greater flexibility of thought has developed to an untrammelled subjectivism, to a bold and empty reflection, and often to a sophistry which is inimical to objective truth. . . We have conquered objectively, but the mechanical has become our master. In the degree we attained the aims and ends

of modern civilization, we have also felt the lack of growth in the inner man and our unsatisfactory position as regards happiness. . . . . . We feel also painfully our lack in moral power and our defencelessness against selfish interests and the enormous passions which more and more divide mankind into sects and parties. . . . Everything now arises and asks the question if our existence has a meaning at all and a value. . .. There can be no doubt about the seriousness of the turn towards religion, but the question is, on which road shall we proceed? In the solution of that question, philosophy has also a part to play."

One need not have wide experience nor special powers of observation to see the truth of Eucken's statements. The facts of daily life force us to see an enormous corruption of morals, but we are not surprised because all forces call forth their opposites. Light and darkness balance each other. The author, however, overlooks or neglects to see that the very revival of true religious feeling he speaks of is also closely connected with the evolution of culture. The so-called "signs of the times" are not only signs of evil, but also signs of life. The author next refers to "the will to believe," which may be good enough for some and drive them to a church, which speaks with authority, but the modern culture-man has drank too deeply of the wells of knowledge to go back to the Church, which has remained unchanged and negatively related to modern culture. The centre of the modern man has shifted. He is self-reliant and in thinking stands where Descartes placed him, when he laid the Archimedean point in himself, removing it absolutely from the outside. His craving for clearness, for form, for light does not bring him in conflict with the essence of religion, but it causes him to rebel against the medieval forms of religion.

Now arises the question of what to do. On this point the author

says:

"The revival of religion is its own affair, not that of philosophy. Those times are long past, which thought they could construct religion out of philosophical notions. ... If religion is not an independent affair and if it cannot renew itself, then philosophy may save itself all trouble."

But this is the nature of religion, according to our author:

"The fundamental object of religion is to lift man out of the limitations and confusion of the merely human and to develop in him a new life. This cannot be done without breaking with actual conditions and it costs heavy sacrifices and much self-denial. . . . Religion may be treated as a social affair, and

thus it may be forgotten that such a reduction to a means for human purposes kills the life-nerve of religion."

The reader will notice the distinction which Eucken makes between religion as a fact of the inner life and religion as a social and historical affair. In this article he holds, as we also say, that the further maintenance of historical religions is none of our concern. They have died in the past and they are dying in the present, because they belong to the sphere of the ever shifting natural forms of life. But religion as an expression of the life of "the man whose heart is set on Reality" (to quote Martineau) is a different matter. Religion as such is eternal and everlasting; it is not only intellectually reasonable but also spiritually efficient. A growing soul must necessarily take an affirmative stand for it. The answer to the question what philosophy has to do for religion is this: it must help it to show its reasonableness and it must give form to its spiritual content. To do this, philosophy must not, as in the past, become a "maid servant to theology" nor must it itself become theology. If religion consistently carries out its problem of being an expression of life, and philosophy remains faithful to the work of formulating the light that ever was on land and sea, then the two will not only not come in conflict, but both will carry man to a higher evolution. C. H. A. B.

THE WILL TO LIVE INTO THE BEYOND.

In the October-November number of Neue Metaphysische Rundschau, Herr Buttenstedt gives a "Key to the Beyond" and the editor of the magazine requests his contemporaries to use it and send in to him the results they attain; he will then publish them. In compliance with the request we give some extracts in translation.

The author holds that it was

"never the plan of the creator that we should reincarnate as often as possible; on the contrary we should lay off little by little our coverings and ought to live into the Beyond [not die into it."

In the introductory notes he tells us that

"a study of the instincts, which God has given every being on the road of life, tells me: Man shall not die a bodily death on earth in order to reach the Beyond; he shall live eternally and he shall by gradual loss of bone and muscle, rebuild himself into an air form, and thus little by little live himself into the Beyond-not die into it! The reason for this is that nature makes no leaps, but glides imperceptibly and gradually from one state to another. The act of dying is an act of violence, entirely unnatural and not planned by God."

The author's article is in the main argumentative, but none of his arguments have the weight as the one just quoted. The method of transformation from bone and muscle to an air body is not fully given. We are recommended to eat only such food as nature directly prepares and to keep the body well exercised. The motive power is the will.

What do the readers of our magazine think of this? Who will show us how to live into the Beyond? What food does nature directly prepare? No doubt the will is the motive power, but who starts the will and how is it kept agoing! Is the will free or determinate?

C. H. A. B.

OCCULTISM.

Dr. Gérard Encausse, better known as Papus, has again come before the world with a book on those special subjects which have made him the mark of so much bitter criticism from some quarters and on the other hand strengthed the veneration that some have for him. The title of his book is Traité Élémentaire de Science Occulte. We have not a copy on hand, but find in the Neue Metaphysische Rundschau, edited by Paul Zillmann, a summary of the chapters, which we will translate for the benefit of those readers who may want to know the character of the book. Paul Zillmann, who seems to be the author of the review and summary, writes:

"We have to thank Papus for putting the occult sciences into system. The above Traité is first instruction in occultism.' Papus' Traité méthodique, now issuing in new edition, is a systematic presentation of the subject. Papus defines occultism as the traditional science of the Magi, and it includes the theory and practice of a large number of phenomena of magnetism and spiritism. Occultism is divided into two parts:

(1) The universal and unchangeable one. It is built up by traditional practice and defined by Hermetic writers of all ages.

(2) A changeable one, which embodies personal views and experiments. The first contains three main points: (a) The existence of a trinity as fundamental law for all activity on all planes of the universe; (b) the law of correspondences, which unites (or shows the continuity) of all things, visible and invisible; (c) the being of an invisible world, which is the cause of the visible

one."

The chapters of the book are summarized, but rather too extensively for this review. I shall, therefore, abbreviate at liberty, though. I shall be faithful to the original German.

"Chapter I. shows that a studium of ancient writings proves that there was in antiquity a universal, although secret science, and that all prominent people

knew it. That science was familiar with that which modern science calls discoveries, and that proves that in antiquity there existed a highly developed, but for us prehistoric culture. That science was studied in the main in the temples, but nobody was excluded from it. In those days studies were made both on the physical, moral and intellectual planes. The ancient science concerned itself with essence, the modern with form; it was esoteric, the modern is exoteric. Scientia occulta is the hidden or secret science; scientia occultati is the science of the hidden or secret; scientia occultans is that science which hides or secretes that which it has discovered; symbolism. This is the threefold division of occultism.

Chapter II. shows how scientia occulta determines the idea by means of form. For instance, we conceive the ideas of an author by means of letters, which arranged in certain order symbolize ideas. In order to study the occult of a manifestation we must follow a definite method: analogy. A man, for instance, can be studied in three ways. One can study him in his organs and their function: the inductive study. One can study him in his life, intelligence, and all that which manifests soul: the deductive study. Finally, one can study him by combining the two studies: analogy. Extensive information is given about the last method, the most important one of the three.

Chapter III. carries the human body back to the cell, human society to the social molecule, the world to the star, etc., all by means of the cyclic law of analogy. Papus calls these steps the Octave of the Universe. In this chapter the constitution of man, according to Pythagoras, is fully elucidated.

Chapters IV. VI. deal with the mysteries of language and the whole science of symbolism."

I shall not give any details of the chapters VI. to IX.; they read to me much like well-known theosophical literature. Chap. XII. may perhaps prove valuable on account of its Bibliography; the alchemical hieroglyph, N. D. de Paris, which, I guess, means Notre Dame de Paris; the esotericism of the Lord's Prayer, and the author's confession how he became a mystic. When the French original arrives I hope to come back to the subject. C. H. A. B.

PSYCHISM.

The "Bulletin of the Pasteur Institute" for December is to hand. We find in it an article on Psychism by the editor, Dr. Paul Gibier. He uses the term Psychism "for the experimental researches which. have been made in the last fifteen or twenty years on the psychical part of man's nature." The coinage of the term belongs to Dr. Gibier. The reader must understand that here is not meant "Psychical Research," for societies of that name have, as a rule, not experimented,

nor does Psychism mean Psycho-Physics and least of all spiritualism. It is a new term and stands for a new science, and, it seems to me, for a much needed new departure in psychic research. From personal conversation with the editor, I learn that he desires to organize in this country an academy for scientific experiments on such psychic phenomena, which have been claimed as the special rights of spiritualism, hypnotism, magnetism, etc., but which neither of these have dealt satisfactorily with. As a pupil of Charcot and Lugs at "La Salpêtrière, Dr. Gibier is eminently fitted to enter upon new and original studies of the biology of the nervous system and laboratory investigation of psychic phenomena.

From time to time we will report to the readers of this magazine what the prospective academy is doing. From the prospectus of a forthcoming book on Psychism by Dr. Gibier a number of rather suggestive headings will be quoted. Read consecutively, as arranged they read many new meanings into old words:

"The universe tends toward absolute repose.—According to a number of modern scientists, the philosophical analysis of matter, assisted by experiments, shows that it is but compacted energy in a transitory form.-Man is a cell of the Great Being.-Matter of the human body is the same as the ambient matter.— We are the grandchildren of the sun. The forces of the human body are borrowed from universal energy.-Intelligence exists in the World: Intelligence, Energy, Matter. Intelligence is independent of matter.-Facts show that the mind may receive communications from other sources than the ordinary ones of the organs. The force emitted by the human body under the influence of will can act at a distance."

In the last part of the book is a whole chapter on the dangers of training for the attainment of supra-ordinary powers and new difficulties. This chapter is especially of importance in our day. Too many ignorant people engage in spiritualistic seances and psychical research without method. The consequence is that inferior intelligences seize upon the animic force of the medium. They should read this chapter. C. H. A. B.

PRESENT DAY PHILOSOPHY.

In "Samtiden" for October last, just arrived from its place of publication in Bergen, Norway, there is an article by Anathon Aall, Ph.D., on "Present Day Philosophy," which contains several interesting points worth while translating for our readers. The author's introductory remarks are as follows:

"The star of misfortune stands over philosophy considered as a science.