The Professor.—“It has been a century of unrest, and nothing is more needed than that this keynote of harmony should be struck at this time, it is in this that lies the hope of the future, and it is in this spirit of harmony that actuates the workers to-day that lies the guarantee that the work will be carried into the next century, though one here and there, unable to go forward in the new age, must be left behind.”
Dr. Wyld.—“Madam Purple, will you not tell us more about Æschylus’ purpose in writing his plays, for, like Shakespeare’s, I would declare them to be ‘not of an age, but for all time.’”
Madam Purple.—“Yes, I think Æschylus and Shakespeare may well be compared, for each taught the truths of life, though each veiled them in forms suited to the times in which they wrote. It is perfectly evident to the deep student that there is an inner meaning to the plays of Æschylus, and it may be that in his earnestness and endeavor to instruct the people and bring out these truths he became so enthused that he introduced some features of the Inner Mysteries, and although these could only be recognized and interpreted by Initiates, yet the story is he was condemned to death for this. It is true the inner meaning had to be clothed in a form adapted to the tastes of the people. In those days Greece had begun to retrograde, and the true idea of religion had become obscured in the minds of the masses. It had begun to take on a gruesome aspect, and that which had the greatest hold upon them was fear and the dread of punishment. Æschylus, like all great teachers, adapted his teachings to the mind of his hearers. Instead of taking them so high that they could find no foothold, he used their ordinary conception of religion and took them forward one step at a time. To have brought out the teaching in all its power and grandeur would perhaps have dazzled them, and being beyond their grasp would have seemed to them to be a tearing down of their present conceptions and ideals, and thus have thrown them back and into rebellion.”
The Professor.—“There are plenty of evidences of this in modern life, of would-be teachers who, ignorant of the laws of growth and development, seek to tear down and at the same time to dazzle their hearers with knowledge which they themselves have not half-digested, and instead of bringing light and freedom, they but imprison and fetter the mind more closely. It is just as though to hasten the growth of a tender plant a gardener would bring it out of a cool and shady spot into the full glare of the sun. Its life would be burned out by that which is the very source of its life.”
Madam Purple.—“But in Æschylus the teaching is there, though veiled. The wise teacher does not tear down until a new foothold has been found. He builds, constructs and educates, thus slowly leading to a higher level, disengaging the minds gradually from error by instilling a higher conception of truth. The inner teaching runs through it all like a golden thread in a many colored tapestry, now appearing, now apparently lost, but in reality only hidden from the casual observer yet present still to him who has eyes to see.
“A great effort was made by the Initiates at about the time of Æschylus to revive in the heart of the Greeks a love for the ancient wisdom which they had received originally from Egypt. Æschylus himself had been instructed by teachers not known to the world and had been prepared to take part in this work long before he appeared openly as a teacher and a writer. Those who had the best interests of the people at heart and who were ‘called’ to serve as spiritual teachers were ever seeking to educate them not according to what the people demanded of them but according to their needs. Among these was Æschylus. He made no great claims for himself but was a stranger to fear, and so deeply was he imbued with the love of humanity and his desire to serve it that he became indifferent to criticism, and dared to step out into the arena of life with a boldness that to those who see only through the small glasses of vanity and ambition and who could not understand him, may have seemed egotism. But those who can follow the inner meaning of his writings and can see his great purpose, recognize him as a true servant and lover of humanity. What cared he for the hatred and opposition of those who loved personal power and sought to keep the people in ignorance, who saw that his grand work for helping humanity would thwart their designs and block their selfish paths. It was these who persecuted him and caused him to be condemned—not his fellow-initiates and comrades or those who truly loved wisdom and freedom.
“The chief of the persecutors of Æschylus was one who had the ambition to hold the place that he had in the hearts of the people and not succeeding in this sought to destroy him. Yet in spite of his many trials and persecutions his works and memory still live as a monument to his aspirations and noble efforts. Yet even to-day he is only partly understood and like many other teachers will have to wait for the revolutions of the times and the further evolution of man before the grander meaning of his great work is made manifest.
“But it has ever been so in the history of man. History but repeated herself in the case of Æschylus, in the case of H. P. B. and many another. Those who would help humanity know of a surety what to expect, yet they falter not, nay, they even gain new courage and endurance under the persecution, for is there not in their hearts the Light of Truth and the love of all true comrades of the Ages to cheer their path? The devotion of one faithful heart outweighs in the balance a multitude of persecutors.”
[In future accounts of the Sokratic Club some of the characters will appear under other names, but some of our readers who are interested will doubtless be able to tell the identity.—Solon.]