UC^RLF ^B 27 fl3M GIFT OF mr ii'vniu sojg pjoiXcQ ^***''^^ ^ <^^i^ ^ A POEM With Inferentiai. Proi.ogue BY NIN S. HAND \ NIN S. HAND. Author Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/eternitypoemwitliOOIiandricli ETE R N I TY A POEM WITH INFERENTIAL PROLOGUE BY NIN S. HAND What is to to be, forever IS, And what has been will EVER be. The attributes of God are His, And ne'er can change Eternally. PRICE. 75 CENTS PUBLISHED BY NIN S. HAND & CO. 301 HAIGHT STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., U. S. A. COPYRIGHTED 1918. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Dedicated to my Esteemed Friend and boyhood Preceptress MRS. S. J. ORGAIN >us-^'?>?chlja„,; THE FINITE SPHERE An Inferential Prologue to the Poem "Eternity." BY NIN S. HAND Mysteries of yesterday Are Simplicities of today. What will the morrow unfold? Man is unquestionably the most intelligent, wise and wonderful of all living creatures. He reasons, thinks, invents, plans, builds and also solves many of the most intricate and perplexing problems of life and nature. He harnesses and controls many natural forces, applying and using them for his own benefit and progress. He scans the heavens and visible universe, and through his intelligence, inventions and acquired knowledge of mathematics, science and logic, fathoms untold cosmic depths, measur- ing the exact orbits, speed and velocity of planets, 381113 worlds and suns, velocity of light, sound, electricity, etc. etc. He analyzes all known substance — or matter, — reducing it to its most minute or apparent primal atom, — even to the point of invisibility, or utmost limit of human comprehension; but, after all this is accomplished and done, (even though he may be the most intellegent man or advanced scientist of the present day) he awakes to find him- self more bewildered and confused than when he first began his investigations and studies, for he then more fully 'reahzes how really great and in- definable are the problems, mysteries and wonders of the universe, and, above all. HoiV Compar- atively Little He Knows. Intelligent thought obviously, logically and nec- essarily precedes all substance, force or action. We cannot conceive the existence of anything, visible or invisible, without a prior intellectual creative force, nor can we conceive an intellectual force without life as its attribute; hence, Mind, Life and Force must be co-existent and eternal, having Yio beginning or end. Human science, reason and experience — appar- endy — prove that "all elements (as we know them) are indestructible," which obviously would make them non-creatable and eternal; but, as the first statement is manifestly the truer one, and, further, from the fact that "we cannot analyze or compre- hend matter beyond the range of our visibility," we are forced to conclude that visible substance (or so-called ''Created Matter") is but the * ' Concentrates ' ' or manifestation of invisi- ble force — or Mind, thus proving Mind to be the only primal element and creative force of all that appears to be. Every tree, plant, flower, animal insect, worm or reptile is but an instrument to give visible ex- pression to inteUigent Ufe and continuity of species and thus are emblems of Eternity, As "Self preservation is the first law of Nature," it must follow that no intelligent living thing can be wholly unselfish. Without selfishness there could be no incentive to preserve the varied species and reproduce in hind. With- out Love, Hate or Aversion, there could be no choice, like or dislike. There Must be op- posites in the physical world — positive and neg- ative, male and female, good and bad, etc., Mind or Intellect being the arbiter of choice. // is as natural for the BODY to die as to live, and a necessary transformation, or refin- ing, as it were, to meet the requirements of the ceaseless progression toward perfection. If All the alloys or bodies of life's tenements were eternal in character, composition and structure, there could be no goal or progres- sion, no incentive for further action or de- velopment, no intuitive or selfish desire for reproduction, preservation or perpetuation of the varied species and distinct forms of life. Things we Know exist and cannot see, feel or understand, we Naturally fear or regard with awe, and are often incUned — through OUr ignorance, credulity and mystification — to reverence, or even Worship. Creeds, Dogmas and Religions are but Varied mortal theories, based principally on Fear, Ignorance and Superstition; Knowl- edge or Truth is the Destroyer of Both Fear and Superstition, and thus of Creeds. God must necessarily be Impersonal, With- out Passion, — unaffected by any sense of pleasure, pain, grief or sorrow. His Laws are A bsolute. Perfect, Merciless, and Im- mutable, Incapable of Revision or Change, nor can they be Altered, Amended, Sus- pended ox Varied [hrongJLi prayer, supplica- tion, atonement, sacrifice or other human ceremony, hence the folly of all creeds, dogmas and religions not in Perfect Harmony and Conformity with Infinite Law, Truth and Love. It is only natural for mortals to SCOff at truths, and even deny the existence of things they cannot /?^rc^/z^^, comprehend or under- stand, and yet it is mentally and physically im- possible for the human mind to grasp, conceive or comprehend infinity of Time, Numbers or Space, or Anything Without Limits, Bounds, Beginning or End, or the whole as a Unit, or, vice- versa, the unit as a Whole. Man measures and judges all things according to the abbreviated standards of his own mortal or finite sphere, basing all calculations on his sense ol perception, observation and experience, beyond which he becomes lost, bewildered and confused; and still, he Intuitively Knows There Can Be ''No Beginning or End," and Must Be Room For Unlimited Ex- tension — or Contraction — of Time, Num- bers and Space, otherwise he could make no comparisons or measurements. Thus, it seems, the comprehensive hmit of the human brain hes — hhe a restless prisoner — within the narrow con- fines of this mortal or finite sphere, the outer walls of which appear as insurmountable bar- riers to prevent further investigation and progress through the fields of science and knowledge, as though seeming to say, ''Thus Far Shalt Thou Go and No Farther, " and yet. Intuition — the "Voice of the Soul" — ever bids us "On and OA7''-towardtlie goal of Infinite Truth, Light and Wisdom, SHALL WE RE A CH IT? ETERNITY N I N S. HAN D Oh thou subtle soul of man, Clothed in doubt and mystery. Ope thy booh that I may scan Some of life's strange history. Take me back to neb'lous times. When the eons of age begun. Ere the new creation's chimes Echoed forth from sun to sun. Ill 'Midst those awe inspiring scenes. Teeming with chaotic strife. Let me view the dawning gleams Heralding the birth of life. IV H 'twas here life's star arose. Beaming forth in ecstasy, Lift the veil that hides the throes Of this great expectancy. V Should this not be the time or place This rapturous morn of joy could be. Then lead me on through endless space To the portals of Eternity. VI And tell me how and where and when This vital spark of mystic trend. This soul of substance first began. And what will be the final end, VII If hfe is not a child of time. Or creature of reality. Unfold the glorious plan — Divine — Of bhssful immortahty. 13 VllI And teach me of this Holy tie, This Hallowed link tvvixt God and man, And of the soul which ne'er can die, And Life's sublime eternal span. IX And tell me of this proivdence. This bounteous boon munificent. And this Supreme Intelligence, This Power and Love Omnipotent, X Then guide me to the Fountain-head, The source of Mind — the primal base — From whence the seed of substance sped Unto the voids of boundless space. XI And more of substance tell to me. The cosmic mite — the germ of worlds,- The atoms of infinity That feed time's vortex as it whirls. ^^ XII Then tell me of the birth of stars And countless worlds, of vague alloys. The myriad swarms — the nebulars, — Are these Fate's tools or Nature's toys? XIII Pray, why this grand array of might, This onward rush of Majesty, These cosmic throngs in whirling flight Unto an endless destiny? XIV And why such varied hues and hind. Such myriad forms of living clay, The progenies of Thought and Mind Aborn to thrive — and fade away ? XV And why this fleeting mortal breath, And struggle for supremacy. This ceaseless war twixt life and death, With mould'ring dust the legacy ? 15 XVI I{ this transmittant vital cKaiiu And sateless claim of mortal toU, But leads unto a higher plane, Then where, Oh where, can be the goal? xvii And now reveal the guiding hand. The power that holds obessive sway. The Master-mind — which gives command That turns the wheels of night and day. XVIII And last unfold the flawless plan. The faultless, grand, eternal scheme, This blended rhythm — since time began. And tell me. pray. What Does ft Mean? 16 PART II. Then Intellect and Soul replied — Through Reason's lips and voice of Truth — The answers — which thy senses hide — LKvell in the words — ''Eternal Youth." II The scroll ol lile — which thou wouldsl see. The source of power, and substance too, — The keys of Immortahty Lie in thy grasp, IF YE BUT KNEW. Ill There is no time, or reck'ning rote, No morn or eve, nor fleeting year, No era nigh or age remote In this eternal Now and Here. IV Mans days and years of measured tread, And fhght of time — which seems to be, — His chronicles of ages dead. Are symbols of Eternity. There are no lines or bounds to space, No cycle large or segment small. Nor can there be another place. For All Is One and One Is All. VI The metric bounds ye comprehend, Thy measurements of far or near, Thy concepts of a source or end Are narrowed to thy finite sphere. VII The cosmic realms to thee so grand. Which lie within thy gaze so fond. Are likened to a grain of sand Compared to those which lie beyond. And yet within the tiniest grain Which mortal eyes can scarcely see. Move myriad worlds of "vast" domain. And so — to all inhnity. 18 XI There is no zone or temperature, No thermic mode or changed degree. No regions dark or realms obscure In all this vast Eternity. Thy sense of place and fleeting time. Of varied hues and changefulness. Of hght — and sound — and fickle clime, Are mortal moods of consciousness. XI There are no voids in time or space, No variant modes, — no altered state. No fountain-head or primal base. In ubiquarian fields of fate. XII What is to be forever IS, And what has been will EVER be, The attributes of God are His, And ne'er can change eternally. 19 XIII There is no chaos or turbulence, — No wasted force or energy, — No errant schemes or accidents, For A II Is Peace and Harmony. XIV The seeming discord, storm or gust, — E'en cataclasms — which worlds may rend, Are Nature s modes to readjust And but the means unto an end. XV There is no death or real decay, No vital lapse or waning power. No substance born to pass away, — The vine but sheds the withering flower. XVI What ye call death is but a change, — A morphic veer — which needs must be. Nor should ye deem it sad or strange, For Life Endures Eternally. 20 XVII Thy lile — eternal, — blissful boon, — Thy faculties and power oJ will, — Thy mind and soul — which hold commune Are lent thy tame for good — or ill. XVIII Thy brain is but an instrument. A mortal tool of subde cell, — Thy body frail a tenement, A temporal place lor life to dwell. XIX Thy reasoning power — man s highest trait, Which hnks thee to the Infinite, Reveals thy past or future state According to thy mental light, XX Thy sense of joy — thy fear — thy pain. Thy love — or hate — which make thee brave. Thy selfish lust and greed for gain But make of thee thy passions slave. 21 XXI Wouldst thou but learn and understand The power of Love and Truth — Divine, No selfish thought or beck'ning hand Could tempt thee from this Hallowed shrine. XXII And so this mortal finite sphere, This primal school of sensuous mien, — But maps the way through doubt and fear — To realms of joy and peace serene. XXIII There is but one — the natural state, — No mite or whit canst thou destroy. Nor aught can mortal man create, Or change a jot — save in alloy, XXIV The elements which ye proclaim, And vainly seek to analyze. Are but conceptions of thy brain. And mere illusions in thine eyes. 22 XXV In nature's stern reality, Beyond the pales — by man deiined — There is no vague pluraUly, For Mind Is All — and All Is Mind. XXVI Thus all Creation's monuments. And mighty worlds which mind hath wrought. All living forms and tenements Are but the fruits of forceful thought. XXVII And so with Life — and Power — and Force, And constant lorms of energy, There cannot be an end or source, For this is God's Eternity. • • • • • • '• • •< 23 .,» ^ o ^« ,,« •>> ^d„ .91 ^ •{ -: iiiiiiill iilliii iillpli iliffiiiigii liiii lilii II %^ iiiiiiiiiiiiii: ijiiiiiilij!!!! iiiiiiiii iii'iiipilill'! '■•i-iii!;:;ii:!ii;jt:ii:?iii iiiiiiiii iiiiiiiliSi iiiiiii 381113 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRAR-i