we most deeply offend. What a paradox is human nature I ^.tltJI!^ THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 65 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 3, This letter is more especially addressed to Men. And yet, if the Women Students and Friends of the Work are wise enough, they may find something in it that will be of help to them in their own efforts to exemplify The Spirit of the Work. I am a man. During my life I presume I have enjoyed, and suffered from, pretty much all the experiences of Men. For nearly half a century I have been studying the character- istics of my own sex, and endeavoring to learn the springs of human life which impel Men, especially, to action. I have learned some things. If I shall be able to convey them to the Students and Friends of this School and Work, in such manner as to serve them, and through them the interests of the Great Cause in which we are mutally enlisted, then I shall feel that the effort has been well repaid. It is not altogether a pleasant task to ana- 6e^ THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. lyze the destructive elements of human na- ture, nor to dwell at length upon that side of the great Problem of Individual Life. Some people do not like to be reminded of the fact that they are anything short of perfect. One of the voluminous lady writers of the west, not long ago, took me severely to task for writing ''The Great Psychological Crime' \ She claims, not without a faint glim- mer of intelligence and a suggestion of logic, that whatever has the tendency to excite the emotion of Fear is itself destructive. She asserted, with superb dogmatism, that the book referred to has done an immense amount of harm, by holding up to observation the destructive elements of life. She says this has caused many of my readers to fall under the blighting influence of Fear, and I believe she also says that many cases of insanity have resulted therefrom. Had I failed to give to the world the other side of the great problem, namely, the * ' Con- structive Principle of Nature in Individual Life'\ there can be little doubt that some of the readers of ''The Great Psychological Crime'/ might have become confused. But with both sides laid before the individual clearly and simply, there is not the slightest THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 67 reason for any such results as those to which she refers. The logic of the problem may be gathered from the following hypothetical incident : — A lady, such as the one above referred to, is the mother of a son whom she never allows to know anything about the dangers of life. When he is grown, it becomes necessary for him to assume his place of responsibility in the world. His first duty is that of making a journey through a most dangerous country, of which he has no information — ^because it is dcmgerous. The wise mother knows of the dangers, be- cause she has lost a beloved husband and three other sons, who endeavored to travel the same journey. But, true to her philos- ophy of **A11 is Good, and there is no dan- ger'^ — she bids her boy goodbye, and sends him off to sure death. The question arises: Is she justified in thus concealing the FACTS from an ignorant boy who needs to know them in order to save his own life ? It seems to me that any sane mother, or father, or sister, or brother, who would per- mit a boy to go forth into the world under such conditions, withholding from him the FACTS of nature, however dangerous they 68 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. may be, is nothing short of a criminal. In the event of the boy's death, as a result of their intentional concealment of the FACTS OF NATURE, who is responsible? I should be glad to have my voluble lady critic devote herself to the solution of the problem propounded. ''The Great Psychological Crime'' merely states to the reader the FACTS OF NA- TURE — not to frighten him, but to enable him to walk in the way of Safety, and avoid the dangers. I am willing to take all the con- sequences — even the scoldings of my self-ap- pointed, mystical lady critics — and have not the least ^^FEAR'' of the condemnation of any intelligent man or woman, who is capable of understanding the first principles of Logic, or the meaning of Personal Responsibility. But, as indicated in my previous article, it is possible for one to become a ''Hyper". And so, it would be possible for one to go to extremes in the presentation of such a theme as "The Destructive Principle of Nature in Individual Life'\ It also may be possible for one to dwell too much upon the dangers of life, and thus become morbid under the ef- fects of FEAR. In like manner, it is possible for us to dwell too much upon the subject of our own weak- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 69 nesses, faults and short-comings, and grow discouraged. One should indulge himself in the effort at Self -Analysis, until he has dis- covered every one of these — not that he should grow fearful of them, but that he may adopt such a course of life and conduct as will overcome them. It is with this thought in mind that I am going to talk to you, my Students and Friends, upon the subject of one of the most destructive characteristics of human nature — especially masculine human nature. Eemem- ber that in so doing I am endeavoring to make you acquainted with the Eoad that will take you safely to the Land of Liberty and Light, and not because I either want or expect you to become alarmed, lose courage, grow faint and weak with Fear, and lie down, or go in- sane. Intellectual Vanity is the theme I want you to consider with me in this letter. The manner in which the sub- ject is generally considered does not make of it a matter of much consequence. This, per- haps, is because it is so universal a character- istic among Men. In them it comes, or has come, to be accepted as a matter of course, 70 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. and therefore as a thing to be accepted as a ** necessary eviP', rather than one that may be overcome and thus disposed of. The chief difficulty I find in the effort to help my Students to overcome it, is that of helping them to realize that they are afflicted with it at all. Almost every one of my men Students who has come to this problem in the course of self -analysis has concluded that he is either free from ** Intellectual Vanity'', or comparatively so. Whereas, the fact is that all of them are afflicted with it, and many of them sorely and distressingly so. In this connection I am sure that reference to my letter-file will develop something of in- terest and value to those who are truly in ear- nest in their efforts to exemplify * * The Spirit of the Work''. In running through my files the other day I ran across a letter written a long time ago, to a gentleman who applied for the Work some ten years ago, and was admitted to the preliminary studies. Later the Work was discontinued with him for the reason that he seemed utterly unable to realize his own in- ternal condition and attitude of Soul. For this reason he was unable to make a personal application of the principles of Natural Science to himself. From that letter I quote THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 71 the following which is most applicable to the subject under consideration. I withhold the name of my Student, because it would be a breach of personal confidence and good faith on my part to give it to the public, or even to any of my other Students. These quotations will also make clear how difficult it is for an Instructor to point out to a Student the weaknesses and faults of char- acter which stand in the way of his Spiritual Unf oldment, and do it in such manner as not to wound or offend or discourage him. I shall quote but a part of the letter — that which is pertinent to the subject of '^Intellectual Van- ity'':-- **Dear Friend and Brother: — Your letter of yesterday, just at hand, comes at a hard time for me to give it the kind of attention and consideration I should like ; for I truly want to help you in a number of ways and particu- lars wherein I recognize your grave need. **I hope you have made a sufficient study of my character and motives to be able to satisfy yourself in that my earnest desire is to be of some real service to all who come to me for help, or for guidance in any way. If so, then I do not need to ask your permission to speak with the utmost candor concerning those 72 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. things which have to do with my ability to help you. I want to put you on the right track, if possible, and then bid you ^God speed' in your efforts to follow it until you meet the ^ Light' for which you so long have been in search. Then, without apologies, let me go as directly as possible to my task: **1. Since I have known you personally you have demonstrated, beyond all question, that you are not yet ready to continue the Work as an accredited Student. And this is chiefly because you are not yet able to see wherein the principles apply to yourself; nor have you applied them to your own life in such manner as to show that you have any real understanding of your own internal con- dition and needs, **This is not said in the spirit of unkind- ness, nor of criticism, but solely that you may understand now why it is that I cannot, in justice to you or the School, continue the Work with you, when that part of it over which you have gone is yet unappreciated and unapplied. *^2. You have a certain native Vanity of Intelligence which I never have encountered in any other individual, to the same degree. And you have fostered it to a point where it is such a dominant factor in your internal THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 73 state of being that you do not seem to see it or understand it or appreciate its presence. **When I have called your attention to it you have graciously bowed your head, and your spirit, for the moment, seeming to un- derstand ; but within a moment, perhaps, you do or say something which proves conclusive- ly that you have not sensed the thing at all to which I have had reference. **It is this that stands not only between you and any measure of Constructive Spiritual Unfoldment, but also between you and suc- cess in every other way wherein your success in any degree is dependent upon the impres- sions you make upon those with whom you come into personal contact and relation. ** In your relations with others, it expresses itself in what might well be defined as a most 'Obtrusive Personality/ You live and move and have your being in the personal pronouns *I, ME, MINE'; and the entire world seems to you, to revolve about that center. ** When you talk business, you put yourself first and the business a poor second. When you talk philosophy, your personality ob- trudes itself to such an extent that the philos- ophy is but a secondary consideration, and you are the chief objective point, in your own mind. When you are in the midst of social 74 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. surroundings, you find little or no pleasure, save and except as attention is centered upon you, and what you do, and what you say, and what you think. You seem unable to lose yourself an instant in an unselfish interest in others. You convey the impression that you are forever thinking of just how your inter- ests are going to be affected. **I have watched you many a time, and have studied you in your letters and writings ; and everywhere stands out that same 'Obtrusive Personality \ that Irrepressible YOU, to such an extent as to mar all the beautiful traits of an otherwise sweet, gentle and gracious char- acter. **And now, my dear Friend, what can I do? I cannot transmute you into a modest, unas- suming, unselfish, humble, self -forgetful man. And until you have become just that — in spirit and in truth — ^it is but an extravagant waste of both your time and mine for you to continue your studies as my Student. *'An illustration of what I have in mind, may impress you more forcibly, perhaps, if I tell you an incident that occurred not long ago, in this connection : **I read part of one of your letters to me, to a prominent brother Mason. [I did not give him any information or suggestion as to THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 75 who was the writer of it]. When I had fin- ished I asked him what impression it gave him as to the character of the writer. He looked at me a moment, with an expression of amusement in his eyes, and replied : 'BIG I, little you\ **In that single, terse expression he has most aptly defined the impression which yonr letter would make upon anyone who did not know you personally — or, who did know you, for that matter. Your letter breathes that impression all through. Your own personal- ity stands out so prominently and obtrusively as to obscure everything else. You write beautifully, in some respects, but never in such manner as to lose yourself in your theme. Often, in fact, you have written in a vein of seeming humility; but it is always affected, never truly genuine. At least, it does not ring true. *^This may seem almost ^brutal in its frankness '. It is not so intended. I am only trying once more to point out to you, in such manner as to mahe you see it this time, the thing that bars your way in this Work, as well as in all your other endeavors. If in so doing I should incur your resentment, it will not be because of any such desire or intention on my part. 76 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. *^You have some splendid and charming qualities of character which I admire very much and for all they are worth. And these would command success for you anywhere and everywhere, if that OBTEUSIVE PER- SONALITY of yours did not so overtop and obscure them. * * That part of your letter which deals with the marriage question betrays the same spirit. Judging from the contents of your letter alone, your entire thought seems to be to find the woman who can prove herself worthy of YOU. It does not seem to have occurred to you that you have anything to do, or that you have anything to prove to her'\ The foregoing is but a very small part of a very long letter. And the entire letter con- stitutes but a very small fractional part of a voluminous correspondence which covers sev- eral years. During all that time I had been trying to enable this young Friend to see him- self as others see him. I could not do it. He seemed utterly unable to analyze him- self in such manner as to determine the mo- tives which inspired him in his search for Truth. As indicated by the foregoing quotations from my letter to him, his one predominant characteristic is ^'Intellectual Vanity '\ And iSSsk* THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 77 his is the only case that has ever come to my personal knowledge where the Vanity is of such fundamental, deep-seated, dominant, overwhelming and all-pervading character, as to blind its possessor to its own existence. It seems to be so perfectly '^ natural' \ and so innate as to constitute the background of all his mental activities, and blind him to its own existence. But this is an exceptional case. I believe that most men are able to understand what is meant by the terms '^ Intellectual Vanity'', and, to some extent, recognize the indices by which it expresses itself in human nature, as well as in individual life and conduct. For in- stance : — Boastfulness. I am sure that most men recognize the fact that ^* boastfulness'' of speech or manner, is but one of the many manifestations of Vanity. But I have found that it is not every man who has a clear understanding of what constitutes ** boastfulness" — especially in himself. He sees it with almost abnormal clearness of vis- ion, when it is manifested by someone else. I do not believe there is any phase, or mani- festation of Vanity, that is more obnoxious to 78 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. a consistent Student of the Great School and Work than is that of ^^boastfulness''. Nor is there any element of human character that more radically misrepresents the ** Spirit of the Work''. The man who, impelled by Vanity, talks about himself, about his acquirements, his possessions, what he has done, what he could do, what he thinks, what others think of him, what he is, what he knows, inevitably thrusts his own personality to the foreground and ob- scures everything else. With such a man the desire to exploit him- self takes precedence of any issue or any Cause. It is absolutely impossible for such a man to be Loyal to any Cause or to any in- dividual. He lives only in the psychological environment of the pronoun **I". All else is secondary. It is almost, if not quite, as impossible for such an one to be Discreet; for such a man is almost universally voluble, and the man who ^' talks too mucW is sure to say a good many things which ought to remain unsaid. Dogmatism. The man who is ''intellectually vain'', is not only ''boastful", but in most instances THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 79 dogmatic as well. Whether or not in his in- most soul he really thinks so, he nevertheless carries the impression that his word must not be questioned. When he speaks it is the voice of Wisdom, When he expounds it is in a tone of assumed knowledge and authority. Those who do not agree with him are put down as foolish and altogether unworthy of consideration. Those who do not look up to him and acknowledge his self-assumed su- periority, are classed as incompetents, and unintentionally honored by being placed in the same category as *^ women". Criticism Is another sure evidence of ^^Intellectual Vanity''. I have already written of this sub- ject in a previous letter. But I did not go to the question of its psychology. I considered it more especially as a destructive agency and element in the midst of such a Movement and a Work as this in which we are engaged. I trust I made that phase of the subject suffi- ciently clear so that there can be no doubt in the mind of any Student of the School as to both the Fact and the Principle back of the Fact. If, in future, any Student or Friend of this 80 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Work shall indulge himself in the habit, or the practice, or the destructive attitude of Criticism, I hope I have made the destructive nature and effects of it so manifest that he cannot so indulge himself innocently, nor ignorantly, nor without fully anticipating the destructive results — to himself as well as to those who are the victims of his folly; and this includes the School itself and this par- ticular Movement. In addition to all this, however, it is im- portant to understand and realize the fact that * ^ Intellectual Vanity'' is one of the deep- seated causes in the background which impel men, first, to the critical attitude of Soul, and thence to the indulgence of personal Criti- cism, until finally it becomes a hahit which he finds quite as difficult to overcome as the habit of drink, or that of any other nature which grows out of personal indulgence. The psychology of ** Criticism" is some- thing the habitual Critic seldom knows any- thing about. He despises every other Critic on earth but himself, without knowing exactly why, except that such a spirit offends his sense of justice, as well as that of common courtesy. He knows that there is something about the critical spirit that is not right. But THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 81 he is the last creature on earth to realize it in himself. The critical spirit assumes that he is intel- lectually superior to the rest of mankind. He does not hesitate to pass judgment upon all who come within the range of his observation, and he does so only upon the basis of his as- sumed intellectual superiority. He does not realize that in so doing he ad- vertises to all the world his unbounded Ego- tism and *^ Intellectual Vanity '^ If he could but know the impressions he makes upon oth- ers — and, most of all, upon those he most severely criticises — ^he would be humiliated into the dust. As indicated in my previous letter, there is no phase or manifestation of * ^ Intellectual Vanity'' which MIS-represents the ^^ Spirit of the Work'' more radically nor destructive- ly than that of a critical attitude of Soul to- ward one's fellow Students and Friends in this Work. There is no element of human character which more justly deserves condemnation than that which inspires the Critical attitude of Soul and leads to expression in personal * ^ Criticism. ' ' No Student of this School is worthy to be counted as such so long as he has not yet 82 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. overcome this destructive weakness of his character. Nothing is a more powerful DIS- INTEGRATOR, in a Work or a Movement such as this, than the ** Critical Spirit." Let no Student or Friend of this School forget these Facts. Volubility is another of the inevitable manifestations of ** Intellectual Vanity." The man who talks incessantly, does so because he ** loves to hear the sound of his own voice." To him ** Volubility" is an as- sumed evidence of great intelligence, knowl- edge, wisdom and intellectual superiority. Even the profound Egotist resents *^ Volu- bility" — in others. He does not observe it in himself, because he is so busy talking. To him, those who interrupt, or fail to listen with rapt attention to his every utterance — and applaud — are lacking in Intelligence. Unfortunately, however, the man of many words is invariably the man of few original ideas. He talks fluently, only because he ap- propriates the ideas and the language of oth- ers. Still more unfortunately, the man who talks incessantly is sure to say many things THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 83 which were far better unsaid. No man who indulges himself in ^^ Volubility" can at the same time be Discreet. The two characteris- tics do not run together. Discretion, however, is the very key to suc- cess in this School and Work. It is for this reason that so much attention is given to ''DISCRETION'' in all the preliminary steps of those who desire to become Accredit- ed Students of this School. Not long ago a gentleman of considerable prominence in the business and educational world applied for admittance as a Student. In the regular course of procedure I asked him to meet one of the ** Accredited Students" of the School for the purpose of establishing the personal acquaintance and proving his qualifications. I asked him to write me after the meeting and tell me all he could concern- ing what passed between them, and what im- pressions he carried away with him. Imagine my humiliation, if you can, when I received his letter wherein he informed me that the Student to whom I had sent him talked for two straight hours, without asking him a single question, or giving him a chance to express a thought in words. He wrote me something as follows : — * * You asked me to give you my impressions 84 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. of the School and the Work, as they were reflected to me through the Student to whom you sent me. This would be most difficult. If I had to judge the School and the Work by the impressions I obtained from this gentle- man, I should have to say — 1. That they constitute the most perfect talking-machines it has ever been my good, or bad, fortune to meet. 2. That they must be chiefly composed of Egotism, ''Intellectual Vanity '^ and Wind. 3. That if this gentleman is a natural prod- uct of the Great School and Work, then ex- cuse me, I prefer to obtain my knowledge of Spiritual things in some other School — ^not quite so ''Great/' To this letter I could not reply. There was nothing for me to say. But I did some thinking. And you will no doubt surmise that I have not asked any other applicant, since then, to meet this same Student for the purpose of establishing the personal acquain- tance, and getting his ''impressions of the School and Work'^ therefrom. Nothing could more completely exemplify the exact opposite of the ''Spirit of the Work^^ than was done by the Student to whom I have referred. On the other hand, on many occasions I ^£ft THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 85 have met applicants myself, instead of send- ing them to some one or more of the Accred- ited Students. And it has been the rare ex- ception when it has been at all necessary for me to do any of the talking. In order that I may get into the inner con- sciousness and study the individual carefully and intelligently, I always ask him to tell me something of himself, and of what he is seek- ing. In most instances this is enough to * * set him going" for an entire evening. On many such occasions my visitor has gone away without so much as asking me a single question, or obtaining from me a single item of information concerning the School, the Work, or myself. In a number of instances I have received letters of abject apology afterwards. But it was only after such visitors had gone away and got to thinking it all over, that they real- ized the fact that they had done all the talk- ing, and that they had gone away no wiser than they came, so far as the School and Work were concerned. Again and again, since the first incident above referred to, I have said to my Accred- ited Students to be absolutely sure that they did less than half the talking ; and to ask their visitor a number of questions concerning him- 86 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. self, and then listen to him carefully and at- tentively, and study him while he talks. This is the only sure method of reading an appli- cant's character. Nothing so betrays one's weaknesses and defects of character as talk- ing. It is astonishing how few men there are who are good listeners. This is but another way of saying: It is astonishing how few modest men there are. And this only means that there are astonishingly few men who are not sorely afflicted with ** Intellectual Vani- ty" and Egotism. Taking all this together, it should consti- tute an emphatic warning to every Accredited Student of this School and Work, against '^Volubility'* — many words — much talking. Let it be to you, what it is in fact, one of the sure indices of ** Intellectual Vanity." And if in future you should be asked to meet applicants for studentship, for the pur- pose of establishing the personal acquaint- ance and determining their qualifications, let it be your invariable rule to let the applicant do as much of the talking as it is possible for you to induce him to do, in an easy and nat- ural way. Ask him a number of direct questions con- cerning himself, his past life, experiences, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 87 lines of study, philosophic and religious views, what he knows about the contents of the text-books, what most attracts him to the School and Work, whether he finds anything in the teachings and findings of the School contained in the books with which he cannot agree, of what he is in search that he would hope or expect to find in this School and Work — and such other questions as will en- able you to know exactly what is his attitude toward the School and its findings. While he is answering these questions, study him with all the intelligence possible, for the purpose of determining the essential elements of his character, and satisfying yourself whether or not he comes '^duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified,'' and whether you are willing to assume the responsibility of recommending him for ad- mittance as a Student. Do not forget for one moment that he is studying YOU all the time he is not talking, and that everything you do and every sen- tence you utter are making their '^ impres- sions^' upon him, which impressions he will be asked to report to me [so long as I am in charge of the Work of the School in this country], or to those whom the School may appoint for that purpose. 88 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. And I pray you to spare me such humilia- tion in future as I have suffered in the past, by reason of such reports as that which came from the applicant referred to above. Sensitiveness. It would seem a strange combination, and almost impossible, that ** Intellectual Vanity '' [which involves Egotism, Dogmatism, Domi- nation, Intolerance, Boastfulness, Criticism, Volubility, and many other dominant and pos- tive characteristics] should also be associated with Sensitiveness* This would seem to in- volve a direct contradiction, not only of terms but also of internal conditions. But a careful study of motives y and a criti- cal self-analysis along that line, will soon prove to any honest Student the fact that what we designate as '' Sensitiveness'* is, in most respects, but another name for ^'Wound- ed Vanity". My personal experiences as an Instructor in this School, and as a careful student of human nature, have proven to me that one of the invariable accompaniments of '^Intellec- tual Vanity'' is great '^ Sensitiveness" to ev- erything that could in any manner reflect upon the individual unfavorably. In some instances I have found it almost THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 89 impossible to offer any suggestion of im- provements, or call attention to any weak- ness of character or fault in my Student, be- cause of his extreme '^sensitiveness'', and his readiness to be wounded, or hurt, or offended at any suggestion of his imperfection. When we follow the subject back to its source we find that this character of extreme '* Sensitiveness'', or '^ touchiness", has its origin and foundation in '^ Intellectual Vani- ty". This fact has caused me much difficulty in my efforts to help my masculine Students to overcome their specific difficulties which stand in the way of their individual evolution and unfoldment. It is one of the established principles of psychology, that the ability of any individual to improve himself depends primarily upon his intelligent understanding and apprecia- tion of the fact that he is not yet perfect, and of exactly wherein he needs to be improved. In this School and Work of Education, one of the most important functions of an In- structor is that of pointing out to his Student wherein he [the Student] fails to measure up to the standard of individual Character neces- sary to enable him to become a ^^Demonstrat- or of the Law'\ 90 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Whatever constitutes a barrier between In- structor and Student in this regard is indeed a serious handicap to their progress in the Work. Whatever prevents a Student from knowing and intelligently appreciating his own deficiencies is a fatal barrier between him and the goal toward which this Work forever leads him. For this reason an Instructor in this School and Work must be able to point out to his Student, with absolute frankness and fidelity, every weakness, fault, error, tendency, or dif- ficulty which stands in the way of his success. If Sensitiveness or Wounded Vanity prevents this it is but a waste of valuable time on the part of the Instructor to continue the Work. Any Student who cannot face himself free- ly, frankly and unreservedly, and with a feel- ing of profound gratitude to his Instructor for enabling him to KNOW HIMSELF, is not ready for this Work. Even though he may feel that he is not fully understood, or duly appreciated, he must at all times be able to *^see himself as others see him'\ without re- sentment or protest in any form. In other words, before it is possible for him to stand as an *^ Accredited Eepresentative ' ' of the Great School, he must master the '^Lion'^ of Intellectual V amity, and he must THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 91 KNOW that he has done so. And so long as he is ** sensitive ' ^ to just criticism from his Instructor, and ready to be wounded and hurt when his attention is called to any phase of his character which needs modification, he may KNOW that the ''Lion'' still lives, breathes, and is ready to spring upon him in deadly combat. Obtrusiveness. In the quotation from my letter to a Stu- dent on the subject of his ** Intellectual Vani- ty*', I have called attention to the fact that in the particular case therein referred to, one of the most unmistakable evidences and mani- festations of his Vanity was his ''OBTRU- SIVE PERSONALITY'', While the case referred to is the most ex- aggerated of any that has ever come to my attention, it has enabled me to see and fully realize the fact that an * * Obtrusive Personali- ty *' is one of the natural and inevitable re suits of ' ' Intellectual Vanity ' '. It is true that this phase of its manifesta- tion varies to a marked degree; but as I go back in memory over the experiences of al- most thirty years of active work as an In- structor in this field, I am unable to recall a single instance which could be fairly classed as an exception to the rule above suggested. 92 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. — » From this background of active and con- tinued experience, I believe I am justified in placing the ^^ Obtrusive Personality^^ among the natural and inevitable manifestations of ^'Intellectual Vanity^'. And I know of no phase of the subject that is more difficult to elucidate in such manner as to make it entirely clear to one who is af- flicted with ^* Intellectual Vanity '\ But I want to call the attention of all my Students to the subject here and now, and ask them to make a careful study of it in the future, so that they shall be able to help their own Stu- dents, in case they shall be so fortunate as to qualify as Instructors. Attitude Toward Women. I believe I am strictly within the realm of Facts when I say that Men advertise their ^^Intellectual Vanity'^ as much by their atti- tude toward Women as in any other way. A vain man invariably depreciates women. He betrays the fact constantly that he has lit- tle or no respect for the intelligence of wom- en. He looks upon them as his inferiors, and in most instances in every sense of the word. His vanity is offended if they do not recognize THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 93 — r his self-assumed superiority and pay him def- erence accordingly. The vain man loves to exploit himself in the presence of women. He never listens to them, except when he is the subject of their consideration. It has taken me fifteen years to educate a group of men and women to a point where they understood and respected each other. I regard it as one of the real triumphs of my life that I have been able to bring them into a working association, upon a basis of mutual understanding, mutual respect, and a mutual and whole-hearted Fellowship, And I want to say, without reservations, that I believe there is not another such group of people living to-day. They are COMPANIONS, in every sense of the term — socially, morally, philosophical- ly, scientifically, as Students, and as fellow workers together in a common Cause. They look upon each other as EQUALS, and they treat each other in the same way. They do not preen themselves in each other ^s presence, but they treat each other with real deference and respect. I have to admit, however, that it has in- volved a long and most difficult labor of love and education to bring about this result. 94 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. And it would not be quite fair to say that all the fault, or difficulty, has been due to the ** Intellectual Vanity'' of our Men Students. Some of the real difficulties to be overcome have been among our beloved Lady Students. One of the most stubborn of these has been their timidity in the presence of men. When this phase of the situation has been under consideration between the beloved EA. and myself, she has often said to me: — **You ought to hear our women Students when they meet together without the men. They are a perfect cyclone of talk. They all talk, and usually all at the same time. There is not the least timidity nor backwardness among them ; and they express themselves as fluently, gracefully, logically and intelligently as the men. But the moment a man is ad- mitted they become as silent and as dumb as a lot of mutes, yield the floor to the man, and listen with rapt attention to whatever he may have to say." Again and again I have urged the women of our Group to ask questions, if nothing bet- ter; and again and again I have asked each of them some question that made it necessary for her to talk. Then I have entered into a conspiracy with our men Students to conduct our meetings in such manner as to draw the THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 95 women out, make them express themselves, and gradually break down their stage-fright. Slowly but surely the situation changed un- der this educational influence, until in spirit and in truth the natural level of equality has been well established. And it would be a revelation to the rest of mankind if they could but realize what this has meant in the way of added force and ef- ficiency in every phase of our Work. And in this connection I am sure there is nothing I can do or say that will mean more to the future success of the Great Work in America than to recommend with all the pow- er at my command that in every other Group throughout the land, both now and in future, the same effort be made by both men and women, to overcome the Vanity of the men which impels them to monopolize and domi- nate every meeting and every situation where- in both the sexes participate, and stimulate the women at the same time to take their natural and rightful place among the Group and actively participate in every phase of the Work, without losing their womanly graces, or becoming ^* mannish" and coarse in man- ner, or appearance. By this method you will gradually teach your men the meaning and the practice of 96 THE SPIRIT OF THE V70RK. ''Modesty'' and proper ''Humility'', and in time enable them to overcome every phase of Vanity which everywhere so mars the beauty of their character. At the same time you will help your women Students to overcome their timidity, and gradually establish that charac- ter of EQUALITY among the sexes, in an in- tellectual sense, which will result in the most beautiful and perfect "COMPANIONSHIP" among you. Thus in time, you will grow into the ideal relation as fellow Students and Workers, and will come to exemplify, in all your relations, the true "Spirit of the Work," And you will never know what this can mean to the Work and the Cause until you experi- ence it in your mutual relations in that field of endeavor. When the men and the women of this School, Work and Movement learn to respect each other, and become worthy of that mutual respect, in an intellectual sense, put away that character of sentimentality which for- ever stimulates the sex consciousness when they meet together in the interests of the School and Work, and in all their relations reach the level of the "Spirit of the Work", it will mean the beginning of a new era in the Spiritual Evolution of this Western World — THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 97 which means also a new era throughout the entire world. There is no single index which marks the status of a people so perfectly, in an evolu- tionary sense as the position which they ac- cord to their women. History tells this story on every page throughout the ages past. It will tell it on every page of future history. This School, recognizing all the natural differences between men and women arising out of the sex relation, and without in the least attempting to interfere with nor mini- mize those natural differentiations, stands for INTELLECTUAL EQUALITY of the sexes, and accords to woman her rightful place as a Companion in every phase of human life and relations. The man who does not respect the intelli- gence of women in this Work ; whose attitude toward them is one of intellectual superiority ; who assumes the right of leadership because he is a man; who is offended when women presume to have ideas and opinions of their own, some of which may not be in harmony with his own; who is either coarse or dis- courteous of speech or manner in the pres- ence of women ; who in any sense offends the naturally refined sensibilities of women; or who does not genuinely and whole-heartedly 98 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. accord to them the respectful consideration of an EQUAL — does not belong in this School, nor should he be identified with its Work. Such a man should engage in single and mortal combat with the '^Lion of Intellectual Vanity" which crouches in front of him, until he has whipped it into perfect submission, be- fore he assumes to stand as an ^ ^ Accredited Representative" of this School and Work. Otherwise he will MIS-represent the ' ' Spirit of the Work" at every turn and angle of his life. Henceforth every possible effort will be made to guard the School and Work, and this particular Movement, against the admittance of men of this type. The most rigid tests will be applied to discover wherein, if at all, the armor of their moral nature is weak, or in need of repairs ; and not until they can meet every test, and prove the quality of their Hu- mility, will the door be opened to them. There are other phases of ** Intellectual Vanity" than those I have thus far consid- ered in this letter. Some of them are ex- ceedingly subtle and difficult for the individ- ual himself to identify or even discover, in himself. But they are all important and should be understood and appreciated by every man THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 99 who knocks at the door of this School and asks to be admitted. Space forbids that I should attempt to elucidate all of them. But I have said enough, I hope, to enable any man of average intelligence to determine his own status, insofar as ' * Intellectual Vani- ty" may constitute one of his barriers to be overcome. And I sincerely hope also that I have put the matter in such form as to impress every man — whether an admitted Student, or an ap- plicant for admittance as such — ^with the vital importance of the subject. If there is any phase of it, however, which would seem to any Student, or reader of Life cmd Action, to require further consideration, explanation, elucidation, or emphasis, I shall esteem it a favor to have my attention called to it. I will then endeavor to cover the sub- ject in future issues of this magazine, as rap- idly as the multiplicity of demands upon me will permit. In the mean time I pray that every Stu- dent or Friend of this School and Work will take this subject home with him and in the Light of his best knowledge study himself un- til he is able to identify every expression of ** Intellectual Vanity'' in his character, and then, through the power of a noble inspira- 100 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tion, lift himself to a plane of Spiritual Un- foldment wherein such deformities do not ex- ist. A suggestion occurs to me which I believe will prove of real value to those who will adopt it. It is this : — Inasmuch as space limitations will not per- mit me a more detailed analysis of the sub- ject, and since there are yet a number of ele- ments which enter into * ^ Intellectual Vanity" — or into its manifestations in human con- duct — I suggest that those of my readers and Students, who have the time and the inclina- tion, make a further analysis of the subject, and see how many additional phases of the subject they can discover. And let me say in this connection that those who have never thus passed themselves in re- view before the tribunal of their own Intelli- gence will find the process most illuminating. Moreover, they will be astonished to find in how many distinct forms Intellectual Vanity expresses itself in human conduct. It follows with equal certainty that the av- erage individual has but a dim conception of the voluminous manner in which he betrays this deplorable weakness of his nature to the skilled reader of human character. Such a self-examination, honestly made THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 101 with right motives and purposes, cannot fail to be of the utmost value, and should go a long way toward the development of that quality of Humility that is the beginning of Wisdom. I will be glad to publish in future issues of Life and Action such as may appear to me to be of further value to the Students and Friends who are trying to LIVE THE LIFE, Address all such communications to the Editor-in-Chief of this magazine. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 103 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 4. In this series of letters on ^^The Spirit of the WorW I have a distinct feeling that I shall be able so to elucidate some of the funda- mental principles of individual life and ac- tion, outlined in ^^The Great Work'\ as to be of real value and help to those who have made a careful study of that work and are trying to live the life. The principles are all set forth clearly and simply in the three authorized text-works of the School. I find, however, from the nature of the questions that come to me from Stu- dents, Eeaders and Friends of the Work all over the world, that they do not seem to find it always easy to make the definite and per- sonal application of the principles to their own individual problems. These questions and my answers thereto, all of which may be found in the files of my personal correspondence, make it possible for me to repeat them in the columns of "Lt/e 104 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. and Action^' with very little expenditure of time and effort. In so doing I believe that I shall be able to serve many who have been wrestling with some of the same problems but who have not felt at liberty to write to me personally and submit them to me for solu- tion. In looking over my files for the purpose of selecting therefrom a theme that would seem to be of special value, I find that in some form or another the subject of Self-Indulgence seems to constitute the background of many perplexing problems among those who are earnestly endeavoring to make their lives re- flect the true Spirit of the Work. At page 297 of ''The Great Work'' the gen- eral principle is stated with such clearness as to impress any intelligent student with a fair understanding of its importance as a thing to be reckoned with in the process of spiritual unfoldment. It is one of the fundamental weaknesses of human nature which touches every phase of individual character and every element of human experience. Out of it grow all the de- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 105 structive habits of individual life to which men and women become addicted. At a certain point in the progress of every Student of this School he is brought face to face with this fundamental problem of Self- indulgence, and asked for a critical analysis of such progress as he may have made, if any, toward the mastery of this fatal weakness [fatal if not overcome]. He is asked if he is still under the control of any *'HabiV^ which he recognizes as de- structive. Many other questions bearing on the various phases of ^^ Self-indulgence '' are asked, only that both Student and Instructor may have a clearer understanding of his par- ticular status, and of how best to meet his needs. Not long ago one of my well-beloved Stu- dents reached the point in his work where it became necessary for him to respond to the series of questions on this subject. Among other things he replied that he still found himself a victim of the ^Hohacco habit ^\ His letter and my reply cover a number of points which will doubtless be of equal value to many others; for the subject of ^^ Habits*' is coming up constantly, and I am the con- stant recipient of almost innumerable ques- tions, from both men and women, asking for 106 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. information and help along almost as many different lines of difficulty. In view of this fact, it occurs to me that I cannot cover a more important subject in a better way for the readers of Life and Ac- tion than by publishing my own letter in the case to which I have referred. Without name or address, by which to identify the particular Student, here is the part of my own letter which refers to the subject under consideration : — **Dear Friend: — The frankness and evi- dent sincerity of your answers to the several important and searching questions contained in my last letter have far more than compen- sated for the time you have taken. Instead of condemning you for the long delay, I com- mend you most earnestly and unreservedly for the effort you have made to give me the exact information asked for, and for the time you have taken that each answer may be full, complete and responsive to the question. Otherwise you very easily might have slight- ed some of your answers in such manner as to have evaded my questions and made it necessary for me to ask you for further in- formation to complete your Eecord and thus enable me to reach a right conclusion. **In answer to my third question you say: THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 107 ^Natural Science has not only met my oMtici- pations, but more — much more. There are things that have opened up to me, as a con- sequence of the study and the work I gave to it, which were far beyond anything I possi- bly could have anticipated. ** *For instance: The Living of the Life; the problems of Equity, Justice and Right; of Duty; the real meaning of Love, and of Personal Responsibility — these were all fa- miliar to me, as mere words and phrases; but in the light of Natural Science they are invested with entirely new meanings which are at once both beautiful and purpose fid; and these, in turn, are multiplied by the en- lightenment that comes from a study and practice of the precepts of the Great School'. *^A11 this is deeply gratifying, in that it indicates an understanding and appreciation of the meaning and purpose of the Work and an earnest desire to exemplify its real Spirit. For all this you are justly entitled to com- mendation, and it is a privilege to me to ex- press, in some small measure, my deep and sincere appreciation. **Many other expressions contained in your several answers and explanations con- vey to me the unmistakable evidence of your understanding and appreciation of the Spirit 108 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. and Purpose of the Work, and an earnest desire to realize their fulfilment in your own life. * * For these also you have my appreciation and commendation. I only wish it continued so to the end of the chapter, for in that event my own course would be entirely clear and my duty equally pleasant and gratifying. *^Such, however, is not the case. While it is evident to my mind that you have gained a clear understanding of the working princi- ples of Natural Science, and a definite knowl- edge of the Constructive Principle of Nature in its application to your own individual life ; and that you also have made considerable progress along the ^Road to the South' — nevertheless, the record shows, with regret- table clearness and unwelcome precision, that there are some ugly and formidable obstacles in your way, at which you have arrived and of which you are aware, which you must either remove or climb over, before it is pos- sible for you to move forward and meet cer- tain savage and hungry ^Lions' that are waiting to try conclusions with you, further along on your way. **A11 it is possible for an Instructor to do for you is to point out the Eoad you are to travel, and help you to discover such ob- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 109 stacles as may be in your way. You alone must do the walking, and you alone must re- move all the obstacles from your pathway. ^* Early in your journey to the South, you found yourself face to face with the monster, ^' Vanity^ \ You grappled courageously and determinedly with it, and so far have you conquered it that its vitality is rapidly wan- ing. No longer does it mock you and dare you, and so it has almost ceased to block your way. ^'In turn you have met Dogmatism, Asser- tiveness, Irritability, Criticism and Anger; and so far have you triumphed that you fair- ly well have proven your ability to master each and all of them. ^*So far, so good. These splendid victo- ries, over some of the most aggressive and powerful enemies of individual progress and spiritual unfoldment, are evidences of your ability to master even greater and more pow- erful foes — for every triumph multiplies your powers and resources, and makes the way easier to travel. ^*You therefore have just ground for self- confidence and every reason to press forward with renewed courage, added energy and greater assurance. ^^But in your answer to my seventh ques- 110 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tion you betray the one dominant weakness of your nature. It is the same that saps the vitality of most men and makes of them Slaves instead of Masters, Self-indulgence ''This it is that causes you to surrender to the habit of smoking. This it is that leads, everywhere and always, into all kinds of hab- its. And every habit — whether it be that of smoking, or chewing, or drinking — is ac- quired only through some form of Self-in- dulgence. And it always makes one a Slave but never a Master, It must therefore be clear to you that it is a form of Subjection, and stands directly in the road to Master- ship. ''It is true that some habits are more de- structive than others. It is also true that some are more obnoxious than destructive. But every habit — whether more filthy and dirty than destructive, or more destructive, per se, than repellant — ^is a badge of Servi- tude, just the same. It stands between the individual and true Mastership. "No man can ever achieve the goal of true spiritual Mastership while there yet remains to him a single hahit [the result of self-indul- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Ill gence] to which he is a slave, or over which he has not yet established absolute and per- manent mastery. *' ' Smoking — from the view-point of a Jiahit — ^is physically less destructive than it is re- pellant to those who dislike the odor of to- bacco. ^^But the hahit is a distinct bar to Spiritu- al Unfoldment and progress, and hence must be mastered by all who seek to become dem- onstrators of the Law. * * To appreciate this more fully, it is neces- sary to know that tobacco, in amy form, is coarsening in its effects upon the tissues of the physical body. And since Spiritual Un- foldment involves a refining process all along the line, physically as well as spiritually, it must be clear to anyone [who is able to rea- son] that to one who is seeking to fit himself for Spiritual Unfoldment and Mastership, in accordance with the demands of Natural Sci- ence, it is a distinct obstacle and a real detri- ment. *^But it is not a crime ^ nor is it necessarily a svn. One may be a thoroughly good man — in point of honesty, sincerity, humility and all the virtues of a moral and an upright life and character — and yet he may, at the same time, be a slave to the habit of smoking. 112 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. *^It is equally true, however, that he can- not be a thoroughly clean man [physically], nor physically refined, and at the same time have the tissues of his physical body satu- rated with nicotine, until his breath is sur- charged with the stale odor of tobacco. *^ Neither can he attain * Independent Spir- itual Illumination', as a Student of Natural Science, while he is yet a subject of the to- bacco habit — or any other habit that is stronger than his own independent power of Will. ^ ^ The principle involved is simple and easi- ly understood. Nevertheless, it is as inflexi- ble, immutable and unavoidable as Natural Law — as inevitable as the Decrees of the Great Universal Intelligence, in its applica- tion to and its effects upon the evolutionary growth of the human Soul and the progress of every individual Student of this School in his own personal journey to the South; and it must be figured into the Time-table and Train-schedule on which he is running, in or- der to determine with any degree of accuracy the time of his arrival at the Grand Central Station in the ^City of Sarras', on the ever- green shores of the Eiver of Life, in the Land of Liberty and Light. **From the spirit in which you have an- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 113 swered my several questions, and the manly way in which you have looked yourself over in the light of your knowledge of the Law, and with evident impartiality refused to spare yourself in many instances where si- lence alone would have done so — I am certain that you not only want the Truth from me, but as nearly the whole Truth and nothing hut the Truth, as it is possible for me to con- vey to you, free from any effort on my part to spare you the shock of humiliation likely to follow therefrom. ^^I wish I could feel the same degree and quality of assurance in every instance where my responsibility to the Cause, the School, the Work and the Individual demands of me the rendition and formulation of such un- biased decisions and judgments as carry with them the responsibilities of heartaches or disappointments — for it would make my task far less difficult if I could always have the same unmistakable feeling of assurance that the Truth alone is sought, desired and ex- pected of me, that it may be applied to the problems before us for the sole purpose of their more perfect and ready solution. **Your answers establish to my entire sat- isfaction the conviction that, however much you still lack the Will to throw off this one 114 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. subjective bond and make yourself absolute Master of this remaining phase of Self-in- dulgence, your Attitude of Soul is one of honesty with yourself, and therefore com- mendable to that extent. **And while there appears to be a tone, or under-current, of discouragement running through your answers on this one subject of Self-indulgence, I want you to know that I have an unwavering and abiding faith in the righteousness of your motives; and hence, in your ultimate victory over not alone the one habit of smoking, which seems to cause you the greatest difficulty just at present, but each and all of the other habits which you recognize as destructive, and of which you still regard yourself as a subject rather than a Master. *^In view of the condition and status of subjectivity with which you diagnose your own case, however, I am sure that in your answer to my seventh question you have giv- en a just and correct analysis of the situa- tion at the present time. For, you say : — '^ ^As far as I know, I do not require any further definite knowledge that would be of any better service to me thorn that which I now possess and can obtain by the applica- tion of the principles I have accepted/ THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 115 **It seems to me that in view of all your answers contain, and the intelligent self- analysis you have submitted, your conclusion above quoted is almost, if not entirely, axio- matic. *^The process of initiation into the Great School is one of evolutionary unfoldment. It is not a mere intellectual accomplishment, but a distinct growth of the Soul. Every distinct step along the Way of Mastership is, primarily, one of intellectual attainment. **To this end each Student who gains ad- mittance is furnished an Instructor whose duty it is to lay out his work and enable him to obtain a clear and firm intellectual grasp of the subject-matter involved in each separate and distinct step, and an intelligent understanding of the methods and processes involved in its accomplishment. *^Thus far the work is one of education, and is distinctly an intellectual process and achievement. **But beyond that point you must travel alone. Your Instructor can accompany you no further. Thenceforth your work is one of exemplification. It is that of transmut- ing your intellectual information into a defi- nite personal experience. This is no longer a mere intellectual process. It is a WORK, 116 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. a PERSONAL LABOE. It is YOUE WOEK and yours exclusively. No man can do it for you. *^It is a growth J the direct result of your own application of tlie principles your In- structor has taught you, or helped you to learn. He cannot do your growing. Nature has made no provision for substitutes in this branch of the Work. Every man must do his own growing. '*And so, each Student who arrives at the goal of Spiritual Unfoldment and Master- ship must do his own traveling. His In- structor but points the way. The Student must do the walking and the climbing and the overcoming and the undergoing. **And this, my dear Friend, is where you stand to-day. You have received an Instruc- tion. From your Instructor you have learned every step of the way. He can do no more for you until you have taken each and every step he has pointed out to you. When you have traversed the way to the point where his instruction ends, you will then be ready for further instruction, but not until then. **My suggestion is that during the time you are devoting to this work of making the practical application of the instructions you already have received, and in establishing THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 117 your absolute mastery over the destructive 'habits' to which you refer in your answers numbered 7 and 8, and the 'subjective' con- ditions to which you refer in number 10, you devote such time as you can command for reading and study, to such a review and de- tailed inquisitorial study of the three books as I have indicated in my leading article in the November-December, 1911, Life and Ac- tion, under the title 'Careless Reading and Readers'. I make this suggestion: — 1. Because it will serve to keep your mind refreshed upon the subject-matter of the in- structions you already have received. 2. Assuming that you desire to go forward in your Work until you fully qualify as an accredited representative and an Instructor duly qualified to give to others what you have received, and thus become one of my Help- ers, it will be in the direct line of your great- est need, and will accomplish the thing that will help you most. 3. In that event, you will want to take the regular Examination for which the Students are now in course of preparation all over the country, and it will be in the direct line of your preparation. 4. If for any reason you should not, in this life, so far achieve the degree and quality of 118 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. self-mastery that would entitle you to further definite instruction from an Accredited In- structor, the study of the books here suggest- ed is the one thing that would be of greatest service to you. It would enable you to go forward with your work of Spiritual Unf old- ment, and enable you to LIVE THE LIFE and EXEMPLIFY THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK, without the aid of a further person- al instruction. **I hope I have made clear the fact that I appreciate the frankness of your answers to my searching questions, and the value of the information you herein have given me, and the fact that I shall hold it all as a strictly personal confidence. ^^I hope also that I have omitted nothing that would make clear to you the fact that my earnest desire has been, and is, to be of all the help possible to you in your efforts to exemplify the Spirit of the Work and attain to the status of self-mastery necessary to make you a consistent Instructor and an Ac- credited Representative of the School and Work. **With sincere friendship and good will, and all good wishes for your further progress THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 119 toward the goal of complete self-mastery, I remain, Cordially and fraternally, There is one most important phase of this entire subject that has not been touched upon in this article. I did not mention it to my Student whose habit of tobacco smoking has caused him so much agony. I had my rea- sons for omitting it, in his case. I refer to the Spiritual side of the problem entirely. Let us consider such phases of the subject as apply directly to the case of my Student with the tobacco habit: — 1. In order that those who read this article may obtain the broadest and most compre- hensive view of the subject, let me suggest that you begin by reading part of a chapter in ^^The Great Psychological Crime^\ Please begin at page 240, second paragraph, cover- ing the illustrations cited, and read carefully to the end of that chapter. 2. Then let us apply the facts therein stat- ed to the case of my Student, or to anyone else who is afflicted with the tobacco habit : — [a]. It is a Fact of Nature, that there are thousands on the lowest spiritual plane, and even in the magnetic field, who have been great tabacco users during their earth life. 120 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. They have passed into the other life with the *^ tobacco habit" thoroughly fixed upon them. [b]. As in the illustrations above referred to, they find no means of gratifying their to- bacco appetite upon the spiritual side of life. [c]. They therefore seek the associations of those yet upon the earth plane who use tobacco, and by establishing the closest and most intimate relations possible with them, they are enabled to absorb some of the mag- netism of the physically embodied man, and thereby obtain some of the effects of tobacco which partially relieves or gratifies the crav- ing they have for tobacco. [d]. If the Students and Friends of this School [who indulge in the habit of chewing or smoking tobacco] could but take one clear view of their spiritual surroundings when they are in the midst of indulging themselves, I verily believe it would be a sufficient shock to cure them instantly and forever, however completely they may have surrendered to the habit theretofore. The man who takes his cigars or his pipe to his den at home, for his evening ^* smoke'', is universally followed, or accompanied, by as many spiritual victims of the same habit as can crowd themselves into his environ- ment, or tobacco atmosphere. They do this THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 121 for the purpose of absorbing as much of the results of his smoking as they can, to gratify their appetites for tobacco. The same is true of the tobacco smoker, wherever he may be. He is followed, or ac- companied, by those upon the spiritual plane who are seeking to use him as far as possible as a channel through whom to gratify their own appetites. This constant association enables the spir- itual *^ tobacco fiends", in course of time, to establish very close relations with the earth- ly smoker. And this association has enabled the spiritual smokers to develop the subjec- tive psychic relation in many cases. The only way of getting free from such a condition and relation is by mastering the tobacco habit here and now. The moment the physical tobacco user has mastered his habit, that moment he has bro- ken the bond between himself and his * * band" of spiritual ' * tobacco fiends ' '. That moment he invites into his spiritual atmosphere the clean and wholesome intelligences of the spir- itual spheres ; and if he will but ask them to help him overcome his own personal appe- tite, he can depend upon it that he will re- ceive all the help they can render him. I will not dwell upon this phase of the sub- 122 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ject further than to say that if the reader will make a study of those chapters of ^^The Great Psychological Crime' ^ which disclose the principle involved, and also make a spe- cific application of the illustrations given, he will need no further urging to enable him to *^ break the habit '^ and do it at once and ef- fectually. The letter from which the foregoing is quoted was received by my Student in the true Spirit of the Work, I am sure it will be a matter of interest, as well as gratifica- tion, to the readers of Life and Action, to know that he has finally triumphed and has ** slain the Lion" that heretofore has caused him so much trouble and so much suffering. Doubtless the suggestions contained in my letter to him on the subject of '^Habits'' will raise a good many questions in the minds of those who read it. I am going to see if I can anticipate a few of them, and give the an- swers at the same time: — 1. Does the Great School prohibit the use of tobacco? No. It does not ''prohibit'' the use of anything that men and women choose to eat, drink, wear, or absorb into their systems. It is not a ''Prohibition Society". It endeavors to point out, to all who have THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 123 confidence in it sufficient to seek its instruc- tion, the Laws, Principles and Processes of Nature governing the constructive develop- ment of human beings. It endeavors to point out the things that are destructive in their effects upon the in- dividual, and those that are constructive, and make clear the definite and specific effects of each, so that the individual may have before him a clear and reliable chart of the two Roads, and the two Ways of Life, and a defi- nite knowledge of which leads to Immortality and Individual Happiness, and which to De- struction and Individual Suffering and Wretchedness. When it has done this it has fulfilled its mission. It is then a matter of Individual Choice with the Individual Student. It is his prerogative to choose which road he will travel. Once he knows the right and the wrong of any subject, it is thereafter not in the rightful jurisdiction of any School to tell him what he shall do. 2. Does the School approve the use of to- bacco ? No, not as a general proposition. But there are established conditions wherein the School would not assume the responsibility of recommending its discontinuance. 124 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. To those who have not yet acquired the habit, it would say that, so far as science knows, there is no good to be derived from its use. There are some had effects in a suf- ficient number of instances to indicate strongly that tobacco is not a constructive agency in the physical organism. To all who are not yet addicted to its use the School would recommend that they are better with- out it. To a few, however, who have spent many years in acquiring the habit, and whose bod- ies have become so completely saturated with its poisonous qualities that the discontinu- ance of its use might result in heart failure, and who have arrived at an age that would cause its discontinuance to result in the prob- able shortening of life — the School would not recommend its complete discontinuance. In other words, it is an individual problem concerning which a wise discretion should be exercised. Speaking for myself alone, let me say that tobacco chewing is about as unclean a per- formance as any in which men indulge. But it is wo ^ a crime. Neither should it be held an oifense against the recognized amenities of friendship. To me, however, there is something im- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 125 pressive in the assertion that ** Cleanliness is next to Godliness' \ And perhaps it is one of those natural prejudices that come from the environment of a large family of tobacco chewers, that there is something incompatible between an unclean habit , or practice j and an exalted conception of a life of true spirituali- In other words, while cleanliness is not Godliness, it is not so very far from it, be- cause it is "nexV\ And I have a sort of in- ner consciousness, or feeling, that it is a good thing to **get nexf as closely as may be pos- sible. But please do not misunderstand me. All this does not mean that I regard myself as superior to my Brothers who chew tobacco, nor that I look down on them in any sense whatsoever. I am not unmindful of the fact that there may be something in me that is just as obnoxious to my Brother as his to- bacco chewing is to me. While the houses in which we live may not all of them be solely of glass; nevertheless, there are enough glass windows and doors in all our houses through which a good many stones might be thrown, in case of riots. It is therefore not wise to provoke riot. As to tobacco smoking, the odor of a good cigar is not in the least offensive — to me. But 126 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. a strong, stale old pipe is an affliction to my olfactory nerves, next to iodoform and asa- foetida. Even the best of cigars, however, leave upon the breath and the clothing of the smok- er a stale and most unpleasant odor — to me. While I am aware that I cannot speak with certainty for any but myself, in a matter of this nature; nevertheless, I believe I am not far wrong in my conviction that the very large majority of refined and cultured wom- en everywhere are affected much as I am by the odor of tobacco smoke. I do not know of any woman within the range of my personal acquaintance who en- joys the odor of stale tobacco smoke, nor that of a tobacco breath. For these reasons, I believe it would be in the interests of the general comfort, if both tobacco chewing and smoking were entirely abandoned by men. I am also quite thoroughly convinced that it would be in the interests of general cleanli- ness. I am also satisfied that the general health would be considerably improved, and the pe- riod of man's expectancy lengthened, if the use of tobacco were entirely abandoned. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 127 3. Do you prohibit its use among the Stu- dents of the School? No. That is a question for each individual Student to settle between him and his con- science. But I do not hesitate to say that the inter- ests of the School and the Work, as well as of this entire Movement, would be vastly ben- efited and conserved, if the Students and Friends of the Work would voluntarily aban- don the use of tobacco in every form, and take their stand upon the platform of personal cleanliness. There is something in the use of tobacco that is distinctly out of harmony with the ideals for which, in the minds of men and women everywhere, this School and Work stand. On a number of occasions during the last two or three years I have asked applicants for admittance, as Students, to meet one of the Accredited Eepresentatives of the School in N. Y. City, for the purpose of establishing the personal acquaintance upon which to de- termine the qualifications of the applicants. On two distinct occasions the applicant im- mediately withdrew his application. Later on I learned that the *^ Accredited Represen- tative" to whom I had sent them, was an in- 128 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. veterate smoker; and their withdrawal was due to the shock they had received on find- ing the School represented by a man who was saturated with tobacco, and his office, his clothing and his breath surcharged with its stale odor. There may, perhaps, be some who will feel that an applicant who is so sensitive, or so aesthetic, as to let a matter of this character stand between him and the Work, is not ready for it. But I have to admit that, from my own exalted ideals of the School and all that it stands for, I find it impossible to con- demn him. If I were earnestly seeking a ** Spiritual Adviser", to point out to me the pathway to ** Spiritual Illumination'', and I should go to his '^ Study'' [wherein he has made a Spir- itual atmosphere in which to work, and in which to enjoy ^^ Spiritual Communion''^ and I should find him with a dirty old pipe in his mouth, and his Study filled with a dense cloud of tobacco smoke — I am sure it would be a serious shock to me. Not only that, — the incongruity of such a situation would have a very strong tendency to shake my faith in his honesty and sin- cerity. The utter inconsistency of his life and his profession in such case is so clearly THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 129 apparent as to raise all manner of doubts and uncertainties in the mind of an earnest seeker. The same thing is literally true in the case of one who is known to be an ** Accredited Student'^ of this School. He is supposed to exemplify in his life and conduct the exalted principles for which the School stands. Not only that — he is expected, by those who have read the books, to conform his life to the re- finements which lead to Constructive Spiritu- al Unfoldment. This is not in line with the coarsening ef- fects of the use of tobacco ; and the instant he is discovered to be a slave to the use of it, his influence for good in the School is greatly impaired if not entirely destroyed. 4. Would you admit a tobacco user to the ''Technical Work?'' No. That is to say, not until he has dis- continued its use, and cleansed his system from its effects. The reason for this is purely scientific. As indicated in my letter hereinbefore quoted, nicotine is not only poisonous but it is dis- tinctly coarsening in its effects upon the tis- sues of the physical body. For this reason it is directly antagonistic to the conditions necessary to the accomplish- 130 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORIt. ment of the Technical Work. One who ap- plies for the Technical Work must know that the process upon which he is entering is one of refinement in every department of his be- ing, physical as well as spiritual. And he is not ready to assume the responsibilities of that Work until he is also ready to conform his life to the refining process involved. 5. Would you in future, knowingly and in- tentionally, admit to the ranks of the School's Instructors, one who is addicted to the to- bacco habit? No. And this is not because I would con- demn such an individual in the least. It is solely because of his adverse influence, in that position, upon those who are seeking for Light, to whom such an Instructor would be a stumbling-block. The problem of constructive personal influ- ence is one that demands the attention and consideration of every Student, and more especially every Accredited Eepresentative and Instructor of this School. We cannot ignore it and at the same time hope to serve the best interests of the Cause in which we are enlisted. There are some self-denials, for the sake of others, which we all must be ready to make THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. 131 whenever the good of the Cause demands it. And we must do it cheerfully and willingly. And this matter of our habits, or our in- dulgences, even when we are convinced that they do not injure us personally, is one of the things to which I refer. By virtue of our relation to the School, the Work and the Cause, much is expected of us. And even though we may justly feel that too much is expected of us, it is our duty to yield a point, insofar as our personal rights are concerned, whenever by so doing our influ- ence for good among the great world that needs our help may be increased. Furthermore, when we view the subject of tobacco and its use from an unbiased stand- point we find that it sums up somewhat in this manner: — 1. Nicotine [one of the most prominent elements contained in tobacco] is a rank poi- sonous alkaloid. 2. It does not add anything to the construc- tive side of man's nature so far as we are able to determine. 3. In many instances it is known to result in great detriment to the individual user of it. 4. Quite aside from its destructive nature, the use of tobacco as a habit, practice, or mere indulgence, is — to say the least — a most 132 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. t unclean thing, from any view we may take of it. 5. To women [with comparatively rare ex- ceptions] and to many men also, the odor of tobacco, and the presence of unclean cuspi- dors, are so unpleasant and so nauseating as to be a real affliction. 6. Its use by men is, at best, but an unnec- essary indulgence of a practice [and in most cases an acquired habit], which, in the inter- ests of all concerned, might well be discon- tinued without harm to anyone — except in the few cases where the age of the user, or the long-continued excessive use of it, might make its immediate or entire discontinuance dangerous. 7. Its effects upon the tissues of the phys- ical body are coarsening, and therefore not in harmony with the refining process involved in Constructive Spiritual Unfoldment. 8. Its presence in the physical body is a distinct detriment and obstruction to every Student of this School who shall ever be ad- mitted to the ** Technical Work", or who hopes to make the personal Demonstration of another life by Constructive Methods. 9. The use of tobacco by those upon whom rests the responsibilities of ^^ Accredited Rep- resentatives'' and ^^Instructors'' in this Mk THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 133 School and Work, leaves upon the minds of many who are earnestly seeking for [and in need of] the knowledge of Natural Science, a most unpleasant and unwholesome impres- sion ; and in many instances is a distinct bar- rier to their progress, and prevents them from approaching the door of the School and asking for admittance. In view of these conditions — and some oth- ers in line with them — does it not seem that those who have the best interests of this Work and Movement and the good of humani- ty deeply and seriously at heart and in mind, might well afford to deny themselves what- ever personal pleasure they could derive from their use of ^^The Weed'\ and at the same time set an example of personal clean- liness before the world! Surely, it seems to me that this is so ; and I do not believe any earnest and conscientious Student of this School, or seeker after the knowledge it has to offer to the world, will take exception to my method of presenting the subject in this letter. More especially does this appear to me to be true, inasmuch as what I have said is of- fered in the spirit of friendly suggestions and not as arbitrary personal views forced upon unwelcome readers at the expense of their in- 134 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. dividual rights, or in violation of Conscience. To me, every Student of this School is a personal Friend, in whose individual well-be- ing and happiness I am deeply and honestly interested. My purpose, intent and hope are that I may be able to be of some real and practical service to all my Students, and through them to the rest of mankind. I want to be truly worthy of the confidence they repose in me, as well as of the generous and affectionate friendship they cherish for me, and for the blessed **Lady Florence", the ^'EA'', whose life and example have been a noble inspiration to all who knew her. Her heart and soul were as deeply and gen- uinely enlisted in this Cause as my own, and to her, far more than to myself, is this pres- ent Movement indebted for its splendid suc- cess thus far. Her beautiful Soul and brilliant Intelli- gence are as deeply and as truly interested in all that is being done in this Center of the School's activities as when she sat at her desk here in our little ''Work-shop", clothed in her physical body, and radiantly happy in the consciousness of serving those who need- ed her help and her guiding intelligence and influence. If there is any phase of the subiect of Self- THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. 135 Indulgence which requires further considera- tion or elucidation, I shall be glad if my read- ers will feel themselves free to call my atten- tion to it. I want to make these letters as comprehensive as possible in the time and space at my command. More and more the vital importance of knowing what constitutes the ^* Spirit of the Work'' and of ^^ Living the Life'' in such manner that the one shall exemplify the oth- er, is impressing itself upon the minds of the Students and Friends of the Work every- where. Step by step they are learning the lessons of Natural Science, and how to apply its prin- ciples and teachings to the problems of their individual lives. One by one they are learning the Principles of the formulary of Constructive Spiritual Unf oldment ; and, slowly but surely, they are learning to make the demonstrations which prove the correctness and the scientific accu- racy of the formulary. My hope is that in these letters I shall be able to elucidate '^The Spirit of the Work" in such manner and with such clearness as to make the ^^ Living of the Life" more and more simple, easy and natural with each and 136 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. every added step we take together along the ROAD TO THE SOUTH, And I want every Student to know, and to realize it with the most absolute certainty, that I am not applying one rule to them and another to myself. I want them to know that I am holding myself to the same rigid and ex- acting accountability that the Law holds us all. I know that they expect much of me in my capacity as their present Instructor. And it is right that they should. With all my heart and Soul I shall endeavor not to disappoint them. And as far as may be possible I want to help them so to exemplify ''The Spirit of the WorW in their own Lives that they shall not disappoint those who look to them and expect much of them. To that end we must none of us forget for one instant that the eyes of the world are for- ever upon us, constantly measuring our lives by the standards which they conceive to rep- resent the ''Spirit of the Work/' To forget means failure on our part, and thus failure of the School to accomplish that which the world expects of it. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 137 Let us, therefore, here and now renew our mutual pledge of good faith, and with added effort strive to LIVE THE LIFE in such manner that those who find their way to the door of the School shall not go away disap- pointed because of any failure on our part. AMEN!!! THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 139 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No. 5. There is, perhaps, nothing more natural, and it would seem also nothing more com- mendable, than the desire of the real Stu- dents and Friends of the Work to come into personal touch and acquaintance with one an- other throughout the country. Again and again the inquiry comes to me from those of the Students and Friends who are traveling, or who contemplate doing so, whether I will open the way for them to meet such of the Students and Friends as may be in the lines of their travels. It has given me sincere pleasure to comply with these requests, as far as I have found it possible — and, as far as it has seemed to me entirely within the Spirit and Purposes of the Work. Indeed, one of the long-cherished plans and hopes of the beloved ^^RA'^ and myself has been that we might some day, before our earthly work has been finished, be able to es- 140 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tablish and maintain a free ^'Central Bureau of Information' % through the medium of which it might be possible to bring the Stu- dents and Friends of Natural Science and the Harmonic Philosophy into an understand- ing friendship and personal acquaintance, throughout the entire United States. I have looked forward to the establishment of such a ^^ Bureau' ' as constituting the first regular step toward the inauguration of the Co-operative relation and the economic and sociologic principles of the Great School — the purpose being to lead on gradually and naturally to a demonstration of the fact that what I have said is literally true, viz., that Natural Science has actually solved the Eco- nomic and Sociologic Problem, as scientifical- ly and as surely, as it has solved some of the many other problems of human Life and Ac- tion, with which some of us are acquainted. I am convinced that there is not a reader of this little magazine but would be glad to assist in the accomplishment of so laudable an undertaking. But we have all had experience enough to know that there are always difficulties in the way of every forward step in the onward march of human evolution. This, in truth, seems to be one of Nature ^s methods of meas- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 141 uring the distance we have traveled along this wonderful journey of human progress to- ward the goal of our highest ideals, as well as of determining the speed we have been able to attain at any given time. That is to say, nature is ever trying us and testing us with all manner of obstacles and difficulties, to ascertain how much we have grown, and how much more we now are able to endure or overcome than we were last year, or at some other previous date. And it would seem that the measuring is done by placing barriers and obstacles along the way, in such manner and at such points, that we cannot avoid them, but must over- come or remove them before we may proceed further along the journey of life. The foregoing applies not alone to indi- viduals but to aggregations of individuals who are endeavoring to work out something of definite good to humanity as a whole — such, for instance, as the various churches, schools, cults and societies for the advance- ment of ethical and spiritual movements. The School of Natural Science is no excep- tion. I am vividly conscious of the fact that there are difficulties and obstacles ahead of us in the truly Great Work we are endeavor- ing to accomplish here in America, and they 142 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. are so numerous and so obtrusive as to ap- pear at every step of the way and thrust themselves upon our attention. A number of them are in plain view at this very moment, and they are challenging us to come out and meet them in mortal combat. We cannot get by them without trying con- clusions with them; and we must therefore not only meet them but conquer them and re- move them from our way before we can justly hope or expect to make the demonstration to which I have referred. To just one of these I want to call atten- tion in this article. I am speaking now to those of my fellow travelers who desire to go with me to the end of the journey and share with me in the rewards that await those of us who have the Courage to face whatever dangers and difficulties we may chance to meet and the determination to do whatever Duty may demand of us to entitle us to share in those rewards and benefits. You will be surprised, I have no doubt, when I mention the name of the particular ''Lion'' to which I refer; for I find that very few of the Friends seem even to have thought of it or otherwise sensed its existence — and even those few have failed to identify it as one of the hostile variety that await our com- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 143 ing and must be conquered, subdued and re- moved before we can go further. On the other hand, whenever it is noticed at all, it seems to be regarded as a ** domestic animal'^ — one that has been trained to help and serve mankind in his pioneer work along the outskirts of human progress. Experi- ence, however, has proven that it is one of the most formidable and treacherous we have to meet and overcome along the entire jour- ney of evolutionary unf oldment in the realm of human society. In its definite application to this particular movement, and to the Great Work in Amer- ica, I have reference to the natural tendency of the Students and Friends of the Work to *'Tal£e Things for Granted.'' The phrase itself is not very illuminating. It does not sound dangerous. It does not seem vicious. It does not even impress one, on first acquaintance, as being either hostile or unkind. It must, therefore, be elucidated in such manner as to bring out those phases which make it all the more dangerous merely because of the subtle elements which enter into it and disguise it so generally. As a real "Lion/' in the pathway of this particular 144 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. movement, it has reference more especially to all matters which have any bearing upon the mutual relations of the Students, Friends and Fellow Workers in the Great School and in the Common Cause which brings us together and binds us together in the indissoluble bonds of Friendship, Brotherly-Love, Eelief and Truth. I am referring now to every one of you who have accepted commissions in the army of ''On earth Peace, Good Will to Men'' — who have pledged yourselves to the Cause of ^'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happi- ness;^^ and who are committed to ^^Free Speech, Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Conscience, Freedom in the Worship of God, Free Public Schools, Personal Responsibility, Moral Accountability, the Living of the Life, and the Exemplification of the Spirit of the WorJc in your daily Lives and Conduct.^ ^ And I want you to know also that I include myself as chief among those who must profit by every lesson of experience. I hold myself personally responsible to make my own life a worthy example to all who travel the Road that leads to the Land of Liberty and Light, I want you who travel with me to remember al- ways that I need you as much as you need me, and that I will always thank you for any- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 145 thing and everything you may do for me that will enable me the better to exemplify the Spirit of the Work, and thus make my own life a Beacon Light to those who shall travel this way, now and during the years that are to come. In order that you may know what is meant by the phrase ''Taking things for granted' \ insofar as it constitutes a difficulty we must overcome, it will be necessary for me to give you some of the many illustrations, from actual experience, during the last few years. It would seem both unnecessary and unwise, as well as unjust, to publish the names of those from whose personal experiences I draw these illustrations. It is sufficient to know that they are, or have been, active Stu- dents, and that their experiences have helped me to realize the vital importance of the sub- ject under consideration. May you who read these pages come to realize, as I do, the enor- mous burden of responsibility that is upon those of us who are known to be the ** Ac- credited Eepresentatives'' of the School and Work in America. In the light of these preliminaries, let us proceed at once to a consideration of the fol- lowing personal experiences, remembering all the while that their narration is solely for 146 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. the purpose of enabling us the better to see and understand wherein we have been at fault in the past, and wherein it is our DUTY to modify our course of Life and Action, in order that we may retain our membership in the School in the future. For it is a fact which all should know, that the process of elimination has already begun, and that as rapidly as Students and Friends of the Work shall demonstrate, in future, their inability or unwillingness to fulfill the Duties and Ee- sponsibilities they have assumed, as such, their membership in the School will be termi- nated, and all rights and privileges resulting from or incident thereto, will be abrogated and annulled. 1. A gentleman from an eastern City ap- plied for the Work. He was given the prelimi- nary questions, was brought into personal acquaintance with a number of the accredited Students and Friends of the Work, and was subjected to all the tests and requirements necessary to determine the question of his qualifications for studentship. Answering all the conditions, at that time, he was admitted to the Test Course and, as such Student, came into acquaintance with the other Students and Friends of the Work in that city. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 147 He was out of employment at the time of his admittance, and made the fact known to the Students and Friends there, and also to me. Through the efforts of the Students a position was secured for him. He declined to accept it, because it did not offer sufficient salary to meet all his expenses — ^but it was that much better than nothing, and would have tided him over to something better, per- haps. Clothing was furnished him by the Friends, and other things done to help him. He began borrowing from the Students and Friends, and in a very short time was in debt to most of them, and made no effort to repay the amounts borrowed, seeming to as- sume that it was the duty of the Students to care for him without regard to business prin- ciples or material considerations. His next move was to ask me for money enough to go across the continent to San Francisco, in search of worh. I declined the honor, and learned later that I was set down as a very poor Eepresenta- tive of the Great School inasmuch as I would not **help a man who was out of employ- ment ' \ This man made the mistake of ^'taking for granted" that those who become Students of 148 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. this School are fools, and that they can be imposed upon indefinitely, out of a false sense of DUTY. He seemed also to take for granted that the School is a sort of Free Employment Bureau which furnishes select positions to all its Students, regardless of their abilities or merits, and provides them with money to travel over the country * booking for work'' and enjoying the scenery. This also is a mis- take. 2. A lady out on the Pacific Coast applied for admittance, was tried and tested in the usual method, and finally admitted to the First General Examination. It soon developed that she was in search of her ^^ Affinity^', and had come to the School under the impression that it would help her find and capture him. Once in touch with the Students and Friends of the School, she confided to them, without the least hesitation or delicacy, the fact that her only interest in the School and Work was centered in the hope that they would turn out en masse, take the trail, hunt down her Maverick Affinity, rope, brand and deliver him to her free from bruises, scratches or abrasions, and with an authentic Affinitative Pedigree proving her ^^ right of THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 149 possession.*' Perhaps this is somewhat ex- aggerated, insofar as it represents her inter- nal state of being; but it is not so far wrong when judged by the impression she made on some of the Students, and on some of those not yet in the Work. A slightly different case, somewhat along the same lines, was reported to me from the east. The things that these good women have ''taken for granted'^ are several, and of the most unfortunate nature. (a). They seem to have taken for granted that it is a part of the business of the Great School to act as a sort of Matrimonial Agency, (b). They seem to assume that the School is interested in their individual search for their "Affinities^'. (c). They seem to regard it as their legiti- mate right to call upon the School, and the Students generally, for help in such matters. In this connection, and as a result of many seeming misapprehensions among Students as well as non-students, I want to speak with the utmost frankness and with a deep sense of my responsibility to the School, the Work and the Great Friends, as well as to the Stu- dents and Friends of the Work everywhere, 150 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. concerning this subject. And I do so in the hope that I shall thereby save ns all mnch nn- happiness and shame and humiliation in fu- ture. Those who have followed the subject intel- ligently and free from the bias of personal interest, know that, throughout the length and breadth of the land, vicious, designing, unscrupulous and immoral men and women have taken advantage of what little they have come to know, or have heard, about the scien- tific principle of ^' Affinity' \ to hoodwink the public as to the motives which impel them to the commission of all manner of crimes against the ** peace and dignity" of the do- mestic relation, and to justify themselves in the gratification of their evil propensities. To such an extent have these vicious decep- tions been carried on, during the last few years, that the public press, the leading peri- odicals, and even the modern novel have waged a war of ridicule (in large measure justly, too,) against the growing evil. As a result, the very name of the most beautiful and wonderful provision of Nature for the attainment of Individual Happiness under the Law of Compensation — the Princi- ple of Affinity in the realm of human rela- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 151 tions — ^has become a by-word whose signifi- cance is a reproach to modern civilization. To-day, wherever the term ^^ Affinity^ ^ is employed in relation to human associations and affairs, it leaves a most unpleasant im- pression and suggestion with the average reader and student. However unjust this is to the word itself, however cruel it is to those who understand the real meaning of the love relation and who square their lives by the Square of Virtue for which the term ^^ Affinity^' (in its scien- tific and right sense) stands, we dare not shut our eyes to the harm that already has been done and is more than likely yet to be done, to this School and Work, as well as to this en- tire movement, by those who are so thought- less and so indiscreet as to create or leave the impression that the School concerns itself with the subject of Affinity in any sense what- ever, among its Students and Friends, — or in any other sense save that of a purely scien- tific principle, one phase of which applies to humanity as a whole, and to human relations. If you would guard the School and Work against the damning charge of ^^ Free-Love' \ if you would protect it against the possibility of being classed unjustly with those cults and movements which the public press justly con- 152 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. demn, if you would keep its good name and reputation unspotted before all mankind, if you would save yourself and those of us who are responsible for the general conduct of the Work from humiliation and great harm, then make it one of the rules of your life to dis- courage any and all discussion of the subject of ^' Affinity'^ among Students and Friends of the Work generally. If you would not bring the sacred name of LOVE into disrepute, then studiously avoid associating it with the name '^ Affinity' \ until such time as the world may come to under- stand the subject aright. However deeply absorbed you may be in your individual search for Happiness, do not advertise yourself as an ^'Affinity Hunter' \ nor the School as a ^'Matrimonial Agency' \ The ladies above referred to have also taken for granted: (d). That they are at liberty to discuss their love affairs among the Students and Friends of the School and Work, freely and minutely, without the least danger that their sacred confidences will be betrayed. In this also they are mistaken, deeply as that fact is to be deplored. Students of this School are human — some of them exceedingly human — and they have been known to betray such con- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 153 fidences ; and, judging from past experiences among them, it is not impossible that some of them may prove morally too weak to carry the burden of such confidences safely and se- curely, in future as in the past. (e). They seem to take for granted that they are able to identify their ^^ Affinities^' with certainty, and that having done so they have the moral right to proclaim them as such, quite regardless of the fact that they are already married to other women, and the fathers of families of growing children — and that they themselves are married to other men, and the mothers of their children. Here again they are grossly and deplor- ably wrong. And their immoral viewpoint strikes at the very fundamental principle of a wholesome and constructive civilization, and would shatter the very basis of the moral or- der in society, namely, the principle of Indi- vidual and Personal Responsibility. This School stands for PERSONAL EE- SPONSIBILITY as the very foundation of the social structure. It hold that any man or woman who marries and becomes the parent of children is bound to such children by a personal responsibility that stands FIRST among all the responsibilities of this earthly life. It is a responsibility that cannot be 154 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ignored, evaded, avoided, nor shifted to any- one else whomsoever. Even though such a parent may come to realize, as many have done, that he or she is grieviously unhappy in the married relation ; and even though he or she may have found someone else that seems to fulfill the ideal of the perfect ^^ Affinity ^^ — ^nevertheless, these facts do not cancel nor even minimize the per- sonal responsibility of that parent to his or her children, nor justify any course of per- sonal conduct that would seem to ignore the fact that the marriage relation is the very key-stone in the arch of the social structure. Assuming that it were possible for any Student of this School to find and identify his ^* Affinity" — which, however, is a violent and unwarranted assumption — the supreme hap- pines s that would fill his Soul and illumine his whole life would shrink and shrivel into nothingness if he allowed it to sway him from the pathway of his Personal Eesponsibility, or interfere in the least degree with his duties and responsibilites to his wife and children. The same is equally true of any woman who is a wife and mother. No greater danger confronts this School and Work at this time than that which arises from the indiscretions and disloyalty of those THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 155 who would allow their search for personal happiness — for an ^'Affinity'* — to blind them to their already assumed RESPONSIBILI- TIES to Family and Home, to Society and Civilization, to the community in which they live, and to the moral status which they help to determine, wherever they may be. I am aware of the fact that some of those who already have brought disgrace upon themselves, and embarrassments to the School and Work, through their indiscretions of speech and action, have endeavored to jus- tify themselves by declaring that they were acting in accord with the Spirit of the Work, For the benefit of all such, and all who may, perchance, be in the slightest degree in- fluenced by such false assertions, let me urge every Student, every applicant for instruc- tion, every Friend of the Work and every reader of Life and Action, to make a careful and critical search through the text-books of the School, from beginning to end, for any- thing that could possibly justify — either di- rectly or indirectly, immediately or remotely — any such assertions. But let me tell you in advance that you will not find even so much as a single statement, when taken in its proper context, upon which to justify any such assertions. On the other 156 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. hand, you will find that nowhere in literature, either ancient or modern, is there to be found a more uncompromising declaration of the Law of Personal Eesponsibility in its rela- tion to the marriage relation and the rearing of children, than you will find in the chapters on the subjects of '' Marriage' ' and '^ Di- vorce' \ Vol. I, of the Harmonic Series, *^ Har- monics of Evolution,^ ^ by Florence Huntley. Nowhere will you find a more exalted standard of Morality than that held con- stantly before the intelligence and under- standing of the Students of this School, and set forth with all the power of Fact and Logic in the Masterpiece of that Master Mind — Florence Huntley, in ^^ Harmonics of Evo- lution.^^ Listen to this, from the chapter on ''Di- vorce'': *^ Unnatural human marriage engenders strife, resentment and mutual dislike. In this particular human marriage is unique in the kingdoms of Nature. Two animals mate and divorce themselves without engendering mutual dislike and hate. This is because they instantly respond to the natural law of attraction which draws them elsewhere. They instantly obey the dictates of those lower ele- ments which go to make up animal nature. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 157 **In human marriage, however, the respon- sibilities and obligations growing out of a higher element in Nature have created legal and moral barriers to unrestrained divorce. In human society the indivdiual is not per- mitted to follow the dictates of new attrac- tions. He is bound to an unharmonious mate until natural inharmony is deepened into a definite and aggressive dislike. . . . **The law of marriage is based upon the ef- fort to regulate the sex relation for the best interests of society. The law of divorce is based upon exactly the same intent. It is, therefore, a law looking not to the happiness of the individual, hut to the best material and moral interests of society. Divorce^ there- fore, must he viewed from the point of indi- vidual responsihility to society, and not from the point of an individual personal happi- ness. ** Civil law implies that the good of society demands, primarily, the proper care and rear- ing of its children. It therefore assumes that the natural parents are the proper legal cus- todians and protectors of their own children. **Just here, in this relation of parents to children, arises that moral responsibility which must take precedence of all questions 158 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. as to the happiness or nnhappiness of par- ents. ' ' And so, I might go on through the entire series, and wherever the subject comes under consideration it will be found that the pur- pose is to make clear the fact that the Great School of Natural Science and the Hartnonic Philosophy stands ever and always for the recognition of Moral Accountability to So- ciety and for the discharge of Personal Ee- sponsibility in all that pertains to the mar- riage relation. Not a single utterance can be found to jus- tify or encourage disregard of the responsi- bilities mutually assumed under and by vir- tue of the marriage relation and contract. Not an utterance can be found to justify the charge of our enemies that the Great School advocates the doctrine of ''Free- Lover But, on the contrary, everywhere the sub- ject is considered the doctrine of ''Free- Love" is definitely and unqualifiedly con- demned. (e). There seems to be a tendency on the part of both men and women Students to as- sume that because they are Students, and be- cause they have come to know each other as such, they can ignore many of the established THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 159 conventions of recognized '^ good society", and treat each other with the utmost freedom in the expression of an affectionate friend- ship that, in itself, is entirely worthy, clean and wholesome. Here again they are mistaken. Let me emphasize here, once more, the fact that you dare not take for granted a single thing in your 'mutual relations as Students and Friends of this School and Work, merely be- cause you are Students. Whatever would he held as a ^^ flirtation" among men and women outside this School and Work will be so classed among the Stu- dents and Friends of the Work — by all who are inclined to be '' critical" in their judg- ments of their friends. And Students of this School will be much more bitterly condemned by those outside than they would be if they were not in the School at all. This is because the Great School is known to stand for the highest ex- pression of Morality. Because of this fact its known Students are held to the same high standard of Moral Accountability by those outside — and justly so. We dare not take for granted that even our fellow Students will understand and appre- ciate our exalted Moral Standard as to what 160 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. the Great School means by '^Natural Mar- riage", or the ''Law of Affinity '\ in its re- lation to human beings. I mean that we must not take for granted that all of them can or will understand it all as a scientific problem. Furthermore, the statutes of the several states are intended to represent the consen- sus of judgment of the people who make up the social fabric of the state, in every in- stance. We, as members of the several com- munities thus represented, have had our op- portunity to register our voice, with the un- derstanding that we are ** Law- Abiding Citi- zens'' and will abide by the results, what- ever they may be. As a matter of personal honor, therefore, and of public Morals, we are bound to obey the laws of the land, so long as we permit them to remain upon the statute books of the state. If the majority of the people enact laws which we believe to be unjust, or im- moral, then it is our business to set about the business of educating the people to a better understanding of the subject, and to what we believe to be a higher standard of Morals. But we must not inaugurate our educa- tional effort with anarchy. We must prove at every step of the way that we are ** Law- Abiding''. We must exemplify ''Obedience THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 161 to the Will of the People^ ^ — the Laws of the Land — until we can change those laws we be- lieve unworthy. But I hear someone say : * * The Laws of the Land do not always represent the Will of the People." The answer is — They should; and even if they do not, it is not the fault of the LAWS, but of the PEOPLE— of whom you are one — and the remedy lies not in ignoring nor in violating the Laws, but in proving their injustice or immorality by obey- ing them. One of the wisest remarks ever attributed to General Grant is, that : * * The quickest way to remedy unjust law is to enforce it. ' ' And this is literally true ; for nothing will so quickly and so conclusively prove its in- justice as to see it in active operation and watch the results. 3. One of the men Students, whose busi- ness at the time I did not fully understand, asked me for the privilege of meeting such of the Students as might be in the lines of his travel. I accepted his assurance that his only mo- tive was to enjoy the privilege and pleasure of their acquaintance, and feel that he was thus in touch with * * real Friends ' ', wherever he went. 162 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Imagine my surprise and regret when I learned, later on, that he was promoting a purely speculative business proposition, and on the strength of my friendly introduction had influenced a number of our fellow Stu- dents to ^^invesV* in his company. As soon as I could do so, I notified each and every Student to whom I had introduced him, that I had done so strictly on the basis of the School and Work, and NOT for pur- poses of *^ business", in any sense whatso- ever. Insofar as I have learned the results, he se- cured several thousand dollars of money from the several Students he met **in the lines of his travel", and issued to them '* Certifi- cates of Stock'' in his ** Company", which certificates they are still holding — ^because they are valueless and unsalable — and on which they have received none of the prom- ised ^* Dividends," up to date. In this case the individual to whom I refer **tooh for granted" that if he went to the Students '*in the lines of his travel" with a letter of introduction from me, that fact would establish their confidence in his stu- dentship, and this in turn would establish their confidence in his business integrity and honor. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 163 In this he was entirely correct — to my deep and abiding regret, humiliation and sorrow. He took for granted that his studentship would act as a sort of talisman that would open the pocket-books and bank accounts of the various Students *4n the lines of his travel'*, and enable him to reap a rich har- vest. And he was right in this also. And thus, wherever he went he found it not only possible, but easy, to convert his in- fluence as a Student of the Great School into ready cash. And now let us consider briefly the posi- tions and acts of the several Students this man visited *4n the lines of his travel*'. They took for granted: (a). That the man I introduced to them was honest. In this I verily believe they were mistaken, although I, too, believed him honest when I opened the way for him to meet other Students **in the lines of his travel". (b). That the fact of studentship in this School is all the guaranty of personal integ- rity and honor that any Student of the School should ever ask from any other Student. In this also they were mistaken — much as I regret to say it. It would seem that any man who has made a careful study of the three text-books of the Harmonic Series, suf- 164 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ficient to understand the meaning of the Con- structive and Destructive Principles of Na- ture in Individual Life, and the Law of Com- pensation which works itself out through them; who, on the strength of such knowl- edge and understanding, makes the definite statement (as all must do before they can gain admittance) that he finds himself '^m full and unqualified sympathy and accord with all the teachings and findings of the School therein contained'^ — would find it im- possible to lend himself to business dishon- esty, trickery, deception and fraud of the most despicable and contemptible nature. I myself would not have believed it possible had I not seen the actual demonstration of it above referred to — supplemented by other in- stances quite as flagrant. (c). That to question the business integ- rity of a man whom I have given a letter of introduction to them, as a fellow Student, would be equivalent to doubting my honesty, and would, therefore, be accepted by me as a definite breach of loyalty to me, and good faith with a fellow Student. In this they were entirely mistaken. Let me explain here what I have tried to make clear from the very inception of this Movement, namely : THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 165 Never, in all my life, have I introduced one Student of this School to any other, for the purpose of influencing either to trust the other in matters of business or money. Neither shall I ever do so in future. Because of the natural tendency of human nature which stimulates Faith in those who unreservedly commit themselves to such a standard of ^^ Morality and Service'' as that for which the Great School and Work stand, it would be possible for one in my position to accomplish immeasurable harm — as well as great good — through such influence as he might choose to exercise among his fellow Students and Friends; and whether that in- fluence be good or bad would depend entirely upon the manner of its exercise, and the pur- pose for which it is set in motion. Knowing all this, and having a definite un- derstanding of the responsibilities that rest upon me, and a deep appreciation of the in- exorable operation of the great Law of Com- pensation through and upon my entire life and all my relations, I want the Students and Friends of the Work everywhere to know, henceforth and forever, that they must not allow their faith in me personally, nor their confidence in the principles back of the School and Work, ever to blind them to the 166 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. possibilities of dishonesty among those who have come to be known as Students of the School, or Friends of the Work. If I could know that every Student who commits himself to the findings of Natural Science and the principles of the Harmonic Philosophy founded thereon, would be able to make his LIFE a true exemplification of the Spirit of the Work, then I should also know that no Student of the School would ever suffer injustice or harm at the hands of any other Student; and, in that event, I should not hesitate to introduce the Students and Friends of the Work to each other every- where. But a hard and bitter experience has taught me that, however earnest and sincere an applicant for instruction may be in his or her desire and purpose to LIVE THE LIFE and EXEMPLIFY THE SPIEIT OF THE WORK in the daily life and conduct, the prob- lems of life are virtually infinite in number and character, and it is impossible for one in my position to guard against some mis- takes of judgment, in the admittance of appli- cants for instruction. I do the very best I can. I make use of all the intelligent help the Students and Friends can give me, in judging of the character and THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 167 qualifications of those who apply for admit- tance, from all over the country. I study each individual, through his or her letters and answers to questions, with all the intelli- gence at my command. I keep forever in mind the fact that the School has the most bitter and unscrupulous enemies on earth, enemies who never sleep and who would stop at nothing to defeat the purposes for which we are giving our lives to this Great Cause. And I know that we make very few mis- takes. But we do make some. And it is this latter fact that impels me to admonish you who stand to-day as ** Accredited Students and Representatives ' ' of the Great School, to TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED. -^. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 169 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 6, This article of the series is written out of deference to the wishes and convictions of some of the Students and Friends of the Work here at the Center. The reasons for their desire to have such an article go direct from the center of responsibility to readers of Life and Action (most of whom are Stu- dents of Natural Science) in all parts of the country, will doubtless become apparent as we proceed. The last government census established, among many other interesting things, the fact that Chicago is within a very few miles of the ^^ Center of Population'' of the United States. Judging from the direction in which that ** Center*' has traveled during the last thirty years, and the rate of speed at which it has been moving, it is almost safe to say that to-day (Apr. 14, 1913), the Center of our na- tional population — or the national Center of our population — is somewhere within the geo- graphical limits of the city of Chicago. 170 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. For the sake of that feeling of comfort we all experience from the sense of definiteness and certainty, let us put our left fore-finger to the center of our foreheads and our right on the top of the Masonic Temple, and mutually agree that ''This is the 8poV\ Well, what of it? S ^pose it is, what then? **0, nuthin' much," only this: The other day, in a great speech before the English Par- liament, one of the great statesmen of that great nation referred to the United States of America as the ''Center of Progressive Intel- ligence and Political Influence among the Na- tions of the Earth/' Now, if his English Eminence is correct in his diagnosis of the international situaton, and Chicago is also the center of the United States, then how far are WE from the CEN- TER OF THE UNIVERSE? While those who are wiser than the Editor of Life and Action are solving the problem, let us consider certain phases of the situation somewhat related to the suggestions above, insofar as they bear upon the subject which the Students and Friends desire me to con- sider in this article. 1. — However directly the Center of our Population may hit the top of the Masonic Temple, it is true that, in a very literal sense, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 171 Chicago has become — and is to-day — the *^ National Cross-roads'' of this country. It is geographically and popnlanghically so sit- uated (if such ^^ poetic license'' be not pro- hibited) that the Students and Friends of this Work, in their travels — from east to west, north to south, west to east, south to north, and all the intermediate points of the com- pass — pass through Chicago, both going and coming. 2. — In almost every instance, whatever may be the destination of the individual, he must *^ change cars" before he can pass be- yond Chicago. 3. — If he needs an excuse for stopping over a day, or a week, in Chicago, this change-of- cars necessity gives it beautifully, and thus enables him to ^ ^ make a few calls ", ^ * do a lit- tle shopping", or ^* attend to a little busi- ness" (on the South-side or West-side Ball Ground) and accomplish many other things which otherwise (without so valid an excuse) might be — embarrassing. 4. — The rules governing the population at large apply with equal force to the Students and Friends of this School and Work. Chi- cago is a natural center of gravitation for them in quite as many different aspects as it is for the rest of the nation. 172 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Because of these natural conditions, it seems that Chicago is the logical center of this movement, and the natural location for the building of its general headquarters, where our members and fellow workers may come into personal touch with the directors of the Work with the least possible trouble and expense, and thus be able to acquire such information and instruction, from time to time, as may be necessary to enable them the better to serve the interests of the Cause. With these conditions and suggestions in mind, we have gone ahead with our work of establishing a ''Central Group' ^ of Students and Helpers and equipping them, as rapidly as may be possible, to stand as ''Accredited Representatives'' of the School and, as such, to exemplify the true ^^ Spirit of the Work'' in their daily lives and conduct. Taking into account the ^^ materials'* we have had to work with and upon, and making due allowance for the natural limitations of human nature, and the difficulties under which the work of education has been done, it would seem to those of us who are here in the midst of the situation and who have been through all the discouragements and trials since the work of integrating this *^ Central Group'' began, that we have no reason to be THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 173 discouraged nor in the least ashamed of the results accomplished, thus far. If it had been possible for us to integrate a '^Central Group'' composed only of ideal men and women — those who were all highly educated, fully tried, tested and proven to be men and women of the highest ideals and moral principles; courteous, kind, gentle^ gracious, sympathetic and ever thoughtful of the well-being and happiness of others ; loyal, discreet, free from all vanity, and above all temptations ; above the betrayal of any confi- dence, and ready to guard the SECEETS of the Work with their lives — there is not the least doubt that we should have made a very much stronger and better impression upon the world than we have done. Had we been (all of us) truly ideal and worthy Eepresent- atives of the School and Work, there is not the least doubt that we would have accom- plished much greater constructive results in every way than we have done or possibly could do under existing conditions and cir- cumstances. I do not believe there is one among us, however, who believes himself or herself to be wholly and entirely ^^ worthy and well qualified'^ to stand before the world as an Accredited Representative of the School, and 174 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. in his or her daily LIFE AND CONDUCT ex- emplify the ^^ Spirit of the Work'' without shade or shadow of failure. And yet, that is exactly what we ought to be, everyone of us ; and we all know it. We know it because we have been studying the subject, as Students of the School, — some of us for fifteen years, and others from that to more than thirty years ; and all that time we have been trying to live to Life with such un- erring fidelity as to earn the right to stand where we do to-day. But the further we go the more indelibly are we impressed with these fundamental and vital FACTS, namely: 1. — The Principles of the Great School rep- resent Perfection, They stand for the very highest there is. 2. — Their complete exemplification in their application to human life, relationships and conduct, calls for men and women who have attained to Perfection, This means ideal men and women only. Anything less than the ideal and the perfect must necessarily fail to exemplify the real ^^ Spirit of the Work'\ 3. — Not one of us who make up this Cen- tral Group, and who stand today as the Ac- credited Eepresentatives of the School and Work in America, has attained to the status THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 175 of Perfection^ in any sense. Not one of us has climbed to the altitude of an ideal. In making these simple statements of fact, I am not passing upon the question as to whether it is possible for men and women ever, in this earthly life and experience, to reach the status of Perfection in their indi- vidual unf oldment and evolutionary growth. I am only trying to make clear the fact that the Principles of the School stand for Per- fection y and that we who stand before the world to-day as the Accredited Representa- tives of the School and the exemplars of its principles, have not yet attained to the status of Perfection in our individual evolutionary unfoldment, thus leaving a most vitally im- portant * ' hiatus ' ' between the * * what is ' ' and the **what ought to be''. 4. — It follows, as naturally as the night the day, that we who stand today as the Accred- ited Eepresentatives of the Great School in this country, do not fully and truly exemplify the Spirit of the Work in our daily Life and Conduct. Moreover, until we have attained to the status of Perfection (if that be possible), we will continue to MIS-represent the School and the Work and the Cause and this Movement, in just so far as we fail to exemplify the real 176 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Spirit of the Work, — which is Perfection; and which means absolute and perfect Harmon^/ in all onr relations with each other, as well as with other Students and Friends of the Work, and the rest of humanity in general. 5. — Under existing conditions, the Students and Friends of the Work in all sections of the country, outside the city of Chicago, are coming to, or passing through the city, and in so doing they seek to meet and become per- sonally acquainted with those of us at the Center. It is but natural that they should want to meet and know those who stand as the Ac- credited Representatives of the School. And it is only right that we should give them the opportunity to do so, in just so far as we can without injustice to the Cause, and without neglecting the duties and responsibilities that rest upon us as such Representatives. 6. — But herein is one of the inevitable and fatal misfortunes we have to face, and (up to this time) there seems to be no way by which we are able to avoid the misfortune, or guard the School and the Work against its destruc- tive results. Some alleged '^Wise Man" is supposed to have said something like this: **To under- stand the cause of a difficulty is the first and THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 177 most important step toward its removal' \ That sounds good, in any event, and if it should indeed be true, then what I am going to say ought to be of some help to us in deal- ing with the problem under consideration. It is this: (a). The visiting Students and Friends from out of the city know that the School stands for Perfection in human rela- tionships, and in the individual Life of its Students, (b). They know that they them- selves do not exemplify Perfection in their own lives, nor in their relationships with other Students and Friends of the Work, nor with the world outside, (c). But regardless of these facts, they come to the Center of the Work with their minds and Souls fixed upon finding Perfection, and nothing less, here among us. They do not stop to reason upon the mat- ter at all, for if they did they would, at a glance, see what we at the Center see without the least effort, namely, that they are utterly inconsistent in expecting to find in n^ what they know is not in themselves — nor, in fact, in human nature, so far as we know — namely, PERFECTION. This inconsistency would not mean so much if it merely stopped there. But it does not. When they find that we are all human beings, 178 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. men and women, who, like themselves, are still far from Perfection, bnt striving dili- gently to improve ourselves and more fully to exemplify the exalted standard for which the School and the Work stand, — they are disap- pointed. This would not be so bad either, if it stopped there; but it doesn't. For, instead of learning the lesson, and making the applica- tion to themselves, they go away and talk, talk, TALK, and the more they talk the further they get away from the facts, and the less they exemplify the Spirit of the Work, the spirit of simple kindness, sympathy and ap- preciation of all that we have really accom- plished. If we, here at the Center, held our visiting Students and Friends as unmercifully to ac- count for their failures, as they do us, their ears would tingle with the spirit of cruel criti- cism, long after they have come and gone; and they would realize that we were not their Friends, in any sense of the term — just as we realize that thei/ are not ours, in the sense which the Great Friends employ the term ''Friend'\ This does not apply to all those who visit us from a distance, or who come to share with us the Duties, Eesponsibilities, Trials and La- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 179 bors of the School and the Work here at the Center ; for there are some among them who are able to measure the situation in the light of Reason based upon Personal Experience ; some whose Souls are quick to see and to un- derstand the limitations of human nature, and ready to sympathize with every honest and earnest effort to LIVE THE LIFE and Ex- emplify the Spirit of the Work, To these our hats are off, and the tears of grateful appre- ciation are in our eyes, as we try hard to make them feel our thanks, — for we are all human, with human limitations. It has often occurred, during the last few years, that Students at a distance from the Center have expressed the most earnest de- sire to come to us here at the Center and de- vote all their lives and energies to the active Work. They have asked that we make places for them, where they can give their lives in such manner as to accomplish the best results to the Cause. In a number of instances these Friends were holding good business positions and were receiving excellent salaries ; and yet, im- pelled by their earnest desire to serve the Great Cause, they have offered to forfeit their business advantages, resign their positions, and come to the Center, regardless of busi- 180 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ness advantages, and give their lives to the Work as my Helpers, for just enough to cover their actual necessities. In all such instances my heart has been deeply touched by the spirit of consecration and self-denial indicated, and it has given me profound satisfaction to express my appre- ciation, and convey the thanks of those to whom I annually render a report of my own Work and efforts. In all such instances I have carefully ex- plained that it is not the wish of the Great Friends that any Student shall sacrifice his or her material interests for the sake of the School and the Work. It is the purpose of the School to make the work of Instruction a GIFT to all who receive it ; and that, for this reason, the largest salary I could offer to any- one, from a purely business standpoint, would be much less than the individual was already receiving. I have tried to make it plain that there are always enough (either entirely out of em- ployment or receiving salaries even less than I could offer), to enable me to secure all the help absolutely necessary without the sacri- fice of any good business position, prospect, or income, on the part of any Student of this School. THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. 181 In a number of instances I have refused to accept the proffered service for the sole rea- son that to have done so would have meant a sacrifice financially on the part of the appli- cant. I have said, in such cases : *^ Wait until some time in the future when you may be out of a position and actually in need of what I have to offer to those who become my Help- ers. If that time should ever come, then come to me and renew your offer, and I will make a place for you. But in the meantime I will get along with the services of Students and Friends of the Work who are out of employ- ment, and in actual need of positions , or who have sufficient means to enable them to make a gift of their time, or of some part of iV\ Experience has taught me that the Spirit of Self -Sacrifice is something which cannot be depended upon among men and women of this materialistic age. Self -Appreciation and Self-Interest are so strong in the human breast that, in course of time, they are almost certain to smother the Altruistic Spirit, and cause the individual to regret that he had committed himself to a life of Service for Hu- manity, however great the Cause, The man who comes to the Work most loudly proclaiming his desire to give his LIFE to the Cause, ^* without money and 182 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. without price' \ is almost sure to be the first to speak of the ^* sacrifices" he has made. And if he is reminded of his original altruistic protestations, he is sure to be offended and to go away telling of what he had done for the Cause, and what he might have done for him- self had he followed his own personal inter- ests. Unfortunately, all these dreams of what ** might have been'' are the results of a lively imagination, but are none the less real, and are sure to *^grow with the years". To guard against future mistakes on the part of Students from outside our Central Group, let me, here and now, promulgate as a general Eule of Conduct for future guidance, that however much we may need help and Helpers here at the center, no applicant will be considered unless the salary, or compensa- tion, or income, we can offer him or her is at least equal to that which he or she is already receiving. Among the matters I have been asked to consider and elucidate is one which has been formulated somewhat as follows : ** Visiting Students from other Groups, some of whom have joined our Central Group, have criticised our Central Group on the al- leged ground that we have not been as thoughtful, attentive, considerate and cour- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 183 teous as we should have been toward them, nor given them as much of our time as they felt entitled to for purely social purposes. *' In this criticism again is shown the fact that we are being held to a most rigid ac- countability, and in some respects more so than we deserve. Everyone of us, however, should bear in mind constantly the fact that we must not al- low ourselves to fall into ways that would seem to lack the spirit of true hospitality, kindness, thoughtfulness, sympathy and Friendship to all who come within our gates. To whatever extent we fail in this regard — if, indeed, we do so fail — ^grossly misrepresents the Spirit of the Work ; and we should all of us take the criticism home to ourselves — whether we deserve it or not — and hencefor- ward redouble our efforts to make such criti- cisms wholly impossible. I believe every Stu- dent of this Central Group will accept this ad- monition in the right spirit and will redouble his or her efforts to become a consistent Ex- emplar of all that the School and the Work stand for. And now, in all humility and candor, let me have a word with those of you who have set in motion this criticism against us so fruitful of destructive and harmful results abroad. 184 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. And let me speak to you as your Elder Brother, straight from the heart, in the spirit of Friendship and Brotherly Love, and with but one motive, namely, to serve you and the Cause for which we live and labor. 1. — In every instance the Groups with which you have been associated — away from Chicago — are small Groups, seldom, if ever numbering more than 15 to 20, and generally not more than 8 to 12. This fact, of itself, has made it inevitable that your meetings have brought you into much closer personal touch with each other than would be possible had your Groups been as large as the one here at the Center. And for the same reason your meetings have be- come social gatherings, and have developed the social aspect to a much larger extent than is possible in a Group such as ours here at the center. I have learned from your various Instruc- tors that, in a number of cases, the social as- pect of your Group meetings has dominated to such an extent as to interfere greatly with the study of the work which was the real pur- pose of your meetings. These conditions have been, and are, impos- sible here at the Center, for a number of rea- sons : (a) . — We have been engaged in a most THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 185 difficult and serious WOEK which has been of the most vital importance to the success of the entire movement, (b). — This Work has been laid out with the utmost definiteness and care by those charged with that responsibil- ity, (c). — It has been so enormous and al- most unlimited in its scope that it has de- manded every moment of time at our com- mand, and still we have not been able to com- mand more than half the time needed for that purpose, (d). — When we come together in our Group meetings we meet for WORK, and we all know that fact. Accordingly, we spend only enough time in social intercourse to greet each other, and then turn at once to our tasks. Those of you who have come to us from outside smaller Groups, and who have charged us with lack of consideration, and with social indifference, lack of courtesy, etc., etc., evidently have not known, or have not appreciated the stress of demands upon us, nor the burden of responsibilities that has been upon us. For if you had known these things you would never have dreamed for an instant that our devotion to the WORK had in it any lack of personal consideration for you or for each other. Neither would you have been looking for 186 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. evidences of indifference on our part, quite blind to the fact that you also had a share in the responsibilities of the Work. When you came to us we opened the door and admitted you into our Central Group in good faith. Having done so we have treated you as we have treated each other, without social conventions or formalities. We have assumed that you were as deeply interested in the success of the Cause as we, and that you would take up your share of the WORK with the same enthusiasm and in the same spirit of fellowship and good will which have ever existed among us. We never suspected for an instant that you regarded our Central Group as a Social Cluh, nor that you looked upon our Group meetings as social functions. In other words, we tooh for granted that you would understand the spirit and purpose of our meetings ; and in this we were clearly at fault. We should have explained to you something of the conditions and the difficul- ties with which we have to contend, so that it would have been impossible for you to mis- understand the situation or misconstrue our lack of social conventions. I hope we have learned our error, and that we shall profit by the lesson it should convey to us never to take for granted anything whatsoever with THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 187 those who come to us and ask to be admit- ted as members of our Central Group. It has come to me that we have been held guilty of discourtesy in that, after making you our fellow members and associates, we have not continued to treat you as our Guests, and at each meeting hunt you up and give you some special greeting, such as shake your hand, and spend some time with you in social chat. Here again we were at fault, in that we took for gramted you would enter into the new association with us, free from all thought of or consideration for the social cnventions so common in generally recognized **fashion- able society;'' and feel, as we do, that in thus emancipating ourselves from the bondage of social conventions we have taken a long step in the right direction, and toward the inaugu- ration of simple Honesty, Consistency, Sin- cerity and Truth, among the cardinal virtues of our Social Structure. But we hope that you, too, have come to see that you were likewise at fault in holding us to the conventions of a social Cast (as it were) from which the Great School seeks to free its students, its members and its Friends, even more completely than Abra- 188 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ham Lincoln emancipated onr beloved coun- try from the bondage of Slavery. We of this Central Group are seeking, imder the guidance and wisdom of the Great Friends, to lay the foundation of a new (yet ancient) Social Structure, in strict alignment with the Spirit of the Great Work. The Key- Stone of the Central Arch of this new-old Structure is TRUTH ; and its Comer-Stones, Cross-Beams and Columns are Friendship, Morality, Brotherly-Love, Faith, Hope and Charity, Honesty, Sincerity and Consistency; and we want you whom we have admitted to our Membership and likewise our Confidence and our Fellowship, to join with us whole- heartedly in working out the *' Designs upon the Trestlehoard'\ To do this, you must put away from you every vestige of that ^* Sensitiveness^^ which impels you to wait for us to make all the ad- vances. You must remember henceforth that you are not our Guests, but our Fellow Stu- dents and Companions in the Work, our Com- rades and Fellow Travelers on the Life-Jour- ney along the great South- Way to the Land of Liberty and Light. And on our part, we pledge you our Loyal- ty, our Friendship, our Service and Help; and if at any time you have cause to feel THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 189 that we have failed in any of these, come straight to US and tell us frankly wherein you are disappointed. Do not go to others. Do not discuss the matter with anyone else whomsoever. And above all, do not draw un- kind or uncharitable conclusions. Wait — until you have given US a frank statement of your grievance if such it be — and see how we meet you. Give US the opportunity to make amends — ^if you feel that we are at fault. But do not condemn us to others in advance. Do not condemn us to others at all. For that is Disloyalty, One of the easiest things in the world is to find fault with others. One of the most difficult is to admit our own faults. It is true that Students who come to the Center from other points, have a perfect right to expect some things from us who are charged with the responsibilities of Accred- ited Students and Eepresentatives of the Great School, here at the Center. It is of the utmost importance to them and to us, as well as to the School and the Work, for them to know just what they have a right to expect of us, and for us to know exactly what we have a right to expect of them. 1. — They have a perfect right to expect of us that we will receive them kindly and cor- 190 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. dially, and extend to them such courteous con- sideration as our duties, obligations and gen- eral conditions of life will permit. 2. — They have a right to expect that they will find us all busy with many burdens of life, among which are those of providing for the material care of ourselves and those de- pendent upon us ; and after these as many of the burdens of the School and its Work as we are able to carry. 3. — They have a right to expect to find us working together like a band of Brothers, in absolute harmony, in the spirit of deep and abiding Friendship, free from all internal strife, criticism, bickerings, fault-finding and unkindness — doing all in our power to sup- plement each other in carrying forward the Work and the Cause, without selfish ambi- tions or desire for Leadership, free from all desire for public notice, and ever ready to sink our own personalities in the good of the Cause. 4. — They have a right to expect us to listen with sympathetic interest and generous con- sideration to any suggestions they may de- sire to give us for the good of the Work, and in the interests of the Cause. And if they have personal problems they desire to sub- mit to us, or personal sorrows and trials they THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 191 wish to confide to us, they have a right to ex- pect that we will give them our sympathetic and kindly attention and such help as we can in justice to the duties and obligations al- ready resting upon us. 5. — They have a right to expect to find that we are all of us mere human being Sj in the midst of a ^^ seemingly hostile environment*', with human frailties, weaknesses, trials and limitations ; but that we are doing the best we can to meet the demands upon us in the spirit of Cheerfulness and good will toward all men, and to discharge the heavy burden of our Per- sonal Eesponsibilities in the real Spirit of the Work. There may be other things they have a right to expect of us, but I think most of them will fall within the limits of these I have men- tioned. And now let me see if I can define some of the things which they do not have a right to expect of us or demand of us. 1. — They have no right to expect to find that we have evolved to a plane far above that of the human, until we have attained to the society of the gods. 2. — They have no right to expect that we have out-grown human limitations, nor hu- man weaknesses, frailties, trials and tempta- tions. 192 THE gPIElT OF THE WORK. 3. — They have no right to expect to find us Perfect in any respect. 4. — They have no right to measure us by any other standard than that by which they measure themselves, 5. — They have no right to expect that we can drop our Work entirely and devote our- selves to them and their comfort and enter- tainment, any more than we would have a right to expect the same of them in case our positions were reversed. 6. — Those who have come to stay and make their homes here within the jurisdiction of the Central Group have no right to expect that we will continue to treat them as guests, after we have once given them a cordial wel- come, and ** taken them in". Thenceforth they must regard themselves as ^' of us^\ and must hold themselves bound by every duty and responsibility to which they previously held us accountable, and they must remember thereafter that it is unfair, unjust, unkind of them to stand back upon conventionalities of so-called ^'Society*' and expect us to make all the advances, do all the * traveling" and extend all the courtesies and exemplify all the kindness. I speak of this with great definiteness, be- cause herein is where some of those who have THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 193 come to us from other centers have clearly been at fault in their attitude, have been un- just to themselves, to us, to the School and to all that we are endeavoring to exemplify. I do not speak of this in the spirit of ^^criti- cism/' but merely as one of the unfortunate facts with which we have had to deal — one that has caused us all much embarrassment and disappointment. It has been a severe disappointment to those of us of the Central Group to open our hearts to these incoming Friends, accept them into our Group and share with them the joys and the privileges of the WOEK only to find that they decline to share the EESPONSIBILITIES with us as well as the privileges and benefits. But I am convinced that this has been due to misunderstanding of their real position, rather than to any deliberate intention to shirk their responsibilities. Once they realize that they are indeed accepted by us as our fellow Students and co-workers, I am sure they will not shirk their duties and respon- sibilities, nor disappoint us by standing back upon their conventional ''dignity" and ex- pecting us to do all the ''walking,'' all the "handshaking," and, in fact, all the exem- plifying of the Spirit of the Worh, 7. Those Students and Friends of the 194 THE SPIHIT OF THE WORK. Work from other centers who come to Chi- cago on business, or for pleasure, or for the purpose of taking treatments from our learned Chicago physicians, are another class entirely from those to whom I have been referring. But these ^transients'' also (some of them at least) have undoubtedly come laboring under a good many misapprehensions as to what they would find on their arrival. Judg- ing from some of the ** criticisms" that have drifted back to me from these dear Friends, they have expected to find a delegation of Students and Representatives of the Great School at the depot waiting to receive them and conduct them to some central place of meeting where they would be given the free- dom of the School with all ** modern con- veniences," so long as they might elect to remain with us. They have seemed to expect to find a Group of Students who had nothing to do but entertain visiting Friends of the Work, with unlimited means to expend in their be- half. On the contrary, they have found us all so busy with the Burdens of material cares, and the discharge of our responsibili- ties to the School and the Work, that we have been utterly unable to do more than assure THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 195 them of our friendship and good will, and open the way for them to call and become acquainted with such of our Central Group as were accessible. We beg of them, in future, to remember that this entire Work is a GIFT, and that it does not furnish us at the Center anything whatsoever in the nature of a material in- come. On the contrary, it only furnishes each and every one of us an opportunity to WORK, and to devote every moment of time at our command to some share in the Great Work of Education in which the School is engaged. From the foregoing it will be seen at once that those who have expected us to devote ourselves to their entertainment, or even to the observation of the ordinary ** Social Con- ventions" of ** calling'' upon them at their Sanitarium retreats and other stopping places, have been expecting more than they had any just right to expect of people who are engaged in a Work of such tremendous scope and unlimited labor and responsibili- ties as this which devolves upon us here at the Center. Something of the seriousness of the situa- tion with us here at the Center will be ap- parent to our visiting Students and Friends 196 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. when they learn that, at this moment, the *^ waiting list*' of applicants from a distance who have asked definitely and in writing for the privilege of calling npon me personally, numbers over 500. Some of these have already been waiting more than a year, and a few of them believe they have matters of grave interest and im- portance to the Cause which they want to communicate to me, for the good of the Work; and they feel that they are entitled to the **half-an-hour'' or the * Hwo-or-three hours, ' ' for which they ask. God knoweth that it would give me the most intense pleasure and gratification to meet each and every one of these beloved Friends, and give them all the time and con- sideration for which they ask — ^if such were only possible. But it is NOT POSSIBLE. Let us suppose, for illustration, that I should open the door wide and say to these dear, good Friends — *^Come in — and each of you spend an hour with me.'' That would mean 500 hours of my time, just to overtake the outstanding demands. At 10 hours per day, this would require just 50 days of my time, without anything else whatever to do. But it is safe to assume that by the time I had overtaken these 500 engagements, there THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 197 would be that many more waiting for me at the end of the 50 days. This means that, working 10 honrs per day, with nothing else whatever to do, it would be impossible for me to meet the demands upon me for these *^ little visits*' — each one of which would take but a **few minutes'* of my time. And past experience has demonstrated that the average caller who comes to take but a ^^few minutes'* of my time does not get away under two hours. This has been the average experience. Moreover, experience has likewise proven that at least 19 out of every 20 of these good Friends have nothing whatever of importance in mind, and that their mission is simply and solely to satisfy curiosity concerning this mysterious individual who conceals himself behind so meaningless a nom de plume as that of *^TK," or ^^The TK." When they have met me, shaken hands with me, exchanged greetings and looked into my eyes and proven to their satisfaction that I am a living reality ^ and that the volumes of the Harmonic Series did not just ^' grow/' but were actually written by Florence Hunt- ley and her Unknown Instructor — they can then go away and tell others that they ^^know the TKr 198 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Past experience also shows that there are many Friends of the Work scattered all over the country who find it possible to say that they have not only met the TK personally, but that they ''know him WELL.'' And all this upon the basis of a single call, and a so- cial chat of an hour or two. In view of the real and vitally important demands of the School and the Work upon my time, thought, consideration and personal efforts, and the further fact that I am the sole Accredited Eepresentative of the Great School in this country, it seems to me that I am conserving the best interests of the Cause, and of all parties concerned, when I say with perfect frankness that the larger interests of the School, the Work and this particular Movement, demand of me that I forego the pleasure of these personal visits — save and except the individual has some- thing of vital importance to the Cause which cannot he communicated to me safely hy let- ter, nor in any manner other than through the personal meeting. And this, dear Friends, is in truth the po- sition I have taken in the matter, and I do sincerely hope and pray that it will commend me to your confidence and win for me your deep and abiding sympathy and good will. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 199 For, believe me when I assure you that it calls for a stern self-denial on my own part to forego the deep personal joy and gratifi- cation I always receive from coming into a personal acquaintance with those who are sympathetically interested in the Great School and its Work in America. And in speaking for myself upon this sub- ject I am virtually speaking for each and all of the members of our Central Group; for I know something of the conditions of their lives and I know that they, too, are driven to the same stern self-denial, by the demands of the Work upon their time and energies. If, after the foregoing explanation, any apologies are due from the Central Group to the visiting Students and Friends of the Work from distant points, who find them- selves in Chicago with the desire to meet and become acquainted with us, then let me offer an apology that will cover the past, the pres- ent and the future, and apply to all who come to the Center from all points of the compass. It is this : We are Human, as yet, with many of the limitations of Human Nature. For your sakes, as well as ours, we would love to be PERFECT, and we are striving toward that end with all the intelligence and the abilities 200 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. we possess. It may be that some day we shall be able to exemplify the Spirit of the Work so much better than we can to-day that you will think us near enough Perfection to command your confidence and your frater- nal Friendship. The Great Father knows that we do not want to disappoint you, and that insofar as we have done so we disappoint ourselves even more deeply than you. But if we fail in future, we beg of you to come to us in the Spirit of the Work, and give US the first opportunity to prove to you that whatever may be the error on our own part, it is an error of the head and not of the heart. I want to say, in closing this article, that the developments of the last few weeks, in the inmost Circle of our Central Group, have given me greater joy and deeper gratification and more profound consolation than I have experienced in years. Those of you, my blessed and beloved Friends and Helpers to whom this paragraph is addressed, will know to what I have reference ; and I am sure that you will echo back to me the voice of your own profound Sympathy, Gratitude and Love, and that henceforth we shall walk to- gether in the midst of the Eadiance and the THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 201 Splendor of a far more perfect Companion- ship that shall abide henceforth and forever. I believe I am strictly within the lines of Truth, and I know that I have the approval of the Great Friends, when I say that never before, in our history as a Group, has the Spirit of Brotherly Love and Harmony ex- isted more fully and unreservedly than it does today. Nor has there ever been a time when the constructive influence of Truth and of Right- eousness has radiated from this Vital Cen- ter so powerfully as today. It is equally true, however, that the Enemy was never more watchful nor active than it is today; and for this reason the Great Friends send herewith to every accredited Student and Friend of the Work everywhere their affectionate greeting, and their earnest admonition ever to be on guard and make your lives a more perfect exemplification of DISCRETION, SECRECY and LOYALTY TO THE CAUSE. So mote it be! THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 203 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 7 Let me see if I can make clear, in a few sentences, the purpose of these special ar- ticles on '^The Spirit of the Work,'' It is, I admit, a seemingly unnecessary suggestion, inasmuch as the articles themselves should be *^the best evidence,'' as we say in law. But as the Editor-in-Chief of Life and Action I am in position to receive a good many generous and kindly suggestions from the readers of the little magazine, all of which are valuable side-lights upon the work that is being ac- complished; and now and then comes a def- inite question that seems to command right- ful consideration. One of these pertinent questions which floated into my Sanctum Sanctorum the other morning is responsible for my desire to make a very brief statement just here and now, concerning the purpose of these articles. The books of the Harmonic Series were intended as text-books of Natural Science, 204 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. and they contain as careful and definite a statement of the general principles of Na- tural Science and the Harmonic Philosophy as their authors were able to formulate into English. The general principles themselves, therefore, may be obtained from the hooks, by those who have the intelligence, courage and perseverance to make a study of the text. But every general principle, to be of value to the individual, must be applied by him to the specific details, incidents and experiences of his own life. And it is in this effort of the Students and the Friends of the Work to make the personal application of the general principles that a certain amount of confusion seems to have arisen, at rare intervals, among the '^Workmen of the Temple/' My one definite and specific purpose, there- fore, is to take the several experiences of the various Students and Friends who have come to me for help, and show them by a series of practical illustrations when, where and how to make the personal application of the general principles to themselves and their own experiences. For Illustration : Among its Students and Friends, in their relations as such, the School defines the general principle of LOYALTY j^. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 205 as — '^The active, continuous and unwaver- ing purpose, intent and effort of the indi- vidual so to discharge his Personal Respon- sibility as, (1) — To exemplify his unqualified allegiance to the cause he has espoused; (2) — To demonstrate his sympathetic consider- ation for OMd confidence in his associates therein; (3) — To command his own self-re- spect/' Now the terms of this definition are def- inite, certain and clear, to every individual who is sufficiently versed in the English lan- guage to understand the meaning of the words employed. I do not believe there could very well be any uncertainty in the mind of any accredited Student of this School as to exactly what is intended. But the experiences of individual life are so varied, so numerous, so complicated and so vitally important that it is often exceed- ingly difficult to know, with absolute cer- tainty, when the individual has fulfilled all the conditions of LOYALTY in practice. In a given incident of his life he may be able to feel absolutely certain that he has fulfilled condition (1), and possibly also (3), and yet, deep down in the secret chambers of his inmost Soul, he may be uncertain as to his complete fulfillment of (2). 206 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. My purpose, therefore, is to make these articles elucidate as many applications of the general principles as may be possible, to the various experiences of the Students and Friends from whom I have received them. I am aware of the fact that the problem of LOYALTY is one that has caused much anxiety and some uncertainty among certain of the Students and Members of this Central Group. From this known fact, it would seem fair to assume that there may be some out- side the Central Group who would be equally benefited by a critical study of the subject from the viewpoint of their own personal ex- periences. The same might also be said with reference to almost every definitely formulated general principle of the Harmonic Philosophy. Among those which seem to have been most difficult to exemplify with certainty among the Students and Friends of the Work are Secrecy ajid Discretion. So vitally important to the welfare of the Cause and the well-being of the Students are the knowledge and exemplification of these principles in a definite and specific sense with THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 207 each and every one of us, that I want to leave nothing unsaid in this article that is neces- sary to enable every Student and Friend of the Work, and every reader of Life and Ac- tion to know with certainty exactly what is expected of him and what responsibilities rest upon every Student and Eepresentative of the School and Work. As an introduction of the specific subject, let me remind my readers once more, that we (and this means every Student and Friend of the Work, as well as every one who is in sympathy with the general principles and purposes back of this entire movement) are in the very midst of the wisest, cleverest, best organized and equipped, most powerful and (I regret to say it) the most unscrupulous Enemy on earth. Not one of us, who has become in any sense openly identified or connected with the Great School and Work in America, but has been identified and is under constant espionage. Our every movement is known, for what pur- poses the readers of this article will doubt- less understand without further suggestion or explanation from me. No doubt there are a good many who will doubt the accuracy of these statements. I do not blame them, for they have not been in 208 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. position to get the facts first hand, as I have done, and am doing every day. But the day will come, as surely as the sun will rise to- morrow, when you who doubt to-day will un- derstand and regret your skepticism, just as I have done. The central purpose of this espionage is to obtain all the information possible as to the plans and purposes of those who are responsible for any part in the Extension Work of this Educational Movement; and with this information to take such action as will nullify the work we are doing, and divert our workers into other channels, thus scat- tering their energies and efforts and render- ing them ineffectual, as far as possible. One illustration will suffice : — Through the almost criminal indiscretion of one of our trusted Students and Friends, a man who was in no sense whatever identified or connected with this School or Work, was admitted to one of the Group Meetings of Students in one of our strongest and best Groups. This man was introduced to the Students present, as one who had read the books and was deeply interested in the work. Although he was known to be an entire outsider, yet he was taken into confidence almost as fully THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 209 as if he had been a full member of the Group and in good standing as such. What were the results? Listen: Before our Students were aware of what he was do- ing, this alleged ** Interested Friend of the Work/' had gone from member to member of the Group, and started a series of false- hoods into circulation which introduced dis- sension, bitterness, hostility and inharmony into the Group and utterly destroyed its use- fulness and constructive value. This resulted in a complete disintegration of one of our strongest Groups. This same individual, through the knowl- edge gained with this Group, succeeded in gaining admittance to a meeting of the mem- bers of another strong Group. The results were the same. Group number two was en- tirely disintegrated and destroyed inside of six weeks' time. Naturally, these disastrous results led to a careful investigation. It was found that this alleged ** Interested Friend" was one of our most fanatical ** Hereditary Enemies," and had undertaken deliberately and intentionally to do exactly the thing he did do, namely, disintegrate and destroy as many of our ac- tive working Groups as possible. He was making remarkable progress in his 210 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. work of destruction, and but for the help of some of the real Friends of the Work who joined me in immasking him, he might have gone on indefinitely with his work of disin- tegration, thus nullifying all our efforts. I hope and pray, with all my heart and Soul, that the real Students and Friends of the School and Work will accept this as a special and direct message to themy and that they will get from the unfortunate experi- ences just narrated, among others, the fol- lowing lessons : 1. To make every Group Meeting, or other Meeting of Students, as strictly and pro- foundly SECRET as you would if you were Masons in closed Lodge assembled, for the consideration of matters involving the Life or Death of the Order, 2. Never to admit to any Meeting of Stu- dents, under any circumstances, anyone you do not already hnow, or can absolutely prove, to be an Accredited Student of the School in good standing. 3. Never to betray to anyone (outside) any information whatsoever that will enable him to learn who are Students, or who are Friends of the Work. 4. Never to discuss with anybody whom- soever (until you have absolutely proven ^. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 211 him or her to be an Accredited Student in good standing) any subject whatever relating to the School, or the Work, or anyone iden- tified with either, except just such matters and such only as are contained in the text- books of the Harmonic Series, or the other published literature of the School which is accessible to the general public. 5. Never to discuss with anyone whomso- ever (and this includes your fellow Students) matters of a personal nature concerning my- self, or my studentship in the School, or my Work as such, or the unusual psychic expe- riences of my life in these relations, or mat- ters of a personal nature concerning any other Student or Friend of the Work. PROVIDED, however, if it should ever occur that you knew information concerning any of these matters was being used in such manner as to injure either the individual or the Work, it would be within the limits of your right, and even your duty, to come to me personally and consult with me, as your FRIEND and as a FRIEND OF THE WORK, for the purpose of determining the best means and methods of preventing in- jury and protecting the interests of the School and those connected therewith. But unless there is something vitally im- 212 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. portant to the welfare of the Cause involved, any discnssion of the personal lives and af- fairs of the individual Students and Friends of the Work, only serves to divert attention from the Work itself, and from the things of real importance which the School — and we as its active workers — are trying to accom- plish. It is a constructive Eule of Conduct which we all should observe, never to discuss, nor otherwise meddle with, anything that con- cerns the personality, the personal life, or the personal affairs of anyone connected with the School and the Work — except in just so far as the matter may concern the success and well-being of the individual or the School and the Work we are endeavoring to accomplish — and even then we should go direct to the individual himself and say to him or her all that we have to say, and then leave it for the individual to determine his or her own course of action after we have discharged our own duty to him, or her, and the Cause. It seems to be a characteristic of human na- ture to want to *^ gossip" about matters and things which do not concern those who do the ** gossiping.'' This is most unfortunate, and most unlovely. It is so recognized and admitted by virtually everybody — and yet, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 213 the practice is so general and so almost uni- versal as to invoke a plea of ** guilty'' from perhaps nine out of every ten *^ grown-up'' men and women, taken at random. I have had some recent evidences which would seem to indicate that the transform- ing powers and influence of this wonderful educational training of the Great School and Work are not yet sufficient to cleanse ALL our Students from the impurities, the stains and the nastiness of ^ ^gossiping." I am not quite sure about this, because the evidence is not absolutely conclusive ; but it is sufficiently strong, I am sure, to warrant me in mentioning the matter in this connec- tion, and in emphasizing the vital necessity of every Student taking the matter home to himself or herself and making a careful and searching self-investigation, to determine how far, if at all, the individual is yet want- ing the ** clean hands and pure heart" of a true and loyal Student and Helper. Among the Students who are separated by long distances and are thus forced to de- pend upon the personal correspondence to keep in touch with each other, it seems na- tural, and in general it would seem to be ad- missible, to discuss with more or less free- dom their own personal status in the Work. 214 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. But, when it is remembered that every such letter is liable to be intercepted in transit, opened and read by your bitterest and most implacable enemy in search of information with which to attack you from under cover — the matter assumes a very different aspect. And it is in exactly this connection that we confront a real danger. And if every Student and Friend of this School and Work were in possession of the evidences upon which these cautions and admonitions are based, it would not be necessary for me to go further in my efforts to protect the School, the Work, the Cause and the individual Stu- dents from the dangers that surround us and threaten us on every hand. For they would understand and appreciate the dangers them- selves, and over and above these they would recognize the Duties and Responsibilities that devolve upon each and every Student, and take such measures as would effectually guard this Movement against the disintegrat- ing influences that are being centered upon it constantly. One of the reasons that seems to have stood in the way of the equality of women in the Work of the Great School throughout the past is their seeming inability (or unwill- ingness) to keep its Secrets, respect its vital .j^. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 215 and sacred Confidences, and exercise the quality of Discretion necessary for the pro- tection of the Work and those responsible for its success. Please note that I have said *4nability (or unwillingness)/' I am not willing to con- cede the ^'inability'' of women in these vi- tally essential qualities and qualifications. I am rather inclined to the conviction that their failure heretofore in these vital and essential qualities of character and qualifi- cations of an accredited Student and Repre- sentative have been due to their unwilling' ness, rather than to their inherent inability, to keep a Secret or respect a Confidence. Then again, Fear of secret, mysterious or unknown dangers, is not a prominent ingre- dient in the character of the average Amer- ican citizen. It is almost impossible to im- press either men or women, out here in this free and independent western country, with the idea that there is any real cause for the care and caution exercised by the Great School concerning who are its Students and Eepresentatives, and what it is endeavoring to accomplish, as well as what are its plans and methods of procedure. And it requires just such experiences as those I have narrated to bring home to us 216 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. the fact that we have been and are all too careless, too unconcerned, too thoughtless, too skeptical, too indiscreet, too open-and- above-board, too insensible to the demands of Personal Responsibility, and altogether too much inclined to consider lightly and treat as unimportant many of the things that are of the most vital importance to the success of the Great Cause and the very life of this present Movement. And in all this it has not been our women Students alone who have proven their lack of understanding, their want of discretion, their unwillingness to guard the Secrets and the vital confidences reposed in them by the Great Friends, and their lack of watchful- ness of the Enemy that is using every en- deavor to counteract the influence of this Movement and disintegrate its centers of strength and activity. On the contrary, some of the most sense- less indiscretions and betrayals of confidence have been committeed by some of our men Students whose intelligence and loyalty have never before been questioned in any respect whatsoever, so far as I am able to ascertain. Furthermore, among these are some of my Brother Masons who knew the meaning of their Masonic Obligations and who have M THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. 217 proven themselves loyal, discreet, thought- ful and entirely trustworthy. They have proven their understanding and appreciation of the meaning of Secrecy and of its essen- tial and vital nature in all that pertains to the Order and to the Cause for which it stands. This fact, almost more than any other, has given me food for much thought and study. I find myself unable up to this time, to an- alyze, elucidate and account for this appa- rent discrepancy in the lives and characters of these my fellow Students and Helpers in a Cause of such importance to the well-being and happiness of the generations, present and future, for whom we labor. Can it be possible that they discount the wisdom of the Great Friends — only in this one matter? Or can it be that I have failed in my own part, in that I have not given sufficient attention to these matters of DIS- CEETION and SECEECY? Have I failed to elucidate them sufficiently, and point out their vital importance to this entire Move- ment? Have I failed to emphasize the impor- tance of their exemplification in the life and action of each and every individual Student and Friend of the Work? Surely, it would seem that responsibility 218 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. for our humiliating failure must rest some- where. I ask myself how it is possible for one of our strong, intelligent, earnest, and I believe loyal Students and Helpers to say that ^^ Secrecy is no part of the instruction of the Great School"! And yet, it would seem that such statements, or their equiv- alent, have been made in open Group Meet- ing. If this good Brother, and others who have had the same idea, have not received in- struction on this vital subject, then indeed has someone failed of his duty. I shall not try to locate the individual, for it may be my- self, although I am not now aware that I have ever failed in this particular respect. But in any event, I do not want it to be pos- sible for any Student or Friend of the Work (after the publication of this article) to say, in good faith, that he or she has never been instructed concerning the matter of SE- CRECY and DISCRETION, in their appli- cation to the School, the Work, the Cause, and this particular Movement, as well as to each and every Student, Friend and Helper identified therewith. To that end let me form- ulate a few definite statements which are intended to apply to each and every Student and Friend of the Work, whoever and wher- ever he or she may be : — THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 219 1. SECRECY alone will enable us to cope with the most powerful, the best organ- ized and the most unscrupulous enemy on earth. If we fail at this point this entire Movement will go down with us, and we shall indeed find ourselves *^ buried in the rubbish of the Temple.'^ 2. In order to be on the safe side, it is wise for every Student to assume that the rule of Secrecy applies to all matters, save and except such information as may be found in the Text-Books of the School (The Volumes of the Harmonic Series), in the bound and unbound issue of this magazine {Life and Action), and in such other author- ized publications of the Indo-American Booh Co. as may hereafter be given to the world. 3. Secrecy with reference to the Member- ship of Local Groups of Students is of the most vital importance. That is to say, wher- ever a Local Group of Students exists (as, for instance, in N. Y. City, Chicago, Pitts- burg, Cincinnati, Joplin, Minneapolis, and many other smaller cities and towns through- out the entire country), each and every Stu- dent of every such Group is specifically charged with the responsibility of guarding the names of the Students and Friends of the Work from falling into the hands, or com- 220 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ing to the knowledge of anybody and every- body outside the Group itself. There are some difficulties in this phase of Secrecy in our Work, but they can and will be overcome, if each and every Student will do his or her part. For instance — it is necessary for every new applicant for stu- dentship to come into personal acquaintance with at least one ** Accredited Eepresenta- tive ' ' of the School ; and wherever there is a Local Group it is necessary for each appli- cant in its jurisdiction to receive the unani- mous vote of the Local Group before I can open the door and admit the applicant to stu- dentship. In all such cases it is my Ride to ask the applicant to call upon such an individual (giving name and address of just one indi- vidual). I make clear to the applicant that I am sending him a ^^ Friend of the Wotk'^ (not necessarily a Student at all). And through this individual he or she will very likely meet other ''Friends'' (not '' Stu- dents '0 ; and in due time his or her qualifi- cations will be determined, at which time I will advise the applicant as to the results. This is as near as any applicant ever comes to knowing (through me) anything THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 221 whatsoever as to who may be interested in the School or the Work. Following this line of suggestion, it is im- portant that each and every one of you shall be known as ^^ Friends of the Work^* to all save those who constitute your local Group and are known by you to be active Members and Students in good standing. 4. Under no circumstances are you ever to admit to any meeting of Students anyone who is not a Student. In other words, you must guard your door against everybody ex- cept those you know to be Students in good standing. And in this you are to hold your- selves bound by an Obligation as sacred as the Obligation of every Brother Mason with reference to *' Cowans and Eavesdroppers/' 5. If you are asked the direct question by anyone who is not a Student — **Are you a Student of the Great School!'' — let your answer be: **I have been reading and stu- dying the books and other literature of the School, and feel that I am a Friend of the Work/' Ordinarily, that will close the inquiry; but if it fails, then simply make it clear, in your own discreet and diplomatic way, that you do not wish to discuss the subject further. Ev- eryone who has the intelligence to become a 222 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Student should also have sufficient intelli- gence to stop all impertinent inquiries, and protect the School against the curious, or the designing enemies of the School and Work. 6. One of the most likely ^^ leakages'' is through carelessness on the part of Students and Instructors concerning the papers and documents of the School in their hands, and also the correspondence between the Students and their Instructors, and that also between my Instructors and Helpers in the field and myself. In this specific matter I want to empha- size the absolute necessity of each Student or Instructor providing himself or herself a strong Lock Box in which to keep all doc- uments and correspondence, and be sure that they are kept locked therein so that it will not be possible for anyone but yourself to see or obtain access to them. Securely pasted on the outside of this Lock Box should be a carefully worded NOTICE that in the event of the death of its owner, the Box shall be shipped, UNOPENED, to the Indo-American Book Co. at its heaquar- ters in Chicago, 111. (At present that ad- dress is 5705 South Blvd. It often occurs that the applicant is mar- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 223 ried, and that his or her companion (hus- band or wife) is not interested in the School at all. These are the most difficult cases to guard against *^ leakages.*' And this is be- cause of the confidence which husbands and wives repose in each other generally. But let me emphasize the fact that, al- though I appreciate and commend the beauty of such a relation between husband and wife, nevertheless, it is the DUTY of every Stu- dent to see that all temptations to betray the School and the Work are removed from the pathway of all with whom they come into personal contact or acquaintance. Do not take for granted anything whatsoever, with anyone whomsoever, that could possibly re- sult in a betrayal of the trust reposed in you by the School and those in charge of its Work. Bear in mind the uncertainties of life at all times, and do not neglect to guard the flrust reposed in you against every possible contingency that might arise through your own sudden and unexpected death. This is of the most vital importance to the School, the Work, yourself and all that you stand for as a Student and Friend of the Work. You have no personal responsibility para- mount to this. Guard it with your Life and 224 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. your Honor, for it is of equal importance therewith. Under the general head of ^^DISCRE- TION'' there are likely to arise an almost unlimited number of conditions, incidents and experiences which call for the exercise of the highest quality of intelligence, wis- dom, tact, diplomacy, caution, thoughtfulness and consideration on your part; and you should be on guard constantly so that you may not be taken unaware or by surprise. It would be very difficult, if not indeed im- possible, for me to anticipate each and all of these, in an article such as this, or even in a series of such articles as I am writing on *^THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK.'' For the sake of the Cause, as well as for your sake and mine, I wish it were possible for me to cover every situation, contingency and problem that can possibly arise wherein it will be necessary for you to exercise your DISCRETION as a Student, Instructor, Friend or Helper in the magnificent Work wherein we are mutually interested and iden- tified, as well as mutually bound by the most sacred ties and obligations ever imposed upon mankind. That is not possible, however, and so I must depend upon YOU and upon your WAKEFUL CONSCIOUSNESS, to make THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 225 definite, specific and personal application of the general principles to the individual ex- periences and problems as they arise during your Journey to the South. You can do it, and you will do it, if you but get fixed in your Consciousness at the out- set the meaning and purpose of the Work and the nature and magnitude of the Responsibil- ities you have voluntarily assumed in becom- ing a Student, and when you get a clear un- derstanding and due appreciation of the meaning of failure on your own part. With these clearly understood in the very beginning it would seem almost impossible that any true and loyal Student ever should go astray, or should ever betray the trust reposed in him by the School and the Great Friends back of it. But it is just here that VOLUBILITY works such sad havoc. It is here that so many of the most intelligent Students fail. They love to talk. They love to talk of the things in which they are most deeply inter- ested. This means the School, the Work, the Students, the Great Friends. It also means those of us who are charged with the re- sponsibilities of directing the Work; and it also means the Enemies against whom we are trying to guard it. 226 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. In fact, the voluble Student is likely to talk of many things concerning which his lips should be forever sealed. This is not be- cause of any deliberate intention to betray the Trust reposed in him, nor because of any real desire to injure the Cause and em- barrass those of us who must carry the bur- den of his indiscretions. It is only because he cannot or iinll not deny himself the pleas- ure of TALKING and of listening to the sound of his own voice. Beware of VOLUBILITY in yourself! Be- ware also of all who are afflicted with it! But if, by chance, you must talk, by all you hold sacred and true see that you avoid any and all subjects that involve the possible be- trayal of any confidence reposed in you by the School, your Instructor, or other Student or Friend of the Work. Under no conditions or circumstances al- low yourself to be drawn into the discussion of personalities, or the personal lives and affairs of your fellow Students and Friends of the Work. Eemember that this is disloyal, dishonest, contemptible, and places you at once upon the level of the petty and mali- cious '^ Gossip/^ than whom there is no more despicable man or woman in all the world. In this connection let me say that it has THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 227 come to me from a nmnber of seemingly re- liable sources, that among the Students and Friends with whom I have come into per- sonal touch and acquaintance, there are two or three who have been exceedingly INDIS- CREET concerning the manner in which they have discussed me personally and my inti- mate personal life and affairs. While my life is an open book to all those who have a right to read its pages ; and to a few of my closest and most intimate Friends in the School and Work I have opened its pages and disclosed a number of the most remarkable incidents and experiences of the past; nevertheless, I have not intended that these experiences should become the subject of general discussion among the Students and Friends — least of all among those who are strangers to the School and Work. The betrayal of some of these personal confidences has caused me the deepest re- gret. In some instances I have suffered deeply, because the result has been in every such instance to divert attention from the real purpose of the School and the Work to myself personally. This is the direct oppo- site of my desires, and has led to many im- pertinent letters asking me all manner of 228 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. questions which I have not felt at liberty to answer to total strangers. Let me, as a result of these betrayals of confidence, and indiscretions, ask it as a per- sonal favor to me, that all those who hold themselves to be my real '^Friends'' refrain, in future, from discussing me at all, or my personal affairs and experiences. I ask this not only for my own sake but for the good of the Cause. In a previous number of this magazine, somewhat over a year ago I believe, I cov- ered this entire subject very fully and care- fully, in an article on the general subject of '^HEROES, HERO-WORSHIP, HERO- WORSHIPERS and HEROES WOR- SHIPED, '' or words to that efeect. I thought then that it would surely never again be nec- essary for me to refer to the subject. It seems, however, that it is impossible to im- press my readers sufficiently to fix in their memories the matters of most vital impor- tance to the School and this Movement. I devoutly wish that every reader of this present article would also hunt up his or her copy of Life and Action containing the ar- ticle above referred to and make a careful study of it again at this time and in this con- nection. It applies to the situation today as THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 229 truly and forcefully as it did when it was written, and it conveys precisely the thoughts and sentiments I desire most to emphasize at this time. And now, a word with those of my fellow Students and Helpers who are meeting the members of our Local Groups, from time to time in the course of their travels: Upon YOU, my beloved Friends, rests a heavy responsibility in connection with this entire subject. Wherever you go you are looked upon by the Students you meet, as those having authority to speak for and rep- resent the School and its Work here at the Center, For this reason every word you utter, con- cerning either the School, the Work, the Stu- dents, this Movement, or myself, is received as a ^^ Message from Headquarters,^' It is regarded as of special importance and is re- membered, discussed, repeated, and often un- intentionally exaggerated by those who pass it along. From this you can see how vitally neces- sary it is for you to be guarded as to every word you utter, to be certain that you say nothing that will divert attention from the central purposes of the Work. Remember J that your mission is to stim- 230 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ulate interest in the School, the Work, this general Movement, and in the LIVING OF fTHE LIFE that will EXEMPLIFY THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. It is to keep me personally, my personal- ity, my personal life, affairs and experiences, as far in the background and as completely under cover as possible, so that I may not divert attention from the School and the, Work and the things for which they stand. It is impossible for me, in a letter such as this, to point out to you in detail every phase of the subject, or suggest every situation and experience you are likely to meet in your travels among the Students and Friends of the Work with whom you will come into per- sonal contact and acquaintance in future. I must, therefore, depend upon your intelli- gence and your general powers of discrim- ination and good judgment, to keep you safely within the lines of DISCRETION and remind you when you are tempted to disre- gard the Trust reposed in you, or betray the SECRETS you are obligated to keep from the world. And this means that you must THINK! THINK! THINK! before you speak. May the spirit of Friendship and Good Will which impels me find a responsive note THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 231 3 in your own Souls and inspire you to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the re- sponsibilities which rest upon you in all you DO and all you SAY in future— AMEN! THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 233 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 5. An entirely new set of personal experi- ences makes up the background of this ar- ticle — No. 8 in its regular order — but they are all experiences of the Students and Friends of the Work, and for this reason I assume that they will command the undi- vided attention and the most respectful con- sideration of every reader of Life and Ac- tion, but more especially those among them who are likewise Students of the Great School, or Friends of the Great Work in America. If there should happen to be those among you whose names I withhold, but who recog- nize yourselves as the specific individuals whose experiences are herein referred to, please bear in mind that you and I are the only ones who know that fact. Nobody else will ever know your identity, in that rela- tion, unless you betray the fact yourself; and I trust you will not do that, unless you are 234 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. entirely willing that this much of your indi- vidual life and personal experiences shall be- come public property. Eest assured that nothing will ever be said by me that could possibly identify you as the individual or individuals herein referred to. I want you to know this fact now, at the out- set, so that you will never be tempted to charge me with bad faith, nor with the be- trayal of any confidence that has ever been reposed in me by you or by any other Stu- dent or Friend of the Work. The definite theme I wish to elucidate in this letter is The Phenomenal- vs. -The Practical. in all that pertains to the psychic experi- ences or observations of those who have been admitted to the ranks of our fellow Students, or those who have assumed the responsibil- ities of Accredited Representatives of the School, or who have become my Helpers in the Work of passing on the knowledge to other Students by means of the Personal In- struction in which we now have a corps of some 300, or more, active ^^ Instructors/^ con- stantly engaged. It may be of interest and value to some of THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 235 you (perhaps all of you) to know that we who are charged with the responsibilities of passing the Work along to those who are able to prove their right and their ability to re- ceive it and their ability and willingness to use it rightly ; are doing all in our power to increase the number of our duly qualified Instructors, until we shall have a sufficient number to give the instruction to ALL who apply for it and can prove their qualifications as Accredited Students, and their right to receive it as such. When we have a working corps of 20,000 active Instructors, each of whom shall be giving the Instruction to as many qualified Students as he or she can properly care for (let us say ten each), we will be doing a Work whose constructive influence will be felt in every village and hamlet within the limits of this glorious country of ours. And let me assure you, if there should be any skeptics among you concerning this phase of the Great Work in America, that the present ratio of increase in our numbers is such that the number above suggested will appear insignificant in a very few years from now. As the Work stands today, we who are actively engaged in the work of Instruction 236 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. constitute a '^Faculty'' of one of the most extensive and powerful Universities, Col- leges, or other Educational Institutions in America. Best of all, the Instruction is a GIFT to each and every individual who receives it, and everyone who receives it is bound by the great Law of Compensation to give it again to as many others as he or she shall be able to instruct, from among those who shall prove that they are duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified, and who shall be assigned to him or her by those whose re- sponsibility it is to distribute Students among the available Instructors in active service. It was in recognition of this wonderful sys- tem that one of the Great Masters, in the most marvelous and magnificent address I have ever heard, closed with the sublime sen- timent which has echoed through the cham- bers of my Soul ever since: *^And thus, hy an endless Chain of Gifts, shall the Great Work he Established/' This inspiring address was delivered in the Great Convocation, four years ago this month (June) ; and since then I have wit- nessed the fulfilment of some of the wise and wonderful prognostications then and therein given to us for our inspiration to greater THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 237 achievements in the years immediately to fol- low. If I could but transmit to you^ my Students and Friends, the same inspiration which has impelled me, from that time to this, you then might understand and appreciate something of the enthusiasm with which it has been pos- sible for me to labor, in my efforts to carry forward the Work entrusted to my guidance and direction, in an ^^ Endless Chain of GIFTS'\ Verily, such an inspiration overrides every obstruction, every barrier, every embarrass- ment and every organized opposition, and stops at nothing short of Victory. And that, my Friends, is the spirit which presides over the destiny of '^The Great Work in America' ' today. That is the in- spiration which should impel you and me, and all our Helpers to march to victory under the banner of Natural Science, in the face of the mighty hosts of Evil, marshaled against us by the spirit of fanaticism under the malign influence of organized Ignorance, Su- perstition and Fear. Here is the definite and specific alignment of the Forces actively engaged in this the most stupendous battle ever waged by hu- man intelligence: Intelligence, Courage, 238 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Love of Liberty, Education, Co-operation, Morality and Service, versus Cunning, Cruelty, Ignorance, Superstition, Fear, Op- pression, Immorality and Selfishness. There is not the least question as to where each and every Student of this School would stand in this contest, if he but knew definite- ly and certainly that such is the real issue, and that the human family is called upon to align itself on one side or the other thereof. The chief difficulty lies in the fact that the majority of mankind to-day are una wakened to the fact that there is a definite issue pend- ing, and that they are called upon to take any part in its settlement. The Great School is doing all in its power to bring the FACTS to the knowledge of men and women everywhere. One of the most vitally important things with each and everyone of us is that we are charged with the responsibility of knowing the Truth and then in serving the interests of humanity in the light of it. And so, if it should be that I am giving you Falsehood in- stead of Truth, it is a part of your responsi- bility to ascertain that fact and then to put me to shame in some way that will confound me and stop my activities, or do what you can to make me see the fallacy of my position and THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 239 align me upon the constructive side of the issue. You will remember that this entire move- ment is intended by the Great School as an appeal to the *^ Progressive Intelligence of the Age,'' Again and again it has been explained that the *^ Great Work in America" is Educa- tional in its method, and that it is intended as an appeal to EEASON" and Conscience at every step of the way. It is just here that I am deeply impressed with the conviction that some of our very brightest and best Students have lost sight of the Method and Purpose of the School, in a measure, and have fallen into ways that strongly appeal to Credulity and Supersti- tion. If I am correct in this, it is right that every one of you should know the truth, and then align yourself with it immediately, and begin at once to counteract or undo the wrong you have done, up to this time. If I am in error, then it is right that I should learn wherein, so that I may co-operate with you henceforth. Evidence. A few days ago the following was narrated to me, by the party concerned, as a personal experience : 240 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. **I was spending an evening with one of the Friends of the Work whom I have under- stood to be a prominent Student in the Cen- tral Group. Naturally, during the evening our conversation drifted to the subject of the School and the Work ; and I felt at liberty to ask for some information concerning the Work at the Center. * * To my very great surprise, with no seem- ing hesitation whatever, this * Student- Friend' opened to me what would appear to me to be a very direct and powerful appeal to either my credulity or my superstition. He told me, with seeming entire unreserve, what I should consider a very remarkable psychic experience, of a phenomenal nature, unlike anything I have ever experienced myself, and without any request from me. **In the light of my own experience, and of what I have learned through my reading and study, as well as through my contact with many students of the occult and investi- gators of psychic phenomena, this alleged * experience' seemed to me anything but an * appeal to EEASON', to conscience or to my own intelligence. **I confess that I went away puzzled, and with a feeling of depression. I was at a com- plete loss to understand just why this *Ad' .si&^ THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 241 vanced Student* should treat me (almost a total stranger) in this manner. For a time I wondered if he had been testing me out to ascertain how big a fool I was. But I re- called the fact that he asked me no questions to ascertain whether or not I believed his story or was even interested in hearing it. He simply told his alleged experience in a man- ner to make me feel that his purpose (if he had one) was to impress me with the notion that he was either a ^M aster \ or that he was rapidly approaching that splendid consum- mation. **If he but knew it, the impression I carried away with me was one which is, in no sense, complimentary to either his intelligence or his integrity. Whatever may have been his real motive and purpose, I do not know ; but I do know that here are some of the results upon my own consciousness : **1. I no longer have confidence in this man's word. I believe he is just a common, every-day romancer, who has no scruples whatever as to the welfare of the School, or the Work, or the Movement, or those of you upon whom rests the responsibility of its suc- cess. It would be hard for me to believe him under oath, in a court of law, as I feel at this time. 242 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. **2. I am of the opinion that he is a man of great Intellectual Vanity, and that he w^s foolish enough to take me for a bigger joke than he. Because of my silence during his recital, I presume he took for granted that I was * swallowing whole' everything he was saying. And, no doubt, when I left him he was under the impression that I regarded him as a wonderful man and a truly Great Soul. He impressed me as a man impelled by the desire to gratify his Vanity. I can think of no other adequate reason. And I am sure that YOU expect me to use my Reason at every step of the way, and with reference to every phase of the great Problem of Life. Is not this truef (Most assuredly! And you have done right in this instance. TK), ** Per- haps I did wrong not to have told him at the time, the impressions I received. It was a difficult situation and I do not know just what I should have done, all things duly considered. I know since telling you I feel a great load lifted from my conscience. *'3. I am convinced that the Student to whom I refer is a perpetual menace to the School, the Work and the Cause; and, if he cannot be restrained from the course he is following, it seems to me he should be ex- pelled from the Central Group, and from the THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 243 School and the Work entirely. If he is not a Jesuit, he is doing quite as much damage to the Work as if he were — and I am not sure but he is doing even greater harm, because there may be some who would believe him and trust him. **4. I am convinced that this man exag- gerates, (a natural tendency on the part of several of the Students and Helpers, some of whom are at the Center and others scattered over the country). This tendency — as I verily believe — should be corrected at once, or it will result in irreparable injury to the Cause, in the near future. If I am correct in my feeling that there is something of a ten- dency among the more advanced Students and Helpers in the direction suggested, it seems to me that here is surely one of the most pow- erful disintegrating influences in existence; and I am sure you will recognize me as a real Friend of the Work, in that I have presumed to call your attention to a matter of such vital importance to the School, the Work and the Cause. ^' (Indeed, I DO ! TK.) Experience No. 2. Another Student (and this one lives very near the Center) tells me that he has met a 244 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. number of times, during the last few months, a small group of Friends of the Work here in Chicago. The purposes of these meetings has appeared to him to be rather of a social na- ture, and he has appreciated the fact that he has been deemed worthy to associate with such a group of Students and Friends of the Work, at or so near the Center. He tells me that among this group are some of the advanced Students and prominent Helpers in the Work of Education. I am not at liberty to mention names, nor does it seem to be necessary, for the purposes of this ar- ticle. It is sufficient that he is correct as to the status of those whose names he has men- tioned to me among the group referred to. I am informed that, although the purpose of these gatherings appears to be chiefly so- cial, the subject of psychic phenomena seems to obtrude itself almost automatically upon the attention and the consideration of those present, at almost every meeting, and that he has been surprised and almost shocked at the freedom with which some of these Students and Friends had narrated what they have stated were their own personal experiences. The freedom with which these experiences, and the phenomena accompanying them, are said to have been discussed would seem to be THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 245 entirely out of harmony with the position of the School and the desires of the Great Friends with reference to such matters. It is a fairly well known fact, that some of the Students of the Central Group have been admitted to the ^^ Technical Work'^ and that they have accomplished considerable along the line of their independent psychic unfold- ment. But at the same time, I cannot think that any such Student has any doubt as to the fact that each and all of these Technical In- structions, together with the psychic experi- ences resulting from their personal applica- tion, are matters of the utmost SECRECY. In a few instances I have asked one or two of these Students to explain some of the in- structions and their experiences — to certain of the Students to whom I desired to convey the specific information covered therein — and on a few special occasions I have asked these advanced Students to give certain confiden- tial information as to their experiences, to certain of my Students who have been at just the point in their own Work where that seemed the best way of getting to them cer- tain information for which they were ready at that time. But I am sure that there has never been any uncertainty as to the fact that there have 246 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. been special reasons, in each and every case of this nature, why I have asked such infor- mation from my Students. Never have I given reason for any Student to assume that it is either admissible or wise to convey any information concerning the Technical Work to any but the special individuals whom I have designated in each and every instance. I am not intending to convey the impres- sion, by the foregoing remarks, that any of my Students have betrayed any of the con- fidences reposed in them by me. I am in- clined, however, to the impression that some of those, to whom the door of information has been opened, have not fully understood or appreciated the confidential nature of the experiences to which they have been admit- ted. The fact, however, that the open discus- sion of psychic phenomena and ** personal Experiences'' has been indulged among any of the Students — to a point which has raised the question of ^' expediency^ \ or '^ discre- tion' \ in the minds of Students not of the Central Group — would seem to be sufficient to justify some consideration of the subject, at this time. It is this seeming absorption of some of the Students and Friends of the Work in the it^Mm, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 247 purely phenomenal aspects of the Work that makes it now seem expedient to consider the subject in the light of The Phenomenal-vs.-The Practical. However true, or scientific, or significant may be the subject-matter in its relation to human Life and Action, there is something in the purely phenomenal aspect of psychic experiences which appeals to the ^^ mysteri- ous^^, the ^^ marvelous' \ the ^^ miraculous' ' and the '^superstitious'' in human nature — especially among the rank and file of men and women. I might have said *^ which awak- ens the mysterious ' ', etc. But this is precisely the thing which the Great School desires to avoid. It has con- centered its efforts, in this present move- ment, upon an '^ Appeal to the Progressive Intelligence of the Age", It seeks, at this time, to formulate its Work into one supreme appeal to the EEASON, the CONSCIENCE and to all the rational faculties, capacities and powers of the Soul. For this reason it is the intent and pur- pose of the Great Friends, at this time, to impress upon each and every Student and Friend of the Work, as vividly and indelibly 248 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. as possible, the necessity and vital impor- tance of keeping away from the '^ Phenome- nal" as far as may be possible in all we do and say, and appealing to the EATIONAL and the PRACTICAL. To this end, I am going to try and see if I can bring the subject home, with clearness and emphasis, to those of yon, my Students, who have unwittingly been making the wrong impression on the subject of phenomena. Bear with me, therefore, and know that what I shall say is entirely free from every senti- ment of criticism, and charged only with the impulse and the desire to accomplish the highest measure of good possible. My hope is thus to serve the Cause in general, and you in particular: 1. Do not ever introduce the subject of the ^'Technical Work", at any Group Meet- ing, nor at any meeting of Students, or Friends of the Work, — w-^Ze^s you have been specifically and definitely asked by me, or by some one of the Great Friends, to do so. 2. Do not ever discuss the subject with any individual who is not an Accredited Stu- dent, in good standing ; nor in any event what- ever, wnless you have been specially author- ized by me, or by my superiors, to do so. 3. In either of the foregoing assumed in- M^^ THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 249 stances, your authority should be clear and definite, and you should know in advance ex- actly what p\hase of the subject you are to discuss or elucidate, and the exact purpose to be accomplished thereby; and you should then be absolutely certain that you keep strictly within the lines of your authority. 4. Make it a rule to avoid being drawn into any discussion or narration of any psy- chic experiences you may have had — unless there is some real and urgent necessity for doing so. Otherwise you are liable to make the impression of '^ boasting' \ 5. Even where the occasion may seem to be urgent and for the special help of those who are in need of it, let me beg of you to keep constantly in mind the fact that if your exposition, elucidation or narration should be such as to appeal, in any way whatever, to the credulity or superstition of your listener, the results will be the opposite of what the School is endeavoring to accomplish. 6. Those of you, my Students, who have been regularly admitted to the Technical Work, are charged with a doubly heavy bur- den of responsibility. For this reason, it is well for you to keep the fact of your ad- vancement in the Work strictly a matter of confidence between yourselves and the School. 250 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. It would seem, from the impressions which have been made in some instances, that any discussion whatever of your personal develop- ment along the lines of the Technical Work, is more than likely to be misunderstood by those who are not so far advanced — and especially by those who are not of the Cen- tral Group. I mention this point, here and now, for the reason that one of our visiting Students (who lives a long way from the Center) recently said to me that one of the Inner Group Stu- dents is making the statement and conveying the impression that he has ^^ developed the sense of Spiritual Sight' \ Now, it so hap- pens that the Student referred to as making these claims and impressions has not even been admitted to the Technical Work, to say nothing of his having gone far enough to de- velop the sense of spiritual vision. As a re- sult, however, a number of letters have come to me, asking me personally and directly if it is true. Knowing, as I do in this particular in- stance, that the impression is erroneous, and that the Student referred to has not de- veloped the sense of spiritual vision, to such of these letters as I have been able to respond thus far I have been compelled to reply very THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 251 frankly to the effect that the impression is not true, I regret deeply to be placed in this position. Even if the Student had actually been ad- mitted to the Technical Work and had gone far enough to have developed the sense of in- dependent spiritual vision, it would have been a serious error to mention that fact to anyone outside the Central Group. And even within the membership of our Central Group, it is a mistake, involving serious indiscretion, to discuss such matter — except under the most extraordinary circumstances wherein something of real and vital importance is to be accomplished thereby. In the case refer- red to it is very clear that no such extraordi- nary circumstances existed. The result is that nothing of good and much of harm followed directly. But this in- cident furnishes very conclusive proof of the fact that any discussion of such matters among the Students and Friends of the Work only serves to divert attention from the real and the practical phases of the Work we are all trying to accomplish. It stimulates only the sense of curiosity, and awakens the de- sire for the mysterious. In due time this would lead naturally to a certain shade of su- perstition, especially among those who have 252 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORIC. not gone far enongli to have made certain demonstrations for themselves. In this connection, there are some real diffi- culties we have to meet and overcome. Some of these call for the exercise of great wisdom, discretion, humility and loyalty. For instance, it is a fact that the Manager of the Indo-American Book Co. comes into personal contact with many Students and Friends of the Work from all sections of the country. Many of these come to the Book Co. thinking that to be the general headquarters of the Great Work in America, and hoping to meet me there. A goodly number of these come asking for help concerning all manner of personal problems. Often it is in search of health, or happiness, or information that will bring them wealth — or success in other lines. They meet the business Manager of the Book Co. and through him learn, for the first time, how very difficult it is for them to reach me personally without previous ar- rangement and by special appointment. ^Thereupon they open their hearts to him and ask him to help them. In some instances (where the problems are simple and within the range of his personal knowledge) he is able to be of some service to them. Such as these go away exceedingly THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 253 grateful to him. In some instances I have no doubt they obtain a more exalted impression of his status and development than the real facts would warrant. The same thing, to less extent, might very easily be true with reference to almost every one of the Other Students and Friends of the Central Group. By reason of the difficulties which surround us all, I trust the Friends of the Work will accept from me, in the spirit of Friendship and Brotherly Love, the admonition to study with the utmost care every word they utter, lest they may set in motion some impression that is untrue and harmful to the Cause and the Work in which we are all engaged. And let me beg of you, one and all, every- where, to avoid, as far as may be possible, all discussions of the phenomenal^ the occult, the marvelous, the mystical and the mysteri- ous, more especially in the presence of those who are not in and of the Work, or who are not far enough advanced to understand, ap- preciate and make due allowance at all times. Even among yourselves the utmost care and caution should be exercised at all times, lest you fall into the habit of ignoring the real purpose and intent of the School and the Work and of allowing yourselves to appeal 254 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. too strongly to the emotional, the impulsive and the imaginative. Bear in mind constantly the fundamental fact that this entire Movement is intended as an appeal to the '^Progressive Intelligence of the Age'' ; that it is an appeal to Reason y to Conscience^ to the Logic of Facts, and that it all rests upon the definite findings of Nat- ural Science. It involves an education that is eminently Practical in the life and activities of every Student and Friend of the Work; and if it does not appeal to his Eeason and his Intelli- gence, rather than to his impulsive and emo- tional nature, then it has failed of its pur- pose, and must go down in history as a fail- ure that is monumental and without excuse at any point. And this brings us back once more to the vital importance of Discretion, Humility, Loyalty and Unselfishness in all we do and say ; as well as to the increasing importance of overcoming Vanity, Egotism and Selfish- ness, as the most savage and dangerous ^^Lions^^ that crouch close beside the path- way we all must travel over the rough and rugged mountains between us and the Land of Liberty and Light toward which we are moving. THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. 255 Let me earnestly hope that all those good Friends whose letters I have not been able to answer as I should like to have done (by let- ter) will accept this in lieu thereof, and per- mit me to feel that I have done my best to discharge the responsibility I owe to them as fellow Students and Friends of the Work. Let me beg of you, my Friends, here and everywhere, to take this letter home to yourselves, as a personal message from those who would serve you and through you the Great Cause that is dear to the heart of every honest and loyal Student and Friend of the Work. Know that it is written — every word of it — ''with malice toward none and charity for aiV; and that I am impelled by the spirit of Friendship, Good Will and abiding Love for all concerned. AMEN ! THE SPIRIT OF THE "WORK. 257 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No. 9, Once more the '^ball-bearing*' wheels of the universe have rolled us around until we are facing another Christmas; and then an- other New Year is just beyond that great Christian Holiday of this tiny little earth of ours with its humanly immense responsibili- ties. As the days go by and I realize the rapid approach of this most wonderful of all our Holidays, I cannot repress the dull, deep heartache of intense sympathy with the mul- titudes of those who look forward to an- other Holiday of suffering from hunger, cold, loneliness, privation and want in all their hideous outlines. I do not like to throw a shadow of any kind over the spirit of such a season, and I hope what I am going to say will not be received in that way, nor in the spirit of pessimism. For its sole purpose is to awaken among the Friends of the Great School and Work the 258 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. spirit of sympathy, good will and helpful- ness, for, toward and among those who need. The spirit of Christmas Giving is beauti- ful and sweet beyond the power of tongue or pen to express in words. I would not, for all the material wealth of the nation, become re- sponsible for the utterance of any word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, thought or senti- ment, knowingly and intentionally, for the purpose of killing or even restraining such a spirit among those who have become my Stu- dents and Helpers in the Great Cause for which we labor. But I am wondering today, as I ponder over the great ocean of human suffering and sorrow, privation and need, whose mighty waves beat upon the shores of Time so close at our feet, if it might not be both possible and right for me to do what I can to direct the activities of that beautiful and gracious spirit along somewhat different lines than those of the giving of material gifts of great value to those we love, rather than to those who need. It seems to me that this would be right. And I am thinking what a glorious thing it would be if I but had sufficient influence to induce all the people of this beloved land of ours to spend all the money they will put into THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 259 '^ Christmas Gifts'^ this year, only among those who are in actual need of clothing, food, shelter, medical skill and nurses ' care — to say nothing of intellectual education and Moral Training. Do you, beloved Friends, have any clear idea what this would mean? Think of it for a moment. We have close to 100,000,000 peo- ple in this country alone. Suppose our Christmas gifts this year would average one dollar each (I am told that this is less than half the actual amount spent last year) it would give us $100,000,000 for the relief of the poor who suffer for the actual necessi- ties of life. It would seem that this amount should al- most, if not entirely, relieve the suffering of the entire country for lack of the actual ne- cessities of food, clothing and shelter. And what a blessing this would be, if there were but some practical way of bringing it about ! But there is no way at present. I believe the time will come when it will be possible to accomplish such results, and far greater; for I am convinced that the time is coming when the economic solution of the Great School will govern the finances and the business of this blessed country of ours — the best in the world as it is, but holding within itself the 260 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. potentialities of something immeasurably bet- ter than anything we know today. But it is a long road to that ideal consum- mation. It cannot be taken at a bound. It must be taken slowly, carefully and surely, step by step. For it is one of the conditions of human nature, that every progressive sug- gestion for the betterment of society along any line whatsoever is looked upon by the great ruling majority of the uninformed with suspicion. So accustomed have we become to the dis- covery of ^* Graff and other phases of dis- honesty in public places — and often under the cloak of ^^ Reform^ \ or ^'Progressive Poli- ties'^, or some other name that blinds the peo- ple for a time until they can be robbed — that it is almost impossible to command the atten- tion of those who suffer and are in need of relief, or to enlist them in behalf of any con- structive evolutionary movement or effort in their own behalf. Even the names of *^ Religion '', the ' ' Church '\ " Philosophy '% " Science ' % *^ Freemasonry'^ and many others equally as worthy, have been conjured with to deceive the innocent and entice the ignorant, the vicious and the superstitious. We must, therefore, not blame society for THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 261 its conservatism and reluctance in accepting the earnest pledges of men and women who are entirely honest and worthy, who offer to lead them out of the wilderness of dishon- esty and all its consequent suffering and sor- row, into the sunshine of Life, Liberty and Happiness. "While I know that there is a complete and perfect solution of the great problem of eco- nomics and sociology ; at the same time I also know that it will take, perhaps, half-a-century of the most thoughtful, earnest and unselfish educational effort on the part of the Great School of Natural Science to prepare the way for its acceptance among the masses of so- ciety, sufficient to lead up to its inauguration and complete demonstration publicly. The work we are doing to-day is the first regular step to that end. I have reference more especially to the work of Personal Li- struction, through the medium of which those who apply for admittance as Students and prove their readiness to receive it and their willingness and ability to use it rightly, are given the Personal Instruction which enables them to come into the possession of the accu- mulated knowledge of the ages concerning the Ethical Principles necessary to enable 262 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. them to exemplify the Constructive Principle of Nature in their Individual Lives. To-day we have thus educated but a very few thousands of such Students in America, and they are scattered from one end of the country to the other. The largest number in any one center does not exceed 100 -men and women. Then there are groups of 50, 25, 15, 10, 5, and so on, here and there in the cities and towns, in all parts of the United States. And finally, there are individual Students and Friends of the Work everywhere who, thus far, are reading the books, studying the litera- ture, receiving the instruction, and doing their very best to equip themselves to become my active and trusted Helpers in the wonder- ful work of passing on the knowledge to oth- ers like themselves who are able to prove themselves duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified, of lawful age and properly vouched for. The value of this Instruction will be the better understood and appreciated when it is known that it is all an individual instruction. That is to say, there are no classes. On the other hand, each individual Student, when proven entitled to it, is assigned to an In- structor who, in most cases, resides in some other part of the country. He receives his THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 263 lessons in the form of Problems, direct from his Instructor, through the mails. He does his work entirely alone and unaided by any- one else, and when he has completed any given task he submits his work and all its details to his Instructor alone and in like manner, by mail. Whenever his work is found complete and correct, and in all ways satisfactory to his Instructor, it is accepted and he is permitted to pass to the next Problem, or Lesson ; and so on, throughout the entire course of study upon which he has entered. It is not intended to convey the idea that there are no classes for the study of the text- books and other literature of the School. In truth, there are a good many such classes throughout the country; but they are com- posed of individuals entirely outside the ranks of our Students and *^ Friends of the Work*' (as we use the latter term), and are in no way under the direction or supervision of the School, or any of its Students or Help- ers. Such classes are non-official, for the existence and work of which the School as- sumes no responsibility. And yet, these classes are accomplishing much good for their own members, and without knowing it, they are leading many out of the bonds of intellec- 264 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tual and religious bondage, and preparing them for studentship in the Great School, in due course of time. It is, therefore, not the purpose nor the desire of the School to dis- courage such classes. The only point it is desired to make clear is the simple fact that these classes are not under the direction or control of the School or its Eepresentatives. But I have drifted slightly from the exact theme I had in mind when I began. Whilst I know full well that it would be but a waste of time and energy (at this time) for me to offer any suggestions touching the foundation principles of economics and sociology ; never- theless, I thought it might not be out of place for me to make a suggestion or two touching the problem of our coming *^ Holiday Gifts'' — for, to me, that subject has truly become a ^* Problem^' of no mean proportions. Unless I say something, and say it in time for the November-December number of Life and Action, there is not the least doubt that I shall receive a large number of ' ^ Christmas Gifts'' that I do not need, involving the ex- penditure of a considerable amount of money which might be made to relieve the suffering and actual needs of a number of deserving men, women and children who would other- wise find it difficult to go through another THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 265 Holiday without losing their Faith in both God and Humanity; to say nothing of their confidence in the honesty and good faith of our Government and its representatives, in their attitude toward the rich and the poor of our beloved country. To make clear just what I mean, let me tell you something that happened last Christmas, and several previous Christmases : Notwithstanding the fact that previous years had supplied me an immense stock of such things, which I had never been able to use up, there came to me something like 24 splendid silk handkerchiefs, about 36 excel- lent linen handkerchiefs, some 40 pairs of the very best socks that could be found, 3 mag- nificent gold-mounted fountain pens, 2 lovely watch fobs, a considerable number of beauti- ful dishes and pieces of silver-ware, some 10 or 12 pictures of various sizes and qualities — most of them expensively framed — 3 paper- cutters and letter openers, 6 or 8 pencils, per- haps a dozen bottles of perfume, an extra fine toilet set, 2 very fine and expensive traveling bags (one alligator hide and the other calf), 3 expensive and handsome umbrellas, 3 lovely ink-wells, 4 delightful paper-weights, 3 pairs of suspenders, 2 neck-tie holders, 2 pairs of cuff-buttons, 2 pencil-holders, 2 magnificent 266 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. neck-mufflers, 4 gold collar-buttons, 2 re- ceipted checks each for a $2.00 pair of gloves, 12 valuable books, various articles of clothing and wearing apparel for men, and a diversity of articles of household and office furniture, and over all these came a perfect shower of bouquets of the most beautiful and expensive flowers to be had. Most of these articles I could make no real use of; but they were '^presents'', all of them coming from the dearest and best Friends in the world. There is always something about a ^^Giff that grips the heart, and gives to the gift a value to its recipient which makes it impossible to part with it to anyone else, even in need, without a sense of disloyalty to the friend who gave it. Perhaps this is wrong, but I cannot help the feeling. I always value a gift as I love its giver, and I never receive a gift of any kind without mentally following the friend in his or her hunt for it through all the mystic maze of Christmas shopping, and sharing all the pleasure of ^^ finding'' and selecting the article, just as if it were I who was hunting, selecting, buying it and sending it to a be- loved Friend whom I wished to surprise and make happy. It is this halo of pleasant memories and THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 267 sentiments (that cluster about each and every Gift that comes to me) which makes it vir- tually impossible for me to part with it, even to one whom I know to be in actual need of it. I do not know whether I am different from my Friends and from other people in general in this regard or not. I have a very strong conviction that I am wonderfully ^^ human'' in this respect, and very much like every other human who has normal friendship and aifection for his fellows. My beloved Friends, do you get the point? I hope so, with all my heart; for if you do I know you will understand and appreciate what I am going to suggest. It must be appar- ent now, from the foregoing illustration, that it is utterly impossible for friends to indulge in the exchange of valuable Christmas gifts without violating every principle of utility and service. Nobody but my daughter knows what I have, or what I need, and therefore it is impossible for my friends to select gifts for me without duplicating the things I al- ready have. The same is true with regard to every one of my Friends. I do not know what you have nor what you may need, nor what would please you. If I undertake to reciprocate 268 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. your gifts I must simply shut my eyes and guess at it ; and in so doing I am sure to select what you do not need nor care for. To avoid this constant and useless waste of money, and to conserve all the material means we have for those who actually need our help, let me suggest that we discontinue this custom of miscellaneous and haphazard Christmas giving entirely; and in its place let us remember each other on that occasion with a simple and inexpensive card of greet- ing and good will. Then let us send to Dr, E. M. Webster, 9139 Commercial Ave,, Chicago, III. — Treas- urer of the LEAGUE OF VISIBLE HELP- ERS — every dollar we can spare for such gifts, and ask him to add it to the Funds of the League for the help of those poor, dis- tressed, suffering and dependent men, women and children who are in actual and dire need of food, clothing, heat and shelter. I do not mean to suggest that the Students and Friends of the Work apply this to the members of their own families, nor to any of their friends whom they know to be in need and whom they desire to remember and know will serve the double purpose of a friendly remembrance and a helping hand, help at the same time with gifts that they THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 269 Wherever the law of utility and service can be observed and an actual need supplied, a Christmas gift is a most beneficent agency for good. But unless these elements can be conserved the custom of miscellaneous Christmas giv- ing becomes an actual and powerful agency and influence for harm, and thus violates the spirit and purpose which originally brought the custom into existence as a national and international institution. Whether these suggestions are adopted generally among our Students and Friends or not, I must ask, in all seriousness, that they be adopted and acted upon insofar as I personally am concerned. My daughter asks that her name be added to mine. Wliilst I love my Friends with an affection that is deep and loyal and I appreciate their every friendly re- membrance of me, whether at Christmas time or at other times, I want them to know that I am not in need of anything they could pos- sibly think of in the way of Christmas gifts ; and that it will please me a thousand times more if they will send me a penny card of re- membrance on that occasion, in future, and forward every cent they would otherwise have spent for me, to Dr. Webster, for the re- 270 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. lief of those who do need all the help it will be possible for us all to give them. If there is a Local Group of the League handy to you, it would be just the same if you should make your contributions for charity to the Treasurer of that Local Group. Of course, I am assuming that the Students and Friends of the School and Work would prefer to patronize the League because it is the one instrumentality through which the School is endeavoring to exemplify the *^ Spirit of the Work" in the matter of giving material aid to those within its reach who suffer and need its help. Then again, they have the assurance that 100 cents of every dollar that is contributed to the League for charity, goes to that alone, without deductions for any purpose whatso- ever. This feature of the League Work, I believe, is unique among eleemosynary insti- tutions of the present time; and we *4iold a patent" on it. The importance of this will be understood when the records of the Asso- ciated Charities, and other similar institu- tions, are examined and the percentage de- ducted for "Expenses'' are noted. But, lest I may be misunderstood, or thought lacking in liberality, let me say that I am not criticising other institutions j neither THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 271 would I want to be understood as soliciting the patronage of any movement engaged in the noble work of helping the poor who need. If the Students of this School prefer to dis- tribute their contributions through other channels than the League, that is their privi- lege, and I would not wish to influence them further than they might be influenced by a knowledge of the simple facts. The most im- portant consideration is that they do what they feel able to do for the great army of the hungry and suffering who are dependent up- on the sympathy and generosity of those who are able to help, however little. Whilst I have spoken for myself alone, in asking the Students and Friends of the Work to remove my name entirely from the list of those to be remembered with *^ Christmas Gifts '* and devote the money to the League for the suffering poor who need; neverthe- less, I am aware of the fact that I voice the sentiments of virtually all the members of the Central Group — and I believe most of the Friends of the Work everywhere else. I believe that they will all be gratified to know that I have also voiced the sentiments of the Great Friends. And I am convinced that if the suggestion should be adopted by the Students and 272 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Friends generally, it will mean that we have inaugurated a custom that will be adopted by- others; and in the years to come it will be remembered as the first definite step in the great Heart Movement of Humanity towards the practical Universal Brotherhood of Man. In the thirty years of my unremitting study of the Human Soul from the viewpoint of the Great School, I have come very closely in touch with the inner Heart Life of Human- ity, and I have learned a good many things that have surprised me. One of these is that men and women of all classes, grades, stations, conditions, inclina- tions, tendencies, temperaments and idiosyn- crasies are deeply susceptible to the influence and potency of human sympathy. It runs like a golden thread through all the races and conditions of men, and whenever and wherever it is touched it sends a deep thrill of joy to the very center of all humanity. It is the understanding and recognition of this that have led nature's true noblemen out of the depths and upward and onward in the march of humanity to an understanding of the possibility of ^* Universal Brotherhood", with ^^God as the Father of all". It was and is the recognition of this golden cord of human sympathy that is at the f oun- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 273 dation of the League of Visible Helpers. And it is this that makes the active work of the League one of such profound joy to all who share in it. Every gift of help to those in need touches this golden cord of human sym- pathy which makes all the world akin. It is this that makes the faces of League distribu- tors shine with the illumination of the Angels of Mercy and of Love. It is this that will make of the League the first step in the jour- ney of mankind toward the ^^City of Sarras'' — The City of the Soul — where Universal Brotherhood is the governing fact and princi- ple of life. I want the members of the League to be the Standard-Bearers who shall fix the Flag of Universal Sympathy and Brotherhood high upon the Mountain of Truth, where all the world may see it — and know who set it there. I verily believe that if the Students and Friends of the Work, among themselves only, will adopt the suggestion I have made con- cerning the matter of Christmas Gifts, they will find that it solves for them, and solves rightly, a problem which is steadily growing more and more difficult and embarrassing, and which must inevitably continue to do so until somebody has the courage and the wis- dom to lead the way to something better. 274 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Go on, if you so desire, and follow the cus- tom of Christmas Giving among the members of your own families; but let it stop there. But even then it seems to me that much real harm can and will be done, unless you modify the former custom sufficiently to limit your gifts to such as you know will be both accept- able and serviceable to the receiver. I have a blessed sister who lives on the farm, in the little old home where she and I spent most of the years of our childhood to- gether. She and her husband are getting along in years, and are still very poor finan- cially. I know many things they greatly need, in order to make the old home even fairly comfortable. To them I still practice the cus- tom of giving; but I limit my gifts to the things I know will be of greatest service to them, and render them the largest measure of comfort as well as happiness. The rest of my relatives are all Brothers, and they are all abundantly provided with the means by which to purchase not only the necessities of life, but many of the comforts and luxuries. To them I make no gifts of ma- terial value, and from them I receive none. I am glad that this is so, for we understand each other and know that the love between us is deep, sincere and abiding. They all know THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 275 that I am carrying a heavy burden of respon- sibility, and I also know that they have theirs; and so, we go on toward the river that bounds the Great Divide, safe and secure in the consciousness of mutual love and un- derstanding. To me this seems the only right way, and I am glad that it appeals to them in the same way. Each year I take an account of my ma- terial means, and carefully determine how many dollars I can spare for the help of the Great Army of the hungry and unclad. Then I send the amount, in a lump sum, to the League, where I KNOW that it will be made to go much farther and do vastly greater serv- ice than I could make it do, for those who are in need. The League officials know every family within the range of their jurisdiction, that are worthy and in need of help, not other- wise provided for. They keep themselves informed all the time and in every case, so that every penny of the funds at their com- mand shall be made to purchase the largest measure of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities possible, for those who truly need the help they can give. And you will be glad to know that the be- loved EA, who shared with me the glorious 276 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. triumph of bringing the League into exis- tence, — though on the other side of the Great Divide — is still a contributor to the Fund of the League for the relief of those who need, and will continue to be, so long as the means she left shall last. One of my greatest earth- ly joys is that of carrying out her wishes in that regard. As soon after the first of the year as may be possible, the League Officials will render their annual reports, from which it will be a pleasure to lay before the readers of Life and Action the facts of interest and value to all who desire to know what the League is doing and what of good it is accomplishing. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 277 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No, 10. Again and again I am reminded of the fact that my responsibilities as editor-in-chief of this little magazine are so numerous, varied and complex as to transcend the limits of my abilities, and almost constantly lay me open to the just charge of inefficiency. One of the criticisms dwelt most upon by the book-reviewers and literary critics for the various newspapers throughout the coun- try, at the time of the publication of the vol- umes of the Harmonic Series, was with ref- erence to frequent ^ * repetitions ' ' of subject- matter charged against the authors. From a purely literary standpoint the criticism was frankly admitted by the au- thors to be justified. Before our manuscripts went to the publishers, however, this very point was gone over by us together, and we knew in advance that our critics would not overlook their opportunity. And we admit- ted, to ourselves and to each other, that the 278 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. criticism would be fairly justified from a strictly literary point of view. But we realized that, as the accredited rep- resentatives of the Great School of Natural Science, charged with the responsibilities of a great educational movement, we dared not stand upon the literary merit alone, and thus ignore the educational results to be accom- plished. And the further we have gone in this work of education the more conclusive has become our complete justification. For, over and again, we are compelled to note the fact that, in the face of all our efforts so to emphasize the vital points, by reiteration and repeti- tion, by illustration and elucidation, as to impress them indelibly upon the minds of our readers, we find that our success has been only a fraction of what we had hoped it might be. And this same difficulty accompanies all my work and efforts in Life and Action. In order to be sure that my meaning has been made so clear that none may misunderstand nor misconstrue it, I find it necessary to go over the same subject again and again, re- stating, reiterating, repeating — until all sense of literary proportions have been lost — and still my readers fail to receive my THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK, 279 messages in such manner as to remember them. Every issue of the magazine I find it necessary to repeat something of serious im- portance which I have said before, and in some instances it is something I have re- peated many times before. Since the publication of the last issue of the magazine two distinct instances of this particular difficulty have occurred; and it is my purpose to repeat them again in this number of Life and Action, with an added emphasis, if possible, in the hope of lodging them so firmly this time that I shall never again have to repeat them — to the present subscribers to Life and Action, 1. Life and Action is, primarily, a Mes- senger; secondarily it is a distributor of gen- eral information, and matters that its edi- tors think will be of interest to its readers. In its primary capacity it affords the edi- tor-in-chief and his assistants a means* through which to communicate instructions and such authentic teachings and findings of the Great School as seem to be of importance to the educational movement for which the Great Work in America stands, to the Stu- dents and Friends of the Work, and answer many questions from Students and Friends of the Work all over the country, which ques- 280 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tions cannot be answered by personal letters. In this capacity, whatever appears in its columns from the pen of its editor-in-chief (the TK), or its assistant editor (Dr. J. D. Buck), is intended to be ^^ authentic^' and to represent the ** voice of the SchooP'. Of course, its editors themselves may say some things that represent their own individual opinions, at times; but wherever possible they will differentiate between these and the teachings of the School, in such manner as to leave no uncertainty in the minds of their readers. In its secondary capacity, however, there are a great many things in the nature of current information, or report, which may not be authentic nor intended to represent the School at all, and 3^et of sufficient interest to the Students and Friends of the Work, in the judgment of the editors, to find place in its columns. These might all, perhaps, fall under the general head of ^^ Items of Inter- est''. Then again, the editor-in-chief is the re- cipient of numerous manuscripts from all over the world. These come from Students sometimes, and other times from those who are merely readers of the magazine. Now and then comes a manuscript from a total THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 281 stranger to the School. A good many of these manuscripts are extremely interesting, and deserve to find a place in the columns of some good journal. Most of them, how- ever, do not appear to us to fall within the lines of interest to our readers. These we return with our thanks. The others we pub- lish. Then again, it seems to be a natural de- velopment of the age that causes many writ- ers to express themselves in verse. We re- ceive an almost endless number of manu- scripts of this nature. Out of the number there is an occasional document that meas- ures up to our conception of real *^ Poetry '\ It seems good to us to give a few of these space in the columns of Life and Action. But they must not be taken by our readers as the voice of the Great School. They are pub- lished merely for their poetic beauty, in some instances, and in others because they express sentiments that seem to us helpful to some of our readers. But even these latter are not to be accepted by our readers as *^ Au- thoritative utterances of the School. ^^ We do not believe they have been. Under this secondary capacity we pub- lished in the last issue of the magazine an ar- 282 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. tide entitled ^*AN OLD PROPHECY RE- VIVED'', beginning at page 58. This article came to ns from one of the Friends of the Work, as an item of interest, with the request that it be published in Life and Action. It so happened that I had heard of this *^01d Prophecy" a number of times. My attention had been called to it several times within the last year by Students and Friends, and I had been asked a number of questions concerning it. Inasmuch as I was not previously familiar with the entire scope and character of the alleged ** Prophecy", I was unable to an- swer the various questions asked me con- cerning it. Therefore, when it came to me, accompanied by the request for its publica- tion, it occurred to me that the most satisfac- tory method of answering the various ques- tions about it would be to publish it in full. This we did; and, with the exception of the first paragraphs, it is a reprint from the ^'Lincoln Daily Courier^ \ of Nebraska, under date of January 13, 1897. It never once occurred to me that any reader of Life and Action^ least of all any Accredited Student of the Great School, would consider its publication in this maga- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 283 zine in any other light than merely as an item of somewhat curious interest. Inasmuch as it is entirely clear, upon its face, that the ^^ Prophet'^ who uttered it was, in truth, no prophet at all — since some of its very definite and vital terms have been long since proven by TIME to be false — ^it did not occur to me that anybody would ever sup- pose, for an instant, that it was being pub- lished as an utterance of the Great School, or as a prophecy for the accuracy or fulfilment of whose terms the Great School could or would vouch in any way whatsoever. In view of all this, I am sure my readers can scarcely appreciate my surprise and shock upon receiving from one of the Students of the School (a man who has the reputation of being a level-headed, clear-sighted, far-see- ing, clear-thinking business man) a telegram asking if the Great School vouched for the truth of the prophecy, and if not why the ar- ticle was published in Life and Action — ask- ing for a reply in full, by telegram, more ac- curately, by ^^ night lettergram *\ This incident set me thinking again as to ways and means whereby I might be able to differentiate the various articles published in Life and Action, in such manner that it will not be necessary for me to write a pre- 284 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. lude, introduction, postlude or explanation, with each separate article, in order that my readers may know how much of each article, if any, its readers are to treat as *^ authenti- cated^' by the Great School; and how much, if any, they are to consider as ** doubtful''; and how much, if any, they should reject en- tirely as false. It would seem that there are some of my readers who want to look upon the magazine as strictly and solely the mouthpiece of the Great Friends, so that once having accepted the School as an authority, they may accept everything that appears in the magazine as necessarily true, without the necessity of ex- ercising their reason, or giving any consid- eration whatsoever to the principles of logic and common sense. No greater mistake was ever made. No system of education which would assume to relieve its students from the necessity of using their reason, logic, judgment and good sense, at every step of the way and every turn of the road, is entitled to the least con- sideration whatsoever. I will go still further and assert that any school which professes, or assumes, or would try to make its students believe that it is in- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK 285 fallible^ is false upon its face, a fake, and deliberately Jesuitical. Coming very close home, let me say that whenever Life and Action becomes so much of an ^^ Authority ^^ to its readers that it as- sumes to do their thinking and reasoning for them, without expecting them to verify the accuracy of its statements, it will be time for you, my Students and Friends, to drop your subscriptions to it and subscribe to some other journal that will make it necessary for vou to THINK, EEASON, and use your IN- TELLIGENCE and your INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT. Even when I tell you that the editorials in Life and Action are intended to stand for the teachings, findings and principles of the Great School, I do not mean to convey the idea or impression that its editors are in- fallihle. Far from it. I do not want any Student or Friend of mine ever to grow to have so much confidence in me as to think that a thing is necessarily true just because I say it is, I could not do either you or my- eelf a greater injustice. I do want you to believe, however, that whenever I make a statement of fact serious- ly and in earnest, I believe that I am stating the exact Truth* But I do not want you to 286 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. believe in its truth just because I have said it. If it does not appeal to both your reason and your conscience, I want you to reject it, or at least hold it in abeyance until you can either verify or disprove it. If ever you get to thinking so much of me as to ^^ swallow whole ^' everything I say, without putting it to the test of your own intelligence, reason and conscience, I want you to remember, from that time forward, that I am your most dangerous enemy. And this is literally true, because any man who deprives you of the power to exercise your intelligent faculties, capacities and powers, has already done you a most grievous injury. The Student and Friend who endeavored to ** swallow '' that old ^^Phophecy'^ just be- cause he saw it in Life and Action, was do- ing not only himself but me an injustice. Had he followed the rule I am endeavoring to promulgate and elucidate, he would have sub- mitted the statements therein contained to the tribunal of his own intelligence, reason and conscience, in which event he never would have sent such a message. Neither would he have thought for one instant that the School was laboring under the prophetic impression that the principal part of the Pacific coast was on the verge of disappear- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 287 ing beneath the mighty waves of the grand old Pacific Ocean. I am aware of the fact that there are both men and magazines who would not hesitate to assume the responsibility of doing the thinking, the reasoning, the concluding and the judging for as many of the human race as might be induced to enter into such a compact. I ani also aware of the fact that this is virtually the position which the Church of Eome assumes toward its mem- bers. Other churches also are not entirely free from the same suggestion. But whether it be man, magazine, church or school, the responsibility is one which the individual himself alone is capable of discharging wise- 2. The second incident to which I refer is somewhat like unto the first, although it has reference to another phase of the subject. The incident itself was somewhat as fol- lows: A Student of the Great School here in Chicago had occasion to travel, and in the course of his journey he met and became quite intimately acquainted with another Stu- dent in a different section of the country. Because they were both Students of the Great School they had confidence in each other at once. The result was (one of the 288 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. results, I should say) that they entered into a business combination. It soon developed that the business was, to say the least, a mistake. It failed, and one of them, at least, lost a neat little for- tune. WHY? I think you already see the point. The confidence of the man who lost, was so un- qualified in his partner, that he ^ ^ swallowed * ' the other man's bait, hook, sinker and line, and doubtless would have swallowed the pole, reel, minnow-bucket, and entire fishing tackle had he been asked. And he did this only be- cause of his confidence in the Great School, and in his faith that any man who has been accepted as an accredited Student cannot be other than the very soul of honor; and not only that, but that such a man must neces- sarily be exceptionally bright and intelligent, and therefore capable of making a success of any business he might undertake. Confidence is a beautiful thing. Confidence in our fellow man is sublime. Confidence is something for which every honest man should strive to be worthy. Confidence in the Great School and in its teachings and findings on the part of my Students and readers is some- thing for which I have been laboring more than thirty years. Confidence in the loyalty, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 289 wisdom and integrity of the Students of this School, in their relations with each other, is one of the splendid consummations for which the Great Friends and their accredited repre- sentative in America have labored long and earnestly. But Confidence is one thing — OVER-Con- fidence or blind faith, is quite another. It is perfectly natural that every honest and loyal Student of this School should have a certain amount of confidence in every other Student who has been tried, tested and found ** worthy and well qualified '* to assume the duties and responsibilities of an accredited Student of the School. It is hoped the time will come when such confidence will be wholly justified. But I feel it my duty once more to caution the Students and Friends of the Work against that char- acter of blind confidence and trust in their fellow Students which impels them to assume relations with them in business and in other ways solely because they are Students and without in any manner whatsoever subject- ing them to the most common business tests nor demanding of them any assurances or evidences of their business intelligence and integrity. 290 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. I do not want the readers of Life and Ac- tion to obtain from anything I have said the notion that I do not have confidence in the Students of this School. I DO have confi- dence in them, and that confidence is of the most exalted and definite character. Up to the present time not a single applicant has been admitted as a Student until after I per- sonally have subjected the applicant to every required test, and found, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that he (or she) is *'duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified '^ — which, when properly inter- preted, means that I have obtained the very best of evidence upon which to establish my own unqualified personal confidence and trust. And furthermore, I can say without the least equivocation or mental reservation of any kind whatsoever, that I do not believe there is an equal number of men and women today, associated together in a common Cause, among whom there exists so exalted an average of Morality, so high a general standard of Honor, nor a more worthy gen- eral average of Character, than exist among the Students who make up the body of this Movement. Then why am I delivering myself of this THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 291 warning against trusting each other because they have faith in the School, in its teachings, and in the exemplification of the principles for which the School stands? I think you already know the answer. It is because of the natural tendency of our Stu- dents to overstep the bounds of natural cau- tion due to everyone. It is not because of their wise confidence and trust in each other. It is because of the seeming tendency of our Students to ignore all the elements of a per- fectly discreet caution, and blindly trust each other in matters and ways wherein their Stu- dentship is no guaranty whatever that they possess either the knowledge, the experience, the discretion, or the other elements of char- acter that would justify the quality or de- gree of confidence and trust reposed in them. In a previous article I discussed this same principle under the head of ^^ Taking Things For-Granted,'*^ And that is, indeed, the key to the matter to which I am now referring. The Chicago Student to whom I have re- ferred ^Hook for-granted^* virtually every- thing concerning his fellow-student in the east. He trusted his Intelligence. He trusted his business experience. He trusted his busi- ness education. He trusted his discretion. He trusted his judgment. He trusted his 292 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. honesty. He trusted his moral and business ideals. He trusted his business standing. He truted his motives. And he did all this so completely, so un- qualifiedly, so blindly, that he ignored every- thing else. And by thus taking everything for granted, and refusing to exercise even a minimum of caution, he did not realize that he was constituting himself a temptation to his fellow student greater than he could re- sist. In this I am speaking from the fulness of a personal experience. And it is very large- ly because of this personal experience, and the bitter disappointments I have suffered as a direct result thereof, that I am endeavoring to guard you, my fellow students and friends, from making the same mistake which I have made. 3. There is yet another phase of this same subject which has come to my attention since the first pages of this article were written, and which I have spoken of in previous is- sues of Life and Action, but which would seem to require further emphasis. I have reference to the temptation among Students to '^ borrow^ ^ from each other, un- der the pressure of business conditions. This temptation rests entirely upon the feeling of THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 293 confidence that a fellow-student cannot re- fuse a ^^loan'' to another fellow-student who is in need of temporary aid. And this con- fidence in the notion that one Student can- not find it in his heart to refuse a *'loan'' to another Student, is well founded. I Know, from personal experiences, how difficult it is to decline such * ^ loans ' ^ And again, it is my own personal experience that impels me to repeat this admonition and caution, and em- phasize it with all the force at my command. It is all right for one Student to help an- other, even to the extent of lending him money, provided he observes all the accepted principles of good business in doing so. In truth, there is no just reason why the Stu- dents and Friends of this School should not enter into business relations among them- selves, and enjoy many benefits and pleas- ures therefrom which they could not enjoy with those who are on the outside — PEO- VIDED always, and under all conditions, that they observe all the principles of safe and legitimate business relations, and never on any account allow themselves to presume upon the friendship's ties that grow out of the relation of Students to each other. In other words, I am not seeking to dis- courage the principle of co-operation among 294 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. Students of this School in a strictly business sense. On the other hand, I am looking for- ward to the time when it will be possible for the Students of this School to exemplify among themselves the co-operative principle in business, in such manner as to demon- strate the scientific accuracy of the economic principles of the Great School. But I want to make it so clear now that none may ever misunderstand the fact that the Students of this School cannot afford to * * take things for granted ' ' among themselves in a business way, any more than they can in a social or moral sense. They dare not presume upon their relation as Students. They must not open the door of temptation, by assuming that they will not be held to as rigid a standard of Personal Eesponsi- bility as are men outside the School in the great business world. On the other hand, they should remember that they are held by the principles of Natural Science and the Law of Compensation to a far more exact- ing standard of Personal Eesponsibility and Moral Accountability than is anywhere practiced in the business world. If you should ever find yourself in serious need of material aid, do not feel that what I have herein said is intended to prevent you THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 295 from going to a fellow-student for help. For, it is just possible that your situation might be such that you would find yourself unable to go elsewhere. But remember this: If you ever go to a fellow-student for help, go to him prepared to meet every demand of safe and legitimate business. On the other hand, if perchance you are driven to the wall, and find yourself quite unable to give legitimate business securities which would justify a fellow- student in lend- ing you the money you need, do not try to de- ceive him. Do not make him promises which you have reasons to believe you may not be able to meet in both letter and spirit, when the time comes. If you err at all under such conditions, it is far better for all concerned that you err on the side of caution and con- servatism than upon the side of promises you cannot fulfil. It is far better for you to plead pauperism and thus place your claims upon the basis of pure and unadulterated *^ Charity*' in the sense of ** alms-giving, " than it is to hold out false inducements to a fellow-student only in the end to disappoint him and de- stroy his confidence in your honesty. For, every such disappointment comes back upon the School and the Work, and upon those of 296 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. us who are charged with the responsibilities of directing the Work in this country. Every such mistake helps to justify the claims of our enemies that ** something is wrong.'' And remember that they are tireless and sleepless, watchful and unscrupulous, and that no opportunity to injure the Cause will be overlooked or lost. One other point let me emphasize : In all your business relations with your fellow- students, be scrupulously frank and unam- biguous in your methods. Be sure that you at all times give them full information upon every point and every phase of the business, so that they may know all that you know that will have any bearing whatever upon your ability to meet your every engagement with them. Do not keep them in ignorance of matters they have a right to know. Do not keep them in the dark as to your own status, nor leave them in doubt as to any plan, pur- pose, motive or act of your own. Here again I speak from the depths of a personal experience that has hurt me more deeply and caused me greater anguish of Soul than anything that has occurred in the thirty years of my service to the Cause of Truth and Humanity in this country. I know of nothing that hurts more deeply than to THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 297 lose one's confidence in a beloved Friend in whose loyalty and honesty one would have trusted his dearest possessions, even life it- self. If ever you should command the confidence of the Great Friends so far as to be en- trusted and charged by them with the execu- tion and fulfillment of a sacred Trust in- volving the very life of a great Movement such as this in which we are engaged, I pray with all my heart and Soul that you may never have cause to lose your confidence in any fellow-laborer in whose fidelity and loy- alty you have reposed implicit faith to the extent of jeopardizing the success of all your plans and all your efforts for their accom- plishment. It is to spare you this that I am trying, with all the energy of my Soul, to make you realize the fact that in all your business re- lations you owe it to those who have trusted you to be absolutely frank and honest with them, and never to conceal nor withhold any- thing that in any way concerns the success of your business undertaking, or the abso- lute fidelity of your own position, your plans and your personal conduct These are the things wherein you cannot afford to **take things f or-granted. ' ' And it 298 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. is just here where the Students and Friends of this Work are most likely to make their first mistakes. Because they have faith in the School, in the accuracy of its teachings and findings, in the wisdom of its principal representatives, and in the integrity of their motives, it is but natural that they should have confidence in all those who have passed the tests of studentship and have gained ad- mittance into the ranks of qualified students. And because of this confidence, there fol- lows the natural tendency to assume that it is entirely mutual — as it surely ought to be. And just because of this feeling of security there comes the first temptation to *^take for-granted" all manner of ^^ little things'' — as they seem to be at the time — ^but which, by the cumulative process, soon become one *'hig^^ thing, of such vital importance as to threaten the very life of all that your years of active and unremitting service stand for and represent. There is but one safe way, and that is never to make the first * kittle'' mistake by assuming something you have no right to assume, or by neglecting to exercise frank- ness and caution because of your feeling that : * ' Surely they will trust me and under- stand my motives.'' THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 299 In conclusion, I wish with all my heart that I could impress the vital nature and importance of absolute '^ good faiW in all we do. No man who has any real regard for his own reputation, can afford to fail in the mat- ter of keeping his every promise, to the let- ter. No matter how small may be the prom- ise in itself, nor how unimportant may seem to be the results of its violation, it is — ^in its very nature — a sacred thing. And it is here that so many open the door that eventually leads to the most deplorable tragedy of life, namely, the death of Faith in their own personal integrity. To my own way of measuring life 's values, there is noth- ing so tragic as the death of our highest ideals and aspirations and our noblest in- spirations. For upon these rest our Faith in Humanity. May the Great Father, the Great Friends and the Spiritual Helpers so lead us by the hand of Love, and point us to the pathway of Duty, that we one day shall stand to- gether in the midst of the radiant splendor of eternal TRUTH. It is for the sake of the realization of that splendid consummation that I am so earnest- ly laboring to impress the Students and Friends of the Work with the vital necessity 300 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. of each one of us making his or her own LIFE a living exemplification of the real SPIRIT OF THE WORK. So mote it be ! ! ! THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 301 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. No. II. Our Responsibility, Again and again the question of our Indi- vidual Responsibility to the School and the Work, in various ways, comes up for our con- sideration; and scarcely a week passes but that I receive one or more letters from Stu- dents and Friends of the Work all over the country, asking me for information as to their duties or their responsibilities. I find it impossible to answer all these various inquiries through personal corre- spondence. There is but one way in which I can respond to them all, and that is through the columns of Life and Action. And in doing this I shall find it necessary to make my answers rather general in order to cover the largest number of points and items of importance. In other words, I shall have to discuss fhe general principles involved, rather than the specific incidents referred to in the various letters I have received. 302 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. I must therefore ask my readers to follow closely all that I shall say, in order that they may not overlook my answers to their several and individual questions; for I shall endeavor to cover them all in the course of my letters on ^^THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK/' And I trust it is not necessary for me to apologize to the readers of Life and Action who are not among those who have written me for information. For I assume that they are all interested in the success of the Great School and its Work in America, and that in my letters under the above heading they will find answers to many of the questions that are of interest to them — although they may not have formulated them definitely, nor sent them to me for answer. The fundamental principle I desire to con- sider in this installment of the Spirit of the Work might be stated briefly in a number of different forms. As, for instance: 1. The permanency of any building is primarily dependent upon the character and quality of the materials that go into it. Or, 2. The life and success of any ethical movement will depend, primarily, upon the character and quality of its members. Or, 3. The future life and success of this THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 303 Movement will depend, primarily, upon the hind of men and women we admit into its membership. Or, 4. The Disintegration and Death of this Movement will inevitably follow our failure to guard it against the admittance of appli- cants who are not duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified. Any one of these statements is literally true. Each one states a general Principle at the foundation of all earthly and human institutions. The first applies generally to all con- structive institutions. The second applies the same principle to all ethical institutions and movements among mankind. The third and fourth make a specific and definite application of the same general Prin- ciple to this particular and definite institu- tion wherein we are members, and for the Life or Death of which we are inevitably re- sponsible. And it is of this that I want to talk with all of you who, by virtue of your member- ship, must share with me the responsibilities of the Life or the Death of this Great Work in America, I do not want to leave anything unsaid, if 304 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. it is possible to avoid it, that will help you all (as well as myself) to understand and appreciate the responsibilities that are justly ours, and enable us the better to discharge them in a manner to reflect credit upon the School, the Work, the Cause, ourselves, and all concerned. To that end, I must not overlook the things that are in the minds of those who would en- joy our failure. I must not only recognize the fact that the School has its enemies, and that we all, collectively and individually, have our critics who will be glad of anything we may do or say that will really, or appar- ently, justify their hostile criticisms of us, or that which we represent. One of the things they already have said — in various ways, and with interesting varia- tions — is somewhat along the following line of thought, viz. : ^ * If the Great School is all that is claimed for it, and this present Movement designated as The Great Work in America is truly seek- ing to serve humanity and benefit all man- kind, why exclude any who knock at the door and ask to be admitted?" ^^ Humanity and Mankind are terms which include everybody. They do not exclude any- body. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 305 ^^Then why does the School make terms and conditions under which a large percent- age of the human family is excluded from membership in the School and Movement be- cause they are noti *duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified' to enter and be- come actively identified with those who are already in and of itT' These questions appear to rest upon a foundation of rather substantial and con- sistent logic, and would seem to lay upon the School and its Eepresentatives the onus pro- handi — as we say in legal parlance — ^meaning the ^^ burden of proof."*^ It is therefore only right that I should recognize the onus and do what I can to lift it and remove it from the pathway of the School and the Work. Let me try: It is largely by means of analogies that the perplexing problems of human life are solved. By analogies I hope I shall be able to analyze, elucidate and solve this one, in a manner that shall command the confidence of those who are honest and sincere in their perplexity, and in their desire to know the truth. What is it that gives to every established and successful business house, or firm, the confidence of the business world? 306 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. The answer must be apparent to every in- dividual who has had any experience in the great world of business. It is : * ^ Its EEPU- TATION for business ability and integrity, and the promptness with which it meets its liabilities and discharges its responsibili- ties/' But the reputation of any business house or firm depends upon the ability and integ- rity of the men who constitute the firm, or company. Therefore, in its final analysis, the suc- cess of every business house, firm, or com- pany, depends upon the character of the in- dividual members who constitute it. And the ability of any such house, firm, or company, to make a success of its work in the business world and accomplish anything of value to itself or to the world in which it lives, moves and has its being, in like man- ner depends upon the character of the in- dividual members who constitute the house, firm, or company. So, still we see, success is dependent upon the character of the INDIVIDUALS, in every instance. Again: What is it that gives to any Church, or other religious institution, the confidence, respect, sympathy and good will THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 307 of the public, and makes it a success in the world of its activities? Once more, the answer is: Its EEPU- TATION for honesty, ability. Morality and Service to Humanity. But in this instance, as in the other, its reputation depends upon the character of the men and women who constitute its Mem- bers. And its usefulness as a constructive factor in the world is likewise dependent upon the kind of men and women who stand before the world as its living Eepresentatives. And so, again we are driven back to the character of the INDIVIDUALS, as the pri- mary and fundamental basis of its success and its usefulness to humanity. Let us suppose, for the sake of the illustra- tion, that such an institution as, let us say, the Presbyterian Church, should cease to re- quire of its members any pledge as to their religious ideals and beliefs, as well as to their moral principles and ideals, and to the LIVING OF A LIFE according to the moral and religious principles for which the church stands — how long do you think such a church would continue to succeed, or to exert a con- structive influence among mankind? There can be but one honest answer. Such 308 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. a church would die as soon as the ''Life Ele- menV^ which sustains it, viz. — the principle of Morality and Service — is withdrawn. There is a Natural Law of CONSIST- ENCY to which all mankind must acknowl- edge allegiance; and it runs through every department of human activity and is at the foundation of all constructive achievement. It demands of every individual that he shall exemplify in his daily life and conduct the principles to which he gives public ac- knowledgment and a personal pledge of loy- alty and allegiance. It demands of the man who publicly acknowledges allegiance to the Presbyterian Church, that he shall make an honest effort to exemplify in his daily life and conduct the principles for which that church stands. If he fails, he becomes a destructive and disintegrating influence in the body of the church, in just so far as he so fails. And it is for this reason — ^in obedience to the Great Law of CONSISTENCY— that every Church, and every other religious or moral institution, demands of its members that they shall prove themselves *'Duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified'' to exemplify in their daily lives and conduct THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 309 the Principles for which the Church, or Moral Institution, stands. And the onus prohandi, or burden of proof, is always on the individual who applies for admittance as a member, and not upon the Church or other institution. And until he proves his qualifications to the satisfaction of those whose responsibility it is to pass upon the admissibility of members, he is denied admittamce. And so it is in every other institution which stands for the good of humanity, and the progress of the race. The Great School is no exception. It demands of every applicant for admit- tance into membership that he first prove, to the satisfaction of the School, or to those of its representatives who are charged with that responsibility, that he is *^Duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified. '* And this is true regardless of the hostile criticisms of those who are always ready to condemn through, ignorance, superstition, fear, envy, jealousy, hatred, or any other manifestation of the Destructive Principle of Nature in Individual Life. In the face of all we can do, there are those who will condemn our efforts, our methods, our principles, our lives. Hence, it is worse 310 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. than a waste of time — it is folly to argue the matter with them. Our enemies profess to see a great and vital inconsistency in the fact that the Great School claims to be working for the good of ALL mankind; and yet, at the same time, fails to admit ALL who apply for admit- tance as accredited Students and Members. They profess to be shocked, grieved, of- fended, hurt — and to suffer several, divers and sundry other pangs because of this alleged inconsistency of the School, and those of us who are charged with the responsibility of representing it in all that pertains to the admittance of Students, as well as to their rejection. But we must not allow these inconsistent pretensions of our hostile critics and bitter enemies to confuse us nor cause us to lose sight of the principles for which the School and its representatives must ever stand. We must not forget that this movement which we have come to designate as ^^The Great Work in America^ ^ is subject to the same Law of Life and Death which governs every other constructive institution or move- ment in existence. And the very fundamental principle that calls for our first consideration is that of THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 311 absolute HAEMONY among all who come to gain admittance as Students of the School and Friends of the Work. In other words, the very first and funda- mental responsibility of all who are now in the School is to see that no applicant for Studentship therein shall be admitted in future until he shall have proven beyond all question that he is *^Duly and truly pre- pared, worthy and well qualified." Apropos of this very vital consideration, let me quote from a letter recently written by one of our Students to another at a distance, wherein the importance of guarding the School in future was discussed with intelli- gence and discrimination as follows : **It must be evident to you, as it is to me, that as our Groups grow stronger in num- bers ; as this Philosophy becomes more wide- ly diffused and better known in this country, and as its constructive influence shall bring it to the attention of our common enemy; then will they, in all probability make a de- termined effort to gain admittance into our various Groups. ^^How then, shall we proceed to safeguard our various Groups so that this threatened danger shall be reduced to the minimum? How shall we take such precautions that the 312 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. entering wedge of disintegration may not be driven home, and lodged in the heart of some one or more of our established Groups ? *^And while you are busy framing your answer to this question, let me ask another which has a practical bearing upon the same problem, viz. : *^Do you consider our present methods of examining applicants for admittance suffi- ciently comprehensive adequately to protect the School against Jesuitical espionage? ^^I am not familiar with your methods of procedure at the Center, but here we have proceeded somewhat as follows : *'The applicant (after having answered the list of Preliminary Questions, to the satisfaction of the TK) is asked to meet a number of the local Students and Friends of the Work here. At these meetings he is questioned carefully by each Student or Friend to whom he is sent, and is given the right to ask as many questions concerning the School and the Work as he may desire. If a single meeting with each Student or Friend is satisfactory, that is all that is required of him; but if there seems to be any doubt in the mind of any Student or Friend the applicant is asked to come again — and, in fact, as often as may be neces- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 313 sary to satisfy the Students or Friends as to his exact status. ^^When all the Students and Friends to whom he is sent feel able to render an in- telligent and reliable judgment as to the ap- plicant's qualifications and character, they send their individual reports to the TK. I^ these reports are all favorable, the TK then formally refers the application to our Group (as a Group) for official ballot of the Group. **At our first meeting thereafter the appli- cation is called up to be considered, dis- cussed and officially balloted upon. We then proceed to a secret ballot, so that no one shall know how any other has voted. If the ballot is unanimous in favor of the applicant that fact is made a part of the records of the Group meeting and a report is sent to the TK, whereupon he notifies the applicant of his election and asks him to present himself at the next meeting of the Group. ' ' Let me say, in this connection, that the foregoing is substantially the method em- ployed in all cases where a local Group ex- ists, to which the applicant can be sent and his application referred. But it would ap- pear, from information at hand, that some of our Students and Friends do not fully appreciate the responsibilities laid upon 314 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. them in these meetings for the purpose of examining the applicant and satisfying them- selves as to his character and status. The following from another letter recently received will suggest the importance of greater care on the part of our Students: *^To bring out my point more forcibly, I am going to give you a case which came under my personal observation. An appli- cant was referred to me for my personal examination and report. Two of our Stu- dents who already had met him volunteered the information that he seemed to them to be all right; but, at the same time, one of them mentioned the fact that he had been told the applicant either now belonged, or had belonged in the past, to an allegel ethical society which is known to be a Jesuitical institution, and I was asked to find out if he still was a member. **It happened that at one of the Group meetings, some of the members present dis- cussed this particular applicant ; but I raised the point that it might be better for those who had not yet met the applicant not to have anything said about him, as that might prevent them from studying the applicant free from bias resulting from what might be said for or against him. From statements THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 315 made at this meeting of the Group I inferred that the applicant had made a favorable im- pression. *^ Later I met the applicant and endeav- ored so to study and question him as to de- termine, to my own satisfaction, his qualifi- cations and general status. I asked him, among other things, whether he was then, or had ever been, a member of the Society above mentioned. He virtually informed me that it was none of my business, and that the subject was entirely outside the range of my right of inquiry. **I also had learned that he formerly had made application to the School, and had been rejected. Naturally, I wanted to know just why he had been rejected; but he refused to tell me. I questioned him in other ways, in my endeavor to satisfy myself as to his real attitude and exact status. . ** Without going into further details, I had three interviews with him; and in the third he manifested considerable impatience. He said that I was the only one who had wanted to see him more than once. He also stated that I was the only one who had asked him very many questions. I cross-examined him on this point and found, to my surprise, that he had been asked very few questions by 316 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. some of the Students to whom he had been referred, and that he seemed to have satis- fied them. He was very much surprised that I should want to know so much about him. *' Frankly, while he has some splendid qualities of character, I seem to see in him the ambitious type of man — one capable of doing a vast amount of destructive work. To me, he appears to be just the sort of man to bring inharmony and unrest into our Group work. **This School and Cause mean so much to me that I feel upon my shoulders a heavy burden of Personal Responsibility in all that concerns the admittance of applicants who are referred to me for preliminary examina- tion and try-out. *^Most of the applicants that come to me are in a great hurry to gain admittance to the School and Work; and for this reason, if for no other, I do not believe, as a rule, we take enough time nor make a careful enough study of applicants before reporting back to the TK upon them. **Our Group is wonderfully harmonious, and if we can only keep it so it has the great- est possibilities for constructive work and Service to the School and Cause in the years to come; but let us admit just one who is THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 317 inharmonious, and immediately we become like the great orchestra (to which the TK refers) with one instrument out of tune. The whole orchestral effect would be destroyed, and if this is not remedied it means the dis- integration of our Group and the utter fail- ure of all our efforts. ^^It seems to me that the Law of Self- Preservation alone is sufficient to admonish us to the exercise of the utmost vigilance in our efforts to guard the School and Work against the * approach of cowans and eaves- droppers. ' *'I called this to the attention of one of our older members, but he simply said that if an applicant gained admittance who did not harmonize, he or she would not remain; but I asked him what would be the result in case the inharmonious one proved to be a Jesuitical emissary whose mission was the disintegration of our Group. He did not answer. '^Dear TK, I know somewhat of your strenuous life and Work, and that every moment of your time should be conserved; but would it not be a great service to the School and the Cause, not only now, but for all time, if you could prepare a special com- munication dealing with this matter — one 318 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. that would make us all feel and realize the great Personal Eesponsibility that rests upon us, and each of us, and inspire every one of us with the determination to see that none shall pass by us who has not proven to our entire satisfaction that he is, indeed, duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified?'' Dear Students and Friends: It was the substance of the foregoing appeal that im- pelled me to write this particular article. And I want to thank the writer of the letter quoted. He is absolutely correct in his view of the subject. I wish with all my heart that I could impress all of our Students and Friends with the same understanding and appreciation of the situation, and of their Personal Eesponsibility for the future suc- cess or failure, life or death, of this entire movement. For, unless I can accomplish this, some of our over-sympathetic and generous ** Help- ers,'' out of their excessive kindliness and earnest desire to share their blessings with the whole world, are going to make the sad and tragic mistake of opening the door to admit one or more of the subtle, clever, but deadly enemies who are waiting, with the patience of the grim Messenger of Death, THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK 319 for the hour to come when some thoughtless, careless, or over-generous and susceptible Sentinel shall relax his vigilance just long enough to let them slip past him, through the door and into the School. They are waiting for just that thing to occur, and there is no limit to the patience they will exercise to achieve their purpose. Beloved Friends, I do not want them to succeed. I do not want the Great Friends to suffer another defeat through the failure of those of us who have been entrusted with their confidences, and who have given our Pledge of Loyalty that we will not fail them. But in order that we may succeed in dis- charging the burden of Personal Eesponsi- bility we have willingly assumed, we must steel our hearts to withstand the play of sophistry upon our sympathies. We must be prepared to meet and unmask every sophis- try that cleverness and cunning can invent; for we already have abundant evidence of the fact that we shall be called to deal with those who are schooled adepts in the artful use and great potency of sophistry. As hereinbefore suggested,- our enemies will assume the role of friendly critics who are grieved to note the inconsistency of the Great School in that it professes to labor 320 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. for all mankind, and yet refuses to admit into its Work and its fellowship a consider- able number of those who apply for admit- tance as Students. Whenever we hear such criticisms, let us remember that they are only clever sophis- tries, designed to confuse us and make us forget the responsibilities we have assumed to guard the School against all such alleged friendly critics and their criticisms; and let us go on about our Work regardless of them. And now, in order to bring this matter home to every Student and Friend of .the Work, and impress it upon every mind and Soul with such emphasis that it will never again be forgotten nor neglected, let me make a specific application of the principle, as it should apply to every Student who is en- trusted with the responsibility of meeting applicants and testing them as to their qualifications for studentship: 1. Whenever an applicant is referred to you, bear in mind that it is because the School wants the benefit of your own per- sonal judgment as to whether he or she is the sort of individual who will add to the harmony of your Group and become a con- structive and integrating favor in that Group. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 321 r , ■ ■■■ ■ 2. You must not, therefore, allow yourself to shirk your responsibility by trusting the matter to the judgment of some other Stu- dent. 3. You are expected to become well enough acquainted with the applicant so that you can form a reasonable judgment of his or her character and qualifications independ- ently. 4. For that purpose the applicant comes to you upon my request, and usually with a letter from me explaining the matter. 5. At your first meeting you should ques- tion the applicant very carefully, over the following, among other points of inquiry: (a) Whether married; (b) If so, what family; (c) Whether his or her companion is in full sympathy; (d) Occupation or pro- fession; (e) All about past and present Church affiliations; (f) Whether directly or indirectly associated or connected with the Eoman Catholic Church; about the religious beliefs of his friends and associates ; (g) Ask him to give in his own way an account of his past religious and philosophic studies, mem- berships and affiliations, prior to and lead- ing up to his interest in this School and Work; (h) What, if any. Students or Friends of the School he knows, and how he came 322 THE SPIRIT OP THE WORK. to know about the School and Work, and be- came interested in it; (i) Whether he has read and made a careful STUDY of all three of the volumes of the Harmonic Series; if not, which ones has he; (j) Whether he finds anything in the teachings and findings of the School therein contained which he cannot accept; if so, what; (k) Question him care- fully as to the motives which impel him to seek admittance as a Student, and satisfy yourself fully whether they are right or wrong; (1) What does he expect to learn from the School, that will be of special in- terest or benefit to him; what use he ex- pects to make of the knowledge he may gain from the School; (m) What he feels that the School has a right to expect of him, in case he is admitted ; (n) Whether he has ever cheated, wronged, defrauded or otherwise injured anybody to whom he has not yet acknowledged his wrong and sought to remedy the injury; (o) What are his own views as to how the Law of Compensation applies to all such matters; and how he in- tends to proceed in his efforts to undo the wrongs he has committed in the past; (p) What, if any, habits he has formed which, in his judgment, would in any way tend to make it difficult for him to meet and dis- THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 323 charge his responsibilities as a Student, in ease he is admitted; (q) Just how he an- alyzes his own character as to Discretion, Secrecy, Loyalty, Humility, Vanity (both personal and intellectual), Ambition, Leader- ship; (r) Whether he would be both able and willing to labor the balance of his life for the benefit of humanity, in obscurity, and without receiving any recognition whatever from the public; (s) In what respects does he find Self-Control the most difficult; whether Anger, Fear, Envy or Jealousy, in any of its various phases, ever overcomes him and leads him to the commission of acts, or the utterance of words, that he is certain to re- gret; (t) Whether he understands that his admittance into the School means thereafter the LIVING OF A LIFE that shall exem- plify the real SPIRIT OF THE WORK, and whether he can and will do it. There are many other topics of inquiry that should be covered, until you have satis- fied yourself whether or not he can and will meet the demands of the School and Work in such manner as to enable him to work in ab- solute Harmony with other Students and Friends of the Work, and discharge the re- sponsibilities that will devolve upon him, in the event of his admittance as a Student. 324 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. In the very nature of the subject, it is hardly possible for you to cover all this ground at one meeting, in such manner as to satisfy yourself on all the various phases of his qualifications. And then, bear in mind also, that you are to make clear to him the fact that it is his right to ask any questions he may desire, whether or not he has knocked at the right door, and whether or not he desires to pro- ceed further. You must be sure that he understands fully that it is always his right to stop at any point, or turn back; and that he is not asked to assume any obligation that can in the least interfere with his already assumed Duties and Responsibilities to his Family, his People, his Country or himself. Make him know that you are only trying to learn to know him well enough to know whether or not you can recommend him as ^^Duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified ' ' for admittance as a Student. And if you cannot satisfy yourself at one meeting (as will more than likely be the case) tell him frankly that you want to meet him again — and possibly a number of times, before you will feel yourself able to dis- charge your responsibility to the School and Work wisely. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 325 Do not at any time allow him to feel that there is anything perfunctory about the mat- ter ; but that every step of the way is fraught with the gravest and most vital responsibili- ties ; and that for his sake, as well as that of the School and yourself, neither he nor you can afford to make any mistakes. And do not discontinue your meetings with him until you are entirely satisfied: 1. That he is all right, and entitled to your favorable recommendation for admit- tance; or, 2. That he is actuated by unworthy mo- tives, and is not entitled to your favorable recommendation; or, 3. That he is good material, but needs more time to study the text-books and litera- ture of the School, before you can recommend him; and that he should be told wherein he is lacking, and encouraged to go on and pre- pare himself ; or, 4. That there is something in him that causes you to distrust him and doubt his motives and purposes. In this case you are always to give the School the benefit of the doubt, and make clear to him that he is ^^not yet ready.'' It would not be wise, in this case, for you to offend him by confessing frankly that you question his motives; but 326 THE SPIEIT OF THE WORK. the wise thing to do in that case is simply to advise him to continue his work of Study and Preparation, until such time as he may be able to overcome the apparent obstacles in his way. If you can accomplish all that is required of you in one single meeting, all very good ; you can then make out your report and send it to me at once. But, in the very nature of the work, it is hardly likely that you will be able to accomplish your task without further meetings and more study of him. In this event, tell him to come again, and if that is not sufficient, then again, and again, until you can render your report in a way that will meet your own approval. Eemember always, that you have all the time there is, and that no applicant will be- come impatient — ^if he is worthy — so long as he is satisfied that you are doing the best you can to satisfy yourself as to his qualifica- tions. But there is one other consideration that you should always keep in mind, namely, that you are never to allow any applicant to be- come an enemy, even though you cannot ap- prove his admittance, so long as it is in your power to prevent it. If you feel that he is not worthy, let your treatment of him prove THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 327 to him that you are truly his Friend, and that you will gladly serve him insofar as may be possible within the limits of your authority and power. Doubtless it has already occurred to you that an applicant is likely to become weary of answering the same questions from five or six different Students on the try-out commit- tee; but you will bear in mind that I have only suggested the various topics of inquiry. I have not formulated any of your questions for you, and it is herein that your work will be saved from the mistake of monotony. No two will formulate the same questions, even though they may, in a general sense, cover the same field of inquiry. And I am reminded of one important phase of your inquiry to which I have not yet re- ferred, namely, the question of Education of the applicant. Inasmuch as every Student is expected at some time to become also an '* In- structor/^ and consequently one of my ^^ Helpers^ ^ in the Work of passing on the knowledge to other applicants, it is of the most vital importance to the success of the Work that the applicant possess also the qualifications of a good Instructor. But inasmuch as the work of education and instruction is carried on entirely by corre- 328 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. spondence, you can see at once that it is of vital importance that each and every In- structor possess the kind of education that will enable him to carry on his part of the correspondence in a way to command the confidence of his Students. In other words, every applicant should be examined as to his own education — ^where educated, what schools, colleges and univer- sities he has attended, whether a graduate of any school or college, and if so, in what course, and what degree he has earned. You can thus get all the data by carefully formulated questions, but you cannot find out in that way how far he applies his education when it comes to expressing himself in writing. But you can form a very fair judg- ment through listening to his method of ex- pressing himself; and it will then be a part of mi/ task to find out from his letters and his written answers to the Preliminary Ques- tions, whether he spells correctly, uses good grammar, is accurate in punctuation and the use of capitals ; and finally, whether he makes a correct selection of good English expres- sion. If he fails in these particulars sufficiently to handicap him in his work as an Instructor, it will be my task to point out to him wherein THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 329 he is deficient, and what is necessary to rem- edy the difficulty. I have done this in a good many instances, and you would be surprised if you could know how many Students are to-day engaged in a systematic study of Spelling, Grammar and English expression, in order to qualify for the work of passing on the knowledge to others. And herein is, perhaps, one of the best tests possible to apply to determine the real abilities of an applicant, and just what may be expected of him as a Student. Those who come with right motives and purposes will never fail on the education test, for they will gladly enter upon any course of study necessary to equip them for the real Work of passing on the knowledge according to the methods of Instruction required by the Great School. This has been proven over and again, and the result is always the same. And then again, there is the social aspect of each and every applicant. It is often of vital importance to know just what an applicant represents as a social entity. Hence, it is important to know what he en- joys in a social sense, how he spends his time in that sense, whether he enjoys cards, danc- ing, reading, music, or other forms of amuse- 330 THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. ment, or entertainment. These items fall clearly within your field of inquiry. And now I trust I have brought the subject of your Personal Responsibilities to the School and the Work before you in such man- ner as to enable you to see clearly what is demanded of you in fulfilment of your obliga- tions as one of my Students and ^'Visible Helpers." And I earnestly hope that this will help you in future so to discharge your responsi- bilities as to guard the School and the Work — ^yes, and this particular Movement — against the admittance of any applicant who is unable to prove that he is *'Duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified." I also earnestly hope that what I have said will impress you with the fact that TIME is of little or no importance, except insofar as it may be made valuable by the applica- tion of intelligence to the accomplishment of worthy ends. The applicant who becomes impatient over necessary delays, or who refuses to respond cheerfully and honestly to your inquiries in all your efforts to determine his real qualifi- cations for studentship, is not yet ready to assume the responsibilities which inevitably accompany the admittance of applicants into THE SPIRIT OF THE WORK. 331 the confidences involved in the educational Work of Instruction. And the Student who fails to understand and appreciate the responsibilities which rest upon him to guard the School and the Work against the admittance of unworthy appli- cants, is himself one of the worst enemies of the School and this Movement, in all the world. Let this mark the beginning of a new epoch in the history of the Great Cause to which we owe allegiance. And let us be ever grateful. THE GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIME By TK Volume 11. The Harmonic Series This book, with its fund of interesting and important scientific data and helpful knowledge, was written by the American Representative of that ^^venerable school of wisdom* whose records are the most ancient at this time known to men, and which, for many thousands of years, has influenced the civilization and work of every great nation of Earth. Its members have toiled for the advancement of the human race from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light, throughout the ages past. The author's analysis of Hypnotism and Mediumship is masterly and complete. This book, when it came from the press, encountered more opposition from the millions of Spiritualists than any and, perhaps, all other books written upon this subject. The author demonstrates that Hypnotism and Medium- ship are analogm. For fifteen chapters, by the most relentless logic and unanswerable facts, which no one has challenged, he proves that subjective Spiritual *'Mediumship" is vitally destructive to the physical body and the human soul. No orthodox Christian, Spiritualist, Agnostic, Pro- fessional Alienist, Professor of Psychology, nor Judge on the bench should pass this book unread. Every practicing physican owes it to himself, and the community in which he lives, to study and weigh the statements in this book; for he can no longer stultify his conscience by opposing the demonstrable facts of Science, merely because it may not come through the ^* regular* channels, or the particular school he may happen to represent. Add this to your collection of rare books. Brund in maroon Interlaken cloth. Price $2.00 postpaid. THE GREAT WORK By TK Volume 111. The Harmonic Series This book is also from the pen of the author of *Uhe great psychological crime \ and is a presentation, analysis and elucidation of the fundamental principle and working formulary of the Great School of Natural Science, which principle and formulary are known to the "Masters of the Law" and their students and friends as the **con' structive principle of nature in individual life " The author of "The Great Work" is the American Representative of the great school of natural science, a School which was hoary with age when the foundation of the great Pyramid was laid; a School which ante- dates all present authentic history and records; a School against which the waves of superstition and ignorance have dashed in vain, because its foundation is the rock of TRUTH. To the intelligent freemason as well as the general reader this book is invaluable, for it puts before him facts in the history of that Ancient Order which heretofore have been *^ buried in the rubbish of the temple.^^ '^The great work'^ is unique in that its statements are verified facts which every reader may prove for him- self under right guidance if he but have the "Intelligence to know, the Courage to dare, and the Perseverance to do." The Philosophy taught in this book appeals to both Reason and Conscience, and is an inspiration to "//ve the life and know the law,'* Every student realizes that, if he so wills, he may be an heir to theWisdom of the Ages. The Great Work belongs in your Library. Bound in maroon Interlaken cloth. Price $2.00 Postpaid. MYSTIC MASONRY By J. D. Buck, M. D., S3° Volume V. Supplemental Harmonic Scries **Myfstic masonry^*' has done much to awaken interest in the Science and Symbolism of Freemasonry. There has long been, among thoughtful Masons, a strong impression that the sublime truths of Masonry do not lie on the surface, and that they are rather concealed in the ritual of the Lodge than openly disclosed and explained. Commendations of "/nj?s/fc masonry^*^ have as often come from non-Masonic readers as from members of the Craft. There is no reliable history as to how and when the Institution of Modern Freemasonry came into existence, nor who was the author of its ritual or its philosophy. From the first it has undergone no essential change, and every Mason is pledged to preserve its ancient landmarks unaltered. So perfect, however, is this sublime institution that, after two hundred years of progress in the most fruitful era of human evolution. Masonry is still abreast of the times and up to the most advanced spirit of the age. No wonder, then, it is called a ^* divine institution \ The secrets of Freemasonry pertain solely to the ritual and the rights and benefits of the lodge, while the philosophy is open to the world at large. The author of '*m\fstic masonry/* has outlined the philosophy of Masonry in this little book and explained many of the ancient symbols. The book is, therefore, quite apprehensible to the non-Masonic reader, as nothing essential to the under- standing of the philosophy is concealed, and it is designed to be a contribution to the knowledge of psychology and the uplift of the human race. Cloth, 260 pages. Price $1.00. Postpaid. THE GENIUS OF FREEMASONRY AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CRUSADE By J. D. Buck SS"" Volume I. Supplemental Harmonic Series This book is at once a sign and a summons to every Masonic Brother who loves his Country, his Home, his Family, and the Craft of which he is an honored member. Every Brother Mason worthy of the name, however exalted or humble he may be, owes it to himself to know what this book contains. Masonry is facing the most vital and crucial issue in its history. The call is for men of courage^ Are y^ou willing to stand up and be counted? If not, you WILL be after you have read this splendid book. Price, cloth, $1.00; Morocco, $2.00. Postpaid. PRICE LIST OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE INDO-AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 5707 West Lake St., Chicago, III. . .Harmonics of Evolution Cloth $2.00 *. Harmonics of Evolution Flexible Morocco 3.50 . .The Great Psychological Crime. Cloth 2.00 *.The Great Psychological Crime . Flexible Morocco 3.50 . .The Great Work. .. Cloth 2.00 * . The Great Work Flexible Morocco 3.50 . .THREE-IN-ONE Morocco, Oxford Style 12.00 . .Questions on Natural Science. .Half leather 2.00 . . Key to Questions on Natural Science Leather . . 1 .00 . .The Genius of Freemasonry . . . .Cloth 1 .00 . .TheCrucifixionbyan Eyewitness Cloth 1.00 . . 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