M. D., Freeman B. Dowd, Dr. Edward H. Brown, and others.

They have all taught the same truths, more or less complete, because they were all from the same school of philosophy; and each one of these teachers clothed the truths they had in a form best suiting his own understanding and best adapted to the comprehension of his disciples and the times in which they lived. *
None may claim these doctrines as strictly their own. Even Jesus said: "The doctrines which I teach are not my own, but it is the Truth which teaches them through me. He that teaches his own doctrines and theories speaketh of himself, he is acting under the impulse of earthly ambition and seeketh his own glory and not the glory of God ; but he that seeks to glorify — not him- self, but God — by giving expression to the truth of which he is conscious, is true, and no evil can be in him. Live so that you may know the truth; not by external appearances and argumen- tation, but by its own inherent power. Be true, and you will know the truth."
"The organism of man," he said, "resembles a kingdom, its capital is the Mind, and its temple the Soul. In that capital and temple there are many false prophets, as there are in Jeru- salem. There are the Pharisees of sophistry and false logic, credulity, and scepticism; and the 'scribes' are the prejudices and erroneous opinions engrafted upon the memory." Do not listen to what these false prophets say, but listen to the voice of wisdom that speaks in your heart; for verily I say unto you, the temple, built of speculations which the scribes have erected, will be destroyed; and not one of the dogmas and theories of
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which it has been constructed will remain when the day of judgment appears.
"See the truth enters your heart, bearing the palm leaf, the symbol of peace (even Jesus made use of symbolism). Let it abide in you, and abide yourself in the truth. There is no other worship acceptable to the Universal God, but to keep his commandments, which he reveals to you through the power of Divine Wisdom, whose voice speaks in your Higher Conscious- ness. Love one another; and, as you grow in unselfish love, so will you grow in Wisdom.
"Open your hearts and see the image of the true God within them. He is not to be found in man-made churches; and if any one tells you, Christ is in this church, or he is in that one, do not believe it, but seek for God within your own heart* Let not the Pharisees and the Scribes and the intellectual pow- ers** of your own mind mislead you, but listen to the divine voice of Intuition, which speaks at the center of your Soul."
Thus, Jesus agrees with the fundamental doctrine of the Secret School, and with the instructions given in the Fraternity of the Present day, namely, that man is the product of his own thoughts, he is that which he creates in himself by the way he thinks and lives; for his external form is merely the outward symbol of his internal character, modified by the want of plas- ticity of the gross matter composing his body; for this may not be sufficiently plastic to change in form as rapidly as his thoughts. The matter composing the Soul is creative. If our thoughts are continually low and vulgar, the soul will be- come correspondingly degraded; but, if we are continually
*This is the Basic Fundamental Doctrine of the Rose Cross. "Ye are the temples of the living God." Consequently man must build in, and include within his being, all things.
**The Rose Cross teaches intellectual attainments are desirable and to be encouraged, but intellectual brilliancy alone will not result in Im- mortality ; on the contrary, it may be the direct means of preventing its possessor from following the lowly Path which would lead to Soul attain- ment— Immortality.
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thinking of a high Ideal, our Ideal will take form within our- selves. If we are satisfied with a belief in a historical Jesus without seeking to bring to birth or to enable a Christ to grow within ourselves, such a belief will not merely be useless, but will even be an impediment in our way towards perfection.
The object of the Secret Science; the Ancient Mysteries; the Secret Doctrine; of Initiation, and of all Living Religions is one and the same thing, that is, to ennoble mankind and to awaken in men a realization of the divinity of the Soul within themselves. Religion in its theoretical aspect means a real knowledge of the relations which exist between man and the external source from which his Soul emanated in the beginning. Religion in its practical aspect means the union of man with God—a, union that cannot be effected through the external in- terference or permission of a clergyman, no matter how holy he may be, but must be effected by the power of the internal will and desire. There is no real knowledge to be attained by merely learning a theory, there is no real understanding unless the theory is confirmed by practice, in other words, by living the doctrine believed.
Such knowledge is acquired neither by the study of theology and philosophy nor by moralizing. It does not depend on any theoretical information in regard to terrestial or celestial things, nor can spiritual (Soul) regeneration be attained by leading a virtuous life for fear of the consequences that are likely to fol- low if we indulge in evil thoughts and acts. It can be attained only by a realization of the truth within our own selves. There is nothing to prevent' any man from arriving at such a compre- hension, except the lower tendencies of his mortal nature. The process of Regeneration, or Initiation, therefore, involves a con- tinual battle with the lower self, and an unceasing fight between Spiritual aspirations and earthly desires, in which the Soul must gain the victory over matter or ultimately lose its identity as an individual being.
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All the boasted study of the science learned in schools contains but little real knowledge. In it is little of the absolute truth. It is merely relative knowledge, and refers to the rela- tions which external (material) objects bear to one another; and all this knowledge, however useful it may be as long as we live in a world of sense, sensation and matter, will be utterly worthless to us when we enter that state of being wherein mat- ter, as such, no longer has a part. The only true science, which is really useful to us in time and eternity, in our present state, not less than in the future, is the practical knowledge of the regeneration of man.
The authors herein quoted from, and to whom I desire to give full credit, are: Paschal Beverly Randolph, M. D., Frantz Hartman, M. D., J. D. Buck, M. D., P. H. Phelon,