WARNING TO THE READER The persons interested in esoteric problems have probably read the book of Pierre Ouspensky

published posthumously by his next of kin and bearing the title of "Fragments of an Unknown teaching"1. The ideas found in the book were gathered by the author from "G". "G"2 indicates what the base of his teaching is. "to those who already know, I would say if you like, that this is ESOTERIC Christianity"3. It is curious that under these conditions the title speaks of an unknown teaching. The Christian Esoteric Tradition has always remained alive within certain convents in Greece, Russia and elsewhere and if it is true that this knowledge was hermetically hidden, yet its existence was known and access to it was never forbidden to those seriously interested in these problems. If some passages of the book make us think that it is a question of a sort of syncretism gathering several traditional teachings, yet we do not doubt that as to the essential, the fragments of the system exposed in Ouspensky's work draw their origin from the revelation issuing forth from the Great Esoteric Brotherhood to which the apostle St. Paul alluded in his Epistle to the Romans.4 These fragments have, therefore, been drawn from the veritable source. Yet, as correctly indicated by the title, Ouspensky's book contains only some fragments of a tradition transmitted until a recent epoch solely orally; only a study of the ensemble of that tradition would allow access to the Revelation. Our relations with Pierre Ouspensky, whom we have known well, were described in an article of the review "Synthesis."5 We must re-affirm here that although Ouspensky had a spirited desire to publish his book during his lifetime, he always hesitated to do so. We had stressed, for all it is worth, the danger of a fragmentary divulgence and the incertitude of the exposition of certain essential points. The fact that "Fragments" was published after the death of the author, over twenty years after the writing had been achieved comes to support our assertions. *** The study we are presenting here is directly drawn from the Christian Oriental Tradition: the sacred texts, the commentaries which were written around these texts especially from the sermons of the Philocalia which is, above all, the teaching and the discipline such as they were transmitted by those persons who were regularly invested. We shall find certain similarities between the contents of this study and Ouspensky's book since the sources are the same in part. But attentive scrutiny and comparison will, above all, show the incomplete character of that book and the errors and deviations it contains with regard to the doctrine. We all know the importance of diagrams in the Esoteric Tradition. They have been conceived to permit the transmission of that knowledge through the centuries, in spite of the death of civilizations. The errors on the background of a diagram which are particularly important6 were exposed in the abovementioned article of Synthesis. What else should we say of the place given to man in the diagram called "Diagram of all things alive?7

Paris, stock 1950. (The work was translated into English called "In Search of the Miraculous" fragments of an unknown teaching. 2 Fragments p.22 (French ed.) 3 Ibid. p.154 (French ed.) underlined in the original text. 4 Romans, VIII, 28-30. 5 Wolwe-St.-Jam called "Diagram of all things alive" bert, Brussels ed.no.144 issue of "Synthesis".
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Fragments p.289. Ibid. p.251.

After several considerations aiming at showing the "nullity" of the man who has not esoterically evolved and that very small place which is his in the Universe, he has been placed in that diagram which has been artificially complicated, at the level of Angels and Archangels. This means to say, in the Kingdom of Heaven, figured by the superior inverted "L", even though Christ categorically affirmed that entry into the Kingdom of Heaven is banned to those who have not been BORN ANEW.8 This Second Birth being the object and goal of esoteric work. The place of the Exterior man, according to the New Testament9, which means, man who has not, so far, produced fruit, but whose latent faculties are to be developed, is found in fact in the above mentioned diagram between the two inverted "L' s", where he forms the link between the visible and invisible worlds. We are able to multiply the examples of this nature. There is that which is graver still: the concept of the mechanical-man which has as a consequence, his irresponsibility10. This is in direct contradiction with the doctrine of sin, of repentance and of the access to salvation which is the basis of the teaching of Christ. ***** The utmost genuine faith, human intelligence and goodwill are not sufficient to prevent errors and deviations in everything that touches the domain of Revelation and which would not be totally inspired there from. The errors and deviations of "Fragments" attest to the fact that the book was not written at the orders and under the control of the Great Esoteric Brotherhood. This means that the facts on which the book was based have a fragmentary character. So, in the esoteric realm, all fragmentary knowledge is a source of danger. The works of the ancient writers, such as St. lrenee, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebe of Cesarea who wrote about the heresies of the first centuries of our era, will evidence this. We learn, for example, that certain Gnostic schools, seeing the imperfection of the created world, without searching for the reasons of the existence of these imperfections, have, by a short cut of thought, reached the conclusion, of points of view such as the feebleness of the Creator, His incompetence or even His evilness. The incomplete is, therefore, a true source of all heresies. Only what the Tradition calls Pherome, which means Plenitude, including Gnosis11 in its totality offers a guarantee against all deviations. ======================================================== i) Translators Note:- We have taken the liberty of giving the reader here, the two figures that the author refers to above; Ouspensky's figure, drawn from his book p.451 and the third figure of the second volume of Gnosis, p.100 of the French edition. We have translated the text in both cases.

Gnosis Vol. 2 fig. 3

8 9

John,III,3 and following. Mark, IV, 11. 10 Fragments p. 41. 11 St. Paul of the Ephesians, III, 18 -19 -Didachee -and St. Clement of Alexandria, the Stromtis, passim, etc...