Mr. Knowlton.—"You have stated your position very clearly, Doctor, and I now see there were many points I did not cover in my address though some of your objections I certainly did anticipate. However, in the first place it comes down to this. What answer is to be given to the question which the Professor asked and which you have again raised? What is a man's work in the world? What is man? What is his nature? In what does education consist? We have often discussed these questions, Doctor, so now we needn't go into them at any length, for you know very well my position in regard to them, but they come up in a slightly different aspect in relation to the subject in hand. Let us for the moment, then, grant the existence of the inner man, the real man, the man of high imaginations, high feelings, with keen appreciation of harmony and beauty, that something within us which prompts to a deed of self-sacrifice, which feels the joy of helping another and relieving distress. The outer man lives on material food, but for health needs also pure air and sunshine—all these are necessary to animal existence. But the inner man needs something more. There are other states of feeling besides that of physical well-being. There are other powers besides the physical or even the mental. It is no mere effect of the imagination that beautiful music or harmony of form and color awaken in response certain harmonies in the soul and it is just in this way that true art may be made a vital educative factor."
The Professor.—"A man's true work in the world is the soul's work, and true education is that which enables the soul to fulfil its destiny and make manifest its own nature. True education is therefore that which will draw out the soul's own powers. If this were done the rest of our life would all fall into its proper place."
Dr. Roberts.—"But as I have said, even granting that, it is all vague. Where and how will you begin? Have you any science of the soul's powers and how to awaken them? What more would you have than is already being done in the way of art education?"
The Professor.—"It is just because there is a science of the soul's powers that more should be done, and lovers of art have sought and striven for this for centuries. But the time had not come. It has come now and this renaissance of the soul's powers is already heralded by the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity."
Dr. Roberts.—"What! do we have to go to the ancients for this? I acknowledge all the culture and art of the Greeks, but I am not one of those who puts Greek civilization above ours."
The Professor.—"It is not a question of giving the palm to either ancient or modern civilization. Our civilization marks one stage of development but in it we have lost something that the ancients had. There is something lacking from our lives. We have developed our physical senses and physical and mental powers to a marvellous degree but there are not that harmony and serenity in our lives which alone can give true happiness. The key to these was in the Mysteries whereby man was brought face to face with the essences of things and his own inner nature."
Dr. Roberts.—"How can these Mysteries be revived—so little is known of them and you yourself speak of them as lost."
The Professor.—"Lost only to the world at large, but they have never been wholly lost. There have always been some in the world to whom has been entrusted the sacred wisdom and through whom it has been handed down from age to age."
Here some of the members began to make a move towards departure and as it was quite late it was decided to resume the discussion at the next meeting when it was expected Madam Purple would be present.