{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71252/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71252","id":"gutenberg_71252","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71252","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Health & Medicine","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Medicine, Magic, mystic, and spagiric","Occultism"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other\nspelling and punctuation remains unchanged.\n\nA variety astrological, alchemical and mystical symbols are used, as\nmany are unavailable they have been replaced by {symbol}.\n\nThe anchor of footnote 22 on page 41 was missing. The present location\nwas chosen by the transcriber.\n\nThe contents list shows five chapters, with chapter V being entitled The\nMedicine of the Future. In the body chapter IV is followed immediately\nby Chapter VI entitled The Physician of the Future. It is assumed that\nthis is a missprint rather than a missing chapter and has been altered\naccordingly.\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_, and bold thus =bold=.\n\n\n\n\n                            OCCULT SCIENCE\n\n\n                                  IN\n\n                               MEDICINE\n\n\n                                  BY\n\n                         FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D.\n\n                       (_All rights reserved._)\n\n\n                    THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY\n                 7, DUKE STREET, ADELPHI, LONDON, W.C.\n           \u201cTHE PATH,\u201d 144, Madison Avenue, New York, U.S.A.\n            \u201cTHE THEOSOPHIST\u201d OFFICE, Adyar, Madras, India.\n\n                                 1893.\n\n\n\n\n                               DEDICATED\n\n                     TO EVERY STUDENT OF MEDICINE\n\n\n \u201cThat which is looked upon by one generation as the apex of human\n knowledge is often considered an absurdity by the next, and that which\n is regarded as a superstition in one century, may form the basis of\n science for the following one.\u201d (_Theophrastus Paracelsus._)\n\n\n\n\n                               PREFACE.\n\n \u201cNothing designates the character of people so well as that which they\n find ridiculous.\u201d\u2014_Goethe._\n\n\nIt is a fact not entirely unknown to those who have studied nature,\nthat there is a certain law of periodicity, according to which forms\ndisappear and the truths which they contained reappear again, embodied\nin new forms. Seasons go and come, civilizations pass away and grow\nagain, exhibiting the same characteristics possessed by the former,\nsciences are lost and rediscovered, and the science of medicine forms\nno exception to this general rule. Many valuable treasures of the past\nhave been buried in forgetfulness; many ideas that shone like luminous\nstars in the sky of ancient medicine have disappeared during the\nrevolution of thought, and begin to rise again on the mental horizon,\nwhere they are christened with new names and stared at in surprise as\nsomething supposed never to have existed before.\n\nAges of spirituality have preceded the past age of materiality, and\nother eras of higher spiritual thought are certain to follow. During\nthese preceding ages many eminently valuable truths were known, which\nhave been lost sight of in modern times, and although the popular\nscience of the present, which deals with the external appearances of\nphysical nature, is undoubtedly greater than that of former times, a\nstudy of the ancient books on medicine shows that the sages of former\ntimes knew more of the fundamental laws of nature than what is admitted\nto-day.\n\nThere is a great science and a little science; one that flies around\nthe spires of the temple of wisdom, another that penetrates into the\nsanctuary; both are right in their places; but the one is superficial\nand popular, the other profound and mysterious; the one makes a great\ndeal of clamour and show, the other is silent and not publicly known.\n\nThere are progressive and there are conservative scientists. There are\nthose whose genius carries them forward and who dare to explore new\nrealms of knowledge; while the conservative class merely collects\nwhat has been produced by others. An explorer must be a scientist; but\nnot every scientist is an explorer. The majority of our modern schools\nof medicine produce nothing new, but merely deal in goods in whose\nproduction they had no share. They resemble the shop of a huckster who\nknows nothing else but the goods which are in his shop. The shelves are\nfilled with popular theories, fashionable beliefs, patented systems,\nand occasionally we find an old article that went out of fashion,\nlabelled with a new name and advertised as something new, and the\nproprietor volubly praises his goods, being as proud of them as if he\nhad made them himself, while he ignores or denounces everything that\nis not to be found in his shop. But the real lover of truth is not\ncontented to live upon the fruits that have grown in the gardens of\nothers; he gathers the materials he finds, not merely for the purpose\nof enjoying their possession, but for the purpose of using them as\nsteps to ascend nearer to the fountain of eternal truth.\n\nThe present work is an attempt to call the attention of those who\nfollow the profession of medicine to this higher aspect of science and\nto certain forgotten treasures of the past, of which an abundance may\nbe found in the works of Theophrastus Paracelsus. Many of the ideas\nadvanced therein, old as they are, will appear new and strange; for\neveryone is familiar only with that which is within his own mental\nhorizon and which he is capable of grasping. The subject treated is so\ngrand, unlimited and sublime, as to render it impossible in a limited\nwork of this kind to deal with it in an exhaustive manner; but we hope\nthat what little has been collected in the following pages will be\nsufficient to indicate the way to the acquisition of that higher mystic\nscience, and to a better understanding of the true constitution of man.\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS.\n\n\n                             INTRODUCTION.\n\n                                                                   PAGE.\n\n  Definition of the term \u201cdisease.\u201d Law and order. Harmony\n  and discords. Obedience. Man a complex being. Health.                9\n\n\n                                  I.\n\n                       THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.\n\n  Miracles in nature. Development. The seven principles\n  in the constitution of man. The anatomy of the \u201cinner man.\u201d\n  Medicine and religion. Theophrastus Paracelsus. Mysteries.\n  Mystic science and false mysticism. The powers of the soul.         13\n\n\n                                  II.\n\n                     THE FOUR PILLARS OF MEDICINE.\n\n  Requisites for the practice of medicine.\u2014_Philosophy._ Natural\n  sciences. The phenomenal world. The inner temple. Truth.\n  The four kingdoms and the four elements.\u2014_Astronomy._ Mind.\n  States of consciousness. \u201cStars\u201d and constellations. The\n  _Tatwas_. Sun and Moon. Thinking and the thinker.\u2014_Alchemy._\n  What alchemy is. Quacks and pretenders. _The Three Substances._\n  The creative power. Terrestrial Alchemy. Celestial\n  Alchemy. The Alchemy of the Astral plane.\u2014_The Virtue of\n  the Physician._ The true physician. Medical science and\n  medical wisdom.                                                     25\n\n\n                                 III.\n\n                      THE FIVE CAUSES OF DISEASE.\n\n  _Salt_, _Sulphur_ and _Mercury_.\u2014The _Ens astrale_. The \u201cether\u201d.\n  Invisible influences. Microbes. The astral plane. Mental\n  diseases.\u2014_Ens veneni._ Poisons and impurities. Disharmonies,\n  sympathies and antipathies in chemistry. A chemical\n  romance. Sexual impurity. Promiscuous intercourse.\n  Nutriment. Correspondencies between spiritual powers and\n  physical forces.\u2014_Ens natur\u00e6._ The macrocosm and microcosm.\n  Two beings in one man. Terrestrial and the celestial nature.\n  Generation and incarnation. Heredity. Relationship between\n  internal organs.\u2014_Ens spirituale._ Consciousness. Spirit and\n  soul. The thought-body. Re-incarnation. Will. Imagination.\n  _Arcana._ Memory. The astral light.\u2014_Ens Dei._ God\n  _Karma_. Science and art.                                           50\n\n\n                                  IV.\n\n                    THE FIVE CLASSES OF PHYSICIANS.\n\n  Five classes.\u2014_Naturales._ Therapeutics. Earth. Water.\n  Air. Fire. Ether; the one element.\u2014_Specifici._ Empiricism.\n  The chemistry of life. Principles of light and colour. The\n  astral man.\u2014_Characterales._ Emotions. Hypnotism. Suggestion.\n  Spiritual powers.\u2014_Spirituales._ Magic.\u2014_Fideles._ The\n  power of faith.                                                     74\n\n\n                                  V.\n\n                      THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE.\n\n  Ancient and modern quackery. Science and wisdom.\n  Spirituality and substantiality. Development. Self-control.\n  Realism and idealism. The realization of the ideal. The\n  physician of the future. Self-knowledge. The true life. The\n  awakening of the soul. Phenomena and noumena. The\n  higher science. Material and spiritual evolution. Intellectuality\n  and spirituality. Periodicity. Circular motion and\n  spiral progress. The self-recognition of truth.                     86\n\n\n\n\n                             INTRODUCTION.\n\n \u201cThere are two kinds of knowledge. There is a medical science and\n there is a medical wisdom. To the animal man belongs the animal\n comprehension; but the understanding of divine mysteries belongs to\n the spirit of God in him.\u201d (Theophrastus Paracelsus, \u201c_De Fundamento\n Sapienti\u00e6_.\u201d)\n\n\nA great deal has been written in modern books on pathology about the\ndifficulty of defining the word \u201c_disease_.\u201d The dictionary calls\nit \u201clack or absence of ease, pain, uneasiness, distress, trial,\ntrouble,\u201d &c., but against either of these definitions objections may\nbe raised. James Paget says: \u201cEase and disease, well and ill, and\nall their synonyms are relative terms, of which none can be fixed\nunconditionally. If there could be fixed a standard of health, all\ndeviations from it might be called diseases; but a chief characteristic\nof living bodies is not fixity, but variation by self-adjustment to a\nwide range of varying circumstances, and among such self-adjustments it\nis not practicable to make a line separating those which may reasonably\nbe called healthy from those which may as reasonably be called disease.\u201d\n\nTo this occult science answers that _such a standard of health exists\nfor us as soon as we recognise the unity and supremacy of the law; that\nthe results of obedience to the law are harmony and health, and the\nresults of disobedience are called discords or disease_.\n\nShakespeare says:\u2014\n\n  \u201cThe heavens themselves, the planets and this centre\n  Observe degree, priority and place,\n  Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,\n  Office, and custom, in all line of order.\u201d\n                        \u2014(_Troilus and Cressida_, i. 3.)\n\nIf we regard the order, which \u201cis Heaven\u2019s first law,\u201d as the creation\nof the self-adjustment of accidentally arising circumstances, leaving\nout of consideration the fundamental Unity of the All and its one\npurpose, we would then probably find various laws of order in the\nuniverse, being essentially different from each other; and it would be\ndifficult to know which of these laws it would be best to follow; but\nif we recognise in the order that rules all things a manifestation of\none eternal law of order and harmony, the function of Supreme Wisdom\nacting in nature but not being the product of nature, it will remain\nfor us only to know that supreme Law and obey it. The universe is only\none, and is ruled by only one source of all laws; but there are many\nunities within the constitution of this great Unity; they constitute\nas many selves within Self, whose separate interests are not identical\nwith that of the whole, and therefore the order obeyed by these\ntemporary selves is not the same as that of the eternal whole. Thus the\nbattle for existence, far from being the cause of the order observable\nin the world, is in fact the cause of the disorder existing therein.\n\nIf man, like his divine prototype, were a perfect unity, a\nmanifestation of will and thought identified and one, there would be\nonly one law to obey: the law of his divine nature; he would be forever\nin harmony with himself; there would be no disharmonious elements\nin his nature, seeking to create an order of their own, and thereby\ncausing discords and disease; but man is a compound being, there are\nmany elements in his nature, each representing to a certain extent an\nindependent form of will, and the more one of these modifications of\nwill succeeds in departing from the order that constitutes the whole,\nand to enact, be it intelligently or instinctively, a will of its own,\nthe greater will be the disharmony which it causes within the whole\norganism and the greater will be the disease.[1] \u201cA house divided\nagainst itself will fall.\u201d _Disease is the disharmony which follows\nthe disobedience to the law; the restoration consists in restoring the\nharmony by a return to obedience to the law of order which governs the\nwhole._\n\nThe key to the cure of diseases is therefore in the understanding of\nthe fundamental law which governs the nature of man, and for this\npurpose it is necessary that a rational system of medicine should know\nthe constitution of man; not only that of his physical body, which is\nmerely the lower part of the house wherein he dwells; but the whole\nphysical, astral and mental constitution of that being called \u201cMan,\u201d\nwhich is still the greatest mystery to science, and of which little\nmore than the anatomy, the physiological functions and the chemical\ncomposition of the material organs and substances composing his\ncorporeal form is either known to or taught by our modern academies.\n\nGreat progress has been made by modern science in investigating all\nthe minor details of the shell which man occupies during his life upon\nthis planet; but as regards the inhabitant of that house, the inner\nman, who is neither wholly material nor wholly spiritual, the ancient\nsages knew more about his true nature than is ever dreamed of in our\nmedical schools, and it will be undoubtedly worth while to examine\ntheir views. Moreover, if the outward body of man is, as they teach,\nonly the outward expression of the qualities and functions of a more\ninterior and invisible human organism; then it appears that many bodily\ndiseases, such as are not caused by direct physical injuries, are the\nresults of disorders existing within that inner organism, and as every\ntrue physician should seek to know the causes of diseases, and not\nmerely destroy their external effects, such a knowledge of the \u201ccausal\nbody\u201d of man, whose visible image is his \u201cphenomenal form,\u201d may open a\nnew field for pathology and therapeutics, from which a rich harvest may\nbe gathered for the benefit of mankind.\n\n\n\n\n                                  I.\n\n                       THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.\n\n\nFrom times immemorial the sages have taught that we shall never know\nimmortal truth, if we do not discover it within our own selves.\nExperience has long ago corroborated this theory, for in spite of all\nprogress in scientific researches concerning the nature of Man, and\nwhich were carried on by means of researches in the external kingdom\nof nature, the real constitution of Man and that which constitutes\nhis essential being has not yet been discovered. We know that from\nthe ovum the f\u0153tus, from the f\u0153tus the child, from the child the body\nof man becomes developed; we know the order in which these processes\ntake place; but we seem to know nothing about the powers that produce\nthem. Such an alchemical trick of nature as to make a man grow out\nof a cell in which no man is contained would seem absurd, incredible\nand miraculous, and would be believed by nobody, if it were not a\nwell-known fact, and being of daily occurrence it has ceased to appear\nsurprising, so that it appears now strange if anyone wonders how such a\nthing is possible.\n\n_Horne_ says: \u201cBy a silent, unseen, mysterious process, the fairest\nflower of the garden springs from a small insignificant seed.\u201d A\nsimilar mysterious process takes place in the evolution of the human\nbody. All these processes are evidently the effects of the action of a\ncause adequate to produce them; to deny this would be identical with\naffirming the self-evident absurdity, that something could grow out of\nnothing, and the law of logic furthermore makes it clear that although\na physical cause can produce a physical effect, a living body can\nonly be produced by a living power, an intellectual organism by an\nintelligent being. Whether or not the animal body of man has evoluted\nfrom the lower animal kingdom, or whether certain animals are the\nproducts of a perversion and degradation of the nature of man, does not\nconcern us at present. What we know is, that no life and intelligence\ncan become manifest in a form unless these powers are contained\ntherein, and we also know that life cannot be created by death nor can\nintelligence be created by that which has no intelligence.\n\nBut if popular science confessedly knows nothing about the origin of\nthe manifestation of life, nothing about what is vaguely termed \u201csoul,\u201d\nnothing about the nature and origin of the mind (whose functions\nare required for the purpose of enabling the brain to investigate\nsuch things) nothing about the spirit and nothing about the higher\nconstitution of man, whose external expression and symbol is his\nphysical body; it will not be inappropriate to apply to other sources\nfor information and hear what the ancient sages taught concerning the\nprinciples that go to make up the constitution of man. _The first\nrequisite of a rational and perfect system of a medicine is a thorough\nknowledge of the whole constitution of man; of the whole, and not\nmerely of a part of his nature._\n\nThe ancient Indian sages compared man to a lotus flower, whose home is\nthe water (the world), whose roots draw their nutriment from the earth\n(material nature), while it raises its head to the light (the spiritual\nkingdom), from which it receives the power to unfold the powers latent\nin its constitution.\n\nA great deal has already been said in Theosophical literature about the\nsevenfold constitution of man: but for the sake of completeness we will\ndelineate it again.\n\n1. _Rupa._ The physical body, the vehicle of all the other \u201cprinciples\u201d\nduring life.\n\n2. _Prana._ Life or vital principle.\n\n3. _Linga Sharira._ The astral body. The ethereal image or counterpart\nof the physical body, the \u201cphantom body.\u201d\n\n4. _Kama rupa._ The animal soul. The seat of animal desires and\npassions. In this principle is centred the life of the animal and\nmortal man.\n\n5. _Manas._ Mind. Intelligence. The connecting link between the mortal\nand immortal man.\n\n6. _Buddhi._ The spiritual soul. The vehicle of pure universal spirit.\n\n7. _Atma._ Spirit. The radiation of the Absolute. (For further\nexplanation see: H. P. Blavatsky, \u201cKey to Theosophy.\u201d)\n\n_Goethe_ says: \u201cA word comes in very conveniently when a conception\nis absent.\u201d In our material age the very meaning of terms signifying\nspiritual powers and conditions has become lost and perverted; \u201cGod\u201d\nis supposed to mean an unnatural supernatural being outside of Nature;\n\u201cFaith\u201d has become credulity and belief in the opinions of others;\n\u201cHope\u201d has become personal greed; \u201cLove\u201d is supposed to be selfish\ndesire, etc., etc. It is therefore not surprising if the above terms\nare incomprehensible to many or misinterpreted by them, for they all\nrepresent certain states of consciousness, and no one can know a state\nof consciousness which he has never experienced. Therein is contained\nthe mystery.\n\nThe philosophers of the middle ages symbolised these seven principles\nby the signs of seven \u201cplanets\u201d from which seven cosmic bodies visible\nin the sky received their names; and if this is understood, it will at\nonce become clear that those who deny the sevenfold division of the\nplanets, only expose their own ignorance and misconceptions. No one can\nreally criticise that which he does not understand; but self-conceit\nimagines itself to be superior to everything, and thinks itself wiser\nthan all the sages; forgetting that Shakespeare says: \u201c_The fool thinks\nhe is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool._\u201d (_As You\nLike It_, V., i.)\n\nThe ancients based their science of medicine upon the recognition of\na universal, eternal, self-existent, self-conscious cause, the source\nof universal life, where popular modern medicine recognises only\nthe outcome of a blind force. The secret medicine of the ancients\nwas therefore a religious[2] science, while modern popular medicine\nrecognises no religious element and therefore no real truth. To\nseparate science from religious truth is to put it upon an irrational\nbasis; for \u201creligion\u201d means the relation which man bears to his divine\norigin. To leave out of sight the source from which he originated is\nto ignore his true nature and to relegate medicine to the realm of\nthe lowest plane of his existence; namely, that of his most gross and\nmaterial form. This is exactly the position which modern medicine\noccupies at present, and there is nothing that can elevate it higher\nthan a recognition of the higher nature in man, and a re-discovery of\ndivine truth. Such a higher knowledge was formerly considered necessary\nfor the purpose of constituting a real physician, and for this reason\nthe practice of medicine was in the hands of those who were born\nphysicians, sages and saints by the power of the true grace of God,\nwhile among popular practitioners there are, now as then, many dunces\nand rascals, having neither spirituality nor morality; for what the\nmodern physician of the materialistic school requires for his success\nis a certain amount of memorizing of the contents of his books, so as\nto enable him to pass his examination, and a talent to profit by the\ncredulity of the people.\n\nWhen the ancients spoke of \u201cseven planets,\u201d they referred to seven\nspiritual but nevertheless substantial states, of which popular\nscience knows nothing but their external manifestation in the realm\nof phenomena. It has truly been said that no one ever saw even the\n_earth_; that which we see is merely a manifestation or appearance\nof a spiritual principle called \u201cearth\u201d {symbol} The real essence of\n\u201cmatter\u201d is beyond the conception of the terrestrial mind.\n\nSeen from this point of view, the \u201cseven planets\u201d in the constitution\nof man as well as in the constitution of nature as a whole, represent\nthe following elements, powers, essences, or forms of existence:\u2014\n\nI. {symbol} _Saturn_ (_Prakriti_). Matter; the substance and material element\nin all things in all the three kingdoms of nature (the physical, astral\nand spiritual plane). It is invisible and known only by means of its\nmanifestation. It is that which gives fixity and solidity, it is\nsubstantiality itself.\n\nII. {symbol} _Luna_, \u201cthe Moon\u201d (_Linga_). The \u201cethereal or astral\u201d body\nof man; the kingdom of dreams, fancies, illusions, in which exists\nonly the reflection of the true life and light of the sun; it also\nrepresents intellectual speculation without wisdom (recognition of\ntruth), and the forms belonging to that kingdom are as changeable as\nare the opinions of men.\n\nIII. {symbol} _Sol_, \u201cthe Sun\u201d (_Prana_). Life on the physical and spiritual\nplane (_Jiva_). The centre of the planetary system.[3] It is that which\nproduces the manifestations or activity of life upon every plane of\nexistence.\n\n{symbol} _Mars_ (_Kama_). The passional, emotional, animal element\nin man and in nature; the seat of desire and self-will; that which\nbecomes manifest as greed, envy, anger, lust and selfishness in all its\nforms; but which is also a source of strength. There are many diseases\ncaused by the excessive or irregular action of powers belonging to this\nkingdom; when by combining with {symbol} they become of a terrestrial\nnature.\n\n{symbol} _Mercury_ (_Manas_). The Mind; the principle of intelligence\nmanifesting itself as intellectual power in the kingdom of mind;\ngiving in its combination with {symbol} rise to earthly thoughts, but\nin combination with {symbol} constituting spiritual\nknowledge.\n\n{symbol} _Jupiter_ (_Buddhi_). The principle which manifests itself as\nspiritual power, be it for good or for evil. Reason, intuition, faith,\nfirmness, recognition of truth.\n\n{symbol} _Venus_ (_Atma_). The principle which in its\npurity manifests itself as universal divine love, it being identical\nwith divine self-knowledge. If united with {symbol} (intelligence) it\nconstitutes wisdom. Acting within the animal plane it produces animal\ninstincts, and upon the physical plane it causes the attractions of\nopposite polarities, chemical affinities, &c., &c.\n\nAll this is said merely to indicate the key to this kind of science;\nfor the combinations in which these principles may enter, and the\nmodifications of their manifestations under different conditions are\nalmost innumerable; neither can this spiritual science be taught to a\nmind (_Manas_) unillumined by the light of the higher understanding\n(_Buddhi_). The practical study and application of anything requires\nfirst of all the possession of the object, and if this is true in\nregard to physical objects, it is no less true in regard to spiritual\nprinciples, whose nature can only be known when their presence is\nrealised within one\u2019s own consciousness. The higher aspects of all of\nthese powers belong to the higher nature of man, and he who desires to\nknow and apply these laws in the practice of medicine, must first of\nall seek to develop his own higher nature by freeing himself from the\nelements that govern his lower nature; in other words, he must enter\nfrom the animal-human into the human-divine state, to which the true\nphysician belongs.\n\nOne of such adept-physicians was _Theophrastus Paracelsus_, the\ngreat reformer of medicine of the sixteenth century, who is properly\nregarded as the father of modern medicine, although his successors\nare still far from realising the truths which he taught, and will, on\nthe whole, perhaps not grow up to an understanding of his doctrines\nfor centuries to come.[4] He was far in advance not only of the\nscience of his days, but also of that of our present days; for\nalthough he may have known less than we do in regard to the phenomenal\nappearances of the manifestations of life on this planet, he knew a\ngreat deal more than our modern science in regard to the causes of\nthese manifestations and in regard to the _inner_ nature of things.\nHe was and still is ridiculed and belittled by those who were and\nare not capable of understanding him; but he proved the truth of his\ntheories by performing cures which even modern medicine with all\nits new acquisitions cannot perform.[5] He was the first to abolish\na system of unmitigated quackery, based upon mere empiricism, the\nremnants of which exist even to-day. He was hated and persecuted by the\nquacks and pretenders of those times, who did a lucrative business,\nthriving upon the ignorance of the public, as some are doing to-day,\nand the vilifications and calumnies thrown out against him by such\nstill inspire the opinions of many in regard to his person, although\nwe may safely believe that few of his critics have ever read his\nbooks and still fewer have understood them. Numerous biographies have\nbeen written about him and his personal habits, and it seems that the\nmajority of his critics have been able to comprehend that when he\ndied he left a pair of leather pantaloons to his heirs; but as to\nhis philosophy, this is a _terra incognita_, which surpasses their\nunderstanding; neither could such a knowledge of the secret sciences be\nexpected from anybody knowing nothing about the fundamental principles\nin the constitution of man.\n\nWhether Paracelsus obtained his knowledge in the East, as has been\nclaimed, or whether it was revealed to him by his own perception of\ntruth, does not concern us; but there can be no doubt that he knew that\nsevenfold classification, for we find him speaking of the following\nseven aspects of man:\u2014\n\n1. _The Corpus_, or the elementary body of man. (_Limbus._)\n\n2. _The Mumia_, or the ethereal body; the vehicle of life. (_Evestrum._)\n\n3. _The Arch\u00e6us._ The essence of life. _Spiritus Mundi_ in Nature and\n_Spiritus Vitae_ in man.\n\n4. _The Sidereal body_; made up of the influences of the \u201cstars.\u201d\n\n5. _Adech._ The inner man or the thought-body, made of the flesh of\nAdam.\n\n6. _Aluech._ The spiritual body, made of the flesh of Christ; also\ncalled \u201cthe man of the new Olympus.\u201d\n\n7. _Spiritus._ The universal Spirit.\n\nThere is hardly a page in the philosophical writings of Paracelsus\nwhich does not refer to the twofold nature of man, his terrestrial and\ncelestial aspect, and of the necessity of the development of his higher\nnature and superior (spiritual) understanding.\n\n \u201cAbove all, we must pay attention to the fact that there are two kinds\n of spirit in man. (One originating in nature, the other coming from\n heaven.) Man ought to be a human being according to the spirit of\n (divine) life and not according to the (terrestrial) spirit of the\n _Limbus_. It is a truth that (the heavenly) man is an image of God,\n having in him a divine spirit (life). In all other respects he is an\n animal, having as such an animal spirit. These two are opposed to each\n other, but one of the two is bound to succumb. Man is destined to be\n a human being and not an animal, and if he is to be a human being, he\n must live within the spirit of (immortal) life and do away with the\n animal spirit.\u201d (\u201cPhilosophia Occulta,\u201d Lib. I., Prologue.)\n\nThe mysteries of the inner temple of nature are not accessible to the\nvulgar and the profane, because every being can realise only that which\ncorresponds to its own nature. To penetrate into the realm of truth a\ntrue soul is required; an animal can realise only the animal side of\nexistence.\n\nOne well known medical authority on a recent occasion said:\n\n \u201cParacelsus, who pronounced the anatomy of the dead body to be\n useless,[6] and sought for the basis of life (_immortality_) as the\n highest goal of knowledge, demanded \u2018contemplation\u2019 (_spiritual_)\n before all else, and just as he himself arrived in this way at the\n metaphysical construction of the _Archaeus_, so he unchained among his\n followers a wild and absolutely fruitless mysticism.\u201d[7]\n\nFor this unchaining of mysticism, not Paracelsus is to blame, but the\nincapacity of his followers, whose animal minds were not capable of\nbecoming illumined by the spirit of truth. Whenever the terrestrial\nmind seeks to grasp the spirit of wisdom, and being unable to rise to\nthe perception of divine truth to drag it down to its own level, a wild\nand absolutely fruitless and foolish mysticism will be the result. With\nthe same right we may say that the doctrines of Christ filled the world\nwith superstition, causing the crimes of the crusades, the horrors of\nthe inquisition, and sectarian intolerance. It is not the fault of the\ntruth if it is misunderstood.\n\nThe vast majority of mankind seek for knowledge for the purpose\nof deriving from its possession some personal benefit; be it the\nacquisition of wealth or luxury, the gratification of ambition,\nthe desire to parade before the world as a being in possession of\nsomething great, or for the purpose of satisfying a laudable scientific\ncuriosity. But the acquisition of medical wisdom requires a love of\nthe truth, and love means self-sacrifice. The acquisition of wisdom is\ntherefore possible only if the illusive self with all its desires is\nsacrificed to it. The way to wisdom can be shown; but wisdom can only\nbe taught by wisdom itself; he who loves the realm of illusions cannot\nsee its true light. How many of the would-be followers of Jesus of\nNazareth have become Christs, and who can understand the profundity of\nhis thoughts and exercise his divine powers, but he who has become like\nhim? None of the would-be followers of Paracelsus have grown to be like\nthis master, none of the representatives of modern medical science have\npenetrated deeply into his wisdom.\n\nPopular medical science, being based upon the objective observation of\nphenomena, knows more about the realm of visible nature (Maya) than\nwas known at the time of Paracelsus; but the reason why this popular\nmedical science, in spite of the aids which it received from chemistry\nand physiology, is still incapable of performing the cures which were\nperformed by Paracelsus, is because its followers only speculate and\ndraw inferences, while they do not cultivate that spiritual power\nof soul knowledge which is called \u201cinterior contemplation,\u201d[8] but\nwhich Paracelsus called the _Faith_; a faculty which is at present so\nentirely unknown that even an explanation of the meaning of this term\nis exceedingly difficult. It is a power which belongs neither to the\nphysical, nor to the animal, nor to the intellectual nature in man, but\nto the spiritual man (Atma-Buddhi-Manas); to that higher part of his\nbeing, which in the vast majority of mankind, however intellectual they\nmay be, has not yet awakened into life, but is still latent, buried in\nthe tomb of materiality into which the light of divine truth cannot\npenetrate.\n\n \u201cWhat are ye men in your own powers but nothing? If you wish to obtain\n strength take it from faith. If you have faith as big as a mustard\n seed, you will be as strong as the spirits, and although you now\n appear as men, your faith will make your strength and power equal to\n the spirits such as were also in Samson. For by means of our faith we\n become spirits ourselves, and whatever we accomplish that surpasses\n our (terrestrial) nature is done by the power of faith acting through\n us as a spirit and transforming us into spirits.\u201d (\u201cDe Origin, Morb.\n Invisib.\u201d Introduction.)\n\nMan, even if he obtains occasionally a glimpse of divine truth, is\nonly too prone to forget it again at the next moment, as the action of\nhis terrestrial mind is stronger in him than that of his spirit, and\nit seems therefore necessary to be reminded over and over again that\nthe faith of which Paracelsus speaks is not the illusory faith of the\nbrain, the product of speculation, but a power belonging to those few\nliving spirits walking within this sleeping world. As physical powers\nbelong to the physical and terrestrial man, so spiritual powers belong\nto the spiritual man who must be born before he can know and exercise\nthese powers. As yet there appear to be few even among our eminent\nscientists and successful practitioners who have become regenerated in\nthe spirit of truth and filled with the light of divine wisdom, and\nif there are any such, we would ask all the students of medicine to\nfollow their example and by learning the great art of self-control to\nbecome masters over their own nature and over the nature of others.\nHumanity is only one, and the realization of this truth will open a new\nfield for the science of medicine in the future. That part of us which\nlives within the heart of others is our own truest and \u201cmost profound\nSelf.\u201d[9] If this self, which lives in the hearts of others, has\nawakened to its own consciousness, it will realize its own universal\nexistence and its own power to act within those in whom it lives.\nThus the physician, having become self-conscious of his own higher\nnature, will become a saviour for all the rest of mankind, not only\nin regard to their moral evils, but also in regard to their physical\nills; for the spirit and soul and body of man do not live separately;\nthey are one organic whole, as is the body of humanity, even though the\npersonalities constituting that body are separated from each other by\nthe illusion of form.\n\n\n\n\n                                  II.\n\n                     THE FOUR PILLARS OF MEDICINE.\n\n\nThe pillars upon which the practice of modern medicine rests, are:\u2014\n\n1. _A knowledge of the physical body of man_, the arrangements of\nits organs (anatomy), their physiological functions (physiology) and\nthe visible changes which take place in them when a disease becomes\nmanifest (pathology).\n\n2. _A certain amount of acquaintance with physical science_, chemistry,\nbotany, mineralogy, etc., in fact with all that embodies a knowledge of\nthe outward relations which the things in this phenomenal world bear to\neach other and to the body of man, (therapeutics).\n\n3. A certain amount of acquaintance with _the views and opinions of\nmodern accepted medical authorities_, however erroneous they may be.\n\n4. A certain amount of _judgment and aptitude_ to put the acquired\ntheories into practice.\n\nAll this is very well as far as it goes; but it may be seen at once\nthat all the knowledge required of a modern practitioner refers only\nto the external plane of existence; the animal body of man and its\nphysical surroundings. As to a science of \u201cpsychology,\u201d to call that\nwhich goes by that name as such at present, is a misnomer; for there\ncan be no science of the soul as long as the existence of a soul\n(_pysche_) is not recognized.[10] The invisible, spiritual or causal\nbody within the nature of man is entirely ignored by science, and even\nif any modern physician personally believes in a soul, he will almost\nwithout exception consider this subject as belonging exclusively to the\nChurch, and as something with which science has nothing to do.\n\nNevertheless, if the term \u201creligion\u201d means the knowledge of the\nrelation which the outward terrestrial man bears to the creative\npower in him, his own inner Self, which is the seat of not only his\nspiritual but also the indirect source of his physical life; it would\nseem that a knowledge of that religion which teaches the nature of\nthis true inner and immortal being, and also the links which connect\nthat higher nature with the physical form, would be an indispensable\nand most important part of a true science and system of medicine based\nupon the recognition of truth; and although theory precedes practice,\nthis knowledge should not be merely of that theoretical kind which is\nonly imaginary and not real, and which in persons who are attempting\nto grasp things which they are not able to realise produces a wild and\nabsolutely fruitless mysticism; but it should be of that kind which\nthrough experience constitutes self-knowledge, and which is possible\nonly through the realization of the possession of the ideals one wishes\nto know.\n\nAccording to Theophrastus Paracelsus the following are the four pillars\nof medicine:\u2014\n\n\n                            I.\u2014PHILOSOPHIA.\n\nThe term \u201cPhilosophy\u201d comes from _phileo_, to love, and _sophia_,\nwisdom, and its true meaning is the love of wisdom and the knowledge\nresulting therefrom; for love itself is knowledge; it is the\nrecognition of self in another form; the love of wisdom is the\nrecognition by wisdom in man of the same principle of wisdom that is\nmanifested in Nature, and from this recognition springs the realisation\nof the knowledge of truth. True philosophy is therefore not that thing\nwhich at present goes by that name, which consists in wild speculations\nabout the mysteries of Nature for the purpose of gratifying scientific\ncuriosity; a system in which there is a great deal of self-love but\nvery little love of the truth, and whose followers, by means of logic\nand argument, inferences, theories, postulates, hypotheses, inductions\nand deductions seek, so to say, to break through the back windows in\nthe temple of truth, or to peep through the keyhole for the purpose\nof seeing the goddess unveiled. This speculative philosophy does not\nconstitute real knowledge. It constitutes that artificial building of\nphilosophy and so-called science, founded upon arguments and opinions,\nwhich change their aspect in every century, and of which Paracelsus\nsaid that \u201cthe things which are looked upon by one generation as the\napex of human knowledge are found to be an absurdity by the next, and\nthat which is regarded as a superstition in one century forms the basis\nof science of the following one.\u201d All information gained by means whose\nbasis is not a love of truth does not constitute immortal knowledge or\ntrue theosophy; but serves only for temporal purposes and as ornaments\nfor egotism, springing as it does from the love of the illusion of self\nand having illusions for its object.\n\nThe whole of nature is a manifestation of truth; but it requires the\neye of wisdom to see the truth and not merely its delusive appearance.\nThe philosophy of which Paracelsus speaks consists in the power of\nrecognizing the truth in all things independent of any books or\nauthorities, all of which can only serve to show us the way to avoid\nerrors and how to remove the obstacles in our path; but which cannot\nmake us realise that which we do not realise in ourselves. He who is\nnot labouring under a load of misconceptions and erroneous teachings,\nrequires no other book than the book of nature to teach him the truth.\nThere are few who can read the book of nature in the light of nature;\nbecause having had their minds filled with perverted images and\nfalse views, they have themselves become unnatural, and the light of\nnature cannot penetrate into their souls; living in the false light\nof the moonshine of speculation and sophistry, they have lost their\nreceptivity for the light of the truth. Such philosophers live in\nillusions and dreams but do not know that which is real:\n\n \u201cThere is upon this earth nothing more noble and more capable of\n giving perfect happiness than a true knowledge of nature and its\n foundation. Such a knowledge produces a valuable physician, but it\n should be a part of his constitution and not an artificial fabric\n attached to him like a coat; he must himself be born out of the\n fountain of that philosophy which cannot be acquired by artificial\n means.\u201d (See: \u201cDe Generatione hominum,\u201d I. Preface.)\n\nA knowledge based upon the opinion or experience of another is merely\na belief, but does not constitute real knowledge. Books and lectures\nmay serve to give us advice, but they cannot endow us with the power\nof knowing the truth; they may serve us as useful guides, but a belief\nin the statements of others should not be mistaken for self-knowledge,\nsuch as arises only from the self-recognition of truth, and which by\nmeans of a love of the truth ought to be cultivated above all else.\n\nTo this realm of Philosophy belong all the natural sciences referring\nto external phenomena, in the knowledge of which a great deal of\nprogress seems to have been made since the time of Paracelsus. To this\nphenomenal science belongs the anatomy, physiology, the chemistry of\nthe physical body and all that concerns the interrelations of the\nphenomena existing in the grand phantasmagoria of living and corporeal\nimages called the sensual world. But behind this sensual world there\nis a more interior super-sensual world, ignored by popular science,\nof which the former is the external expression; the processes taking\nplace in this interior light of nature, mirror themselves in the light\nof the external world, and those souls whose inner perceptions have\nbecome developed in consequence of an awakening of the \u201cinner man,\u201d\ndo not require the observation of external phenomena for the purpose\nof drawing inferences in regard to their internal causes, because\nthey know the interior causes and processes and also the external\nappearances which they will produce. Thus there is an external and\nan internal medical science, a science concerning the astral and a\nscience concerning the physical body of man. The former occupies itself\nwith the patient, the latter, so to say, with the clothes which he\nwears.\n\nTo render this still more plain, let us illustrate it by an example.\nLet us imagine a magic lantern capable of projecting living and\ncorporeal images upon a living screen. External science occupies itself\nonly with these images, the relations which they bear to each other and\nthe changes taking place between them; but it knows nothing about the\nslides in the lantern upon which are the types of these visible images,\nand it entirely ignores the light which causes their projection upon\nthat screen; but he who sees the slides with its pictures and knows\nthe source of the light which produces these shadow pictures does not\nneed to study the shadows for the purposes of drawing inferences and\nspeculating in regard to their causes. Thus there is a superficial\nscience which is at present the object of pride of the world, and a\nsecret science of which next to nothing is publicly known, but which is\nknown to the wise and revealed by one\u2019s own perception of truth.[11]\n\nTruths must be perceived before they can be intellectually grasped,\nand therefore this greater and higher science cannot be learned in\nbooks, nor be taught in lectures at college, it is the result of a\ndevelopment of man\u2019s higher perception, belonging to his higher nature,\nand characterises the born physician. Without this superior faculty,\nknown in its initial stage as the power of \u201cintuition,\u201d a medical\npractitioner can find occupation only in the outer yard of the temple,\npicking up useful grains among the rubbish; but he cannot enter the\ntemple in which nature herself teaches her divine mysteries. The minute\ndetails of this rubbish have been studied by modern popular science,\nwhose attention has been so much absorbed thereby that the temple of\ntruth itself has been forgotten and the nature of Life has become a\nmystery to those who only study its external manifestations.\n\nIt will hardly be necessary to say that the above is not intended to\ndiscourage the study of phenomena; for those who have not the power of\nreaching higher will gain nothing by remaining ignorant of external\nappearances; but it is intended to show that a science referring merely\nto the phenomena of terrestrial life and ultimate results is not the\nsummit of all possible knowledge; for beyond the realm of visible\nphenomena there is a far more extensive realm open to all who are\ncapable of entering: the realm of truth, of which only the inverted\nimages are seen in the kingdom of external phenomena.\n\nThe natural science of the ancient mystics, owing to their deeper\npenetration into the so-called supersensual realm, was not limited to\nthe world which we see with our bodily eyes; for they recognised four\nworlds or planes of existence within each other, each of them having\nits own forms of life and inhabitants, namely:\u2014\n\n(_a._) _The physical visible world_, being only the reflection of the\nthree higher ones.\n\n(_b._) _The astral world_, or the psychic realm.\n\n(_c._) _The world of mind_, or the spiritual realm.\n\n(_d._) _The divine state_, the kingdom of God, or the celestial world.\n\nAs we perceive the existence of a mineral, vegetable and animal kingdom\nupon the sensual plane,[12] so they, by the faculty of the developed\ninner sight perceived and described within this world four kingdoms,\nor four spiritual, and to us invisible, states of existence, which in\ntheir outward manifestation are called: _Earth_, _Water_, _Fire_, _Air_.\n\n \u201cWe will show you that we are not the only intelligent beings\n possessing the world, but that our possessions extend over only\n one-fourth of it. Not that this world were three times greater than\n we know it to be; but there are in it still three-fourth parts which\n we do not occupy, and their inhabitants are not inferior to us in\n intelligence; the only thing of which we may be proud, is that Christ\n (the light of divine wisdom) has taken his habitation in us and\n clothed himself in our form, as he might have chosen another nation\n (another class of Elementals) for that purpose.\u201d (_Paracelsus_, \u201cOf\n the generation of conscious beings in the universal mind,\u201d I. Preface)\n\nAll this, however, does not strictly belong to the present purpose\nof this work, and is merely mentioned so as to make room for the\nconception that nature is far greater than the limits assigned to it by\nmaterial science, and that, as a certain philosopher said: \u201cthat which\nis known is only like a grain of sand on the shore of the ocean of the\nunknown.\u201d\n\n\n                            II. ASTRONOMIA.\n\n\u201cAstronomy\u201d means the knowledge of the stars, and to the conception\nof the modern mind it is the science of \u201ccelestial bodies,\u201d such as\nare seen at night on the sky; but to the ancient philosophers all\nvisible things were the symbols and representations of invisible\npowers, thoughts and ideas, and the expression \u201cAstronomy,\u201d as used by\nParacelsus, is, therefore, something quite different from the science\nof the star-gazers, and refers to the various states of the mind\nexisting in the macrocosm of nature as well as in the microcosm of man.\n\u201cThe very word \u201ccelestial\u201d or \u201cheavenly,\u201d refers to something superior\nto our grossly material nature, and an idea of what are the \u201cstars\u201d\nwith which ancient astronomy and astrology deal, may be formed by\nstudying the signification of the planets referred to in the previous\nchapter on the Constitution of Man.\n\nThe Astronomy of Paracelsus, therefore, does not deal with corporeal,\nmaterial, visible, cosmic bodies; but with _virtutes_ (virtues) or\npowers and _semina_ (germs), or essences, all of which are spiritual\nand substantial; because a power without substance is inconceivable;\n\u201cpower and substance,\u201d \u201cmatter and force\u201d being convertible terms,\nstates of one unity, divided only in our conception of the modes of\nits manifestation. A \u201cstar\u201d, in fact, means a _state_, and a \u201cfixed\nstar\u201d a fixed state of a power in nature; or as it is called in\nSanscrit, a _Tattwa_, which means a state of _That_ or Being, and as\nall Being is a manifestation of Life or Consciousness, the \u201cstars\u201d are\ncertain states of that universal Life or All-consciousness, in other\nwords, states of the _Mind_.\n\n \u201cYou should know that the constellations of the planets and stars on\n the sky, with all the firmament, do not cause the growth of our body,\n our colour, appearance, or behaviour; and have nothing to do with\n our virtues and qualities. Such an idea is ridiculous; the motion of\n Saturn interferes with nobody\u2019s life, and makes it neither longer nor\n shorter, and, even if there had never been a planet called \u201cSaturn\u201d on\n the sky, there would be people born having saturnine natures. For all\n that the planet Mars is of a fiery nature, Nero was not its child, and\n although they are of the same nature (the same kind of energy being\n manifested in either of them) neither one of them received it from the\n other.\u201d (\u201cDe Ente Astrorum,\u201d _Paramirum_ C. I. 2.)\n\nPerhaps it will not be out of place, for the purpose of facilitating a\ncomprehension of what Paracelsus meant by the term \u201cAstronomy,\u201d to take\na glance at the Indian teaching in regard to the _Tattwas_.\n\nAccording to these doctrines, the Universe is a manifestation of _That_\n(existence or being), manifesting itself as Life (_Prana_) within\nthe universal _Ak\u00e2sa_ (primordial matter, which, for all practical\npurposes, may be regarded as the \u201ccosmic ether\u201d of space). Prana\nmanifests itself upon the various planes of existence in various\n_Tattwas_ or forms of existence, corresponding to the principles in the\nconstitution of man enumerated above. Of these seven Tattwas five are\nmanifested, corresponding to the five senses of the human body, and\nthey are called as follows:\u2014[13]\n\n1. _Akasa Tattwa_; the _one_ element forming the substantial basis of\nthe other four, and corresponding to that which upon the physical plane\nbecomes ultimately manifested as audible sound.\n\n2. _Vayou Tattwa_; representing the principle which renders possible\nthe sensation of feeling or \u201ctouch,\u201d upon all planes of existence.\n\n3. _Taijas Tattwa_; that form of existence which represents that state\nwhich manifests itself upon all planes as Light.\n\n4. _Apas Tattwa_; that principle which renders possible the sensation\nof taste upon all planes of existence.\n\n5. _Prithivi Tattwa_; that principle which renders possible the\nsensation of smell upon all planes of existence.\n\nWords are altogether insufficient to give an idea on which to form a\nconception of things which are beyond our intellectual comprehension\nas long as they do not live in our own consciousness; but we may look\nupon the seven _Tattwas_ as represented by seven modes of vibrations of\na cosmic ether, differing from each other not only quantitatively, but\nqualitatively, so that, for instance, _Akasa Tattwa_ has a circular,\n_Vayou Tattwa_ a spiral movement, etc.; but such a conception is quite\ninadequate, as we have to do with living forces, with states of the\nuniversal life or consciousness, manifesting themselves not only as\nthe causes of the five modes of perception on the physical plane, but\nalso upon the higher planes; enabling man, for instance, not only to\nfeel the touch of an object upon the physical plane, but to feel with\nhis astral sense the presence of an object upon the astral plane, and\nin his heart the touch of a spiritual power; to see not only physical\nlight with the eyes of his body, but things in the astral light with\nhis astral organs of seeing; to see intellectual truths and ideas with\nthe eye of his intellect in the light of his intellect, and spiritual\nthings with the eye of the spirit. In fact, everything that exists is\na manifestation of _Tattwas_, or \u201cvibrations of ether;\u201d stationary\nin its aspect as \u201cmatter,\u201d progressive in its aspect as \u201cforce;\u201d\nmatter is latent energy, force is active substance;[14] everything is\nlife, consciousness, intelligence, dormant or active according to the\nconditions existing upon the plane upon which it becomes manifest;\nevery substance is mind, and the forms which we see are only the\nsymbols of the thoughts represented therein.\n\nIt is not our purpose within the narrow limits of this work to enter\ninto a deeper investigation of this most interesting, sublime, and\nelevating science, which has been discussed at length in H. P.\nBlavatsky\u2019s \u201cSecret Doctrine\u201d; we merely touch upon these points for\nthe purpose of calling attention to it, as it represents an aspect\nand conception of nature immeasurably higher than the one represented\nby popular science, and therefore attainable only to those whose\naspirations reach beyond this grossly material plane.\n\nThe \u201cSecret Doctrine\u201d informs us that in the course of evolution,\nthis our planet has only attained its _K\u00e2marupa_ or animal form of\nexistence, and that the next higher state of _Manas_ (mind) has hardly\nbegun to become developed. This may be the reason why the science of\nmind is at present in its infancy, and grasped only by those gifted\nspirits who, like Paracelsus and others of his kind, by nobility of\ncharacter and spirituality have outstripped the rest of mankind in\nhigher knowledge; forming, so to say, the vanguard of the army, as it\nproceeds into the regions of the\u2014not absolutely unknowable\u2014but the\n_unknown_.\n\nModern astronomy teaches the science of the bodies of the planets and\nstars; the Astronomy of Paracelsus speaks of the spiritual forces\nrepresented by those planets, the counterparts of which exist in\nthe constitution of man and as every force in nature acts upon its\ncorresponding element in the nature of man, these universal forces\nproduce certain effects upon those elements in man which exist upon the\ncorresponding plane. Thus for instance it requires no argument to prove\nthat the sun is the source of heat and light and life upon this planet,\nand that the physical body of man as well as that of the earth receives\nthese energies from the radiations coming from the physical body of\nthe sun; this being the corporeal visible centre of a power existing\nuniversally, and whose sphere of activity reaches as far as the limits\nof our solar system. We all live and have our being physically within\nthe sphere of activity and consequently within the physical elements\nof the sun; in a similar sense we live and have our being spiritually\nin the spiritual body and substance of Love, and as the sun of the\nphysical world shines upon our body; so the light of divine wisdom is\nall around us and ready to penetrate into our soul. Thus Paracelsus\nteaches that the moon corresponds to the astral body of man, and has\ncertain effects upon it, causing certain states which may ultimately\nbecome outwardly manifested as certain moral or physical diseases, and\nsimilar correspondencies might be shown to exist between the universal\npowers represented by the visible planets and the corresponding\nelements existing in the constitution of man; but however important and\ninteresting this subject may be it finds very little attention on the\npart of popular medical science, which is far too busy in investigating\noutward effects of a phenomenal character to find time for attending to\nthat which produces all such phenomena and appearances.[15]\n\nIf the Astronomy of Paracelsus were understood, it would be found that\nman, far from creating his own thoughts, merely remodels the ideas\nthat flow into his mind; that \u201cthought-transference,\u201d far from being a\nstrange and rare occurrence, is as common as the transference of heat;\nthat owing to the oneness of humanity we all feel and think within\neach other and act out each other\u2019s thoughts. We would know better\nthe real causes of crimes, insanity and disease, and find them to be\ncontrovertible terms. We might then perhaps also modify our views\nregarding the supposed free will and the amount of responsibility of\nman, and know that the power of will is not a myth, and witchcraft and\nsorcery no more impossible than the magic action of true love.\n\n\n                             III.\u2014ALCHEMY.\n\nNot being masters of Alchemy, we are not capable of teaching the\nscience of this pillar of medicine; neither could any information in\nregard to the way in which certain mysterious powers are used be of\nany service to those who, not having developed these powers, are not\nin possession of them. The following remarks are therefore rather\nintended to show what Alchemy is _not_, than to show what it is; for\nlike every term symbolising a spiritual truth, which ever fell into the\nhands of the vulgar, so this term has been \u201cbesmirched with mud and\nprostituted openly in the market place,\u201d[16] so as to be now almost\nbeyond recognition.\n\nThe ancient alchemists used a mysterious language when speaking about\nmysterious things, nor could any modern alchemist express in plain\nlanguage things for which our language has no words and common minds no\nconception. Children often speak more wisely than they know, sages know\nwhat they speak, but the half learned speak without knowing. The child\nreceiving gifts from its parents on Christmas eve believes that the\nChrist has sent these presents, but the grown-up and clever boy becomes\nsceptical and laughs at that story. In that opinion he may now continue\nall his life, or he may become still more clever and find that the\nChrist is divine love, from which the love of his parents originated,\ninducing them to bestow gifts, and that the story which he believed\nwhen a child, was true after all. In the same sense Alchemy is either a\ntruth or a superstition; it merely depends on the definition we give to\nthis term.\n\nProfessor Justus von Liebig says: \u201cAlchemy was never anything different\nfrom Chemistry,\u201d and to this we agree in so far as both deal with\nsubstantial things, having certain affinities, and not with anything\nexisting outside of nature; but while ordinary (physical) chemistry\nemploys merely physical (mechanical) forces for the purpose of\ncomposing and decomposing material substances without causing anything\nnew to grow, Alchemy employs the power of life and uses animated\nforces, establishing conditions under which something visible may\ngrow from something invisible, in the same sense as a tree grows from\na seed in the alchemical laboratory of nature. Chemistry and Alchemy\nare therefore two aspects of one and the same science, the one is the\nlower, the other the higher part. The chemist who decomposes salt\ninto NA and CL, and recombines it into NACL, practises chemistry; the\ngardener establishing in his hot house the conditions under which the\nseed of a plant of a lower type is made to develop into a plant of a\nhigher type, and the schoolmaster who makes an intelligent being out\nof a dunce, are practicing Alchemy, because they produce something\nmore noble than the materials employed, out of the latent potencies\ncontained therein.\n\nWithout the alchemy of nature no \u201cphysiological chemistry\u201d could take\nplace; without the action of a universally existing life principle, no\nhuman form could grow out of an ovum or f\u0153tus, no child develop into a\nman. The human stomach is an alchemical laboratory in which miracles\nare performed which no modern chemist can imitate by merely chemical\nmeans; milk and bread are transformed into blood and flesh within the\nliving retort of the human body, and wonders performed which modern\nchemistry in spite of its progress cannot accomplish, because it does\nnot control the organising power of life.\n\nAll that popular belief knows of ancient Alchemy is from the\nmisunderstood writings of the ancients, who purposely wrote in a manner\nincomprehensible to the uninitiated, or from the writings of pretenders\nand frauds\u2014for at that time there were as many selfish and ignorant\npeople as there are to-day, wasting their time in useless efforts to\napply a spiritual science to material purposes, and seeking to employ\npowers which they did not possess, in the hope of satisfying their\ncuriosity and their greed. Of this kind of \u201cAlchemy,\u201d Paracelsus speaks\nwith the greatest contempt.[17]\n\nFor the purpose of practising chemistry physical powers and scientific\nacquisitions are required; for the purpose of practising alchemy\nliving spiritual powers and wisdom are necessary. Chemistry belongs\nto the terrestrial man, _the higher aspect of Alchemy belongs to the\nspiritually regenerated man having passed through the_ MYSTIC DEATH\n_into the resurrection of the true and immortal life_.[18]\n\nAs there are three kingdoms in nature, intimately connected with each\nother, the kingdom of physical nature, the kingdom of the soul of the\nworld (the astral plane), and the kingdom of the self-conscious spirit;\nso there are three aspects of Alchemy, intimately connected with each\nother, one belonging to the physical, the other to the astral, and the\nhighest to the spiritual aspect of man. H. P. Blavatsky says:\n\n \u201c_Everything which exists in the world around us is made up of three\n principles (substances) and four aspects. (The triple synthesis of\n the seven principles.) As Man is a complex unity, consisting of a\n body, a rational soul and an immortal spirit, so each object in nature\n possesses an objective exterior, a vital soul, and a divine spark\n which is purely spiritual and subjective. Thus, as with all natural\n objects, so every science has its three fundamental principles and may\n be applied through all three or by the use of one of them._\u201d[19]\n\nThese three states of existence in the universe were called by the\nancient alchemists the _Three Substances_, and symbolized as _Salt_,\n_Sulphur_, and _Mercury_.\n\nWith the same right as the modern chemist symbolizes his chemical\nsubstances by means of letters; such as _O_ for oxygen, _H_ for\nhydrogen, _N_ for nitrogen, _C_ for carbogen,[20] etc., which symbols\nare incomprehensible to those who do not know what they mean; the\nancient alchemists expressed the nature of spiritual essences, powers\nand principles with which they dealt by certain alchemical signs,\nsuch as {symbol} for _Salt_, or the substantial principle in all\nthings; {symbol} for _Sulphur_, or the energies contained therein;\nand for {symbol} _Mercury_, or the principle of intelligence latent\nin everything, whether manifested or not; but the living essences or\nstates in the universe which become manifested upon these three planes\nthey symbolized by the signs of the planets, as has already been\nspecified above. These principles are eternal; but their manifestations\ndiffer according to the plane upon which they become manifest. Thus,\nfor instance, love is eternal, manifesting itself in the kingdom of\nGod as divine self-consciousness; upon the astral plane as affection,\ndesire and passion; upon the physical plane as gravitation, attraction,\nchemical affinity, etc. The power is always the same; but its action\nappears different under different conditions.\n\n \u201cAbove all a physician should know that man exists in three\n substances. That of which he is made has three aspects. Those three\n make up the whole man, and they are the man himself and he is they,\n and out of these three substances he receives all his good and evil\n concerning his physical body. Thus each thing exists in these three\n substances, and the three together constitute a body, and there\n is nothing added to it but the life. If you can see these true\n substances, you then have the eye by means of which a physician\n ought to be able to see. To see the exterior only is in the power of\n everybody; but to see within the interior and discover what is hidden,\n is an art that belongs to the physician.\u201d (\u201cParamirum,\u201d _Lib._ I. s.b.)\n\nThose who have thus far followed our line of reasoning will now be\nready to acknowledge that an understanding of this superior science,\nthe acquisition of whose knowledge requires a life-time spent by a\nsuperior mind, and whose practice involves the evolution of superior\nfaculties, is not to be obtained by a few hours\u2019 perusal of a book on\nAlchemy, and that only those who are practical alchemists are entitled\nto judge it. Alchemy, far from being an \u201cexploded humbug,\u201d is in fact\nthe noblest object for which all humanity and civilization strives.\nIt is the realization of the highest ideal, a feat which cannot be\naccomplished by anything less than that ideal itself. H. P. Blavatsky\nsays:\u2014\n\n \u201c_When there appeared on earth men endowed with a superior\n intelligence, they allowed this supreme power (the divine spark) to\n have full and uncontrolled action, and from it they learnt their first\n lessons. All that they had to do was to imitate it. But in order to\n reproduce the same effects by an effort of individual will, they were\n obliged to develop in their human constitution a (creative) power\n called_ KRIYASAKTI _in occult phraseology_.\u201d\n\nWe should be extremely happy to make the acquaintance of a modern man\nof science who obeys divine law to such an extent as to let the power\nof God (the Holy Ghost) have full control over his thoughts, will, and\ndesires. Such a person without selfish desires, without ambition or\nvanity, without any greed for money or fame, acting as an instrument of\ndivine love, would be a rare specimen of humanity; but unfortunately\nsuch a saint and sage will hardly be found in our present generation;\nfor a thousand links tie the human animal to the region of his desires,\nand how could he who is bound by a thousand chains to the _Moon_ employ\nthe energy of the _Sun_, whose influence he will not permit to enter\nhis nature, and which therefore cannot nourish his body and grow into\na power in him. Gold and silver may form an alloy; but they never\nbecome identical with each other. Thus their spiritual representatives,\nDivine Wisdom and the carnal intellect, will never be one and the\nsame, although the light of wisdom will throw its reflection upon the\nterrestrial mind.\n\nAs stated before, there are three aspects of Alchemy:\u2014\n\n_Terrestrial Alchemy._ This in its lower aspect includes the whole\nscience of chemistry with all the discoveries that may be made in the\nfuture. This alchemy still recognizes four _elements_[21], and the\nfifth, the one element, from which the four take their origin; in\nother words four states of matter and a fifth one (partly recognised\nby science); namely, the solid (substantial), liquid, fluidic, and\nethereal state[22]. These are described as follows:\u2014\n\n _a._ {symbol} (_Earth._) That which gives substantiality to all\n things, whether solid, liquid, gaseous, ethereal or spiritual.\n (_Solidity_ or _Stability_.)\n\n _b._ {symbol} (_Water._) That state which moves and renders things\n liquid on either plane of existence. (_Motion_).\n\n _c._ {symbol} (_Air._) That which enables things to assume a gaseous\n form. (_Extension._)\n\n _d._ {symbol} (_Fire._) That which endows them with force. (_Energy._)\n\n _e._ {symbol} (_Ether._) This fifth element, in which the attributes\n of all the other states have their basis, will be the principal object\n for scientific research in the coming centuries, and is in fact the\n first and the _one_ element.\n\nThese elements represent themselves as the _Tattwas_ enumerated in the\npreceding chapter, and correspond to them as follows, if we adopt the\nabove line of order:\u2014\n\n _a._ _Prithivi._ Solidity. (Earth.)\n\n _b._ _Apas._ Movement. Bulk. (Water.)\n\n _c._ _Vayu._ Extension. (Air.)\n\n _d._ _Taijas._ Energy. Intensity. (Fire.)\n\n _e._ _Ak\u00e2sa._ The one _Tattwa_ forming the basis of the rest.\n (Sound.)[23]\n\nThe limitation of space in these pages, no less than the insufficiency\nof our experience in regard to this subject, forbids us to enter into\na closer investigation of the relations existing between this aspect\nof Alchemy and physical chemistry; but we have reason to affirm, that\nwe are on the eve of great discoveries, which will to a certain extent\nrevolutionize the popular chemistry of the present day.\n\n_Celestial Alchemy._\u2014Even if it were within our power to describe\nthe secrets of celestial alchemy, by means of which the universe\nwas created and which includes the regeneration of man and the\nattainment of conscious immortality, and if this could be done publicly\nwithout profaning those mysteries, the explanation would probably be\ncomprehensible only to those who, knowing it already, do not require\nit. Those who wish to investigate this subject for the love of wisdom\nwill find the whole process fully described symbolically in \u201cThe\nSecret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th Century,\u201d[24]\na book easily comprehensible if studied by the light of wisdom, but\nunintelligible for the carnal mind, that sees all truths perverted.\nSome explanations have also been attempted in the book entitled \u201cIn\nthe Pronaos of the Temple.\u201d[25] We will only say that there the _Three\nSubstances_ appear as the _Three Beginnings_; the first manifestation\nof the Unity as a Trinity, and the Seven _Tattwas_ as the seven\nprimitive spirits,[26] or \u201cliving breaths\u201d issuing from the bosom of\nParabrahm.[27]\n\nThe Universe is the _Macrocosm_, and Man the _Microcosm_, and as the\nfirst great Cause is the creator of the world and the cause of all\nevolution, so is individual man the creator in his own interior and\nexternal world, capable of causing certain superior states in his\nmind by the power of his will in obedience to the law, and to create\nforms by means of his thoughts, while the condition of his interior\nstate will in time produce corresponding effects and transmutation\nin his physical body. Well will it pay him to devote all his time to\nthis practice of Alchemy and obtain the pure gold of wisdom from the\ninferior metals represented by his animal passions. These passions are\nthe capital lent to him by nature to make them into \u201csilver and gold,\u201d\nwhile he lives upon this earth: they are the steps upon which he can\nclimb up to immortality and find his own true divine Self.\n\nTo practise this kind of Alchemy he will require no books, no furnaces\nand no tools; for he is himself the alembic, the fire and the\nsubstance to be ennobled. There, in his silent laboratory and with\ndoors closed against all vain and carnal desires and selfish thoughts,\nhe may _mortify_ his terrestrial nature by gaining the victory of\nself-control, so that his higher nature may become _liberated_ from\nanimal bonds by entering into the _resurrection_ from the tomb of\nignorance into the light of self-knowledge. To accomplish this he will\nhave to _purify_ his mind and let his soul become _animated_ by the\npower of the spirit of truth; that which is inert in him must become\n_sublimated_ in the fire of divine love, so as to rise to heaven in\nthe shape of holy aspirations, while the smoke of sophistry, dogmatism,\nfalse science and self-righteousness must be permitted to pass out\nthrough the chimney, to return no more. In this way will he be able to\nfind the way of combining {symbol} with {symbol} and thus to make it\ninto substantial gold that will last through eternity.\n\nThe above will be sufficient to give a hint in regard to the character\nof Alchemy and its relation to chemistry. Between these two aspects\nthere is a third one, namely, what may be called \u201cAstral Alchemy.\u201d\n\n_The Alchemy of the Astral Plane._\u2014As the lower Alchemy requires for\nits practice the faculties of the physical body, and the celestial\nAlchemy the energy of the spirit having become a power in the body of\nman: so the practice of Alchemy in dealing with that which belongs\nto the astral plane requires the evolution of consciousness and\nperception in the astral organism of man; for in the majority of those\nwho live on the physical plane, the astral form is as unconscious of\nits surroundings upon the plane to which it belongs, and as ignorant\nof their nature, as a babe is ignorant of the meanings of things\nin this world. It is, however, not our purpose to enter into this\nsubject, as this would bring us into the almost inexhaustible realm\nof spiritism, hypnotism, witchcraft and sorcery: all of which things\nare superstitions if believed in by those who know nothing about their\nlaws, but realities for those who know the laws by which such phenomena\ntake place.[28] The key to the understanding of these phenomena is in\nthe realization of the truth that the Universe is a manifestation of\npower upon the three planes of existence. The spiritual plane has its\nseven states of existence, representing self-conscious intelligent\npowers, thrones and dominions, angels and archangels, all of these\nbeing manifestations of the primordial cause called _God_. The physical\nplane has its seven states of existence, represented as powers in which\nconsciousness is still latent. In the _middle region_, the astral\nplane, we also find again seven states of existence in the form of\nliving forces attaining consciousness in the organization of man. There\nthe \u201cseven planets\u201d manifest themselves either for good or for evil\naccording to the nature of the person in whom they become manifest.\nThus, for instance, that universal element which is symbolized as\n{symbol} will become manifested in man as universal love or as\nselfishness according to his condition. If {symbol} rules his {symbol}\nhe will have self-control; but if his {symbol} rules his love, he will\ngive way to his lusts. If the element of {symbol} in him rules his\n{symbol}, his intelligence will be of a terrestrial nature belonging\nto the spirit of the earth; but if his intelligence is master over\nhis earthly elements, he will be capable of high aspirations. If the\nelement of {symbol} rules his {symbol}, he will employ his intellect\nfor the purpose of satisfying his greed, but if {symbol} is the master\nof his {symbol} he will be of a noble character.\n\nAll this is merely said to hint at the sublimity of alchemical science\nand call attention to the universal truth; that _every principle, in\nwhatever plane of existence it may exist, is not a product of the form\nin which it develops and manifests itself; but that the form is the\nfield for its development and manifestation_; in the same sense as the\nuniversal sunlight is not a product of the bodies upon which it shines,\nbut the bodies are instruments for the development and manifestation\nof the qualities of light. Thus the life, consciousness, will, virtue,\npassion, or any other spiritual, emotional, or physical state of a man\nis not the product of his form, but a manifestation of a universal\nlife principle becoming manifested in him according to the conditions\npresented by his constitution. Life is only one, manifesting itself in\nanimals as animal life, in plants as vegetable life, etc. Consciousness\nis only one, manifesting itself as true self-consciousness in spiritual\nbeings, and as instincts in the lower animal kingdom. Love is only\none and universal, otherwise it could not manifest everywhere the\nsame qualities; it does not belong to one individual or one country;\nit is born in heaven; but it becomes manifest upon the earth in men,\nanimals, plants and minerals, under different aspects according to\nthe conditions which it finds. Everything is a manifestation of one\nprimordial Unity revealing itself in a threefold aspect. Man himself is\nnothing more than a manifestation of the universal power that called\nhim into existence and built up his bodily form. He is not his body nor\nhis mind; but the expression upon a lower plane of a higher individual\nstate of being; one of the letters that constitute the great alphabet\nof humanity. Being continually deluded by the illusion caused by the\napparent isolation of his form and its separation from other forms of\nexistence, he imagines himself to be something essentially separated\nfrom other beings, and thus he forgets his own universal nature. Only\nwhen man begins to realise what he himself in reality is, can he begin\nto attain real knowledge in regard to three kingdoms of Nature. The\nobject of science is said to be the recognition of truth, but it is\nalso self-evident that no true science can exist as long as the truth\nis not recognised and even rejected; for nothing less than by the power\nof truth in man can the truth be known. No man can have self-knowledge\nof anything which is not within himself.\n\nIt will be clear that this subject is so vast as to render it\nimpossible, in a work of this kind, to do more than merely skim over\nthe surface, and a thousand things have to remain unsaid which ought to\nbe explained; but it is not our purpose to enter into the details of\nthe science of the _Astronomy of Life_ or the _Chemistry of Life_, or\nto discuss at length the highest problems of _Occult Philosophy_. The\nobject of the present work is merely to remove existing misconceptions,\nand to throw out seeds, which, if they fall upon a fruitful ground,\nwill grow and bear fruits, such as ripen not in the outer shell of\nNature, but within her inner temple, in the higher regions of thought.\n\n\n                   IV. THE VIRTUE OF THE PHYSICIAN.\n\n\u201cVirtue\u201d means _power_; it is said to be derived from _vir_, Man, and\nmeans manly power, efficacy, strength. Man being somewhat more than a\nphysical body or an animal, it means a superior, spiritual, substantial\npower, such as becomes manifested as nobility of character, purity\nof heart, clearness of mind, strength of will, firmness of decision,\nquickness of perception, penetration of thought, benevolence, kindness,\nhonesty, truthfulness, unselfishness, modesty. This virtue is something\ninfinitely superior to the common \u201cvirtuosity,\u201d which consists in an\noutward appearing of being virtuous and pious for fear of exposure\nand dread of criticism, and it is also infinitely superior to what is\ncalled \u201cmorality\u201d by the moralists; a thing praised as the highest\nattainable object; but being in fact nothing more than a conforming to\ncertain customs and views. There is not necessarily any self-sacrifice\nin practising morals, but it is more often a means for gratifying one\u2019s\nvanity. The word \u201cmoral\u201d comes from _mores_, manners. What is according\nto the manners and customs in one country, and therefore regarded as\n\u201c_moral_\u201d there, is immoral in another place where different manners\nexist. A morality without spirituality is of no real value. The same\nmay be said of \u201cethics,\u201d derived from _\u0113thos_, custom, and which\nseems to be one of the terms that have been invented for the purpose\nof creating confusion, and avoiding calling spiritual things by their\nright names.\n\nThe _virtue_ which, according to Paracelsus, is the fourth pillar of\nthe temple of Medicine, has nothing to do with shams; it means _the\npower resulting from being a man in the true sense of this term and\nbeing in possession of not merely the theories regarding the treatment\nof Disease but of the power to cure them oneself_.\n\nThere are at present thousands of medical practitioners, whose only\nmerit is and ever will be, that they have succeeded in passing an\nexamination and obtaining the title M.D.; but the title \u201cdoctor\u201d\nmeans merely an academical degree; the diploma merely certifies that\nthe examiners believe the student to have fulfilled all that the\nregulations require, and although such a title may involve the right to\npoison and kill without being punished for it, the conferring of such\na degree does not constitute a physician. The true physician as well\nas the real priest is ordained by God. Paracelsus says in substance as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n \u201cHe who can cure disease is a physician. Neither emperors nor popes,\n neither colleges nor high schools can create physicians. They can\n confer privileges and cause a person who is not a physician to\n appear as if he were one; they can give him permission to kill,\n but they cannot give him the power to cure; they cannot make him a\n real physician if he has not already been ordained by God. The true\n physician does not brag about his cleverness or praise his medicines\n or seek to monopolize the right of robbing the patient; for he knows\n that the work must praise the master, and not the master the work.\n There is a knowledge which is derived from man, and another knowledge\n which is derived from God through the light of nature. He who has not\n been born to be a physician will never succeed. A physician should\n be faithful and charitable. He who loves only himself and his own\n pocket will be of little benefit to the sick. Medicine is much more\n an art than a science. To know the experience of others is useful\n to a physician; but all the learning of books cannot make a man a\n physician, unless he is one by nature. Medical wisdom is only given by\n God.\u201d (Comp. \u201cParagranum,\u201d i. 4.)\n\nThis virtue which constitutes the true physician cannot be created by\ncolleges, nor can it be conferred by anyone personally upon himself.\nNo one can confer upon himself a thing which he does not possess, or\nwithout the aid of any higher influence make himself better than\nthat which he is; because, as has been explained above, the power\nexercised by any form is not the creation of the form, but an eternal\nprinciple, entering into objective existence in forms and becoming\nmanifested in and through them by its own power. Neither truth nor\nwisdom can be manufactured; they exist independently of all opinions,\nobservations, speculation, and logic; they may be hidden from our\nsight like the sun on a rainy day; but as the sun is independent of\nour being aware of his presence, so the truth exists eternally whether\nor not it is acknowledged by us. If the whole generation of mankind at\npresent walking this earth should turn into idiots, the truth would not\ntherefore cease to be, but would become manifested again as wisdom in a\nmore enlightened age.\n\nNothing can rise to heaven but what has descended from it, we can\nonly by overcoming that which is false render ourselves receptive for\nthat which is true. _Eckhart_ says:\u2014\u201cDivine Wisdom is to God what the\nsunlight is to the sun; it is one with Him, a necessary activity, a\nnever dying fountain, having its source in the heart of God.\u201d\n\nThis brings us back again to a _religious_ basis (if we are permitted\nto use this ill-treated and misunderstood term), and to the necessity\nthat he who makes it his profession to employ the laws of nature and\ntreat the body of man should know the position which man occupies in\nnature and the position which nature occupies in regard to the origin\nfrom which it originates.\n\nThis science requires not mere words, but self-knowledge. Wisdom can\nonly be taught by Wisdom itself; but a science based upon a recognition\nof truth disperses the clouds which prevent the light of the truth from\nentering into the heart and becoming incorporated and manifested in\nman.\n\n\n\n\n                                 III.\n\n                      THE FIVE CAUSES OF DISEASE.\n\n\nIf we inquire from modern medical science: What are the causes of\ndiseases? we shall probably be answered:\n\n1. _Age._ 2. _Heredity._ 3. _Intermarriage._ 4. _Sex._ 5.\n_Temperament._ 6. _Climate and locality._ 7. _Town or country._ 8.\n_Hygienic conditions._ 9. _Occupation._ 10. _Air._ 11. _Previous\ndisease._ 12. _Mental and moral conditions._ 13. _External physical\nconditions._ 14. _Poisons._ 15. _Temperature._ 16. _Diet._ 17.\n_Epidemic disease, contagion, malaria, parasites and growths._[29]\n\nWe will forbear to pass any remarks upon this classification of the\ncauses of diseases, which merely enumerates certain conditions in which\ndiseases may arise, and we will pass on to the classification of the\ncauses of diseases given by Paracelsus; but as this subject has already\nreceived attention in a previously published work on the doctrines of\nParacelsus[30], the following is intended merely to supply additional\nfood for thought.\n\nParacelsus says:\n\n \u201c_All diseases have a beginning in either of the three substances;[31]\n Salt, Sulphur, or Mercury_; which means that they may take their\n origin either within the kingdom of matter, within the realm of the\n soul, or in the sphere of the spirit. If body, soul and mind are in\n perfect harmony with each other, no disharmony exists; but if a cause\n of discord arises in either one of these three planes, it communicates\n itself to the rest.\u201d\n\nBefore proceeding further we will inquire about the nature of these\n_three Substances_:\n\nSALT {symbol}, SULPHUR {symbol}, AND MERCURY {symbol}, which may be\ntranslated as Matter, Energy and Intelligence. They are in fact not\nthree essentially different things, but only three modes of activity of\none and the same thing; for everything is substantial, each contains a\nlatent or active force, in each is the potentiality of consciousness,\nif it has not already become manifested therein. Everything exists,\ntherefore, by reason of these \u201cthree substances,\u201d and if we for the\nsake of forming some idea of their nature look at the world as a\nmanifestation of _electricity_ (which must necessarily be substantial,\nas there could be no force without substance), we may compare them as\nfollows:\n\n  {symbol} to electric resistance.\n\n  {symbol} to the tension of electromotive force.\n\n  {symbol} to the intensity of the current.\n\nNo one would ever think of these three measures as being separate\nentities, which like \u201csubstance, energy and intelligence\u201d are merely\nthree aspects or conceptions of one universal life; but these\ndistinctions are necessary for the purpose of forming a conception.\n\n \u201cNothing can be thoroughly known without a knowledge of its beginning.\n Man is placed into _three substances_, in each of which he has a\n beginning; and each thing has its substance, its number and measure\n (constituting their harmony). From (the state of) these three\n substances originate all causes, origins, and also the understanding\n of diseases. These three substances, _Sulphur_, _Mercurius_, _Sal_,\n give to everything its corporeality, each substance having its own\n qualities. If these qualities are good (in harmony with each other)\n there will be no disease but if they enter into opposition to each\n other, disease (disharmony) will be the result. (_Paracelsus_,\n \u201cParamirum,\u201d _Lib._ I., 1, 2, and 3).\u201d\n\nWithin these three kingdoms disorders may arise from either of the\nfollowing _five causes of disease_:\n\n1. From the _Ens astrale_; namely from surrounding conditions in\nexternal nature.\n\n2. From the _Ens veneni_; meaning from poisons and impurities.\n\n3. From the _Ens natur\u00e6_; including causes inherited from the parents.\n\n4. From the _Ens spirituale_; especially those caused by an evil will\nor morbid imagination.\n\n5. From the _Ens Dei_; to which belong the ills arising from evil\n_Karma_ acquired during this or a previous incarnation; in other words,\nthe result of _divine justice_.\n\nWe will now attempt to define the meaning of these five beginnings.\n\n\n                          I.\u2014ENS ASTRALE.[32]\n\n_Diseases arising from external influences_; whether from physical\nnature or from deeper causes; the planet upon which we live being\nitself an _astrum_ (star), having a physical and ethereal body, a life,\na soul, a mind and a spirit.\n\n \u201cThe stars on the sky do not form a man. Man grows out of two\n beginnings; the _Ens seminis_ (the male sperm) and the _Ens virtutis_\n (the reincarnating spiritual monad). He has therefore two natures, a\n corporeal and a spiritual nature, and either of these two requires\n its _digest_ (_matrix_ and nutriment). As the womb of the mother is\n the world surrounding the child, from which the f\u0153tus receives its\n nutriment, so is terrestrial nature from which the terrestrial body of\n man receives the influences acting in his organism. The _Ens astrale_\n is a thing which we do not see, but which contains us and everything\n that lives and has sensation. It is that which contains the air, and\n from which and in which live all the elements, and which we symbolize\n as M (_Mysterium_), (\u201cParamirum,\u201d _Lib._ I.)\n\nThis _Ens Astrorum_ is therefore evidently the _Ak\u00e2sa_, which forms\nthe basis of all material things in physical nature, and if the\nclose relation between man\u2019s physical nature and the physical nature\nsurrounding him were better known, it would become more comprehensible\nhow the states of the all-penetrating ether, changes in temperature,\nheat and cold, electric and magnetic conditions in nature, come to\naffect the physical nature of man, acting internally by inducing\ncorresponding changes in his microcosm, even if he is protected against\nthe direct action of rain, storm, moisture, cold, heat, etc., etc. A\nsudden change of conditions in the outside air can affect a patient\nimprisoned in a room where no such change is perceptible, and a cloudy\nday produce a melancholy effect even upon a blind person. There are no\nend of diseases which for want of a better explanation are attributed\nto \u201ccatching cold,\u201d etc., while in fact it is the existence of certain\nconditions in the all-pervading ether, which induces similar conditions\nin the body of the patient. Thus, for instance, changes of the moon,\nor the position of the moon, or the magnetic currents of the earth,\nproduce certain effects in certain persons, even if these persons know\nnothing about these laws, for it is a fact well known to the ancients,\nbut which has almost been lost sight of by modern medicine, that man,\napart from the order in which his organs are arranged, is essentially\na counterpart of nature, an image of the world on a smaller scale, a\n_microcosm_ within the macrocosm. An atmospheric pressure in outside\nnature produces an atmospheric pressure in him; if nature rejoices in\nthe sunlight of spring, his heart rejoices with it; if storms rage on\nthe outside, similar storms may be aroused in him, etc., etc. He is,\nin fact, only a laboratory in which the universal forces of nature are\nperforming their work. To this chapter also belong all miasmas and\ncontagious influences, with all the bacteri\u00e6, microbes, am\u0153b\u00e6, bacilli,\netc., etc., which are the pride of modern discoverers, but whose\ncharacteristics, if not the forms of their bodies, were well known to\nParacelsus, who describes them under the names of _Talpa_, _Matena_,\n_Tortilleos_, _Permates_, etc. He says:\n\n \u201cGod has caused living creatures to exist in all the elements, and\n there is nothing empty of life. That which becomes manifested in the\n visible kingdom has come into existence by being generated in the\n upper regions. Without such a generation above, it could not have\n become manifested below.\u201d (\u201cLib. Meteorum,\u201d I. 4.)\n\nSince the modern discovery of the cholera, tubercle bacilli, and\nother micro-organisms spreading contagious diseases, it has been\nthe opinion of many, that the presence of such microbes was the\nonly and fundamental cause of such diseases; but still more recent\ninvestigations have shown such that the presence of these microbes\ndoes not constitute the whole cause; for they have been with impunity\nintroduced into the human organism, and have also been found to\nexist in persons who had fully recovered from such a disease. This\nsurely shows that there must be an influence causing the microbes to\ncome into existence, after which they can spread and multiply if the\nconditions are favourable, and the fundamental cause of such epidemics\nis therefore not the presence of the microbes, this being merely a\nsymptom, but the influences which cause them to come into existence,\nproducing _states_ of which the bodies of these organisms are a product\nand expression and which appears to proceed from causes situated deeper\nthan visible physical nature, if we do not mistake the form for the\n\u201cspirit\u201d of which the form is the symbol.\n\n \u201cHuman science knows how to philosophize about the things that come\n within its external observation; but Wisdom shows what is contained in\n the _Prima Materia_, which is a greater and higher knowledge than that\n of the _Ultima Materia_ (the physical plane).\u201d (\u201cMeteorum,\u201d I. 4.)\n\nThis \u201chigher region,\u201d from which such injurious influences originate,\ncausing the growth of miasmas and microbes, is the \u201c_astral plane_,\u201d\nor the soul of the world, and as the evil states in the soul of the\nworld are caused by the evil states of the human mind, it becomes\ncomprehensible how epidemic diseases, pestilence and plague, no less\nthan wars, are the ultimate results of disharmonies and depraved\nspiritual states in the soul of humanity. The greatest truth if\nseen through a perverted mind appears distorted as a caricature and\nsuperstition; it can be seen in its own light, only if properly\nunderstood.\n\nThe astral plane is the plane of desires, emotions, and passions;\nthat is to say, the plane of those influences (forms of the universal\nwill), which become manifested as desires, emotions, and passions in\nthe animal organism, and if we were to enter this subject, it would\nbring us within the realm of the supersensual but nevertheless actual\nkingdom of living elemental powers belonging to the soul of the world.\nIf our eyes were opened to the perception of thoughts, it would be seen\nhow a continual thought-transference is taking place among individual\nminds, influencing and determining their actions, even if they are not\naware of it, causing not only individual moral diseases, insanities,\nobsessions and crimes, but whole epidemics of such kinds. There is an\nimmense field for investigation for the psychologist; not for that kind\nof \u201cpsychologists\u201d who imagine that insanity is under all circumstances\na disturbance of the functions of the brain from physical causes,\nbut for those who can realise that the functions of the brain may be\ndisturbed by the disordered action of the mind; for although in many\ncases of brain disease it is as difficult to determine whether the\ndisorder of the mind or that of the brain existed first, as it would\nbe to answer the question, which existed first, the hen or the egg?\nnevertheless a lesion of the tissues of the brain does not take place\nwithout a cause, and this cause in the majority of such cases comes\nfrom the sphere of the emotions and thoughts.\n\nIf there is no mind, there can be no mental disease. If mind is\nsomething (even if it were, as some imagine, the product of the\nphysiological function of the brain), it must be something substantial,\nand being something substantial, it is able to produce substantial\neffects; moreover, its actions show a certain order and harmony, which\ngo to prove that mind has an organisation. If this order and harmony\nbe disturbed, discord, disease, insanity will be the result. Without\nthe presence of mind nothing would come into existence; without\nthe consciousness in the All, no brain would be able to manifest\nconsciousness, and this is what Paracelsus means when he says:\u2014\n\n \u201cWhatever exists upon this earth, also exists in the _firmament_\n (space). God does not make clothes for men, but he gives them a\n tailor. (Forms do not grow by accident; but they are the ultimate\n result of the action of the constructive power in nature.) The essence\n of things is hidden in space; existing invisibly in the _firmament_,\n and impressing itself upon material substances, when it becomes\n visible by entering within our sphere of perception.\u201d (\u201cMeteorum,\u201d I.\n 4.)\n\nThus we have in the _Ens Astrale_ a field in which exist the causes\nof numerous kinds of diseases; the thorough understanding of which\nrequires a still deeper penetration into the secrets of nature and a\nhigher conception of its constitution than is at present presented by\nthe natural sciences of this day.\n\n\n                            II.\u2014ENS VENENI.\n\n_Diseases originating from poisonous actions and impurities_ in all\nthree planes of existence.\n\nNothing is poisonous or impure if it stands by itself, only if two\nthings whose natures are incompatible with each other come into\ncontact, can a poisonous action take place or an impure condition be\nproduced.\n\n \u201cEverything is in itself perfect and good. Only when it enters into\n relation with another thing does relative good and evil come into\n existence. If anything enters into the constitution of man, which is\n not in harmony with its elements, the one is to the other an impurity,\n and can become a poison.\u201d (\u201cParamirum,\u201d II. 1.)\n\nThere is no doubt that modern chemistry, physiology and pathology teach\nmore than ancient science in regard to the chemical constitution, the\nphysiological action of poisons and of the pathological effects which\nthey produce in the animal body; but to explain the order in which a\nprocess takes place is not sufficient to explain why it takes place,\nand there is still a wide field open for investigation; for at present\nwe can only record the fact that certain physical substances have a\ndestructive action upon the human body; while the same substances with\na little difference in the arrangements of their molecules, are not\nonly not injurious, but even used as food;[33] that certain substances\nhave a specific action upon the emotional nature in man, causing an\ninclination to certain states of his astral constitution, such as\nirritability of temper, anger, cupidity, etc., which they could not\nhave if no corresponding elements were contained in them; while others\nhave a specific action upon the mind, such as the fading of memory,\nparalysis of the will, excitement of the imagination, all of which they\ncould not accomplish if no substantial mind principle existed in them.\n\nTo material science the universe is a product of mechanical force\ncreated by unconscious matter; to the idealist it is a dream which\nhas nothing real in it; but seen with the eye of wisdom it is a\nmanifestation of life, with the potentiality of consciousness contained\nin everything. Love and hate exist in minerals as they do in men, only\nin another state of consciousness, and a tragedy or comedy might be\nwritten in regard to their family history; describing, for instance,\nhow the beautiful Princess Sodium fell in love and was married to a\nfiery youth called Oxygen, and how the happy union lasted until one day\na jealous knight, named Chlorine, fell in love with her, and although\nhe himself was married to a flighty woman whose name was Hydrogenia,\nhe abducted the princess, and there was nothing left for poor Oxygen\nbut to take the deserted woman and turn to water with her. Such a story\nwould differ from a similar one enacted in human life only in so far\nas the actors in the latter would intelligently and consciously follow\ncertain laws which are enacted without individual intelligence in the\nmineral kingdom. There is only one Consciousness and one law of Harmony\nin the world, and according to it accords and discords arise in all the\nthree kingdoms of nature.\n\nThe influence of the light of the truth is a poison to the erroneous\nconceptions existing within the mind, and earthly thoughts are\nimpurities to the mind that aspires to the kingdom of heaven. Evil\ndesires create evil thoughts and give birth to evil acts; good acts\nprocreate their species, giving rise to good thoughts and aspirations,\nfrom which good children are born. The sum of men\u2019s individual desires\nconstitutes the desires of the soul of the world; the sum of the\nthoughts and opinions of mankind constitutes the mental atmosphere\nby which the world in general, and each locality in particular, is\nsurrounded; and the state of the mind ultimately expresses itself upon\nthe outward plane of manifestation. It is not more difficult to poison\na mind with impure thoughts than to poison a body with drugs. Impure\nis he who has many diverging desires, pure is the mind having only one\nwill.\n\nPopular medicine deals only with external effects and physical causes,\noccult science goes deeper, seeking for fundamental causes and\nfinal effects, which are of far greater importance than the passing\nmanifestations taking place in the physical form. Thus, for instance,\na promiscuous sexual intercourse not only causes venereal diseases;\nbut as during that act a commingling of the inner natures takes place\nto a certain extent, a man cohabiting with a depraved woman takes on\nsome of her characteristics and joins to a certain extent her future\n_Karma_ and destiny to his own. The basis of the existence of human\nbeings is what, for want of a better expression, has been called the\n_Will_ (Spirit or Life), and as one body may colour or poison another,\nlikewise a colouring, and perhaps poisoning, takes place by a blending\nof spirit during sexual intercourse; this \u201cspiritual substance\u201d being\nthe essence of each human being.\n\n \u201cIf a woman leaves her husband, she is then not free from him, nor he\n from her; for a marital union having once been established, remains a\n union for all eternity.\u201d (\u201cDe Homunculis.\u201d)\n\nThat which nourishes a thing, goes to make up its substance. The\nphysical body receives its nutriment from the physical plane, the soul\nis nourished by the influences coming from the soul of the world, the\nintellect is nourished, grows and expands in the intellectual plane;\nan ill-fed body becomes diseased; a soul living on morbid desires and\ninordinate longings becomes depraved, a mind fed with false theories,\nerrors and superstitions becomes dwarfed, perverted and unable to turn\nits face towards the sunlight of truth. The food for soul and mind is\nas substantial to them as material food is substantial to the material\nbody; body, soul, and spirit being three states of the eternal _One_,\nmanifested on three different planes of existence, being governed by\nonly one fundamental law. What the stomach is in the body, the memory\nis in the mind. Both are related together; a dyspeptic stomach causes a\ndefective memory and an irritable mind; an irritable temperament causes\nindigestion and forgetfulness; forgetfulness can cause inattention,\nirritability and dyspepsia. Soul, body and mind are one in man, and\ndisorders existing in one can cause impurities in the other; each\npassion in man, each superstition in which he firmly believes, is\ncapable of poisoning his body and of producing a certain disease. A\nbelief in salvation made easy renders a man indolent, indolence causes\nwant of self-control, which causes want of resistance to injurious\ninfluences in the physical plane. Repeated physical misfortunes may\nmake a man a coward, and his cowardliness prevents him from letting go\nof a doctrine which he intuitively known to be false. Anger is not only\ninjurious to bodily health, but drives away reason by confusing the\nmind; wrath causes not only mental but also physical shortsightedness,\nand hard-hearing is often the only cause of a suspicious character.\n\nThus innumerable comparisons may be drawn and analogies be found, and\ncases cited to prove the correctness of this theory, if our space would\npermit it, and if it were necessary to prove by arguments and facts the\ntruth of the unity of the all, which must be self-evident to everyone\ntaking the trouble to seek for the answer to such questions within\nhimself.\n\nBut the highest cannot act upon the lowest without an intermediary\nlink connecting them, the spirit cannot act upon the body without the\nconnecting link of the soul, nor the soul upon the body except by\nmeans of the life. We cannot cook a dish of soup for a starving beggar\nby means of the fire of love; but love moves the will and induces\nactions which the mind directs, and thus the soup may be cooked after\nall owing to the power of love or charity. The greatest difficulty in\nthe understanding of occult laws arises from the circumstance that we\ncannot perceive remote causes or seek to connect them with ultimate\neffects without being able to see through the intricate network of\nintermediary causes between the two ends.\n\n\n                           III.\u2014ENS NATURAE.\n\n_Diseases which have their origin in certain conditions inherent in the\nconstitution of man._\n\nMan is a perfect child of nature. There is not a single essence in\nhis constitution which does not exist in nature; neither is there any\nsubstance or power to be found in nature which does not exist in him,\neither actually or potentially, undeveloped or developed.\n\n \u201cThere are many who say that man is a _microcosm_; but few understand\n what this really means. As the world is itself an organism with all\n its constellations, so is man a constellation (organism), a world\n in itself, and as the firmament (space) of the world is ruled by\n no creature, so the firmament which is within man (his mind) is\n not subject to any other creature. This firmament (sphere of mind)\n in man has its planets and stars (mental states), its exaltations,\n conjunctions and oppositions (states of feelings, thoughts, emotions,\n ideas, loves and hates), call them by whatever name you like, and as\n all the celestial bodies in space are connected with each other by\n invisible links, so are the organs in man not entirely independent of\n each other, but depend on each other to a certain extent. His heart\n is his {symbol}, his brain his {symbol}, the spleen his {symbol},\n the liver {symbol}, the lungs {symbol}, and the kidneys {symbol}.\u201d\n (\u201cParamirum,\u201d III. 4.)\n\nMan has two kinds of natures. His physical organism is a product of\nthat nature which he received from his terrestrial parents; his\nmental organisation is the result of a higher and quite different kind\nof evolution. His terrestrial nature includes not only his visible\norganism, but also the organisation of his astral form and his mental\nconstitution.\n\n \u201cThere are two kinds of flesh. The flesh of _Adam_ (the physical body)\n is gross earthly flesh; the flesh that is _derived from Adam_ is of\n a subtle kind. It is not made of gross matter, it penetrates through\n all walls without requiring doors or holes; nevertheless both kinds\n of flesh have their blood and bones, and both differ again from the\n spirit.\u201d (_Paracelsus_, \u201cDe Nymphis.\u201d)\n\nMan having within himself the same essences and powers, and there\nbeing only one universal law of evolution, there takes place in him\na development similar to, if not identical with, the development in\neternal and internal nature. Accords and discords in his nature can\ngrow and swell into harmonies or disharmonies, and constitute the whole\nman a symphony or cacophony, colouring his whole being and transmitting\nthis to his offspring. A seed of wheat and a seed of barley resemble\neach other, and nevertheless wheat grows out of one and barley out of\nthe other. The _ovum_ of a human being shows no essential difference\nfrom that of a monkey; nevertheless out of the one grows a human being\nand out of the other a monkey. The nature of man is fully expressed in\nevery part of his organism, and in the sperm of the father is contained\nnot only the quality of this or that part of his nature, but the\npotentiality of the whole.[34]\n\nThe quality of the constitution of a man determines the length of his\nnatural life.\n\n \u201cIf a child is born, its _firmament_ (astral body and mind, etc.) is\n born with it, containing the seven principles, of which each has its\n own potencies and qualities. What is called \u2018_predestination_\u2019 is\n only the quality of the powers in man. The weakness or strength of\n his constitution determines whether his life is to be short or long,\n according to natural laws; the planets in him run their course whether\n he has a long or a short life, only in the former case the course\n of his planets is of a longer, and in the other case of a shorter\n duration. The quality of the constitution which a man receives at his\n birth determines the length of his natural life, just as the quantity\n of sand in an hour glass determines the time when it will have run\n down.\u201d (\u201cParamirum,\u201d L. I., Tr. iii., C. 5.)\n\nThe _Ens Natur\u00e6_ therefore refers to those beginnings in man\u2019s\nconstitution which are the result of the quality of his body, soul\nand mind as he received them from nature, and includes all inherited\nphysical diseases, qualities of temperament and mental peculiarities;\nfor the earthly part of the mind (_K\u00e1ma Manas_) belongs to terrestrial\nnature and its tendencies are inherited; while the spiritual part\nof the mind (_Manas Buddhi_) is not inherited from the parents, but\nbelongs to the spiritual man whose parent exists in eternity.[35]\n\nThis class includes all internal diseases originating from disorders\narising among the interaction of the physiological functions of the\norgans of the body, or of the interaction between these and those of\nthe soul (the emotions) and mind (thoughts).\n\nThis system of Paracelsus includes the whole realm of modern physiology\nand pathology; but it penetrates deeper, for it investigates the\nfunctions of soul and mind, and follows the development of an evil\ndesire or thought until it ultimately finds its expression in an\nexternal manifestation of visible pathological states. To enter into\nthe details of this field of pathology is not possible within the\nlimits of this book.\n\nThere is no indication that the sympathies and antipathies, in other\nwords the physiological relations existing between the different\norgans in the human body, are better known at the present time than\nthey were at the time of Paracelsus: on the contrary, he speaks of\nthe currents of the life-principle taking place between these organs,\nwhile modern anatomy speaks only of nerves, which are in regard to the\n\u201clife-fluid\u201d what electric wires are in regard to electricity.\n\n \u201cThe heart sends its spirit (will power) through the whole of the\n body, as the sun his power to all the planets and earths; the {symbol}\n (the intelligence of the brain) goes to the heart and back again\n to the brain. The fire (heat) takes its origin in the (chemical)\n activity of the organs (the lungs), but pervades the whole body. The\n _liquor vit\u00e6_ (essence of life) is universally distributed and moves\n (circulates) in the body. This \u2018humor\u2019 contains many different powers,\n and cause in him \u2018metals\u2019 (virtues or vices) of various kinds.\u201d\n (\u201cParamirum,\u201d L. I. Tr. 3.)\n\nIn regard to this subject modern medical science says:\u2014\n\n \u201cA wide basis of positive knowledge in regard to this subject does not\n exist. The physiology of the different departments of the sympathetic\n system of nerves is now only beginning to shape itself, while on\n the side of pathology and morbid anatomy there is even still less\n of definite knowledge. Thus it happens that for the most part only\n conjectures, often very insecurely based are current, or can be said\n to exist in regard to the dependence of definite sets of symptoms, or\n distinct diseases, upon disordered actions or morbid changes occurring\n in one or other part of the sympathetic system of nerves.\u201d (\u201cH.\n Charlton Bastian.\u201d)\n\nBoth ancient and modern science are right as far as they go; only while\nmodern science pays all of its attention to the forms (organs, nerves,\netc.), which are merely the products of certain principles and powers\nand the instruments for their activity, ancient science deals with\nthese powers themselves, taking only into secondary consideration the\nvisible instruments in and through which they become manifest. Modern\nscience, so to say, studies the muscular movements of a musician,\noccult science knows the art of music itself. Material science is the\nservant mixing the paints for the painter; the true physician is\nthe artist who knows how to paint. The one studies the tools which\nthe workman uses; the other sees also the workman himself. These\ncomparisons are not drawn for the purpose of throwing discredit upon\nmodern medical science, nor for the purpose of blaming any modern\nphysician for not employing powers which he does not possess; but for\nthe purpose of indicating that a knowledge of physical phenomena and\nvisible forms is not the limit of all attainable knowledge, and that\nthere exists a higher and more important kind of knowledge, based\nupon a higher perception, such as is attained only through the higher\ndevelopment of the spiritual character of man; which becomes possible\nonly when earthly presumption and vanity are overcome and when, by\nstepping up higher, he realises the nothingness of the terrestrial\nillusion of \u201cself.\u201d\n\n\n                          IV.\u2014ENS SPIRITUALE.\n\n_Diseases arising from spiritual causes._\n\n\u201cSpirit\u201d\u2014from _spiro_, to blow\u2014means breath. \u201cBreath means a\npower, quite distinct from mechanical force, as being endowed with\nconsciousness, life and intelligence. In its aspect as an universal\npower, it means the breath of God which caused the universe to come\nfrom a subjective state into objective existence; in its individual\naspect it means the spiritual power dwelling in man.[36]\n\n_Spirit is Consciousness in every plane of existence_; but from this\nit does not follow that all the forms in which it dwells necessarily\nmanifest self-consciousness or are even conscious of existence. For\nthe manifestation of perfect spiritual self-consciousness a spiritual\norganism is required, such as an average man does not possess, if he\nhas not been reborn in the spirit. In the forms of the mineral kingdom\nthe presence of spirit is perceptible by the manifestations of mineral\nlife, in the vegetable kingdom by the manifestations of vegetable life,\nand in the animal kingdom by those of animal life, for spirit is itself\nthe basis of life in the physical, astral, intellectual and spiritual\nworld; and as the spirit of the universe is the spiritual breath of\nGod, issuing from the centre and returning to it, so is the spirit of\nman the spiritual power which enters into his constitution, and issues\nagain when the body dies.\n\n \u201cThat is a spirit, which is born from our thoughts; immaterial and\n in the living body. That which is born after our death is the soul.\u201d\n (\u201cParamirum,\u201d L. I., C. iv., 2.)\n\n \u201cThe spirit is not born from reasoning, but from the will.\u201d (_Ibid._\n 3.)\n\n\u201cSpirit,\u201d in other words, is a form of _Will_ endowed with thought; a\nspiritual power, neither good nor evil in itself; but which becomes\ngood or evil according to the purpose for which it is employed. Its\nfunctions are willing, imagining, and remembering.\n\nA great deal has been written about the power of will and imagination\nin Nature, by means of which the types existing in the memory of the\nuniversal mind continually find re-expression in physical visible\nforms;[37] in this place we have to deal only with the qualities of\nthese three functions, and the effects which they produce in the body\nof man.\n\nIn the previous three divisions of this chapter we have had under our\nconsideration causes of diseases originating in the terrestrial part of\nthe human constitution; this and the following deals with his spiritual\npart.\n\n \u201cThere are two subjects in man, one is a material, the other a\n spiritual being (thought-body), impalpable, invisible, subject to its\n own diseases (discords); one belonging to the material, the other to\n the spiritual world, each having its own states of consciousness,\n perception and memory, its own associations with beings of its kind.\n Nevertheless, both are one during this life, and the spirit influences\n the body; but not the body the spirit. Therefore if the spirit is\n diseased, it is of no use to doctor the body; but if the body is\n diseased, it can be cured by administering remedies to the spirit.\u201d\n (_Lib._ \u201cParamir.,\u201d I., iv., 4 and 7.)\n\nThis spiritual part, or the thought-body of man, is the vehicle for the\nreincarnating spirit, when the spiritual individuality evolves a new\npersonality upon the earth. For the purpose of understanding what is\nsaid in the following division of this chapter, it will be necessary to\nunderstand the theory of _Reincarnation_, of which we can only present\nan outline within the space of this work. H. P. Blavatsky says that\nwhich reincarnates is:\n\n \u201c_The Spiritual thinking Ego, the permanent principle in man, or\n that which is the seat of the Manas._ _It is not_ ATMA, _or even_\n ATMA-BUDDHI, _which is the individual or divine man, but_ MANAS; _for\n Atman is the Universal All, and becomes the Higher Self of man only\n in conjunction with_ BUDDHI, _its vehicle, which links_ IT _to the\n individuality (or the divine Man)_.\u201d[38]\n\nThe resurrection of the physical body is a modern superstition in which\nnone of the ancient philosophers or real Christians ever believed.[39]\n\n\n                                _Will._\n\n\u201cWill\u201d comes from _willan_, desire; but is quite distinct from that\nselfish desire which is the result of the fancies of the brain; the\ntrue will is a strong power which comes from the centre, the heart, and\nin its highest aspect it is that creative power which called the world\ninto existence. All the voluntary and involuntary actions in nature and\nin the organism of man originate in the action of will, whether or not\nwe are conscious of it.\n\n \u201cYou do not know a tithe of the real power of the will.\u201d\n (_Paracelsus_, \u201cParamir.,\u201d I., iv., 8.)\n\nUpon the physical plane the will acts, so to say, unconsciously,\ncarrying out blindly the laws of nature, causing attractions,\nrepulsions, guiding the mechanical, chemical and physiological\nfunctions of the body without man\u2019s intelligence taking any part in\nthe process. Man is himself a manifestation of will, and the will\n(spirit) in him can perform many things without depending on the\nintellectual activity of the brain; all of which is left unexplained\nby modern physiology, although it cannot deny the facts. Thus an\nexperienced pianist does not require to determine first which movement\nhe should give to the muscles of his fingers before striking a key; but\nhe does this instinctively after his spirit has been educated to it.\nRope-walking, gymnastic feats and acts of all kinds are the products\nof a trained will, and would be impossible without that. They may be\nsuperintended by the intellect, but are not guided by it. Its sphere of\naction is limited to that of the body in which it dwells.\n\nIn its higher aspect the will is a conscious power, manifesting itself\nas emotions, virtues and vices of various kinds. Its sphere of action\nextends as far as the sphere of the influence of the individual mind.\nThus the will of a superior person exercises an influence over his\ninferiors, a teacher over his pupils, a general over his army, a sage\nover the world.\n\nIn its highest aspect the will manifests itself as a self-conscious\npower, capable of acting far beyond the limits of the corporeal form\nfrom which it issues, constituting, so to say, an independent organized\nspiritual being acting under the guidance of the intelligence of the\nperson from whom it is born. Strange as this assertion may appear, it\nis nevertheless true, and the now accepted phenomena of \u201chypnotism\u201d\nhave opened the door to the understanding of such phenomena.[40] An\ninvestigation into this subject would bring us within the realm of\nmagic, spiritism, witchcraft, sorcery, etc., etc., which does not\nbelong to our present purpose, and which has been treated in a previous\nwork.[41]\n\nAs an evil will is the cause of many diseases, so is a good will a\ngreat remedy for curing them. While two fools hypnotizing each other\nwill produce a mixture of folly, the magic power of the self-conscious\nbenevolent will of an enlightened physician is able to arouse the\nconfidence and restore health in many cases where all the remedies of\nthe pharmacop\u0153ia are of no avail, and the cultivation of this power is\ntherefore of supreme importance, even more so than a knowledge of all\nthe details in regard to the action of drugs. Science and wisdom should\nbe cultivated together, but not the former at the expense of the latter.\n\n\n                            _Imagination._\n\n\u201cImagination\u201d means the power of the mind to form _images_; from the\nshadowy images of a dream up to the corporeal and living images formed\nby the power of an Adept. This faculty, which was well known to the\nancient sages who were in possession of it, is almost entirely ignored\nby popular medical science, which in spite of its recent discoveries\nof what is now called \u201csuggestion,\u201d does not yet seem to suspect the\nextent of its power. It is a power whose application cannot be taught\nto those who do not possess it, and there are very few who have this\npower developed; for our present generation is of a pre-eminently\n_adamic_ (terrestrial) and impotent kind; leading a dream-life, and\nbeing itself composed of dreams, its imagination is as feeble as a\ndream. The real power of active and effective imagination belongs to\nthe spiritual inner man, who in the vast majority of mankind has not\nyet awakened to life. Only when men and women have entered into the\ntrue life\u2014in other words, when the spirit in them will have become\nself-conscious\u2014will they be able to possess and to exercise spiritual\npowers, such as constituted the _Arcana_ of Theophrastus Paracelsus, on\nwhich there has been so much speculation in modern literature and yet\nso little really known\u2014the stumbling block and fruitful source of error\nfor so many of our modern _surface_ observers.[42]\n\nWe do not blame popular medical science for not knowing that which it\ndoes not know; but we believe that the presumption of those who figure\ntemporarily as the representatives of science, and who dogmatically\npronounce useless and absurd everything which they do not possess,\nought not to be encouraged. It is not so very long since recognised\nscience laughed at the rotundity of the earth, and declared officially\nthat no meteors could fall from the sky \u201cbecause there were no stones\nin heaven;\u201d denounced the belief in \u201cpsychic phenomena\u201d as being a\ndegrading superstition, and ridiculed the idea of building steamboats\nand telegraphs, etc. These errors originate not from science, but\nfrom stupid ignorance and self-conceit; they are the result of human\ninfirmities, which exist now as in times of old, and can be cured only\nby the development of a superior power for knowing the truth.\n\n\n                               _Memory._\n\nThe third great power of the spirit manifested in the mind is the\npower of memory, which is, in fact, the power of man\u2019s spirit to visit\nthose places within the sphere of his mind where the impressions of\nformer experiences are preserved, and thus to bring them again within\nthe field of consciousness. Whatever function the physical brain may\nexercise in using this faculty of the spirit, the brain is no more\nthe memory than the eye the sight; it is merely an instrument for\nperception, but not the perceiver nor the object of perception, nor\nthe perception itself. To remember a thing is to see its impression or\nimage in the _astral light_; to recollect a thing is to gather together\none\u2019s own attention at the place where its impression is stored up in\nthe mind, and the power which enables a person to do so is the relation\nwhich exists between the creator and his creatures; man having formed\na thought or idea, or perceived an image, is able to recollect it,\nbecause the impression is his creation\u2014having issued from himself, it\nis a part of his world.\n\nIt depends upon the degree of spiritual power of perception in man,\nwhether he can clearly and vividly see these images in the Astral\nLight, or whether they appear to him dim, uncertain and indistinct; but\nin the vast majority of men and women in our present generation this\npower of perceiving does not penetrate deeper nor rise higher than the\nAstral Light, while the spiritually developed man can penetrate deeper,\nand behold the memories of not only his present incarnation, but also\nthose referring to his previous states of existence.\n\nWill, Imagination and Memory are the cause of many diseases and\nsuch may be caused by one\u2019s perverted use of those faculties, or by\nbeing practised upon another. A thought of any kind, be it wicked\nor virtuous, if rendered strong and substantial by the consent of\nthe will, becomes born in the inner world as an elemental being,\nwhich grows by being cultivated, so that it may ultimately obsess\nits own father and produce visible effects upon the physical frame.\nThe imagination of animals produces change in the colour of their\noffspring, the imagination of a mother can produce marks upon the\nchild; the recollection of evil events and keeping such memories\nconstantly in the mind gives rise to melancholy, ill temper, and\ndespondency, anger, greed, lust, avarice, etc. All forms of evil will\nproduce not only morbid states of the mind, but also certain definite\nchanges in the physical body; all of which offer a vast field for a\nscience of psychology in the future. An exposition of such a mental\nscience cannot be attempted within the limited space of this work;\nbut there already exists a vast amount of literature on this subject\nignored by official science.\n\n\n                              V.\u2014ENS DEI.\n\n_Diseases arising from eternal Retribution._\n\nA definition of the word \u201cDeus,\u201d God, is an impossibility, because it\nrefers to a state beyond the conception of the limited mind. Eckhart\nsays:\u2014\u201cA god of whom I could conceive would not be a god, but a\nlimited creature.\u201d We can therefore only say, God is the universal will\nin its highest aspect as divine love; which is the supreme law and the\nlife of all things. A necessary consequence of the action of divine law\nis divine justice; because it would be impossible to imagine how one\nbeing could be favoured without doing injustice to another, and thus\ndepriving the law of universal divine love of its unity and equality.\nThis divine law of justice, according to which every cause created by a\nrational being returns with all its effects to its creator, is called\nin the East the law of _Karma_, and may be translated as the law of\nEternal Retribution. H. P. Blavatsky says:\u2014\n\n \u201c_Karma is the unerring law which adjusts effect to cause, on\n the physical, mental, and spiritual planes of being. As no cause\n remains without its due effect from greatest to least, from a cosmic\n disturbance down to the movement of your hand, and as like produces\n like, Karma is that law which adjusts wisely, intelligently and\n equitably each effect to its cause, tracing the latter back to its\n producer._\u201d[43]\n\nThis law of _Karma_ is in common parlance called the Will of God;\nwhich means the action of divine justice throughout the universe, and\nit is the cause not only of social evils, distinctions of classes in\nsociety, of the unequal distribution of wealth and comfort, good luck\nand misfortune, but also of defects of character, mental abnormalities\nand physical diseases.\n\nAll diseases in fact are effects of the law of _Karma_, the effects of\ncauses, which are all based upon one universal Law; but this is not to\nbe understood as if it meant \u201cfatality,\u201d or as if nothing could be done\nto cure such effects; for _Karma_ is also the source of good, and if\nthe patient finds a physician able to cure him, it proves that it was\nhis _Karma_ to find him and that he should be cured by him.\n\n \u201cAll health and all disease comes from God, who also furnishes the\n remedy. Each disease is a purgatory, and no physician can effect a\n cure until the time of that purgatory is over. Ignorant physicians are\n the devils of that purgatory; but a wise physician a redeeming angel\n and a servant of God. The physician is a servant of nature, and God\n is its Lord. Therefore no physician ever performs a cure unless it is\n the will of God curing the patient through him.\u201d (\u201cParamir.,\u201d I., C.\n iv., 2 and 7.)\n\nTo know the theory of a thing is a science, to know how to use it\nsuccessfully is art.[44] It was the view of the ancient philosophers,\nand it will also be the view of the physician of the future, that\nMedicine is not merely a science but a holy art, and that a mere\nscience without true goodness and wisdom is without real value. The\npractice of medicine must be based not merely upon scientific theories\nin regard to the laws of that part of nature which is its lowest plane\nof manifestation, the plane of physical appearances; but at the bottom\nof all science must be the recognition of eternal Truth itself. Health\nand disease in man are not determined by physical laws alone, such\nas govern the lowest orders of being; neither are the laws of Nature\ncreated by Nature; _but all natural laws are the outcome of spiritual\nlaw acting in Nature_, and in those kingdoms where intelligence\nplays a part, where the will begins to become free and individual\nresponsibility takes place, a more direct action of divine law becomes\nmanifest. Although therefore a knowledge of the laws of physical nature\nis extremely useful and necessary, the student of medicine should above\nall cultivate nobility and spirituality of character, such as is the\nresult of the recognition of the fundamental law of Divine Wisdom, upon\nwhich is based all the order and harmony that exists in the world. Thus\nthe practice of medicine has for its foundation not a merely technical\nside, and is not merely a trade or profession, which anybody may enter\nwho chooses for the purpose of making a living; but it requires for its\nlegitimate object the employment of such faculties as are the result of\na development of the higher and nobler elements, the spiritual part in\nthe constitution of man.\n\n\n\n\n                                  IV.\n\n                    THE FIVE CLASSES OF PHYSICIANS.\n\n\nThere being five causes of disease, and as each disease ought to be\ntreated with reference to its cause, there may be distinguished five\ndistinct modes of treatment, which, however, must not be confounded\nwith five different systems such as anyone may choose at his own\npleasure, for each of these modes requires the possession of certain\ndistinct natural qualifications, of which the higher are at present\nonly rarely to be found. While the science of the lower methods, such\nas prescribing drugs, using hot or cold water, or applying any other\nphysical forces, may easily enough be taught to anybody in possession\nof an ordinary amount of intelligence, the real art of medicine\nrequires higher gifts and talents, which cannot be acquired in any\nother way than according to the law of spiritual evolution, by the\nhigher development of the inner man. A physician in possession of the\npowers conveyed by wisdom may also acquire a knowledge of the medical\nviews and technicalities which form the stock in trade of the lower\norders of physicians; but a physician of a lower order cannot practise\nthe art of the higher order without becoming initiated into that order\nby means of the development of the power required for it.\n\nThis will make it clear that the quality of the physician himself is\nof as much importance as the system which he practises, and Paracelsus\ndistinguishes five classes of physicians: the three lower classes\nseeking for their resources in the material plane; the two higher\nclasses employing remedies belonging to the supersensual plane; but\nhe also says that, owing to the unity of nature, either one of these\nclasses of physicians may accomplish cures in either one of the five\nfields, and that no physician ought to change around from one system to\nanother; but each ought to stick to that \u201csect\u201d to which he naturally\nbelongs.\n\nThese five classes of physicians he describes as follows:\n\n1. _Naturales_; such as employ physical remedies, acting as opposites;\nwhich means, using physical and chemical means, heat against cold,\netc., etc. (Allopaths).\n\n2. _Specifici._\u2014Those who employ certain remedies which experience has\nshown to act as _specifica_ (Empirics, Hom\u0153opaths).\n\n3. _Characterales._\u2014Such as employ the powers of the mind; acting upon\nthe will and imagination of the patient (Mental healers, Mind cure,\nMesmerism, &c.).\n\n4. _Spirituales._\u2014Those who are in possession of spiritual powers,\nusing the magic power of their own will and thought (Magic,\nPsychometry, Hypnotism, Spiritism, Sorcery).\n\n5. _Fideles._\u2014Those through whom \u201cmiraculous\u201d works are performed in\nthe power of the true faith (Adepts).\n\nTo which of these five \u201csects\u201d or faculties a physician belongs, he\nought to be thoroughly versed and experienced in that department,\nhaving not merely a superficial but a thorough knowledge of it.\n\n \u201cIn whatever faculty one desires to acquire a degree and obtain\n success, he should, besides regarding the soul and the diseased body\n of the patient, exert himself to obtain a thorough knowledge of that\n department, and be taught more by his own intuition and reason than by\n what the patient can tell him; he ought to be able to recognise the\n cause and origin of the disease which he treats, and his knowledge\n ought to be unwavering and not subject to doubts.\u201d (\u201cParamir.,\u201d I.,\n Prolog.)\n\nThere are, therefore, in each of these classes three grades to be\ndistinguished, namely: (1) those who possess the full requirements of\ntheir art; (2) those who have attained only mediocrity; (3) dunces,\npretenders and frauds; to which belong the vast array of licensed and\nunlicensed quacks, such as thrive upon the ignorance and credulity of\nthe people and by means of their poisons and drugs \u201ckill annually more\npersons than war, famine and the plague combined.\u201d But neither of these\nfive classes of physicians should regard their own system as the only\ntrue one, and reject the others or consider them useless; for in each\nis contained the full and perfect power to cure all diseases that come\nfrom either of the five causes, and each will be successful if such is\nthe will of the Law.\n\n\n                             I.\u2014NATURALES.\n\nTo this class belongs the vast army of what is to-day usually termed\n\u201cregular practitioners,\u201d meaning those who move in the old ruts of\nofficial medical science, from the more or less progressive physician\ndown to the vendor of drugs. The remedies which they employ belong to\nthe three kingdoms of physical nature, and according to the elements\nwhich they represent, may be divided as follows:\n\n1. _Earth._\u2014This includes all mineral, vegetable, and animal substances\nthat may be required for medical purposes, drugs, herbs, and their\npreparations, chemical agents, &c.\n\n2. _Water._\u2014To this belongs the water cure, hot and cold baths, and\nwhatever may be connected with it.\n\n3. _Air._\u2014The therapeutic results which can be accomplished by means\nof inhaling certain gases and vapours are at present comparatively\nlittle known, except in so far as changes of climate are resorted to\nfor such purposes. The employment of such things as pure air, sunlight,\netc., is far too simple to find full appreciation of its value by a\ngeneration whose mode of thinking is too complicated to enable them to\nperceive simple truths, and is therefore considered to belong rather to\n\u201chygiene\u201d than to \u201ctherapeutics.\u201d\n\n4. _Fire._\u2014To the agents belonging to this class may be counted\nany kind of energy, heat and cold, sunlight and the actions of its\nvariously coloured rays,[45] physical electricity, mineral magnetism,\netc., all of which have thus far received very little attention from\nmodern medicine; while the ancients employed such remedies for the cure\nof many diseases.[46]\n\n5. _Ether._\u2014The one element and its action is thus far hardly\ntheoretically admitted by modern science and practically almost\nunknown. Only very recently a great step of progress in this direction\nhas been made by the discovery of the therapeutic action of the solar\nether, and by the employment of an apparatus for the employment of its\nradiations.[47]\n\nBut the sphere of activity for the natural physician is not limited\nto the extent of the merely physical plane. If he goes a step higher\nhe may employ not only the products of life, but the activity of life\nitself, in a higher form.[48] The sources from which he receives the\nphysical remedies are the physical products of nature; the sources from\nwhich he draws living powers are living organisms. To this department\nbelongs the employment of \u201canimal magnetism;\u201d the transfer of life\n(_Mumia_); the transplantation of diseases[49] and similar things\nthoroughly described by Paracelsus, Cornelius Agrippa and others, but\nwhich for our present official medical science do not exist.\n\nEven those who employ only gross material principles also employ,\nwithout being conscious of it, the higher principles contained therein;\nfor every physical substance, to whatever kingdom in nature it may\nbelong, is an expression of not only one of the four elements, but of\nall four, and contains all the higher principles. Thus, for instance,\nit has been shown that the action of certain drugs corresponds to that\nof the colours which they exhibit in the solar-spectrum;[50] each state\nof matter also corresponds to a certain state of electric tension;\neach particle of food proves the presence of the life principle in\nit by being nutritious; each poisonous drug acting upon the mind,\nshows thereby that the mind principle therein is in a high state of\nactivity. There is no \u201cdead matter\u201d in the universe; each thing is a\nrepresentation of a state of consciousness in nature, even if its state\nof consciousness differs from ours, and is therefore beyond the reach\nof our recognition; everything is a manifestation of \u201cMind,\u201d even if\ndoes not exhibit any intelligent functions, or what we are capable of\nrecognising as such.\n\nFor the comprehension of these things, the position adopted by modern\nnatural science is altogether insufficient, and such a philosophical\nknowledge is required as shall constitute the first pillar in the\ntemple of medicine. There is a vast field still unexplored by modern\nmedical science, and if things which were known to the ancients are\nnot known at present, it is not because such sciences have never\nexisted, but because they have ceased to be understood owing to the\nmaterialising tendency of this age.\n\n\n                            II.\u2014SPECIFICI.\n\nTo this class belong all physicians who under certain circumstances\nemploy certain remedies, of which they know from experience that under\nsimilar circumstances similar remedies have proved successful. This\nsystem may therefore be called \u201c_Empiricism_,\u201d and it constitutes the\ngreatest part of modern therapeutics; for what little is known to-day\nof the physiological and therapeutic actions of medicine on the whole\nthe result of observation, and not of a knowledge of the fundamental\nlaws of nature which cause medicines to act as they do.\n\nHeat is a specific remedy for cold, and moisture for dryness; but even\nthe very opposite remedies often have the same specific effect. Thus,\nfor instance, the pain caused by an inflammation, and the inflammation\nitself, may be cured by cold as well as by hot applications to the\ninflamed part; for in one case the walls of the blood vessels contract,\ndiminishing the quantity of the blood rushing to them, while in the\nother case these vessels dilate, rendering the rush of blood painless\nand easy. The specific action of chemicals is due to their chemical\naffinities (harmonies). Thus the invigorating action resulting from the\ninhalation of fresh air is caused by the affinity which Oxygen has for\nthe Carbon in the blood, and by the life principle of the air upon the\nlife principle in the body. Thus the tubercle-bacilli in the lungs may\nbe destroyed by the specific action of certain gases, which, inhaled,\nform certain chemical compounds with certain elements contained in\nthese micro-organisms, and thereby cause their destruction.[51]\nEverything in the universe takes place for a certain reason and has a\ncertain specific action depending on certain conditions. If we know\nthe laws and conditions, experience becomes a science; but where our\nscience is blind, experience can be our guide.\n\nLike knows like. The physical senses only recognise physical things;\nbut all visible things are an expression of soul, and what can we\nknow about the _Soul of Things_, if we do not know that soul which is\nour own? There can be no motion, where there is no emotion to produce\nit, either directly or indirectly. All motions are manifestations of\nenergy; energy is a manifestation of consciousness; consciousness is a\nstate of the mind; mind is a vehicle for the manifestation of spirit;\nspirit is the \u201cBreath\u201d by which the world was _created_.\n\nIf the colours of the _Tattwas_ and their nature were studied, a new\nfield for medical science would open. It would become possible to\nexplain why a raving maniac kept in a room of blue light will become\nquieted, and a melancholy person improve in a room filled with red or\nyellow rags; why a steer will become excited at the sight of red, and\na mob infuriated by the sight of blood. Where the laws in consequence\nof which certain effects occur are unknown, we can only register\nthe facts. If we recognise a truth by experience we can make use of\nit, leaving it to sceptical science to arrive at its recognition by\nhobbling along on its crutches of external observation and inference.\n\nThese inferences are often drawn from wrong premises; effects mistaken\nfor causes; drugs administered where the sources of the diseases exist\nin moral and mental conditions upon which drugs have no effect, etc.,\netc. The application of specific remedies therefore requires not merely\na knowledge that this or that remedy has effected such and such cures,\nbut also a knowledge of the circumstances in which it will produce such\neffects again. The real _Arcanum_ is the understanding of the relation\nexisting between cause and effect. To those shortsighted practitioners\nwho behold in every disease nothing but the manifestation of a purely\nphysical or chemical cause, and to whom \u201cmind,\u201d \u201csoul\u201d and \u201cspirit\u201d are\nterms without meaning or merely physiological functions of unconscious\nmatter, the _Arcana_ of such cures will ever remain unknowable\nmysteries; for they can be known only to those who understand the\norganization of the inner nature of man. The phenomena caused by life\nare incomprehensible as long as life is regarded as a product of\nforms without life; but he who is able to see in every living thing\na manifestation of the _One Life_ pervading all nature, a function\nof universal will, has already entered the precincts of that higher\nscience, which cannot be explained by words, if it is not known to the\nheart.\n\n\n                          III.\u2014CHARACTERALES.\n\nA physician of this class is the one whose very presence inspires the\npatient with confidence in recovery. Consciously or unconsciously such\na physician acts upon the two great motive powers in the constitution\nof the patient, namely his will and his imagination. He who can restore\ntranquillity of the soul by creating confidence, creates the condition\nrequired for the cure of the disturbance of the elements producing\ndiscord.\n\nAll the processes taking place in the physical body originate in the\nunconscious or conscious action of the will and the imagination, to\nwhich must be added the power of memory; for the existence of former\nimpressions either consciously or unconsciously produces certain states\nin the imagination, which again determine the direction of will. The\naverage physician often employs these powers unknowingly; a physician\nof the higher class can employ them intelligently. A sudden strong\nemotion may in a moment cure a paralytic affection of long standing, a\nsudden danger arouse the unconscious will. Perhaps in the majority of\ncases it is not that which the patient takes but that which he imagines\nthat it will cure him, which effects the cure, and without this power\nof the imagination very few medicines would produce any beneficial\nresults.\n\nTo this department belong so-called \u201chypnotism\u201d and \u201csuggestion,\u201d two\nold things described under new names. Paracelsus says of this action of\nthe spiritual will:\n\n \u201cIt is as if one orders another to run and he runs. This takes place\n by means of the word and through the power of the word; the word being\n the character.\u201d (\u201cParamir.,\u201d Prolog. III.)\n\nSo-called \u201c_hypnotism_\u201d is the overcoming of a weak will by a stronger\none. The superior will of the physician overcomes the will of the\npatient and forces it to act in a certain direction. It is an art\nwhich is practised continually and constantly by one half of mankind\non the other half, from the will power of a general commanding his\narmy down to the unconscious influence unknowingly exercised by one\nmind over another, without the subject being aware of its source. Evil\nthoughts originating in one person create corresponding impulses in\nothers, and if the unconscious action of will and the relations which\nit causes among sympathetic minds were truly known, human freewill and\nresponsibility would perhaps appear in a different light.\n\nSimilar to that is what has been called \u201csuggestion,\u201d which Paracelsus\ncalls the virtue of the imagination. It is the imagination of one mind\noverpowering the mind of another and creating therein a corresponding\nimagination, which is perfectly real to the patient, because it is in\nreality his own creation produced unconsciously by himself.\n\n \u201cThe visible man has his laboratory (the physical body), and the\n invisible man is working therein. The sun has his rays, which cannot\n be grasped with the hands, which are nevertheless strong enough to set\n houses on fire (if gathered by a lens).\n\n Imagination in man is like a sun, it acts within his world wherever\n it may shine. Man is that which he thinks. If he thinks fire, he is\n all on fire; if he thinks war, he is warring; by the power of thought\n alone the imagination becomes a sun.\u201d (\u201cDe virtute imaginativa,\u201d V.)\n\nThe imagination becomes strong through the will and the will becomes\npowerful through imagination. Either of these two is the life of the\nother, and if they become one and identical, they constitute a living\nspirit to which nothing inferior offers resistance. In the ignorant and\ndoubtful, in those who do not know their own mind and doubt the result\nof success, consequently in the majority of experiments carried on for\nthe purpose of gratifying a scientific curiosity or for some other\nselfish purpose, the will and imagination are not one, but act in two\ndifferent directions. If we look with one eye to heaven and with the\nother to the earth, or with one to the restoration of the patient\u2019s\nhealth and with the other to the profits knowledge or renown we may\nreceive from it ourselves, there is no unity of motive or purpose, and\nconsequently a lack of the principal condition for success. A physician\ndesirous of employing such means should therefore be of such a nobility\nof character as to be above all selfish considerations, and only intent\nupon doing his duty according to the commands of divine love.\n\nOnly that which comes from the heart goes to the heart; the power that\ncomes from the brain alone has no magic effects unless it becomes\nunited with that which comes from the heart. It resembles the cold and\nineffective moonlight, but it becomes a strong power by its union with\nthe sunshine that radiates from the centre of the heart.\n\n \u201cThus the imagination becomes a spirit, and its vehicle is the body,\n and in this body are generated the seeds which bear good and evil\n fruits.\u201d (\u201cDe virtute imaginativa,\u201d III.)\n\n\n                           IV.\u2014SPIRITUALES.\n\nUp to this class we have had to deal with forces which are, even if\nnot fully recognized, at least admitted by modern science; but now we\nare going to speak of the action of a spiritual power, which, being\nin the conscious possession of only a few persons, is almost entirely\nunknown. This is the power which the self-conscious spirit exercises\nover the unintelligent forces in nature, and which comes under the head\nof \u201cMagic,\u201d a term whose meaning is understood only by few.\n\n\u201cMagic\u201d\u2014from _mag_, priest\u2014means the great power of wisdom, an\nattribute of the self-conscious spirit, holy or devilish according to\nthe purpose to which it is applied. It is therefore a power which does\nnot belong to the terrestrial intellectual man; but to the spiritual\nman, and it may even be exercised by the latter without the external\nman being aware of the source of this power acting in him. For this\nreason we often see that some remedy proves very efficacious in the\nhands of one physician and entirely useless in the hands of another\nequally learned and intellectual. Paracelsus says:\n\n \u201cSuch physicians are called _spirituales_, because they command the\n spirits of herbs and roots, and force them to release the sick whom\n they have imprisoned. Thus if a judge puts a prisoner in the stocks,\n the judge is his physician. Having the keys, he may open the locks\n when he chooses. To this class of physicians belonged Hippocrates and\n others.\u201d (\u201cParamir.,\u201d Prolog. III.)\n\nSuch an assertion appears to be incredible only as long as nothing is\nknown about the constitution of matter; but if we call occult science\nto our aid and realise that all things in the world constitute certain\nstates of one universal consciousness, and that the foundation of all\nexistence is Spirit, it not only becomes comprehensible, but even\nself-evident, that the self-conscious spirit of a person can move and\ncontrol the products of nature\u2019s imagination according to its own\naction in them, and we may truly say that in such cases it is the\nspirit of the physician acting by means of the spirit of the remedies\nwhich he employs, and herein is the solution of the secret of the\nwonderful cures of leprosy, etc., effected by Theophrastus Paracelsus,\nwhich have been historically proved, but which are unintelligible if\nexamined from the point of view of material science.\n\nAn investigation into this subject would take us within the realm of\nwhite and black magic, witchcraft and sorcery, which have received\nattention already on a previous occasion,[52] and whose further\nelucidation would be premature and altogether impossible within the\nlimited space of this work.\n\n\n                              V.\u2014FIDELES.\n\nThe word \u201cfidelity\u201d\u2014from _fido_, to trust\u2014means faith, confidence,\nconviction arising from the perception of truth; knowledge, such as\nresults from experience, and the class of physicians here referred to,\nincludes those who, remaining true to their own divine nature, are in\npossession of divine powers, such as have been attributed to Christ,\nthe apostles and saints.\n\n \u201cThey restore health by the power of faith; for he who believes in\n truth becomes healed by its own power.\u201d (\u201cParamir.,\u201d I., Prol. 3.)\n\nSo-called \u201cfaith\u201d is in most cases illusive, and consists merely in an\naccepted or pretended belief in the correctness of certain opinions or\ntheories. The true faith of the spiritual man is a living spiritual\nand divine power, resulting from the certitude of the spiritual\nperception of the eternal law of cause and effect. As we most certainly\nare convinced that day follows upon the night, and night after day,\nso the Adept-physician, knowing the spiritual, moral and physical\ncauses of diseases, and appreciating the flow of their evolution and\nprogress, knows the effects created by such causes, and controls the\nmeans for their cure. No one can destroy effects caused by the law of\ndivine justice. If he hinders the manifestation of divine law in one\nway, it will manifest itself in another way, such is the action of\ndivine law in nature; but he who lives in the truth and in whom divine\ntruth becomes manifest, is thereby raised superior to nature, for he\nenters into that from which nature took its origin. This uplifting and\nall-saving power is the true faith in man which can cure all diseases.\n\n\n \u201cThere is neither good nor bad luck; but every effect is due to a\n cause. Each one receives his reward according to the way he walks and\n acts. God has made all men out of only one substance, and given to\n all the same power to live, and all human beings are therefore equals\n in God. The sun and the rain, winter and summer, are the same for\n everybody; but not everybody looks at the sun with the same eyes. God\n loves all mankind alike; but not all men love God with the same kind\n of love. Each of God\u2019s children has the same inheritance; but one\n squanders, while another preserves it. That which God has made equal\n is rendered unequal by the actions of men. Each man taking his cross\n upon himself finds therein his reward. Every misfortune is a fortune,\n because divine goodness gives to everyone that which he most needs for\n his future development; the suffering begins only when discontent,\n the result of the non-recognition of eternal law, steps in. The\n greater the obstacle to combat, the greater will be the victory.\u201d\n (\u201cPhilosophia,\u201d V.)\n\nThe art of medicine has not been instituted for the purpose of defying\nthe laws of God; but for the purpose of aiding in the restoration of\nthe harmony, whose disturbance caused disease, and this restoration\ntakes place through obedience to the law. There is no more a\n\u201cforgiveness of the sin of disease\u201d than there is a forgiveness of\nmoral sins. The cure takes place by means of a re-entering into harmony\nwith the laws of nature, which after all are the laws of God manifested\nin the natural realm. Neither is the health restored or sins pardoned\nfor the purpose that man with lessened fear of punishment may go and\nsin again; but after the effects of the discords are overcome, he\nobtains again the power to sin, so that he may have a fresh opportunity\nfor overcoming temptation and thus attain mastery over himself during\nhis life upon this earth. He who is master over himself is his own law\nand not subject to any disharmony, and it is this which Paracelsus\nexpressed in his favourite motto:\n\n  \u201cNon sit alterius qui suus esse potest,\u201d\n\nwhich may be translated, \u201cHe who is master over himself belongs to\nnothing else but himself\u201d: for that Self which conquers \u201cself\u201d is God,\nthe Will of Divine Wisdom, the Lord over All.\n\n\n\n\n                                  VI.\n\n                     THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE.\n\n\nThere is no doubt that the average physician of the present age\noccupies on the whole a much higher position than was occupied by the\naverage physician of the last centuries when the wisdom of the ancients\nhad become a forgotten truth, and modern science was in its infancy.\nAlthough there were even during the middle ages physicians of deep\ninsight, and in possession of a profound knowledge of the mysteries of\nNature, such as the modern profession may acquire again by slow growth\nwithin the next centuries, the popular medicine of these times was a\nmixture of ignorance and quackery, the remnants of which are still to\nbe found in our days. Of this class of the physicians of those times\nParacelsus says:\u2014\n\n \u201cThere are a great many among them who have no other object but to\n satisfy their greed, so that one has to be ashamed to belong to a\n profession in which so much swindling takes place. They speculate\n on the ignorance of the people, and he who succeeds in amassing the\n greatest amount of money by robbing them is looked upon as the leading\n physician. Mutual love and charity is entirely out of fashion, and the\n practice of medicine is degraded to the standard of a common trade,\n in which the only object is to take as much money as one can obtain,\n and those who have the gift of the gab, and clamour the loudest,\n succeed best in cheating mankind; for as long as the world is filled\n with fools, the biggest fool will necessarily be the ruler, if he only\n succeeds in making himself conspicuous.\u201d (\u201cDefensio,\u201d V.)\n\nThe science of medicine is not to blame for the existence of such\na state of things; but it is one of the attributes of human animal\nnature, and we leave it to the intelligent observer to judge whether\nthis nature has changed a great deal since the time of Paracelsus,\nor whether there is still an army of quacks, legalized or illegal,\nwho have written the motto \u201c_Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur_\u201d\nupon their flag. Official science has undoubtedly progressed\nduring this century, but merely intellectual acquisitions do not\nnecessarily make a man wiser; the greatest scoundrels have been men\nof great intellectuality without spirituality. Wisdom consists in the\nself-recognition of truth, and there are many who are \u201cever learning\nand never able to come to the knowledge of truth.\u201d[53]\n\nThis spiritual knowledge does not belong to the faculties of men\u2019s\nlower intellectual nature, but to his higher nature alone; and it\nis therefore of paramount importance that the development of that\nhigher nature should receive more attention than it is receiving at\npresent. A mere improvement in morals or ethics is quite insufficient\nfor that purpose. Morality is the outcome of reasoning; Spirituality\nis the superior power due to the manifestation of self-consciousness\non a higher plane of existence, the illumination of the mind and\nbody of man by the power and light of the spirit filling the soul.\nWhen spirituality becomes substantiality in man, then only will his\nknowledge be of a substantial kind.\n\nThis spiritual substantiality, or, in other words, the realization of\nthe highest ideal, is the work of the gradual evolution of mankind;\nwhich, as has been said by the ancient alchemists, \u201cmay require for its\naccomplishment thousands of ages; but which can also be accomplished\nin a moment of time.\u201d It is not a product of man\u2019s labour, but of the\ndescent of the light of divine truth, the \u201cgrace of God\u201d which will\ncome to everyone whenever he is ready to receive it. It is therefore\nnot dependent on anyone\u2019s willing or running,[54] but on the action of\nthe spirit of the true divine Self, which is ever striving to become\nmanifest in man.\n\nThis interior development is not the consequence of the acquisition of\nany new theories in regard to the nature of the constitution of man;\nbut takes place through the overcoming of the lower elements in his\nnature, by means of which his higher nature can become manifest. But\nin order to induce and enable him to employ his powers intelligently\nfor the purpose of conquering his lower nature, he should learn to know\ntheoretically his own constitution and the nature of the higher powers\nin him.\n\nThese are the elements of that higher science which the physician of\nthe future will have to learn, first theoretically and afterwards in\ntheir practical application. Without a spiritual recognition of the\nfundamental principles of Nature, a seeking from a superficial point of\nview for a discovery of the mysteries of being is like an unfruitful\nwandering in a fog. It resembles a search from the periphery of a\nsphere of unknown extent for a centre whose locality is unknown; while\nif we have once a correct conception of the situation of that shining\ncentre, its light will act as a guiding star in our wanderings through\nthe fogs which pervade the realm of phenomena.\n\nScience comes from man; wisdom belongs to God. Of sciences there are\nmany; wisdom is only one. The sciences should be cultivated, but wisdom\nnot be neglected, for without wisdom no true science can exist.\n\n \u201cNothing (real) is of ourselves; we do not belong to ourselves, but\n we belong to God. Therefore we must try to find in ourselves that\n which is of God. It is his and not ours. He has made a body for us,\n and given us life and wisdom in addition to it, and from these come\n all things. We should learn to know the object of our existence, and\n the reason why man has a soul, and what is the will of God that he\n should do. A study of (terrestrial) man will never reveal the secret\n and object of his existence, and the reason why he is in the world;\n but if we once know his creator, we shall also know the qualities of\n his child; for he who knows the father knows also the son, because the\n son inherits the (nature of) the father. Each man has the same amount\n of truth given to him by God; but not everyone recognises that which\n he has received. He who sleeps knows nothing; he who lives an idle\n life does not know the power which is in him, and wastes his time. Man\n is so great and noble that he bears the image of God, and is an heir\n to the kingdom of God. God is supreme truth, and the devil is supreme\n falsehood. Falsehood cannot know truth. Therefore if man wants to\n come into possession of truth, he must know the wisdom which he has\n received from God. Cleverness belongs to the animal nature, and in\n regard to many scientific acquisitions animals are superior to man;\n but the understanding is an awakening which cannot be taught by man.\n That which one person learns from another is nothing unless there is\n an awakening. A teacher can put no knowledge into his pupil, he can\n only aid in the awakening of the knowledge which is already in him.\u201d\n (\u201cDe Fundamento Sapienti\u00e6,\u201d I.)\n\nWisdom is the recognition of God. God is the truth, the knowledge of\none\u2019s own true self is divine wisdom. He who knows his true self knows\nthe divine powers belonging to his God.\n\n \u201cGod is Wisdom. He is not a sage or an artist, he is for himself\n (absolute), but all wisdom and art is born from him; if we know God,\n we also know his wisdom and art. In God all is one and no pieces. He\n is the unity, the one in everything. A science dealing only with a\n piece of the whole, and losing sight of the whole to which it belongs,\n is abortive and not in possession of truth. He who sees in God nothing\n but truth and justness sees rightly. All wisdom belongs to God; that\n which is not of God is a bastard. Therefore the kingdoms of this world\n fall to pieces, scientific systems change, man-made laws perish, but\n the recognition of eternal truth is eternal. He who is not a bastard\n of wisdom, but a true son of the father, is in possession of wisdom.\n This wisdom is that we live in regard to each other as the angels\n live, and if we live like the angels they will become our own self, so\n that nothing divides us from them but the physical form, and as all\n wisdom and art is with the angels, so it will be with us. The angels\n are the powers through which the will of God is executed. If the will\n of God is executed through us, we shall be his angels ourselves. The\n will of God cannot be performed through us unless we are ourselves\n after the will of God. A fool or a dunce or a greedy person is not\n after the will of God; how could that will be executed through him? It\n is of little use to believe that Solomon was wise, if we are not wise\n ourselves. We are not born for the purpose of living in ignorance, but\n that we should be like the father, and that the father may recognise\n himself in the son. We are to be lords over nature, and not nature be\n lord over us. This is spoken of the angelic man (_Buddhi_) in whom\n we shall live and through whom we shall see that all our doing and\n leaving undone, all our wisdom and art is of God.\u201d (\u201cDe Fundamento\n Sapienti\u00e6,\u201d II.)\n\nAll this, however, will be incomprehensible and be condemned as\nnonsense by what Paracelsus justly calls the \u201cscientific fool,\u201d\nbecause the wisdom of which he speaks is not the intellect of the\nterrestrial, but the understanding of the celestial mind. It is that\nrare power of spiritual self-knowledge which cannot be taught in words,\nbut which is the result of an interior unfolding of the faculties of\nthe soul. The true physician is not made by schools of learning; he\nbecomes one through the light of divine wisdom itself.\n\n \u201cMan has two understandings; the angelic and the animal power of\n reason. Angelic understanding is eternal; it is of God and remains\n in God. The animal intellect also originates from God and within\n ourselves; but it is not eternal; for the animal body dies and its\n reason dies with it. No animal faculty remains after death; but death\n is only a dying of that which is animal and not of that which is\n eternal.\u201d (\u201cDe Fundamento Sapienti\u00e6,\u201d II.)\n\nThe term \u201cwisdom\u201d comes from _vid_, to see, and _d\u00f4m_, a judgment;\nit therefore refers to that which is seen and understood, but not to\nopinions or theories derived from inference, or based on the assertion\nof others. It is not the product of observation and speculation, memory\nor calculation, but is the result of interior growth, and all growth\ncomes from nourishment. As the intellect is enlarged by intellectual\nacquirements, so divine wisdom in man grows by absorbing the nutriment\nwhich it receives from the light of Divine Wisdom.\n\n \u201cEverything is of the nature of that from which it is born. The\n animal in man is nourished by animal food, the angel in him by the\n food of the angels. The animal spirit belongs to the animal mind,\n and in the animal mind of man are contained all the potentialities\n which are separately possessed by the different classes of animals.\n You may develop in a man the character of a dog, a monkey, a snake,\n or of any other animal; for man in his animal nature is nothing more\n than an animal and the animals are his teachers and surpass him in\n many ways; the birds in singing, the fish in swimming, etc. He who\n knows many animal arts is for all that not more than an animal or a\n menagerie of different animals; his virtues, no less than his vices,\n belong to his animal nature. Whether he possesses the fidelity of a\n dog, the matrimonial affection of a dove, the mildness of a sheep, the\n cleverness of a fox, the skill of a beaver, the brutality of an ox,\n the voracity of a bear, the greed of a wolf, etc., all this belongs\n to his animal nature; but there is a higher nature of an angelic\n character in him, such as the animals do not possess, and this angelic\n being requires that nutriment which comes from above and corresponds\n to its nature. From the hidden animal spirit in nature grows the\n animal intellect; from the mysterious action of the angelic spirit\n grows the super-terrestrial man; for man has a father who is eternal\n and for him he shall live. This father has placed him in an animal\n body, not that he should only dwell and remain therein, but that he\n should by living in it overcome it.\u201d (\u201cDe Fundam. Sap.,\u201d III.)\n\nThe animal mind, filled with self-conceit and pride in its evanescent\npossessions, is entirely incapable of conceiving the nature of the\nangelic mind, or of forming an idea of the extent of its powers;\nneither can it grasp the true meaning of a language that deals with\nthe things that belong to that higher nature and believes it to be but\ndelusions and dreams.\n\n \u201cThe vanity of the learned does not come from heaven, but they learn\n it from each other and upon this basis they build their church.\u201d (\u201cDe\n Fund. Sap.\u201d Fragm.)\n\n\u201cFaith without works is dead,\u201d and as we are speaking of spiritual\nthings, the \u201cwork\u201d which the true faith requires is of a spiritual\ncharacter, meaning spiritual action, growth and development. A faith\nwithout substantiality is merely a dream; a science without true\nknowledge is an illusion; a merely sentimental desire without any\nactive exercise for the attainment of truth is useless. A person living\nin such dreams and fancies about ideals which he never attempts to\nrealise, dreams only of treasures which he does not possess. He is like\na person wasting his life in studying the map of a country in which\nhe might travel, but never making a start. A merely ideal religion,\nwhich is never realized and does not substantially nourish the soul,\nis only imaginary and serves but to amuse; a science which is not\npractically employed remains an unfruitful theory, serving at best for\nthe gratification of animal curiosity.\n\nThe work which _Faith_ requires is a continual _Self-Sacrifice_, which\nmeans a continual striving to overcome the animal and selfish nature,\nand this victory of the high over the low is not accomplished by that\nwhich is low, but can only take place through the power of divine\n_Love_, which means the recognition of the higher nature in man and its\npractical application in daily life. This is the kind of love of which\nthe great mystic of the 17th century, John Scheffler, speaks when he\nsays:\n\n    \u201cFaith without love aye makes the greatest roar and din,\n    The cask sounds loudest when there is nought within.\u201d\n\nWithout this practical application all virtues are only dreams and\ncannot grow into substantial powers, nor be employed as such.\n\nShakespeare says:\n\n \u201cIt is a good divine that follows his own instructions.\u201d\u2014\u201cMerchant of\n Venice.\u201d\n\nbut such characters are at the present time very rare, for the world\nnow lives only in dreams. \u201cThere are \u201cdivines\u201d knowing nothing of\nany divinity; medical practitioners knowing nothing about medicine;\n\u201canthropologists\u201d knowing nothing about the nature of man; lawyers\nknowing nothing of justice; \u201chumanitarians\u201d beggaring their employees;\n\u201cchristians\u201d to whom Christ is unknown. In every sphere of life the\nexternal is mistaken for the internal, the illusion for the reality,\nwhile the reality remains unrealized and therefore unknown.\n\nA superficial science can concern itself only with superficial causes\nand effects, however deeply it may enter into the details of such\nsuperficialities. The mysterious powers in nature, the intelligent\nforces in man, are at present almost entirely unknown, and _there is no\nother way of penetrating into the deeper secrets of nature except by\nthe development of the higher nature of man_.\n\nIn ancient times the physician was considered sacred and belonged to\nthe priesthood, not to a priesthood appointed only by man, but to\na strong and real priesthood anointed by God. The physician of the\nfuture will be again a king and a priest; for only he who is not merely\nnominally but truly divine can be in possession of divine powers. In\nhim the triangular pyramid consisting of science, religion and art\nwill culminate in one point, called Self-knowledge or Divine Wisdom,\nwhere man himself becomes identified with that superior light and\nintelligence\u2014his true self\u2014of whose ray his personality is a vehicle,\nimage and symbol.\n\nThere is a long and weary road to be travelled yet before mankind will\narrive at this summit of perfection, and the goal is so far away that\nonly few are able to see it, while to many it will be an apparently\nunrealisable ideal, and, like a mountain peak lost in the clouds,\ninconceivable; but the ideal exists and the clouds that hinder us\nfrom seeing it are our own errors and misconceptions; it remains with\nourselves to clear them away.\n\nWe ourselves, by the power of so much of the perception of truth as we\nhave already received and which has become our own, have it within our\nreach to overcome the darkness and open our minds to the influence of\nthe light. But the light itself we cannot create or manufacture; it is\nnot the product of our calculations, influences and theories. The truth\nis self-existent, eternal; it may be perceived, but it cannot be made.\n\nThe reason why so few can realise the meaning of the term\n\u201cself-knowledge,\u201d is that the knowledge obtained in our schools is\nexclusively of an artificial kind. We read that which other men have\nbelieved and known and we imagine we know it. We fill our minds with\nthe thoughts of others and find little time to think for ourselves.\nWe seek to arrive at a conviction of the existence of this or that\nobject by means of arguments and inferences, while we refuse to open\nour eyes and to see ourselves the very thing about whose existence we\nargue. Thus from a theosophical point of view we should appear to a\nhigher being like a nation of people with closed eyes arguing about\nthe existence of the sun and unable or unwilling to look at it for\nourselves.\n\nThere is only one way to arrive at real self-knowledge, and this is\n_Experience_. By external experience we attain knowledge of external\ncircumstances; by experiencing internal powers we attain internal\nknowledge of them. _To know_ in reality means _to be_. By becoming\nmaterial we learn the laws ruling in matter; by becoming spiritual we\nlearn the laws of the spirit; our will is free to guide us in either\ndirection. We cannot know truth in any other way than by becoming\ntrue, nor wisdom except by becoming wise. We can know any external\nor internal power, be it heat or light, love or justice, only by the\neffects which we experience from its action upon or within our own self.\n\nMan\u2019s life in his present condition resembles a dream, and the dreams\nof humanity as a whole, no less than those of the individual, repeat\nthemselves over and over again. They come and go and come again,\nappearing perhaps in changed forms, like clouds floating upon the sky\nand assuming different shapes, but representing the old, ever-returning\nillusions. While above them, unseen and unknown, shines the sunlight\nof eternal, unchanging truth, whose presence may be felt like the warm\nrays of the sun penetrating the clouds, but which to be known requires\nto be seen. The temple of nature is open to everyone who is able to\nenter; its light is free to everyone who is able to see; everything\nis a manifestation of truth, but it requires the presence of truth\nin ourselves to enable us to perceive it. That which hinders us from\nentering the temple of nature, from seeing the light and perceiving the\ntruth, are the shadows which we ourselves have created. The real object\nof the lights kindled by science is not to reveal the truth\u2014which\nrequires no artificial light to be seen, and whose own light is quite\nsufficient for that purpose\u2014but to destroy the fogs which hinder us\nfrom seeing the truth. No one would think of examining the sun by\nthe light of a candle; but the candle-light may guide us through the\ndark passages of the labyrinth of matter to the door which opens upon\nthe surface, where after the daylight is seen, artificial help is no\nlonger required. But as in seeking our way through a tunnel the best\nguide is the light that shines from afar through the entrance, so a\nperception of truth in the heart is the only reliable guiding star in\nthe labyrinth of ever-changing illusions.\n\nAll the scientific lights in which this light of eternal truth\nis not reflected, however radiant they may be, are only so many\nwill-o\u2019-the-wisps misleading the wanderer. All scientific theories\nand hypotheses based upon a non-recognition of the inner constitution\nof man and denying his super-terrestrial origin are founded on a\nmisconception of truth. Such opinions are continually subject to\nchange, and no new theory of that kind exists at present which has\nnot existed in some similar shape before. But the truth itself is\nindependent of these opinions, it has always existed and there have\nalways been some who were capable of recognising it, and others\nwho, unwilling or unable to see it, based their knowledge upon\nmisconceptions and superstitious beliefs founded upon other men\u2019s\nassertions.\n\nModern medical science, with all its modern aids and paraphernalia,\nhas only succeeded in working itself up to a more detailed knowledge\nof some less important phenomena in the kingdom of matter; while a\ngreat number of far more important things that were known to the\nancients have been forgotten. As to the power of the soul over the\nbody, tremendous as it is, almost nothing is known; because the souls\nof those who live entirely in the kingdom of speculations evolved by\ntheir brain, are asleep and unconscious. An unconscious soul can no\nmore exert any power than an unconscious body; its motions can at best\nbe instinctive, because deprived of the light of intelligence. It is\nfar more important to the progress of real science that the soul of man\nshould awaken to a recognition of its own higher nature, than that the\ntreasures of a science dealing with the illusions of life should be\nenriched by any new theories in which there is no recognition of the\none foundation of truth. All that any sound theory or any reliable book\ncan possibly do, is to displace a false theory which prevents man from\nseeing correctly; but the truth itself can be exhibited or revealed\nby no man and no theory, it can be seen only by the eye of the true\nunderstanding, when it reveals itself in its own light.\n\nIt has been said that it is not within the reach of science to enter\nthe realm of noumena which underlie all phenomena and are their cause\nof manifestation; but without a recognition of the _noumenon_ from\nwhich all phenomena spring, a true science (from _scio_, to know)\nwill be as impossible as a system of mathematics with an ignoring\nof the existence of the number _one_ from which all other numbers\ntake their origin and without which no number exists. The soul in\nus is fundamentally identical with the One from which all phenomena\noriginate. The soul which _is_ can know that which is, while that in\nus which merely _appears_ to be belongs to and deals with the realm of\nappearances.\n\nThe acquisition of this higher science therefore requires less an\nexertion of the speculative faculties of the brain than an awakening of\nthe soul; is advanced less by an evolution of thoughts of various kinds\nthan by the development of the inner man who is doing the thinking and\ncausing the evolution of thoughts, for if that which is able to know in\nman does not know its own self, all the thoughts and ideas inhabiting\nthe sphere of man\u2019s mind will have no legitimate owner, but exist there\nmerely as the reflections of the thoughts of other men, gathered around\nan illusion called the personal self.\n\nThe more the mind analyses a thing and enters into its minor details\nthe easier does it lose sight of the whole; the more man\u2019s attention\nis divided into many parts, the more will he step out of his own\nunity and become complicated himself. Only a great and strong spirit\ncan remain dwelling within its own self-consciousness, and, like the\nsun, which shines into many things without becoming absorbed by them,\nlooks into the minor details of phenomena without losing sight of the\ntruth which includes the whole. The most simple truths are usually\nthe ones which are the most difficult to be grasped by the learned,\nbecause the perception of a simple truth requires a simple mind. In\nthe kaleidoscope of ever-varying phenomena the underlying truth cannot\nbe seen upon the surface. As the intellect becomes more and more\nimmersed in matter, the eye of the spirit becomes closed; truths which\nin times of old were self-evident have now been forgotten, and even\nthe meaning of the terms signifying spiritual powers has become lost\nin proportion as mankind has ceased to exercise these powers. Owing to\nthe conceit of our age of selfishness, which seeks to drag spiritual\ntruths down to the scientific conception of a narrow-sighted animal\nrationalism, instead of rising up to their level, the character of\nmodern popular science is shown in the amount of cleverness with which\nillusory self-interests are protected; \u201cfaith,\u201d the all-saving power\nof spiritual knowledge, is believed to be superstition; \u201cbenevolence\u201d\nfolly, \u201clove\u201d means selfish desires, \u201chope\u201d is now greed, \u201clife\u201d the\ncreation of a mechanical process, \u201csoul\u201d a term without meaning,\n\u201cspirit\u201d a nonentity, \u201cmatter\u201d a thing of which nothing is known, etc.\n\nAll this has been written to no purpose, if we have not succeeded in\nmaking it clear that real progress in the knowledge of human nature is\nonly possible by means of a higher development of the inner nature of\nthe physician himself. No one can attain any real knowledge of man\u2019s\nhigher state unless he attains to it himself by purity of motive and\nnobility of character. Only by recognising his body as a vehicle for\nthe development and manifestation of a superior intelligence will he be\nable to realise the meaning of the words of Carlyle, who tells us that\nman in his innermost nature is a divine being, and that whoever puts\nhis hand upon a human form touches heaven.\n\nWisdom must be the Master, science the servant. Science is the handmaid\nof wisdom; wisdom the queen. Science is a product of man\u2019s imagination;\nwisdom the spiritual recognition of truth. Material science is a\nproduct of the essentially selfish desire to know; wisdom recognises no\nseparation of interests, it is the self-recognition of universal and\neternal truth in man. Science, guided by wisdom, can enter into the\ndeepest mysteries of universal being by entering into the Unity of the\nAll; but if science attempts to employ wisdom for the gratification\nof curiosity or other selfish ends, it is in opposition to wisdom and\nbecomes folly. Therefore a favourite motto of the ancient Rosicrucians\n(of which Theophrastus Paracelsus was one), but which is understood by\nonly a few, said: \u201c_I know nothing, I desire nothing, I love nothing,\nI enjoy nothing in heaven or upon the earth but Jesus Christ and him\ncrucified._\u201d This did not mean that they resolved to remain ignorant,\nor to lose themselves in pious reveries and dreams of past events, for\nParacelsus also said: \u201cGod does not desire us to be ignorant blockheads\nand stupid fools\u201d\u2014but it meant that they had given up the whole of the\nillusion of self with all its necessarily illusive knowledge, desires,\nattractions and joys, and entered into the consciousness of that divine\nintelligence which during this earth-life is as it were crucified in\nman, and by entering into the higher spiritual state they had become\none with Him, who is Himself the Truth in themselves and the source of\nall knowledge in heaven and upon the earth.\n\nForever the truth shines in the eternal kingdom of Light but the world\nof mind wherein our terrestrial nature moves, has its astrological\nlaws, comparable to those that rule in the visible world and are\nknown to astronomy. As the earth recedes from the sun in winter time\nand approaches it in the summer, so the spiritual evolution of man\nhas its periods of spiritual enlightenment and of mental darkness,\nand there are little periods within the large periods, as here are\ndays and nights in the year. Man, whether considered as representing\nhumanity as a whole, a nation a people, a family, or an individual,\nresembles a planet revolving around its own axis between the two poles\nof birth and decay. That which is uppermost turns down and that which\nis below rises again to the surface. Truths disappear and are forgotten\nonly to reappear again embodied in new and perhaps improved forms.\nCivilizations, systems of philosophy, religion and science come and go\nand come again, the absurdities of fashion that have been the pride\nof our parents and were laughed at by us become again the objects of\nadmiration for our children, and the forgotten wisdom of the past will\nbe again the wisdom of future generations. Thus the wheel would ever\nrevolve in a circle, there would be no progress and no object of life,\nif the presence of the eternal sun of Divine Wisdom acting upon the\ncentre of the wheel did not attract it towards itself and thus in the\ncourse of ages gradually transform the circular motion into a spiral\ngyration. At every turn of the great wheel its axis moves imperceptibly\na little nearer to the source of all Life, although every period of\nevolution begins again at the foot of the ladder. The ladder upon which\nwe are climbing stands perhaps upon a little higher ground than the one\nupon which our ancestors climbed, or which we climbed ourselves during\nprevious incarnations; but there are many steps upon it which our\nforefathers have ascended and which we shall have to reach. The science\nof medicine forms no exception to this general rule, and we may safely\nassert that _the system of medicine of Theophrastus Paracelsus, in its\nrecognition of fundamental laws of nature is of such a high character\nthat it will be for the medical science of the coming centuries to grow\nup to its understanding_, nor will this advance in science be possible\nwithout a corresponding development, and this development will be\ninaugurated by a correct conception of the constitution of man.\n\nWhile modern medical science has become degraded almost into a mere\ntrade, flourishing under the protection of its self-interests which\nit receives from Governments, the medicine of the ancients was a holy\nart, requiring no artificial protection, because, standing upon its\nown merit, it rested upon its own success. The adept-physicians of\nthe past performed cures which whenever exceptionally performed at\npresent are called miraculous, and their possibility is denied by the\nmajority of the learned; because they are not in possession of the\nspiritual powers required for their accomplishment, and consequently\ncannot conceive of the existence of such powers. Where is the\nphysician of the present day who knows the extent of the power of the\nspiritually-awakened will acting at a distance of thousands of miles,\nor the power which human thought can exercise over the imagination of\nnature? Where is the professor of science who can consciously transfer\nhis soul to a distant place by the power of thought and act there as\nif he were bodily present? The proof that these things have been done\nand are done even now is established as much as any other fact resting\nupon observation and logic; nevertheless it is popularly considered\n\u201cscientific\u201d to deny such facts and to treat the theory which explains\nthem with contempt. The finer forces of nature are so thoroughly\nunknown to gross material minds that to mention their existence raises\na roar of merriment among those who, being ignorant of the extent of\nthe powers hidden in the constitution of man, require a sledge-hammer\nto kill a fly and a cannon to shoot at a sparrow.\n\nWhile the eyes of material science are directed downwards, seeking\nwithin the bowels of matter and finding only perishing treasures,\nthe sentimental idealist revels in dreams without substance. Being\nhabituated to objective contemplation, the idealist obtains nothing\nreal; for keeping distant from the object of his research for the\npurpose of seeing it objectively, he prevents himself from becoming\nidentified with that object, and he cannot have any self-knowledge of\nthat which he is not himself. Neither can the materialist who denies\nthe existence of Spirit in the universe have any real knowledge, for\nhe ignores that which alone is real and deals only with the relations\nexisting between phenomena which the unknown spirit produces.\nReal knowledge such as is the product not of mere knowing, but of\n_becoming_, ought to be the basis of all true science. This it is which\nconstitutes that _Theosophia or Self-recognition of Truth_, which will\nbe the guiding star of the physician in the future as it has been in\nthe past.\n\n\n     Women\u2019s Printing Society, Limited, 66, Whitcomb Street, W.C.\n\n\n\n\n                In the Pronaos of the Temple of Wisdom\n\n Containing the History of the True and the False Rosicrucians, with\n an Introduction into the Mysteries of the Hermetic Philosophy; and an\n Appendix on the Yoga Philosophy of the Rosicrucians and Alchemists.\n\n\n                        BY FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D.\n\n                           _Cloth, 8vo, 7/6_\n\n\u201cProbably the best and most reliable of recent books on the\nRosicrucians. The Author, whose great work \u2018The Secret Symbols of\nthe Rosicrucians\u2019 is so well known to Hermetic Students, here gives\na brief history of the Rosicrucians and treats at some length of the\nchief tenets of the Order; of the present work he says, \u2018the doctrines\npresented herein contain the most profound secrets, especially in\nregard to the \u201cresurrection of the flesh\u201d.\u2019 They go to show that the\nphysical body is neither a useless nor a despicable thing, and that\nMatter is as necessary to Spirit, as Spirit to Matter. Without the\npresence of a living body no resurrection could take place; neither\ncould the spirit have any relative existence without the existence of\nmaterial form.... Only from the soul resurrected within the body of\nflesh arises the glorified spirit.\u201d\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n          _2 Vols. Royal 8vo, about pp. 1,500. Price \u00a32 2s._\n\n                             Isis Unveiled\n\nA Master Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology\n\n                          BY H. P. BLAVATSKY\n\n\u201cA marvellous book both in matter and manner of treatment. Some idea\nmay be formed of the rarity and extent of its contents when the index\nalone comprises fifty pages, and we venture nothing in saying that\nsuch an index of subjects was never before compiled by any human\nbeing.\u201d\u2014_Daily Graphic._\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n  _New Edition. Price \u00a32 5s. net. Cloth, Roy. 8vo, 2 Vols. and Index\n         Subscription price to March 31st, 1894, \u00a31 15s. net._\n\n                          The Secret Doctrine\n\n         The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, by\n\n                            H. P. BLAVATSKY\n\n\u201cAt once remarkable and interesting\u2014remarkable for its wide range of\ncurious and ancient lore, interesting for the light it throws on the\nreligions of the world.\u201d\u2014_Pall Mall Gazette._\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                            _Price 3s. 6d._\n\n                          Gems from the East\n\n                     A THEOSOPHICAL BIRTHDAY BOOK\n\n                          COMPILED BY H.P.B.\n\nBeautifully embellished with Sketches and Symbols of the Orient.\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                 _New and Revised Edition. Price 6s._\n\n                         The Key to Theosophy\n\nA Synopsis of the Ethics, Science and Philosophy, for the Study of\nwhich the Theosophical Society has been founded.\n\n                          BY H. P. BLAVATSKY\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                     _New Edition. Price 2s. 6d._\n\n                       The Voice of the Silence\n\n                          BEING EXTRACTS FROM\n\n                    THE BOOK OF THE GOLDEN PRECEPTS\n\n                    TRANSLATED BY H. P. BLAVATSKY.\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                           _Price 12s. 6d._\n\n                        A Theosophical Glossary\n\n                          BY H. P. BLAVATSKY\n\nIndispensable to every student of Theosophy and Occultism. Contains\nmuch valuable information not obtainable elsewhere.\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                         EVERYONE SHOULD READ\n\n       Reminiscences of H. P. Blavatsky & \u201cThe Secret Doctrine\u201d\n\n                                BY THE\n\n                    COUNTESS CONSTANCE WACHTMEISTER\n\n             WITH SOME ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS BY OTHER HANDS\n\n               _Price, Cloth 2s. 6d. Wrappers, 1s. 6d._\n\n                     \u201cFull of startling incidents\u201d\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                            _Price 7s. 6d._\n\n                 From the Caves & Jungles of Hindustan\n\n                          BY H. P. BLAVATSKY\n\n                Full of strange secrets of Indian Life.\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                         Theosophical Manuals.\n\n                           BY ANNIE BESANT.\n\n                     _Price, post free, 1/2 each_\n\n                 =No. I.\u2014THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF MAN.=\n                       =No. II.\u2014REINCARNATION.=\n                      =No. III.\u2014DEATH\u2014AND AFTER?=\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                         The Sepher Yetzirah:\n\n        The Book of Formation & the Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom.\n\n  _Translated from the Ancient Hebrew by_ DR. W. WYNN WESTCOTT, M.B.\n\n                      =Cloth, 8vo, 2s. 6d. net.=\n\nThis very ancient Rabbinical Treatise is a curious and instructive\nremnant of the learning of the pre-Christian era, and has always\npossessed a great fascination for occult students. By the great\nRabbinical School of Theosophy and Occult Learning, this little\ntreatise has ever been regarded as containing the fundamental\nprinciples of the archaic wisdom. Rabbi Jehoshua Ben Chananea, who\ndied about A.D. 72, openly declared that he performed \u201cmiracles\u201d\nby means of the \u201cSepher Yetzirah,\u201d and challenged every sceptic.\nThis book is regarded as affording the key wherewith to unlock the\nmysterious treatises on kindred subjects contained in the \u201cZohar,\u201d and\nis especially the volume of the Yetziratic World, the third of the\nKabbalistic Worlds of Emanation.\n\n                \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n                 _Cloth, 4to, price 6s. 6d. Paper 5s._\n\n                            =SIMON MAGUS.=\n\n                      AN ESSAY. BY G. R. S. MEAD.\n\nAn important work for all students of Theosophy, Gnosticism, and\ncomparative Esotericism. It contains an exact translation of the\noriginal sources of information, and is the only monograph on the\nsubject. Handsomely printed and bound.\n\n\n                 THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY,\n                 7, DUKE STREET, ADELPHI, LONDON, W.C.\n\n\n\n\n                              FOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: _Jacob Boehme_ says: \u201cIf an essence (a form of\nwill-substance) enters into another whose nature is of a different\ncharacter, an antagonism is created and a strife for supremacy ensues.\nOne quality disrupts the other, which ultimately causes the death of\nthe form; for whatever is not in harmony cannot live eternally; but\nwhatever is in perfect harmony has no elements of destruction within\nitself; for in such an organism all the elements love each other, and\nlove is the creator and preserver of life.\u201d\u2014\u201cMysterium magnum,\u201d xxi. 5.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Let it be clearly understood that by using the term\n\u201creligious\u201d we do not refer to any of the existing systems of religious\ndoctrines or forms of worship; but to the spiritual recognition of\ndivine truth.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The order here adopted is to facilitate the comparison\nwith the above given classification; the planets not being stationary,\nbut shifting their positions and significations according to the\naspects we take.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Even of his cotemporaneous disciples there were few\ncapable of grasping his ideas and of leading the life necessary for\nthat purpose. He says: \u201cTwenty-one of my servants have become victims\nof the executioner (the spirit of this world); Gode may help them! Only\na few have thus far remained with me.\u201d (\u201cDefensio,\u201d VI.)]\n\n[Footnote 5: See \u201cThe Life of Theophrastus Paracelsus,\u201d London, 1887.]\n\n[Footnote 6: This is not correct; Paracelsus says: \u201cThe anatomy of man\nis twofold. One aspect consists in dissecting the body, so as to find\nout the position of its bones, muscles, veins, &c.; but this is the\nleast important; the other is more important, and means to introduce\na new life into the human organism; to see the transmutations taking\nplace therein, to know what the blood is and what kind of {symbol},\n{symbol} and {symbol} (Sulphur, Salt and Mercury) it contains.\u201d\n(\u201cParamirum,\u201d Lib. I. Cap. 6.)]\n\n[Footnote 7: Prof. Rud. Virchow\u2019s lecture on Pathology, delivered in\nLondon, March 6th, 1893.]\n\n[Footnote 8: The word \u201ccontemplation\u201d\u2014from _con_=with, and\n_templum_=temple\u2014means evidently not mere objective observation,\nbut an indwelling in the same temple with the truth which is to be\nknown, an identification of subject and object in the light of divine\nwisdom, the temple of truth. The attainment of knowledge by such a\ncontemplation is only possible for those whose spiritual perception\nis open. A blind person may dwell forever in the temple of truth\nwithout being able to know it. To those who by an unfoldment of their\nspirituality have attained this power of contemplation, its sufficiency\nfor the attainment of spiritual knowledge is self-evident and requires\nno arguments. Those who do not possess this power will find it\ndifficult to understand the meaning of this term, and suppose it to be\nimagination.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Herder.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Only very recently in the courts of Vienna during a\nsensational trial in regard to the state of _non compos mentis_,\nconcerning a nobleman, who left a considerable fortune to his servants,\nthe total ignorance of the experts on \u201cpsychology\u201d regarding all\nmatters concerning the soul, and their total incapacity to judge of\nthe character and motives of a person, became so plain and was exposed\nin such a ludicrous manner, that it became the public opinion, which\nwas also expressed by the judge, that the custom of calling in medical\nmen as experts in such things ought to be abandoned, and that actors,\nnovel-writers, or such as possess more capacity to know the motives of\nhuman nature should be selected for that purpose.]\n\n[Footnote 11: We may read at any time that the views of the ancients in\nregard to this or that were \u201cvery vague\u201d; while in fact the vagueness\nis with the critic who does not understand what the views of the\nancients were. Words are made for the purpose of expressing ideas, and\nif the ideas are not perceived the words are only misleading. If we\ninterpret the meaning of a term according to our own fancy, we shall\nfind therein only the misconception put into it by ourselves, but not\nthe original meaning.]\n\n[Footnote 12: We call this the _sensual plane_, merely because it\nincludes that which is perceived by the senses of our _physical_ body.\nIf the senses of the _astral_ form are developed, the astral plane\nwill also be our _sensual_ plane. There can be no knowledge without\nperception, and no perception without a sense for that purpose. A\nsystem of philosophy based merely upon speculation, and without any\nperception of truth, is no philosophy at all; but consists merely of\nvagaries, illusions and dreams.]\n\n[Footnote 13: See Rama Prasad\u2019s \u201cNature\u2019s Finer Forces.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 14: See \u201cMagic, white and black,\u201d 4th edition, London, 1893\n(Kegan, Paul and Co.).]\n\n[Footnote 15: The more the minds of men become complicated by attending\nto a multiplicity of details, the more will they lose sight of simple\nfacts. Thus the action of the sunlight and its various colours, of\nwhich each has its special therapeutic qualities, is far too simple a\nthing to find popular favour.]\n\n[Footnote 16: \u201cThe Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians,\u201d II., pp. 16.\n(Occult Publishing Co., Boston, Mass., 1888).]\n\n[Footnote 17: \u201cParacelsus,\u201d p. 168. (London, 1887: Tr\u00fcbner & Co.)]\n\n[Footnote 18: The regenerated spiritual man is not a dream or an\nunrealisable ideal, but far more substantial than the terrestrial man.\n_William Law_ says: \u201cWhere Christ is born or His Spirit rises up in\nthe soul, there all self is denied and obliged to turn out, there all\ncarnal wisdom, arts of advancement, with every pride and glory of this\nlife, are so many heathen idols, all willingly renounced, and the man\nis not only content, but rejoices to say that his kingdom is not of\nthis world.\u201d (\u201cWilliam Law,\u201d London, 1893.) See also \u201cJacob Boehme,\u201d\npage 263. London, 1891.]\n\n[Footnote 19: \u201cTheosophical Siftings.\u201d Alchemy. (London: Theo. Pub.\nSoc., 1891.)]\n\n[Footnote 20: We purposely say \u201ccarbogen\u201d and not \u201ccarbon,\u201d because we\nrefer to that invisible element, whose product upon the visible plane\nis carbon or coal.]\n\n[Footnote 21: As we are not writing for children, it is unnecessary\nto refute the puerile objection and say that the sixty-four so-called\nsingle bodies of chemistry are not elements of nature, although they\nmay be regarded as the elements of the science of chemistry.]\n\n[Footnote 22: In everything are there five elements or qualities\ncontained, because everything consists of vibrations of the one\nelement, called by the Alchemists _prima materia_, in which these\nqualities are latent (potentially contained). Everything is a\nmanifestation of substance. That which is essential in it, is the\nsubstance and not the form. Thus for instance that which is essential\nin a diamond is the carbon; but carbon is not composed of diamonds.\nCarbon is a substance universally distributed in nature in solid,\nwatery, gaseous, fiery form, and all these forms of carbon are certain\nstates of the one element \u201cCarbogen\u201d which is at the root of their\nexistence.]\n\n[Footnote 23: _Vach._\u2014If we remember that according to the Bible all\nthings were made of the _Word_, and that \u201cthe Word was God\u201d (John i.,\n1), we may obtain the key to the understanding of what generated the\n_Ak\u00e2sa_.]\n\n[Footnote 24: Occult Publ. Co., Boston, Mass.; and Theosoph. Publ.\nSoc., London.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Occult Publ. Co., Boston, Mass.; and Theosoph. Publ.\nSoc., London.]\n\n[Footnote 26: _Jacob Boehme._]\n\n[Footnote 27: \u201cSecret Doctrine,\u201d Vol. I., p. 106.]\n\n[Footnote 28: \u201cSuperstition\u201d\u2014from _super_ = over and _sto_ = to\nstand\u2014is a belief in the knowledge of the attributes of a thing, while\nthese attributes are beyond our conception. A superstition is therefore\na misconception of an existing thing, or a creation of fancy: an\nerroneous conclusion arrived at by the observation of a phenomenon,\nwithout an understanding of the law which produced the phenomenon.]\n\n[Footnote 29: _Richard Quain_, \u201cDictionary of Medicine,\u201d 1883.]\n\n[Footnote 30: \u201cParacelsus.\u201d (London: Tr\u00fcbner and Co., 1887.)]\n\n[Footnote 31: The word \u201csubstance\u201d comes from _sub_, under, and _sto_,\nto stand, and means the principle underlying phenomenal existence, the\nbasis of the manifestation of power. It is only too customary to give\nto such terms a wrong interpretation, and then to fight the man of\nstraw created by oneself.]\n\n[Footnote 32: \u201c_Ens_\u201d means a beginning.]\n\n[Footnote 33: It is hardly necessary to furnish examples, such as, for\ninstance, presented by Strychnine, composed of C\u2082\u2081 H\u2082\u2082 N\u2082\u2082 O\u2082\u2082, a very\npoisonous substance; while the same elements combined in a different\nproportion are contained as gluten in our food. If we accept the theory\nof vibration, which appears as a necessary result of the universe\nbeing substance in motion, the cause of such secrets will easily be\nfound in the discords existing between the vibrations constituting\nthese substances. This theory of harmony will also explain why certain\nchemicals combine with others in certain proportions.]\n\n[Footnote 34: In the recognition of the law is contained the key to\nthe understanding of chiromancy, phrenology, physiognomy, psychometry,\netc., and their value in practising medicine; for although the physical\nform, owing to external physical conditions, may not be an exact image\nof the internal nature of man, nevertheless the character of the mind\nis to a certain extent impressed visibly upon each part of the body,\nand being a whole and a unity, the whole of that character may be read\nin every part of the body, if we know how to read it; in the same sense\nas a botanist can tell the character of a tree by examining one of its\nleaves, for he knows at once to what class of trees it belongs.]\n\n[Footnote 35: \u201cThe character of a man and his talents, aptitude,\ndexterity, etc., are not given to him by (terrestrial) nature. His\nspirit is not a product of nature, but comes from the incorporeal\nrealm. You should not say that he receives these things from nature;\nthe sages never said so.\u201d (\u201cParamirum,\u201d L. I., Tr. iii., C. 2.)]\n\n[Footnote 36: \u201cThen shall the dust return to earth as it was, and the\nspirit shall return to God who gave it.\u201d (\u201cEcclesiastes,\u201d xii., 7.)]\n\n[Footnote 37: See: \u201cMagic, white and black,\u201d \u201cParacelsus,\u201d \u201cBoehme,\u201d\netc.]\n\n[Footnote 38: \u201cKey to Theosophy,\u201d p. 121 (London, 1889).]\n\n[Footnote 39: \u201cThere is an invisible organism in man, not placed within\nthe _three substances_; a body which (unlike the material one) does not\ncome from the _Limbus_ (matter) but has its origin in the living breath\nof God. It is not a body coming into existence after death, to rise up\non the judgment day; for the physical body being a nonentity (unreal)\ncannot become resurrected after death, neither shall we be called upon\nto give account about our physical health and disease; but we shall be\njudged according to the things that have issued from our will. This\nspiritual body in man is the flesh that comes from the breath of God.\nThere are two bodies, but only one flesh.\u201d (\u201cParamir.\u201d _Lib._ II., 8.)]\n\n[Footnote 40: Any person wishing for information on such points may\nfind it in the literature of spiritism, medi\u00e6val witchcraft, in the\n\u201cLives of the Saints,\u201d etc., etc. Volumes might be filled with such\naccounts, but phenomena are proofs only to him to whom they occur. A\nperson having no experience of a thing is always at liberty to deny its\nexistence, and it is far easier to call it a \u201csuperstition\u201d than to\narrive at its understanding by studying secret laws.]\n\n[Footnote 41: See: _Thomson Jay Hudson_. \u201cThe Law of Psychic\nPhenomena.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 42: \u201cArcanum\u201d means mystery. The key to a mystery is its\nunderstanding. The Arcana of Paracelsus were not, as has been asserte\nby certain \u201cauthorities,\u201d patent medicines whose composition he kept\nsecret; but they were his knowledge of the means for effecting a cure.\nHe says:\u2014\u201cIf there is a stone in the bladder, the _arcanum_ is the\nknife (for performing lithotomy), in (acute) Mania phlebotomy is the\narcanum. An arcanum is the entering into a new state, the giving birth\nto a new thing.\u201d (_Lib._ \u201cParamir.,\u201d I. 5, II. 2.) Every plane of\nexistence has its own mysteries and arcane remedies.]\n\n[Footnote 43: H. P. Blavatsky\u2019s \u201cKey to Theosophy,\u201d p. 201.]\n\n[Footnote 44: The cause of a certain disease may exist not only in one\nof these five classes, but in more. For instance, a h\u00e6morrhage of the\nwomb may be caused by mental excitement in connection with a state of\nweakness of resistance in the tissues of the organs; insanity may be\ncaused by mental, moral or physical circumstances; blindness may be the\nresult of physical causes or of mental excitement; a bodily defect the\nresult of antenatal _Karma_, or of physical causes. In the clockwork\nof nature all the wheels are connected by one common chain. Therefore\nnot only one of these causes but all of them ought to be known and\ntaken into consideration; but each of the corresponding five methods\nof treatment contains in itself all the elements for effecting a cure.\nIt is therefore not necessary that a physician should practise all the\nfive methods of treatment; but he should have a thorough knowledge of\nthe method which he has chosen, and be well versed in it and stick to\nhis method; but he should not believe his own method to be the only\ntrue one, and reject others of which he knows nothing.]\n\n[Footnote 45: The soothing power of blue, the exciting effects of\nred, the invigorating effects of yellow, etc., deserve a great deal\nmore attention than they receive at present. The reason why the \u201cblue\nlight cure\u201d has caused only a passing excitement, is because it was\nindiscriminately used and its laws not understood.]\n\n[Footnote 46: \u201cParacelsus,\u201d p. 141.]\n\n[Footnote 47: Professor O. Korschelt in Leipzig invented an instrument\nfor that purpose.]\n\n[Footnote 48: See \u201cParacelsus,\u201d p. 138.]\n\n[Footnote 49: All forces may become manifest in a threefold form. There\nare universal, animal and spiritual \u201cmagnets\u201d; a physical electricity,\nan electricity of life, a spiritual electricity, etc., etc.]\n\n[Footnote 50: _Dr Babbitt\u2019s_ \u201cPrinciples of Light and Colour.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 51: F. Hartmann, \u201cEine neue Heilmethode.\u201d W. Friedrich,\nLeipzig, 1893.]\n\n[Footnote 52: \u201cMagic, white and black.\u201d (London, 1893.)]\n\n[Footnote 53: I. Timothy, III., 7.]\n\n[Footnote 54: Romans, IX., _ib._]","title":"Occult science in medicine","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":34347}