THE ESOTERIC.

A Magazine of Advanced and Practical Esoteric Thought.

THOSE who are not willing, yes, anxious to sacrifice their lower, or animal impulses and appetites, whenever they are found to conflict with the higher, or spiritual nature within them, will find little to satisfy them in these articles; but those who are earnestly striving for the mastery, but have not yet made much apparent progress, may gain from it something to help them, and strengthen their faith in a course about which they have been in doubt.

The best gifts will never be conferred upon those who have not determined to control their desires, yea, their very thoughts; for nothing short of entire consecration of body and soul to Divine uses can merit these gifts.

If we consider the body an instrument for the use of the spirit, as well as for its habitation, we must admit that it is our duty to do all in our power to make it a pure and fit temple for the indwelling spirit: hence it follows that not a particle of food or drink, or anything whatsoever, should pass our lips, that does not meet the full sanction of our highest wisdom and intuitions; for we should conform to the law of Divine uses in these small matters, as well as in those of larger moment.

Some claim that it does not matter what we eat, (extraordinaries excepted) if we do not eat too much, and cite scripture, as follows, - "Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man, but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, that defileth the man."

We grant that matters of diet are not so important as pure desires, pure thoughts, and pure speech; but if one's desires are pure, purity in diet will not be ignored; and if we are to be led "into all truth," dietetics must form one branch of it. Jesus is reported to have said, - "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." The tendency of some modern teachers of so-called Science to ignore physiological law, is to be deplored. Pain is a wise provision for calling our attention to the results of violated law, ere it be too late; teaching us to turn and obey.

The human body may be compared to a musical instrument. Though the performer be ever so well qualified to give expression to the melody or harmony which he inwardly feels, yet, unless the instrument which he

prop

is to use, is thoroughly made, of choice and well selected materials, erly united and attuned, the result of the performance will be unsatisfactory or discordant; so, unless the body be sound, well developed, and well nourished from pure food, so that muscle, nerve, and brain are in good condition, the manifestation of the spirit, through the organism, will be proportionally faulty. The union of the elements of food with the elements of the human body is effected in progressive stages, commencing with mastication and insalivation.

These two processes, being largely under the control of the will, can be regulated by us, and demand our careful attention; for unless these two primary acts in this wonderful system of digestion are thoroughly performed, the final result will be imperfect.

The saliva is composed of four separate fluids, which are secreted by the parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual glands, and the mucous membrane of the mouth.

If the food be taken in small mouthfuls and thoroughly masticated, these separate fluids become well mixed with the food, which is thus transformed into a fine pulpy mass, and is then ready to be passed, by means of the pharynx and oesophagus, into the stomach.

Thus the first step is accomplished toward a complete union of the foodelements with the bodily tissues; and a very important step it is, as we shall see. The saliva is alkaline, while the gastric juice is slightly acid. By this wise provision, the food, if finely masticated, and every particle of it incorporated with saliva, is, on reaching the stomach, gradually disintegrated by a chemico-vital process, which is aided by a slight churning motion, kept up by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the longitudinal and transverse fibres of the walls of the stomach.

As the food, saturated with the alkaline saliva, - begins to be mixed, in the stomach, with the acid gastric-juice, which is secreted by the mucous membrane of the stomach, the second step towards the final union of the food substance with the organic structure is being accomplished; viz., the further transformation of this nutritive material into chyme which is gradually passed out, through the pyloric orifice of the stomach, into the duodenum, or upper portion of the small intestine.

It is plainly apparent that if the dual process of mastication and insalivation is hurriedly or carelessly performed, so that the food is not well triturated, and is scantily mixed with saliva, the preliminary union which should take place in the mouth, will be imperfect, consequently the work of the stomach must be less perfect also; for no subsequent stage of the digestive work can fully remedy a failure of the initial step.

A person may say ever so much " grace at table, yet, if he take large mouthfuls, rapidly, and wash them down with tea, coffee, or other liquids, the blessing he has invoked will be of little avail (simply a waste of effort ) while any one who has sincere reverence for all physiological law, and earnestly desires to make every bodily act conform to such law, is blessed in thus conforming, though no verbal prayers are offered. Verily, "Faith without works is dead." No amount, or kind of drink, can ever take the place of the saliva, as a preliminary solvent of food; and no animal, save man, drinks while eating.

Drinking largely, even at the close of a meal, tends to weaken the natural solvents of the food in the stomach, thus retarding digestion.

(To be continued.)

THE KING OF THE GREAT PERHAPS.

A Parable From Dream-land.

BY WALTER KELLY.

As there are flowers, like the rose, which are a thousand flowers in one, so there are worlds in dreamland which are a thousand worlds one within the other. And into one such world I wandered so deeply, that I was like a drunken bee nested in a poppy, and I said "I will awake no more." And the dwellers in that land came to me, and they were fair to see. And they welcomed me, and took me to live with them. And they gave me to know that all that pleasure-land I looked upon, belonged to the King of the Great Perhaps.

Very sweet it was to dwell in that country. Every day we had new pleasures and delights, so that one day was never like another day, and one year never like another year.

And I abode there many summers. And it befell that the king prepared a great festival. He had invented a new game for his people, and it was to be called "Who holds the king?" And the manner of playing was thus. Everyone was to wear a different mask and costume, and all in disguise we were to repair to the king's park, and there we were to dwell until the game was done. And the king himself was to be among the players. He was to wear a disguise known to no one, not even to his highest nobles, but to himself only. And he was to mix with the maskers, and all were to try and find him. And the game was to last no one knew how long, some said an hour, some said a day, some said many months - but all agreed that it would end at last, and sometime, somehow, none knew how or when, a great voice would call from the sky for all to unmask. And then, when all had unmasked and stripped off their disguises, the game would end, and it would be known who had found the king.

And, in my dream, much talk there was in mansion and cottage, of the disguise the king would wear. Some said he would appear as Apollo disguised as a shepherd. Some said he would adopt one of the many disguises of the heathen Jupiter. And one I overheard-a beggar-who said that he would certainly know the king, for he had a disease called the king's evil which the touch of the king would cure and he would rub and jostle in the press till his evil left him, and then he would know he had found the king. And I thought that beggar the wisest of them all.

And I disguised myself with the others. Very cunning were the artificers of that country, for they made flexible masks, which could not be known from one's true face; and clothes so fine of texture that they clung to the skin, as the skin clings to the flesh. And they had the power of hiding all deformities.

And at the day appointed all the people donned their masks and trappings and swarmed into the king's park. And the king closed the gates with his own hands, and bore away the keys and no one was allowed to leave till the game was done.

Fair and spacious was that grand domain. Hardly second in beauty to that Eden in which our parents held their court; full of woods and mountains and in its midst a mighty city and a palace of wonders. The palace was roofed with crystal, so cleverly jointed that no eye could see a flaw or break in it. It was carpeted with green velvet embroidered with

the brightest flowers, and on every hand were bowers of beauty curtained with silken fans and fronds, and perfumed with a thousand essences.

And every night the sapphire roof was hung with countless lamps of ever-burning fire. And none could complain of the slowness or tediousness of the hours of darkness. For each night we had a thousand shows and entertainments of which none grew weary. We had adventures without danger, possessions without care, wisdom without heaviness, heroism without despair, love without misunderstanding; there delights were free to all, even to the meanest, through the magic hours of night.

And thus we passed many days in that enchanted park and palace, and all were happy as in a dream of paradise; but as yet came no order to unmask, and we began to forget in our enjoyment that it was our duty to search for the king, and we forgot also that we were all masked and disguised, and we began to form into ranks and cliques according to the beauty of our masks, or the texture of our garments.

And, such was my dream; there now happened a strange and terrible thing. For the King of the Great Perhaps had an enemy the King of the Dreadful Dark, and there was war between them forever and ever. And one day there appeared among us a new masker, a figure clad in golden armor, bearing the sceptre of a king. But he was not of that country, and he was so ill-masked that many knew him for the King of the Dreadful Dark, disguised as Mammon as was his wont. And in truth all could see that his feet were cloven like a goat's. But there were others -and they were a great multitude- who vowed that this golden-armored Mammon was none other than our king himself, and they hastened to do him homage and follow in his train.

And each day the power of Mammon grew stronger, till one morning his guards seized the palace, and he proclaimed himself the rightful king. And there were great rejoicings thereat, and the people shouted "Long live King Mammon!"—for many had been galled in secret by the justice and wisdom of the true king.

And when Mammon was crowned and all that was in that land became his, he ravaged not that beauteous land and palace, although it was his enemy's, but he converted everything to a new use, and refashioned everything to the wish of his heart.

And it was ordained that that land be no more called "The Kingdom of the Great Perhaps" but the name should be "Vanity Fair." And it was ordained that no one might ever unmask, even in private, - for the naked face was decreed a part of shame; but to wear two masks, or many masks upon each other, was nowise unlawful. And it became the fashion to utter the name "King of the Great Perhaps" with a sneering accent upon the last word, at which blasphemy the very air shuddered.

And in my dream all the old games were declared foolish and out of date, and anyone that dared to play them was to die the death. And in their stead King Mammon gave us a new game, called "Make haste to be rich!" and the manner of playing it was as follows. Whereas the lost

king had bidden us all keep our garments unspotted from the world, and our mouths undefiled with lies, and not even in one secret thought to bow to Mammon, the new law was that to cover one's clothes with filth and dust and to foul one's tongue with lies, was to please the new king. And the new game was to grovel in slime and mud for the possession of a certain filthy dust, and he that grovelled lowest, and swallowed most mire and

ooze and acquired the greatest body of this filthy dust, he was the winner of that day's game. And great virtue was imputed to him, and King Mammon raised him to a seat of honor at his right hand.

And so I dreamed-many of the masqueraders upon this change of rulers had retired into the secret places of those boundless gardens. They were still loyal to their king, and it was whispered that many were his chiefest nobles, thus disguised. But they soon began to hunger after the fruits of that paradise, and to pine for the merry games and dear heartcommunion they had once enjoyed in those sweet bowers. And they murmured against their lost king, and drawing near to the gates of the palace and looking across the golden ramparts they saw Mammon and his followers living in those bright lands and enjoying all the good that once was theirs.

And their hearts turned to water and they presented themselves at the throne of Mammon, humbly begging forgiveness for their rebellion. And Mammon was pleased to forgive them and to receive them at his court. But in spite of their disguise we knew by their haughty bearing that many of those returning ones were priests and nobles of the highest rank. And a great horror fell upon us when we saw those great and holy beings prostrating themselves to kiss the slimy hoofs of Mammon.

And so each day our garments were more besmirched and soiled, and each day we sunk lower and lower as we worshipped, and Mammon grew ever mightier in our eyes, till we spoke of him with bated breath.

And of the great multitude of lords and princes who had once prostrated themselves before the King of the Great Perhaps, but few remained loyal to him, and these were cast into the outer darkness of that enchanted garden, unloved, uncared for, they wandered in rags, and there was no eye found to pity them, and every door was closed against them, and they were few indeed.

And, it was my dream that in the market place of the City of Vanities we had set up a golden image of Mammon, upon a silver pillar, and we listened no more to the still small voice within us, but prayed to this image.

But every morning we found our idol thrown from his height and lying prone in the kennel; and though we hoisted him back to the place of pride, down he fell again in the night and no man knew whose hand had cast him down.

And all the day there stood in the market-place a ragged outcast, begging for bread, but none had ever been known to give him anything.

And all the children loved him, and yet dared not go near him; for such was my dream, the children were not born innocent any more, in that Land of Vanities, but were born with masks upon their faces and full of the cunning of the fiend. And this outcast alone in all that city had never been known to bow his head to Mammon.

And one morning it was cried about the city that the Man of Rags, for so we called him, had been seen to point his staff at our golden idol, which fell from its pillar, and was shattered in its fall. And a great fury seized us and we gathered in the market-place a mighty rabble- all besmeared with the yellow filth we had been worshiping. And there stood the Man of Rags, still pointing with his staff at our idol which lay with its face in the muck,-wrenched and broken for ever. And some shouted "Stone him!" and some "Crucify him!" and some cried "Make him bow to Mammon !"