III. Continuity — Tenacity — Persistence.

A proper balance and harmony of these three con-
stitute a perfect will. The weakness or excessive
development of either one weakens the will. As
intimated above, an enlightened understanding is the
only true guide for the will. This enlightenment is
illumination of the mind — clairvoyance. There are
many degrees of lucidity, but the highest degree is
the perception of principles — of " principalities and
powers/ '

The inmost and the outermost of being is con-
nected by the imagination. It stands between the
will and the loves ; hence, all the operations of the
will must be through the imagination. It is the
" magic mirror' ' of the mind, through which the soul
scans the horizon, or upon which the universe may
be made to impinge — not in vague and shadowy
forms, many-colored or kaleidoscopic, but in reality,
either black or white. It is prolific; for herefrom
comes all of art, science, literature and beauty, as
well as the horrible, grotesque and sinster.

Crimes are brooded over and hatched here in the

THE WILL. 209

imagination. In this fairy-land is death enthroned,
for that which is born is the death of something
else. This is magic ground from which things grow
by the conjuring of the will. Here things dissolve
themselves and expose their deformities ; and here
hideous things are enrobed in garbs angelic. Here
religion has its stronghold — for in this the Gods
show themselves to man. Maligned, abused, scoffed
at, the jeer and laughter-provoking thing yet rules
the world. Disrobe the man of the imagination and
what is he? A brute — worse than savage. His
very flesh covers itself with hair, as if to hide its
coarseness and vulgarity.

But let the imagination loose, and the hair grows
soft and fine, or disappears. The flesh glows with
fires immortal ; the eye loses its savage glare, and
man's robes are of the finest texture. The earth,
under its rule, is no longer a howling wilderness, but
is dotted all over with fairy-like splendors — its magic
productions. Steam almost annihilates space, and the
lightnings flash thought from pole to pole ahead of
old time. This is all due to the dreamings of the
imagination.

On the shores of eternity's ocean are greater
things waiting for some dreamer to espy and hand
down to enrich mankind. All hail to the dreamers,
poets, philosophers, preachers, writers and inventors !
They have always left their mark and always will, as
an ineffaceable brand upon the face of humanity.
Trust, aspiration and hope have their very roots in the

2IO THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

imagination. It is only by virtue of it that the good
side of humanity in general can be discerned.

The unimaginative are the doubtful, unbelieving
and distrustful. Have they ever built anything de-
sirable, or ever added anything of value to mankind ?
Thomas Paine was not an unbeliever. He believed
in God and humanity, and he left his mark upon this
people that will be known and felt for long ages.

He loved a principle, i.e., human liberty, and
worked to establish it. Paine was a dreamer. In
his imagination he saw equal rights, and if he lived
in this age he would see woman's rights.

Theories lead the van — practice comes slowly
along, like a lumbering wagon, afterwards. The im-
agination is an infinite field. There are many roads
in it, and many jungles and angles. All the loves
center here where they impinge upon the will.

"And God saw that the imagining of man's
heart was continually evil,,, i. e., outward. Oh, that
I might impress upon you the vast importance of
looking within ! May not this be the closet into
which Christ bade his disciples retire in prayer ?
What is contemplation but imagination ? What is
prayer but the aspirations of the soul ? And what
are aspirations but images of the soul. How can we
"pluck the mote out of our own eyes " in any other
way than by looking within ? This plucking out of
the mote is nothing but the development of clairvoy-
ance — clear seeing. That is done by the imagina-
tion.

THE WILL. 211

\

"If thine hand offend thee, cut it off," etc. — what
is this but the analysis and destruction of passions
that retard and hinder the development of the soul
to the kingdom of power ? If diseases are ever
healed by the imagination, is it not a divine gift —
better far than medicine, and is it not best to culti-
vate it ? If it will heal the sick, if it will make life
any more pleasant, for God's sake let us have more
of it.

Three essential elements constitute perfect man,
viz. : Will, Imagination and Love. These are the
positive, negative and neutral. Imagination is the
indifferent part of mind, corresponding to indifferent
nature — " the door," already explained in previous
chapters. It is the " Garden of Eden " out of which
man was cast. The same tree of life is there still,
guarded by a flaming sword which turns every way.

What more beautiful type of fire than a " flaming
sword " ? Fire-flame, that guards the way to the tree
of life — consuming all impure things that approach
the dread portals of the kingdom of power. The
pure only are eternal. Purity is original — this is
unchangeable. All originality comes to man through
reverie : this is imagination. Man reaches God in the
imagination. In it God walks and talks with man.
It is the creative faculty — not in and of itself, but
herein the will conjures things from the unknown,
and compels them to appear to the consciousness —
first, of himself ; secondly, of others.

In the imagination, things, ideas, passions, hatreds,

212 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

loves, vices, etc., may be destroyed — first, as realities
within ; secondly, as obstacles outside of us. For
instance, an enemy may be made sick, and gradually
to die, or he may be suddenly killed, by the powerful
will of an intensely imaginative man or woman. Or
he may be tamed, subdued, and made a friend of
through and by the same power. God pity the one
who would prostitute such a power to a base or un-
worthy purpose !

This is hard to believe, but the rationale is very
simple to one of comprehension. But it is not my
object to teach these things in this work, only so far
as to point the road.

x^There is little power among men on account of
the want of will. There is plenty of obstinacy and
unreasoning tenacity of purpose. This is due to
firmness, which is the projecting or repulsive power
of will. By the use of it we project ourselves — first,
into the nerves and muscles ; secondly, into objects
— obstacles that stand in our way. Its work is out-
wardly. We waste our strength and lose ourselves
in objects of love, hate, envy and pride. In this
projection we leave ourselves empty. Emptiness,
like filth, invites disease and death. Projection- —
repulsion — produces death. {There is a sexual ar-
cana here : let him who reads ponder well.) We die
that others may have being.

Firmness is what its name implies — hardness.
"Firm as the rocks" expresses its real character.
It hardens the nerves, muscles and very bones, and

THE WILL. 213

also affects the spirit in the same way, rendering it
viscid and difficult of motion. That which should be
fire emitted is but a glutinous mass of molten matter.
Instead of emitting jets of fire, flametipped, that
reach the soul — the empyrean — the throne of the
living God — baptizing each other with fire and " the
Holy Ghost,' ' cheering, comforting, exhilarating with
divine life and vigor — drawing human souls together
in the oneness of a divine love — we emit a force
that is like water upon fire — destructive to all real
life and happiness — repels man from man, and man
from woman, in one universal divorce. Instead of
the controlling, persuasive, binding power of will, we
have the booming cannon, the dagger and revolver,
and the rough-and-tumble fight of dogs.

The "still, small voice " of wisdom is drowned in
the deafening roar of countless blood-stained feet,
hastening to tread out the wine of human life. In
our great marts of commerce, hearts have no more
pulsation than the metal that chinks. Firmness —
the external of will — hardens everything ! Even
human hearts rattle like rocks thrown together.

Suppose love to be the only immortal thing : how
much will be left of mankind after the fire has re-
moved the impurities of it ? Not much. Then roll
on your Juggernaut of mammon. Shout and hurrah
for kings, priests, popes, bishops, honorables and
aristocrats of every grade — your gods. Dress your-
selves in your gaudy shrouds for one universal burial.
Marshal your hosts for the grand carnival of death :

214 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS,

for what matters the blood of ephemera ? Ye pass
away like insects ! Another race is coming — one
in whom this outward tumult of a boisterous will
shall give place to silence and peace, and man shall
live till he chooses to die.

In reverence — this antagonist of will — all thrones
and crowns take root. King-craft, priest-craft and
hero-worship must fall together. This vampire trin-
ity fattens upon the best blood of humanity. It
makes slaves and minions of the masses. No wonder
they all love and preach worship — it is food, raiment
and idleness for them, and toil and rags for the
human race. It debases mankind, because it robs
them of self-respect — the central pivot of the will.
The idea that you are beneath another cripples you.

Selfness is nearest the soul — it is the very vitals
of will. Confidence in self inspires self-respect. To
take away either is like taking off a leg — we must
walk on crutches. To feel inferior is to be so. To
feel equal is to grow to be such. The proud and
arrogant interiorly feel their weakness, and hence
arrogate to themselves something foreign so as to
inspire worship in others.

The antagonist of self-esteem is love of approba-
tion. This love of the approval of others is one
branch of reverence. To be praised and flattered
by a king is something grand, and to be coveted.
Humble yourself in the dust for a smile of approval
from one crowned. To secure the approval of heaven,
humble and debase yourself. In other words, act

THE WILL. 215

the hypocrite, pretend humility to superiors, but to
those beneath you be lord, king, duke, or God.
Such is the effect of modern theological teachings.

Self-esteem normally gives the feeling of self-re-
liance, confidence and independence. It gives rise to
manly equality and self-poise. It is the balance-
wheel, the regulator, the pivot upon which manhood,
like a compass, rests.

Self is antagonized by others ; hence, he who gives
himself up to please others, gives himself to his
antagonist — viz., that which ruins him by throwing
him out of balance. Be yourself; think yourself;
learn of everything and of everybody ; be worthy of
your own self-respect : for when you have secured
that, the respect of others is certain. Be indepen-
dent, but, in so doing, remember the rights of others.
Rights are equal ; wrongs make inequalities. If you
have any selfhood, consult that first of all. Secure
in self-respect, you need not fear others, for God
approves of self -honor. This is the only glory, and
the only way to glorify God.

Praise is a false wind — it blows no good. Fame !
What is it but a breath, shouting huzzas which,
prolonged, die away in a hiss ? Breath of the rabble !
The unthinking herd ! One minute exalting you to
heaven, the next trampling you in filth. And yet it
is said God loves praise. The absurdity is too ap-
parent. We cannot add anything to the Infinite.
We can, however, join ourselves to the Infinite, and
we are glorified thereby. This it is to " glorify

2l6 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

God in these bodies, which are His " — or ours in the
glorifying. Thus we increase the selfhood — the
foundation of all power — will.

Inordinate self-esteem may have no self-respect at
all. Self-respect is based in right, truth and justice.
Hence, he who respects others and their rights, has
self-respect. He who has no regard for the rights of
others, although he may possess a powerful external
will, has a weak will interiorly. He is like a tree
with a large top, but whose trunk is rotten. Respect
is the very foundation of love ; hence, self-respect
leads to self-love or egotism. This is an excessive
growth from a fruitful soil. Such need pruning.

The will, like everything else in nature, grows
outwardly to the weakening of its roots. Egotism is
the fatal tendency of all aspirations. It is a weak-
ness that must be guarded against. Self-approbation
springs from the same source as love of the approval
of others — viz., reverence. There is such a thing as
self -worship. Egotism is to the will what the moss
is to trees in "the sunny South' ' — it dwarfs and
finally kills. Strip man of pretense and egotism
(which is the same) and what is there left of him ?
He who is puffed up and loaded with self-complacency
and pride is rotten within.

Self-gratification is the root of human action. As
we grow we send out many branches, but self -gratifi-
cation supports them all. No matter what pursuit
we follow, or what course in life we pursue, that is
the prime motive power. The will is made a slave

THE WILL. 217

to it. It is the fundamental principle of all religious
systems. The so-called kingdom of heaven is based
in it, and hell is filled with the devotees of self-
gratification. Even Buddhism, which claims that
there is no self or Ego in reality, holds out the in-
ducement to its votaries of escaping to Nirvana,
from the ceaseless and eternal succession of exist-
ences. To this end the senses are attacked, and
bodily or physical and mental gratification destroyed
— in order to arrive at the gates of ecstasy and
power — in order to cease to be*

So, self is the basis of all, and the only God.
Pleasure is the object of all, no matter what road is
taken. Even the materialist finds his pleasure in the
quiescence and the quintessence of matter. Men get
religion through fear of the pains of hell, and in
hope of the pleasures of heaven. The Hindoo
mother tosses her babe into the murky waters of the
Ganges to appease the wrath of her gods — in hopes
of a reward. The Fakir of India puts a hook in
the quivering flesh of his back and suspends himself
for days in mid-air, or stands with hands clasped, in
one position, till the limbs are paralyzed, and the
finger-nails* grow through the palms of the hands,
like claws — all in hope of power and pleasure other
than that of the earthly senses.

Some seek the ultimate of life in the carnival of

* This is the exoteric of Buddhism ; the esoteric has never been written.
Hardy translates their sacred books, but frankly admits that if Nirvana does not
mean annihilation, he does not know what its meaning is.

218 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

carnal passions, others in mammon worship, others in
Government positions, politics, etc. Is all this
universal hunger and thirst — this deathless longing

— a mere hallucination ; or, is it the index finger of
fate pointing to a great truth ? Is self capable of
becoming infinite in power and pleasure — in this
universal changing of conditions and polarities ? We
of the old school of thought say yes.

Of all the potencies of nature, the I, the Ego, the
self, is the only thing beyond comprehension that has
a positive and tangible existence. All things else are
mere appendages of it. I speak of my soul, mind,
spirit and body as of my coat, or any other property.
But when I speak of myself — of "the think " and
" the feel/' — I am at a loss for a definition. To go
behind, beyond, above or below myself is impossible.
I confront myself at every turn. It is as easy to
comprehend God as myself, for the simple reason
that I and the numeral one (i), are identically the
same.

Fusion and emanation are the only mathematical
laws. Division is as arbitrary as addition. Divide a
grain of corn and it loses its individuality. Plant the
grain and it emits from itself whole ship-loads, but it
loses itself in so doing.

I am the creator of all my acts — they are laws.
They flow out through effort of will — being pro-
jections of the Ego — myself. Thus God meets man

— is man — in the selfhood. The selfhood is God
humanized. The selfhood of animals is God brutal-

THE WILL. 219

ized. We can understand how it is possible for man
to produce that which is inferior to himself, but it is
more difficult to conceive of his creating anything
superior. How can the animal evolve man, who is
superior in every essential ? How can man progress
unless there is something above him to which he is
near related ? This relation is found in the selfhood

. — the central pivot of will.

Be very careful, then, reader, how you trifle with
yourself. Every thought and act which debases you,
i.e., sinks you in your own inner consciousness, that
which you wish to hide away in some dark corner of
yourself — away from the eye of even yourself —
debases God. The day comes speedily when he will
sit in judgment upon your every thought and act —
and that upon the throne of your own conscious self-
hood. Firmness is the moving force or controlling
power of this outward sensuous life — the power of
aggression, of overcoming obstacles by physical force.
It is the masculine of will.

\ Self is neutral — hermaphrodite — both masculine
and feminine. The feminine of will is represented
by continuity. Self-esteem, phrenologically, is lo-
cated just above the crown of the head; firmness,
a little in front or above it, at the highest point of
the cranium ; while continuity is just below self-
esteem — inferior in position and diminutive in size,
situated just above the social group, as a mother
keeping guard over her children.

The feminine is the attractive, and hence the pro-

220 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS,

ductive, principle of nature — that principle which
collects matter and combines it into forms. The
principal office of continuity is the drawing of the
spirit together — to a focus — preparatory X.o projection.
There is always a concentration of force or energy
in all effort, and the greater the concentration the
greater will be the power manifested.

The tension of the nerves and muscles is due to
continuity — oneness of force and energy. It lays
hold, as with hands, of each mental fibre, and guides
the fiery steeds of spirit. Spirit obeys mind, but
mind is under the will. Continuity is intenseness —
continuativeness. Once directed to an object, it fas-
tens itself to the spirit thereof, and, leech-like, sucks
its very life out. If continuity be large, one becomes
absorbed in any pursuit, object or passion, to the for-
getfulness of other things. It cannot let go. This
leads to insanity, which is simply the unbalancing of
the will.

Consciousness is a result of the poising or posing
of the will : hence the polarization of the will is the
true work of him who aspires to infinite conscious
power. The will oscillates, similar to the needle of
a compass, or the balance-wheel of a watch, or as a
beam very nicely poised. Too much attraction in any
given direction, or too much weight at one end of the
scale, causes change of polarities, which is a change
in the conscious life of thought, memory, feeling or
sensation. When this change is extreme, the being
is changed, the memory is lost, or judgment is de-

THE WILL. 221

throned, and yet the form of the being remains
apparently the same; but the man himself has va-
cated his throne and become a servant of some other
power greater than he.

- In view of this philosophical truth, we claim that
there is no real sanity on this earth, and very little of
it in spirit -life, beneath the abode of the gods. There
are no perfect wills. Either firmness, continuity or
self-esteem are too weak or too strong for proper
balance and harmony. In this mundane sphere the
masculine weighs down the feminine, and, worse even
than all that, the central diamond of the soul — self-
hood— is marred and corroded till there is no perfect
oscillation or movement.

We have moved, like a wagon, so long in one rut
that it is almost impossible to get out of it. We have
looked so long at the black side of God's sign-board
— nature — that it has become luminous to us ; and
at the white side — spirit — so little that it has lost
its lustre and is forgotten, or supposed at most to be
the night of nothingness. This is insanity. A man
may be insane in whole or in part : in either case, the
will, becoming unbalanced, has lost control in whole
or in part. It has lost its grasp. The reversal of the
poles of the will is why we have no memory of pre-
vious states of existence. The will, by chance, acci-
dent, sickness, or by intent, may oscillate back to the
point it occupied in some former age, or previous state
of being, and the person be exactly what he was spir-
itually at that time, and lose all memory of this life.

222 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

A psychologized person may be made to feel and
w act like a dog, while under the influence. Why ? Just
s because his will is thrown out of balance, and he is
what we call, in other circumstances, insane. It is
just such effects that we call insanity > In all similar
cases of insanity where the psychologist is not seen
or known, it is the spirit of some one unknown, either
mortal or a spirit. At such times we say he is in-
sane. The consciousness of being remains, but
memory — the bridge over the chasms of time —
is broken down, but not totally destroyed. It may,
however, be reconstructed by the culture of the will,
and all remembrances revived.

Continuity is that power which leads to forgetful-
ness of these surroundings — to abstraction and ab-
sorption. It is when we become absorbed in some
work or passion that we forget our weakness, or what
we know of ourselves, and rise up to grandeur and
glory. The greatest achievements, the most heroic
deeds, the greatest discoveries that bless mankind,
are all due to this little feminine faculty of will, which
leads to insanity.

The diffusion of spirit, the waste of life, the weak-
ness and misdirection of energy, uncontrollable pas-
sions, the want of psychological power, the pains and
aches of the body — these are all due to the weakness
of continuity, and excessive self-consciousness. This
self-consciousness is a rut dug deep by demerit, in
which we are all sunk — as in a quagmire. Purity
of self is the only help for us, the only lubricator of

THE WILL. 223

the will, the only cleanser of this human time-piece.
Purity — physical, mental, and spiritual — cannot be
achieved by outward acts. It is an inward effort, an
inward fire kindled by the action of continuity, which
burns out the dross of these gross natures. This fire
is kindled by the accumulation of spirit whenever and
wherever attraction overbalances repulsion.

224 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.