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Theosophical Quarterly—Volume 11

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Theosophical Quarterly—Volume 11 1' - Theosophical Quarterly \ ,, I I VOLUME XI JULY; OCTOBER, 1913 JANUARY; APRIL, 1914 4, , 1._0� . �3,,,-,;z ct PUBLISHED BY THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY NEW YORK 1 l I \ ·' I The Theosophical Quarterly Published by the Theosophical Society at 159 Warren Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. In Europe single numbers may be obtained from and subscriptions sent to Dr. Archibal d Kei�htley, 46 Brook Street, London, W., England. Price for non-members, $1.00 per annum; single copies, 25 cents THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY The principal aim and object of this Society is to form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, with­ out distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color. The subsidiary objects are: The study of ancient and modern religions, philosophies and sciences, and the demonstration of the importance of such study; and the investigation of the unexplained laws of nature and the psychical powers latent in man. Entered July 17, 1903, It Brooklyn, N.Y., 11 second-clan matter, under Act of Concre11 of Joly 16, 1894. Copyright, 1914, 1915, by The Theosophical Society. INDEX TO VOLUME XI. A PAGE Adepts and Modem Science, The (Reprint); William Q. Judge... 356 Allison, Susan W. .. .. 323 Antiquity of Man, The; John Charlton......................... 144 B BERGSON's PHILOSOPHICAL PosiTION ; John Blake, Jr ..... 114, 224, 328 Blake, John, J�. .......... .................... .. 114, 224, 328 Boehme, Jacob; Susan W. Allison ...................... ........ 323 c Cave ...............................................161, 203, 294 Charlton, John .... ............................ ..32, 144, 215, 306 Chickering, Julia . 346 Concerning the Real and Concerning Shadows; . Louise Edgar Peters ... ..... ..... .. .... .21, 139 Convention Notices-See T. S. Activities. Creighton, Justin . .. .. .. .. .. .. 234 D Dreams, John Schofield . 64 E EARLY ENGLISH MYSTics;Spenser Montague ........ 37, 129, 238, 340 EASTERN CHURCH, THE; Anne Evans . ......... .. .. 102, 205, 295 Evans, Anne ............................ ..... ..... 102, 205, 295 Evolution and Atonem�nt; John Charlton. .. .. .. .. 32 F FRAGMENTs; Cave . .................. ..... .. ........... 203, 294 G G., C. A.. ......... : .... ... .. : .........................157, 373 Gerard, John ..... .................................. 7, 109, 212 . H Hillard, Katharine . .. .. .. .. .. .. 252 J Johnston, Cha.rles .......................................•. 13, 124 Judge, William Q. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 356 K Karma; Henry Bedinger Mitchell............................. 313 L LETTERS TO FRIENDS; John Gerard .... ..................7, 109, 212 M MacKlemm, G. M. .. .. .. .. 174 Maurice Maeterlinck and Theosophy; Katharine Hillard. 252 Mitchell, Henry Bedinger . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 313 Montague, Spenser . ........... ................37, 129, 238, 340 Movement toward Christian Unity, The; Louis.e Edgar Peters. 255 N PAGE NoTES AND CoMMENTS .... ........... :............. 1, 95, 191, 287 Notices; Convention Notices-See T. S. Activities. 0 ON THE ScREEN OF TIME; T .... ...... ...........53, 166, 263, 362 p Peters, Louise Edgar .. .............. .......... ......21, 139, 255 Practical Theosophy; C. A. G., Jr.............................. 157 Psychical "Choir Invisible," The ; John Charlton. 306 Purpose of Life, The; C. A. G................................ 373 . Q . QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS....... ..................73, 183, 282, 379 R REVIEWS: Absente Reo; by the author of Pro Christo et Ecclesia.. .. 377 Ara Coeli: An Essay in Mystical Theology; Arthur Chandler, Bishop of Bloemfontein .......•••..................• 278 Autobiography and Life of George Tyrrell; M. D._Petre .... 69 Constructive Quarterly, The; Edited by Silas MtBee ....... 181 Dante and the Mystics; Edmund G. Gardne�............... 179 Dharma .................. .........•...................• 279 Gitanjali (Song Offerings); Rabindranath Tagore ......... 178 Jean Christophe ; Romaine Rolland ....................... 376 Kabir, The Weaver Mystic; Evelyn Underhill ........•..... 378 Letters to his Friends ; Forbes Robinson ................... 277 Master, The; J. Todd Ferrier ............................ 180 � Master Keys; Captain Walter Cary, R.N..... ............ 378 Meditations; Hermann Rudolph ................•......... 72 Meditations on the Divine Liturgy; N. B. Gogol ............ 280 New Order of Sainthood, The; Professor Fairfield Osborn .. 277 Reasonableness of the Religion of Jesus, The; WilliamS. Rains- ford, D .D . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 281 Some Adventures of the Soul; C. M. Verschoyle. .. 278 Theosophisches Leben ............ ............. .... ..177, 280 s Sacred Books of Ancient China, The; Julia Chickering........... 346 Schofield, John . 64 S ervetus ...................... ...........................47, 150 SHANKARACHARYA's CATECHISM; trans by Charles Johnston... 13, 124 SOME ASPECTS OF THEOSOPHY AS SEEN BY A NEW MEMBER OF THE SociETY; Servetus ....... .................... ..........· 47, 150 Stories of the First Christmas; John Charlton. .. .. .. .. .. .. 215 T ''T' ........................... ...... .. ....... 53, 166, 263, 362 Theosophy and the Family; G. M. MacKlemm................... 174 T. S. ACTIVITIES ...............•.................77, 187, 284, 382 w We Cause Our Own Suffering...... .......................... 274 WHY I JoiNED THE THEOSOPHICAL SociETY ..........•.......161, 234 JULY 1913 The Theosophical Society, as such, is not responsible for any opinion or declaration in this magazine, by whomsoever expressed, unless con­ tained in an official document. "OuT oF EGYPT HAvE I CALLED MY SoN" OLLOWING the general idea that the civilization of Hellas had F been inspired and developed in preparation for the work of the Westerl} Avatar, it was suggested, in the meeting of the Branch whose debates have been in part recorded, that other sides of Grecian genius, such as the peerless purity of the Parthenon, or the great dramas of JEschylus and Sophocles, might illustrate this inspiration, not less than the mystical philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato. An admirable illustration was drawn from the great trilogy of Sophocles, the three dramas in which the tragedy of the house of CEdipus is unfolded. Just as the three parts of Dante's great trilogy, the Inferno, the Purgatorio, the Paradiso, mark the three great stages of the spiritual way: disobedience, penitence, bliss; so, it was said, the three dramas of Sophocles mark the three great epochs of defiance to the divine will, the suffering which leads to resignation and acceptance, and, thirdly, a perfectly consecrated obedience, even in the face of death. The theme of the CEdipus trilogy is contained, it was said, in the closing words : Man's highest blessedness, In wisdom chiefly stands; And in the things that touch upon the gods, 'Tis best in word or deed To shun unholy pride; Great words of boasting bring great punishments, And so to grey-haired age Teach wisdom at the last. To put it in another way, the point was, that this old Athenian play teaches a characteristically Christian lesson : purification through suffering. The trilogy begins with the defiance of the gods by the parents of 2 THEOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY ffidipus, and the consequent sin of ffidipus and Jocasta, begun in ignor­ ance and continued in defiance which mocked the divine powers : Now, oracles of gods, Where are ye now . "Ha ! ha ! why now, my queen, should we regard The Pythian hearth oracular, or birds In mid-air crying ?" At the moment of apparent triumph, ffidipus exultant exclaims that the oracles are overwhelmed in Hades. Jocasta answers : Why should we fear, when Chance rules everything ; And foresight of the future there is none ; 'Tis best to live at random, as one can. But the blow of the gods falls, and, at the end of the first play, ffidipus wanders forth, blind and a beggar, over the earth, accompanied by Anti­ gone his daughter. The second play of the trilogy, • (Ediptts at C olonus1 the action of which is laid several years later. Notice the growth of the soul of the blind and exiled king, who has passed from defiance to resignation and acceptance. ffidipus thus makes confession of his faith : I have learnt contentment ; chance and change Have taught me this, and the long course of time, And the stout heart within me. Besides contentment, he has learned reverence : I am come, as sacred, fearing God. Acceptance and reverence make it possible for ffidipus to become an agent for the divine powers. The second play closes in mystery. ffidipus, about to die, enters a sacred grove. There, holy ones meet him, and he is "changed" ; he does not die the death of all mankind . Antigone} the last of the three dramas, depicts a mortal completely obeying the divine will, though that obedience brings disgrace and death. Creon, the self-righteous ruler, has issued an edict, which commands the violation of a sacred duty, universally accepted throughout Greece. Antigone refuses to obey the edict, though she knows that destruction will be the result of her disobedience. Creon asks : Thou didst dare to disobey these laws ? Antigone answers : Yes, for it was not Zeus who gave them forth, Nor Justice, dwelling with the gods below, Who traced these laws for all the sons of men ; Nor did I deem thy edicts strong enough, That thou, a mortal man, should'st over-pass The unwritten laws of God that know not change. NOTES AND COMMENTS 3 They are not of today or yesterday, But live forever, nor can man. assign When first they sprang to being. Antigone passes to her death, refusing to disobey the law of heaven for the
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