Occult Science in Medicine by Franz Hartman

Franz Hartmann
Harvard College
Library
FROM THE BEQUEST OF
SUSAN GREENE DEXTER
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~ O C C U L T
SCIENCE
IN
MEDICINE/,
BY
FRANZ ,!IARTMANNj M.D.
(All riglzts restrvtd.)
THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY
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DEDICATED.
TO EVERY STUDENT OF MEDICINE
"That which is looked upon by one generati.on as the apex of
human knowledge is often considered an absurdity by the
next, and that which is regarded as a superstition in one
century, may form the basis of science for the following
one." (TIItopllrasttls Paracelsus.)
PREFACE.
" Nothing designates the character of people so well as that which
they find ridiculous."-Goet/lt.
IT is a fact not entirely unknown to those who have
studied nature, that there is a certain law of periodicity,
according to which forms disappear and the truths which
they contained reappear again, embodied in new forms.
Seasons go and come, civilizations pass away and grow
again, exhibiting the same characteristics possessed by the
former, sciences are lost and rediscovered, and the sctence
of medicine forms no exception to this general rule. Many
valuable treasures of the past have been buried in forget-
fulness ; many ideas that shone like luminous stars in the
sky of ancient medicine have disappeared during the
revolution of thought, and begin to rise again on the
mental horizon, where they are christened with new names
and stared at in surprise as something supposed never to
have existed before.
Ages of spirituality have preceded the past age of
materiality, and other eras of higher spiritual thought are
certain to follow. During these preceding ages many
eminently valuable truths were known, which have been
lost sight of in modern times, and although the popular
science of the present, which deals with the external
appearances of physical nature, is undoubtedly greater
than that of former times, a study of the ancient books on
medicine shows that the sages of former times knew more
of the fundamental laws of nature than what is admitted
to-day.
There is a great science and a little science ; one that
flies around the spires of the temple of wisdom, another
that penetrates into the sanctuary ; both are right in their
places; but the one is superficial and popular, the other
profound and mysterious ; the one makes a great deal of
clamour and show, the other is silent and not publicly
known.
There are progressive and there are conservative scien-
tists. There are those whose genius carries them forward
and who dare to explore new realms of knowledge ; while
,-'
PREFACE.
the conservative class m ~ r e l y collects what has ueen pro-
duced by others. An explorer must be a scientist; hut
not every scientist is an explorer. The majority of our
modern schools of medicine produce nothing new, hut
merely deal in goods in whose production they had no
share. They resemble the shop of a huckster who knows
nothing else but the goods which are in his shop. The
shelves are filled with popular theories, fashionable beliefs,
patented systems, and occasionally we find an old article
that went out of fashion, labelled with a new r.ame and
advertised as something new, and the proprietor volubly
praises his goods, being as proud of them as if he had
made them himself, while he ignores or denounces every-
thing that is not to be found in his shop. But the real
lover of truth is not contented to live upon the fruits that
have grown in the gardens of others; he gathers the
materials he finds, not merely for the purpose of enjoying
their possession, but for the purpose of using them as
steps to ascend nearer to the fountain of eternal truth.
The present work is an attempt to call the attention of
those who follow the profession of medicine to this higher
aspect of science and to certain forgotten treasures of the
past, of which an abundance may be found in the works
of Theophrastus Paracelsus. Many of the ideas ad-
vanced therein, old as they are, will appear new and
strange; for everyone is familiar only with that which is
within his own mental horizon and which he is capable of
grasping. The subject treated is so grand, unlimited and
sublime, as to render it impossible in a limited work of
this kind to deal with it in an exhaustive manner ; but we
hope that what little has been collected in the following
pages will be sufficient to indicate the way to the acquisi-
tion of that higher mystic science, and to a better under-
standing of the true constitution of man.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
I'AGt.: .
Definition of the term .. disease." Law and order. Harmony
and discords. Obedience. Man a complex being. Health. 9
I.
THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.
Miracles in nature. Development. The seven principles
in the constitution of man. The anatomy of the inner man."
Medicine and religion. Theophrastus Paracelsus. Mysteries.
Mystic science and false mysticism. The powers of the soul. IJ
Il.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF MEDICINE.
Requisites for the practice of medicine.-Pltilosoflty. Natural
sciences. The phenomenal world. The inner temple. Truth.
The four kingdom!! and the four elements.-Astro11omy. Mind.
States of consciousness. Stars " and constellations. The
Tatwas. Sun and Moon. Thinking and the thinker.-Alclumy.
What alchemy is. Quacks and pretenders. The Tltrcc Sub-
stallcts. The creative power. Terrestrial Alchemy. Celestial
Alchemy. The Alchemy of the Astral plane.-Tlte Virtue of
the Pltysiciall . The true physician. Medical science and
medical wisdom. 25
Ill.
THE FIVE CAUSES OF DISEASE.
Salt, Sulphur and 1\fcrcury.-The E11s asllalc. The "ether'
Invisible mftuences. Microbes. The astral plane. Mental
diseases.-E11s veneni. Poisons and impurities. Disharmonies,
sympathies and antipathies in chemistry. A chemical
romance. Sexual impurity. Promiscuous intercourse.
Nutriment. Correspondencies between spiritual powers and
physical forces.- E11s 11atur11. The macrocosm and microcosm.
Two beings in one man. Terrestrial and the celestial nature.
Generation and incarnation. Heredity. Relationship between
internal organs.-E11s spirituale. Consciousness. Spirit and
soul. The thought-body. Re-incarnation. Will. Imagina-
tion. Arcana. Memory. The astrallight.-E11s Dei. God
Karma. Science and art. so
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
IV.
THE FIVE CLASSES OF PHYSICIANS.
Five classes.-Naturales. Therapeutics. Earth. \Vater.
Air. Fire. Ether; the oneelement.-Specijici. Empiricism.
The chemistry of life. Principles of hght and colour. The
astral man.-CIaracterales. Emotions. Hypnotism. Sugges-
tion. Spiritual powers.-Spirituales. Magic.-Fidtlts. The
power of faith. . . . 74
V.
THE MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE.
Ancient and modem quackery. Science and wisdom.
Spirituality and substantiality. Development. Self-control.
Realism and idealism. The realization of the ideal . The
physician of the future. Self-knowledge. The true life. The
awakening of the soul. Phenomena and noumena. The
higher science. Material and spiritual evolution. Intellectu-
ality and spirituality. Periodicity. Circular motion and
spiral progress. The self-recognition of truth. 86
INTRODUCTION.
There are two kinds of knowledge. There is a medical
science and there is a medical wisdom. To the animal man
belongs the animal comprehension ; but the understanding of
divine mysteries belongs to the spirit of God in him." (Theo-
phrastus Paracelsus, "De Fundame11to Sapientia.")
A GREAT deal has been written in modern books on path-
ology about the difficulty of defining the word "disease."
The dictionary calls it " lack or absence of ease, pain,
uneasiness, distress, trial, trouble, " &c., but against either
of these definitions objections may be raised. lames
Paget says: " Ease and disease, well and ill, and al their
synonyms are relative terms, of which none can be fixed
unconditionally. If there could be fixed a standard of
health, all deviations from it might be called diseases ;
but a chief characteristic of living bodies is not fixity, but
variation by self-adjustment to a wide range of varying
circumstances, and among such self-adjustments it is not
practicable to make a line separating those which may
reasonably be called healthy from those which may as
reasonably be called disease."
To this occult science answers that stech a standard of
llealtll txists for liS as soon as we recognise the tmity attd stepre-
macy of the law ; that the restdis of obedience to the law are
harmony and healtlz, attd tlu restelts of disobedience are called
discords or d1sease."
Shakespeare says :-
The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre
Observe degree, priority and place,
Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,
Office, and custom, in all line of order."
-(Troilus and Cressida, i. 3)
If we regard the order, which "is Heaven's first law,"
as the creation of the self-adjustment of accidentally
arising circumstances, leaving out of consideration the
fundamental Unity of the All and its one purpose, we
would then probably find various laws of order in the
universe, being essentially different from each other; and
it would be difficult to know which of these laws it would
be best to follow ; but if we recognise in the otder that
rules all things a manifestation of one eternal law of order
ISTROOUCTION.
and harmony, the function of Supreme Wisdom acting in
nature but not being the product of nature, it will remain
for us only to know that supreme Law and obey it. The
universe is only one, and is ruled by only one source of all
laws; but there are many unities within the constitution
of this great Unity; they constitute as many selves within
Self, whose separate interests are not identical with that
of the whole, and therefore the order obeyed by these
temporary selves is not the same as that of the eternal
whole. Thus the battle for existence, far from being the
cause of the order observable in the world, is in fact the
cause of the disorder existing therein.
If man, like his divine prototype, were a perfect unity,
a manifestation of will and thought identified and one,
there would be only one law to obey: the law of his
divine nature; he would be forever in harmony with
himself; there would be no disharmonious elements in
his nature, seeking to create an order of their own, and
thereby causing discords and disease; but man is a
compound being, there are many elements in his nature,
each representing to a certain extent an independent form
of will, arid the more one of these modifications of will
succeeds in departing from the order that constitutes the
whole, and to enact, be it intelligently or instinctively, a
will of its own, the greater will be the disharmony which
it causes within the whole organism and the greater will
be the disease.':' "A house divided against itself will
fall." Disease is tile disharmony wMch follows tile disobedience
to tile law ; the restoration consists in restoring tlee harmony by a
return to obedience to the law of order which governs the whole.
The key to the cure of diseases is therefore in the
understanding of the fundamental law which governs the
nature of man, and for this purpose it is necessary that a
rational system of medicine should know the constitution
of man; not only that of his physical body, which is
merely the lower part of the house wherein he dwells; but
the whole physical, astral and mental constitution of that
being called "Man," which is still the greatest mystery
to science, and of which little more than the anatomy, the
physiological functions and the chemical composition of the
Jacob Boel1111t says: " If an essence (a form of will-substance) enters
into another whose nature is of a different character, an antagonism is
created and a strife for supremacy ensues. One quality dbruptsthe
other, which ultimately causes the death of the form; for whatever is
not in harmony cannot live eternally ; but whatever is in perfect
harmony has no elements of destruction within itself; for in such an
organism all the elements love each other, and love is the creator and
preserver of life."-" Mysterium magnum," xxi. 5
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INTRODUCTIOS.
material organs and substances composing his corporeal
form is either known to or taught by our modern
academies.
Great progress has been made by modern science in
investigating all the minor details of the shell which man
occupies during his life upon this planet; but as regards
the inhabitant of that house, the inner man, who is neither
wholly material nor wholly spiritual, the ancient sages
knew more about his true nature than is ever dreamed of
in our medical schools, and it will be undoubtedly worth while
to examine their views. 1\Ioreover, if the outward body
of man is, as they teach, only the outward expression of
the qualities and functions of a more interior and invisible
human organism; then it appears that many bodily
diseases, such as are not caused by direct physical in-
juries, are the results of disorders existing within that
inner organism, and as every true physician should seek
to know the causes of diseases, and not merely destroy
tl1eir external effects, such a knowledge of the " causal
body " of man, whose visible image is his " phenomenal
form," may open a new field for pathology and therapeutics,
from which a rich harvest may be gathered for the benefit
of mankind.
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1.
THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.
FROM times immemorial the sages have taught that
we shall never know immortal truth, if we do not dis-
covP.r it within our own selves. Experience has long ago
corroborated this theory, for in spite of all progress in
scientific researches concerning the nature of Man, and
which were carried on by means of researches in the
external kingdom of nature, the real constitution of Man
and that which constitutes his essential being has not
yet been discovered. \Ve know that from the ovum the
fretus, from the fretus the child, from the child the body of
man becomes developed ; we know the order in which
these processes take place ; but we seem to know nothing
about the powers that produce them. Such an alchemical
trick of nature as to make a man grow out of a cell in
which no man is contained would seem absurd, incredible
and miraculous, and would be believed by nobody, if it
were not a well-known fact, and being of daily occurrence
it has ceased to appear surprising, so that it appears now
strange if anyone wonders how such a thing is possible.
Horne says: "By a silent, unseen, mysterious process,
the fairest flower of the garden springs from a small insig-
nificant seed.'' A similar mysterious process takes place
in the evolution of the human body. All these processes
are evidently the effects of the action of a cause adequate
to produce them ; to deny this would be identical with
affirming the self-evident absurdity, that something could
grow out of nothing, and the law of logic furthermore
makes it clear that although a physical .cause can produce
a physical effect, a living body can only be produced by a
14
living power, an intellectual organism by an intelligent
being. vVhether or not the animal body of man has
evoluted from the lower animal kingdom, or whether
certain animals are the products of a perversion and
degradation of the nature of man, does not concern us at
present. What we know is, that no life and intelligence
can become manifest in a form unless these powers are
contained therein. and we also know that life cannot be
created by death nor can intelligence be created by that
which has no intelligence.
But if popular science confessedly knows nothing about
the origin of the manifestation of life, nothing about what
is vaguely termed "soul," nothing about the nature and
origin of the mind (whose functions are required for the
purpose of enabling the brain to investigate such things)
nothing about the spirit and nothing about the higher con-
stitution of man, whose external expression and symbol is
his physical body; it will not be inappropriate to apply to
other sources for information and hear what the ancient
sages taught concerning the principles that go to make up
the constitution of man. The first requiste of a rational and
perfect system of a medicine is a thorough knowledge of the wlwlt
cottstit11tion of man ; of the whole, and not merely of a part of his
n a t t ~ r e .
The ancient Indian sages compared man to a lotus
flower, whose home is the water (the world), whose roots
draw their nutriment from the earth_(material nature), while
it raises its head to the light (the spiritual kingdom), from
which it receives the power to unfold the powers latent in
its constitution.
A great deal has already been said in Theosophical
literature about the sevenfold constitution of man: but for
the sake of completeness we will delineate it again.
I. Rupa. The physical body, the vehicle of all the
other " principles " during life.
2. Prana. Life or vital principle.
3 Linga Sharira. The astral body. The ethereal
image or counterpart of the physical body, the "phantom
body."
'5
4 Kama ""pa. The animal soul. The seat of animal
desires and passions. In this principle is centred the life
of the animal and mortal man.
5 Ma11as. Mind. Intelligence. The connecting link
between the mortal and immortal man.
6. Buddhi. The spiritual soul. The vehicle of pure
universal spirit.
7 Atma. Spirit. The radiation of the Absolute.
(For further explanation see: H. P. Bla\'atsky, " Key to
Theosophy."}
Goetlze says: "A word comes in very conveniently when
a conception is ahsent." In our material age the very
meaning of terms signifying spiritual powers and condi
tions has become lost and perverted; " God " is supposed
to mean an unnatural supernatural being outside of
Nature; "Faith" has become credulity and belief in
the opinions of others ; " Hope " has become personal
greed ; " Love" is supposed to be selfish desire, etc., etc.
It is therefore not surprising if the above terms are in-
comprehensible to many or misinterpreted by them, for
they all represent certain states of consciousness, and no
one can know a state of consciousness which he has never
experienced. Therein is contained the mystery.
The philosophers of the middle ages symbolised these
seven principles by the signs of seven " " from
which seven cosmic bodies visible in the sky received their
names ; and if this is understood, it will at once become
clear that those who deny the sevenfold division of the
planets, only expose their own ignorance and miscon-
ceptions. No one can really criticise that which he doe's
not understand ; but self-conceit imagines itself to be
superior to everything, and thinks itself wiser than all
the sages; forgetting that Shakespeare says: " fool
thinks he is wise, but wise ma" k110ws himself to be a fool."
(As Like It, V., i.)
The ancients_ based their science of medicine upon the re-
cognition of a universal, eternal, self-existent, self-conscious
cause, the source.of universal life, where popular modern
medicine recognises only the outcome of a blind force, The
16
secret medicine of the ancients was therefore a religious *
science, while modern popular medicine recognises no re-
ligious element and therefore no real truth. To separate
science from religious truth is to put it upon an irrational
basis; for " religion " means the relation which man bears
to his divine origin. To leave out of sight the source
from which he originated is to ignore his true nature and
to relegate medicine to the realm of the lowest plane of
his existence ; namely, that of his most gross and material
form. This is exactly the position which modern medi-
cine occupies at present, and there is nothing that can
elevate it higher than a recognition of the higher nature
in man, and a re-discovery of divine truth. Such a higher
knowledge was formerly considered necessary for the
purpose of constituting a real physician, and for this
reason the practice of medicine was in the hands of those
who were born physicians, sages and saints by the power
of the true grace of God, while among popular practi-
tioners there are, now as then, many dunces and rascals,
having neither spirituality nor morality; for what the
modern physician of the materialistic school requires for
his success is a certain amount of memorizing of the
contents of his books, so as to enable him to pass his
examination, and a talent to profit by the credulity of the
people.
When the ancients spoke of " seven planets," they
referred to seven spiritual but nevertheless substantial
states, of which popular science knows nothing but their
external ,manifestation in the realm of phenomena. It
has truly been said that no one ever saw even the earth;
that which we see is merely a manifestation or appearance
of a spiritual principle called "earth" 0 T he r e a 1
essence of "matter " is beyond the conception of the
terrestrial mind.
Let it be clearly understood that by using the term "religious" we
do not refer to any of the existing systems of religious doctrines or
. forms of worship; but to the spiritual recognition of divine t ~ u t h .
Seen from this point of view, the "seven planets " in the
constitution of man as well as in the constitution of nature
as a whole, represent the following elements, powers,
essences, or forms of existence:-
I. ~ SatuYn (PYakriti). Matter; the substance and
material element in all things in all the three kingdoms of
nature (the physical, astral and spiritual plane). It is
invisible and known only by means of its manifestation.
It is that which gives fixity and solidity, it is substantiality
itself.
11. ([ Luna, "the Moon" (Linga). The" ethereal
or astral " body of man; the kingdom of dreams, fancies,
illusions, in which exists only the reflection of the true life
and light of the sun ; it also represents intellectual specu-
lation without wisdom (recognition of truth), and the
forms belonging to that kingdom are as changeable as are
the opinions of men.
Ill. 8 Sol, "the Sun" (Prana). Life on the
physical and spiritual plane (]iva). The centre of the
planetary system.* It is that which produces the mani-
festations or activity of life upon every plane of existence.
cl Mat'S (Kama). The passional, emotional, animal
element in man and in nature; the seat of desire and self-
will; that which becomes manifest as greed, envy, anger,
lust and selfishness in all its forms ; but which is also a
source of strength. There are many diseases caused by
the excessive or irregular action of powers belonging
to this kingdom ; when by combining with ~ t h e y
become of a terrestrial nature.
The order here adopted is to facilitate the comparison with the
above given classification: the planets not being stationary, but shift
ing their positions and significahons according to the aspects we take.
B
J8
~ Merwry (Manas). The Mind; the principle of intel-
ligence manifesting itself as intellectual power in the king-
dom of mind ; giving in its combination with lz. rise
to earthly thoughts, but in combination with ~ con-
stituting spiritual knowledge.
'2f ]ttpiter (Buddhi). The principle which manifests
itself as spiritual power, be it for good or for evil. Reason,
intuition, faith, firmness, recognition of truth.
~ Vmus ( Atma). The principle which in its purity
manifests itself as universal divine love, it being identical
with divine self-knowledge. If united with ~ (intel-
ligence) it constitutes wisdom. Acting within the animal
plane it produces animal instincts, and upon the physical
i'lane it causes the attractions of opposite polarities,
chemical affinities, &c., &c.
All this is said merely to indicate the key to this kind
of science; for the combinations in which these principles
may enter, and the modifications of their manifestations
under different conditions are almost innumerable ; neither
can this spiritual science be taught to a mind (Ma11as) un-
illumined by the light of the higher understanding ( Bttddhi ).
The practical study and application of anything requires
first of all the possession of the object, and if this is true
in regard to physical objects, it is no less true in regard to
spiritual principles, whose nature can only be known when
their presence is realised within one's own consciousness.
The higher aspects of all of these powers belong to the
higher nature of man, and he who desires to know and
apply these laws in the practice of medicine, must first of
19
all seek to develop his own higher nature by freeing him-
self from the elements that govern his lower nature ; in
other words, he must enter from the animal-human into
the human-divine state, to which.thetrue physician belongs.
One of such adept-physicians was Tluop/zyastus Paracelsus,
the great reformer of medicine of the sixteenth century,
who is properly regarded as the father of modern medicine,
although his successors are still far from realising the
truths which he taught, and will, on the whole, perhaps
not grow up to an understanding of his doctrines for cen-
turies to He was far in advance not only of the
science of his days, but also of that of our present days;
for although he may have known less than we do in regard
to the phenomenal appearances of the manifestations of
life on this planet, he knew a great deal more than our
modern science in regard to the causes of these manifesta-
tions and in regard to the inner nature of things. He was
and still is ridiculed and belittled by those who were and
are not capable of understanding him ; but he proved the
truth of his theories by performing cures which even
modern medicine with all its new acquisitions cannot per-
form. t He was the first to abolish a system of unmitigated
quackery, based upon mere empiricism, the remnants of
which exist even to-day. He was hated and persecuted
by the quacks and pretenders of those times, who did a
lucrative business, thriving upon the ignorance of the
public, as some doing to-day, and the vilifications and
calumnies thrown out against him by such still inspire
the opinions of many in regard to his person, although we
may safely believe that few of his critics have ever read
his books and still fewer have understood them. Numerous
biographies have been written about him and his personal
habits, and it seems that the majority of his critics have
been able to comprehend that when he died he left a pair
Even o his cotemporaneous disciples there were few capable of
grasping his ideas and of leading the life necessary for that purpose.
He says: " Twenty-one of my servants have become victims of the
executioner (the spirit of this world) ; Gode may help them ! Only
a few have thus far remained me." (" Defensio," VI.)
t See" The Life of Theophr"!tus Paracelsus," London, 1887.
20
of leather pantaloons to his heirs ; but as to his philosophy,
this is a terra incognita, which surpasses their under-
standing ; neither could such a knowledge of the secret
sciences be expected from anybody knowing nothing about
the fundamental principles in the constitution of man.
Whether Paracelsus obtained his knowledge in the East,
as has been claimed, or whether it was revealed to him by
his own perception of truth, does not concern us ; but
there can be no doubt that he knew that sevenfold classifi-
cation, for we find him speaking of the following seven
aspects of man :-
I. Tire Corp11s, or the elementary body of man. (Limbus.)
2. Tire Mmuia, or the ethereal body ; the vehicle of life.
( Evestnmr.)
3 The Archtetts. The essence of life. Spiritns Mundi
in Nature and Spirittts Vitae in man.
4 The Sidereal body; made up of the influences of the
"stars."
5 Adeclr. The inner man or the thought-body, made
of the flesh of Adam.
6. Altuclz. The spiritual body, made of the flesh of
Christ ; also called " the man of the new Olympus."
7 Spiritus. The universal Spirit.
There is hardly a page in the philosophical writings of
Paracelsus which does not refer to the twofold nature
of man, his terrestrial and celestial aspect, and of the
nece!':sity of the development of his higher nature and
superior (spiritual) understanding.
" Above all, we must pay attention to the fact that there are
two kinds of spirit in man. (One originating in nature, the other
coming from heaven.) Man ought to be a human being according
to the spirit of (divine) life and not according to the (terrestrial)
spirit of the Limbus. It is a truth that (the heavenly) man is an
image of God, having in him a divine spirit (life). In all other
respects he is ari animal, having as such an animal spirit. These
two are opposed to each other, but one of the two is bound to
succumb. Man is destined to be a human being and not an
animal, and if he is to be a human being, he must live within the
spirit of (immortal) life and do away with the animal spirit."
(" Philosophia Occulta," Lib. I.,
21
The mysteries of the inner temple of nature are not
accessible to the vulgar and the profane, because every
being can realise only that which corresponds to its own
nature. To penetrate into the realm of truth a true soul
is required ; an animal can realise only the animal side of
existence.
One well known medical authority on a recent occasion
said:
" Paracelsus, who pronounced the anatomy of the dead body
to be useless/' and sought for the basis of life (immortality) as the
highest goal of knowledge, demanded contemplation ' (spiritual)
before all else, and just as he himself arri\'ed in this way at the
metaphysical construction of the Archaeus, so he unchained
among his followers a wild and absolutely fruitless mysticism. "t
For this unchaining of mysticism, not Paracelsus is to
blame, but the incapacity of his followers, whose animal
minds were not capable of becoming illumined by the
spirit of truth. Whenever the terrestrial mind seeks to
grasp the spirit of wisdom, and being unable to rise to the
perception of divine truth to drag it down to its own level,
a wild and absolutely fruitless and foolish mysticism will
be the result. With the same right we may say that the
doctrines of Christ filled the world with superstition,
causing the crimes of the crusades, the horrors of the
inquisition, and sectarian intolerance. It is not the fault
of the truth if it is misunderstood.
The vast majority of mankind seek for knowledge for
the purpose of deriving from its possession some personal
benefit; be it the acquisition of wealth or luxury, the
gratification of ambition, the desire to parade before the
This is not correct; Paracelsus says: "The anatomy of man is
twofold. One aspect consists in dissecting the body, so as to find out
the position of its bones, muscles, veins, &c. ; but this is the least
important ; the other is more important, and means to introduce a
new life into the human organism; to see the transmutations taking
place therein, to know what the blood is and what kind of
0 ~ and ~ (Sulphur, Salt and Mercury) it contains."
~ i r n m , " llb. I . Cap. 6.)
t Prof. Rud. Virchow's lecture on Pathology, delivered in London,
March 6th, 1893
22
world as a being in possession of something great, or for
the purpose of satisfying a laudable scientific curiosity.
But the acquisition of medical wisdom requires a love of
the truth, and love means self-sacrifice. The acquisition
of wisdom is therefore possible only if the illusive self with
all its desires is sacrificed to it. The way to wisdom can
be shown ; but wisdom can only be taught by wisdom
itself; he who loves the realm of illusions cannot see its
true light. How many of the would-be followers of Jesus
of Nazareth have become Christs, and who can under-
stand the profundity of his thoughts and exercise his
divine powers, but he who has become like him? None
of the would-he followers of Paracelsus have grown to be
like this master, none of the representatives of modern
medical science have penetrated deeply into his wisdom.
Popular medical science, being based upon the objective
observation of phenomena, knows more about the realm
of visible nature (Maya) than was known at the time of
Paracelsus ; but the reason why this popular medical
science, in spite of the aids which it received from chemis-
try and physiology, is still incapable of performing the
cures which were performed by Paracelsus, is because its
followers only speculate and draw inferences, while they
do not cultivate that spiritual power of soul knowledge
which is called "interior contemplation,"* but which
Paracelsus called the Faith; a faculty which is at present
so entirely unknown that even an explanation of the
meaning of this term is exceedingly difficult. It is a
power which belongs neither to the physical, nor to the
animal, nor to the intellectual nature in man, but to the
spiritual man (Atma-Buddhi-Manas); to that higher part
of his being, which in the vast majority of mankind, how-
ever intellectual they may be, has not yet awakened into
life, but is still latent, buried in the tomb of materiality
into which the light of divine truth cannot penetrate.
The word "contemplation"-from &Oil=with, and templm=temple
-means evidently not mere objective observation, but an indwelling in
the same temple with the truth which is to be known, an identification of
subject and object in the light of divine wisdom, the temple of truth.
The attainment of knowledge by such a contemplation is only possible
2J
"What are ye men in your own powers but nothing ? If you
wish to obtain strength take it from faith. If you have faith as
big as a mustard seed, you will be as strong as the spirits, and
although you now appear as men, your faith will make your
strength and power equal to the spirits such as were also in
Samson. For by means of our faith we become spirits oursel\'es,
and whatever we accomplish that surpasses our (terrestrial)
nature is done by the power of faith acting through ns as a spirit
and transforming us into spirits." ("De Origin, Morb. ln\'isib."
Introduction.)
Man, even if he obtains occasionally a glimpse of
divine truth, is only too prone to forget it again at the
next moment, as the action of his terrestrial mind is
stronger in him than that of his spirit, and it seems
therefore necessary to be reminded over and over again
that the faith of which Paracelsus speaks is not the
illusory faith of the brain, the product of speculation,
but a power belonging to those few living spirits walking
within this sleeping world. As physical powers belong
to the physical and terrestrial man, so spiritual powers
belong to the spiritual man who must be born before he
can know and exercise these powers. As yet there appear
to be few even among our eminent scientists and successful
practitioners who have become regenerated in the spirit
of truth and filled with the light of divine wisdom, and if
there are any such, we would ask all the students of
medicine to follow their example and by learning the great
art of self-control to become masters over their own nature
and over the nature of others. Humanity is only one,
and the realization of this truth will open a new field for
the science of medicine in the future. That part of us
which lives within the heart of others is our own truest
and "most profound If this self, which lives in
the hearts of others, has awakened to its own conscious-
for those whose spiritual perception is open. A blind person may
dwell forever in the temple of truth without being able to know it.
To those who by an unfoldment of their spirituality have attained
this power of contemplation, its sufficiency for the attainment of
spiritual knowledge is self-evident and requires no arguments. Those
who do not possess this power will find it difficult to understand the
meaning of this term, and suppose it to be imagination.
.Herder.
24
ness, it will realize its own universal existence and its
own power to act within those in whom it lives. Thus
the physician, having become self-conscious of his own
higher nature, will become a saviour for all the rest of
mankind, not only in regard to their moral evils, but also
in regard to their physical ills ; for the spirit and soul and
body of man do not live separately ; they are one organic
whole, as is the body of humanity, even though the
personalities constituting that body are separated from
each other by the illusion of form.
' Digitized by Goog I e
11.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF MEDICINE.
THE pillars upon which the practice of modern medicine
rests, are:-
I. A knou,letlge of tlu physical body of mmz, the arrange-
ments of its organs (anatomy), their physiological func-
tions (physiology) and the visible changes which take
place in them when a disease becomes manifest (pathology).
2. A certain amount of with physical science,
chemistry, botany, mineralogy, etc., in fact with all that
embodies a knowledge of the outward relations which the
things in this phenomenal world bear to each other
and to the body of man, (therapeutics).
3 A certain amount of acquaintance with the views and
opinions of modern accepted medical authorities, however
erroneous they may be.
4 A certain amount of judgment and aptitruie to put the
acquired theories into practice.
All this is very well as far as it goes; but it may be
seen at once that all the knowledge required of a modern
practitioner refers only to the external plane of existence;
the animal body of man and its physical surroundings.
As to a science of "psychology," to call that which goes
by that name as such at present, is a misnomer ; for there
can be no science of the soul as long as the existence of a
soul ( pysclu) is not recognized.* The invisible, spiritual
or causal body within the nature of man is entirely
Only very recently in the courts of Vienna during a sensational
trial in regard to the state of non compos mentis, concerning a nobleman,
who left a considerable fortune to his servants, the total ignorance of
the experts on "psychology " regarding all matters concerning the
soul, and their total incapacity to J"udge of the character and motives
of a person, became so plain an was exposed in such a ludicrous
manner, that it became the public opinion, which was also expressed
by the judge, that the custom of calling in medical men as in
such things ought to be abandoned, and that actors, novel-wnters, or
such as possess more capacity to know the motives cif human nature
should be selected for that purpose.
ignored by science, and even if any modem physician
personally believes in a soul, he will almost without
exception consider this subject as belonging exclusively
to the Church, and as something with which science has
nothing to do.
Nevertheless, if the term "religion" means the know-
ledge of the relation which the outward terrestrial man
bears to the creative power in him, his own inner Self,
which is the seat of not only his spiritual but also the
indirect source of his physical life ; it would seem that a
knowledge of that religion which teaches the nature of
this true inner and immortal being, ~ n d also the links
which connect that higher nature with the physical form,
would be an indispensable and most important part of a
true science and system of medicine based upon the
recognition of truth ; and although theory precedes prac-
tice, this knowledge should not be merely of that theoreti-
cal kind which is only imaginary aild not real, and which
in persons who are attempting to grasp things which they
are not able to realise produces a wild and absolutely
fruitless mysticism ; but it should be of that kind which
through experience constitutes self-knowledge, and which is
possible only through the realization of the possession of
the ideals one wishes to know.
According to Theophrastus Paracelsus the following are
the four pillars of medicine :-
1.-PHILOSOPHIA.
The term " Philosophy " comes from phileo, to love, and
sophia, wisdom, and its true meaning is the love of wisdom
and the knowledge resulting therefrom ; for love itself is
knowledge ; it is the recognition of self in another form ;
the love of wisdom is the recognition by wisdom in man
of the same principle of wisdom that is manifested in
Nature, and from this recognition springs the realisation
of the knowledge of truth. True philosophy is therefore
not that thing which at present goes by that name, which
consists in wild speculations about the mysteries of Nature
for the purpose of gratifying scientific curiosity ; a system
27
in which there is a great deal of self-love hut very little
love of the truth, and whose followers, by means of logic
and argument, inferences, theories, postulates, hypotheses,
inductions and deductions seek, so to say, to break
through the back windows in the temple of truth, or to
peep through the keyhole for the purpose of seeing the
goddess unveiled. This speculative philosophy does not
constitute real knowledge. It constitutes that artificial
building of philosophy and so-called science, founded upon
arguments and opinions, which change their aspect in
every century, and of which Paracelsus said that "the
things which are looked upon by one generation as the
apex of human knowledge are found to be an absurdity
by the next, and that which is regarded as a supen;tition
in one century forms the basis of science of the following
one." All information gained by means whose basis is
not a love of truth does not constitute immortal knowledge
or true theosophy; but serves only for temporal purposes
and as ornaments for egotism, springing as it does from
the love of the illusion of self and having illusions for its
object.
The whole of nature is a manifestation of truth ; but it
requires the eye of wisdom to see the truth and not merely
its delusive appearance. The philosophy of which
Paracelsus speaks consists in the power of recognizing the
truth in all things independent of any books or authorities,
all of which can only serve to show us the way to avoid
errors and how to remove the obstacles in our path ; but
which cannot make us realise that which we do not
realise in ourselves. He who is not labouring under a
load of misconceptions and erroneous teachings, requires
no other book than the book of nature to teach him the
truth. There are few who can read the book of nature in
the light of nature; because having had their minds filled
with perverted images and false views, they have them-
selves become unnatural, and the light of nature cannot
penetrate into their souls; living in the false light of the
moonshine of speculation and sophistry, they have lost
their receptivity for the light of the truth. Such philoso-
28
phers live in illusions and dreams but do not know that
which is real :
" There is upon this earth nothing more noble and more
capable of giving perfect happiness than a true knowledge
of nature and its foundation. Such a knowledge produces a
valuable physician, but it should be a part of his constitution
and not an artificial fabric attached to him like a coat ; he
must himself be born out of the fountain of that philosophy
which cannot be acquired by artificial means." (See: " De
Generatione hominum," I. Preface.)
A knowledge based upon the opinion or experience of
another is merely a belief, but does not constitute real
knowledge. Books and lectures may serve to give us
advice, but they cannot endow us with the power of know-
ing the truth ; they may serve us as useful guides, but a
belief in the statements of others should not be mistaken
for self-knowledge, such as arises only from the self-recog-
nition of truth, and which by means of a love of the truth
ought to be cultivated above all else.
To this realm of Philosophy belong all the natural
sciences referring to external phenomena, in the knowledge
of which a great deal of progress seems to have been made
since the time of Paracelsus. To this phenomenal science
belongs the anatomy, physiology, the chemistry of the
physical body and all that concerns the interrelations of
the phenomena existing in the grand phantasmagoria of
living and corporeal images called the sensual world.
But behind this sensual world there is a more interior
super-sensual world, ignored by popular science, of
which the former is the external expression ; the
processes taking place in this interior light of nature,
mirror themselves in the light of the external world,
and those souls whose inner perceptions have become
developed in consequence of an awakening of the
" inner man," do not require the observation of external
phenomena for the purpose of drawing inferences in regard
to their internal causes, because they know the interior
causes and processes and also the external appearances
which they will produce. Thus there is an external and
an internal medical science, a science concerning the astral
29
and a science concerning the physical body of man. The
former occupies itself with the patient, the latter, so to say,
with the clothes which he wears.
To render this still more plain, let us illustrate it by an
example. Let us imagine a magic lantern capable of
projecting living and corporeal images upon a living screen.
External science occupies itself only with these images,
the relations which they bear to each other and the changes
taking place between them; but it knows nothing about the
slides in the lantern upon which are the types of these
visible images, and it entirely ignores the light which
causes their projection upon that screen ; but he who sees
the slides with its pictures and knows the source of the
light which produces these shadow pictures does not need
to study the shadows for the purposes of drawing inferences
and speculating in regard to their causes. Thus there is
a superficial science which is at present the object of pride
of the world, and a secret science of which next to nothing
is publicly known, but which is known to the wise and
revealed by one's own perception of truth.*
Truths must be perceived before they can be intellectu-
ally grasped, and therefore this greater and higher science
cannot be learned in books, nor be taught in lectures at
college, it is the result of a development of man's higher
perception, belonging to his higher nature, and characterises
the born physician. Without this superior faculty, known
in its initial stage as the power of "intuition," a medical
practitioner can find occupation only in the outer yard of
the t e m p l ~ , picking up useful grains among the rubbish ;
but he cannot enter the temple in which nature herself
teaches her divine mysteries. The minute details of this
rubbish have been studied by modern popular science,
whose attention has been so much absorbed thereby that
We may read at any time that the views of the ancients in regard
to this or that were "very vague ; while in fact the vagueness is with
the critic who does not understand what the views of the ancients
were. Words are made for the purpose of expressing ideas. and if the
ideas are not perceived the words are only misleading. If we interpret
the meaning of a term according to our own fancy, we shall find therein
only the misconception put into it by ourselves, but . not the original
meaning.
30
the temple of truth itself has been forgotten and the nature
of Life has become a mystery to those who only study its
external manifestations.
It will hardly be necessary to say that the above is not
intended to discourage the study of phenomena ; for those
\vho have not the power of reaching higher will gain
nothing by remaining ignorant of external appearances;
but it is intended to show that a science referring merely
to the phenomena of terrestrial life and ultimate results is
not the summit of all possible knowledge ; for beyond the
realm of visible phenomena there is a far more extensive
realm open to all who are capable of entering: the realm of
truth, of which only the inverted images are seen in the
kingdom of external phenomena.
The natural science of the ancient mystics, owing to
their deeper penetration into the so-called supersensual
realm, was not limited to the world which we see with our
bodily eyes ; for they recognised four worlds or planes of
existence within each other, each of them having its own
forms of life and inhabitants, namely :-
(a.) The physical visible world, being only the reflection
of the three higher ones.
(b.) The astral world, or the psychic realm.
(c.) The world of mi11d, or the spiritual realm.
(d.) The divine state, the kingdom of God, or the celestial
world.
As we perceive the existence of a mineral, vegetable and
animal kingdom upon the sensual plane,* so they, by the
faculty of the developed inner sight perceived and described
within this world four kingdoms, or four spiritual, and to
us invisible, states of existence, which in their outward
manifestation are called: Eartlz, Water, Fire, Air.
"We will show you that we are not the only intelligent beings
*We call this the smsNal plane, merely because it includes that which
is perceived by the senses of our p11ysical body. If the senses of the
astral form are developed, the astral plane will also be our snrsNal plane.
There can be no knowled11e without perception, and no perception
without a sense for that purpose. A system of philosophy based
merely upon speculation, and without any rrception of truth, is no
philosophy at all ; but consist merely o vagaries, illusions and
dreams.
Digitized by Google
31
possessing the world, but that our possessions extend 0\er only
one-fourth of it. Not that this world were three times greater
than we know it to be; but there are in it still three-fourth parts
which we do not occupy, and their inhabitants are not inferior
to us in intelligence ; the only thing of which we may be proud,
is that Christ (the light of divine wisdom) has taken his habita
tion in us and clothed himself in our form, as he might have
chosen another nation (another class of Elementals) for that
purpose." (Paracelsus, "Of the generation of conscious beings in
the unhersal mind," I. Preface.)
All this, however, does not strictly belong to the present
purpose of this work, and is merely mentioned so as to
make room for the conception that nature is far greater
than the limits assigned to it by material science, and that,
as a certain philosopher said : "that which is known is
only like a grain of sand on the shore of the ocean of the
unknown."
II. AsTROI\oMJA.
" Astronomy " means the knowledge of the stars, and to
the conception of the modern mind it is the science of
"celestial bodies," such as are seen at night on the sky; but
to the ancient philosophers all visible things were the symbols
and representations of invisible powers, thoughts and ideas,
and the expression" Astronomy," as used by Paracelsus, is,
therefore, something quite different from the science of the
star-gazers, and refers to the various states of the mind
existing in the macrocosm of nature as well as in the
microcosm of man. " The very word " celestial " or
"heavenly," refers to something superior to our grossly
material nature, and an idea of what are the "stars" with
which ancient astronomy and astrology deal, may be
formed by studying the signification of the planets referred
to in the previous chapter on the Constitution of l\Ian.
The Astronomy of Paracelsus, therefore, does not deal
. with corporeal, material, visible, cosmic bodies; but with
virlutes (virtues) or powers and semi11a (germs), or essences,
all of which are spiritual and substantial; because a power
without substance is inconceivable ; "power and substance,"
" matter and force " being convertible terms, states of one
32
unity, divided only in our conception of the modes of its
manifestation. A "star", in fact, means a state, and a
"fixed star " a fixed state of a power in nature; or as it is
called in Sanscrit, a Tattwa, which means a state of Tlzal
or Being, and as all Being is a manifestation of Life or
Consciousness, the "stars " are certain states of that uni-
versal Life or All-consciousness, in other words, states of
the Mitzd.
"You should know that the constellations of the planets and
stars on the sky, with all the firmament, do not cause the growth
of our body, our colour, appearance, or behaviour; and have
nothing to do with our virtues and qualities. Such an idea is
ridiculous; the motion of Saturn interferes with nobody's life,
and makes it neither longer nor shorter, and, even if there had
never been a planet called " Saturn " on the sky, there would be
people born having saturnine natures. For all that the planet
Mars is of a fiery nature, Nero was not its child, and although
they are of the same nature (the same kind of energy being
manifested in either of them) neither one of them received it
from the other." (''De Ente Astrorum," Paramirum C. I. 2.)
Perhaps it will not be out of place, for the purpose of
facilitating a comprehension of what Paracelsus meant by
the term "Astronomy," to take a glance at the Indian
teaching in regard to the T attwas.
According to these doctrines, the Universe is a manifes-
tation of That (existence or being), manifesting itself as
Life (Prana) within the universal Akasa (primordial matter,
which, for all practical purposes, may be regarded as the
"cosmic ether" of space). Prana manifests itself upon the
various planes of existence in various T attwas or forms of
existence, corresponding to the principles in the constitu-
tion of man enumerated above. Of these seven Tattwas
five are manifested, corresponding to the five senses of the
human body, and they are called as
I . Akasa Tattwa; the qne element forming the substan-
tial basis of the other four, and corresponding to that
which upon the physical plane becomes ultimately manifested
as audible sound.
2. Vayou Tattwa; representing the principle which
See Rama Prasad's "Nature's Finer Forces."
33
renders possible the sensation of feeling or" touch," upon
all planes of existence.
3 Taiias Tattwa; that form of existence which repre-
sents that state which manifests itself upon all planes as
Light.
4 A pas Tattu'a; that principle which renders possible
the sensation of taste upon all planes of existence.
5 p,ithivi Tattwa; that principle which renders possible
the sensation of smell upon all planes of existence.
Words are altogether insufficient to give an idea on
which to form a conception of things which are beyond
our intellectual comprehension as long as they do not live
in our own consciousness; but we may look upon the
seven Tattwas as represented byseven modes of vibrations
of a cosmic ether, differing from each other not only
quantitatively, but qualitatively, so that, for instance,
Akasa Tattwa has a circular, Vayou Tattwa a spiral move-
ment, etc.; but such a conception is quite inadequate, as
we have to do with living forces, with states of the
universal life or consciousness, manifesting themselves not
only as the causes of the five modes of perception on the
physical plane, but also upon the higher planes ; enabling
man, for instance, not only to feel the touch of an object
upon the physical plane, but to feel with his astral sense
the presence of an object upon the astral plane, and in
his heart the touch of a spiritual power ; to see not only
physical light with the eyes of his body, but things in the
astral light with his astral organs of seeing ; to see in-
tellectual truths and ideas with the eye of his intellect in
the light of his intellect, and spiritual things with the eye
of the spirit. In fact, everything that exists is a mani-
festation of Tattwas, or" vibrations of ether;" stationary
in its aspect as "matter," progressive in its aspect as
"force;" matter is latent energy, force is active sub-
stance;* everything is life, consciousness, intelligence,
dormant or active according to the conditions existing
upon the plane upon which it becomes manifest; every
See " Magic, white and black," 4th edition. London, 1893 (Kegan,
Paul and Co.). . .
c
34
substance is mind, and the forms which we see are only
the symbols of the thoughts represented therein.
It is not our purpose within the narrow limits of this
work to enter into a deeper investigation of this most in-
teresting, sublime, and elevating science, which has been
discussed at length in H. P. Blavatsky's "Secret Doc-
trine " ; we merely touch upon these points for the purpose
of calling attention to it, as it represents an aspect and
conception of nature immeasurably higher than the one
represented by popular science, and therefore attainable
only to those whose aspirations reach beyond this grossly
material plane.
The " Secret Doctrine" informs us that in the course
of evolution, this our planet has only attained its Ktima-
'"pa or animal form of existence, and that the next higher
state of Manas (mind) has hardly begun to become
developed. This may he the reason why the science of
mind is at present in its infancy, and grasped only by
those gifted spirits who, like Paracelsus and others of his
kind, by nobility of character and spirituality have out-
stripped the rest of mankind in higher knowledge; forming,
so to say, the vanguard of the army, as it proceeds into
the regions of the-not absolutely unknowable-but the
mtlmown.
Modern astronomy teaches the science of the bodies of
the planets and stars ; the Astronomy of Paracelsus
speaks of the spiritual forces represented by those planets,
the counterparts of which exist in the constitution of man
and as every force in nature acts upon its corresponding
element in the nature of man, these universal forces pro-
duce certain effects upon those elements in man which
exist upon the corresponding plane. Thus for instance it
requires no argument to prove that the sun is the source
of beat and light and life upon this planet, and that the
physical body of man as well as that of the earth receives
these energies from the radiations coming from the physical
body of the sun ; this being the corporeal visible centre of
a power existing universally, and whose sphere of activity
reaches as far as the limits of our solar system. We all
35
live and have our being physically within the sphere of
activity and consequently within the physical elements of
the sun ; in a similar sense we live and have our
being spiritually in the spiritual body and substance of
Love, and as the sun of the physical world shines upon
our body ; so the light of divine wisdom is all around us
and ready to penetrate into our soul. Thus Paracelsus
teaches that the moon corresponds to the astral body of
man, and has certain effects upon it, causing certain states
which may ultimately become outwardly manifested as
certain moral or physical diseases, and similar corres-
pondencies might be shown to exist between the universal
powers represented by the visible planets and the corres-
ponding elements existing in the constitution of man ; but
however important and interesting this subject may be it
finds very little attention on the part of popular medical
science, which is far too busy in investigating outward
effects of a phenomenal character to find time for attend-
ing to that which produces all such phenomena and
appearances.*
If the Astronomy of Paracelsus were understood, it
would be found that man, far from creating his own
thoughts, merely remodels the ideas that flow into his
mind ; that " thought-transference," far from being a
strange and rare occurrence, is as common as the transfer-
ence of heat ; that owing to the oneness of humanity we
all feel and think within each other and act out each
other's thoughts. We would know better the real causes
of crimes, insanity and disease, and find them to be con-
trovertible terms. We might then perhaps also modify our
views regarding the supposed free will and the amount of
responsibility of man, and know that the power of will is
not a myth, and witchcraft and ~ o r c e r y no more impossible
than the magic action of true love.
The more the minds of men become complicated by attending to a
maltipliclty of details. the more wUI they lose sight of simple facts.
Thus the action of the swillght and its various colours, of which each
has Its special therapeutic qualities, is far too simple a thing to find
popular lavour.
111.-ALCHBMY.
Not being masters of Alchemy, we are not capable of
teaching the science of this pillar of medicine ; neither
could any information in regard to the way in which cer
tain mysterious powers are used be of any service to those
who, not having developed these powers, are not in posses
sion of them. The following remarks are therefore rather
intended to show what Alchemy is not, than to show what
it is ; for like every term symbolising a spiritual truth,
which ever fell into the bands of the vulgar, s0 this term
has been " besmirched with mud and prostituted openly
in tht: market place,"* so as to be now almost beyond re
cognition.
The ancient alchemists used a mysterious language
when speaking about mysterious things, nor could any
modern alchemist express in plain language things for
which our language has no words and common minds no
conception. Children often speak more wisely than they
know, sages know what they speak, but the half learned
speak without knowing. The child receiving gifts from .
its parents on Christmas eve believes that the Christ has
sent these presents, but the grown-up and clever boy
becomes sceptical and laughs at that story. In that
opinion he may now continue all his life, or he may
become still more clever and find that the Christ is
divine love, from which the love of his parents origin-
ated, inducing them to bestow gifts, and that the story
which he believed when a child, was true after all. In
the same sense Alchemy is either a truth or a supersti-
tion ; it merely depends on the definition we give to
this term.
Professor Justus von Liebig says: "Alchemy was
never anything different from Chemistry," and to this we
agree in so far as both deal with substantial things, having
certain affinities, and not with anything existing outside
of nature; but while ordinary (physical) chemistry employs
merely physical (mechanical) forces for the purpose of
composing and decomposing material substances without
... The Secret Symbols of the RoaicrudaDS,' '11., pp. 16. (Occult Pab-
lishlng Co., Boston, Mass., 1888).
37
causing anything new to grow, Alchemy employs the
power of life and uses animated forces, establishing con-
ditions under which something visible may grow from
something invisible, in the same sense as a tree grows
from a seed in the alchemical laboratory of nature.
Chemistry and Alchemy are therefore two aspects of one
and the same science, the one is the lower, the other the
higher part. The chemist who decomposes salt into NA
and CL, and recombines it into NA CL, practises chemistry;
the gardener establishing in his hot house the conditions
under which the seed of a plant of a lower type is made to
develop into a plant of a higher type, and the school-
master who makes an intelligent being out of a dunce, are
practicing Alchemy, because they produce something more
noble than the materials employed, out of the latent
potencies contained therein.
Without the alchemy of nature no " physiological
chemistry " could take place ; without the action of a
universally existing life principle, no human form could
grow out of an ovum or f<l!tus, no child develop into a
man. The human stomach is an alchemical laboratory
which miracles are performed which no modern chemist /-;
can imitate by merely chemical means ; milk and bread are /
transformed into blood and flesh within the living retort of
the human body, and wonders performed whiCh modem
chemistry in spite of its progress cannot accomplish,
because it does not control the power of life.
All that popular belief knows of ancient Alchemy is from
the misunderstood writings of the ancients, who purposely
wrote in a manner incomprehensible to the uninitiated, or
from the writings of pretenders and frauds-for at that
time there were as many selfish and ignorant people as
there are to-day, wasting their time in useless efforts to
apply a spiritual science to material purposes, and seeking to
employ powers which they did not possess, in the hope of
satisfying their curiosity and their greed. Of this kind
of " Alchemy," Paracelsus speaks with the greatest
contempt.*
" Palacelsus," p. 168. (London, 1811?: Trubner & Co.
38
For the purpose of practising chemistry physical powers
and scientific acquisitions are required; for the purpose of
practising alchemy living spiritual powers and wisdom are
necessary. Chemistry belongs to the terrestrial man, the
highe, aspect of A /enemy belongs to the spiritually man
having passed th,o11gh the MYSTIC DEATH into the ,esu"ectiDn of
the troe and immo,tal life.*
As there are three kingdoms in nature, intimately
connected with each other, the kingdom of physical
nature, the kingdom of the soul of the world (the astral
plane), and the kingdom of the self-conscious spirit;
so there are three aspects of Alchemy, intimately con-
nected with each other, one belonging to the physical,
the other to the astral, and the highest to the spiritual
aspect of man. H. P. Blavatsky says:
"Eve,ything which exists in the wcwld around us is made up of
th,ee principles (substances) and four aspects. (The triple synthesis of
the seven principles.) As Man is a complex unity, consisting of a body,
a rational soul and an immorlal spi,it, so each object in nature possesses
an objective exterior, a vital soul, and a divine spark which is purely
spiritual and subjective. Thus, as with all natu,al objects, so every
science has its thrte fundamental principles and may be applied th,ough
all th,ee cw by the use of one of them." t
These three states of existence in the universe were called
by the ancient alchemists the Th,ee Substances, and sym-
bolized as Salt, Sulphu,, and Me""'Y
With the same right as the modern chemist symbolizes
his chemical substances by means of letters ; such as 0 for
oxygen, H for hydrogen, N for nitrogen, C for carbogen,t
The regenerated spiritual man is not a dream or an unrealisable
ideal, but far more substantial than the terrestrial man. Willi#,. lAw
says : Where Christ is born or His Spirit rises up in the soul, there
all self is denied and obliged to turn out, there all carnal wisdom,
arts of advancement, with every pride and glory of this life, are so
many heathen idols, all willingly renounced, and the man is not only
content, but rejoices to say that his kingdom is not of this world."
(" William Law," London, 18g3.) See also "jacob Boehme, 'page 263.
London, I8gi.
t" Theosophical Siftings." Alchemy. (London: Theo. Pub. Soc., I8gi.)
+ We purpOsely say "carbogen " arid not " carbon," because we
re/er to that invisible element, whose product upon the visible plane is
carbon or coal. .
39
etc., which symbols are incomprehensible to those who do
not know what they mean ; the ancient alchemists
expressed the nature of spiritual essences, powers and
principles with which they dealt by certain alchemical
signs, such as 8 for Salt, or the substantial principle
in all things ; ~ for Sulphu,, or the energies contained
therein; and ~ for Mercury, or the principle of intelli-
gence latent in everything, whether manifested or not; but
the living essences or states in the universe which become
manifested upon these three planes they symbolized by the
signs of the planets, as has already been specified above.
These principles are eternal; but their manifestations differ
according to the plane upon which they become manifest.
Thus, for instance, love is eternal, manifesting itself in the
kingdom of God as divine self-consciousness; upon the
astral plane as affection, desire and passion ; upon the
physical plane as gravitation, attraction, chemical affinity,
etc. The power is always the same; but its action appears
different under different conditions.
"Above all a physician should know that man exists in three
substances. That of which he is made has three aspects.
Those three make up the whole man, and they are the man
himself and he is they, and out of these three substances he
receives all his good- and evil concerning his physical body.
Thus each thing exists in these three substances, and the three
together constitute a body, and there is nothing added to it but
the life. If you can see these true substances, you then haYe
the eye by means of which a physician ought to be able to see.
To see the exterior only is in the power of everybody; but to
see within the interior and discover what is hidden, is an art
that belongs to the physician." (" Paramirum," Lib. I. s.b.)
Those who have thus far followed our line of reasoning
will now be ready to acknowledge that an understand-
ing of this superior science, the acquisition of whose
knowledge requires a life-time spent by a superior mind,
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40
and whose practice involves the evolution of superior
faculties, is not to be obtained by a few hours' perusal of a
book on Alchemy, and that only those who are practical
alchemists are entitled to judge it. Alchemy, far from
being an "exploded humbug," is in fact the noblest object
for which all humanity and civilization strives. It is the
realization of the highest ideal, a feat which cannot be
accomplished by anything less than that ideal itself. H.
P. Blavatsky says:-
" When there appeared on earth """6Ndo11111l with a superior
inulligeru:e, they allowed this S11fte11U power (the divi"' spark) to
have full and action, and from it they learnt their
first lessom. All that they had to do was to imitate it. But in
order to reproduce the same effects by an efforl of individual will,
they were obliged to develop in their iulllffln constitution a ( ma-
live) power called KRIYASAKTI in occult phraseology."
We should be extremely happy to make the acquaintance
of a modern man of science who obeys divine law to such
an extent as to let the power of God (the Holy Ghost)
have full control over his thoughts, will, and desires.
Such a person without selfish desires, without ambition
or vanity, without any greed for money or fame, acting as
an instrument of divine love, would be a rare specimen of
humanity; but unfortunately such a saint and sage will
hardly be found in our present generation; for a thousand
links tie the human animal to the region of his desires,
and how could he who is bound by a thousand chains to
the Moon employ the energy of the Sun, whose influence be
will not permit to enter his nature, and which therefore
cannot nourish his body and grow into a power in him.
Gold and silver may form an alloy; but they never become
identical with each other. Thus their spiritual representa-
tives, IJivine Wisdom and the carnal intellect, will never be
one and the same, although the light of wisdom will throw
its reflection upon the terrestrial mind.
As stated before, there are three aspects of Alchemy:-
Terrestrial Alclumy. This in its lower aspect includes the
whole science of chemistry with all the discoveries that
may be made in the future. This alchemy still recognizes
.p
four eUIIU1fts*, and the fifth, the one element, from
which the four take their origin ; in other words four
states of matter and a fifth one (partly recognised by
science); namely, the solid (substantial), liquid, fluidic, and
ethereal state. These are described as follows:-
a. 9 (Earth.) That which gives substantiality
to all things, whether solid, liquid, gaseous, ethereal or
spiritual. (Solidity or Stability.)
b. V (Water.) That state which moves and
renders things liquid on either plane of existence. (Motion).
c. 8 (Air.) That which enables things to
assume a gaseous form. (Extension.)
d. 6,. (Fire.) That which endows them with
force. (Energy.)
e. 0 (Ether.) This fifth element, in which
the attributes of all the other states have their basis, will
be the principal object for scientific research in the coming
centuries, and is in fact the first and the one element.
These elements represent themselves as the Tattwas
As we are not writing for children, it is unnecessary to refute the
puP.rile objection and say that the sixty-four so-called single bodies of
, chemistry are not elements of nature, although they may be regarded
as the elements of the science of chemistry.
tIn everything are there fiye elements or qualities contained, be-
cause everything consists of vibrations of the one element, called by
the Alchemists jri11111 ~ ~ ~ t ~ t e r i l l , in which these qualities are latent
(potentially contained). Everything is a manifestation of substance.
'l'hat which is essential in it, is the substance and not the form. Thus
for instance that which is es:sential in a diamond is the carbon ;
but carbon is not composed of diamonds. Carbon is a substance
UDiversally distributed in nature in solid, watery, gaseous, fiery form,
and all these forms of carbon are certain states of the one element
" Carbogen" which is at the root of their existence:
42
enumerated in the preceding chapter, and correspond to
them as follows, if we adopt the above line of order :- .
a. Prithivi. Solidity. (Earth.)
b. Apas. Movement. Bulk. (Water.)
c. Vayu. Extension. (Air.)
d. Taijas. Energy. Intensity. (Fire.)
e. Aktisa. The one Tatt111a forming the
basis of the rest. (Sound.)*
The limitation of space in these pages, no less than the
insufficiency of our experience in regard to this subject,
forbids us to enter into a closer investigation of the rela-
tions existing between this aspect of Alchemy and physi-
cal chemistry; but we have reason to affirm, that we are
on the eve of great discoveries, which will to a certain ex-
tent revolutionize the popular chemistry ofthe present day.
Celestial Alchemy.-Even if it were within our power to
describe the secrets of celestial alchemy, by means of which
the universe was created and which includes the regenera-
tion of man and the attainment of conscious immortality,
and if this could be done publicly without profaning those
mysteries, the explanation would probably be compre-
hensible only to those who, knowing it already, do not
require it. Those who wish to investigate this subject
for the love of wisdom will find the whole process fully
described symbolically in "The Secret Symbols of the Rosi-
crucians ofthe 16th and 17th Century,"t a book easily com-
prehensible if studied by the light of wisdom, but unintelligi-
Vaeh.-If we remember that according to thl'l Bible all things were
made of the Word, and that "the Word was God" Oobn i., J), we may
obtain the key to the undentanding of what generated the JflutM.
t Occult Publ. Co., Boston, Mass. ; and Tbeoaopb. PubL Soc., London.
43
ble for the carnal mind, that sees all truths perverted. Some
explanations have also been attempted in the book entitled
"In the Pronaos of the Temple."* \Ve will only say that
there the Time Substances appear as the Time Begimti11gs;
the first manifestation of the Unity as a Trinity, and the
Seven Tattwas as the seven primitive spirits,+ or "living
breaths" issuing from the bosom of Parabrahm.t
The Universe is the Macrocosm, and Man the Microcosm,
and as the first great Cause is the creator of the world and
the cause of all evolution, so is individual man the creator
in his own interior and external world, capable of causing
.certain superior states in his mind by the power of his
will in obedience to the law, and to create forms by means
of his thoughts, while the condition of his interior state
will in time produce corresponding effects and transmuta-
tion in his physical body. Well will it pay him to devote
all his time to this practice of Alchemy and obtain the pure
gold of wisdom from the inferior metals represented by his
animal passions. These passions are the capital lent to
him by nature to make them into " silver and gold,"
while he lives upon this earth : they are the steps upon
which he can climb up to immortality and find his own
true divine Self.
To practise this kind of Alchemy he will require no
books, no furnaces and no tools ; for he is himself the
alembic, the fire and the substance to be ennobled. There, in
his silent laboratory and with doors closed against all vain
and carnal desires and selfish thoughts, he may mortify his
terrestrial nature by gaining the victory of self-control, so
that his higher nature may become liberated from animal
bonds by entering into the resurrectio11 from the tomb of
ignorance into the light of self-knowledge. To accomplish
this he will have to purify his mind and let his soul become
animated by the power of the spirit of truth ; that which is
inert in him must become sublimated in the fire of divine
Occult Publ. Co., Boston. Mass. ; and Theosoph. Publ. Soc., London
t Ja&#b_BOI!t'MC.. t "Secret Doctrine," Vol. I., p, Jo6.
#
love, so as to rise to heaven in the shape ot holy aspira-
tions, while the smoke of sophistry, dogmatism, false
science and self-righteousness must be permitted to pass
out through the chimney, to return no more. In this
way will he be able to find the way of combining
with 0 and thus to make it into substantial gold that
will last through eternity.
The above will be sufficient to give a hint in regard to
the character of Alchemy and its relation to chemistry.
Between these two aspects there is a third one, namely,
what may be called "Astral Alchemy."
The Alchemy of the Astral Plane.-As the lower Alchemy
requires for its practice the faculties of the physical body,
and the celestial Alchemy the energy of the spirit having
become a power in the body of man : so the practice of
Alchemy in dealing with that which belongs to the astral
plane requires the evolution of consciousness and percep-
tion in the astral organism of man ; for in the majority of
those who live on the physical plane, the astral form is as
unconscious of its surroundings upon the plane to which it
belongs, and as ignorant of their nature, as a babe is ignorant
of the meanings of things in this world. It is, however,
not our purpose to enter into this subject, as this would
bring us into the almost inexhaustible realm of spiritism,
hypnotism, witchcraft and sorcery: all of which things
are superstitions if believed in by those who know nothing
about their laws, but realities for those who know the
laws by which such phenomena take place.* The key to
the understanding of these phenomena is in the realization
of the truth that the Universe is a manifestation of power
upon the three planes of existence. The spiritual plane has
" Superstition"-from sujn-=overand stotostand-is a belief in
the knowledge of the attributes of a thing. while these attributes are
beyond our conception. A is therefore a misconception
of an existing thing, or a creation of fancy : an erroneous conclnsion
arrived at by the observation of a phenomenon, withont an DDder-
stand.ins of the law which produced the pbenomeaoa
45
its seven states of existence, representing self-conscious in-
telligent powers, thrones and dominions, angels and arch
angels, all of these being manifestations of the primordial
cause called God. The physical plane has its seven states
of existence, represented as powers in which consciousness
is still latent. In the middle region, the astral plane, we
also find again seven states of existence in the form of
living forces attaining consciousness in the organization of
man. There the "seven planets" manifest themselves
either for good or for evil according to the nature of the
person in whom they become manifest. Thus, for instance,
that universal element which is symbolized as ~ will
become manifested in man as universal love or as selfish-
ness according to his condition. If ~ rules his
c( he will have self-control ; but if his cf' rules
his love, he will give way to his lusts. If the element of
~ in him rules his [., his intelligence will be of a
terrestrial nature belonging to the spirit of the earth ;
but if his intelligence is master over his earthly elements,
he will be capable of high aspirations. If the element of
~ rules his ]f, he will employ his intellect for the
purpose of satisfying his greed, but if 1f is the master
of his ~ he will be of a noble character.
All this is merely said to hint at the sublimity of
alchemical science and call attention to the universal
truth ; that every Jwitreiple, in whatever plane of existetree it may
eM, is not IJ product of tlu form in whieh it develops anti t ~ ~ M ~ i j u t s
itself; bulllt/JI tlu form is thi fold for its dnelopment and tnaffi
46
feslatim&; in the same sense as the universall sunlight is
not a product of the bodies upon which it shines, but the
bodies are instruments for the development and manifesta-
tion of the qualities of light. Thus the life, consciousness,
will, virtue, passion, or any other spiritual, emotional, or
physical state of a man is not the product of his form, but
a manifestation of a universal life principle becoming mani-
fested in him according to the conditions presented by his
constitution. Life is only one, manifesting itself in animals
as animal life, in plants as vegetable life, etc. Conscious-
ness is only one, manifesting itself as true self-con-
sciousness in spiritual beings, and as instincts in the
lower animal kingdom. Love is only one and uni-
versal, otherwise it could not manifest everywhere the same
qualities ; it does not belong to one individual or one
country ; it is born in heaven ; but it becomes manifest
upon the earth in men, animals, plants and minerals, under
different aspects according to the conditions which it finds.
Everything is a manifestation of one primordial Unity
revealing itself in a threefold aspect. Man himself is
nothing more than a manifestation of the universal power
that called him into existence and built up his bodily form.
He is not his body nor his mind ; but the expression upon
a lower plane of a higher individual state of being; one of
the letters that constitute the great alphabet of humanity.
Being continually deluded by the illusion caused by the
apparent isolation of his form and its separation from other
forms of existence, he imagines himself to be something
essentially separated from other beings, and thus he forgets
his own universal nature. Only when man begins to
realise what he himself in reality is, can he begin to attain
real knowledge in regard to three kingdoms of Nature.
The object of science is said to be the recognition of truth,
but it is also self-evident that no true science can exist as
long as the truth is not recognised and even rejected ; for
nothing less than by the power of truth in man can the
truth be known. No man can have self-knowledge of any-
thing which is not within himself.
It will be clear that this subject is 50 vast as to render
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47
it impossible, in a work of this kind, to do more than
merely skim over the surface, and a thousand things have
to remain unsaid which ought to be explained ; but it is
not our purpose to enter into the details of the science of
the Astronomy of Life or the Chemistry of Life, or to discuss
at length the highest problems of Occult Philosophy. The
object of the present work is merely to remove existing
misconceptions, and to throw out seeds, which, if they fall
upon a fruitful ground, will grow and bear fruits, such as
ripen not in the outer shell of Nature, but within her inner
temple, in the higher regions of thought.
IV. THE VIRTUE OF THE PHYSICIAN.
" Virtue" means power; it is said to be derived from vir,
Man, and means manly power, efficacy, strength. Man
being somewhat more than a physical body or an animal,
it means a superior, spiritual, substantial power, such as
becomes manifested as nobility of character, purity of
heart, clearness of mind, strength of will, firmness of deci-
sion, quickness of perception, penetration of thought,
benevolence, kindness, honesty, truthfulness, unselfish-
ness, modesty. This virtue is something infinitely superior
to the common " virtuosity," which consists in an outward
appearing of being virtuous and pious for fear of exposure
and dread of criticism, and it is also infinitely superior to
what is called " morality " by the moralists ; a thing praised
as the highest attainable object; but being in fact nothing
more than a conforming to certain customs and views.
There is not necessarily any self-sacrifice in practising
morals, but it is more often a means for gratifying one's
vanity. The word " moral " comes from mores, manners.
What is ac.cording to the manners and customs in one
country, and therefore regarded as " moral " there, is
immoral in another place where different manners exist.
A morality without spirituality is of no real value. The
same may be said of" ethics," derived from ethos, custom,
and which seems to be one of the terms that have been
invented for the purpose of creating confusion, and avoid-
ing calling spiritual things by their. right names.
48
The uirltle which, according to Paracelsus, is the fourth
pillar of the temple of Medicine, has nothing to do with
shams ; it means the }oftler raulti"t fro"' bei"f a Man ;,. lhe
true sense of this ter"' and IHi"f in p o s s e s s i o ~ ~ of 110t nurlly the
theories regarding the treatment of Disuse but of the }oft/er lo
cure the"' tmeself.
There are at present thousands of medical practitioners,
whose only merit is and ever will be, that they have suc-
ceeded in passing an examination and obtaining the title
M.D.; but the title "doctor" means merely an academical
degree; the diploma merely certifies that the examiners
believe the student to have fulfilled all that the regulations
require, and although such a title may involve the right to
poison and kill without being punished for it, the conferring
of such a degree does not constitute a physician. The true
physician as well as the real priest is ordained by God.
Paracelsus says in substance as follows:-
"He who can cure disease is a physician. Neither emperors
nor popes, neither colleges nor high schools can create physi-
cians. They can confer privileges and cause a person who is
not a physician to appear as if he were one ; they can give him
permission to kill, but they cannot give him the power to cure;
they cannot make him a real physician if he has not already
been ordained by God. The true physician does not brag about
his cleverness or praise his medicines or seek to monopolize
the right of robbing the patient ; for he knows that the
work must praise the master, and not the master the work.
There is a knowledge which is derived from man, and another
knowledge which is derived from God through the light of
nature. He who has not been born to be a physician will never
succeed. A physician should be faithful and charitable. He
who loves only himself and his own pocket will be of little
benefit to the sick. Medicine is much more an art than a
science. To know the experience of others is useful to a physi.
clan ; but all the learning of books cannot make a man a
physician, unless he is one by nature. Medical wisdom is only
given by God." (Comp. " Paragrannm," i. 4.)
This virtue which constitutes the true physician cannot
be created by colleges, nor can it be conferred by anyone
personally upon himself. No one can confer upon himself
a thing which he does not possess, or without the aid of
49
any higher influence make himself better than that which
he is ; because, as has been explained above, the power
exercised by any form is not the creation of the form, but
an eternal principle, entering into objective existence in
forms and becoming manifested in and through them by
its own power. Neither truth nor wisdom can be manu-
factured; they exist independently of all opinions, obser-
vations, speculation, and logic; they may be hidden from
our sight like the sun on a rainy day; but as the sun is
independent of our being aware of his presence, so the
truth exists eternally whether or not it is acknowledged by
us. If the whole generation of mankind at present walk-
ing this earth should turn into idiots, the truth would not
therefore cease to be, but would become manifested again
as wisdom in a more enlightened age.
Nothing can rise to heaven but what has descended from
it, we can only by overcoming that which is false render
ourselves receptive for that which is true. Eckharl says:-
" Divine Wisdom is to God what the sunlight is to the
sun; it is one with Him, a necessary activity, a never
dying fountain, having its source in the heart of God."
This brings us back again to a religious basis (if we are
permitted to use this ill-treated and misunderstood term),
and to the necessity that he who makes it his profession to
employ the laws of nature and treat the body of man should
know the position which man occupies in nature and the
position which nature occupies in regard to the origin from
which it originates.
This science requires not mere words, but self-knowledge.
Wisdom can only be taught by Wisdom itself; but a
science based upon a recognition of truth disperses the
clouds which prevent the light of the truth from entering
into the heart and becoming incorporated and manifested
in man.
D
so
Ill.
THE FIVE CAUSES OF DISEASE.
IF we inquire from modern medical science: What are the
causes of diseases ? we shall probably be answered :
I. Age. 2. He,.edity. 3 InttP'maTP'iage. 4 Sex. S
Tempe,.ament. 6. Climate and locality. 7 T01t111 OT Ctnlfllry.
8. Hygienic conditions. g. Occupation. 10. Ai,., 11. PP'e-
vious disease. 12. Mental and mtWal conditiofls. 13. External
physical eonditions. 14. Poisons. 15. TemptJ'attm. 16. Diet.
17. Epidemic disease, contagion, maJa,.ia, parasites and grofllths.*
We will forbear to pass any remarks upon this classifi-
cation of the causes of diseases, which merely enumerates
certain conditions in which diseases may arise, and we will
pass on to the classification of the causes of diseases given
by Paracelsus; but as this subject has already received
attention in a previously published work on the doctrines
of Paracelsust, the following is intended merely to supply
additional food for thought.
Paracelsus says:
" All diseases have a beginning in eithe,. of the thJ'ee substances; t
Salt, Sulphur, or Mercury; which means that they may take their
origin either within the kingdom of matter, within the realm of the
soul, or in the sphere of the spirit. If body, soul and mind are
in perfect harmony with each other, no disharmony exists; but
if a cause of discord arises in either one of these three planes,
it communicates itself to the rest."
Before proceeding further we will inquire about the
nature of these th,.ee :
SALT 8 SuLPHUR AND MERCURY
Richard Quain, " Dictionary of Medicine," 1883.
t "Paracelsus." (London: Triibner and Co., 1887.)
t The word" substance" comes from sub, under, and sto, to stand,
and means the principle underlying phenomenal existence, the basis of
the manifestation of power. It is only too customary to give to such
terms a wrong interpretation, and then to fight the man of straw
created by oneself.
51
which may be translated as Matter, Energy and Intelli-
gence. They are in fact not three essentially different
things, but only three modes of activity of one and the
same thing; for everything is substantial, each contains a
latent or active force, in each is the potentiality of conscious-
ness, if it has not already become manifested therein.
Everything exists, therefore, by reason of these " three
substances," and if we for the sake of forming some idea
of their nature look at the world as a manifestation of
electricity (which must necessarily be substantial, as there
could be no force without substance), we may compare
them as follows :
8 to electric resistance.
~ to the tension of electromotive force.
~ to the intensity of the current.
No one would ever think of these three measures as being
separate entities, which like "substance, energy and
intelligence " are merely three aspects or conceptions of
one universal life ; but these distinctions are necessary for
the purpose of forming a conception.
"Nothing can be thoroughly known without a knowledge of
its beginning. Man is placed into three substances, in each of
which he has a beginning; and each thing has its substance, its
number and measure (constituting their harmony). From (the
state of) these three substances originate all causes, origins, and
also the understanding of diseases. These three substances,
Sulphur, Mercurius, Sal, give to everything its corporeality, each
substance having its own qualities. If these qualities are good
(in harmony with each other) there will be no disease but if
they enter into opposition to each other, disease (disharmony)
will be the result. ( Paraulsus, " Paramirum," Lib. I.,
1, 2, and 3)."
Within these three kingdoms disorders may arise from
either of the following live c1111ses of disease :
52
. 1. From the Ens astrale; namely from surrounding con-
ditions in external nature.
2. From the Ens Vefte1Ci; meaning from poisons and
impurities.
3 From the Eru natrme; including causes inherited
from the parents .
.f. From the Ens spirituale ; especially those caused by
an evil will or morbid imagination.
5 From the Ens Dei; to which belong the ills arising
from evil Karma acquired during this or a previous incarna-
tion ; in other words, the result of diviru jrutice.
We will now attempt to define the meaning of these five
beginnings.
I.-ENS ASTRALE.':'
Diseases arising jr0111 external influences , whether from
physical nature or from deeper causes; the planet upon
which we live being itself an astrum (star), having a physical
and ethereal body, a life, a soul, a mind and a spirit.
" The stars on the sky do not form a man. Man grows out of
two beginnings; the Ens seminis (the male sperm) and the Ens
virlutis (the reincarnating spiritual monad). He has therefore two
natures, a corporeal and &. spiritual nature, and either of these
two requires its digest (matrix and nutriment). As the womb of
the mother is the world surrounding the child, from which the
fa:tus receives its nutriment, so is terrestrial nature from which
the terrestrial body of man receives the influences acting in hi
organism. The Ens astrale is a thing which we do not see, but
which contains us and everything that lives and has sensation.
It is that which contains the air, and from which and in which
live all the elements, and which we symbolize as M (Mysterium),
"Paramirum," Lib. I.)
This Ens Astrorutn is therefore evidently the Akdsa,
which forms the basis of all material things in physical
nature, and if the close relation between man's physical
nature and the physical nature surrounding him were
better known, it would become more comprehensible how
the states of the all-penetrating ether, changes in tempera-
ture, heat and cold, electric and magnetic conditions in
"EllS" means a besiJming.
53
nature, come to affect the physical nature of man, acting
internally by inducing corresponding changes in his micro-
cosm, even if he is protected against the direct action of
rain, storm, moisture, cold, heat, etc., etc. A sudden
change of conditions in the outside air can affect a patient
imprisoned in a room where no such change is perceptible,
and a cloudy day produce a melancholy effect even upon a
blind person. There are no end of diseases which for want
of a better explanation are attributed to "catching cold,"
etc., while in fact it is the existence of certain conditions
in the all-pervading ether, which induces similar conditions
in the body of the patient. Thus, for instance, changes of
the moon, or the position of the moon, or the magnetic
currents of the earth, produce certain effects in certain
persons, even if these persons know nothing about these
laws, for it is a fact well known to the ancients, but
which has almost been lost sight of by modern medicine,
that man, apart from the order in which his organs are
arranged, is essentially a counterpart of nature, an image
of the world on a smaller scale, a microcosm within the
macrocosm. An atmospheric pressure in outside nature
produces an atmospheric pressure in him ; if nature
rejoices in the sunlight of spring, his heart rejoices with it;
if storms rage on the outside, similar storms may be aroused
in him, etc., etc. He is, in fact, only a laboratory in which
the universal forces of nature are performing their work.
To this chapter also belong all miasmas and contagious
influences, with all the bacterire, microbes, amrebre,
bacilli. etc., etc., which are the pride of modern dis-
coverers, but whose characteristics, if not the forms of
their bodies, were well known to Paracelsus, who describes
them under the names of Talpa, M atena, Tortilleos, Petmates,
etc. He says :
" God has caused living creatures to exist in all the elements,
and there is nothing empty of life. That which becomes mani-
fested in the visible kingdom has come into existence by being
generated in the upper regions. Without such a generation
above. it could not have become manifested below." ("Lib.
Meteorum," I. 4'
Since the modern discovery of the cholera, tubercle
bacilli, and other micro-organisms . spreading contagious
diseases, it has been the opinion of many, that the presence
of such microbes was the only and fundamental cause of
such diseases; but still more recent investigations ha veshown
such that the presence of these microbes does not constitute
the whole cause ; for they have been with impunity intro-
duced into the human organism, and have also been found
to exist in persons who had fully recovered from such a
disease. This surely shows that there must be an in-
fluence causing the microbes to come into existence, after
which they can spread and multiply if the conditions are
favourable, and the fundamental cause of such epidemics
is therefore not the presence of the microbes, this being
merely a symptom, but the influences which cause them
to come into existence, producing states of which the
bodies of these organisms are a product and expression
and which appears to proceed from causes situated deeper
than visible physical nature, if we do not mistake the form
for the " spirit " of which the form is the symbol.
" Human science knows how to philosophize about the things
that come within its external observation ; but Wisdom shows
what is contained in the Prima Materia, which is a greater and
higher knowledge than that of the Ultima Materia (the physical
plane)." (" Meteorum," I. 4.)
This " higher region," from which such injurious
influences originate, causing the growth of miasmas and
microbes, is the " astral plane," or the soul of the world, and
as the evil states in the soul of the world are caused by the
evil states of the human mind, it becomes comprehensible
how epidemic diseases, pestilence and plague, no less than
wars, are the ultimate results of disharmonies and de-
praved spiritual states in the soul of humanity. The
greatest truth if seen through a perverted mind appears
distorted as a caricature and superstition; it can be seen
in its own light, only if properly understood.
The astral plane is the plane of desires, emotions, and
passions; that is to say, the plane of those influences
(forms of the universal will), which become manifested as
55
desires, emotions, and passions in the animal organism,
and if we were to enter this subject, it would bring us
within the realm of the supersensual but nevertheless
actual kingdom of living elemental powers belonging to the
soul of the world. If our eyes were opened to the percep-
tion of thoughts, it would be seen how a continual
thought-transference is taking place among individual
minds, influencing and determining their actions, even if
they are not aware of it, causing not only individual moral
diseases, insanities, obsessions and crimes, but whole
epidemics of such kinds. There is an immense field for
investigation for the psychologist; not for that kind of
" psychologists" who imagine that insanity is under all
circumstances a disturbance of the functions of the brain
from physical causes, but for those who can realise that
the functions of the brain may be disturbed by the dis-
ordered action of the mind ; for although in many cases of
brain disease it is as difficult to determine whether the
disorder of the mind or that of the brain existed first, as it
would be to answer the question, which existed first, the
hen or the egg ? nevertheless a lesion of the tissues of the
brain does not take place without a cause, and this cause
in the majority of such cases comes from the sphere of the
emotions and thoughts.
If there is no mind, there can be no mental disease. h
mind is something (even if it were, as some imagine, the
product of the physiological function of the brain), it must
be something substantial, and being something substan-
. tial, it is able to produce substantial effects; moreover, its
actions show a certain order and harmony, which go to
prove that mind has an organisation. If this order and
harmony be disturbed, discord, disease, insanity will be
the result. \Vithout the presence of mind nothing would
come into existence ; without the consciousness in the All,
no brain would be able to manifest consciousness, and this
is what Paracelsus means when he says:-
" Whatever exists upon this earthr also exists in the firmament
(space). God does not make clothes for men, but he gives them
a tailor. (Forms do not grow by accident; but they are the
ultimate result of the action of the constructive power In nature.)
The essence of things is hidden in space ; existing Invisibly in
the firmament, and impressing itself upon material 11Ubstances,
when it becomes visible by entering within our sphere of per
ception." ( Meteorum," I. 4.)
Thus we have in the EtiS Astrale a field in which exist
the causes of numerous kinds of diseases ; the thorough
understanding of which requires a still deeper penetration
into the secrets of nature and a higher conception of its
constitution than is at present presented by the natural
sciences ofthis day.
11.-ENS VENENJ.
Diseases originating from poisonous a&tions and imj111rities in
all three planes of existence.
Nothing is poisonous or impure if it stands hy itself,
only if two things whose natures are incompatible with
each other come into contact, can a poisonous action take
place or an impure condition be produced.
"Everything is in itself perfect and good. Only when it
enters into relation with another thing does relative good and
evil come into existence. If anything enters into the constitution
of man, which is not in harmony with its elements, the one is to
the other an impurity, and can become a poison." (" Para
mirum," 11. 1.)
There is no doubt that modern chemistry, physiology
and pathology teach. more than ancient science in regard to
the chemical constitution, the physiological action of poisons
and of the pathological) effects which they produce in the
animal body ; but to explain the order in which a process
takes place is not sufficient to explain why it tukes place,
and there is still a wide field open for investigation ; for at
present we can only record the fact that certain physical
substances have a destructive action upon the human
body ; while the same substances with a little difference
in the arrangements of their molecules, are not only not
injurious, but even used as food;* that certain fiubstances
It is hardly necessary to furnish examples, such as, lor instance,
presented by Strychnine, composed of C21 H22 N 2 02, a very poison
ous substance ; while the same elements combined in a dUierent pro-
portion are contained as gluten in our food. If we accept the theory
57
have a specific action upon the emotional nature in man,
causing an inclination to certain states of his astral con-
stitution, such as irritability of temper, anger, cupidity,
etc., which they could not have if no corresponding ele-
ments were contained in them; while others have a specific
action upon the mind, such as the fading of memory,
paralysis of the will, excitement of the imagination, all of
which they could not accomplish if no substantial mind
principle existed in them.
To material science the universe is a product of me
chanical force created by unconscious matter ; to the
idealist it is a dream which has nothing real in it ; but
seen with the eye of wisdom it is a manifestation of life,
with the potentiality of consciousness contained in every-
thing. Love and hate exist in minerals as they do in men,
only in another state of consciousness, and a tragedy or
comedy might be written in regard to their family history;
describing, for instance, how the beautiful Princess
Sodium fell in love and was married to a fiery youth , .
called Oxygen, and how the happy union lasted until one(;
day a jealous knight, named Chlorine, fell in love with her,
and although he himself was married to a flighty woman
whose name was Hydrogenia, he abducted the princess,
and there was nothing left for poor Oxygen but to take
the deserted woman and turn to water with her. Such a
story would differ from a similar one enacted in human
life only in so far as the actors in the latter would intelli-
gently and consciously follow certain laws which are enacted
without individual intelligence in the mineral kingdom.
There is only one Consciousness and one law of Harmony
in the world, and according to it accords and discords
arise in all the three kingdoms of nature.
The influence of the light of the truth is a poison to the
erroneous conceptions existing within the mind, and
earthly thoughts are impurities to the mind that aspires to
of vibration, which appears as a necessary result of the universe being
substance in motion, the cause of such secrets will easily be found in
the discords existing between the vibrations constituting these sub-
stances. This theory of harmony will also explain why certain
chemicals combine \vith others In certain proportions.
ss
the kingdom of heaven. Evii desires create evil thoughts
and give birth to evil acts ; good acts procreate their
species, giving rise to good thoughts and aspirations, from
which good children are born. The sum of men's indivi-
dual desires constitutes the desires of the soul of the
world; the sum of the thoughts and opinions of mankind
constitutes the mental atmosphere by which the world in
general, and each locality in particular, is surrounded;
and the state of the mind ultimately expresses itself upon
the outward plane of manifestation. It is not more diffi-
cult to poison a mind with impure thoughts than to poison
a body with drugs. Impure is he who has many diverging
desires, pure is the mind having only one will.
Popular medicine deals only with external effects and
physical causes, occult science goes deeper, seeking for fun-
damental causes and final effects, which are of far greater
importance than the passing manifestations taking place
in the physical form. Thus, for instance, a promiscuous
sexual intercourse not only causes venereal diseases; but
as during that act a commingling of the inner natures
takes place to a certain extent, a man cohabiting with a
depraved woman takes on some of her characteristics and
joins to a certain extent her future Karma and destiny to
his own. The basis of the existence of human beings is
what, for want of a better expression, has been called the
Will (Spirit or Life), and as one body may colour or poison
another, likewise a colouring, and perhaps poisoning, takes
place by a blending of spirit during sexual intercourse;
this " spiritual substance " being the essence of each
human being.
"If a woman leaves her husband, she is then not free from
him, nor he from her; for a marital union having once been
established, remains a union for all eternity." ("De Homun-
culis.")
That which nourishes a thing, goes to make up its sub-
stance. The physical body receives its nutriment from
the physical plane, the soul is nourished by the influences
coming from the soul of the world, the intellect is nourished,
grows and expands in the jntellectual plane ; an ill-fed
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59
body becomes diseased ; a soul living on morbid desires
and inordinate longings becomes depraved, a mind fed
with false theories, errors and superstitions becomes
dwarfed, perverted and unable to turn its face towards the
sunlight of truth. The food for soul and mind is as sub-
stantial to them as material food is substantial to the
material body; body, soul, and spirit being three states of
the eternal One, manifested on three different planes of
existence, being governed by only one fundamental law.
What the stomach is in the body, the memory is in the
mind. Both are related together ; a dyspeptic stomach
causes a defective memory and an irritable mind ; an
irritable temperament causes indigestion and forgetfulness ;
forgetfulness can cause inattention, irritability and dys-
pepsia. Soul, body and mind are one in man, and dis-
orders existing in one can cause impurities in the other ;
each passion in man, each superstition in which he firmly
believes, is capable of poisoning his body and of producing
a certain disease. A belief in salvation made easy renders
a man indolent, indolence causes want of self.control,
which causes want of resistance to injurious influences in
the physical plane. Repeated physical misfortunes may
make a man a coward, and his cowardliness prevents him
from letting go of a doctrine which he intuitively known
to be false. Anger is not only injurious to bodily health,
but drives away reason by confusing the mind; wrath
causes not only mental but also physical shortsightedness,
and hard-hearing is often the only cause of a suspicious
character.
Thus innumerable comparisons may be drawn and
analogies be found, and cases cited to prove the correct-
ness of this theory, if our space would permit it, and if if
were necessary to prove by arguments and facts the truth
of the unity of the all, which must be self-evident to every-
one taking the trouble to seek for the answer to such
questions within himself.
But the highest cannot act upon the lowest . without an
intermediary link connecting them, the spirit cannot act
upon the body without the connecting link of the soul, nor
6o
the soul upon the body except by means of the life. We
cannot cook a dish of soup for a starving beggar by means
of the fire of love ; but love moves the will and induces
actions which the mind directs, and thus the soup may be
cooked after all owing to the power of love or charity.
The greatest difficulty in the understanding of occult laws
arises from the circumstance that we cannot perceive
remote causes or seek to connect them with ultimate effects
without being able to see through the intricate network
of intermediary causes between the two ends.
111.-ENS NATURAE.
Diseases which have thei,- Ol'igin in certain conditions i11herent
in the constituti01l of man.
Man is a perfect child of nature. There not a single
essence in his constitution which does not exist in nature ;
neither is there any substance or power to be found in
nature which does not exist in him, either actually or
potentially, undeveloped or developed.
" There are many who say that man is a mict'ocosm; but few
understand what this really means. As the world is itself an
organism with all its constellations, so is man a constellation
(organism), a world in itself, and as the firmament (space) of the
world is ruled by no creature, so the firmament which is within
man (his mind) is not subject to any other creature. This firma-
ment (sphere of mind) in man has its planets and stars (mental
states), its exaltations, conjunctions and oppositions (states ot
feelings, thoughts, emotions, ideas, loves and hates), call them
by whatever name you like, and as all the celestial bodies in
space are connected with each other by invisible links, so are
the organs in man not entirely independent of each other, but
depend on each other to a certain extent. His heart is
his 0' his brain his [' the spleen his loz: the
liver "2f thelungs and the kidneys
mirum," Ill. 4.)
Man has two kinds of natures. His physical organism
is a product of that nature which he received from his ter
fit
restrial parents; his mental organisation is the result of
a higher and quite different kind of evolution. His terres-
trial nature includes not only his visible organism, but also
the organisation of his astral form and :his mental consti-
tution.
"There are two kinds of Aesh. The Aesh of A dam (the
physical body) is gross earthly Aesh ; the Aesh that is derived
from A dam is of a subtle kind. It is not made of gross matter,
it penetrates through all walls without requiring doors or holes;
nevertheless both kinds of Aesh ha\'e their blood and bones, and
both differ again from the spirit." (Pararels11s, " De Nymphis.")
Man having within himself the same essences and
powers, and there being only one universal law of evolu-
tion, there takes place in him a development similar to, if
not identical with, the development in eternal and !internal
nature. Accords and discords in his nature can grow and
swell into harmonies or disharmonies, and constitute the
whole man a symphony or cacophony, colouring his whole
being and transmitting this to his offspring. A seed of
wheat and a seed of barley resemble each other, and never-
theless wheat grows out of one and barley out of the other.
The ovum of a human being shows no essential difference
from that of a monkey ; nevertheless out of the one
grows a human being and out of the other a monkey.
The nature of man is fully expressed in every part
of his organism, and in the sperm of the father is contained
not only the quality of this or that part of his nature,
but the potentiality of the whole.*
The quality of the constitution of a man determines the
length of his natural life.
" If a child is born, its finnament (astral body and mind, etc.)
is born with it, containing the seven principles, of which each
In the recognition of the law is contained the key to the under-
standing of chiromancy, phrenology, physiognomy, psychometry, etc.,
and their value in practismg medicine ; for although the physical form,
owing to external physical conditions, may not be an exact image of
the internal nature of man, nevertheless the character of the mind is
to a certain extent impressed visibly upon each part of the body, and
being a whole and a unity, the whole of that charncter may be read in
every part of the body, if we know how to read it ; in the same sense
as a botanist can tell the character of a tree by examining one of its
leaves, for he knows at once to what class of t ~ it belongs.
I
I
I
I
;
I
I
I
\
I
has its own potencies and qualities. What is called predesti1UI
tion is only the quality of the powers in man. The weakness or
strength of his constitution determines whether his life is to be
short or long, according to natural laws; the planets in him run
their course whether he has a long or a short life, only in the
former case the course of his planets is of a longer, and in the
other case of a shorter duration. The quality of the constitution
which a man recei\'eS at his birth determines the length of his
natural life, just as the quantity of sand in an hour glass deter-
mines the time when it will ha\'e run down." (" Paramirum,"
L. I., .Tr. iii., C. 5.)
The Ens Naturae therefore refers to those beginnings in
man's constitution which are the result of the quality of
his body, soul and mind as he received them from nature,
and includes all inherited physical diseases, qualities of
temperament and mental peculiarities ; for the earthly part
of the mind ( Kama M anas) belongs to terrestrial nature and
its tendencies are inherited ; while the spiritual part of the
mind (Manas Buddhi) is not inherited from the parents,
but belongs to the spiritual man whose parent exists in
eternity.*
This class includes all internal diseases originating from
disorders arising among the interaction of the physiological
functions of the organs of the body, or of the interaction
between these and those of the soul (the emotions) and
mind (thoughts).
This system of Paracelsus includes the whole realm of
modern physiology and pathology ; but it penetrates
deeper, for it investigates the functions of soul and mind,
and follows the development of an evil desire or thought
until it ultimately finds its expre!;sion in an external mani-
festation of visible pathological states. To enter into the
details of this field of pathology is not possible within the
limits of this book.
There is no indication that the sympathies and anti-
pathies, in other words the physiological relations existing
"The character of a man and his talents, aptitude, dexterity, etc.,
are not given to him by (terrestrial) nature. His spirit is not a product
of nature, but comes from the incorporeal realm. You should not say
that he receives these thinp from nature ; the sages never said so."
(" Paramirum," L.l., Tr. ill., C. 2.)
63
between the different organs in the human body, are better
known at the present time than they were at the time pf
Paracelsus: on the contrary, he speaks of the currents of
the life-principle taking place between these organs, while
modern anatomy speaks only of nerves, which are in
regard to the "life-fluid" what electric wires are in regard
to electricity.
"The heart sends its spirit (will power) through the whole ot
the body, as the sun his power to all the planets and earths;
the ([ (the intelligence of the brain) goes to the heart and
back again to the brain. The fire (heat) takes its origin in the
(chemical) activity of the organs (the lungs), but pervades the
whole body. The liquor vitte (essence of life) is universally dis-
tributed and moves (circulates) in the body. This 'humor '
contains many different powers, and cause in him ' metals '
(virtues or vices) of various kinds.'' (" Paramirum," L. I .
Tr. J.)
In regard to this subject modem medical science says:-
" A wide basis of positive knowledge in regard to this subject
does not exist. The physiology of the different departments of
the sympathetic system of nerves is now only beginning to shape
itself, while on the side of pathology and morbid anatomy there
is even still less of definite knowledge. Thus it happens that
for the most part only conjectures, often very insecurely :based
are current, or can be said to exist in regard to the dependence
of definite sets of 11ymptoms, or distinct diseases, upon disordered
actions or morbid changes occurring in one or other part of the
sympathetic system of nerves.'' (" H. Charlton Bastian.'')
Both ancient and modem science are right as far as
they go; only while modern science pays all of its attention
to the forms (organs, nerves, etc.), which are merely the
prcducts of certain principles and powers and the instru-
ments for their activity, ancient science deals with these
powers themselves, taking only into secondary considera-
tion the visible instruments in and through which they
become manifest. Modern science, so to say, studies the
muscular movements of a musician, occult science
knows the art of music itself. Material science is the
servant mixing .the paints for the painter ; the true physi-
64
ciao is the artist who knows how to paint. The one
studies the tools which the workman uses; the other sees
also the workman himself. These comparisons are not
drawn for the purpose of throwing discredit upon modern
medical science, nor for the purpose of blaming any
modem physician for not employing powers which be does
not possess; but for the purpose of indicating that a
knowledge of physical phenomena and visible forms is not
the limit of all attainable knowledge, and that there
exists a higher and more important kind of knowledge,
based upon a high:.>r perception, such as is attained
only through the higher development of the spiritual
character of man; which becomes possible only when
earthly presumption and vanity are overcome and when,
by stepping up higher, he realises the nothingness of the
terrestrial illusion of " self."
IV.-ENS SPIRITUALE.
Diseases arising from spiritt1al catlsts.
"Spirit "-from spiro, to blow-means breath. "Breath
means a power, quite distinct from mechanical force, as
being endowed with consciousness, life and intelligence.
In its aspect as an universal power, it means the breath of
God which caused the universe to come from a subjective
state into objective existence ; in its individual aspect it
means the spiritual power dwelling in man.*
Spirit is Consciousness in evef'y plane of existence; but from
this it does not follow that all the forms in which it dwells
necessarily manifest self-consciousness or are even con-
scious of existence. For the manifestation of perfect
spiritual self-consciousness a spiritual organism is re-
quired, such as an average man does not possess, if he has
not been reborn in the spirit. In the forms of the mineral
kingdom the presence of spirit is perceptible by the mani-
festations of mineral life, in the vegetable kingdom by
the manifestations of vegetable life, and in the animal
kingdom by those of animal life, for spirit is itself the
Then shall the dust return to earth as it was, and the spirit shall
return to God who gave it." (" Ecclesiastes," xii., 7.)
6s
basis of life in the p:1ysical, astral, intellectual and
spiritual world; and as the spirit of the universe is the
spiritual breath of God, issuing from the centre and
returning to it, so is the spirit of man the spiritual power
which enters into his constitution, and issues again when
the body dies.
That is a spirit, which is born from our thoughts; immaterial
and in the living body. That which is born after our death is
the soul." (" Paramirum," L. I., C. iv., :z.)
"The spirit is not born from reasoning, but from the will."
(Ibid. 3)
"Spirit," in other words, is a form of Will endowed with
thought; a spiritual power, neither good nor evil in itself;
but which becomes good or evil according to the purpose
for which it is employed. Its functions are willing,
imagining, and remembering.
A great deal has been written about the power of will
and imagination in Nature, by means of which the types
existing in the memory of the universal mind continually
find re-expression in physical visible forms;* in this place
we have to deal only with the qualities of these three
functions, and the effects which they produce in the body
of man.
In the previous three divisions of this chapter we have
had under our consideration causes of diseases originating in
the terrestrial part of the human constitution; this and
the following deals with his spiritual part.
" There are two subjects in man, one is a material, the other
a spiritual being (thoughtbody), impalpable, invisible, subject
to its own diseases (discords); one belonging to the material,
the other to the spiritual world, each having its own states of
consciousness, perception and m.emory, its own associations with
beings ofits kind. Nevertheless, both are one during this life,
and the spirit influences the body ; but not the body the spirit.
Therefore if the spirit is diseased, it is of no use to doctor the
body; but if the body is diseased, it can be cured by administer-
ing remedies to the spirit." (Lib. "Paramir.," I., iv., 4 and 7.)
This spiritual part, or the thought-body of man, is the
vehicle for the reincarnating spirit, when the spiritual
See: Magic, white and b ~ . " Paracelsus," " Boehme," etc.
B
66
individuality evolves a new personality upon the earth.
For the purpose of understanding what is said in the
following division of this chapter, it will be necessary to
understand the theory of ReincaTnatitm, of which we can
only present an outline within the space of this work. H.
P. Blavatsky says that which reincarnates is:
" Tlu Spiritual thinking Ego, tlu permtnunl primiple in man, or
that fllhich is tlu seat of the Manas. It is Mt ATWA, or even ATMA
BuooHr, which is the i11dividual or divine man, but MAN AS; for
is tlu Universal AU, and beuJifUS tlu Higher Self of man only
'" mjumtion with BuooHr, its vehicle, fllhich links IT to tlu indi
viduality (or tlu divine Man)." *
The resurrection of the physical body is a modern super-
stition in which none of the ancient philosophers or real
Christians ever believed. t
Will.
" Will " comes from desire ; but is quite distinct
from that selfish desire which is the result of the fancies
of the brain ; the true will is a strong power which comes
from the centre, the heart, and in its highest aspect it is
that creative power which called the world into existence.
All the voluntary and involuntary actions in nature and in
the organism of man originate in the action of will, whether
or not we are conscious of it.
"You do not know a tithe ot the real power o the will."
(Panuelsus, " Paramir.," I., iv., 8.)
Upon the physical plane the will acts, so to say, uncon-
sciously, carrying out blindly the laws of nature, causing
attractions, repulsions, guiding the mechanical, chemical
and physiological functions of the body without man's
intelligence taking any part in the process. Man is him-
"Key to Theosophy," p. 121 (London, 188g).
t " There is an in,isible organism in man, not placed within the
a body which (unlike the material one) does not come
from the Limlnls (matter) but has its origin in the Jiving breath of God.
It is not a body coming into existence after death, to rise up on the
day ; for the physical body being a nonentity (unreal) cannot
me resurrected after death, neither shall we be called upon to l(ive
account about our physical health and disease ; but we shall be judged
according to the things that have issued from our will. This spiritual
body in man is the flesh that comes from the breath of God. There
are two bodies, but only one flesh." ( .. Paramlr.," Lib. 11., 8.).
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67
self a manifestation of will, and the will (spirit) in him can
perform many things without depending on the intellectual
activity of the brain ; all of which is left unexplained by
modern physiology, although it cannot deny the facts.
Thus an experienced pianist does not require to determine
first which movement he should give to the muscles of his
fingers before striking a key ; but he does this instinctively
after his spirit has been educated to it. Rope-walking,
gymnastic feats and acts of all kinds are the products of a
trained will, and would be impossible without that. They
may be superintended by the intellect, but are not guided
by it. Its sphere of action is limited to that of the body
in which it dwells.
In its higher aspect the will is a conscious power, mani-
festing itself as emotions, virtues and vices of various
kinds. Its sphere of action extends as far as the sphere
of the influence of the individual mind. Thus the will of
a superior person exercises an influence over his inferiors,
a teacher over his pupils, a general over his army, a sage
over the world.
In its highest aspect the will manifests itself as a self-
conscious power, capable of acting far beyond the limits
of the corporeal form from which it issues, constituting,
so to say, an independent organized spiritual being acting
under the guidance of the intelligence of the person from
whom it is born. Strange as this assertion may appear,
it is nevertheless true, and the now accepted phenomena of
" hypnotism " have opened the door to the understanding
of such An investigation into this subject
would bring us within the realm of magic, spiritism,
witchcraft, sorcery, etc., etc., which does not belong to our
present purpose, and which has been treated in a previous
work.t
Any person wishing for information on such points may find it in
the literature of spiritism. medizval witchcraft. in the "Lives of
the Saints.'' etc., etc. Volumes might be filled with such accounts,
but .Phenomena are proofs only to him to whom they occur. A person
havmg no experience of a thing is always at liberty to deny its exist-
ence, and it is far easier to call it a " superstition " than to arrive at its
understanding by studying secret laws.
.. t . "See : TMIIUOII Htulso11. "The Law of Psychic Pheoomena."
68
As an evil will is the cause of many diseases, so is a
good wiJl a great remedy for curing them. While two fools
hypnotizing each other will produce a mixture of folly,
the magic power of the self-conscious benevolent will of
an enlightened physician is able to arouse the confidence
and restore health in many cases where all the remedies
of the pharmacopceia are of no avail, and the cultivation of
this power is therefore of supreme importance, even more
so than a knowledge of all the details in regard to the
action of drugs. Science and wisdom should be cultivated
together, but not the former at the expense of the latter.
Imagination.
" Imagination" means the power of the mind to form
images ; from the shadowy images of a dream up to the
corporeal and living images formed by the power of an
Adept. This faculty, which was well known to the ancient
sages who were in possession of it, is almost entirely
ignored by popular medical science, which in spite of its
recent discoveries of what is now called "suggestion," does
not yet seem to suspect the extent of its power. It is a
power whose application cannot be taught to those who
do not possess it, and tllere are very few who have this
power developed ; for our present generation is of a pre-
eminently adamic (terrestrial) and impotent kind ; leading
a dream-life, and being itself composed of dreams, its
imagination is as feeble as a dream. The real
power of active and effective imagination belongs to
the spiritual inner man, who in the vast majority of
mankind has not yet awakened to life. Only when men
and women have entered into the true life-in other
words, when the spirit in them will have become self-con-
scious-will they be able to possess and to exercise spiritual
powers, such as constituted the A1'cana of Theophrastus
Paracelsus, on which there has been so much speculation
in modern literature and yet so little reaJly known-the
stumbling block and fruitful source of error for so many
of our modern surface observers.*
"Arcaoum" means mystery. The key to a mystery is its under-
standing. The Arcana of Paracelsus were not, as has been asserted
6g
We do not blame popular medical science for not know-
ing that which it does not know; but we believe that the
presumption of those who figure temporarily as the repre-
sentatives of science, and who dogmatically pronounce
useless and absurd everything which they do not possess,
ought not to be encouraged. It is not so very long since
recognised science laughed at the rotundity of the earth,
and declared officially that no meteors could fall from the
sky "because there were no stones in heaven;" denounced
the belief in " psychic phenomena " as being a degrading
superstition, and ridiculed the idea of building steamboats
and telegraphs, etc. These errors originate not from
science, but from stupid ignorance and self-conceit ; they
are the result of human infirmities, which exist now as in
times of old, and can be cured only by the development of
a superior power for knowing the truth.
Memory.
The third great power of the spirit manifested in the
mind is the power of memory, which is, in fact, the power
of man's spirit to visit those places within the sphere of
his mind where the impressions of former experiences are
preserved, and thus to bring them again within the field of
consciousness. Whatever function the physical brain may
exercise in using this faculty of the spirit, the brain is no
more the memory than the eye the sight ; it is merely an
instrument for perception, but not the perceiver nor the
object of perception, nor the perception itself. To remem-
ber a thing is to see its impression or image in the astral
li{ht; to recollect a thing is to gather together one's own
attention at the place where its impression is stored up in
the mind, and the power which enables a person to do so
is the relation which exists between the creator and his
creatures; man having formed a thought or idea, or
perceived an image, is able to recollect it, because the
by certain " authorities," patent medicines whose composition he kept
secret; but they were his knowledge of the means for effecting a cure.
He says:-" If there is a stone in the bladder, thearra11um is the knife
(for performing lithotomy), in (acute) Mania phlebotomy is the arcanum.
An arcanum is the entenng Into a new state, the giving birth to a new
thing." (Lib. '' Paraniir.," I . 5, 11. 2.) Every plane of existence has its
own mysteries and arcane remedies.
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impression is his creation-having issued from himself, it
is a part of his world.
It depends upon the dE'.gree of spiritual power of percep-
tion in man, whether he can clearly and vividly see these
images in the Astral Light, or whether they appear to
him dim, uncertain and indistinct ; but in the vast majority
of men and women in our present generation this power of
perceiving does not penetrate deeper nor rise higher than
the Astral Light, while the spiritually developed man can
penetrate deeper, and behold the memories of not only his
present incarnation, but also those referring to his previous
states of existence.
Will, Imagination and Memory are the cause of many
diseases and such may he caused by one's perverted use of
those faculties, or by being practised upon another.
A thought of any kind, be it wicked or virtuous, if ren-
dered strong and substantial by the consent of the will,
becomes born in the inner world as an elemental being,
which grows by being cultivated, so that it may ultimately
obsess its own father and produce visible effects upon the
physical frame. The imagination of animals produces
change in the colour of their offspring, the imagination of
a mother can produce marks upon the child; the recollec-
tion of evil events and keeping such memories constantly
in the mind gives rise to melancholy, ill temper, and
despondency, anger, greed, lust, avarice, etc. All
forms of evil will produce not only morbid states of the
mind, but also certain definite changes in the physical
body ; all of which offer a vast field for a science of
psychology in the future. An exposition of such a men-
tal science cannot be attempted within the limited space
of this work; but there already exists a vast amount of
literature on this subject ignored by official science.
V.-ENs Dsr.
Diseases arising frl11 eterul RetribtltW..
A definition of the word " Deus," God, is an impossi-
bility, because it refers to a state beyond the conception
of the limited mind. Eckhart says:-" A god of whom I
71
could conceive would not be a god, but a limited creature."
We can therefore only say, God is the universal will in its
highest aspect as divine love ; which is the supreme law
and the life of all things. A necessary consequence of
the action of divine law is divine justice ; because it would
be impossible to imagine how one being could be favoured
without doing injustice to another, and thus depriving the
law of universal divine love of its unity and equality. This
divine law of justice, according to which every cause
created by a rational being returns with all its effects to
its creator, is called in the East the law of Karma, and may
be translated as the law of Eternal Retribution. H. P.
Blavatsky says:-
"Karma is the une1'1'ing law which adjusts effect to cause, 011 the
physical, meutal, and spiritual planes of being. As 110 cause 1'emains
111ithout its due effeet from gl'eatest to least, f1'om a cosmic disturbance
to the mouement of your hand, and as like produces like, Karma
is that law which adjusts wisely, intelligently aud equitably each
effeet to its cause, the /alter back to its producer."
This law of Karma is in common parlance called the
Will of God ; which means the action of divine justice
throughout the universe, and it is the cause not only of
social evils, distinctions of classes in society, of the unequal
distribution of wealth and comfort, good luck and misfor-
tune, but also of defects of character, mental abnormali-
ties and physical diseases.
All diseases in fact are effects of the law of Karma, the
effects of causes, which are all based upon one universal
Law ; but this is not to be understood as if it meant
"fatality," or as if nothing could be done to cure such
effects; for Kanna is also the source of good, and if the
patient finds a physician able to cure him, it proves that
it was his Karma to find him and that he should be cured
by him.
"All health and all disease comes from God, who also fur.
nishes the remedy. Each disease is a purgatory, and no physi-
cian can effect a cure until the time of that purgatory is over.
Ignorant physicians are the devils of that purgatory; but a wise
physician a redeeming angel and a servant of God. The physi.
H. P. Blavatsky's" Key to Theosophy," p. 201.
72
cian is a servant of nature, .and God is its Lord. Therefore no
physician ever performs a cure unless it is the will of God curing
the patient through him." (" Paramir.," 1., C. iv., 2 and 7.)
To know the theory of a thing is a science, to know how
to use it successfully is art.':' It was the view of the
ancient philosophers, and it will also be the view of the
physician of the future, that Medicine is not merely a
science but a holy art, and that a mere science without
true goodness and wisdom is without real value. The
practice of medicine must be based not merely upon scien-
tific theories in regard to the laws of that part of nature
which is its lowest plane of manifestation, the plane of
physical appearances; but at the bottom of all science
must be the recognition of eternal Truth itself. Health
and disease in man are not determined by physical laws
alone, such as govern the lowest orders of being; neither
are the laws of Nature created by Nature; but all Mtural
laws are the 011tcome of spirit11al law acting in Nature, and in
those kingdoms where intelligence plays a part, where the
will begins to become free and individual responsibility
takes place, a more direct action of divine law becomes
manifest. Although therefore a knowledge of the laws of
physical nature is extremely useful and necessary, the
student of medicine should above all cultivate nobility and
spirituality of character, such as is the result of the recog-
nition of the fundamental law of Divine Wisdom, upon
which is based all the order and harmony that exists in
the world. Thus the practice of medicine has for its
The cause of a certain disease may exist not only in one of these
five but in more. For instance, a hremorrhage of the womb
may be caused by mental excitement in connection with a state of
weakness of resistance in the tissues of the organs; insanity may be
caused by mental, moral or physical circumstances; blindness may be
the result of physical or of mental excitem-nt; a bodily defect
the r-sult of antenatal Karma, or of physical causes. In the clockwork
of nature all the wheels are connected by one common chain. There-
fore not only one of these but all of them ought to be known
and taken tnto consideration ; but each of the corresponding five
methods of treatment contains in itself all the elements for effecting a
cure. It is therefore not necessary that a physician should practise
all the five methods of treatment; but he should have a thorough
knowledge of the method which he has chosen, and be well versed in
it and stick to his method ; but he should not believe his own method
to be the one, and reject others of which he knows nothing.
73
foundation not a merely technical side, and is not merely a
trade or profession, which anybody may enter who chooses
for the purpose of making a living ; but it requires for its
legitimate object the employment of such faculties as are '
the result of a de\elopment of the higher and nobler
elements, the 'spiritual part in the constitution of man.
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IV.
THE FIVE CLASSES OF PHYSICIANS.
THERE being five causes of disease, and as each
disease ought to be treated with reference to its
cause, there may be distinguished five distinct modes
of treatment, which, however, must not be confounded
with five different systems such as anyone may
choose at his own pleasure, for each of these modes
requires the possession of certain distinct natural qualifi-
cations, of which the higher are at present only rarely
to be found. While the science of the lower methods,
such as prescribing drugs, using hot or cold water, or
applying any other physical forces, may easily enough be
taught to anybody in possession of an ordinary amount of
intelligence, the real art of medicine requires higher gifts
and talents, which cannot be acquired in any other way
than according to the law of spiritual evolution, by the
higher development of the inner man. A physician in
possession of the powers conveyed by wisdom may also
acquire a knowledge of the medical views and techni-
calities which form the stock in trade nf the lower orders
of physicians ; but a physician of a lower order cannot
practise the art of the higher order without becoming
initiated into that order by means of the development of
the power required for it.
This will make it clear that the quality of the physician
himself is of as much importance as the system which he
practises, and Paracdsus distinguishes five classes of physi-
cians : the three lower classes seeking for their resources
in the material plane ; the two higher classes employing
remedies belonging to the supersensual plane ; but he
also says that, owing to the unity of nature, either one of
these classes of physicians may Pccomplish cures in either
one of the five fields. and that no physician ought to
change around from one system to another ; but each
- - - - --- -
75
ought to stick to that " sect " to which he naturally
belongs.
These five classes of physicians he describes as follows :
1. such as employ physical remedies, acting
as opposites ; which means, using physical and
means, heat against cold, etc., etc. (Allopaths).
2. Specifici.-Those who employ certain remedies which
experience has shown to act asspecifica (Empirics, Homceo-
paths).
3 Clzarncteral(s.-Such as employ the powers of the
mind; acting upon the will and imagination of the patient
(Mental healers, Mind cure, Mesmerism, &c.).
4 Spirituales.-Those who are in possession of spiritual
powers, using magic power of their own will and
thought (Magic, Psychometry, Hypnotism, Spiritism,
Sorcery).
S Fideles.-Those through whom " miraculous" works
are performed in the power of the true faith (Adepts).
To which of these five "sects '' or faculties a physician
belongs, he ought to be thoroughly versed and experienced
in that department, having not merely a superficial but a
thorough knowledge of it.
" In whatever faculty one desires to acquire a degree and
obtain success, he should, besides regarding . the soul and the
diseased body of the patient, exert himself to obtain a thorough
knowledge of that department, and be taught more by his own
intuition and reason than by what the patient can tell him ; he
ought to be able to recognise the cause and origin of the disease
which he treats, and his knowledge ought to be unwavering and
not subject to doubts." (" Paramir.," I., Prolog.)
There are, therefore, in each of these classes three
grades to be distinguished, namely : ( 1) those who possess
the full requirements of their art; (2) those who have
attained only mediocrity ; (3) dunces, pretenders and
frauds ; to which belong the vast array of licensed and
unlicensed quacks, such as thrive upon the ignorance
and credulity of the people and by means of their poisons
and drugs " kill annually more persons than war, famine
and the plague combined." But neither of these five
76
classes of physicians should regard their own system as
the only true one, and reject the others or consider them
useless ; for in each is contained the full and perfect
power to cure all diseases that come from either of the
five causes, and each will be successful if such is the will
of the Law.
I.-NATURALES.
To this class belongs the vast army of what is to-day
usually termed" regular practitioners," meaning those who
move in the old ruts of official medical science, from the
more or less progressive physician down to the vendor of
drugs. The remedies which they employ belong to the
three kingdoms of physical nature, and according to the
elements which they represent, may be divided as follows :
1. Earlh.-This includes all mineral, vegetable, and
animal substances that may be required for medical
purposes, drugs, herbs, and their preparations, chemical
agents, &c.
2. Water.-To this belongs the water cure, hot and
cold baths,:and whatever may be connected with it.
3 Ai,.-The therapeutic results which can be accom-
plished by means of inhaling certain gases and vapours
are at present comparatively little known, except in so far
as changes of climate are resorted to for such purposes.
The employment of such things as pure air, sunlight, etc.,
is far too simple to find full appreciation of its value by a
generation whose mode of thinking is too complicated to
enable them to perceive simple truths, and is therefore
considered to belong rather to " hygiene " than to " thera-
peutics."
4 Fi,e.-To the agents belonging to this class may be
counted any kind of energy, heat and cold, sunlight and
the actions of its variously coloured rays,* physical
electricity, mineral magnetism, etc., all of which have thus
The soothing power of blue, the exciting effects of red, the in-
vigorating effects of yellow, etc., deserve a great deal more attention
than they receive at present. The reason why the " blue llght cure
has caused only a passing excitement, is because it was indiscriminately
\!sed and its laWll not understood.
77
far received very little attention from modem medicine ;
while the ancients employed such remedies for the cure of
many diseases.*
5 Ether.-The one element and its action is thus far
hardly theoretically admitted by modern science and practi-
cally almost unknown. Only very recently a great step of
progress in this direction has been made by the discovery
of the therapeutic action ofthe solar ether, and by the em-
ployment of an apparatus for the employment of its
radiations. t
But the sphere of activity for the natural physician is
not limited to the extent of the merely physical plane. If
goes a step higher he may employ not only the pro-
ducts of life, but the activity of life itself, in a higher
form.t The sources from which he receives the physical
remedies are the physical products of nature; the sources
from which he draws living powers are living organisms.
To this department belongs the employment of " animal
magnetism;" the transfer of life (Mumia); the transplanta-
tion of diseases and similar things thoroughly described
by Paracelsus, Cornelius Agrippa and others, but which
for our present official medical science do not exist.
Even those who employ only gross material principles
also employ, without being conscious of it, the higher
principles contained therein ; for every physical substance,
to whatever kingdom in nature it may belong, is an ex-
pression of not only one of the four elements, but of all
four, and contains all the higher principles. Thus, for
instance, it has been shown that the action of certain
drugs corresponds to that of the colours which they
exhibit in the solar-spectrum ; 11 each state of matter also
corresponds to a certain state of electric tension ; each
particle of food proves the presence of the life princi pie in it
"Paracelsus," p. 141.
t Professor 0 . Korschelt in Leipzig invented an instrument for that
purpose.
: See " Paracelsus," p. 138.
All forces may become manifest in a threefold form. There are
universal, animal and "magnets"; a physical electricity, an
electricity of life, a spiritual electricity, etc., etc.
11 Ih Babbiti'J " Principles of Ught and Colour."
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by being nutritious; each poisonous drug acting upon the
mind, shows thereby that the mind principle therein is in
a high state of activity. There is no" dead matter" in
the universe ; each thing is a representation of a state of
consciousness in nature, even if its state of consciousness
differs from ours, and is therefore beyond the reach of our
recognition ; everything is a manifestation of " Mind;'
even if does not exhibit any intelligent functions, or what
we are capable of recognising as such.
For the comprehension of these thing!>, the position
adopted by modem natural science is altogether insuffi
cient, and such a philosophical knowledge is required as
shall constitute the first pillar in the temple of medicine.
There is a vast field still unexplored by modern medical
science, and if things which were known to the ancients
are not known at present, it is not because such sciences
have never existed, but because they have ceased to be
understood owing to the materialising tendency of this age.
I 1.-SPBCIPICI.
To this class belong all physicians who under certain
circumstances employ certain remedies, of which they
know from experience that under similar circumstances
similar remedies have proved successful. This system
may therefore be called "Empiricism," and it constitutes
the greatest part of modem therapeutics; for what little
is known to-day of the physiological and therapeutic
actions of medicine is on the whole the result of obse!"Vation,
and not of a knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature
which cause medicines to act as they do.
l;leat is a specific remedy for cold, and moisture for
dryness; but even the very opposite remedies often have
the same specific effect. Thus, for instance, the pain
caused by an inflammation, and the inflammation itself,
may be cured by cold as well as by hot applications to
the inflamed part ; for in one case the walls of the
blood vessels contract, diminishing the quantity of the
blood rushing to them, while in the other case these
vessels dilate, rendering the rush of blood painless and
19
easy. The specific action of chemicals is due to their
chemical affinities (harmonies). Thus the invigorating
action resulting from the inhalation of fresh air is caused
by the affinity which Oxygen has for the Carbon in the
blood, and by the life principle of the air upon the life
principle in the body. Thus the tubercle-bacilli in the
lungs may be destroyed by the specific action of certain
gases, which, inhaled, form certain chemical compounds
with certain elements contained in these micro-organisms,
and thereby cause their destruction.* Everything in the
universe takes place for a certain reason and has a certain
specific action depending on certain conditions. If we
know the laws and conditions, experience becomes a
science ; but where our science is blind, experience can be
our guide.
Like knows like. The physical senses only recognise
physical things ; but all visible things are an expression of
soul, and what can we know about the Soul of Things, if
we do not know that soul which is our own ? There can
be no motion, where there is no emotion to produce it,
e,ither directly or indirectly. All motions are manifesta-
tions of energy ; energy is a manifestation of conscious-
ness ; consciousness is a state of the mind ; mind is a
vehicle for the manifestation of spirit ; spirit is the
" Breath " by which the world was created.
If the colours of the Tattwas and their nature were
studied, a new field for medical science would open. It
would become possible to explain why a raving maniac
kept in a room of blue light will become quieted, and a
melancholy person improve in a room filled with red or
yellow rags; why a steer will become excited at the sight
of red, and a mob infuriated by the sight of blood. Where
the laws in consequence of which certain effects occur
are unknown, we can only register the facts. If we
recognise a truth by experience we can make use of it,
leaving it to sceptical science to arrive at its recognition
by hobbling along on its crutches of external observation
and inference.
F. Hartmann, "Elne neue HeUmethode." . 'W; FriedriC:h0
Leipzig, 18gs:
. ".
8o
These inferences are often drawn from wrong premises;
effects mistaken for causes ; drugs administered where
the sources of the diseases exist in moral and mental
conditions upon which drugs have no effect, etc., etc.
The application of specific remedies therefore requires not
merely a knowledge that this or that remedy has effected
such and such cures, but also a knowledge of the circum
stances in which it will produce such effects again. The
real A rcanutn is the understanding of the relation existing
between cause and effect. To those shortsighted practi
tioners who behold in every disease nothing but the mani-
festation of a purely physical or chemical cause, and to
whom "mind," "soul" and "spirit" are terms without
meaning or merely physiological functions of unconscious
matter, the Arcana of such cures will ever remainunknow
able mysteries ; for they can be known only to those who
understand the organization of the inner nature of man.
The phenomena caused by life are incomprehensible as
long as life is regarded as a product of forms without life ;
but he who is able to see in every living thing a manifes-
tation of the One Life pervading all nature, a function of
universal will, has already entered the precincts of that
higher science, which cannot be explained by words, if it
is not known to the heart.
I
111.-CHARACTERALES.
A physician of this class is the one whose very presence
inspires the patient with confidence in recovery. Con
sciously or unconsciously such a physician acts upon the
two great motive powers in the constitution of the patient,
namely his will and his imagination. He who can restore
tranquillity of the soul by creating confidence, creates the
condition required for the cure of the disturbance of the
elements producing discord.
All the processes taking place in the physical body
originate in the unconscious or conscious action of the will
and the imagination, to which must be added the power of
memory; for the existence of former either
consciously or unconsciously produces certain states in the
8r
imagination, which again determine the direction of will.
The average physician often employs these powers un-
knowingly ; a physician of the higher class can employ
them intelligently. A sudden strong emotion may in a
moment cure a paralytic affection of long standing, a
sudden danger arouse the unconscious will. Perhaps in
the majority of cases it is not that which the patient takes
but that which he imagines that it will cure him, which
effects the cure, and without this power of the imagination
very few medicines would produce any beneficial results.
To this department belong so-called " hypnotism " and
"suggestion," two old things described under new names.
Paracelsus says of this action of the spiritual will:
"It is as if one orders another to run and he runs. This takes
place by means of the word and through the power of the word ;
the word bejng the character." (" Paramir.," Prolog. Ill.)
So-called " hypnotism " is the overcoming of a weak will
by a stronger one. The superior will of the physician over-
comes the will of the patient and forces it to act in a certain
direction. It is an art which is practised continually and
constantly by one half of mankind on the other half, from
the will power of a general commanding his army down to
the unconscious influence unknowingly exercised by one
mind over another, without the subject being aware of its
source. Evil thoughts originating in one person create
corresponding impulses in others, and if the unconscious
action of will and the relations which it causes among
sympathetic minds were truly known, human freewill and
responsibility would perhaps appear in a different light.
Similar to that is what has been called "suggestion,"
which Paracelsus calls the virtue of the imagination. It
is the imagination of one mind overpowering the mind of
another and creating therein a corresponding imagination,
which is perfectly real to the patient, because it is in reality
his own creation produced unconsciously by himself.
"The visible man has his laboratory (the physical body), and
the invisible man is working therein. The sun has his rays,
which cannot be grasped with the hands, which are nevertheless
strong enough to set houses on fire (if gathered by a lens).
F
Imagination in man is like a sun, it acts within his world where-
ever it may shine. Man is that which he thinks. If he thinks
fire, he is all on fire; if he thinks war, he is warring; by the power
of thought alone the imagination becomes a sun." ("De virtute
imaginativa," V.)
The imagination becomes strong through the will and
the will becomes powerful through imagination. Either
of these two is the life of the other, and if they become one
and identical, they constitute a living spirit to which
nothing inferior offers resistance. In the ignorant and
doubtful, in those who do not know their own mind and
doubt the result of success, consequently in the majority
of experiments carried on tor the purpose of gratifying a
scientific curiosity or for some other selfish purpose, the
will and imagination are not one, but act in two different
directions. If we look with one eye to heaven and with
the other to the earth, or with one to the restoration of
the patient's health and with the other to the profits
knowledge or renown we may receive from it ourselves,
there is no unity of motive or purpose, and consequently a
lack of the principal condition for success. A physician
desirous of employing such means should therefore he of
such a nobility of character as to be above all selfish con-
siderations, and only intent upon doing his duty according
to the commands of divine love.
Only that which comes from the heart goes to the heart;
the power that comes from the brain alone has no m a g i ~
effects unless it becomes united with that which comes
from the heart. It resembles the cold and ineffective
moonlight, but it becomes a strong power by its union
with the sunshine that radiates from the centre of the
heart.
" Thus the imagination becomes a spirit, and its vehicle is the
body, and in this body are generated the seeds which bear good
and evil fruits." ("De virtute imaginativa," Ill.)
IV .-SPIRITUALBS.
Up to this class we have had to deal with forces which
are, even if not fully recognized, at least admitted by
modern science ; but now we are going to speak of the
action of a spiritual power, which, being in the conscious
possession of only a few persons, is almost entirely unknown.
This is the power which the self-conscious spirit exercises
over the unintelligent force!' in nature, and which comes
under the head of " Magic," a term whose meaning is
understood only by few.
"Magic "-from mag, priest-means the great power of
wisdom, an attribute of the self-conscious spirit, holy or
devilish according to the purpose to which it is applied.
It is therefore a power which does not belong to the
terrestrial intellectual man ; but to the spiritual man, and
it may even be exercised by the latter without the external
man being aware of the source of this power acting in
him. For this reason we often see that some remedy
proves very efficacious in the hands of one physician and
entirely useless in the hands of another equally learned and
intellectual. Paracelsus says:
" Such physicians are called spiritualts, because they command
the spirits of herbs and roots, and force them to release the sick
whom they have imprisoned. Thus if a judge puts a prisoner
in the stocks, the judge is his physician. Having the keys, he
may open the locks when he chooses. Tothisclassofphysicians
belonged Hippocrates and others." (" Paramir.," Prolog. Ill.)
Such an assertion appears to be incredible only as long
as nothing is known about the constitution of matter ; but
if we call occult science to our aid and realise that
all things in the world constitute certain states of one
universal consciousness, and that the foundation of all
existence is Spirit, it not only becomes comprehensible,
but even self-evident, that the self-conscious spirit of a
person can move and control the products of nature's
imagination according to its own action in them, and we
may truly say that in such cases it is the spirit of the
physician acting by means of the spirit of the remedies
which he employs, and herein is the solution of the secret
of the wonderful cures of leprosy, etc., effected by Theo-
phrastus Paracelsus, which have been historically proved,
but which are unintelligible if examined from the point of
view of material science.
84
An investigation into this subject would take us within
the realm of white and black magic, witchcraft and sorcery,
which have received attention already on a previous occa-
sion,* and whose further elucidation would be premature
and altogether impossible within the limited space of this
work.
V.-FIDELES.
The word "fidelity"-from folo, to trust-means faith,
confidence, conviction arising from the perception of truth ;
knowledge, such as results from experience, and the class
of physicians here referred to, includes those who, remaining
true to their own divine nature, are in possession of divine
powers, such as have been attributed to Christ, the apostles
and saints.
" They restore health by the power of faith ; for he who be-
lieves in truth becomes healed by its own power." (" Paramir ., " I.,
Prol. 3.)
So-called " faith " is in most cases illusive, and consists
merely in an accepted or pretended belief in the correct-
ness of certain opinions or theories. The true faith of the
spiritual man is a living spiritual and divine power, result-
ing from the certitude of the spiritual perception of the
eternal law of cause and effect. As we most certainly are
convinced that day follows upon the night, and night after
day, so the Adept-physician, knowing the spiritual, moral
and physical causes of diseases, and appreciating the flow
of their evolution and progress, knows the effects created
by such causes, and controls the means for their cure.
No one can destroy effects caused by the law of divine
justice. If he hinders the manifestation of divine law in
one way, it will manifest itself in another way, such is
the action of divine law in nature; but he who lives in
the truth and in whom divine truth becomes manifest, is
thereby raised superior to nature, for he enters into that
from which nature took its origin. This uplifting and
all-saving power is the true faith in man which can cure
all diseases.
"Magic, white and black." (London, 18g3.)
Digitized by Google
ss
"There is neither good nor bad luck; but every effect is due
to a cause. Each one receives his reward according to the way
he walks and acts. God has made all men out of only one
substance, and given to all the same power to live, and all
human beings are therefore equals in God. The sun and the
rain, winter and summer, are the same for everybody; but not
everybody looks at the sun with the same eyes. God loves all
mankind alike ; but not all men Jo,e God with the same kind of
love. Each of God's children has the same inheritance; but
one squanders, while another preserves it. That which God has
made equal is rendered unequal by the actions of men. Each
man taking his cross upon himself finds therein his reward.
Every misfortune is a fortune, because divine goodness gives to
everyone that which he most needs for his future development; the
suffering begins only when discontent, the result of the non-
recognition of eternal law, steps in. The greater the obstacle to
combat, the greater will be the victory." (" Philosophia," V.)
The art of medicine has not been instituted for the
purpose of defying the laws of God; but for the purpose
of aiding in the restoration of the harmony, whose dis-
turbance caused disease, and this restoration takes place
through obedience to the law. There is no more a "for-
giveness of the sin of disease" than there is a forgiveness
of moral sins. The cure takes place by means of a re-
entering into harmony with the laws of nature, which after
all are the laws of God manifested in the natural realm.
Neither is the health restored or sins pardoned for the
purpose that man with lessened fear of punishment may
go and sin again ; but after the effects of the discords are
overcome, he obtains again the power to sin, so that he
may have a fresh opportunity for overcoming temptation
and thus attain mastery over himself during his life upon
this earth. He who is master over himself is his own law
and not subject to any disharmony, and it is this which
Paracelsus expressed in his favourite motto:
"Non sit alterius qui suus esse potest,"
which may be translated, " He who is master over himself
belongs to nothing else but himself" : for that Self which
conquers" self" is God, the Will of Divine Wisdom, the
Lord over All.
86
VI.
THE PHYSICIAN OF THE FUTURE.
THERE is no doubt that the average physician of the
present age occupies on the whole a much higher position
than was occupied by the average physician of the last
centuries when the wisdom of the ancients had become a
forgotten truth, and modem science was in its infancy.
Although there were even during the middle ages physi-
cians of deep insight, and in possession of a profound
knowledge of the mysteries of Nature, such as the modern
profession may acquire again by slow growth within the
next centuries, the popular medicine of these times was a
mixture of ignorance and quackery, the remnants of
which are still to be found in our days. Of this class of
the physicians of those times Paracelsus says:-
"There are a great many among them who have no other
object but to satisfy their greed, so that one has to be ashamed to
belong to a profession in which so much swindling takes place.
They speculate on 'the ignorance of the people, and he who
succeeds in amassing the greatest amount of money by robbing
them is looked upon as the leading physician. Mutual love and
charity is entirely out of fashion, and the practice of medicine is
degraded to the standard of a common trade, in which the only
object is to take as much money as one can obtain, and those
who have the gift of the gab, and clamour the loudest, succeed
best in cheating mankind ; for as long as the world is filled with
fools, the biggest fool will necessarily be the ruler, if he only
succeeds in making himself conspicuous." (" Defensio," V.)
The science of medicine is not to blame for the existence
of such a state of things ; but it is one of the attributes of
human animal nature, and we leave it to the intelligent
observer to judge whether this nature has changed a great
deal since the time of Paracelsus, or whether there is still
an army of quacks, legalized or illegal, who have written
the motto " Mundus vult decipi, e,go decipiatu," upon their
flag. Official science has undoubtedly progressed during
87
this century, but merely intellectual acquisitions do not
necessarily make a man wiser ; the greatest scoundrels
have been men of great intellectuality without spirituality.
\Visdom consists in the self.recognition of truth, and
there are many who are "ever learning and never able to
come to the knowledge of truth." ' ~
This spiritual knowledge does not belong to the facul-
ties of men's lower intellectual nature, but to his higher
nature alone; and it is therefore of paramount importance
that the development of that higher nature should receive
more attention than it is receiving at present. A mere
improvement in morals or ethics is quite insufficient for
that purpose. Morality is the outcome of reasoning ;
Spirituality is the superior power due to the manifestation
of self-consciousness on a higher plane of existence, the
illumination of the mind and body of man by the power
and light of the spirit filling the soul. When spirituality
becomes substantiality in man, then only will his know-
ledge be of a substantial kind.
This spiritual substantiality, or, in other words, the
realization of the highest ideal, is the work of the gradual
evolution of mankind ; which, as has been said by the
ancient alchemists, " may require for its accomplishment
thousands of ages : but which can also be accomplished
in a moment of time." It 1s not a product of man's
labour, but of the descent of the light of divine truth, the
" grace of God" which will come to everyone whenever he
is ready to receive it. It is therefore not dependent on
anyone's willing or running, t but on the action of the
spirit of the true divine Self, which is ever striving to
become manifest in man.
This interior development is not the consequence of the
acquisition of any new theories in regard to the nature of
the constitution of man ; but takes place through the
overcoming of the lower elements in his nature, by means
of which his higher nature can become manifest. But in
order to induce and enable him to employ his powers
L Timothy, Ill., 7
t Romaus, IX., ib,
88
intelligently for the purpoSe of conquering his lower nature,
he should learn to know theoretically his own constitution
and the nature of the higher powers in him.
These are the elements of that higher science which the
physician of the future will have to learn, first theoretically
and afterwards in their practical application. Without a
spiritual recognition of the fundamental principles of
Nature, a seeking from a superficial point of view for a
discovery of the mysteries of being is like an unfruitful
wandering in a fog. It resembles a search from the
periphery of a sphere of unknown extent for a centre
whose locality is unknown; while if we have once a
correct conception of the situation of that shining centre,
its light will act as a guiding star in our wanderings
through the fogs which pervade the realm of phenomena.
Science comes from man ; wisdom belongs to God. Of
sciences there are many ; wisdom is only one. The
sciences should be cultivated, but wisdom not be
neglected, for without wisdom no true science can exist.
" Nothing (real) is of ourselves; we do not belong to ourselves,
but we belong to God. Therefore we must try to find in our
selves that which is of God. It is his and not ours. He has
made a body for us, and given us life and wisdom in addition to
it, and from these come all things. We should learn to know
the object of our existence, and the reason why man has a soul,
and what is the will of God that he should do. A study .of
(terrestrial) man will never reveal the secret and object of his
existence, and the reason why he is in the world ; but if we once
know his creator, we shall also know the qualities of his child;
for he who knows the father knows also the son, because the son
inherits the (nature of) the father. Each man has the same
amount of truth given to him by God; but not everyone re
cognises that which he has received. He who sleeps knows
nothing; he who lives an idle life does not know the power
which is in him, and wastes his time. Man is so great and noble
that he bears the image of God, and is an heir to the kingdom of
God. God is supreme truth, and the devil is supreme falsehood.
Falsehood cannot know truth. Therefore if man wants to come
into possession oftruth, he must know the wisdom which he has
received from God. Cleverness belongs to the animal nature,
and in regard to many acquisitions animals are superior
89
to man; but the understanding is an awakening which cannot
be taught by man. That which one person learns from another
is nothing unless there is an awakening. A teacher can put no
knowledge into his pupil, he can only aid in the awakening of
the knowledge which is already in him." (" De Fundamento
Sapientiz," 1.)
Wisdom is the recognition of God. God is the truth,
the knowledge of one's own true self is divine wisdom.
He who knows his true self knows the divine powers
belonging to his God.
" God is \Visdom. He is not a sage or an artist, he is for
bimsdf (absolute), but all wisdom and art is born from him ; if
we know God, we also know his wisdom and art. In God all is
one and no pieces. He is the unity, the one in everything.
A science dealing only with a piece of the whole, and losing
sight of the whole to which it belongs, is abortive and not in
possession of truth. He who sees in God nothing but truth and
justness sees rightly. All wisdom belongs to God; that which
is not of God is a bastard. Therefore the kingdoms of this world
fall to pieces, scientific systems change, manmade laws perish,
but the recognition of eternal truth is eternal. He who is not a
bastard of wisdom, but a true son of the father, is in possession
of wisdom. This wisdom is that we live in regard to each other
as the angels live, and if we live like the angels they will be-
come our own self, so that nothing divides us from them but
the physical form, and as all wisdom and art is with the angels,
so it will be with us. The angels are the powers through which
the will of God is executed. If the will of God is executed
through us, we shall be his angels ourselves. The will of God
cannot be performed through us unless we are ourselves after
the will of God. A fool or a dunce or a greedy person is not
after the will of God ; how could that will be executed through
him ? It is of little use to believe that Solomon was wise, if we
are not wise ourselves. We are not born for the purpose of
living in ignorance, but that we should be like the father, and
that the father may recognise himself in the son. We are to be
lords over nature, and not nature be lord over us. This is
spoken of the angelic man (Buddlu) in whom we shall live and
through whom we shall see that all our doing and leaving undone,
all our wisdom and art is of God." (" De Fundamento
Sapientiz," 11.)
All this, however, will be incomprehensible and be con-
demned as nonsense by what Paracelsus justly calls the
90
"scientific fool," because the wisdom of which he speaks
is not the intellect of the terrestrial, but the understanding
of the celestial mind. It is that rare power of spiritual
self-knowledge which cannot be taught in words, but
which is the result of an interior unfolding of the faculties
of the soul. The true physician is not made by schools of
learning ; he becomes one through the light of divine
wisdom itself.
" Man has two understandings ; the angelic and the animal
power of reason. Angelic understanding is eternal; it is of God
and remains in God. The animal intellect also originates from
God and within ourselves ; but it is not eternal; for the animal
body dies and its reason dies with it. No animal faculty remains
after death ; but death is only a dying of that which is animal
and not of that which is eternal." (" De Fundamento Sapien-
tiz," 11.)
The term " wisdom " comes from vid, to see, and d/nn,
a ; it therefore refers to that which is seen and
understood, but not to opinions or theories derived from
inference, or based on the assertion of others. It is not
the product of observation and speculation, memory or
calculation, but is the result of interior growth, and all
growth comes from nourishment. As the intellect is
enlarged by intellectual acquirements, so divine wisdom
in man grows by absorbing the nutriment which it receives
from the light of Divine Wisdom.
" Everything is of the nature of that from which it is born.
The animal in man is nourished by animal food, the angel in
him by the food of the angels. The animal spirit belongs to the
animal mind, and in the animal mind of man are contained all the
potentialities which are separately possessed by the different
classes of animals. You may develop in a man the character
of a dog, a monkey, a snake, or of any other animal; for man in
his animal nature is nothing more than an animal and the
animals are his teachers and surpass him in many ways; the birds
in singing, the fish in swimming, etc. He who knows many
animal arts is for all that not more than an animal or a men-
agerie of different animals; his virtues, no less than his vices,
belong to his animal nature. Whether he possesses the fidelity
of a dog, the matrimonial affection of a dove, the mildness of a
sheep, the cleverness of a fox, the skill of a beaver, the brutality
91
of an ox, the voracity of a bear, the greed of a wolf, etc., all this
belongs to his animal nature; but there is a higher nature of an
angelic character in him, such as the animals do not possess,
and this angelic being requires that nutriment which comes from
above and corresponds to its nature. From the hidden animal
spirit in nature grows the animal intellect ; from the mysterious
action of the angelic spirit grows the super-terrestrial man; for
man has a father who is eternal and for him he shall live.
This father has placed him in an animal body, not that he
should only dwell and remain therein, but that he should by
living in it overcome it.'' (" De Fundam. Sap.," Ill.)
The animal mind, filled with self-conceit and pride in
its evanescent possessions, is entirely incapable of con-
ceiving the nature of the angelic mind, or of forming an
idea of the extent of its powers ; neither can it grasp the
true meaning of a language that deals with the things that
belong to that higher nature and believes it to be but
delusions and dreams.
"The vanity of the learned does not come from heaven,
but they learn it from each other and upon this basis they build
their church.'' (" De Fund. Sap.'' Fragm.)
"Faith without works is dead," and as we are speak-
ing of spiritual things, the " work " which the true faith
requires is of a spiritual character, meaning spiritual
action, growth and development. A faith without sub-
stantiality is merely a dream ; a science without true
knowledge is an illusion ; a merely sentimental desire
without any active exercise for the attainment of truth is
useless. A person living in such dreams and fancies
about ideals which he never attempts to realise, dreams
only of treasures which he does not possess. He is like a
person wasting his life in studying the map of a country
in which he might travel, but never making a start. A
merely ideal religion, which is never realized and does not
substantially nourish the soul, is only imaginary and
serves but to amuse; a science which is not practically
employed remains an unfruitful theory, serving at best
for the gratification of animal curiosity.
The work which Faith requires is a continual Self-
Sacrifice, which means a continual striving to overcome the
92
animal and selfish nature, and this victory of the high
over the low is not accomplished by that which is low,
but can only take place through the power of divine L011e,
which means the recognition of the higher nature in man
and its practical application in daily life. This is the
kind of love of which the great mystic of the 17th century,
John Scheffier, speaks when he says:
" Faith without love aye makes the greatest roar and din,
The cask sounds loudest when there is nought within."
Without this practical application all virtues are only
dreams and cannot grow into substantial powers, nor be
employed as such.
Shakespeare says:
" It is a good divine that follows his own instructions."-
" Merchant of Venice.")
but such characters are at the present time very rare, for
the world now lives only in dreams. " There are "divines"
knowing nothing of any divinity ; medical practitioners
knowing nothing about medicine ; " anthropologists "
knowing nothing about the nature of man ; lawyers know-
ing nothing of justice ; " humanitarians " beggaring their
employees; " christians " to whom Christ is unknown.
In every sphere of life the e x t ~ m a l is mistaken for the
internal, the illusion for the reality, while the reality
remains unrealized and therefore unknown.
A superficial science can concern itself only with super-
ficial causes and effects, however deeply it may enter into the
details of such superficialities. The mysterious powers in
nature, the intelligent forces in man, are at present almost
entirely unknown, aQd thn-e is '"' other way of pmetrating into
the deeper secrets of nature except by tlte developmmt of the highn-
nature of man.
In ancient times the physician was considered sacred
and belonged to the priesthood, not to a priesthood ap-
pointed only by man, but to a strong and real priesthood
anointed by God. The physician of the future will be
again a king and a priest; for only he who is not merely
nominally but truly divine can be in possession of
divine powers. In him the triangular pyramid consistiDg
93
of science, religion and art will culminate in one point,
called Self-knowledge or Divine Wisdom, where man
himself becomes identified with that superior light and
intelligence-his true self-of whose ray his personality is a
vehicle, image and symbol.
There is a long and weary road to be travelled yet
before mankind will arrive at this summit of perfection,
and the goal is so far away that only few are able to see
it, while to many it will be an apparently unrealisable
ideal, and, like a mountain peak lost in the clouds, incon-
ceivable ; but the ideal exists and the clouds that hinder
us from seeing it are our own errors and misconceptions;
it remains with ourselves to clear them away.
\Ve ourselves, by the power of so much of the percep
tion of truth as we have already received and which has
become our own, have it within our reach to overcome
the darkness and open our minds to the influence of the
light. But the light itself we cannot create or manufac-
ture ; it is not the product of our calculations, influences
and theories. The truth is self-existent, eternal; it may
be perceived, but it cannot be made.
The reason why so few can realise the meaning of the
term " self-knowledge," is that the knowledge obtained in
our schools is exclusively of an artificial kind. We
read that which other men have believed and known and
we imagine we know it. we fill our minds with the
thoughts of others and find little time to think for our-
selves. We seek to arrive at a conviction of the existence
of this or that object by means of arguments and infer-
ences, while we refuse to open our eyes and to see our-
selves the very thing about whose existence we argue.
Thus from a theosophical point of view we should appear
to a higher being like a nation of people with closed eyes
arguing about the existence of the sun and unable or
unwilling to look at it for ourselves.
There is only one way to arrive at real self-knowledge,
and this is Experience. By external experience we attain
knowledge of external circumstances; by experiencing inter-
nal powers we attain internal knowledge ofthem. To !mow
94
in reality means to be. By becoming material we learn
the laws ruling in matter ; by becoming spiritual we learn
the laws of the spirit ; our will is free to guide us in either
direction. VVe cannot know truth in any other way than
by becoming true, nor wisdom except by becoming wise.
\Ve can know any external or internal power, be it heat
or light, love or justice, only by the effects which we
experience from its action upon or within our own self.
Man's life in his present condition resembles a dream,
and the dreams of humanity as a whole, no less than those
of the individual, repeat themselves over and over again.
They come and go and come again, appearing perhaps in
changed forms, like clouds floating upon the sky and assum-
ing different shapes, but representing the old, ever-returning
illusions. While above them, unseen and unknown, shines
the sunlight of eternal, unchanging truth, whose presence
may be felt like the warm rays of the sun penetrating the
clouds, but which to be known requires to be seen. The
temple of nature is open to everyone who is able to enter ;
its light is free to everyone who is able to see ; everything
is a manifestation of truth, but it requires the presence of
truth in ourselves to enable us to perceive it. That which
hinders us from entering the temple of nature, from seeing
the light and perceiving the truth, are the shadows which
we ourselves have created. The real object of the lights
kindled by science is not to reveal the truth-which requires
no artificial light to be seen, and whose own light is quite
sufficient for that purpose-but to destroy the fogs which
hinder us from seeing the truth. No one would think of
examining the sun by the light of a candle ; but the
candle-light may guide us through the dark passages of
the labyrinth of matter to the door which opens upon the
surface, where after the daylight is seen, artificial help is
no longer required. But as in seeking our way through a
tunnel the best guide is the light that shines from afar
through the entrance, so a perception of truth in the heart
is the only reliable guiding star in the labyrinth of ever-
changing illusions.
All the scientific lights in which this light of eternal
95
truth is not reflected, however radiant they may be, are
only so many will-o'-the-wisps misleading the wanderer.
All scientific theories and hypotheses based upon a non-
recognition of the inner constitution of man and denying
his super-terrestrial origin are founded on a misconcep-
tion of truth. Such opinions are continually subject to
change, and no new theory of that kind exists at present
which has not existed in some similar shape before. But
the truth itself is independent of these opinions, it has
always existed and there have always been some who
were capable of recognising it, and others who, unwilling
or unable to see it, based their knowledge upon miscon-
ceptions and superstitious beliefs founded upon other men's
assertions.
Modem medical science, with all its modern aids and
paraphernalia, has only succeeded in working itself up to
a more detailed knowledge of some less important pheno-
mena in the kingdom of matter ; while a great number of
far more important things that were known to the ancients
have been forgotten. As to the power of the soul over the
body, tremendous as it is, almost nothing is known;
because the souls of those who live entirely in the kingdom
of speculations evolved by their brain, are asleep and
unconscious. An unconscious soul can no more exert any
power than an unconscious body ; its motions can at best
be instinctive, because deprived of the light of intelligence.
It is far more important to the progress of real science
that the soul of man should awaken to a recognition of
its own higher nature, than that the treasures of a science
dealing with the illusions of life should be enriched by any
new theories in which there is no recognition of the one
foundation of truth. All that any sound theory or any
reliable book can possibly do, is to displace a false theory
which prevents man from seeing correctly ; but the truth
itself can be exhibited or revealed by no man and no theory,
it can be seen only by the eye of the true understanding,
when it reveals itself in its own light.
It has been said that it is not within the reach of science
to enter the realm of noumena which underlie all pheno-
mena and are their cause of manifestation ; but without a
recognition of the nou1fU11011 from which all phenomena
spring, a true science (from scio, to know) will be as impos-
sible as a system of mathematics with an ignoring of the
existence of the number otte from which all other numbers
take their origin and without which no number exists.
The soul in us is fundamentally identical with the One
from which all phenomena originate. The soul which is
can know that which is, while that in us which merely
appum to be belongs to and deals with the realm of
appearances.
The acquisition of this higher science therefore requires
less an exertion of the speculative faculties of the brain
than an awakening of the soul ; is advanced less by an
evolution of thoughts of various kinds than by the develop-
ment of the inner man who is doing the thinking and
causing the evolution of thoughts, for if that which is able
to know in man does not know its own self, all the thoughts
and ideas inhabiting the sphere of man's mind will have
no legitimate owner, but exist there merely as the reflec-
tions of the thoughts of other men, gathered around an
illusion called the personal self. '
The more the mind analyses a thing and enters into its
minor details the easier does it lose sight o( the whole ;
the more man's attention is divided into many parts, the
more will he step out of his own unity and become compli-
cated himself. Only a great and strong spirit can remain
dwelling within its own self-consciousness, and, like the
sun, which shines into many things without becoming
absorbed by them, looks into the minor details of pheno-
mena without losing sight of the truth which includes
the whole. The most simple truths are usually the ones
which are the most difficult to be grasped by the learned,
because the perception of a simple truth requires a simple
mind. In the kaleidoscope of ever-varying phenomena
the underlying truth cannot be seen upon the surface.
As the intellect becomes more and more immersed in
matter, the eye of the spirit becomes closed ; truths which
in times of old were self-evident have now been for-
97
gotten, and even the meaning of the terms signifying
spiritual powers has become lost in proportion as mankind
has ceased to exercise these powers. Owing to the conceit
' of our age of selfishness, which seeks to drag spiritual
truths down to the scientific conception of a narrow-sighted
animal rationalism, instead of rising up to their level, the
character of modem popular science is shown in the amount
of cleverness with which illusory self-interests are pro-
tected; "faith," the all-saving power of spiritual know-
ledge, is believed to be superstition ; " benevolence"
folly, "love " means selfish desires, " hope " is now greed,
" life " the creation of a mechanical process, " soul " a
term without meaning, " spirit " a nonentity, "matter" a
thing of which nothing is known, etc.
All this has been written to no purpose, if we have not
succeeded in making it clear that real progress in the know-
ledge of human nature is only possible by means of a
higher development of the inner nature of the physician
himself. No one can attain any real knowledge of man's
higher state unless he attains to it himself by purity of
motive and nobility of character. Only by recognising his
body as a vehicle for the development and manifestation
of a superior intelligence will he be able to realise the
meaning of the words of Carlyle, who tells us that man in
his innermost nature is a divine being, and that whoever
puts his hand upon a human form touches heaven.
Wisdom must be the Master, science the servant.
Science is the handmaid of wisdom ; wisdom the queen.
Science is a product of man's imagination; wisdom the
spiritual recognition of truth. Material science is a pro-
duct of the essentially selfish desire to know ; wisdom
recognises no separation of interests, it is the self-recog-
nition of universal and eternal truth in man. Science,
guided by wisdom, can enter into the deepest myste-
ries of universal being by entering into the Unity of the
All ; but if science attempts to employ wisdom for the
gratification of curiosity or other selfish ends, it is in oppo-
sition to wisdotn and becomes folly. Therefore a favourite
motto of the ancient Rosicrucians (of which Theophrastus
G
y8
Paracelsus w ~ s one), but which is understood by only a
few, said: "I know twlllillg, I desire nothing, I love notlling, I
enJOY notlu"ng i11 heavm or upo11 tile eart/1 but Jesus Cl,ist and
him crucified." This did not mean that they resolved to
remain ignorant, or to lose themselves in pious reveries
and dreams of past e\ents, for Paracelsus also said : "God
does not desire us to be ignorant blockheads and stupid
fools "-but it meant that they had given up the whole of
the illusion of self with all its necessarily illusive knowledge,
desires, attractions and joys, and entered into the conscious-
ness of that divine intelligence which during this earth-life
is as it were crucified in man, and by entering into the
higher spiritual state they had become one with Him, who
is Himself the Truth in themselves and the source of all
knowledge in heaven and upon the earth.
Forever the truth shines in the eternal kingdom of Light
but the world of mind wherein our terrestrial nature moves,
has its astrological Jaws, comparable to those that rule in
the visible world and are known to astronomy. As the
earth recedes from the sun in winter time and approaches
it in the summer, so the spiritual evolution of man has its
periods of spiritual enlightenment and of mental darkness,
and there are little periods within the large periods, as
here are days and nights in the year. Man, whether
considered as representing humanity as a whole, a nation
a people, a family, or an individual, resembles a planet
revolving around its own axis between the two poles of
birth and decay. That which is uppermost turns down
and that which is below rises again to the surface. Truths
disappear and are forgotten only to reappear again embodied
in new and perhaps improved forms. Civilizations, systems
of philosophy, religion and science come and go and come
again, the absurdities of fashion that have been the pride
of our parents and were laughed at by us become again the
objects of admiration for our children, and the forgotten
wisdom of the past will be again the wisdom of future
generations. Thus the wheel would ever revolve in a circle,
there would be no progress and no object of life, if the
presence of the eternal sun of Divine 'Wisdom acting upon
99
the centre of the wheel did not attra-:t it towards itself and
thus in the course of ages gradually transform the circular
motion into a spiral gyration. At every turn of the great
wheel its axis moves imperceptibly a little nearer to the
source of all Life, although every period of evolution
beJ{ins again at the foot of the ladder. The ladder upon
which we are climbing stands perhaps upon a little higher
ground than the one upon which our ancestors climbed, or
which we climbed ourselves during previous incarnations ;
hut there are many steps upon it which our forefathers
have ascended and which we shall have to reach. The
science of medicine forms no exception to this general rule,
and we may safely assert that tile system of medicine of
Tluophrastus in its recogm.tio11 of fundamental laws
of nature is of a lligh character that it will be for the medical
science of tlu co11ei11g centuries to grow up to its wuierstanding,
nor will this advance in science be possible without a
corre!;ponding development, and this development will he
inaugurated by a correct conception of the constitution of
man.
While modern medical science has become degraded
almost into a mere trade, flourishing under the protec.
tion of its self-interests which it receives from Gov-
ernments, the medicine of the ancients was a holy art,
requiring no artificial protection, because, standing upon its
own merit, it rested upon its own success. The adept-
physicians of the past performed cures which whenever
exceptionally performed at present are called miraculous, and
their possibility is denied by the majority of the learned ;
because they are not in possession of the spiritual powers
required for their accomplishment, and consequently cannot
conceive of the existence of such powers. Where is the
physician of the present day who knows the extent of the
power of the spiritually-awakened will acting at a distance
of thousands of miles, or the power which human thought
can exercise over the imagination of nature ? Where is
the professor of science who can consciously transfer his
soul to a distant place by the power of thought and act
there as if he were bodily present ? The proof that these
100
things have been done and are done e\en now is established
as much as any other fact resting upon observation and
logic; nevertheless it is popularly considered " scientific "
to deny such facts and to treat the theory which explains
them with contempt. The finer forces of nature are so
thoroughly unknown to gross material minds that to men
tion their existence raises a roar of merriment among those
who, being ignorant of the extent of the powers hidden in
the constitution of man, require a sledge-hammer to kill
a fly and a cannon to shoot at a sparrow.
\Vhile the eyes of material science are directed down-
wards, seeking within thi! bowels of matter and finding
only perishing treasures, the sentimental idealist revels in
dreams without substance. Being habituated to objective
contemplation, the idealist obtains nothing real; for keeping
distant from the object of his research for the purpose of
seeing it objectively, he preYents himself from becoming
identified with that object, and he cannot have any self-
knowledge of that which he is not himself. Neither can
the materialist who denies the existence of Spirit in the
universe have any real knowledge, for he ignores that
which alone is real and deals only with the relations exist-
ing between phenomena which the unknown spirit pro-
duces. Real knowledge such as is the product not of mere
knowing, but of becoming, ought to he the basis of all true
science. This it is which constitutes that Theosopllia o,
Self-,ecognitU>n of Truth, which will be the guiding star of
the physician in the future as it has been in the past.
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Cloth, 8vo, 7/6
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