^■n ■s^ f^i^l^. fi/.T- ^^M^r^^r^^: %< THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AND OTHER Extracts from the new Testament A Verbatim Translation from the Greek, with Notes on THE Mystical or Arcane Sense JAMES M. PRYSE NEW YORK theosophical society PUBLISHING DEPARTMENT 244 LENOX AVENUE 1904 ^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C, by Elliott B. Page i& Co. Copyright, 1904, by Theosophical Society Publishing Department. The DeVinne f-Ktsw CONTENTS. Foreword Prefatory Note The Sermon on the Mount The Coming of the Christos The True Path of Power A Letter of Iakobos . A Letter of Ioudas The Service of Right-conduct PAGE I 3 7 32 45 53 71 78 I ^ ' " -^ f FOREWORD. The cordial reception accorded the first edition of this little volume has led the translator to insert considerable additional matter and to amplify the notes, making the present edition practically a new work. The translation has been carefully revised, and the nomenclature slightly changed, without in any way altering the sense, to make it uniform with a new translation, from the same hand, of The Evangel according to ISannSs, now in the press. That the* books of the Old and New Testa- ments had an esoteric sense was agreed to by all the exegetists of the first three centuries. And not only Philo Judseus but even Augus- tine held that this inner meaning was the same as that of the Mystery- teachings hand- ed down from time immemorial among the pagans. A large volume could be filled with citations from the patristic and so-called heretical writings to substantiate these state- 2 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. ments ; but a single quotation from Dr. Mosheim's Commentaries is quite conclusive. Speaking of Origen, who ^'pronoimced a great part of the sacred books to be void of meaning if taken literally," he says: **He would have had no enemies if he had merely affirmed, what no one then called in ques- tion, that in addition to the sense which the words of Scripture convey, another sense la- tent in the things described is to be diligently sought for. This will be manifest, if we con- sider who were the men that inveighed so bitterly against Origen's allegories after he was dead : I refer to Eustatius^ Epiphanius, Jerome, Augustine, and many others. All these were themselves Allegorists, if I may use that term; and would undoubtedly have condemned any man, as a great errorist/ who should have dared to impugn the arcane sense of Scripture." Yet in the received English version, biassed by the dead-letter Theology of the translators, this arcane sense is so obscured, the psychology so misconstrued, and such a materialistic colormg given to it all, that no apology is needed for even the unpretentious little work here submitted. PREFATORY NOTE: The following translation of a few pass- ages from the New Testament writings is not a paraphrase but an attempt at a more literal rendering than the received version done from the Latin Vulgate and * ^ diligently- compared with the original Greek." Waiv- ing the fact that the oldest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament can not be assigned to an earlier date than the third and fourth centuries, the originals having been lost, the diligence of the learned translators and re- visers failed to compensate for their absolute ignorance of all psychic things, not to speak of things spiritual and magical. They have made woeful havoc of the mystical terms employed; all their work is vitiated, even to the extent of suppressio veri, by their pious desire to dissociate what they believed to be the unique literary productions of Deity from all pagan sources. As said with unconscious honesty by the lexicographer Parkhurst, when 4 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. apologizing for the very unclassical Greek of the New Testament : * ' Let us suppose that a person whose native language was Greek, and who had read some of the best Greek authors, but was entirely ignorant of the eastern tongues, had met with some or all of the sacred books of the New Testament soon after their publication; the principal difficulty, I apprehend, which one thus qual- ified would have found in understanding their style, would have arisen not from the oriental idioms occurring therein, . . . but from the peculiar senses in which they apply single words; as for instance, pistis for faith, or believing in God; dikaiosune for im- puted righteousness ; ktisis for creation, or production front nothing; and it will be nec- essary to observe, that in delivering this precious doctrine which was to the Greeks foolishness, it was absolutely impossible for the sacred writers to express themselves at all, concerning the most essential points, un- less they had either coined new words, or used such old ones as they already found in a new sense. . . . The writers, there- fore, of the New Testament, or rather (with THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 5 reverence be it spoken!) the Holy Spirit whose penmen they were," etc. Thanking quaint old Parkhurst for the candor of his admissions and the delicacy of his humor in reducing the Deity, fresh from his successful feat of ** production from nothing," to the necessity of using old words in a new sense in the very book where he advises against putting new wine into old bottles., we still prefer to ignore these *' peculiar new senses" and return as nearly as possible to the old ones. Yet Parkhurst was wiser in his day than later lexicographers whose works, while more accurate in point of scholarship, are more often theological treatises than real lex- icons, and persistently ignore the fact that the New Testament abounds in words and phrases taken from the ancient Mysteries, used in their pagan sense, and not with the wooden meanings invented for them by igno- rant monks and ecclesiastics. For, purified from the theological atmosphere which now envelopes them, an aura of untold musti- ness and of stuffiness unutterable, and with the technical meanings restored to the mys- tical terminology, pagan in origin, which is 6 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. consistently employed in them, the books of the New Testament, and preeminently the four Evangels^ stand unrivalled in religious literature, only a few other scriptures being comparable to them for depth of occult meaning, breadth of moral teaching, height of spiritual exaltation, or pleroma of tender- ness and compassion. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.* [Matthew iv. 23 — vi. 27.] And lesous went about all Galilaia, teach- ing in their assemblies, and proclaiming the magical Message" of the Realm, and * According to Luke, vi. 1 7, the sermon was de- livered on a plain, after ISsous had come down from the mountain (or hill). ** Mountains" are the usual glyphs for force-centres in the aura of man, and the psychic and spiritual states of exaltation to which these correspond. (The more important technical terms are indicated by spacing in this work.) * Gr. evangelzotiy of which **good tidings" is an inadequate rendering; it is a magical Message, precisely as the angeloi are magical Messengers — ethereal beings of every degree, from the high Gods down to mere magnetic breaths. The ''Evangel of the Realm" (basileia) is the instruction concerning the "open eye" and its awakening through the action of the Breath (pneuma) or electric Fire — the ••Fiery Power" and ••World-Mother" of The Voice of the Silence. The Breath becomes the "Advo- ' cate with the Father" {paraklHos, mistranslated ••Comforter" in the authorized version). The Breath {pneuma^ wind, air, spirit) is, mystically, the Ether of Space; in man, the vital principle, or 8 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. healing every disease and weakness among the people. And the rumor of him went abroad into all Syria ; and they brought to him all who were ill, being afflicted with various diseases and torments, and obsessed by evil spirits, and moon-stricken, and para- lyzed, and he healed them. And large crowds followed him from Galilaia, and Dek- electric Fire. It is sevenfold, as given in Rev. v. 6-14: "And I saw in the midst of the Throne [chair of Initiation] and of the Four Beings, and in the midst of the Ancients, a Lamb [Neophyte] standing, as though it had been sacrificed [initiated], having seven horns [or, "wing-like appearances" — auric radiations] and seven eyes [the seven centres of the Breath], which are the Seven Breaths of The God sent forth into all the Earth [psychic world]. . . . And I heard a Voice of many Messen- gers \angeloi\ . . . thousands of thousands, saying with a mighty Voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed, to receive the Force and wealth and knowledge and power and majesty and Radi- ance and good-will.' And every embodied thing which is in the sky and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all [things] in them, heard I saying: *To him who sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, the good-will and the majesty and the Radiance and the strength throughout the On- goings of the On-goings !' And the Four Beings THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 9 apolis, and Hierousalem, and loudaia, and the Other side of the lordanos. But when he saw the crowds, he went up into the moun- tain; and when he was seated his pupils came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Immortal ' [are] the supplicants in the said * Am^n. ' " (The O n - g o i n g s are the Life-cycles ; the Greek awn being from the same root as the Sanskrit /, "to g©.") The above initiation scene from the Apocalypse may be paralleled with the one which concludes The Voice of the Silence : * ' In songs of praise both heaven and earth unite. And from the fourfold manifested Powers a chant of love ariseth. . . . From the deep, unfathomable vortex of that golden light in which the Victor bathes, all Nature's wordless voice in thousand tones ariseth." * Gr. makarios, free from fate or death, emanci- pated, immortal. The word is descriptive' Vf the ^Tate of the Gods, and connotes both bliss and deathlessness. The makardn nesoi, "Ist^of the IiHinOftals" — the Gods and deified dead — were golden islands floating in the blue ocean at the extreme West; and there the blest dwelt in "a tear- less eternity." The pagans apotheosized their heroes, the R. C. Church canonizes its saints ; and the first step towards canonization is the beatification, or pub- lic declaration that the individual is received into heaven ( whether the western heaven of sunset skies lO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Breath: because theirs is the Realm of the Skies. ' Immortal [are] those who mourn : because they shall be interceded for. "^ Immortal [are] the tranquil ones:' because they shall inherit the Earth. or not, Jehovah alone knows) and should be rever- enced as one of the Blest. The makarioi are the souls freed from the bondage of re-birth. ^ Gr. ouranoi, skies, considered to be the abode of ethereal beings and Gods. Symbolically, the different states or strata of the earth's aura. In the singular, ouranos, visible space, the vault of the sky ; the conception appears to be that of a hollow globe ensphering the earth and constituting a world for the Gods, who move upon its surface as men do upon earth. Asa God, Ouranos is the husband of Gaia, Earth; the two symbolizing respectively the spirit- ual (sidereal) and psychic aspects of the earth's aura — the sphere of star-stuff surrounding it, the astral (starry) light. They who, by the evocation of the Breath, or Fiery Power, awaken the "single eye" attain to this sidereal world. ^ When the soul, after ages of immersion in matter, out of world-weariness longs for its primal home, then the Breath becomes its Advocate (para- kletos) with its Father, or Real Self, who "has naught to do with the purgations of matter." ^ Or, "dispassionate ones." Inner tranquility or THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. II Immortal [are] they who hunger and thirst after right-conduct : ' because they shall be provided for. * Immortal [are] they who show compassion : because they shall have compassion shown them. ' Immortal [are] the pure in heart : * because they shall see The God. ' Immortal [are] the peace-makers :° because they shall be called Sons of a God. quiet gives vision of the higher psychic regions, {gam. Earth as a subtile element). * Gr. dzkazosune, the practice of rectitude ; the perfect performance of duty which leads to illumin- ation. To aspiration for guidance in life, the soul itself gives answer. "Literally, "be feasted." ^ Compassion being the purest manifestation of the World- Soul. * By all ancient peoples the heart was regarded as the seat of the soul. Purity of soul brings the vision of the Master or real Self. * The definite article is retained in translating, as theos, without the article, does not always mean the Supreme Deity in the New Testament. "Those who attain to "that sacred peace which nothing can disturb, and in which the soul grows as does the holy flower upon the still lagoons." 12 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Immortal [are] those who have been ex- iled ^ on account of right-conduct ; because theirs is the Realm of the Skies.'' Immortal are you when they shall upbraid you, and exile you/ and say every useless word* concerning- you falsely, on my ac- 1 count. Rejoice and become ecstatic;* be- cause your recompense is great in the Skies; for in this way they exiled the Seers ° who were before you. You are the salt of the * Literally, "hunted," "driven away," "banished." » Referring to the highest of the men-immortals, those souls who, though having reached emancipa- tion from the bondage of re-birth, voluntarily incar- nate as teachers. This properly ends the series of nine classes of Immortals, the last possessing, like the first, "the Realm of the Skies," or divine Seership. * This paragraph is simply in antithesis to the last, as the self-exiles are usually slandered and exiled by the mob of profane mankind whom they are trying to aid. * Or, "Idle gossip." ^ Gr. agalliathenai, to be frenzied with exulta- tion, to be mad with delight. Here referring to the mantic frenzy of the Seer. * Gr. prophetis, one who interpretes, or declares, the will of the Gods. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 13 Earth.* But if the salt becomes tasteless, with what shall it be salted ? It is good for nothing any more but to be thrown outside and be trampled on by men. You are the light of the world.'' A town lying on the hills can not be concealed. ' Neither do they bum a lamp and put it under the measure/ but in the lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way let ^our light shine in front of men, that they may see your good [magical] works/ and add Radiance* to your Father who is in the Skies. ^ The stable and pure soiils of the psychic world. ' Embodied souls. 'A sacred city among the ancients was usually built upon a mountain or hill, natural or artificial, a crypt or underground chamber beneath the temple being used for the sacred rites. ^ Luke^ xi. 33, reads "in a crjrpt," or cellar. * Gr. ergon, a work or operation ; a word tectmi- cally applied to the dramatic performance of the ritual, by the leitourgos or priest, or the display of phenomena by the theourgoSy magician, or thauma- tourgos, marvel-maker. " Gr. doxa, opinion, praise, glory ; fancy, dream, vision ; splendor, brightness, brilliant luminosity — the aura or spiritual radiance. 14 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Do not suppose that I am come to abolish the Law or the Seers. I am not come to abolish but to make full. Amen/ for I say- to you, Till the Sky and the Earth pass away, not one letter i or one accent shall pass away from the Law, until all things come into being. Whosoever, therefore, shall relax one of these very little commands, and teach men so, shall receive a very little name in the Realm of the Skies; but whosoever shall make full, and so teach, that [man] shall receive a great name in the Realm of the Skies. For I say to you, Unless your right-conduct much excels that of the Re- corders ^ and the Pharisaians, you surely shall not enter into the Realm of the Skies. You have heard that it was said to the people of old : * The Greek Amen is an exact equivalent for the Aum or Om, and has no such meaning as "verily" or "so be it." It is the mystic Name of the Christos, the word used in evoking the Breath. "These [things] saith the Amen, the Witness trustworthy and true, the First of the Foundation {ktzszs) of The God" {Rev, iii. 14). ^ Gr. grammateus, a scribe, secretary; one learned in the Law. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 5 **You* should do no murder; **And whosoever shall do murder shall be liable to the judgment."^ But / say to you. Every man who rashly becomes angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment;' and whosoever shall say to his brother, ''Dolt,"* shall be liable to the High Council ; " and whosoever shall say, **You soulless being,"' shall be liable to the Burning Valley^ of the Fire. If, * The singular pronoun is here distinguished from the plural by being spaced. ^ Ex. XX. 13; Deut, xvi. 18. ' Meaning an inferior court of judicature, consist- ing of seven judges, according to Josephus, though the Rabbins say of twenty-three. * Raka, a contemptuous expression ; its precise meaning is unknown or from what language it is derived. ' Gr. sunedrzon, a sitting together ; a council. * Gr. nioros, tasteless, insipid, mad ; an evident reference to the preceding passage, "if the salt be- comes tasteless," where the verb is a derivative of moros, 'Gr. gehenna, after Heb. ge hinnom. Valley of Hinnom, which was devoted to crematorial purposes. It is the opposite of Paradise, and symbolizes the animal passions in man. l6 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. therefore, you are bringing your votive- gift towards the place for offerings, and there remember that your brother has any- thing against you, leave there your votive- gift in front of the place for offerings, and withdraw ; first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and bring your votive-gift.* Be of kindly disposition towards your opponent promptly until you are on the Path with him, lest perhaps the oppon- ent deliver you up to the judge, and the judge deliver you up to the officer, and you be cast into prison.^ Amen, I say to you. You shall not come out thence until you have paid the very last farthing. You have heard that it was said: * Freedom from all uncharitable and impure thoughts is imperative before beginning the mystic meditation, else will the Fire, instead of rising to Paradise (the occult brain centres), strike downward into the centres of animal passions — an actual ''hell" a trifle worse than the fanciful one of the orthodox. Similarly, a group of students who are not in perfect harmony while studying will only arouse the impure and malignant forces of the animal soul. 'The prison is simply the physical body, which the offending soul will be compelled to inform. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 17 **You should not commit adultery."* But / say to you^ Every one who looks at a woman to lust after her has already com- mitted adultery with her in his heart. Now, if your right eye ensnare you/ pluck it out and cast it from you : for it is an advan- tage to you that one of your members per- ish, and not your whole body be cast into the Burning Valley. And if your right hand ensnare you, cut it off and cast it from you: for it is an advantage to you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body be cast into the Burning Valley.' But it was said: ** Whosoever puts away his wife, **Let him give her a divorce."* But / say to you^ Every one who puts away his wife, except for the cause of harlotry, makes her become an adulteress ; and he who * Ex, XX. 14. 'More literally, "trip you up." • Referring to a dangerous reflex action between the higher and lower centres of the Breath; the terms "right eye" and "right hand" having each a special mystic sense. ^ Deut, xxiv. 1-3. i8 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. marries her who is put away commits adul- tery. Again, you have heard that it was said to the people of old: ^ * Y o u should not foreswear yourself, ' **But should pay unto the Master your oaths." ^ But / say to you^ Do not confirm by an oath at all ; neither by the Sky, for it is the throne of The God;' nor by the Earth, for it is the footstool of his feet;* nor by Hierousalem, for it is the city of the great Ruler ;^ ^ neither swear you by your head, for you can not make one hair white or black. But let your saying be Yes, yes; No, no; for that which is more than these is of the useless [person].^ * Gr. epiorkein, to violate one's oath ; to swear falsely. Here both meanings are intended. ^ Ex. XX. 7; Lev, xix. 12. ^ Is a. Ixvi. I. * Is a. Ixvi. I. ^ Ps. xlviii. 2. ^ Gr. basileus, king ; the hierophant of the nation- al Mysteries. ' Or, "of no use." Gr. poneros, useless, depraved; a term applied to the profane and to those who THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. I9 You have heard that it was said: **An eye for an eye, "And a tooth for a tooth,"* \ But / say to j^w, Resist not the useless 1 [person]; but whosoever shall slap you on \ your right cheek, turn to him the other also; 1 and him who would sue y o u at law and take i your frock," let him have your mantle also; and whosoever shall press you into , service' for one mile, go with him two. To « him who begs of you, give; and from him who would borrow of you, turn not away. You have heard that it was said : '*You should love your neighbor, "And hate your enemy."* But / say to j/ou^ Love your enemies, and speak well of those who call down curses upon you; do rightly by those who hate practise the magic arts, or sorcerers; as opposed to chrSstoSy noble, worthy, bestowed upon the neophyte. ' Ex. xxi. 24. 'Gr. chiton, a woolen undergarment, or shirt, reaching to the knees. * Referring to the authority held by the king's courier to press people into service for the post or public service generally. * Lev. xix. 17, 18. 20 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. you; offer prayers for those who abusively threaten and pursue you ; that you may be- come sons of your Father in the Skies, for he causes his sun to rise on the useless and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust. For if you shall love those who love you, what recompense have you? Do not even the tax-collectors do that? And if you shall welcome your brothers only, what do you more [than others] ? Do not even the masses* do the same? You, therefore, shall be Perfect,' even as your Father, who is in the Skies, is Perfect. * Gr. ethnikoi, people forming a nation ; the profane. * That is, universal, accepting all men, rejecting none. The Perfect (teleioi) are the Initiates, those who have reached the Perf ecting-period (telos) or unity with the Father. Thus Paulos says: "We talk wisdom among the Perfect, yet not a wisdom of this On-going, nor of the Archons [occult teachers] of this On -going, who are be- coming of no account; but we talk divine Wisdom, in a Mystery, arcane" (I. Cor. ii. 6, 7). Or as said by the Christos in an invocation to the Father: *'The Radiance which thou hast given to me, / have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made Perfect in one" {John xvii. 23). THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 21 Take heed that you perform not your char- ities * before men, so as to be seen by them, else you have no recompense in presence of your Father who is in the Skies. When, therefore, you perform charities, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the inter- preters' do in the assemblies and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Amen, I say to you. They fully have their recompense. But when you perform char- ities, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your char- ities may be in the occult; and your Father who sees in the occult shall repay you in the manifested. ~~^ And when you offer prayers, you shall not be as the interpreters; for they are very fond of standing in the assemblies and in the corners of the streets to pray, that they may be seen by men. Amen, I say to you. They fully have their recompense. But when you offer prayers, enter into your * A reading of equal authority is "right-conduct." ' Gr. hupokritai, "those who explain," as actors; diviners, who professed to interpret dreams and omens; pretenders, hypocrites. 22 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. treasure-vault/ and when you have closed the door, pray to your Father who is in the occult, and your Father who is in the occult shall repay you in the manifested. But when offering prayers do not jabber, like the foreigners ; for they think that they will be understood because of their voluble- ness. Do not be likened to them : for your Father understands your need before you ask him. Thus, then, you should pray: Our Father who art in the Skies ^ thy Name be intoned^ ^ thy Realm^ return^ thy Will* come into being, ^ Gr. tamteton, treasure-house, store-room, cellar, or subterranean vault for concealing valuables ; here used symbolically for the auric sphere, or treasury of all the soul's experiences, into which the aspirant should withdraw and "close the door" — that is, insulate himself magnetically — before evoking the Breath, or Fiery Power. ^ Gr. hagiazesthai, to be consecrated [ to the Gods], made sacred; to be purified. The Name is the Am^n, or word used in evoking the Breath. The whole prayer, in the Greek, is a magical chant. ^ Divine seer ship. * The self-creativ& power of the monogenis, the one "born from one [parent]," that is, born from himself as his own Father. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 23 As in the Sky, so on th£EA'^th,^ That Bread of'T^he coming day^ give us to-day ; and free us from our obligations, as WE also have freed those under obligation to us; and bring us not to the test,^ but deliver us from uselessness.^ * The psychic nature has become pure like the * spiritual. ^ Gr. epiousiofi, a coined word found nowhere ex- cept in this prayer; it clearly does not mean '* daily," but evidently "which is coming" or **of the future." The Bread is the "Bread of Life," of which the Christos says: "/ am that Living Bread that came down out of the Sky. If any one eats of this bread he shall live throughout the On-going" (fohn vi. 51). ' Gr. pezrasmos, a proving, trial, experiment. When the Fire of the Parakletos is aroused it is liable to strike downward into the generative cen- tres, if the man is not sufficiently purified, instead of going upward to the brain centres (the "Realm of the Skies"). This is the terrible test of his purity; and he who fails finds himself in the "Burning Valley of the Fire," and in danger of death or in- sanity. But if perfectly pure he is not brought to this test. ■• All the conditions and incidents of earth-life, for each incarnate man, being regulated for him by his own soul or mystic "Father" as a training through 24 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. For thine is the Realm, the Force and the Radiance,^ throughout the On-goings. Amin! For if you forgive men their mistakes, your Father, he of the Sky, will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your mistakes. But when you fast, do not become, like the interpreters, of sullen face: for they cloud over their faces, that they may be seen '' by men to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, They fully have their recompense. But when you fast, annoint your head and wash your face, that you may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in the occult; and your Father who sees in the occult will repay you in the mani- fested. Do not treasure up for yourselves treasures which he may rise from the uselessness of a mere "image" (eiddlon) to be a Master-builder in spatial life. * Gr. doxa^ shining ; the auric body of the Self- bom. '•There is an untranslatable play on the words here used: "they make their faces unseen in such wise that they may be seen.'' THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 25 Upon the Earth,' where moth" and rust' cloud over, and where thieves dig through and steal; but treasure up for yourselves treasures in a Sky where neither moth nor rust clouds over, and where thieves do not dig through and steal: for where your treas- ure is, there also will be your heart.* The lamp of the body is the Eye. If, therefore, your Eye be open,^ your whole body will be luminous; but if your Eye be useless,' your .whole body will be dark. If, there- fore, the Light which is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two Masters: for either * "Earth" is the psychic world, the bride of the ••Sky," the sidereal or spiritual. Knowledge stored up in the psychic nature is impermanent, nor can it be guarded against the followers of the ••left-hand path," who dig through and steal. * Gr. sis, any small insect, as a clothes-moth or a bookworm. ' Gr. broszs, eating, gnawing ; its use in this pass- age is peculiar, and some good authorities translate it as •' corn-worm" instead of "corrosion," or ••rust." * The mystic ••heart," whose throbbing opens that inner ••eye" which is the •'lamp of the body." 'Gr. haplous, unfolded, clear, open. •Gr. ponSros, here equivalent to ••atrophied." 26 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. he will hate the one and love the other, or ; he will hold to the one and disregard the other. You can not be devoted to a God J and to a Mamonas.^ Because of this I say iito you, Do not be concerned about your ^"^ psychic body,^ what you shall eat and what you shall drink ; neither for your body, what you shall wear. Is not the psychic body more than the food, and the body than the garment? Look at the birds of the Sky, that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into granaries, yet your Father, he of the Sky, feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they? Now, what one among you by being concerned can add one single arm-length '^ to his height? And why then * The precise meaning of this word is unknown. It is supposed to signify "gain;" and some have supposed Mam6nas to be a God worshipped in Syria, and equivalent to PloutSn, as god of wealth and of the Under-world. * Gr. psucM, the semi-material body, or psuchikon sdma. When it is clouded by food-fumes, psychic vision is obscured — a matter of consequence to psy- chics, but not to those who see with the "open eye." ^ Gr. pechus, elbow ; the measure of the arm from the elbow to the finger-tips. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 27 are you concerned about a garment? Medi- tate on the lilies of the field, how they grow : they do not weary themselves with toil, nor do they spin; yet I say to you, Even Sol- omon in all his Radiance* was not arrayed like one of these. ^ Now, if The God so robes the plant of the field, which to-day lives and to-morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [robe] you^ O you of little intuition? Do not be concerned, therefore, saying, ** What shall we eat?" or, **What' shall we drink?" or, *^With what shall we be arrayed?" For after all these things the outsiders ^ seek. For your Father, he of the Sky, knows that you need all these things. But seek first the Realm of The God, and his right-conduct; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be concerned about the morrow ; for the morrow will be concerned about itself: suf- ficient for the day is its own vexation. * Gr. doxuy shining, the aura. "^ Kings X. 1-29. • Gr. ethnos, people living together, family, band, tribe, race; particular class of men; here denoting special castes of pseudo-occultists. 28 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Judge not, that you may not be judged: for with what judgment you judge you shall be judged, and with what measure you measure it shall be measured back to you. And why do you look at that shaving* in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the beam which is in your own eye? Or how shall you say to your brother, *'Let me pull the shaving out of your eye," and, look, there is the' beam in your own eye? Interpreter, first pull the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to pull the shaving out of your brother's eye. Give not the sanctuary to the dogs ; neither throw your pearls in front of the pigs, lest perchance they trample on them with their feet, and turn again and rend you. ^ Ask, and it shall be given to you ; seek, and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be *Gr. karphos, a straw, a small chip or shaving; here contrasted with dokos^ a beam or joist. As lesous was a carpenter's son, the simile is an artistic touch of local color. ^ The inner life and psychic experiences should be spoken of only to those who will understand what is said, and not to the ignorant and the incredulous. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 29 opened to you ; for every one who asks re- ceives ; and who seeks, finds ; and [to him] who knocks, it shall be opened. Or what man among you, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he ask for a fish, also, will give him a snake? If you^ therefore, who are useless ones, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in the Skies give good things* to those who ask him? All things, therefore, that you wish men should do to you, even so do you also to them : for such is the Law and the Seers. ^ Enter in by the narrow gate : for wide [is] the gate and spacious the path which leads to the Loss,' and many are they who enter in through it ; for narrow is the gate and ^ Luke xi. 13, reads, "give the Purifying Breath." 'The outer form and the inner meaning. 'Gr. apoleia, a destroying; ruin; losing (espe- cially losing life). Here, the word is used in opposi- tion to Life, and the passage refers to the down- ward path of the Breath, leading to generation in the physical world, or world of Death. 30 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. hemmed-in the path which leads to the Life,' and few are they who find it. Now, beware of the false Seers who come to you in sheep's clothing,'* but within are plunder- ing wolves. By their fruits you shall recog- nize them. Do they gather a cluster of grapes from thorns, or figs from prickly plants? Even so every good tree produces useful fruits, but the rotten tree produces useless fruits. A good tree can not produce useless fruits, nor a rotten tree produce use- ful fruits. Every tree which does not pro- duce useful fruit is cut down and thrown into [the] fire. Hence, surely, by their fruits you will recognize them. Not every one who says to me, ^* Master, Master," shall enter into the Realm of the Skies; but he who does the Will of my Father who is in the Skies. Many will say to me on that day: ''Master, Master, in your Name have we not interpreted? And in your Name cast out spirits? And in your Name performed many magical ^ The upward path of the Breath, leading to the mystic birth "from above." ^ Sorcerers simulating the auras of neophytes. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 3 1 feats? "^ And then I shall say plainly to them, **I never knew you; ^ depart from me, you who who would make a practice of sor- cery."' Every one, therefore, who hears these sayings* of mine and does them, I will liken to a sensible man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and assailed that house; and it did not fall, for its foundation was laid upon the rock. And every one who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them, shall be lik- ened to a stupid man who built his house upon the sand; and the rains descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and assailed that house; and it fell, and great was its fall. * Or, "aroused many Forces." 'Or, "approved of you." ' Gr. anomia, lawlessness, as opposed to dikaias- uni, right-conduct; violation of the Law {nomas) of the right-hand path. * Gr. logos, the inner thought and its outer expres- sion; statement, story, myth; maxim, precept, pro- verb; declaration of an oracle. THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS." [I. Corinthians, xv. 35-57.] But some one will say, **How are the dead ones'* raised up, and with what sort of body do they come?" Thoughtless one, that which you sow is not made living unless it dies, and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which will come into being, but a naked grain, it may chance of wheat or of some other [kinds]; but The God gives it a body just as he has determined, and to each of the things sown its own proper body. All flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one [flesh] of men, another of animals, another of fishes, and another of birds. And [there ^ Gr. christoSy washed, anointed with oil ( after bathing). The Christos is the one Anointed by the Breath or universal Spirit. *The question is put literally, referring to those who are dead in the ordinary sense ; but the answer is a play upon the word, applying it in a mystical sense to those who are prisoned in the physical body. THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 33 are] bodies of Sky-substance and bodies of Earth-substance;' but [there is] a certain Radiance* of those of Sky-substance, and a different [Radiance] of those of Earth-substance; one Radiance of the Sun, and another Radiance of the Moon, and another Radiance of the Stars — for Star differs from Star in Radiance. Thus, also, is the Resuscitation of the dead ones. It is sown in a destroying, raised in indestructibility; sown in a disesteeming, raised in Radiance; sown in a weakening, raised in force; sown as a psychic body, raised as a Breath body.' There is a psychic body, and there is a Breath body; hence it * Referring to states of matter in the psychic and sidereal worids. ^ Gr. doxa, shining, the aura. The **sun" and "moon" are the positive and negative aspects of the Parakletos ; and the "stars" are the force-centres, each of which manifests a different color. * Before man, the "dead one," can regain his di- vine state, and be "born from above" in the self- shining spiritual body, he must destroy his passional nature and rise to the permanent part of his being ; discarding material desires, he rises to the psychic life, in the aura or "radiance"; then through a 34 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. is written, **The first man, Adam, came into being in a psychic form," ^ the last Adam in a life-producing Breath. Yet the Breath [body] was not first, but the psychic; after- wards the Breath [body]. The first man '•weakening," a renunciation of psychic powers, he rises in the magical *' force" (dunamis) of the Para- kletos, or the Holy Breath acting as the mediator (mesites) between individual man and the One Self. The man whose only conscious life is in his physical body is "dead"; his resuscitation begins in the psychic and is perfected in the spiritual, in the "Breath body" (or, pneumatic body, Gr. pneumati- kos, from pneuma, breath). Compare John iii. 5-8: "If any one be not born of Water and of Breath he can not enter into the Realm of The God. That which has been born from the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born from the Breath is Breath. Do not wonder because I said to you, 'You have to be born from above.* The Breath breathes where it wills, and you hear its Voice, but you know not whence it comes nor where it goes. So is every one who has been born from the Breath." In New Testament nomenclature the bodies in the three manifested worlds are termed respectively "carnal" (sarkikos), "psychic" (psu- chikos), and "pneumatic" (pneumatikos). ^ Gr. psuche, astral body ; psychic nature. The quotation, if taken from Gen. ii. 7, is not literal. THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 35 is of the Earth, of dust ; * the second man, the Master, is from the Sky. As dnst, so also are they who are of dust; and as that which is of Sky -substance, so are they who are of the Sky-substance; and even as we have worn the likeness of that which is of dust, we shall also wear the likeness of that which is of Sky-substance. Now, I say this, brothers. Flesh and blood can not inherit the Realm of a God, nor does the destructible inherit the indestructible. Be- hold, I tell you a Mystery:^ though indeed we shall not all sleep, yet we all shall be transformed, in the Atom, in an out-flashing of an Eye, in the last trumpet-call.' For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead ones * Gr. choikos, loose earth or dust heaped up ; here used metaphorically for cosmic dust, or astral sub- stance. • Gr. tnusteriotty a revealed secret, any secret or occult teaching; plural, ta musterm, ceremonies of initiation; the celebration of the arcane rites. ^ By rendering atomos * 'moment," and ripe "twink- ling," the translators of the authorized version have added to the obscurity of the "mystery" told in this passage. For atomos, "uncut," "that which is indi- visible," never means "moment" — as an "atom [of 36 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. shall be raised indestructible, and we shall be transformed. For this destroyed must be clothed with indestructibility, and this mortal ^ must be clothed with immortality. Now, when this destroyed shall have been clothed with indestructibility, and this mor- time] " ; and though the lexicons give it this meaning for the New Testament only^ the word does not appear in the New Testament anywhere save in the above passage, where it refers to the atomic (non- molecular) nature of the pneumatic body. Nor is ripe found in the New Testament elsewhere than in this passage, where a peculiar meaning has been attributed to it. The word signifies primarily the impetus or force with which anything is thrown or hurled. The whole passage relates to the mystery of the projection of the pneumatic body from the "open eye" at the "last trumpet-call," that is, the last of the seven spiritual sounds heard in the mystic trance. Thus in the Apocalypse, after the opening of the last of the "seven seals," "the seven Mes- sengers who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound"; and when the seventh Mes- senger sounded his trumpet there were "Voices in the Sky, saying: 'The Realm of our Master, and of his Anointed, has come into being; and he shall reign throughout the On-goings of the On-goings.' " *Or, more literally, "this which is dead." THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 37 tal shall have been clothed with immortal- ity, then shall come to pass that saying which is written, * * Death is swallowed up in victory." * Where, O Death, is your goad? Where, O Under-world, is your victory? The goad of Death is error, and the force of error is the Law.' [Matthew xxiv. 1-31.] And lesous went out, and was going from the temple-courts,' and his pupils came to him to point out to him the buildings of the * Is a. XXV. 8. ' That is, through failure to attain to the Christos, man remains under the sway of Death, ( who reigns over the material world), and the psychic world — the Under- World (hades J; and illusions of ritualis- tic and- conventional religion are the magical force fdunamzsj of Death, the distortions of the True due to man's atrophied moral and psychic natures. ' The temple-enclosure (hierosj, as distinguished from the temple proper (naos). Thus in I. Cor, iii. 16, 17: **Do you not know that you are a temple (naos) of a God, and the Breath of The God dwells in you? If one destroys the temple of The God, him The God will destroy; for sacred is The God's temple which you are." 38 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. temple-courts. But lesous said to them: *^Do you not s^e all these [things]? Amen, I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone Mpon [another] stone that shall not be thrown down."* Now, as he sat upon the Olive-tree Hill, the pupils came to him privately, saying: **Tell us: when shall these [things] be? And what [shall be] the Sign of your presence,^ and of the Assembly of the Per- fect^ of the On-going?"* And lesous, answering, said to them: ** Beware lest any one lead you in wan- dering ways: for many shall come in my ^ The outer temple being a symbol of the Mys- teries established among the people, the prediction has been fulfilled literally during the Christian cycle. ^Gr. parousia, the "being present"; but it may equally well mean the "coming" or "arrival." It is also used for the final •* unveiling" (apokalupsis) of the Inner God to the Initiate. (See note 2, p. 50.) ^ Gr. suntelezuy the company of the Perfect (teleioi), the Initiates. * Gr. aion, any definite cycle in life and time ; in this passage referring to the 2,155 years' cycle which comes to an end within a few years of the present time. THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 39 Name, saying, */ am the Anointed,' and shall lead many in wandering ways. And you shall be about to hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not alarmed, for all [things] must come into being; but the Perfecting-period^ is not yet. For class shall rise up against class, and realm against realm ; and there shall be privations of food, * and epidemics, and earthquakes, according to places.' Now, all these [things are] the first of birth-pangs.* Then they shall deliver you up to a hemming-in,^ and make you * Gr. telos^ completion, making perfect, initiation in sacred Mysteries ; a term applied by classical writ- ers to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Here it denotes the period for the initiation of those who, during the Life-cycle, have, through purification of the lower nature, risen above the physical and psychic worlds and attained conscious spiritual individuality. * Not famines only, but also a scarcity of food among the poorer classes. ' Epidemics and seismic phenomena being due to changes taking place in the earth's aura. * Gr. 8dis, pain of child-birth. Here referring to the birth of the new cycle. •The intensification of forces increasing the bit- terness of the psychically unpurified portion of hu- manity against the few purified ones. 40 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. wretched ; ^ and you shall be hated by all classes because of my Name. And then many shall be tripped up, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false seers shall rise up, and shall lead many in wandering ways. And because sorcery shall be prevalent, the love of the masses'* shall become cold; but he who stands firm until the Perfecting-period, that [man] shall be saved. And this magical Message of the Realm shall be proclaimed in the whole inhabited world for a witness ' to all classes. And then shall come the Perfecting-period. When, therefore, you shall see the foul thing which depopulates* (which was spoken of through Daniel the > Or, * ' kill you " ; but the sense here appears to be metaphorical, "weary to death." ^ Gr. hot polloz\ the many, the majority (of the people); the profane. * To "bear witness" is to remind men in the ma- terial world of that which they already know in the world of souls, even though they are unable to corre- late the two worlds. * Impurity, such as Neo-Malthusianism and kin- dred forms of sorcery, which destroy the "holy place," the "open eye," and cause spiritual death. THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 4I Seer) standing in the holy place (he who reads let him understand!)^ then let those who are in loudaia flee to the hills ; let him who is on the house-top not go down to take the [things] out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle. And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a Sabbath. For then shall be a great hemming-in, such as there has not been from the first of the world until now; no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, all flesh would not be saved ; but through the chosen ones those days shall be shortened. Then if any one shall say to you, * Behold, here is the Anointed one,' or, *there,' do not accept it as true. For false Anointed ones and false seers shall rise up, and shall give great Signs and prodigies,* so as to lead into wandering ways, if possible, even the * In English idiom, ••Reader, consider this." ■ Gr. teras, omen, portent ; any marvellous appear- ance or incident due to hidden causes and presaging coming events ; any occult phenomenon. 42 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. chosen ones. Behold, I have forewarned you. If, therefore, they shall say to you, 'Behold, he is in the desert,' do not go forth; * Behold, he is in the treasure-vaults,* do not accept [it] as true. For as the gleam comes from the sunrise and shines until the sunset, even so shall be the presence of the Son of the Man/ '* Wheresoever the fallen body is, there shall the eagles be joined in combat. Now, * Man (anthrdpos) is a technical term for the manifestation of the Logos during a particular Life- cycle. Thus Valentinus says : ' ' When God uttered a revelation of himself, this was called a Man." Each of these "Men," or Life-cycles, lasts approximately 2,155 years, or the twelfth of a sidereal year, and each has its Spiritual Ruler or * ' Man sent forth from God." Thus, the measurements of the New Hierou- salem are given according to ''a measure of a Man, that is, of a Messenger" (Rev. xxL 17). The ^onology is concisely given in John i. 1-7: "In a First-principle was [existed] the Logos, and the Lo- gos was in relation to The God, and the Logos was a God. This [God] it was who in a First- principle was in relation to The God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one single thing came into being. That which has come into being was Life in him, and the Life THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 43 immediately after the hemming-in of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the Sky and the Forces of the Skies shall be vibrated/ And then shall be manifested in the Sky the Sign of the Son of the Man ; and then shall all the tribes of the Earth'* lament, and they shall see the Son of the Man coming in the clouds of the Sky with great Force and Radi- ance; and he shall send his Messengers with the loud sound of a trumpet-call,' and was the Light of the Men. . . . There came into being a Man sent forth from a God ; his name [was] loannes. This [forerunner] came for wit- ness that he might bear witness about the Light." * The eagles are the usual glyphic for the positive and negative forces (whether of man or of the Earth); and through their being brought into equi- librium the centres from which they emanate will be darkened, the forces then rising to the next higher world. ^ The souls who are still unable to rise above the psychic world, having failed to attain emancipation during the Life-cycle. • The Earth is considered to be a living being, hav- ing a psychic and a spiritual nature; and it is to these higher planes that the above passage relates. 44 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. they shall gather together his chosen ones from the four Winds/ from the one end of the Skies to the other." * Those souls of the four manifested hierarchies who have earned their emancipation and are entitled to become of the number of the Perfect. Here the discourse ends, so far as it relates to the cycle or racial period ; that which follows is purely psycho- physiological, applying to the mikrokosm, or man. Of the three parables, or allegories, that of the fig-tree relates to the generative centres, the fig being a sym- bol of generation, both from the shape of its leaves and from its peculiar way of bearing fruit ; the five sensible and five stupid virgins with their "torches" or "lights" ("lamps" is a mistranslation) represent the psychic or heart-centres; and the three servants (or, properly, "slaves") with their talents (five, two, and one, the one being buried) stand for the three Fires and the seven brain-centres, the unprofitable slave, who is cast into "the outer darkness," repre- senting the lunar Fire, as does the unrepentant thief in the allegory of the Crucifixion. THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. [I. Corinthians xii. 1-13, 31; xiii; xiv. 1-6, 15-19.] Now, concerning- the Breath-beings,^ brothers, I do not wish you to be ignorant. You know that you were once of the out- siders, deceived by means of those voiceless Shells,'' even as you were allured. For that reason I make known to you that no one speaking by Breath of a God calls lesous a temple-offering ; ^ and no one can speak of lesous as Master save by the Purifying^ Breath. » Ethereal beings, Gods, ♦♦spirits," or disembod- ied souls, phantoms, etc. * Gr. eidola, soulless astral forms, apparitions evoked by the thaumaturgists. Origenes also applies the term eidola to them. lamblichos execrates these ♦'empty phantoms" in his treatise On the Mysteries (xxviii-xxx). ' That is, a mere superstition of exoteric worship. * Gr. hagioSy pure, devoted to the Gods. The Breath is the agent in the telestic or purificatory rites, and the Fire of spiritual inspiration. 46 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Now, there are diversities of magical pow- ers, but the same Breath. And there are diversities of services, and the same Master. And there are diversities of energizings, but the same God, he who energizes all [things] in all. Now, to each one is given the shin- ing-forth of the Breath for the general good. For to one is given through the Breath a saying^ of [arcane] Knowledge,'' and to another a saying of Secret Lore,^ according to the same Breath, and to an- other intuition in the same Breath ; and to another, magical powers of healing, in the same Breath; and to another, energizings of Forces; and to another, Seership ; * and to another, discernings of Breath-beings; ^ Gr. logos, a discourse ; reason ; a maxim contain- ing an inner or esoteric meaning. (See note 4, p. 31.) * Gr. sophia, learning ; philosophical teaching ; eso- teric knowledge. ^ Gr. gndsis, wisdom ; the sacred science of the Initiates. * Gr. propMteia, the faculty of a Seer (prophetes); speaking from direct cognition. A prophetes is one who "speaks for another," for a God, or under divine inspiration; hence, a Seer — not merely one who foretells future events. THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 47 and to another, various mystery-jargons; * and to another, the interpretation of mystery- jargons. '^ Now, one and the same Breath energizes all these, distributing to each one respectively even as he determines. For just as the body is one, and has many mem- bers, so also is the Anointed. For in one Breath we were all lustrated into one body, whether loudaians or Hellenes, whether slaves or freemen, and were all saturated in one Breath. . . . Desire ardently the better- magical powers — and yet I point out to you a more excellent Path. Though I speak in the mystery -jargons of the Men and of the Messengers, but have not Love, I am become [but] sounding brass or a cymbal clanging. And though I have * Gr. glossa, the tongue ; word of mouth, lan- guage. Here used for magical formulas for arous- ing forces, and for oracular utterances spoken in the mantic frenzy or state of inspiration. The verb used for "speaking" {lalein, to babble, chatter, prattle) is a peculiar one, and is generally applied in the New Testament to speakmg under inspiration, and to disclosing secrets. 'It is noticeable that mne powers are here enu- merated. 48 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Seership, and know the Mysteries all, and all the Secret Lore; and though I have all Wisdom, * so that I could remove mountains, but have not Love, I am nothing. And though I give away all my possessions, and allow my body to become parched up,' but have not Love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, is kind; Love does not envy, does not vaunt itself, is not inflated, does not appear fantastic, seeks not the things of self, is not irritated, does not im- pute evil ; rejoices not in injustice, but takes glad share in The Truth;^ shelters all * Gr. pistiSy confidence, trust ; inner certainty ; in- tuition, insight. It is the illuminating power of the Parakletos, ranging from mere psychic intuition to full spiritual illumination, in which sense Paulos here uses it. Technically, pistis is the power to penetrate into the inner planes of being, gnosis is the interior knowledge, and sophia is the knowledge retained on returning to the outer plane of consciousness. ^Alluding to the mistaken monkish notion that spiritual knowledge can be gained by the mere re- nunciation of worldly affairs and the practice of asceticism. ^ Gr. alitheia, the One Reality ; true Being as opposed to the transitory illusions of phenomenal ex- istence; the Secret Doctrine of the Mysteries. THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 49 things, has intuition into all things, hopes for all things, bears patiently with all things. Love perishes never — whether Seer-vis- ions shall be done away with, or mystery-jar- gons be made an end of, or the Secret Lore be done away with. For our Secret Lore is from a fragment, and our Seership is from a fragment;' but when the Perfecting-pe- riod shall have come, that which is from a fragment shall be done away with. When I was a child' I talked as a child, thought as a child, reasoned as a child ; but since I have become a man I have put away the [things] of a child. For now we see as by means of puzzling images in a mirror; but then^ face towards face. Now I know only from a frag- ment; but then I shall have full conscious- ness even as I have had full consciousness. And now abide Wisdom, Hope, Love,^ these * Or, ' ' we know [only] from a fragment, and we have Seership [only] from a fragment." * Literally, •• an infant," ''a baby." * Gr. pistis, faith (see note i, p. 48); elpis^ hope, hoping, the object hoped for; agape^ lovingness, affection, love. The word agape is purely Biblical and ecclesiastical, and was evidently coined as a substitute for the pagan Eros (love). In the older 50 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Three; but the greatest of these [is] Love. Be followers of Love, and strive after the things of the Breath; but more that you should speak as Seers. For he who speaks in a mystery -jargon speaks not to Men, but to The God: no one hears, but by a Breath he speaks Mysteries.* But he who speaks as a Seer speaks to M e n for an upbuilding, and an evocation, and an exhortation. He who speaks in a mystery- jargon upbuilds himself, but he who speaks as a Seer up- builds a Society. Now, I desire that you all should speak in mystery- jargons, but more that you should speak as Seers; for he who speaks as a Seer is greater than he who Greek mythology Eros was the highest of the Gods, and is the same as the Logos; thus, "Eros, the most ancient, generated all things" (Argonautics). Hesiodos also assigns the first and highest place to Eros, *'the most beautiful among immortal Gods" {Theogony, 120). Faith and Hope were also prom- inent in the old mythology: "Hope alone remains, a kind Goddess among mortals, the rest have aban- doned us and gone to Olympos; gone is Faith, a mighty Goddess" {TheogniSy 1131-1133). * The arcane teachings or doctrines, which are to be expressed only in a secret language. THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 5 1 Speaks in mystery-jargons, unless he inter- prets, so that the Society may receive an upbuilding. And just now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in mystery- jargons, of what assistance would I be to you, unless I shall speak to you either in an Unveiling, or in a Secret Lore, or in a Vision-seeing, or in a Teaching.' ... I shall invoke in the Breath, and I shall invoke also in the Soul;'' I shall hymn in the Breath, and I shall hymn also in the Soul. For if you bless' -in the Breath, how will he who occu- * Here are given, in inverted order, the four de- grees of initiation, the lowest being that in which oral teaching was imparted to the "veiled ones" (mustai), and the highest being that of the "Divine Presence" ( parousia ), the "Unveiling" (apoka- lupsis) of the Inner Self of the Seer. Paulos here speaks of himself as an hierephant. The four degrees correspond to the three worlds and the Pleroma. • Gr. nous fnoosj, pure reason ; the interior mind ; the rational Soul or Inner Man. Unless a man speaks from direct knowledge of spiritual things, his words have no force and do not appeal to the inner nature of his hearers. ■ The word here used is a purely technical one, meaning to employ sound in arousing the forces of the Breath. 52 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. pies the station of the common person * say the ** Amen" at your giving of thanks,* see- ing that he does not know what you. are saying? For you^ indeed, give thanks beau- tifully, but the other [man] is not upbuilt! I give thanks to The God that I speak mystery- jargons more than you all; yet in the Society I would rather speak five say- ings through my own soul, that I may teach others also by word of mouth, than count- less sayings in a mystery- jargon. * Gr. ididteSy a private person, one of the common people; ill-informed, unpracticed, illiterate. Here, one of the profane or uninitiated. ^ At the conclusion of the ceremony admitting the "common person" into the Society. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS.' Iakobos, a slave of God and Master Anointed lesous, sends good- will to the twelve tribes that are among those scattered abroad. My brothers, esteem it nothing but a fa- vor when you fall into various trials, being aware that the proving of your faith works out patient-waiting." Now, let the patient- waiting have a perfect work, so that you may be perfect and all-round, lacking in nothing. Now, if any one of you is lack- ing in knowledge,' let him ask of The God * Commonly called The General Epistle of James y and supposed to have been written either by "James the Just" or by "James the Less." ^ Gr. huponioniy remaining behind ; steadfast wait- ing. Technically, the patient waiting for the Per- fecting-period (telos) or Initiation, when through the action of the Advocate (parakletos) the puri- fied psychic becomes one of the spiritually Illumined (pneutnatikoi). ' Gr. Sophia, learning, philosophy ; arcane knowl- edge. (See note i, p. 4Pa) 54 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. who gives to all openly, and does not chide, and it shall be given him. But let him ask trustingly, not at all irresolute; for he who is irresolute is like the surge of the sea, storm-driven and tossed to and fro. Cer- tainly let not that man think that he will get anything from the Master — a bi-psychic* man unsettled in all his ways. But let the lowly ^ brother vaunt himself in his loftiness, and the rich in his lowliness ; be- cause as a flower of grass he shall pass away. For the sun rose with burning heat, and withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and the beauty of its appearance was ruined. So also will the rich [ man ] decay in his goings. Immortal ' [is] the man who remains firm * Gr. dip sue ho s. The psychic nature of man, be- ing intermediate between the spiritual and the phys- ical, partakes of both; until it is purified from the material element the unwavering concentration of mind required for spiritual insight is impossible, for through the conflict of spiritual aspirations and ma- terial desires a man is kept at variance with himself. "^ Gr. tapeinoSy of low rank, poor, humble. ^ Gr. makarios (makar), an epithet of the Gods (makares theoi) descriptive of their state of death- lessness and everlasting bliss ; the highest happiness. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 55 under trial; because, having become ac- cepted, he will get the crown of the Life which the Master promised to those who love him. Let no one who is being tried say, *'l am tried by The God"; for The God is untried in evil [things] , and /le tries no one ; but each one is tried by his own Desire, being lured forth and enticed. Then De- sire, ' having conceived, brings forth Sin ; and Sin,' being fully perfected, gives birth to Death. My beloved brothers, be not led into wandering ways. Every good bequest and every perfect gift is from above, com- ing down from the Father of the Lights, with whom there can be no alternation, or * Gr. epithumia, eager longing, lust; the "vital impulse which leads from one sensation to another," the principle of desire which leads the soul to rein- carnate — here personified as a wanton woman who allures and entices. ^Gr. hamartia, literally, "missing the mark"; failure; a bad action, a violation of divine law. In New Testament terminology it refers especially to the fall into generation ; and generation, or "sin," brings the soul into the material world, which is mystically termed "Death," its dwellers, "the mor- tals," being regarded as "the dead" (hoi nekroi) who have to be revivified spiritually. 56 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. shadow of turning.* Having willed^ he gave birth to us by a Mind^ of Truth,' for us to be a kind of firstlings* of his embodied beings. And so, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for man's wrath does not work out The God's right-conduct. There- fore, laying aside all filth and residue of vice, * with mildness accept graciously the in- *Tlie figure of speech refers to the alternating seasons and the shadow on the sun-dial, thus con- trasting the Timeless Father of the Lights with manifested Time as measured by the luminous bodies in space. * Gr. logos, the external expression of the interior thought, the formative power of the mind; a word or saying as expressing a thought. 3 Gr. alHheia, the Real, as opposed to the appa- rent or illusory ; the changeless spiritual basis of life, which forever is ; while manifested life is forever becoming. * Gr. aparcM, the preliminary rite i^^ sacrificing; the firstlings offered in a sacrifice. Here the mean- ing apparently is that the first Men (the Mind-born Sons, the "Builders") were the archetypes of all beings in the inferior worlds. ^The evil impulses that continue automatically, in the lower nature, even after the mind is fixed upon virtue, and every effort is toward right-conduct. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 57 bom Mind, which is able to save your psy- chic natures. But become doers of Mind/ and not hearers only, not deluding yourselves with false reasonings. For if any one is a hearer of Mind, and not a doer, this one is like a man observing the face of his birth in a mirror. For he observed himself, and went away, and immediately forgot of what sort he was. But he who peers into the perfect Law, that of freedom, and stands fast, becoming, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this [man] shall be immor- tal in his doing. If any one seems to be religious, who does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this [man's] religion is foolish. Clean and undefiled religion, with The God and Father, is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, [and] to keep him- self unspotted from the world. My brothers, do you, in paying regard to outward appearances, keep the faith of our Master, Anointed lesous, [Master] of the Radiance? For if there enter into your ' That is, following the inner promptings of the Soul, or Logos. 58 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. assembly a man with gold rings on his fin- gers, in splendid clothes, and there enter in also a beggar* in dirty clcrthes, and you look up to the one wearing the splendid clothes, and say, **Sit thou here in a place of honor;" and to the beggar you say, *^ Stand thou^ or sit near my footstool," do you not make distinctions among yourselves, and be- come judges with sorry notions? Consider, my beloved brothers; did not The God choose the beggars of the world, rich in faith and heirs of the Realm which he promised to those who love him ? But you dishonored the beggar. Do not the rich domineer over you, and do not they drag you into courts of justice? Do they not defame the noble Name which has been nicknamed upon you?'' If, however, you carry out perfectly a royal Law, according to the Writing," ^ Gr. ptochos, one who begs from door to door; a mendicant. ^The term *' Christians" seems to have been at first a derisive one and a misnomer ; for while lesous was the Anointed (christos), or King-Messias of the cycle, his followers could hardly claim that title. ^ Gr. graphe, anything drawn, painted or written; a letter; a passage from the sacred books. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 59 **Love your neighbor as yourself," you do nobly. But if you pay regard to outward ap- pearances, you commit sin, being convicted under the Law as offenders. For whoso- ever shall keep the whole Law, but shall make one false step, has become liable for all. For the one who said, * ^ Do not commit adultery," said also, **Do not commit mur- der." Now, if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become an offender against Law. So speak, and so act, as those about to be judged by a Law of freedom. For judgment [is] pitiless to him who has not shown compassion. Com- passion vaunts itself over judgment. What use [is it] , my brothers, in case any one says he has faith, but does not have works — can his faith save him? Now, in case a brother or a sister should be thinly clad, and in want of daily food, and one of you should say to them, **Go your way in peace, be warmed and fed," but you do not give them the things necessary for the body, what use [is it]? Thus also faith, unless it has works, is in itself dead. But some one will say, ^'Vou have faith, and / have works; 6o THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. show me your faith separate from works, and / will show you my faith by works." You believe that The God is One; you do nobly — the Genii* believe [it] too, and shud- der! Now, do you wish to know, O friv- olous man, that faith separate from works is dead? Was not Abraham, our Father, vindi- cated by works, having brought his son Isaac to the place of sacrifice?'' Do you see that faith participated in his works, and that faith was made perfect by works? And the Writ- ing was fulfilled which says, **Now, Abra- ham believed The God, and it was passed to his account as right-conduct";^ and he was nicknamed ''God's friend."* Do you see that a man is vindicated by works, and ^ Gr. daimon, god, goddess ; tutelary spirit. Prop- erly, the daimones were the deified souls of the great heroes who are intermediate between ordinary men and the perfected men or Gods ; but in later Greek the term is applied to the spirits of the dead gener- ally, and in the New Testament it is used in a bad sense to designate ghosts, spooks and mischievous sprites. " Gen. xxii. 1-18. * The words quoted are not in the Old Testament. * II. Chron. xx. 7 ; Isa. xli. 8. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 6l not by faith alone? And in the same way was not also Rahab, the strumpet, vindicated by works, having entertained the messengers,* and sent them out by another road?* For as the body separate from [the] Breath is dead, so also faith separate from works is dead. Let not many [of you] become Teachers, my brothers, knowing that we shall meet with a more severe judgment. For in many things we all trip up. If any one does not trip up in conversation, he is a perfect man, able to guide as with a bridle the whole body also. See, we put the horses* bridle-bits into their mouths in order that they may *Gr. angelosy courier, messenger, envoy; guar- dian genius ; elemental spirit. In the above passage the word is used in its primitive meaning, being applied to the two spies sent out by "Joshua the son of Nun " ; but usually in the New Testament it has a technical sense. In the Apocalypse particular angeloi (angels) have charge of separate elements, as fire (xiv. i8), water (xvi. 5), the four winds of the four Quarters (vii. i); and lesous is shown in the guise of an angel (xxii. 8-16). The word angelos is used by the New Testament writers in the good sense of the word daimon^ and they apply the latter only to the lower orders of spirits. ^Josh. iL 1-23; vi. 17. 62 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. be brought to obey us, and we direct their whole body. See, also, the ships, though of so great size, and driven by violent winds, yet they are directed by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman wills. Thus, also, the tongue is a small member, and it talks big! See, how great a mass of stuff ' a little fire sets aflame ; and the tongue [is] a fire: the tongue is ordinarily, among our members, the sum-total* of injustice, that which vitiates the whole body, and in- flames the wheel of birth,' and is [itself] inflamed by the Burning Valley/ For every * Gr. huli, forest, underbrush ; firewood ; unwrought material; the chaotic elements in space from which the material universe (kosmos) was formed. There is a play upon the meaning of the word, in the above passage (which is profoundly occult), referring to the power of sound to arouse the latent evil forces in the psychic nature. ^Gr. kosmos^ the (material) world, shaped out of the huli by the formative power of the Logos ; the all. ^ Or, *' generation"; descent into the material world. The soul is considered as being bound to the "wheel of birth" because of its repeated incar- nations. *Gr. gehenna (see note 7, p. 15). From the evil Fire of Had§s (the psychic world) come the vile A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 63 creature, both of wild animals and birds, both of reptiles and of sea-animals, is sub- dued and has been subdued by the human creature ; but of human beings not one is able to subdue the tongue ; [it is] an irrepres- sible mischief, full of death- dealing poison. With it we bless The God and Father, and with it we call down curses on men, who have come into being according to a God*s likeness: out of the same mouth go forth a blessing and a curse. My brothers, these things should not come about in this way. Does the spring cause to bubble over, from the same opening, sweet [water] and bitter? My brothers, can a fig-tree produce olives, or a vine figs? Neither [can] salt water pro- duce sweet. [Is there] any learned and able man among you? Let him show by noble conduct his works by tranquillity of knowledge. But if you have bitter rivalry and intriguing in your hearts, do not vaunt yourselves and speak falsely concerning the Truth? This influences that inflame the passions of men, causing wrong speech and evil actions, which keep the soul within the cycle of reincarnations. 64 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. knowledge^ is not [the knowledge] which comes down from above, but [it is] earthy, psychic, mediumistic.^ For where rivalry and intriguing are, there is anarchy and every mean act. But the knowledge from above is first pure, then peaceable, equitable, defer- ential, full of compassion and of good fruits, resolute, without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of right-conduct is sown by Peace for those making peace. From what source [are] quarrels and wranglings among you? [Are they] not in consequence of your voluptuous cravings making war among your members? You desire, and do not have; you commit mur- der,^ and are envious, and you cannot attain [your ends]; you wrangle and quarrel. You do not have, because of your not asking; you ask, and you do not get, because you ask wrongly, that you may squander [it] in your voluptuous cravings. Adulterers and * Referring to false pretenses to occult knowledge. ^Literally, "ghost-like" {daimoniddis^ a coined word); the writer is speaking of pseudo-occultism of the seance-room sort. 'That is, "you entertain murderous thoughts." A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 65 adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enemity to The God? Therefore, whoever wills to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of The God. Or do you fancy that it is in a literal sense* the Writing says, **Even to enviousness yearns the Breath which dwells in us."^ But it gives a very great favor; therefore [the Writing] says, **The God opposes the arrogant, but gives favor to the lowly."' Therefore, obey The God. Oppose the Adversary, and he will flee from you. Come near to The God, and he will come near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinful [men], and purify your hearts, bi- psychic [men]. Endure hard labor, and mourn and lament; let your * Gr. kenos, emptily, inanely ; superficially, in ap- pearance only. ' This quotation, like a number of others in the New Testament, is not to be found in the Old Tes- tament books. The theologians — failing to see that it is a poetical hyperbole, which Iak6bos quotes iron- ically — have argued much over its meaning. The revised version gives three distinct translations of it, each of which misses the point of the joke. • Prov. iii, 34. 66 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. laughter be changed into mourning, and your gladness into shame. Become lowly in front of the Master, and he will lift you up. Brothers do not tattle ^ about one another. He who tattles about a brother, or judges his brother, tattles about the Law, and judges the Law. Now, if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. One there is who is Lawgiver and Judge — he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you who judge your fellow? Come now! you who say, *^ To-day and to- morrow we will go into this or that city, and spend a year there, and carry on business, and gain profit" — you who have no certain knowledge about the morrow. For what is your life? Why, 'tis a vapor, for a little while appearing, and then disappearing. Instead, you should say,'' ''If the Master wills, we shall not only be alive but also we shall do this or that." But now you are * Gr. katalalem, to babble, blab ; to talk down, slander. ^ Or, "instead of your saying [as you should]," the two preceding sentences being parenthetical. A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 67 over-confident in your empty boasting. All such over-confidence is useless. Now, when one knows [what is] right, and does not do [it], to him it is sin. Come now! you rich [men]; lament and wail loudly for your hardships which are at hand. Your riches* have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have grown rusty, and their rust shall be for a witness against you, and shall devour your bodies "* like fire. You have hoarded treasures on the last days. See, the pay of the workmen who mowed your fields, which is withheld' by you, is crying out, and the supplicating cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Master of Hosts. You have lived luxuri- ously on the earth, and have been sensual; you have nourished your hearts on a day of * That is, stores of grain, which, with webs of fine cloth, and gold and silver ingots and coin, consti- tuted their hoarded wealth. "Literally, "fleshes," the term "flesh" ^^^r^r^ be- ing a common one in the New Testament for the physical body. •Or, ''left unpaid," implying injustice and fraud. 68 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. slaughter/ You have condemned, you have murdered the just [man];^ he does not re- sist you. Be far-purposed, then, brothers, until the presence' of the Master. See, the tiller of the soil waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being far-purposed over it until he gets the early and the late fruitage.* Do you be far-purposed also ; render constant your hearts, because the presence of the Master is near. Brothers, do not utter com- plaints against one another, that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing before the doors! My brothers, take as an example of suffering* and far-purpose the ^ Jer, xii. 3. The sensualist is represented as pampering his lower nature and having no more forethought than has a stall-fed animal. ^Evidently a generic term, as "just men in gen- eral" — the oppressed poor. ^ Gr. parousia. (See note 2, p. 38.) *Some manuscripts read, "until it receives the vernal and the autumnal rains" — which does not make good sense. The reading "harvest" or "fruit- age" is preferable. ** Literally, "suffering ill," "distressed"; but here more probably for "patient endurance of suffering." A LETTER OF lAKOBOS. 69 Seers who spoke in the Name of the Mas- ter. See, we immortalize the patient-waiting ones; you have heard of Job's patient- wait- ing, and you saw the Master's Perfecting- period, * because very deeply pitying is the Master, and merciful. Now, above all things, my brothers, do not confirm by an oath, neither by the Sky, nor by the Earth, nor by any other oath; but let yours be the **Yes, yes," and the *^No, no"; so that you may not fall under judgment. Is any one among you suffering? Let him offer prayers. Is any one happy? Let him break into song. Is any one among you sick? Let him call to his aid the older [members] of the Society, and let them offer prayers over him, having oiled him with treeroil'' in the Name of the Master; and the entreaty of faith will save the worn-out * Gr. telos, the consummating period, the end ; in- itiation in the Mysteries. The story of Job is an allegory of the trials of a neophyte (Gr. neophutos, *• newly planted") or candidate for initiation. ' Olive oil, palm oil, etc. , used after bathing, and in magnetic (mesmeric) operations. yO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. [man], and the Master will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him. Confess to one another your sins, and offer prayers over one another, so that you may be healed. The beseeching of a just [man] has much power when it energizes.* Helias^was a man having the same feelings as ourselves, and he, in a prayer, prayed for it not to rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.' My brothers, if any one among you wan- ders from the Truth, and any one guides him back, let him know that he who guides back a sinner out of his wandering path will save a psychic-nature* from death and will cover a multitude of sins. * A technical word for arousing occult forces. ''The Greek form for "Elijah." 'I. Kings xvii. 1-7; xviii. 41-45. * Gr. psuchi, the animal soul ; the astral man. A LETTER OF lOUDAS/ louDAS, a slave of Anointed lesous, and brother of lakobos,* to the probationers* be- loved by [The] God [and] Father and kept by Anointed lesous. May compas- sion and peace and love be fulfilled to you. Loved ones, making all haste to write to you concerning the common salvation, I * Supposed to have been written by loudas the brother of Iak6bos * • the Just " ; he was also called Thaddaios or Lebbaios. Six or seven "Judases" are mentioned in the New Testament besides • 'Judas the accuser," who betrayed his Master. The latter, in the mystical Evangel according to loanniSy repre- sents the evil (sexual) aspect of the Fire ; while the good loudas is the pupil whose questioning brings out the Master's teaching concerning the Parakl§tos. ' Luke vi. 1 6. 'Literally, "called," '"invited." The probation- ers, after being accepted, were termed "chosen" or "culled out"; and having been tested, they were recognized as trustworthy. Thus in the Apocalypse (xvii. 14) are mentioned the "called (klitoi), and chosen (eklektoi)^ and trustworthy (ptstotj" 72 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. feel it an urgent duty' that I should write you calling on you to contend strenuously for the Faith which was once for all handed down to the Purified ones. For there have slipped in stealthily into this judgment'' certain [men], the proscribed of old times/ sacrilegious, changing T h e G o d ' s favor into wantonness, and disowning the only Over- lord* and our Master Anointed lesous. Now, I wish to remind you — [though] you know this^ once for all — that the Master, having saved a people out of the land of E^pt> next" destroyed those who did not * Literally, "I had necessity." * Gr. krt'ma, that which requires discrimination, or calls for consideration; a decision, distinction; sen- tence, condemnation ; accusation, charge. Here it refers to the separating of the unworthy probationers from the worthy ones. ^ That is, those who had been expelled from the Society in past incarnations. The writer uses a legal term : the Roman practice was to post up in public a list of the names of persons sentenced, who were therefore called "the proscribed." * Gr. des^otes, a slave-master; despot, absolute ruler; owner, lord. ^A variant reading is "all things." •In the Greek idiom, "secondly." A LETTER OF lOUDAS. 73 put faith in [him];' and the Messengers who did not keep their First-principle/ but abandoned their own dwelling, he has kept in perpetual fetters, under nether-world gloom,' till [the] judgment of a great day;* even as [the inhabitants of] Sodom and Gomorra, ' and the cities near them, having, in the same way as these [men], become utterly lascivious and having gone away after strange flesh, are held out as an example, undergoing a penalty of On-going Fire. Still, similarly these [men], also, in their dreamings* contaminate the flesh, and disre- gard Masterships, and revile Radiances. But Michael the Arch-messenger, when disputing with the Accuser he argued * Num, xiv. 29-31 ; Psa. cvi. 25, 26. "^ The purely spiritual or androgynous condition. ■ Gr. zophos, thick darkness ; the night side of the world, the land of gloom, the nether-world. The souls that fell into generation are in the bondage of matter, being as it were, imprisoned psychically. * At the close of each "g^reat day," or cycle, those souls that have become pure are liberated. ^ Gen. xix. 24, 25; Deut. xxix. 23. " That is, having empty dreams, as opposed to true visions. 74 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. about the body of Moses, did not venture to assail him with a reviling"-judgment, but said, ** May the Master rebuke you." ^ Now, these [men] revile all things^ that they do not understand, and all things that they do perceive psychically — as [do also] the irra- tional animals'* — in these things they are corrupted. Alas for them! for they trav- elled the path of Kain, * and rushed headlong in the wandering way of Balaam after pay, * and were ruined in the rebellion of Kore.^ * This story is supposed to be taken from a book — now lost — called The Ascension (anabasis) of Mdsis. The words quoted are also found in Zeck. iii. 2. 2 Literally, '*as many things as." ^ The psychic faculties pertain to the animal-soul, and are possessed by the animals as well as by man. Psychic perception, unless devoted solely to spiritual purposes, degrades the inner nature and brings into play the base passions. * That is, "the proscribed" had in a past incarna- tion violated the vow of celibacy — Kain being a type of the fall into physical generation. ^ Balaam, the enchanter, was tempted to do magic for a reward in gold and silver. ® Num. xvi. 1-33. The sin of Kore was ambition, and he promoted a faction. A LETTER OF lOUDAS. 75 These [men] are blemishes* in your love- feasts/ when feasting with you, fearlessly shepherding themselves;^ rainless* clouds, borne along by winds; unfruitful autumnal trees, twice dead,^ uprooted; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own disgraces; wandering stars, for whom the nether- world gloom has been kept throughout the On-going. Now, to these [men] also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, spoke as a Seer, saying: *' Behold, [the] Master came with his countless Purified ones, to execute judg- * Literally, "rocks," or *' reefs"; but probably *' stains" or "spots" was intended. Apparently the original read, "a stain" fspilosj, which the copyist changed to the plural, and, mistaking the word for spilas (a rock), -wcoie spzlades instead of spiloi. ' Before or after the rite of the "Master's supper" was celebrated that of the "feast of love," and on the breaking up of the assembly the "brothers and sisters" expressed their good-will by exchanging the "kiss of peace." 'Having rejected lesous, the "good Shepherd"; or possibly, "shepherding themselves [and not the flock]." * Literally, "waterless." * That is, not having borne fruit for two seasons. 76 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. ment upon all, and to convict all the sac- rilegious ones of their works of sacrilege which they sacrilegiously did, and of all the hard words which sacrilegious sinners have spoken about him."' These [men] are murmurers, fault-finders, walking according to their own desires — and their mouth speaks turgid [phrases] — prais- ing people for the sake of advantage. But do you^ loved ones, remember the words which were proclaimed by the dele- gates '^ of our Master Anointed lesous, that they said to you: *^In [the] last time there will be scoffers, walking according to their own sacrilegious desires."^ These [men] are the separatists, psychics, not having [the] Breath. But you^ loved * The Book of Enoch, from which the above quo- tation is taken, was lost for many centuries, but a copy of it was discovered in Abyssinia ; yet although it is thus endorsed by loudas, it has never been re- ceived as canonical. ^ Gr. apostolos, one sent forth with orders ; envoy, messenger. The word is applied to I^sous, to the twelve pupils, and to others. * From what writing this is quoted is not known. A LETTER OF lOUDAS. ^^ ones, rebuilding yourselves on your most consecrated Faith, offering prayers in [the] Purifying Breath, keep yourselves in the love of [The] God, expecting the compassion of our Master Anointed lesous throughout On-going Life. And treat some [of the scoffers] with contempt' when they argue with you ; but others save with fear, "" snatch- ing them out of the Fire, hating even the garment' spotted by the flesh. Now, to him who is able to guard you from stumbling and by ecstacy* to place you blameless in front of his Radiance, to [the] only God, our Saviour through Anointed lesous, [be] Radiance and greatness, strength and liberty,* both now and throughout all the On-goings. Amen! ^ Some manuscripts read, • • and show compassion to some." "* That is, being careful not to become contami- nated by their evil magnetism. ' Gr. chitdn, a woolen frock. * Gr. agalliasis, exultation; man tic frenzy — the highest trance, in which the soul is for the time liberated from the body. •Gr. exousia, permission (to do a thing), license; jurisdiction, authority. THE SERVICE OF RIGHT-CONDUCT.' [Luke X. 25-37.] And behold, a certain Lawyer'' rose up, trying him, and saying: ** Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit On-going Life?" And he said to him: **What is written in the Law? How do you read [it]?'* And he, answering, said: ** *You should love The God, your Master, from your whole heart, and from your whole psychic-nature, and from your * The Old Testament {pa I am diathike, "old com- pact"), or Mosaic Law, which imposed ritualistic ob- servances relating to psychic forces that affect the material life, was called by Paulos "the service of Death" and "the service of over-distinction " (kata- krisis): but the New Testament ("compact"), or code of lesous, which enforces practical ethics based upon the great spiritual law of Compassion, he calls "the service of right-conduct." (II. Cor. iii. 6-9.) * An interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic Law. THE SERVICE OF RIGHT-CONDUCT. 79 whole strength, and from your whole mind;* and [you should love] your neigh- bor as yourself.'"* And he said to him: '*You have answered aright. Do this, and you shall have Life." Now, wishing to justify himself, he said to lesous: '*And who is my * neighbor'?" Now, lesous, replying, said: **A certain man was going down from Hierousalem to Hiericho, and he fell among bandits,' who not only stripped him but also inflicted blows on [him], and went away, leaving [him] half- dead. Now, according to chance, a certain priest was going down by that path, and seeing him, he went along on the opposite side [of the path]. And in like manner also a Levite * coming to be near the place, went and saw [him], and » Gr. dianoia, reasoning faculty ; understanding. ^ Deut. vi. 5; Lev, xix. 18. • Gr. lestis, plunderer, despoiler ; pirate ; brigand, robber. * The Levites were assistants of the priests and care-takers of the temple. 8o THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. went along on the opposite side. Now, a certain Samareitan/ as he was traveling, went near him, and seeing him he was stirred to pity; and approaching, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and having put him on his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow, taking out two denarii'^ he gave [them] to the inn-keeper, and said, *Take care of him, and whatever you may spend in addition, / — on my return — will pay you.' Which of these three, think you, became a * neighbor' of the one who fell among the bandits?" And he said: **The one who showed compassion towards him." And lesous said to him: **Go your way, and do you show [it] in like manner." * The people of Samareia, being a mixed race and not of pure loudaian descent, were held in contempt by the loudaians, who had "no friendly dealings" with them. {John iv. 9.) '^ The Roman denarius was a silver coin of the value of fifteen to seventeen cents, according to coinage. CAXALOGUE OK ClKO$opbicdl, Occult m metaphysical BooRs. PUBLISHED BY CbeosopDical Society Publisbing Department, 244 Lenox Avenue, New York, N. Y. Books «©nt postpaid cvn receipt of price, PUIiL CATAIiOOUE ON APPLICATION. VOICE OF THE SILENCE. Bv H. P Blavat- SKY. Cloth, 50 cents ; leather, 75 cents. The *' Voice of the Silence " is derived from the " Book of the Golden Precepts," one of the works put into the hands of mystic students in the East. To the diligent searcher this book opens up a view of the future awaiting the soul, and shows the successive stages which the soul must pass through on its way to enlightenment and final perfection. THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. By William Q. Judge. Pocket size, flexible leather, side stamps, gilt edges, 75 cts. In the " Bhagavad-Gita'* or ''The Book of Devotion" is represented the conversation between the Personal Self and the Divine Consciousness in Man. In it is set forth the Path of Duty, the right performance of Action, and final Union with the Divine. The " Bhagavad-Gita " has been studied by the philosophers of all ages. OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY. By William Q. Judge. With portrait of the author. 154 pages, paper, 35 cents ; cloth, side stamp, gilt top, 50 cents. Written in an easy and popular style, this book gives a clear and systematic exposition of Theosophy, unequalled by any other introductory work. In a small compass it conveys a surprising amount of curious and valuable information. It is well suited for propaganda work. 2 Thcosophical Society^ PubL Dcpt. CULTURE OF CONCENTRATION, OF Occult Powers and their Acquirement. By William Q. Judge, io cents. A valuable treatise. LIGHT ON THE PATH. ByM.C. Cloth, 50 cents; flexible leather, gilt side stamp, round corners, red edges, 75 cents. This beautiful classic contains the original notes of the author as well as the comments from "Lucifer,'' and the instructive essay on " Karma " that appeared in the original edition but which has been omitted from some of the later ones. THE IDYLL OF THE WHITE LOTUS, by Mabel Collins. Cloth, |i.oo. A truly inspiring book, containing a story which has been told in all ages and among every people. It is the tragedy of the Soul. Attracted by Desire, it stoops to sin ; brought to it- self by suffering, it turns for help to the redeeming Spirit within, and in the final sacrifice achieves its apotheosis and sheds a blessing on mankind. LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME. By Jasper Niemand. Light cloth, with side stamp, 50 cents. * * Every statement in them is a statement of law. They point to causes of which life is an effect ; that life arising from the Spirit in Nature, and which we must understand as it is mani- fested within us before we can advance on the Path." A book of great value to the disciple. MAGIC, WHITE AND BLACK, by Franz Hartmann, M. D. Cloth, gilt top, gold side stamp, $2.00. A very popular book on this profoundly interesting subject. The well-known writer has treated it in a remarkably clear style, which accounts for the numerous editions which have been brought out, all of which have been quickly disposed of. PARACELSUS, by Franz Hartmann, M. D. I2.00. An extract and translation from his rare and extensive works and from some unpublished manuscripts. This great Occultist was one of the advanced thinkers of his age, whom Virchow admitted to be the father of modern medicine. A fine edition. 244 Lenox Avenue^ New Yorfc# Theosophical Society^ PabL Dept. 3 REINCARNATION, (unabridged edition.) By E. D. Walker. 350 pages. Cloth, $1.50. A lucid explanation of the subject, as well as the consci- entious mention of Western objections, with numerous quotations from Western poems and prose writings upon the teaching. Much interesting and valuable information is given regarding Reincarnation among the Ancients, in the Bible, in early and present day Christianity, etc. Everybody interested in Reli- gion should possess this book. REINCARNATION IN THE NEW TESTA- MENT. By James M. Pryse, paper, 35 cents ; cloth, 60 cents. This work presents the doctrine of Reincarnation as it was taught by Jesus and his disciples. In the light of this book, many of the '* dark sayings " throughout the New Testament become lucid and full of meaning ; one cannot fully understand the wonderful significance of many of these passages without a knowledge of Reincarnation as applied thereto. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT and other EXTRACTS FROM THE NeW TESTAMENT. By JaMES M. Pryse. 86 pages, wide margins, illustrated cover, paper, 35 cents ; cloth, 60 cents. A verbatim translation from the Greek, with notes on the Mystical or Arcane Sense. Contains "The Sermon on the Mount," "The Coming of the Christos," "The True Path of Power," "A Letter of lakobas," '* A Letter of loudas," ''The Service of Right Con- duct." This book is of special interest to students of Christian Mysticism and the Occultism of the Bible. BROTHERHOOD, NATURE'S LAW. ByBuR- CHAM Harding. Cloth, 40 cents. This is one of the best books on elementary Theosophy ; it is written in a clear, and comprehensive style, and just the book for the beginner. Every one can find in it the basis for right conduct, which is convincing to the mind. At the end of each chapter is a series of questions, the answers to which are to be found in that chapter. 244 Lenox Avenue^ New York. 4 Thcosophical Society, Pobl. Dept« COMMENTARY ON ST. MATTHEW. By Sri Par an and a. |2.oo. AN EASTERN EXPOSITION OF ST. JOHN. By Sri Parananda. |2,oo. These are two most remarkable books, being an interpreta- tion of two of the Christian Gospels by the light of the spiritual experience of those who are known in India as Jivan-muktas, showing that these Gospels, when rightly understood, are in perfect harmony with the teachings of the Vedanta philosophy of India. The author is a Tamil of high attainments and sound culture in the learning of both the East and West ; for many years the representative of his race in the Legislative Council of Ceylon and now the Solicitor General of the Crown in that island. OCCULT SCIENCE IN INDIA and among the Ancients, with an account of their Mystic Initia- tions AND THE History of Spiritism, By Louis Jacolliot. Cloth, I2.50. An unbiassed account of the result of researches, pursued for many years, into the subject of occult science and the practices of the initiated. Being neither an advocate of these beliefs, nor the opposite, the author sets forth things as he saw them with his own eyes and records faithfully such explana- tions as were received by him. A valuable addition to every library. YOGA, or Transformation, by William j. Flagg. fo.oo. A faithful representation of the various religious dogmas concerning the soul and its destiny, and embracing the Akka- dian, Hindu, Taoist, Egyptian, Hebrew, Christian, Greek, Mohammedan, Japanese and other systems of MAGIC. This book is an evidence of the great research and study of the author, setting forth as it does the methods adopted by the different religious systems in the attainment of "Yoga" or Union with the Divine. Transformation from the animal-man to the God-man. 244 Lenox Avenue, New York. Theosophical Society, Publ. Dept4 5 THE MEMORY OF PAST BIRTHS. bvCHARLEs Johnston, M. R. A. S. Paper, 25 cents, Cloth, 50 cents. In' this charming work is explained the theory of rebirth and the operations of the mind in the act of memory, according to Eastern doctrines, with rules for exercising the same so as to recollect what lies back of the present consciousness. This book enjoys a wide circulation. KARMA: WISDOM AND WORKS, by Charles Johnston, M. R. A. S. Paper, 35 cents. A lucid and comprehensive exposition of one of the funda- mental teachings of Theosophy, based upon the author's trans- lation from the original Sanskrit. The writings of this author are well known for the brilliant and scholarly manner in which they are treated. THE ALTAR IN THE W5LDERNESS, by Ethelbert Johnson. Cloth, 50 cents. This is an attempt to interpret man's seven spiritual ages, or seven well defined spiritual experiences, which every soul is obliged to undergo in the course of its higher evolution. The book is remarkable for the beautiful and easy manner in which this most difficult subject is treated. It is a most valuable little book and will be an ornament to every theosophical library. THE MIND AND THE BRAIN. By Prof. Elmer Gates, Smithsonian Institute. Paper, 25 cents ; cloth, 50 cts. Presents in an easy style his investigations in the art of Mind building, (psychurgy). He demonstrates the arts of systematic, originative conscious mentation, and systematic subconscious mentation, and systematic, originative, cooperative mentation, which three processes constitute the art of using the mind systematically in original thinking ** Your mind is to you the most momentous and important fact in the universe ; for without your mind, what would be the universe and its pos. sibiUties to you ? If you can get more mind or a better regulated mind, you will fundamentally and directly promote all your undertakings/* 244 Lenox Avenue^ New York* 6 Theosophical Society^ P«bl* Dcpt* NATURE'S ALLEGORIES. By Maude Dunkley. Gilt top. Cloth, 75 cents. A beautiful book, especially for young people, expressive of the idea of intelligence in plant life. It is filled with quaint conceits, beautiful conceptions, through which is breathed the spirit of love and peace. THE PANORAMA OF SLEEP: Soul and Symbol. By Nina Picton. Illustrated Cloth, j5i.oo. Sixteen symbolic dreams, experienced by the writer are re- counted in beautiful language. The teaching is uplifting and inspiring and easily understood. Artistic illustrations add to the value of the book. THE PANCH ADASL An encyclopedia of spiritual training. From the Sanskrit, with annotations by N. Dhole, L.M.S. Two vols, in one. Cloth, I2.50. Printed in Calcutta. A complete key to the science of man, his relation to the universe, and his ultimate destiny. Panchadasi is the greatest and most complete work on the Vedanta Philosophy. VEDANTASARA. The essence of the Vedanta Phi- losophy, From the Sanskrit, with introduction and anno- tations by N. Dhole. Cloth, j5i 25. Printed in Calcutta SELECTIONS FROM BUDDHA. By Max MiJLLER. Cloth, gilt top, 75 cents. Extracts from one of the Books of the East, known as the "Life of Buddha." These selections are passages of an ethical and philosophical character, and are the flower of the divine and ennobling teachings of the light of Asia. 244 Lenox Avcntic, New York* THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL PINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. JUL 31 194! ■• ^ ^;^I3^ __ZI REC'D LD iin\i V63-8P^ HUw »*'»'«-» LD 21-100m-7,'40(6936s) U. b. DC CQ5H^2325S AAfKriL—