The Cellular Cosmogony Index http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/ Sacred Texts Earth Mysteries The Cellular Cosmogony by Koresh [pseud. Cyrus Reed Teed] [1922] Contents Start Reading We start our series of etexts of alternative theories of the shape of the earth with this masterpiece of pseudoscience by Cyrus Teed. Why Teed was so adamant about our entire universe being inside an 'inside-out' sphere is unknown. Martin Gardner, in Fads and Fallacies , has suggested that it was based on a desire to return to the womb, and that this psychological aspect was key in recruiting new members to Teed's belief system. Teed, born in 1839 in upstate New York, served with the Union Army, and later became a herbalist and studied alchemy. In 1869 Teed had a vision in his laboratory, in which a beautiful woman spoke to him and revealed that he was to become a messiah, and reveal the true cosmogony to the world. Teed took the name Koresh (not to be confused with David Koresh of Waco). He preached that belief in the concavity of the Earth is equivalent to godliness. He proclaimed, "All that is opposed to Koreshanity is antichrist". After touring widely preaching Koreshanity, he settled in Chicago, and started a communal society, as well as a periodical, The Flaming Sword . Koreshanity, at its height, had a few thousand followers. In the 1890s Teed founded the town of Estero, Florida, near Ft. Meyers, and declared it the coming capital of the world. His followers prepared for eight million believers to show up. Only two hundred did. 1 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony Index http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/ Teed wrote a book called The Immortal Manhood , in which he taught that after his death he would rise to heaven and take all of his followers with him. Alas, when he died in 1908, nothing of the sort happened. After weeks, the county health officer finally had to step in to force the colony to bury the rotting body of their leader. Teed was buried in a tomb which was later washed out to sea in a hurricane in 1921. The Flaming Sword continued to be published until 1949, although it never mentioned that Teed had died. As a matter of fact, nowhere in this book is it mentioned that the author had been dead for fourteen years when it was published. The Cellular Cosmogony was Teed's magnum opus . Teed propounded that the surface of the earth is concave, not convex, and that the entire universe is contained within the 25,000 mile circumference of the inside-out earth. The Sun is in the exact center of the 'cosmic egg,' 4,000 miles away, and is actually a helix. However we never see this directly, only some kind of reflection of it. The Sun is dark on one side, which produces day and night. The moon is a reflection of the Earth, and Teed believed he could see outlines of the Earth's continents and seas on it! Other astronomical phenomena are essentially optical illusions. Besides geology, he also denounces the scientific method, the Copernican theory, the atomic theory, modern chemistry, conventional surveying techniques, and last but not least, optics. Truly, 'everything you know is wrong.' Teed and his followers devoted much time and energy to practical experiments to prove the concavity of the earth. Whether there was some deception involved, or self-deception , it is difficult to tell at this late date. Their surveying methodology and the device they used to take the measurements with (the 'rectilineator') have both been called into question. The obvious problems with his cosmology are either not covered at all or brushed aside with a flurry of invented (and often semantically null) polysyllabic words. Why does the sun rise and set each day? What is the horizon and why is it about five miles away at sea level? How come we can't see locations hundreds of miles away just by looking up a bit? And what the heck is outside??? --John Bruno Hare, June 7, 2005. Title Page Table of Contents Introduction The Cellular Cosmogony Optical Factors and Illusions Koreshan Application of Geodesy Laws Which Determine the Form and Function of the Universe Universal Form and Function Are Persistent Koreshan Principles of Optics Koreshan Cosmogony in Contrast with Modern Astronomy An Absolutely Indisputable Premise Solving an Incalculable Problem The Earth Is a Shell; the Sun Is the Center Central and Circumferential Limitation. A Universe Within a Universe Life Develops and Matures in a Shell, Egg, or Womb; Hence We Are Inside of It Forces and Factors Which Perpetuate Universe The Only True Science Is Founded on a Demonstrated Premise Plumbline Is First Step in Rational Demonstration Telescopes more or less Imperfect at Best; Likewise the Lens of Every Human Eye 2 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony Index http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/ The Geodetic Survey Tests That Cannot Be Ignored Experiments on Lake Michigan Objections by Illogical Critics Preparations for the Geodetic Survey Levels, Plumbs, Appurtenances, and Records Results and Inevitable Conclusions Addenda Cause of Variation of the Pendulum The Wonderful Properties of Radium Astronomical Mysteries and Hypotheses Force of Vibration Applicable to Aerial Navigation Synoptical Outline of the Universal Egg or Shell Important Admissions Principles of the New Geodesy Copernican Hypothesis in the Schools Advertisements 3 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony: Title Page http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/cc00.htm Sacred Texts Earth Mysteries Index Next p. 1 p. 2 p. 3 p. 4 THE CELLULAR COSMOGONY OR THE EARTH A CONCAVE SPHERE By KORESH [pseudonym of Cyrus Reed Teed] FOUNDER OF THE KORESHAN SYSTEM OF RELIGIO-SCIENCE AUTHOR OF VOLUMES OF KORESHAN LITERATURE This Edition is compiled from the wonderful articles written on the subject by KORESH, extending over a number of years, to which have been added the experiments and investigations conducted by the Koreshan Geodetic Staff THE GUIDING STAR PUBLISHING HOUSE ESTERO, LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA [1922] A. K. 82 Scanned at sacred-texts.com, June 2005. Proofed and formatted by John Bruno Hare. This text is in the public domain in the United 1 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony: Title Page http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/cc00.htm States because it was published prior to 1923, per the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact in all copies. Click to enlarge Front Cover Click to enlarge Back Cover: The Cellular Cosmogony Discovered by Koresh In 1870 Click to enlarge Frontispiece: Koresh [Cyrus Reed Teed] Click to enlarge Title Page p. 5 COPYRIGHT 1922 BY THE KORESHAN UNITY, INC. Click to enlarge Verso p. 6 2 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony: Title Page http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/cc00.htm This little work is part of the skirmish line of the Army of Revolution. It shall never cease its influence until every vestige of the fallacies and evils of a perverted science and religion shall have been relegated to oblivion . ... To the ... First fruits of the Resurrection , Offspring of the Lord , I supremely dedicate it ; thence to all men in all grades of progress in their liberation from the thraldom to ignorance and the hells of the competitive system . -- KORESH . Next: Table of Contents 3 of 3 5/24/2014 3:05 AM The Cellular Cosmogony: Table of Contents http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/cc01.htm Sacred Texts Earth Mysteries Index Previous Next p. 7 p. 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 11 -15 The Cellular Cosmogony . Koreshan Universology Predicated on Absolutely Demonstrated Premise; World Face to Face with a Radical Astronomical Revolution; Form of the Universe, the Great Alchemico-Organic World; Motion and Function; Cause of Motion; Remote Cause of Physical Motion; Cause of Motion from Biblical and Theological Point of View; Precession of Equinoxes as Related to Astro-Biological Manifestations; Transposition of Mental Force to Physical "Energy"; Cause of Motion of Planetary Disci; Knowledge of Universal Form Necessary 16 -30 Optical Facts and Illusions . Proofs of Cellular Cosmogony Contrasted with Assumptions; Appearance vs. Facts; Laws of Visual Impression 31 -36 Koreshan Application of Geodesy . New Method of Determining Earth's Contour; The Rectilineator; Revolution in Geodetic Surveys 36 -42 Laws Which Determine Form and Function of the Universe . Perspective Foreshortening an Essential Factor; Geodesy Applied to Earth Measurement 42 -46 Universal Form and Function Are Persistent . Koreshanity Regards the Universe as one Vast System 46 -49 Discovery of Koreshan Universology . The Perfect Man Is the Archetype of the Physical Universe 49 -52 Koreshan Principles of Optics . Problems that Demand Explanation 52 -55 p. 8 Koreshan Cosmogony vs. Modern Astronomy . Darwinism a fair Sample of Modern Scientific Conclusion; Facts and Appearances Differentiated ; Law of Foreshortening Ignored by Modern Astronomers; Principles of Optics Applied to Geodetic Observation; Our Minor Proposition; Our Sub-Major Proposition; The Koreshan General Proposition 55 -69 1 of 3 5/24/2014 3:06 AM The Cellular Cosmogony: Table of Contents http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/cc/cc01.htm Koreshan Premise Absolutely Indisputable . Law of Visual Deviation Accounts for Certain Phenomena; A Commonly Accepted Law of Optics; Cellular Cosmogony Dispels Idea of Illimitability 69 -80 Solving an Incalculable (?) Problem . Easiest Way to Find a Solution Is to Jump at a Conclusion 80 -83 The Earth Is a Shell; Sun Is the Center .