Worthing 318 Barbados ae — COLLEGE or veins Sacrorun SIONAL e -. FSo7y, oR eB ITE Stay TNC sry, PLANE III COMPANION 85-89 LIBER* os sacaceast 15 senveo: Personal & Confidential NINTH DEGREE | DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT AND MYSTICAL ENLIGHTENMENT OF MANFRATERNITAS ROS/E CRUCIS nome London &, & New York 7 “) AM” And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: ond he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Terast, I AM hath sent me unto you.” ‘Beodus, wl, ICCORDING to the Hebrew Scriptures it was by virtue ‘of the words just given, that Moses or Mesu, the Egyptian OSARSIPH, cousin of Menephtah and son of the Princess Royal, the sister of Rameses II, received hhis commission and message to the children of Israel. ‘Two notable features stand out with markt im- portance in the context. First, Moses was tending the flock and second, he was tending it on a mountain, in this case Mount Horeb. ‘Therefore, in spite of ‘his royal lineage we find him enyaged in an occupation symbolizing humility, and furthermore pursuing that ‘occupation on a mountain which, in itself, is one of the most significant occult symbols or allegories of personal attainment. ‘These two notable features form the perfect parallel to the early lives of all the Messiahs known to Man, who have visited this Earth plane prior Or subsequent to the time of Moses. ‘These two factors, individual humility, tried and proven on the spiritual Mount of Attainment’ have been the sign- manual and credentials of the world’s greatest teachers who have brot their message and revelation to mankind. We are not concemed particularly with Moses as an individual in this present study, however, other than aa the instrument thra whom a moat wonderful revelation was given to mankind; a revelation which opens up to tus one of the most important avenues of knowledge in the whole domain of occult spiritual science. ‘The revelation is that of the identity and NAMES of two of the greatest Divine Powers ever made known to man,—for, on close examination, it will be found that there are two principal personages brot to light herein. 86 OLthe thas been s0 often explained in our Roelcrucian studies, the word is sed with great frequency thruout the Scriptures, without distinction as to the particular phase of Delty or Divinity intended. In. the Jewish teachings, Ioruel is t—"Hiear © Israel, the Lora thy God is ONE. Goa” and the God designated by that teaching was He whi we now know to have been the Moon Initiate, Jehovah, the Christian Haly Spink. ext ‘we note that God sald unto Moses “IAM THAT 1AM": ‘Then ‘He specially orders Moses to say unto the children of lerach “I AM hath sent me unte you" TAM THAT 1 AM is one Divinity, Jehovah. 1 AM is a far greater Deing, the ABSOLUTE. Only one Being could make the affirmation | AM In the strict sense ‘and interpretation of ite totality. Only the emenetion of the ABSOLUTE could afinm—1 AM THAT 1 AM. “I” stands for the first person. The frst person was the FIRST CAUSE; the “Great First Cause” of Herbert Spencer. It refers to. the COSMIC MONAD EGO. “AM" is the positive affirmation of exoistic existence. There is no record of the ABSOLUTE ever having spoken to man, angel or God. There is no fpossible reason for us to assume that the ABSOLUTE could have spoken for There can be postulated a time or condition when the ABSOLUTE was all ‘comprehensive; before which and prior to which no Emanations hed gone forth tnd thus there would have been no condition to which the ABSOLUTE could have made the afirmation. After the Emanations hed proceeded forth, there would still be neither speech nor utterance of any tort, nor would there be teed of It, for the Greater needs not to afirm ite existence to the Lesser the Intter existing only by virtue of the former, and, s0 to speak only i the former, as set forth by the permanent mantrem of our Hermetic Section; “In Him we live, and move and have our being. (ete evi, 28) “1 AM", therefore, can refer only to the ABSOLUTE. It constitutes the only ‘nafne by which we ean indicate or Ident) our concept of the Nomeless."Itis the expression of the positive existence and manifestation of the Cosmic Root of all Being. “I AM THAT T AM" in the Scriptural sense and interpretation refers to the Great Being who, thra ‘countless incarnations andar the Highest Initiate of the three preceding World Periods was known at the time of His ‘expression this as the Race God of the Hebrews, but even thens this designe Hon simply provided a means of positive expression and affrmation of His Deing, for according to Exodus ov, 3, he was not at thet’ time even to bis lotsa people, inown ‘by the NAME which exprest his individually” and Sublime and Delfi personality. 1 the chapter from Beodus we tnd it distinctly stated—tAnd 1 ane peared unto Abraham, unto Tanacy and unto Jacob, by the NAME of God ‘Almighty, but by my NAME JEHOVAH (the Tetragrammaton) sar T not mown nto them” ‘This seeret, sacred, and unpronouncable name of Jehovah as ix well known, was held in such special sanctity that {t was never given among the ancient Hebrews, and the same custom is still followed hy sie of the more Strictly orthodox of that race even to the present ey. the name Adonai hing usually substituted instead. 86 2‘This particular subject hae been chosen as the motif of the present in- struction, however, sn view of the familleity with which it is treated at the present day, both bv drsteral organizations and by the multitude of Uberal Fought bodies whose name is legion. To the occutist there is revealed 3 degree of genuine ignorance which eauses in him a veritable sensation akin to ean, at the manner in Which this sacred formula is juggled as ritualistic mantra. In one notable fratemal organization particularly, this formula, “I AM THAT T ASf" le used in a manner which leaves no doubt whatever as to the ignorance of the true import attaching to I and emphasizes the fact that ‘members who use it with s0 litle knowledge or understanding thereof imay be accumulating to themselves a karmik debe which it may require long time periods to effoce. [Names were peculiarly sacred things amongst all peoples of antiquity. Originally they were not bestowed merely thru sentimeat, euphonius nomen ‘lature or even designations of hereditary descent, but for special purposes fof an ethical nature, intended to secure to the reclplent and future bearer the est that mortal life could give him. Thus among the anctents we rarely find and sever among the earliest peoples of mythom, the names of the Gods siruned By morale That wouid bave been & tcrege punishable iy most cases by death. ‘And for supposedly enlightened mortals of the present day to use this sacred foraula “LAM THAT [ AM" merely as perfunctory tual, borders ‘lmost even on pastive blasphemy. ‘he wer has guetoned sveal who are gested to ths nulla usage, enqulting what the individual concept of the inner of teal menning 0 the Formals ik. The concenrun of answers tecived is akin to the Teply oace ffren to the question “why are we here Meaning, in mortal life and the rower wan,—we'e here because were here” and that's all there ie to ie Likewise "the anewer recived to our present question in one case was-—"well, Tam'because Ti” “You eno put any magie mo it at al.” Tf this ig all that modern humanity understands of this sacred formula, they It had Better cease playing with sacred thingy for i tkin to laying with fire. And we mast not forget that certain priests of antiquity were ‘once slain when, with the best and most laudable iatentions, they entered the Sanctuary where only the High Priest war entitled to enter mee a Year ‘There are stil some places left where it ls advisable to walle carefully, even ‘a5 Moses was warned in the context of our subject, to “put off his shoes from (off hls feet, for the place whereon he stood was holy ground.” Only ONE is entitled to use the term “I AM” in its iolated sense and that ONE never used it himself. Te was said OF Him by another ONE who had the right to use it because he did’ so intelligentiy. And even that Grent Other ONE. did not ase the formula for himselé along, But gave it-as “LAM THAT 1 AML Now we ARE entitied tote this last formula but oniy intelligently and_in two distinct interpretations, Let us see if we ean understand the distinction 1s largely « imatter of pronunciation and intonation. All sacred forme las of antiquity were used as tantra with specialised phonetic infections that linmediately made known the intention of the speaker ov Intenets ‘To merely say SL AMUTHAT TAM” as a matter of rituals Blasphemy and burlesque of fhe most sacred thing known to humanly. "To wae Te ntelligentiy bot an orthily ts even worse. To une i inelligently and worthy Sonsttutes ong of the highest forma of White or Constructive Magie within the power of When Jehorah wat this formula in speaking to Moses, giving hia his ‘gummission fo deliver tract he. conveyed thereby’ His asseciot tnd aime: Hon of His ‘Al-One-btent kinship and relation with the ABSOLUTE. in‘this sense {t would have been given “I, am that ‘T AM:" In other words, paraphrased, Jchora said “I, the speaker, am a manifenation and a poten ‘init of the ABSOLUTE® and if the children of luracl wish to kno your authority to lead them, inform them that THE ABSOLUTE hath sent ‘Jou unto thes [No higher commission or credentials could be desired by the Hebrews for ‘they well imew that any man with sich a claim must rtand ready to demon ‘rate it by the exercise of supemormal powers which would. soon certify {o them the genuineness of his claims, and furthermore that the day of such emonstration was immediately at hand and the court of the Pharoah would be the seene of action and scriptural history proves that such was the case. ‘And Mosca could not hesitate for he, ae an Egyptian Prince of the Blood Royal, brot up in the pelace and initisted in the Temple Mysteries, "learned 4 all the of the Beyptians” as we are taught, lnew from his initie tions that Divinity was in seality UNITY and that there was Dut one God fand he felt the fumediate indux of the Divine or Deifc aflatus which gave hhim the courage and assurance to. go to Tsrael and present his Divine Com mission and Credentials. Now we must remember thet Jehovah albelt His Divine Eminence and attainment” of Godhood, had been, even as ourselves, once human in the wrevious World Periods. He was entitled to assume this responsibility simply ‘He had attained to the conscious Imowledge of his At-One-Ment with the ABSOLUTE. Similarly, we of today, are entitled to the same privilege, IF we have attained the Commie Consciousness, or enterd into. the Imowledge of our Divine relationship and can mentally function actively therein. Some, even Of the present day have succeeded to thls sublime attainment. “But we must jot deceive ourselves by merely accepting the theory of At-One-Ment and Cosmic Consciousness. ‘There is & vast diflerence between accepting the theory, Believing in # and actually attaining and practicing It. It is this misunderstanding of the diference between accepting the theory land practicing ft, that has caused the vise and development of so many alley “New Thought” cults at the present time. Nearly all of ther, with minor aiterenees are purveyors of the so-called gape of asimation. ot AM ood” SLAM wel”) "TAM prosperous” “IAM successful ete, ete.” And while we have the few sueceates held up to Us as examples, we are not Initted to recognise the fallures from theve teachings, nor are we permitted to Foals how the apparently successful, in many cases are so at the expense of thelr lee fortunate associates. No amount of affirmation will negate a wrong. The cancer victim will not be healed by denying the existence of the growth.. The root of the evil Iust first be removed in every case. It 1S true that the constant, conscious ‘Sirmatio of ight thought accompanied by wight action wil prevent, the ‘rong principle from germinating, or of finding room for even if it Thar getminated, but neverthelese the seed, Toot or growth it HAS attained ‘will Femain, struggling against all attempts of positive, constructive afirma- ‘on, until i is removed in toto. "in some schools, the disciple is taught to say “I ADI” this that or some- thing clue from Atty to hundred times «day, but the only result this Will produce is the destructive result of auto or self-hypnosis. ‘To repeat seriously the formula, “I AM THAT I AM.” is equivalent to ‘saying, “ly the Ego oF speaker, am the ABSOLUTE." And such state- feat is also equivalent to the drop of water saying “lam the ocean.” Now the Grop of water in lake, river, oF stream is fresh and the ocean is salt. ‘The water drop is of the same rubvtance and nature ns the ocean, but in its olated enue itis absurd for it to make the claim of bring the ocean. Forthermore, when i reaches the ocean it becomes timctured with the salt ee 04oof the ocean, It came originally from the ocean; it has travelled around the Ghreumference thew vaporsation, condensation, crystallization and final ow hex to the vcenn. “And when it Rnally reaches the ocean and is tinctured ly Ie ad incorporated IN ity s0 that a test will show its absolute integration ahd unity WITH it then the drop can truthfully say, “Tam the oceas,” as tho ean any other drop say likewise. ‘The same Wlustration holds good in respect of humanity. Man cannot, ond should not DARE to cay, “I'am the ABSOLUTE.” He 1S of the same Inbvdance and nature as the ABSOLUTE. But Man, in the mortal world is ierocosmic and the ABSOLUTE Is macrocosmic. Man would be absurd im his iolated state to claim that he was the ABSOLUTE. Here he presents Deochain'depree of Divinity incamate. "When he reaches the ABSOLUTE, thea developinent, he will manifest Divinity discarnate and macrocosmie. He will be Unetured with the attributes of the Macrocosm manifesting as Coamle Cinsciousnew Mun came oFigitally FROM the ABSOLUTE. He bas ffavelled around the circunfereage of the Cycle of Mortal Life, and he will feturn to the Center. He ton, Tike the drop of water, has passed thru the processes of vaporization, condensation, and crystallization, and is now, thra Vyolution, returning to the Center and when be Teaches that Center, he too, mil be tinctured oy (t and incorporsted IN It so that a test will show his ‘bso-itegration and unity WITH It, and then he CAN truthfully say, T am ihe ABSOLUTE in manifestation, for T ond my Father are ONE. “To show the difference between the so-called “New Thought” and the understanding of the potential conditions involved, on the part of the early osicrucians, we give the following mantram, which was used by the Initiates tho had attained’ Cosmic Consciousness and who therefore imew that they tere ‘entitled. to use it henefcentiy in thelr ‘work for Humanity. 1, if THAT All's Child of the ABSOLUTD. My spiritual powers are yout aperior and‘can control you for a constructive good. ‘This mantram was ‘sed by them whenever occasion required in their dnseldsh efforts to compel thers to engage also upon a life of endeavor along the right lines, ‘The NAME of Duly or the ABSOLUTE can never under any circumstances be heed destructively or for selfish purpases, so there was no danger of its ever {Siig misused. It was potent only When exerted Beneticently If, on the other hand, we have taught that this formula was too sacred to be bifed with, let us remember that Man is the descent of Divinity into Humonity. He is the Image of God, but, like all images, optically, he is the fncerted image, showing that the some laws-operate thru all the kingdoms and planes. This may be well ilusteatea by a diagram. ‘We may literally almost watch a plant grow from its seed. The modem developments of the mation pire ov cinematography have actually made it possi "for us to observe on the screen in the space of a very few momnts, [io "etual growth and even the unfoldment of the hud of a plant, altho the time eally occupied in the process may fave deen several days, But our ‘observation shown us that altho we do not see the microscopic evolutionary processes and activities, the multiplication of the cells, the accretion of sub- Rance the deponiting af the chlonophyil, nevertheless we hase seen the complete geen sche f eouton manfeed and we now tnt the Comoe he Mitimate product, the epitome of creative energy in the preliminary gestation, germination, growth and development of the organism. It is the same with Man. We may not be able to observe the minute processes of his age-long course of evolution, except as they come to hotice In Isolated examples of the ‘as compared with human relics [prehistoric eras, but we can and DO observe the general plan of his desceat From Divinity and that plan is the plan of the Cross, the Same plan a8 of Inanifested life, for physical expression of manifestation ia the reslt, price penalty of the cromiteation of Spirit on Matter. abbas 86 05Whether Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant, Christian or Confucian, the Sip of the Crone the Sign of Humanity. te lanion which Humanity fg -built and developt, It originates in the ABSOLUTE as exprest by the Triangle with upward point; it shows the plan of human life and mortality fn its uofoldment. It terminates in Man, the inverted image of God, and ‘when our evolution is ended so far as the present Day of Manifestation is concerned, the inverted Triangle expressing the Microcosm will be drewa up into the uplifted Triangle of Deity, forming the interlaced Triangle, the ‘cred symbol of Judaism, signifying the perfect halance and equilibrium of Matter and Spirit or God and Man reunited. 1 ie aiienlt in giving an exegecie of Natural Lawn to aay which it the grestest or most fmpotiant of them all, Yor sventoally we discover that the Ewe ot Neture or God resolve Shemseiver into the inevitable Unity” at fet formh by our Father Hermes. But we will all agree that Taw in ang fe {hater or ‘Cxpressons as understood. and accepted Uy Moy iy not only. for {he purpase of uldsnces it is aso for protection. We study the laws of chealsy in onder he thru out igworance we may not conblne, cements Srhich would produce disttrous renita and. coable a to keep separate of Under controlr those clements of great owen, which, unrestaincs, would ‘wore havoc amongst us ‘So it is with the Law of the I AM. No one can use it effectively unless the uses it understandingly and. worthily. With all others {t will be of no ‘vail and it is presumptuous on our part to use It unthinkingly and. merely fe. ualnte pre, or mantramy for by eo doing’ we unwittingly assume fo be that which we are not. The Law of the 1 AM Ie the greatest of the Laws of Afiimation for it is the cosmic basis on which all the Laws ‘commonly fnown as those of Attraction, Positivity, and even the phenomene fof consciousness depend. ‘That which does not exist as an integral part of fhe active manifestation of the ABSOLUTE belongs to. the realm of the Repulsive, and Negetive forces Tt was on this basis of the I AM that ancient kings signed as thelr names, those of thelr respective countries, a custom followed even bythe resent vestiges of rovalty and some ecclesiastics, signifying the personifica- Bon of the State in the person of its ruler and meaning the affrnation that ‘the State existed only in, by, and thru thet ruler. ‘While this custom has happily lost its potency as fact, it i nose the leat interesting archmolovically as an evidence of the persistence of almost prime ‘eval customs into the present age. ‘The misuse of the words “I am” even in ordinary every-day life affairs 4s the primal cause of much of the dishonesty that exists in the world today: Tes ubed especially in our language whichis far from perfect, ns the shortest form of ponltive declaration. Instead of saying "T wil do this or that”, oF “Twill try to do so", it is instilled into us by prevailing methods of practice, ‘that 49 much more can be accomplisht Ly the use of the postive adirmation “t'am® that we use it today without the slightest iden of its origin or the ctoterie alue of it It is perfectly true that Rosierucianiam fs abore all things a Gospel of positivism, or afirmation, but itis equally true that I also above all Ehings a Gospel of the affrmation of RIGHT things, end rig things INTEL LIGENTLY and LAWFULLY used, {No number of pocitive affrnations wrongfully used will accomplish good results “It will simply work confusion in the Craft. It i curious to observe fiat ‘hog who uae the AM aflmation unconscini, uniting oF lignorantly, simply because they have been taught to do si ss not realise that Uy telling '« lie they cannot produce or accomplish good. 86 06If you are in pwin,—on® lies don't deceive yourself, No sumber of t Ams will fron yon {som that pain.” Simply adirming “Cam well: T am free from pain” wil wever stop the pain. Yott may indeed hypnotize your- S58 into Winking fo the manent that fou ae fee trom bat neal iC wil ecu when the hypnosis has Passed. Adirning “am well” will not Of itself make you well” Such adfrnations wil not heal or cure pain oF ‘isease, all ethical arzuments to the contrary. “Te mental atitde back of the affrmation i = conan shes Tequeny gies Natare an opportsnty 9 seamert era Sec te Teiow etpane Snaitinn ate conttnedy and then we hare the ESS 2 PE Seve Mae haceek Wally Contra ote held up for Tar Spprsbaton ‘he cove could ave an more icy fhe coe of the Faun Sf dosage were removed fat and ten with the toed ear, bee, re Eaoatione of heats honest, intcligentiy and worthy. eenenbet, i the duch at Motcrucian scat to ck gree the, nrsle CAUSE of all Wale Cactn‘an the spies to peir seer and aeace sp och ff mat Tmo thus to any ster Soto tk ay innately see hamasty co iteively or ndideally. Pain, sickness and disease are all forms of personal, individual Karma, Karma ie an accumulation in. the ordinary sense, of sruilt. Guilt calls for ‘Admission, acknowledgment and contrition, accompanied by desire for resti- fution. When you are in pala, fist of all be houest and admit it. Recognize land acknowledge that it isn evidence that vou have transerest Nature's Laws in some way. THEN SEEK THE INVISIBLE CAUSE of the pain. ‘Then bring in your affrmative powers. Afirm—-"I WILL remove this eause, oF ‘cease the conditions that produce and mainiain It. AND DO IT; don’t tem- forse, ot expect the Physician to relieve the pain and leave vou free to con- Gnue in your wrong doing AND THE MOMENT YOU HAVE BEGUN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING THE CAUSE, BEGIN to aftrm: TAM NOW FREE FROM THE CAUSE OF MY TROUBLE. THOT AM WEAK IAM IMPROVING, 1 AM GAINING STRENGTH RAPIDLY; T CAN FEEL MYSELF GROWING STRONGER HOUR BY HOUR; T AM DRAWING TO MYSELP FROM THE VITALIZING ETHERS NEW STRENGTH, VITALITY AND POWER. ‘Then you will be working in honesty to yourself and to Nature Pain, sickness and disease are, when first observed, Nature's warnings and danger signals even ae the engineer of an express locomotive must note ferery signal on his path if he wishes to. pull his train thrawith safety. Realize that in using the power of curative alrmation, what vou are in reality trying to accomplish ig the Testoration to balance and equilibrium of {Jour vital forees, for disease is lack of balance and disturbance of equilibrium. That algo. remember. that. affirm as much as fou mav, Unless you use Jour “tams” intelligent and! wortily yon will accomplish nothing and not onl that, vou cannot even deceive yourself for you will he conscious of your failure all the ‘while, and in such cager people inevitably. place the lame on the School oF cult that taught them. Pinally. if we are among those who. after careful consideration. and thought, really and sincerely Uelieve: they are those who are entitled to. use the “TAM THAT [ AM" formula individually let us femember the answerine [Priyer of Mores to the voice he heard in the Burning Bush, the manifestation BF"the Great Central Flame. ‘This answer is not given in Exodus in the chapter describing the manifestation of God to him ‘and the granting of his Divine Commission. “Tt is found tn the 90th Psalm. In this prayer Moses ‘mime up all evolution in the opening sentences: Lords thow hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were rot forth, or ever ‘thou hadst Tormed the earth and the world. EVEN FROM EVER- TASTING TO EVERLASTING, THOU ART GOD. 86 67In this answer of Moses to the Burning Bush, we have the proof that he as an Initiate, had perceived that his commission was from the ABSOLUTE, for he well knew that Jehovah having once been human even as we, tho he had ever been Divine even as we, had not been God from everlasting. Only ONE, the ABSOLUTE could hold such an ineffable and unsurpassed posi tion in Cosmos. So he retumed his answer directly to the ABSOLUTE, and as he did so, we also can do likewise if we truly feel we have the right to approach that sublime concept of the Human Mind. Only ONE. could have heen our dwelling place in all generations, even He _in whom we AND GOD, AND ALL THE GODS OF ALL SOLAR. SYSTEMS, live, and move, and have our being . The God of our own Solar System may indeed have done the immediate work in the development of the System but it was only by virtue of His having “returned unto His Father’, the ABSOLUTE and functioning therein, that He was able to act ‘as a Creating God. And this is equally true of all the Logol. The fact tha! some of these same Logoi may be even farther advanst than the God of our own Solar System is evidenst by the fact that science is now opening up to us the knowledge of Suns like etelzense whose diameter is 800,000,000 miles, far exceeding the size of our Sun and some of its planets and their orbits, Antares is now known to be even larger than the great Sun just named, and suns, it must be remembered are the centers of other Solar Systems. So far as we know, Moses was the only human being ever to be com- missioned to assert his authority in the NAME of the “I AM”, the only human being to be actually endowed with the lawful use of it. But because he WAS #0 invested, and heeause he WAS human, because he WAS AN INITIATE, so can all subsequent Initiates do likewise if they ARE genuinely Initiates and not mere theorizers or ritualistic mummers. At this time when the human mind is fast awakening to the realization of its tremendous powers and opportunities and possibilities, it seems as tho there were Little left of reverence for sacred things. Even God would be placed on the dissecting table by some if such were thinkable or possible. But in spite of the irreverence of modern humanity for that which is truly holy, every little while we observe that wise Nature in the form of some cataclysm or catastrophe overthrows all the pompous dicta of science and brings even the atheist to his knees in terror. Atlantis did not go down without purpose, nor did Vesevius destroy the center of vice and corruption, Pompeii, by mere chance or coincidence. All things in the natural world work together for a definite purpose and Man even in his pride is humbled. Let us keep this in mind as we carelessly use the affirmation “I AM" which originates with the ABSOLUTE, presumes to speak FOR the ABSOLUTE. Let us use it carefully at all times but especially so. when we use it re igiously or ritualistically, ns a part of esoteric ceremonial. Being a spiritual fundamental, it should he used only in spiritual realization.FRATERNITAS ROS CRUCIS Rome London &, & New York THE GUARDIAN OF THE THRESHOLD GENERATION or so ago the popular subject of the average orthodox sermon, on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning, was a graphic descrip tion of the soul inspiring and truly spiritual con- cept of “Hell-fire and Damnation,” not omitting any of the thrilling details as to careful and accurate dasting, turning and spitting, until the tensely vibrating sinners in the pews could almost feel themselves done to a beautiful golden brown of permanent color, for all eternity, under the skilfull manipulation of the master chef of His Satanic ‘Majesty. ‘Those sermons were powerfully effective. The result is that actually, millions of people have been passably decent simply because they did not dare to be otherwise. Freewill was destroyed. Heaven became the fire escape from hell. Added to this pleasing concept of an all-merciful God, in case the chief topic fell a trifle flat on already Jaded ears, the minis- terial pot-boilers, fearful lest anything like mental anaesthesia should allow their flock a moment's respite from this theological sword of Damocles which it was their particular business to keep constantly sus- pended over the heads of the suffering faithful—would vary the main Subject by occasional diversions into the realm of “Infant Damnation” and the total destruction of those not fortunate enuf to have been pre destined or who had possibly passed into the higher life unbaptized. ‘With great and holy unction the eminent divines of that day (and some laggards in evolution still with us), would dwell with special fervor on the sufferings of little children who died in innocency, in spite of the words of the Master they profest to follow, when he said—“suffer them NOT—forbid them NOT—for of such is THE KINGDOM OF HBAVEN.” In orthodox Christianity no one was to be permitted to enter Heaven except by the path of pain and suffering, the degree of which was to be 86 69