The herald., 1896-11-23
TALKS OF THEoSoPHIsTS
Two Lectures Given at the Headquarters
Yesterday
rount wachmeister Also Delivers an
Address at Odd Fellows Hall-Fair
Audiences in Attendance.

"The Meaning OF the Ancient MySter-
les" was the subject of lecture by
Mr.. Axel E. Gibson last night at the
Theosophical headquarters. 525 West
Fifth street. The real meaning and pur-
poses, the speaker said, underlying what
have gone down in history as the ancient
mysteries was to convey to the finite
mind, through a series Of dramatic rep
resentations, the movement of the spir-
itual monad during its evolution
through universal nature. Such myster-
les or dramatic representations have
been enacted by all nations and races,
under all climes and ages. Thus, in
South America we find the old Aztec
people perform their mysterious serpent
worship in the seclusion of sacred tenn
pie caves. In old Great Britain the Dru-
ids dramatized in silent crypts the same
universal idea through their spectral
rites and nature worship. The Ghouls
of Northern France and Germany per-
formed at midnights hours in sacred
groves their worship to the chaste god
dess of the night and her trail of starry
ol-bs, and OWNED their purpose and or
igin. In the sorrows Of Ceres-Demeter,
as dramatiZed at the Eleusis in Greece,
and the mournful wanderings of Isis, is
IellSlOuSiy represented ny tuC ulSu
priests at Sais and Heliopolis in Egypt,
the self-same world-idea is treated upon
the idea Of involution and evolution, CT
descent and ascent, of fall and regener-
alton. Likewise the Morse folk, in their
mystical offerings to Allfadir, or, rather,
to him whose name was too sacred to be
uttered, evinced the presence of elements
of mystery and limitations. Again, the
North American Indian, in his magical
rites and awful invocations of the spirit
of the Great Medicine, and the Chinese
grotesque formulas to the appeacement
of the Great Dragon, bear distinct tes-
timony as to the universally of religious
mysticism as central principle and
fundamental fact in human nature.
All these ceremonies, all these num-
berless performances of religio-mys
tical character, attempted to tell the
tale of cosmic life; attempted to demash
Deity and lay bare to the gaze of the
mortal the complex machinery of uni
versal existence. For the ancient mys-
teries were by no means empty phan-
tasmagories and artificial stage effects,
as are our modern attempts to mystery,
but were realities. were the outcome If
the opening up of the inner senses of the
initiate, permitting him to view the
transporting glories of natures arcana.
II. A. GIBSON'S LECTURE.
The subject of the Sunday morning
lecture at Theosophical headquarters,
525 West Fifth street, was That Which
Exoteric Christianity Lacks, at which
H. A. Gibson said that at certain epochs
in the history of races and peoples great
teachers appear and revive the faith
of the nations to whom they are sent.
One of these was Jesus He inculcated
a higher system Of ethical teaching than
that which preceded his coming, and
gathered about him disciples who went
tx%r ov<o ,1.ro+ +;v,~r
teric phase of esoteric truths given them
by him. These eventually were crystal
lized into mere dogmas, and around his
pure teachings has become a thick in
crustation Of error
The most radical of these is that of
the immaculate conception and his
death to save his followers. On the sup
posed fall of man and these two dog
mas has been builded an immense sys-
tenn which arrogantly claims to be the
arbiter of mans destiny. These suppo- :
sitions have done much to stultify self
effort of the individual toward unfold
ment of the potentialities inherent in
every man. The selfish idea of personal
salvation Is all offered. with little in
ducement flor the cultivation of the
true and self-reiant in character.
COUNT WACHMEISTER'ST TALK.
Count Wachmester, the well known
European theosophist, lectured last eve
ming at Odd Fellows hall before a fair
audience.
Evolution, according to theosophy
said the speaker, runs in cycles follow
ing rhythmic laws. 1t has its periods of
intense activity, Of comparative stag
nation. Sometimes an influx of spirit
ual light is shed over struggling hu
manity focused in the person of a So
called Saviour, in order to help it along
the true path of development. This is
the theosophical explanation of the ap-
pearance of Buddha. Christ and other
great souls. Buddhism became a uni
versal religion on account of its teach
ing universal brotherhood and the equal
ity of man. 1t is the most complete
ethical system in the world. giving us
positive rules for conduct in daily life
THE REPORTERS ROOM FURNISHED
Saturday afternoon the reporters room
in the new city Jail building was fitted up
with the necessary furniture by Council
men Blanchard and Savage of the building
committee of the council. who had been
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