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118 and glory of the Father,' each being equally, though not alike, a manifestation of the Divine to the other." Upon this symbol, conjugal love, Patmore indeed based the body of his work: yet he cannot justly be accused (as it would seem that Swedenborg, in his much-discussed work, must needs be) of sacrificing to it the eternal reality—love divine. Chastity our poet recognised as the final and perfect flowering of this fair bud, and it was the "Bride of Christ" alone who fully attained here below to that double sex which shall distinguish the regenerate in heaven. One of his most perfect odes, "Deliciæ Sapientiæ de Amore," stands for ever as a defence and vindication. Boldly it calls to the glad Palace of Virginity those "To whom generous Love, by any name, is dear"—who, all gropingly and unwittingly, have sought and yet seek

Father Gerard Hopkins, upon his single visit to Hastings in 1885, was shown the manuscript of a prose work, Sponsa Dei, designed by Patmore for posthumous publication, and containing the fullest expansion of these transcendental views. He returned it with one grave remark—"That's telling secrets." It was upon the "authority of his goodness," Patmore always declared, that this beautiful treatise became fuel for another historic burnt-offering: but one can scarcely doubt that he himself had come to recognise the delicate rightness of the priest's judgment, and the fact that his subject demanded the parabolic vesture of poetry. We have the less cause to mourn over this lost manuscript, since most of its matter appears to have reached us through the pages of Religio Poetæ. "The Precursor" of this latter

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The New International Encyclopædia/Parker, Hyde

PARKER, Sir (1759-1807). A British admiral, son of the vice-admiral of the same name, under whom he first served. He was knighted in 1779 for his success three years before in occupying the North River, which was strongly fortified by the colonial forces. He served through the Revolutionary War, was appointed commander-in-chief at Jamaica in 1796, and in January, 1801, was sent into the Baltic to terrorize Denmark. His lieutenant, Lord Nelson, urged bolder action than seemed good to Parker, and in the battle off Copenhagen took command in the lighter vessels because of the shallow channel, and refused to obey the order to retreat issued by Parker, who was loath to infringe the customary rules of naval warfare. Parker was soon replaced by Nelson, and saw no further service.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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From a photograph by Barrand

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The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Friends, The Religious Society of

FRIENDS, The Religious Society of. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, had its origin in England about the middle of the 17th century, and was largely the result of the ministry of George Fox, who is often called its founder.

Early History. — George Fox, the son of a weaver, was born at Drayton, in Leicestershire, 1624, and began his public preaching about the year 1648. His spiritual views and practical application of Christian doctrines met a ready response in many pious persons (both Churchmen and Dissenters), and bitter opposition from others whose practices they condemned. His followers increased rapidly, and were known as “Children of Light,” “Children of Truth,” and “Friends of Truth”; finally adopting the name “Religious Society of Friends.” Among them were many itinerant preachers; Fox in his journal (1654) says, above 60 in number. From the first imprisonment of Fox in 1649 to 1687 Friends were the objects of almost continuous persecution. In 1656 Fox computed there were seldom less than 1,000 in prison. Between the years 1661 and 1697, over 13,000 Friends were imprisoned in England, 198 were transported as slaves and 338 died in prison or of wounds received in assaults while attending meetings. These persecutions were upon various pretexts, as, the refusal to pay tithes, to swear or to remove the hat; for preaching in public places; as disturbers of public worship, for speaking in “churches” (a practice then not uncommon); and as Sabbath breakers, for traveling to their meetings on the day called the Sabbath. Many were apprehended for keeping an unlawful assembly under the Conventicle Act. Scotland, Ireland, the Continent and America were early visited by their ministers.

The first to arrive in New England were two women, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher, who came to Massachusetts from Barbados in 1656. After five weeks' imprisonment and much cruel treatment they were sent back. Stringent laws were promptly enacted by that colony to prevent others from coming and owners of vessels from bringing them. Regardless of the cruel penalties of these laws, the Quakers continued to arrive and suffer their infliction. In numerous instances delicate women were “stripped naked from the middle up, tied to a cart's tail and whipped through the town” and thence through other towns. Four — one a woman — were hanged on Boston Common. Nevertheless they increased in numbers and spread to adjoining colonies.

The first Friends in New Jersey settled along the Raritan River in 1663. In 1677 over 200 came to this province and founded Burlington. William Penn joined the society in 1667. In 1681 he and several other Friends purchased East New Jersey, and in the same year Penn obtained from the Crown the grant of Pennsylvania. A few Friends were in the province before Penn acquired it, and two shiploads came in the fall of 1681. The next year Penn

himself came with others, and in less than three years the colony had a population of 7,000. For a period of 70 years, and so long as the influence of Friends predominated, there were no conflicts with the Indians. At an early date the society cleared itself of human slavery. Friends began to protest against it as early as 1688, and for nearly 100 years the agitation was continued, until “in the year 1787 there was not a slave in the possession of an acknowledged Quaker.” This was largely due to the labors of John Woolman, a minister in New Jersey, whose journal has a literary reputation.

Organization and Discipline. — Fox and his co-laborers did not have an outward organization as an object. The organization and discipline were progressively developed. The first disciplinary meetings established were held monthly and were in a sense congregational. Some were held as early as 1656, but the practice does not appear to have become general before 1666. The first yearly meeting appears to have been held in 1656, the first in London in 1668, but it was not held there regularly until 1672. The first yearly meeting in America was held in Rhode Island in 1661. Monthly, quarterly and yearly meetings have geographical boundaries; and monthly meetings are subordinate to quarterly, and these to the yearly meeting, which is the source of discipline, and final judge of all questions. At stated periods monthly meetings appoint a few of their number as “Overseers,” whose duty it is to have a loving oversight of the members. Men and women hold separate meetings for business, although some subjects are jointly considered. Of late years the practice of separate meetings has largely been discontinued. Elders are men and women chosen out of the body as “Friends of solid judgment, prudence and experience,” to sit with the ministers and to advise, encourage or caution them as seems needful. Persons — men or women — who speak and pray in public to the satisfaction of the members are, in due time, publicly acknowledged as ministers, or those in whom the body recognizes the “true gift.” Such recognition does not confer upon them any new powers or authority. All members are embraced in a set of “Queries” which are answered, some quarterly — others annually, by meetings for discipline. These have reference to love and unity; attendance upon meetings; consistency in speech, behavior and apparel; oaths, military service and fraudulent business; moderation in trade and living, and just payment of debts; encouragement of a stated or paid ministry; care of the poor and education of children; and keeping records of births, deaths and marriages. (The answering of “Queries” has been discontinued in many meetings). Meetings have no presiding officer. In those for business a clerk is appointed, whose duty is to gather and record the sense or judgment of the meeting as expressed. No question is settled by a majority and no vote is taken. Christ is recognized as “the head over all things to the church.”

Distinguishing Views. — In the essential doctrines of the Christian religion Friends were in accord with their fellow Christians. The principal points in which they differed were:

1. Immediate Divine Revelation. Barclay (‘Apology’) says: “Nothing is less minded and more rejected by all sorts of Christians

than immediate divine revelation; insomuch that once to lay claim to it is matter of reproach.” Again, “He that affirms himself so led (by the spirit of God) is, by the pretended orthodox of this age, presently proclaimed an heretic.” Fox (Journal) says: “I saw that Christ had died for all men, and had enlightened all men and women with his divine and saving light. I was commanded to turn people to that inward light, spirit and grace, by which all might know their salvation and their way to God.” Friends believed that this inward saving light of Christ was universal and came to both heathen and Christian.

2. Worship and Ministry. Barclay (‘Apology’) says: “All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own spirit. All other worship, praises, prayers and preachings, which man sets about in his own will, at his own appointment, and can begin and end at his pleasure are but superstitious will-worship.” Again, “As our worship consisteth not in words, so neither in silence as silence; but in an holy dependence of the mind upon God: from which dependence silence necessarily follows in the first place, until words can be brought forth which are from God's spirit.” Hence silence is the basis of meetings for worship, which can be, and often are, held without a minister or any vocal service. Neither ministers, nor others, are supposed to break this silence without an immediate opening of a subject, and a sense that the Lord requires the delivery of the message revealed. No special training or educational qualifications are considered necessary for the ministry, and no consistent “Quaker” minister accepts pecuniary compensation for services in that capacity. Accepting literally the command of Christ to his apostles, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Friends refuse to pay tithes or in other way to contribute to the support of a paid ministry.

3. Sacraments. Sacraments require the services of a priest or minister. Friends denied this necessity, rejecting all types and outward ordinances. They taught that the only saving baptism was that of the Holy Spirit, and that the true communion was not partaking of bread and wine, but the spiritual “eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood” of Christ. They held that marriage was the Lord's joining of man and woman, and, therefore, was not performed by man — men were but witnesses.

4. War, Oaths, etc. Friends have always maintained that war and oaths were inconsistent with Christianity, being forbidden by Christ and his apostles in the New Testament. Consistent members refuse to perform military service or partake in war-like preparations. They refuse oaths in civil courts or elsewhere as forbidden by Christ's language, “Swear not at all.” In their early history they suffered much on this account. They decline the use of complimentary titles and language, believing they proceed from pride and tend to foster it. They refuse the complimentary use of the plural pronoun to a single person, although the “thou” and “thee” to judges and magistrates has often resulted in suffering. They use the numerical language of Scripture instead of the names of months and days in honor of heathen deities. Their plainness of dress is a testimony against

pride, and any uniformity the result of a refusal to change its style at the dictates of fashion.

Present Condition and Membership. — With some unimportant exceptions the society maintained a practical unity until the year 1827. At that time a separation occurred in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and later in others. Since then two district bodies have claimed the title “Religious Society of Friends,” commonly distinguished by the names “Hicksite” and “Orthodox,” although not recognized or officially used by either body. The name “Hicksite” came from Elias Hicks, a talented and popular minister of Long Island, whose ministry was the immediate cause of the schism. The Orthodox party hold that unsound doctrines caused the separations. The followers of Hicks, admitting differences in doctrines, contend that the real cause was not so much these differences, as an arbitrary exercise of authority by the Orthodox party. Quotations from Hicks establish the contention that the divinity of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of atonement, and the inspiration and authority of the Bible were denied or questioned. There were probably some grounds for the charge of an arbitrary spirit on the part of the Orthodox. In the separations, two-thirds of Philadelphia and New York yearly Meetings were of the “Hicksite” party, and in Baltimore four-fifths; in Ohio they were about evenly divided, while in Indiana Hicks had comparatively few sympathizers. No separations occurred in New England or North Carolina meetings, they continuing to be identified with the Orthodox bodies, which were officially recognized by London Yearly Meeting.

There are seven yearly meetings of the “Hicksite” Friends: Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Genesee (Canada), Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, numbering about 17,800 members. They are connected by epistolary correspondence. Their principal schools are Swarthmore College, and the George School in Pennsylvania, Friends Central in Philadelphia and similar schools in New York and Baltimore. The Friend's Intelligencer, an ably conducted weekly paper, is published in Philadelphia.

Several of the Orthodox yearly meetings have experienced separations. Joseph John Gurney of England, a wealthy and educated minister and voluminous writer, expressed views which many in England and America regarded as subversive of some always held by the society. Prominent among those in America who opposed his views was John Wilbur, a minister in New England. This resulted in a division in that Yearly Meeting in 1845, which was followed by one in Ohio in 1854. These, and later separations in others, resulted in two distinct bodies of Orthodox Friends within the limits of six yearly meetings, including Canada. They have been distinguished by the respective names, “Gurney” and “Wilbur,” and the terms “Progressive” and “Conservative.” In Ohio the “Conservative” body was the larger, and in each of the others the smaller. London gave its official recognition to the “Progressive” bodies. There are now 13 of these, connected with each other and with London and Dublin Yearly Meetings by correspondence: New England, New York, Canada, Baltimore, North Carolina, Ohio, Wilmington (Ohio), Western,

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Oregon and California. Total membership in America about 75,000.

The six “Conservative” yearly meetings are: New England, Ohio, Canada, Western (Ind.), Iowa and Kansas. These annually exchange epistles. Their membership is about 4,000.

Philadelphia occupies a unique position, not being connected with either of these groups of related yearly meetings. That its sympathies were with Wilbur against the views of Gurney was shown by the recognition of the “Wilbur” Friends in Ohio. Later, in the interest of peace, Philadelphia ceased correspondence with all yearly meetings, and has never regularly resumed it. The membership is about 4,000. Within most “Progressive” yearly meetings paid pastors, prescribed services, singing, instrumental music and revival methods have been introduced; until, in many localities, the so-called “Friends Churches” more nearly resemble “Methodists” than “Quakers.” These yearly meetings have organized “The Five Years Meeting,” held periodically as the name indicates, having advisory rather than legislative powers. Most of them have recently adopted a “Uniform Discipline.” The principal schools of Orthodox Friends in America are: Haverford College, Pennsylvania; Earlham College, Iowa, Guilford College, North Carolina; Pacific College, Oregon; Westtown Boarding School, Pennsylvania; Friends Select School, Philadelphia; Friends Boarding School, Providence, R. I.; Friends Boarding School, Barnesville, Ohio. Their principal periodicals are The Friend, Philadelphia (weekly) and The American Friend, Philadelphia (weekly), organ of the Progressive Yearly Meetings.

Statistics. — The total membership in 1918 was given as about 142,000, the distribution being as follows: “Orthodox” in America, 97,514; in Great Britain, Ireland and Australia, 22,350. The “Hicksite” membership was about 17,806; that of the “Wilburites” 4,000; that of the “Primitive” branch 171. The Continental membership (Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Turkey) was given a few years ago as 247.

Bibliography.— Brailsford, M. R., ‘Cromwell's Quaker Soldiers’ (Contemporary Review, New York 1915); Braithwaite, W. C., ‘The Beginnings of Quakerism’ (London 1912); Clarke, M. E., ‘The Friends in France’ (Cornhill Magazine, London 1916); Cunningham, Y., ‘The Quakers from their Origin Till the Present Time’ (London 1897); ‘Early Quakerism in Ireland’ (Friends' Historical Society Journal, London 1910); Fox, G, ‘The American Journey of George Fox, 1671-73’ (Friends' Historical Society Journal, London 1912); Holder, C. F., ‘The Quakers in Great Britain and America’ (New York 1913); Jones, R. M., ‘The Quakers in the American Colonies’ (London 1911); Penn, W., ‘A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People called Quakers’ (London 1695) and ‘The Select Works of William Penn’ (London 1825); Speakman, T. H., ‘Divisions in the Society of Friends’ (Philadelphia 1893); Woodman, C. M., ‘The Present Day Message of Quakerism’ (Boston 1915).


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The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/V

THE POPE

A magnificent opportunity is waiting for the Pope who shall be ready and brave enough to take it. Instead of fulminating rescripts and bulls against Theosophy and liberalism, he might himself propound the Theosophical interpretation of Christianity. Remember that the Catholic Church possesses what is called the doctrine of development, and also that it has proclaimed the Pope to be the infallible exponent of divine doctrine, the vicegerent of God upon earth. He would therefore be perfectly within his rights if, with regard to the Theosophical interpretation, he should pronounce quite boldly: “Certainly this which you bring forward is the true meaning of Christian doctrine. We have always known this, and we have plenty of manuscripts in the Vatican Library to prove it. We did not tell you this before, because all through the ages until now men have not been fit for such a revelation. They have been too crude, too rough, too undeveloped to understand a philosophical and mystical interpretation. The outer husk of the religion has been all that could usefully be offered to them. Now one stage more has been attained and the world is ready for this further revelation. The second and inner meaning of our doctrine is therefore put before you, and while we must not condemn those who are still at the stage when they must cling to the outer husk, neither must they on their part be allowed to condemn those who are ready to take the further step and to receive a higher illumination.” But of course he must indeed be a strong as well as a wise man who should do this, for like all other great personages the Pope is surrounded by enormous masses of thought-forms, and he would find it a matter of extreme difficulty to break through these and make a new departure.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/V


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/VI

CEREMONIAL The line of ceremonial is one along which many people come, but of course it must be understood that no religious ceremonial whatever is ever really essential, and the man who wishes to enter upon the Path of Holiness must realize this fully and must cast off belief in the necessity of ceremonies, as one of the fetters which hold him back from nirvana. This does not mean that ceremonies may not be sometimes quite effective in producing the results which are intended, but only that they are never really necessary for any one, and that the candidate for higher progress must learn to do utterly without them. The ceremonial line is an easy road for a certain type of people, and is really helpful and uplifting for them; but there is another type of men who always feel ceremonial as an obstacle between themselves and the deities which they wish to reach. In Christianity this ceremonial line is the one appointed by its founder, through which his magic is to work. The consecration of the host, for example, is a means by which spiritual force is poured out over the people. There is often a vast amount of devotional feeling at the moment of the consecration, and the working of the magic is assisted by that, though it does not depend upon it. Those who are devotional unquestionably receive more because they bring with them an additional faculty of reception. On the other hand, there is always the probability that ignorant devotion will degenerate into superstition. In a recent enquiry into these matters from the occult point of view, made in Sicily, I found that there was certainly plenty of superstition, and much harmful interference in family matters on the part of the priests; but still on the whole the country was distinctly better than it would have been without it. We should remember also that in history we usually hear much of the worst effects of religious enthusiasm, whereas the good steady progress of many thousands under its influence makes but little impression.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/VI


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/VII

PRAYER It is difficult to say anything on the question of prayer that would be universally applicable, because there are such very different kinds of prayer and they are addressed to beings who differ very widely in evolution. The founders of most great religions never in any way encouraged their followers to pray to them, and as a rule the latter have been far too enlightened to do anything of the kind. Whether a very strong thought directed towards them would reach them or not would depend upon the line of evolution which they have since followed — in fact upon whether they still remain within touch of this earth or not. If they were still so within reach, and if such a thought did reach them, it is probable that if they saw that it would be good for the thinker that any notice should be taken they would turn in his direction the attention of some of their pupils who are still upon earth. But it is quite inconceivable that a man who had any sort of conception of the magnificent far-reaching work done for evolution by the Great Ones on higher planes could dream of intruding his own petty concerns upon Their notice; he could not but know that any kind of help that he required would be far more fitly given to him by someone nearer to his own level. Even down here on this physical plane we are wiser than that, for we do not waste the time of the greatest scholars of our universities in helping babies over the difficulties of the alphabet. As regards the saints of any of the churches the position is different, though even with them the ability to hear prayers will depend upon their position in evolution. The ordinary saint, who is simply a good and holy man, will of course take his heaven-life as usual, and will probably take a long one. His life on the astral plane would be likely to be but short, and it would be only during that that it would be possible for a prayer to reach him and attract his attention. If during that time it did so reach him, no doubt he would do anything that he could to satisfy the petitioner but it is by no means certain that it would attract his attention, for he would naturally be fully occupied with his new surroundings. When he entered upon his long rest in the heaven-world he would be entirely beyond any possibility of being disturbed by earthly things; yet even in such a case a prayer to him might not be without effect in connection with him. Such a man would almost certainly be pouring out a constant stream of loving thought towards humanity, and this thought would be a real and potent shower of blessing, tending generally towards the spiritual helping of those upon whom it fell; and there is no doubt that the man who was earnestly thinking of or praying to that saint would come into rapport with him, and would therefore draw down upon himself a great deal of that force, though entirely without the knowledge of the saint from whom it came. If the saint were sufficiently advanced to have entered upon a special series of births rapidly following one another the case would be different again. He would then be all the time within reach of earth, either living on the astral plane or in incarnation upon the physical, and if the prayer were strong enough to attract his attention at any time when he was for a moment out of his body, he would probably give any help in his power. But fortunately for the many thousands who are constantly pouring forth their souls in prayer — in the blindest ignorance, of course, but still in perfect good faith — there is something else to depend upon which is independent of all these considerations. Shri Krishna tells us, in the Bhagavad Gita, how all true prayers come to Him, to whomsoever they may have been ignorantly offered; there is a consciousness wide enough to comprehend all, which never fails in its response to any earnest effort in the direction of an increased spirituality. It works through many means; sometimes perhaps by directing the attention of a deva to the suppliant, sometimes through the agency of those human helpers who work upon the astral or mental planes for the good of humanity. Such a deva or helper so used would, if he showed himself, inevitably be taken by the petitioner for the saint to whom he had prayed, and there are many stories which illustrate this. I myself, for example, have been taken under such circumstances for S. Philip Neri, and a junior helper who was with me on the occasion was supposed to be S. Stanislaus Kostka. Our President, too, has more than once been regarded as an angel by those whom she was assisting.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/VII


text: The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Bourne, Joseph Orton


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The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/VIII

THE DEVIL The devil is non-existent. There are persons who imagine themselves to have made pacts with him, sometimes signed with their own blood. The result depends largely upon what sort of entity happened to personate him for the occasion. There are plenty of creatures of various sorts who would hugely enjoy such a joke at the expense of a man; but no such entity, whatever he may be, could possibly have any use for the “soul” of a man — nor would the “soul” of anybody foolish enough to make such a compact be likely to be of any use, either to the owner or anybody else. All these absurd superstitions are disproved by the fact that the man is the ego, and therefore cannot sell himself, and also that there are no buyers in such a transaction; so the whole thing is nothing but foolishness. There are many entities who may be both willing and able to arrange twenty years of material prosperity for a person. They are generally willing to do it in return for some material consideration, such as the sacrifice of babies, goats or fowls. The ego has no share in these pacts, either in the rare individual cases, or in general fetish worship. These entities cannot possess the human ego, nor could they use it if it could come into their possession. A human body is sometimes convenient for them, and for the sake of being permitted to obsess it they will sometimes enter into an arrangement. The making of a compact of this nature gives the entity a strong hold upon the man; but as soon as he discovers the folly of his action, the proper course for the man to take is to resist such obsession to the utmost. Childish ceremonies, such as signing with his own blood, would of course make no difference whatever. There is no hierarchy of evil. There are black magicians certainly, but the black magician is usually merely a single solitary entity. He is working for himself, as a separate entity, and for his own ends. You cannot have a hierarchy of people who distrust one another. In the White Brotherhood every member trusts the others; but you cannot have trust with the dark people, because their interests are built upon self. You must, however, take care what you mean when you speak of evil. The principle of destruction is often personified, but it is only that old forms are broken down to be used as material for building new and higher ones. Here in India there is Shiva, the Destroyer, but no one would think of Him as evil; He is one of the highest manifestations of the deity. The principle of the destruction of forms is necessary in order that life may progress. There is a Great One, a part of whose function it is to arrange when the great cataclysms shall take place — but He works for the good of the world. These things are not to be thought of as in any way evil. The notion of a supposed angel who revolted and was turned out of heaven is very much based upon John Milton. The conception is not at all the same in the Book of Job. In that story the devil is quite a different person from the gloomy hero in the Miltonic conception. Then the Buddhists have Mara — a personification of the karma of the past descending upon the man at once and taking many forms. There is an instant working-out of karma upon the attainment of enlightenment. The statement that all material things, all differences and limitations are evil is misleading. If by evil you mean what is ordinarily connoted by that word, and not some other and quite different notion of an abstract kind, then matter is not evil. Spirit and matter are equal. Matter is not in opposition to spirit. We find matter troublesome because of the bodies we have to use; but we are here in order to learn what without the physical life could not be conveyed to us. The physical plane experiences give a definiteness and precision to our consciousness and powers which we could never acquire on any plane unless we had spent the necessary time on this. But why do people bother about evil? There is plenty of good in the world, and it is better to think of that, for your thought strengthens that of which you think. To think and talk so much about black magicians unquestionably attracts their attention to you, and the results are often exceedingly undesirable.


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The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/IX

HINDUISM When ignorant missionaries dilate upon the three hundred and thirty million gods of the Hindus they are making a very gross misrepresentation of a religion which is far more scientific than their own. Hinduism, like every other religion, knows perfectly well that there can be only one God, though there may be countless manifestations of Him. To call these “gods” is of course ridiculous. It is perhaps better to avoid the word “god” altogether, because of the exceedingly unpleasant ideas which have been associated with it by the Christians; but if it is to be used, at least it should never be applied to any being lower than the LOGOS of the solar system. All the good things attributed to the Christian God are true of the LOGOS; there is nothing in the system that is not He, and yet He is much more than His system. We could not possibly grasp the truth about the Absolute; anything which we are able to grasp must after all be small, since our minds are so small. The advice of the Lord BUDDHA to His people was always that they should not trouble themselves about such remote matters, since it was impossible to arrive at any conclusion, and nothing useful came from it. The images of the Indian deities are usually highly magnetized, and when they are carried round the streets at the festivals their influence upon the people is unquestionably productive of much good. In many of the Hindu temples there are strong permanent influences at work, as is the case for example at Madura. Once when I visited that city some white ashes from the temple of Shiva were given to me, and also a bright crimson powder from the temple of Parvati, and I found that both of these were so powerfully magnetized as to retain their influence for some years and after much travelling. India is essentially a country of rites and ceremonies. The religion is full of them, and a great many of them are said to have been prescribed by the Manu Himself, though it is quite obvious that many others have been added at a much later date. Some of them appear to be regulations such as would be quite necessary at the beginning of a new race, but now that it is thoroughly established it seems clear that they are useless. In many cases when one watches their performance one can see quite clearly what must originally have been intended, even though now the ceremony has become a mere empty shell, and no result follows upon it. Such things are not without their value for younger souls; indeed there are many who delight in them and obtain great benefit from them; but of course none of them can ever be really necessary, and all such bondage falls away altogether from the really developed man. Originally every householder was the priest of his own family, but as the civilization became more complex the rites and ceremonies grew more complex also, and therefore a class of specially instructed priests had to spring up, because no one who had anything else to do could possibly remember the wealth of unnecessary detail. In these days it would seem that most people perform them, or have them performed for them, much in the same spirit as they take medicine from a doctor, without understanding what it is, but with the faith that it will somehow do them good. There are, however, many people who cannot put heart and soul into a ceremony unless they do understand it, and these people usually end by breaking away from ceremonies altogether. It is sad to see priests performing the old ceremonies and using the old forms which once were so effective, and yet producing no result worth mentioning. There seems to be no will in these days. They commence some of their recitations “Om, Bhur, Bhuvar, Swar”; but nothing whatever happens when they recite the words. In the old days the officiant who said this threw some will into it, and raised his own consciousness, as well as that of those present who were responsive, from one plane to the other as he spoke. I remember seeing this strongly exemplified in the performance of a striking ceremony, when we were examining one of the earlier lives which occurred many thousands of years ago here in India. The people all entered an inner room and stood in absolute darkness. In the beginning of the ceremony the officiant slowly and solemnly uttered those words, and each produced its due effect upon the majority of those who stood around him. The word “Om” brought all the people in close harmony with him, and with the feelings which filled his mind. Then, at the utterance of the word “Bhur,” to their senses the room was filled with ordinary light, and they were able to see all the physical objects in it; when, after an interval, the second word came, astral sight was temporarily opened for them; and the third word produced the same effect upon their mental sight, and brought round them all the bliss and power of the higher plane, and that condition persisted during the recitation of the various verses which followed. Of course these effects were only temporary, and when the ceremony was over the higher consciousness faded away from those who had taken part in it, but nevertheless it remained for them a tremendous experience, and the effect of it was that on another similar occasion this higher consciousness was more readily and more fully aroused in them. But now nothing of this sort seems to be done anywhere. Now the priest arranges his fuel and utters a solemn invocation to Agni, and then — lights the fire with a match! In the old days that which is represented by Agni really did come, and the fire fell from heaven, to use an old expression. But all outer husks seem to remain. There is a quite rational and scientific idea underlying the practice of pilgrimage. Great shrines are usually erected on the spot where some holy man has lived or where some great event has happened (such as an initiation) or else in connection with some relic of a great person. In any one of these cases a powerful magnetic centre of influence has been created, which will persist for thousands of years. Any sensitive person who approaches the spot will feel this influence, and its effect upon him is unquestionably good. Where there is a strong vibration at a much higher level than any attained by ordinary humanity, its action upon any man who comes within its influence is to raise his own vibrations for the time towards unison with it. The pilgrim who comes to such a spot and bathes himself in its magnetism, perhaps for several days together, is certainly the better for it, although different people will be affected in different degrees, according to their power of receptivity. Such a place of pilgrimage is the Bodhi tree at Buddha-gaya, the spot where the Lord Gautama attained His Buddhahood. This is true although the tree which is there now is not the original one. That fell some time in the middle ages, and the present tree is only an offshoot from it. But nevertheless the tremendously strong magnetism of the spot remains and is likely to do so for many a century yet to come.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/IX


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/X

CASTES It is said that originally each caste had its distinctive colour; indeed, the actual meaning of varna (the Sanskrit word for caste) is colour. I have not studied the question, but at least it is clear that the colours which are usually given do not indicate in any way the auras of the people. Only a young child has a white aura, and even the adepts have various colours in Their tremendous glow; yet for some reason the brahman is traditionally mentioned as white. A kshattriya is said to have some connection with the colour red; there are several reds in the human aura, from the rose of affection to the scarlet of anger and indignation, and the brown-reds of sensuality. But the kshattriya has no more of these than other men. Yellow is traditionally ascribed to the vaishya. But yellow in the aura signifies intellect, and we have no reason to consider the vaishya especially endowed with this quality. A shudra is spoken of as black. If we adopt the suggestion that these colours had to do with the ancient and primitive races, we shall find the facts more tractable. The Aryans, representing the brahman caste, were undoubtedly much lighter in colour than the people amongst whom they came. The reddish Toltec people who were ruling large portions of the land when the Aryan invasion took place may have some connection with the original kshattriya caste. The aboriginals, who were Lemurians, and are now only represented by some of the hill tribes, were almost black in colour. They may be connected with the shudras. Between them and the Toltecs there appear to have been several waves of different Atlantean sub-races who settled down as traders; and these men were of a yellowish colour, as is the present day Chinaman. Perhaps they were the original vaishyas. No doubt as we carry further and further back the investigations which we are making in connection with the lines of past lives which we are making in connection with the lines of past lives which are now being examined, we shall obtain more definite information on the subject of the origin of these castes, and of this question of their relation to colour.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/X


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/XI

SPIRITUALISM Never forget that the spiritualists are entirely with us on some most important points. They all hold (a) life after death as an actual vivid ever-present certainty, and (b) eternal progress and ultimate happiness for everyone; good and bad alike. Now these two items are of such tremendous, such paramount importance — they constitute so enormous an advance from the ordinary orthodox position — that I for one should be well content to join hands with them on such a platform, and postpone the discussion of the minor points upon which we differ until we have converted the world at large to that much of the truth. I always feel that there is plenty of room for both of us. People who want to see phenomena, people who cannot believe anything without ocular demonstration, will obtain no satisfaction with us, while from the spiritualists they will get exactly what they want. On the other hand, people who want more philosophy than spiritualism usually provides will naturally gravitate in our direction. Those who admire the average trance-address certainly would not appreciate Theosophy, while those who enjoy Theosophical teaching would never be satisfied with the trance-address. We both cater for the liberal, the open-minded, but for quite different types of them; meantime, we surely need not quarrel. In what Madame Blavatsky wrote on the subject she laid great stress on the utter uncertainty of the whole thing, and the preponderance of personations over real appearances. My own personal experience has been more favourable than that. I spent some years in experimenting with spiritualism, and I suppose there is hardly a phenomenon of which you may read in the books which I have not repeatedly seen. I have encountered many personations, but still in my experience a distinct majority of the apparitions have been genuine, and therefore I am bound to bear testimony to the fact. The messages which they give are often uninteresting, and their religious teaching is usually Christianity and water, but still it is liberal as far as it goes, and anything is an advance upon the bigoted orthodox position. Not that some spiritualists are not bigoted also — narrow and intolerant as any sectarian — when it comes to discussing (say) the question of reincarnation! The majority of English and American spiritualists do not yet know of that fact, but the French spiritists, the followers of Allan Kardec, hold it, and also the school of Madame d'Esperance in England. Many students wonder that dead people should not all know and recognize the fact of reincarnation; but after all why should they? When a man dies he resorts to the company of those whom he has known on earth; he moves among exactly the same kind of people as during physical life. The average country grocer is no more likely after death than before it to come into contact with any one who can give him information about reincarnation. Most men are shut in from all new ideas by a host of prejudices; they carry these prejudices into the astral world with them, and are no more amenable to reason and common sense there than here. True, a man who is really open-minded can learn a great deal on the astral plane; he may speedily acquaint himself with the whole of the Theosophical teaching, and there are dead men who do this. Therefore it often happens that scraps of Theosophy are found among spirit communications. We must not forget that there is a higher spiritualism of which the public knows nothing, which never publishes any account of its results. The best circles of all are strictly private — restricted entirely to one family, or to a small number of friends. In such circles the same people meet over and over again, and no outsider is ever admitted to make any change in the magnetism; so the conditions set up are singularly perfect, and the results obtained are of the most surprising character. At public séances, to which any one may be admitted on payment, an altogether lower class of dead people appear, because of the promiscuous jumble of inharmonious magnetisms.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/XI


text:
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Rh that old ill-doer open found, who, blazing at twilight the barrows haunteth, naked foe-dragon flying by night folded in fire: the folk of earth dread him sore. ’Tis his doom to seek hoard in the graves, and heathen gold to watch, many- wintered: nor wins he thereby! Powerful this plague-of-the-people thus held the house of the hoard in earth three hundred winters; till One aroused wrath in his breast, to the ruler bearing that costly cup, and the king implored for bond of peace. So the barrow was plundered, borne off was booty. His boon was granted that wretched man; and his ruler saw first time what was fashioned in far-off days. When the dragon awoke, new woe was kindled. O’er the stone he snuffed. The stark-heart found footprint of foe who so far had gone in his hidden craft by the creature’s head.— So may the undoomed easily flee evils and exile, if only he gain the grace of The Wielder!—That warden of gold o’er the ground went seeking, greedy to find the man who wrought him such wrong in sleep. Savage and burning, the barrow he circled all without; nor was any there, none in the waste. . . . Yet war he desired, was eager for battle. The barrow he entered, sought the cup, and discovered soon that some one of mortals had searched his treasure, his lordly gold. The guardian waited


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/XII

SYMBOLOGY Symbology is a very interesting study. To a certain type of mind everything expresses itself in symbols, and to some people they are of the greatest possible help. I myself do not happen to be of that type, and therefore I have not paid special attention to them or made any particular study of them. Some of them however are obvious, and readily comprehensible to any one who understands even a little of the principles of their interpretation. Think, for example, of those which appear on the earlier pages of The Book of Dzyan. On the first page is a white disc, signifying the first condition of the unmanifested; on the second page a spot appears in the centre of the white disc, signifying the first manifestation — the First LOGOS, or the Christ in the bosom of the Father; on the third page this spot has expanded into a bar, dividing the disc into two halves and so signifying the first great separation into spirit and matter — also the Second LOGOS, always spoken of as dual or androgynous; on the fourth page another bar has appeared at right angles to the first, giving us the forms of a circle divided into four equal parts or quarters, signifying the emergence of the Third LOGOS, though He is still in a condition of inactivity. On the next page the outer circle falls away, leaving us the equal-armed or Greek cross. This denotes the Third LOGOS ready for action, just about to descend into the matter of His cosmos. The next stage of this activity is shown by various forms of the symbol. Sometimes the arms of the Greek cross widen out as they recede from the centre, and then we get the form called the Maltese cross. Another line of symbology retains the straight arms of the Greek cross, but draws a flame shooting out from the end of each arm, to signify the burning light within. A further extension of this idea sets the cross whirling round its centre, like a revolving wheel, and when that is done the flames are drawn as streaming backwards as the cross revolves, and in that way we get one of the most universal of all symbols, that of the svastika, which is to be found in every country in the world, and in connection with every religion. The symbolic meaning of the ordinary Latin cross, as it is used in the Christian Church, has no connection whatever with this line of thought. Its meaning is entirely different, for it symbolizes the Second LOGOS, and His descent into matter, and it is also closely connected with the initiation rites of ancient Egypt. In the case of The Book of Dzyan the comprehension of the symbol is enormously assisted by the fact that the book itself is highly magnetized in a peculiar way, so that when the student who is privileged to see it takes one of the pages in his hand a remarkable effect is produced upon him. Before his mind's eye arises the picture of that which the page is intended to symbolize, and simultaneously he hears a sort of recitation of the stanza which describes it. It is very difficult to put this clearly into words, but the experience is a wonderful one. I have myself seen and handled the copy which Madame Blavatsky describes — from the study of which she wrote The Secret Doctrine. That is of course not the original book, but the copy of it which is kept in the occult museum which is under the care of the Master K. H. The original document is at Shamballa, in the care of the Head of the Hierarchy, and is certainly the oldest book in the world. Indeed it has been said that part of it (the first six stanzas, I think) is even older than the world, for it is said to have been brought over from some previous chain. That most ancient part is regarded by some as not merely an account of the processes of the coming into existence of a system, but rather a kind of manual of directions for such an act of creation. Even the copy must be millions of years old. Another well-known symbol is that of the “Great Bird,” which is used to denote the Deity in the act of hovering over His universe, brooding over the waters of space, or darting onward along the line of His evolution. To repose between the wings of the Great Bird means so to meditate as to realize union with the LOGOS, and it is said that the man who reaches that level may rest there for untold years. The word Om is another presentation of the same idea; it is the sacred word of the fifth or Aryan root-race. The Atlantean sacred word was Tau, and it has been said that the sacred words given to the root-races in succession are all of them consecutive syllables of one great word, which is the true sacred Name. Another obvious symbol, the heart, was prominent in the old Atlantean religion. In the innermost shrine of the great temple in the City of the Golden Gate there lay upon the altar a massive golden box in the shape of a heart, the secret opening of which was known only to the high-priest. This was called “The Heart of the World,” and signified to them the innermost mysteries that they knew. In it they kept their most sacred things, and much of their symbolism centred around it. They knew that every atoms beats as a heart, and they considered that the sun had a similar movement, which they connected with the sun-spot period. Sometimes one comes across passages in their books which give the impression that they knew more than we do in matters of science, though they regarded it all rather from the poetic than from the scientific point of view. They thought, for example, that the earth breathes and moves, and it is certainly true that quite recently scientific men have discovered that there is a regular daily displacement of the earth's surface which may be thought of as corresponding in a certain way to breathing. Another symbol is that of the lotus, and it is used to signify the solar system in its relation to its LOGOS. There is a real reason for this comparison in the actual facts of nature. The seven Planetary LOGOI, although they are great individual entities, are at the same time aspects of the Solar LOGOS, force-centres as it were in His body. Now each of these great living centres or subsidiary LOGOI has a sort of orderly periodic change or motion of his own, corresponding perhaps on some infinitely higher level to the regular beating of the human heart, or to the inspiration and expiration of the breath. Some of these periodic changes are more rapid than others, so that a very complicated series of effects is produced, and it has been observed that the movements of the physical planets in their relation to one another furnish a clue to the operation of these great cosmic influences at any given moment. Each of these centres has His special location or major focus within the body of the sun, and has also a minor focus which is always exterior to the sun. The position of this minor focus is always indicated by a physical planet. The exact relation can hardly be made clear to our three-dimensional phraseology; but we may perhaps put it that each centre has a field of influence practically co-extensive with the solar system; that if a section of the field could be taken it would be found to be elliptical; and that one of the foci of each ellipse would always be in the sun, and the other would be the special planet ruled by the subsidiary LOGOS. It is probable that, in the gradual condensation of the original glowing nebula from which the system was formed, the location of the planets was determined by the formation of vortices at these minor foci, they being auxiliary points of distribution — ganglia as it were in the solar system. All the physical planets are included within the portion of the system which is common to all the ovoids; so that any one who tries mentally to construct the figure will see that these revolving ovoids must have their projecting segments, and he will therefore be prepared to understand the comparison of the system as a whole to a flower with many petals. Another reason for this comparison of the system to a lotus is even more beautiful, but requires deeper thought. As we see them the planets appear as separate globes; but there is in reality a connection between them which is out of reach of our brain-consciousness. Those who have studied the subject of the fourth dimension are familiar with the idea of an extension in a direction invisible to us, but it may not have occurred to them that it is applicable to the solar system as a whole. We may obtain a suggestion of the facts by holding the hand palm upwards bent so as to form a kind of cup, but with the fingers separated, and then laying a sheet of paper upon the tips of the fingers. A two-dimensional being living on the plane of that sheet of paper could not possibly be conscious of the hand as a whole, but could perceive only the tiny circles at the points of contact between the fingers and the paper. To him these circles would be entirely unconnected, but we, using the sight of a higher dimension, can see that each of them has a downward expansion, and that in that way they are all parts of a hand. In exactly the same way the man using the sight of the fourth dimension may observe that the planets which are isolated in our three dimensions are all the time joined in another way which we cannot yet see; and from the point of view of that higher sight these globes are but the points of petals which are part of one great flower. And the glowing heart of that flower throws up a central pistil which appears to us as the sun. It is not wise for the votary of modern science to ridicule or despise either the learning of old time or the strange and fanciful symbols in which it was expressed, for many of these ancient symbols are pregnant with meaning — often with meaning showing deeper knowledge than the outer world now possesses. The Theosophical student at least will avoid the mistake of despising anything merely because he does not yet comprehend it — because he has not yet learnt the language in which it is written.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/XII


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Second Section/XIII

FIRE

On higher planes everything is what down here we should call luminous, and above a certain level every thing may be said to be permeated by fire, yet not at all such fire as we know on the physical plane. What we call by that name down here cannot exist without something which either burns or glows, and it is only a kind of reflection or lower expression of a higher abstract thing which we cannot sense. Try to think of a fire which does not burn, but is in a liquid form, something like water. This was known to the followers of the first great Zoroaster, for they had this fire which no fuel on their altars, a sacred fire by means of which they symbolized divine life. One way of reaching the LOGOS is along the line of fire, and the ancient Parsis knew this well, and raised themselves until they were one with the fire, so as to reach Him by way of it. The only way in which it can be done is through the assistance of certain classes of devas, but at this period of the world's history we are so grossly material that very few can stand the ordeal. The first Zoroaster had around him many who were able to take that way; and, though under present conditions our lower vehicles would probably be destroyed if we should make such an attempt, in new races and on other planets we shall be ale to take that way again. All this sounds strange and weird and incomprehensible, because it deals with conditions which are utterly unknown on the physical plane, but the student of occultism will find that in the course of his progress he has to face many things which cannot at all be expressed in words down here.


text: The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Bowen, Hon. Charles Christopher


text:
The Inner Life, v. I/Third Section

THIRD SECTION

THE THEOSOPHICAL ATTITUDE

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Third Section


text: The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Bowen, Right Hon. Sir George Ferguson


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122 ill-enduring till evening came; boiling with wrath was the barrow’s keeper, and fain with flame the foe to pay for the dear cup’s loss.—Now day was fled as the worm had wished. By its wall no more was it glad to bide, but burning flew folded in flame: a fearful beginning for sons of the soil; and soon it came, in the doom of their lord, to a dreadful end.

Then the baleful fiend its fire belched out, and bright homes burned. The blaze stood high all landsfolk frighting. No living thing would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew. Wide was the dragon’s warring seen, its fiendish fury far and near, as the grim destroyer those Geatish people hated and hounded. To hidden lair, to its hoard it hastened at hint of dawn. Folk of the land it had lapped in flame, with bale and brand. In its barrow it trusted, its battling and bulwarks: that boast was vain! To Beowulf then the bale was told quickly and truly: the king’s own home, of buildings the best, in brand-waves melted, that gift-throne of Geats. To the good old man sad in heart, ’twas heaviest sorrow. The sage assumed that his sovran God he had angered, breaking ancient law, and embittered the Lord. His breast within


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Rh with black thoughts welled, as his wont was never. The folk’s own fastness that fiery dragon with flame had destroyed, and the stronghold all washed by waves; but the warlike king, prince of the Weders, plotted vengeance. Warriors’-bulwark, he bade them work all of iron—the earl’s commander— a war-shield wondrous: well he knew that forest-wood against fire were worthless, linden could aid not.—Atheling brave, he was fated to finish this fleeting life, his days on earth, and the dragon with him, though long it had watched o’er the wealth of the hoard!— Shame he reckoned it, sharer-of-rings, to follow the flyer-afar with a host, a broad-flung band; nor the battle feared he, nor deemed he dreadful the dragon’s warring, its vigor and valor: ventures desperate he had passed a-plenty, and perils of war, contest-crash, since, conqueror proud, Hrothgar’s hall he had wholly purged, and in grapple had killed the kin of Grendel, loathsome breed! Not least was that of hand-to-hand fights where Hygelac fell, when the ruler of Geats in rush of battle, lord of his folk, in the Frisian land, son of Hrethel, by sword-draughts died,


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 readiness. A passage at the other end leads to the “necessarium” (I), a portion of the monastic buildings always planned with extreme care. The southern side is occupied by the “refectory” (K), from the west end of which by a vestibule the kitchen (L) is reached. This is separated from the main buildings of the monastery, and is connected by a long passage with a building containing the bakehouse and brewhouse (M), and the sleeping-rooms of the servants. The upper story of the refectory is the “vestiarium,” where the ordinary clothes of the brethren were kept. On the western side of the cloister is another two-story building (N). The cellar is below, and the larder and store-room above. Between this building and the church, opening by one door into the cloisters, and by another to the outer part of the monastery area, is the “parlour” for interviews with visitors from the external world (O). On the eastern side of the north transept is the “scriptorium” or writing-room (P1), with the library above.

To the east of the church stands a group of buildings comprising two miniature conventual establishments, each complete in itself. Each has a covered cloister surrounded by the usual buildings, i.e. refectory, dormitory, &c., and a church or chapel on one side, placed back to back. A detached building belonging to each contains a bath and a kitchen. One of these diminutive convents is appropriated to the “oblati” or novices (Q), the other to the sick monks as an “infirmary” (R).

The “residence of the physicians” (S) stands contiguous to the infirmary, and the physic garden (T) at the north-east corner of the monastery. Besides other rooms, it contains a drug store, and a chamber for those who are dangerously ill. The “house for bloodletting and purging” adjoins it on the west (U).

The “outer school,” to the north of the convent area, contains a large schoolroom divided across the middle by a screen or partition, and surrounded by fourteen little rooms, termed the dwellings of the scholars. The head-master’s house (W) is opposite, built against the side wall of the church. The two “hospitia” or “guest-houses” for the entertainment of strangers of different degrees (X1 X2) comprise a large common chamber or refectory in the centre, surrounded by sleeping-apartments. Each is provided with its own brewhouse and bakehouse, and that for travellers of a superior order has a kitchen and storeroom, with bedrooms for their servants and stables for their horses. There is also an “hospitium” for strange monks, abutting on the north wall of the church (Y).

Beyond the cloister, at the extreme verge of the convent area to the south, stands the “factory” (Z), containing workshops for shoemakers, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders, trencher-makers, tanners, curriers, fullers, smiths and goldsmiths, with their dwellings in the rear. On this side we also find the farm-buildings, the large granary and threshing-floor (a), mills (c), malt-house (d). Facing the west are the stables (e), ox-sheds (f ), goat-stables (g), piggeries (h), sheep-folds (i ), together with the servants’ and labourers’ quarters (k). At the south-east corner we find the hen and duck house, and poultry-yard (m), and the dwelling of the keeper (n). Hard by is the kitchen garden (o), the beds bearing the names of the vegetables growing in them, onions, garlic, celery, lettuces, poppy, carrots, cabbages, &c., eighteen in all. In the same way the physic garden presents the names of the medicinal herbs, and the cemetery (p) those of the trees, apple, pear, plum, quince, &c., planted there.

A curious bird’s-eye view of Canterbury Cathedral and its annexed conventual buildings, taken about 1165, is preserved in the Great Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. As elucidated by Professor Willis, it exhibits the plan of a great Benedictine monastery in the 12th century, and enables us to compare it with that of the 9th as seen at St Gall. We see in both the same general principles of arrangement, which indeed belong to all Benedictine monasteries, enabling us to determine with precision the disposition of the various buildings, when little more than fragments of the walls exist. From some local reasons, however, the cloister and monastic buildings are placed on the north, instead, as is far more commonly the case, on the south of the church. There is also a separate chapter-house, which is wanting at St Gall.

The buildings at Canterbury, as at St Gall, form separate groups. The church forms the nucleus. In immediate contact with this, on the north side, lie the cloister and the group of buildings devoted to the monastic life. Outside of these, to the west and east, are the “halls and chambers devoted to the exercise of hospitality, with which every monastery was provided, for the purpose of receiving as guests persons who visited it, whether clergy or laity, travellers, pilgrims or paupers.” To the north a large open court divides the monastic from the menial buildings, intentionally placed as remote as possible from the conventual buildings proper, the stables, granaries, barn, bakehouse, brewhouse, laundries, &c., inhabited by the lay servants of the establishment. At the greatest possible distance from the church, beyond the precinct of the convent, is the eleemosynary department. The almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great hall annexed, forms the paupers’ hospitium.

The most important group of buildings is naturally that devoted to monastic life. This includes two cloisters, the great cloister surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with the daily life of the monks,—the church to the south, the refectory or frater-house here as always on the side opposite to the church, and farthest removed from it, that no sound or smell of eating might penetrate its sacred precincts, to the east the dormitory, raised on a vaulted undercroft, and the chapter-house adjacent, and the lodgings of the cellarer to the west. To this officer was committed the provision of the monks’ daily food, as well as that of the guests. He was, therefore, appropriately lodged in the immediate vicinity of the refectory and kitchen, and close to the guest-hall. A passage under the dormitory leads eastwards to the smaller or infirmary cloister, appropriated to the sick and infirm monks. Eastward of this cloister extend the hall and chapel of the infirmary, resembling in form and arrangement the nave and chancel of an aisled church. Beneath the dormitory, looking out into the green court or herbarium, lies the “pisalis” or “calefactory,” the common room of the monks. At its north-east corner access was given from the dormitory to the necessarium, a portentous edifice in the form of a Norman hall, 145 ft. long by 25 broad, containing fifty-five seats. It was, in common with all such offices in ancient monasteries, constructed with the most careful regard to cleanliness and health, a stream of water running through it from end to end. A second smaller dormitory runs from east to west for the accommodation of the conventual officers, who were bound to sleep in the dormitory. Close to the refectory, but outside the cloisters, are the domestic offices connected with it: to the north, the kitchen, 47 ft. square, surmounted by a lofty pyramidal roof, and the kitchen court; to the west, the butteries, pantries, &c. The infirmary had a small kitchen of its own. Opposite the refectory door in the cloister are two lavatories, an invariable adjunct to a monastic dining-hall, at which the monks washed before and after taking food.

The buildings devoted to hospitality were divided into three groups. The prior’s group “entered at the south-east angle of the green court, placed near the most sacred part of the cathedral, as befitting the distinguished ecclesiastics or nobility who were assigned to him.” The cellarer’s buildings were near the west end of the nave, in which ordinary visitors of the middle class were hospitably entertained. The inferior pilgrims and paupers were relegated to the north hall or almonry, just within the gate, as far as possible from the other two.

Westminster Abbey is another example of a great Benedictine abbey, identical in its general arrangements, so far as they can be traced, with those described above. The cloister and monastic buildings lie to the south side of the church. Parallel to the nave, on the south side of the cloister, was the refectory, with its lavatory at the door. On the eastern side we find the remains of the dormitory, raised on a vaulted substructure and communicating with the south transept. The chapter-house opens out of the same alley of the cloister. The small cloister lies to the south-east of the larger cloister, and still farther to the east we have the remains of the infirmary with the table hall, the refectory of those who were able to leave their chambers. The abbot’s house formed a small courtyard at the west entrance, close to the inner gateway. Considerable portions of this remain, including the abbot’s parlour, celebrated as “the Jerusalem Chamber,” his hall, now used for the Westminster King’s Scholars, and the kitchen and butteries beyond.

St Mary’s Abbey, York, of which the ground-plan is annexed, exhibits the usual Benedictine arrangements. The precincts are surrounded by a strong fortified wall on three sides, the river Ouse being sufficient protection on the fourth side. The entrance was by a strong gateway (U) to the north. Close to the entrance was a chapel, where is now the

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124 by brands down-beaten. Thence Beowulf fled through strength of himself and his swimming power, though alone, and his arms were laden with thirty coats of mail, when he came to the sea! Nor yet might Hetwaras haughtily boast their craft of contest, who carried against him shields to the fight: but few escaped from strife with the hero to seek their homes! Then swam over ocean Ecgtheow’s son lonely and sorrowful, seeking his land, where Hygd made him offer of hoard and realm, rings and royal-seat, reckoning naught the strength of her son to save their kingdom from hostile hordes, after Hygelac’s death. No sooner for this could the stricken ones in any wise move that atheling’s mind over young Heardred’s head as lord and ruler of all the realm to be: yet the hero upheld him with helpful words, aided in honor, till, older grown, he wielded the Weder-Geats.—Wandering exiles sought him o’er seas, the sons of Ohtere, who had spurned the sway of the Scylfings’-helmet,


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Rh the bravest and best that broke the rings, in Swedish land, of the sea-kings’ line, haughty hero. Hence Heardred’s end. For shelter he gave them, sword-death came, the blade’s fell blow, to bairn of Hygelac; but the son of Ongentheow sought again house and home when Heardred fell, leaving Beowulf lord of Geats and gift-seat’s master.—A good king he!

The fall of his lord he was fain to requite in after days; and to Eadgils he proved friend to the friendless, and forces sent over the sea to the son of Ohtere, weapons and warriors: well repaid he those care-paths cold when the king he slew. Thus safe through struggles the son of Ecgtheow had passed a plenty, through perils dire, with daring deeds, till this day was come that doomed him now with the dragon to strive. With comrades eleven the lord of Geats swollen in rage went seeking the dragon.


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The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Fries, Elias Magnus

FRIES, frēs, Elias Magnus, Swedish botanist: b. Smaland, Sweden, 15 Aug. 1794; d. Upsala, 8 Feb. 1878. He was educated at Lund and in 1828 was appointed demonstrator in botany there. In 1834 he was called to the chair of practical economics at Upsala, with which in 1851 that of botany was conjoined. His botanical investigations deal with the field of systematic botany, but his work is especially valuable in its additions to our knowledge of lichens, mosses, fungi, etc. Fries introduced into Sweden the morphological theory in his ‘Systems of the Vegetable World’ (1825). His work on ‘Mycology’ (1820-32) was long the standard work on the classification of

fungi, of which he gave a relatively complete catalogue in ‘Scandinavian Flora’ (1846-49). He wrote a series of useful books on the Hymenomycetæ, on lichens, and on the flora of Scandinavia, more particularly of Sweden. Among his monographs is one on the ‘Hieracieæ’ (1848). In 1851 Fries was appointed director of the botanical museum and garden at Upsala, and in 1853 rector of the university.


text: The Oldest English Epic/Chapter 1/Beowulf 32


text: The Oldest English Epic/Chapter 1/Beowulf 33


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Rh Hours passed away, and the sky became stormy, red, and flaming, as the sun sunk down like a dying Revolutionist. amidst the blood-tinged clouds, but the lovers beheld it with serenity and confidence, for they knew that to-morrow it would rise upon a land of peace and plenty, where the insults of the rich and the whines of the slave were alike unheard; and where just laws, wise government, and an equitable social system were making an earthly Paradise of what had been a veritable Inferno,

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text: The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Bower, David


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Rh Sydney, that the schooner Admiral Gifford had arrived a month ago, and that great fears had been entertained regarding our safety.

Next morning, the brig got under weigh, but grounded in the entrance of Princess Royal Harbour, and remained there the greatest part of the day. Lieutenant Sleeman came on board, early in the morning, to welcome his successor, and Captain Barker and I went on shore to breakfast with him.

The settlement was very healthy, not so short of provisions as we had imagined, and they had an abundance of vegetables. After breakfast, I took a walk with Dr. Davis, to view the Government Farm, situated about a mile or two from Frederic Town (so named by Major Lockyer), to which a very good road had been made.

On our return, we walked to the summit of Mount Melville, whence we had a very extensive view of the surrounding country, which bore a decided resemblance to the land about the Cape of Good Hope, when viewed from the top of Table Mountain.

A range of mountains extended from the north-west to north-east, about the same distance from Mount Melville as the Hottentot mountains are from Table Mountain. Another tier was observed to the westward, evidently the coast range; between these, there appeared to be level land, and thither I determined to make an excursion, during the time the brig

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 church of St Olaf (W), in which the new-comers paid their devotions immediately on their arrival. Near the gate to the south was the guest-hall or hospitium (T). The buildings are completely ruined, but enough remains to enable us to identify the grand cruciform church (A), the cloister-court with the chapter-house (B), the refectory (I), the kitchen-court with its offices (K, O, O) and the other principal apartments. The infirmary has perished completely.

Some Benedictine houses display exceptional arrangements, dependent upon local circumstances, e.g. the dormitory of Worcester runs from east to west, from the west walk of the cloister, and that of Durham is built over the west, instead of as usual, over the east walk; but, as a general rule, the arrangements deduced from the examples described may be regarded as invariable.

The history of monasticism is one of alternate periods of decay and revival. With growth in popular esteem came increase in material wealth, leading to luxury and worldliness. The first religious ardour cooled, the strictness of the rule was relaxed, until by the 10th century the decay of discipline was so complete in France that the monks are said to have been frequently unacquainted with the rule of St Benedict, and even ignorant that they were bound by any rule at all. The reformation of abuses generally took the form of the establishment of new monastic orders, with new and more stringent rules, requiring a modification of the architectural arrangements. One of the earliest of these reformed orders was the Cluniac. This order took its name from the little village of Cluny, 12 miles N.W. of Macon, near which, about 909, a reformed Benedictine abbey was founded by William, duke of Aquitaine and count of Auvergne, under Berno, abbot of Beaume. He was succeeded by Odo, who is often regarded as the founder of the order. The fame of Cluny spread far and wide. Its rigid rule was adopted by a vast number of the old Benedictine abbeys, who placed themselves in affiliation to the mother society, while new foundations sprang up in large numbers, all owing allegiance to the “archabbot”, established at Cluny. By the end of the 12th century the number of monasteries affiliated to Cluny in the various countries of western Europe amounted to 2000. The monastic establishment of Cluny was one of the most extensive and magnificent in France. We may form some idea of its enormous dimensions from the fact recorded, that when, 1245, Pope Innocent IV., accompanied by twelve cardinals, a patriarch, three archbishops, the two generals of the Carthusians and Cistercians, the king (St Louis), and three of his sons, the queen mother, Baldwin, count of Flanders and emperor of Constantinople, the duke of Burgundy, and six lords, visited the abbey, the whole party, with their attendants, were lodged within the monastery without disarranging the monks, 400 in number. Nearly the whole of the abbey buildings, including the magnificent church, were swept away at the close of the 18th century. When the annexed ground-plan was taken, shortly before its destruction, nearly all the monastery, with the exception of the church, had been rebuilt.

The church, the ground-plan of which bears a remarkable resemblance to that of Lincoln Cathedral, was of vast dimensions. It was 656 ft. by 130 ft. wide. The nave was 102 ft. and the aisles 60 ft. high. The nave (G) had double vaulted aisles on either side. Like Lincoln, it had an eastern as well as a western transept, each furnished with apsidal chapels to the east. The western transept was 213 ft. long, and the eastern 123 ft. The choir terminated in a semicircular apse (F), surrounded by five chapels, also semicircular. The western entrance was approached by an ante-church, or narthex (B), itself an aisled church of no mean dimensions, flanked by two towers, rising from a stately flight of steps bearing a large stone cross. To the south of the church lay the cloister-court (H), of immense size, placed much farther to the west than is usually the

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234 in harbour; as I had been informed by the Commander that eight or ten days would be required to caulk her, and make the other repairs absolutely necessary, before she proceeded on her voyage.

While returning down, we met Captain Barker and Lieutenant Sleeman, on their way to the farm. On making known my intention to take a little trip into the interior, Lieutenant Sleeman (who had not yet resigned command) offered me the assistance of any Crown prisoners I might wish, to carry provisions, &c., and also an intelligent native, named Mokare (who was now out shooting ducks for dinner): this I willingly accepted; and, on my reaching the camp, made arrangements for starting on Wednesday morning.

We dined with Lieutenant Sleeman. Wild ducks and green peas were highly relished by us, after living so long on salt provisions. We were glad to hear from him that the natives were exceedingly friendly; no act of hostility having been committed, either by or against them, since his arrival.

I suspected that this circumstance must have been occasioned by judicious management in the first instance; and, on making inquiries, I discovered, in an old order book, the following order of Major Lockyer, which, from its being attended with such favourable results, deserves to be known and imitated by those who may hereafter be placed in the same responsible situations.

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text:
The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Fries, Jakob Friedrich

FRIES, Jakob Friedrich, German philosopher: b. Barby, Saxony, 23 Aug. 1773; d. Wartburg, Germany, 10 Aug. 1843. He received his education at Leipzig and Jena and in 1801 was appointed lecturer in philosophy at the latter university. He was professor of philosophy and elementary mathematics at Heidelberg 1806-16, after which he held the chair of theoretical philosophy at Jena. He is a link between Kant's system and the so-called historical school. According to his theory philosophy is founded in the last analysis in subjective knowledge and it is propounded thoroughly only by means of psychological analysis. ‘The New or Anthropological Critique of Reason’ (1807) is his most important book. He wrote also ‘Handbook to Psychical Anthropology’ (1820); ‘System of Metaphysics’ (1824), etc.


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Rh

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236 Mokărē expressed much willingness to accompany me, and I was further gratified by Mr. Kent, the officer in charge of the Commissariat, expressing a wish to join the party. A soldier, of the thirty-ninth, named Gough, who was esteemed a good bushman, volunteered, as did also two prisoners of the Crown; one of whom had accompanied Mr. Baxter on all his botanical excursions, and the other had attended the former expeditions made by Major Lockyer, Captain Wakefield, and Mr. Tollemache.

On Tuesday, while we were preparing for our excursion, I was advised, by the master of the Admiral Gifford, not to trust the blacks, who were (he said) a set of treacherous villains; as, not long ago, they had pointed their spears at him and his boat's crew, while peaceably proceeding up King's River.

But such expeditions being generally for the purpose of surprising and carrying off the native women, it cannot at all be wondered at, that the native men should endeavour to prevent the outrage. Indeed, it is quite notorious on many parts of the coast, that if a small vessel makes her appearance, the natives get out of the way as fast as possible; while, if the ship be large, they come down to the beach, without mistrust or fear.

On Wednesday morning, at daylight, we left the settlement, with a week's provisions. Gough had his knapsack filled with brandy, rum, and gin; and, although rather heavily burdened, he made no objection,

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The Inner Life, v. I/Third Section/I

COMMON SENSE ABOVE all things and under all circumstances the student of occultism must hold fast to common sense. He will meet with many new ideas, with many startling facts, and if he allows the strangeness of things to overbalance him, harm instead of good will result from the increase of his knowledge. Many other qualities are desirable for progress, but a well-balanced mind is an actual necessity. The study of occultism may indeed be summed up in this: it is the study of much that is unrecognized ordinary man — the acquisition therefore of a great multitude of new facts, and then the adaptation of one's life to the new facts in a reasonable and common-sense way. All occultism of which I know anything is simply an apotheosis of common sense.

title: The Inner Life, v. I/Third Section/I