“Behold the Divine One is unveiled in many ways to the inner vision of men. Our distinctive reading of Him is through the pages of Nature. We find living oracular voices in the poetry and harmony of the Universe, and also in the underlying laws of the mind of man. To interpret Nature and Law is to interpret God. We must study the adumbration, locution, and the architecture of the whole creation. All is life, and life is LOVE. In the world of sense love is personal and narrow. In the higher spheres it reduces all things to itself, and becomes impersonal and all-inclusive. To penetrate the secrets of the Universal Mind and discover the invisible revolving wheels of Nature, one must ascend an unseen mount—ALONE. Only through such solitude can the soul uncover itself and come into full contact with the Eternal, and at length gain a complete mastery over the base idolatry of the common life.”
“I fain would know more particularly concerning thine own chosen field of research?”
“I may make known to thee that the Magi of the East are of three Orders, different, though related, for they are One. The triangle hath three sides. The first Order is given mainly to the study of and communion with Nature, or rather her motives and internal forces. The second is concerned with the assuagement and healing [pg 456]of the ills and disorders of the race, and the third seeks near acquaintance with the mysteries and manifestations of Spirit while abiding in incarnate forms, and also the invoking of those that have become excarnate. It includes a study of the laws, communications, and unfoldment of human minds and souls. My own researches and experiments are more specifically those of the third Order, to which I have the honor to belong.”
The thought of Marcius went back to Alethea.
“My own small experience hath convinced me, not only that spirits survive earthly dissolution, but that they sometimes appear in the seen form.”
The sage nodded assent, and observed,—
“It is true that those who are in the Beyond, under certain favorable circumstances not commonly understood, may briefly draw to themselves some of the finer elements of neighboring bodies, and even clothe themselves with them. This is no marvel! It is in accord with the spiritual laws of man’s constitution. When embodied, Mind commands its own organism. In lesser degree, after the seen hath been dropped, its inherent forces may lay hold of the subtle elements that are less closely related, and mould them for a temporary purpose.”
“Do those who cross the Styx find upon landing upon the farther side that they are much wiser, and at once rid of the errors of the fleshly experience?”
“Nay; the higher states come only by growth into harmony with the Universal Good, which is through patient and persistent aspiration. Most souls are inert until pushed forward by the pains of discordant environment. The same faults must be overcome, the same phantoms [pg 457]vanquished and selfishness put away, as in the seen. The wonted passions rage, even though without material expression. But thanks to friendly thought-ministration from intelligences more highly developed, both in the visible and invisible, progress soon begins, and will continue. The cords that hold spirits in prison must be weakened in every strand through retributive and purifying discipline until they finally give way, and then released souls can mount aloft into a larger freedom. To put on a heavenly consciousness at once would be a violation of all the laws of normal growth and universal method. Thought must wear new channels, whether with or without the cruder embodiment.”
“Is there a spiritual body?”