The herald., 1896-06-08

lAc 6OSPCl ia SHIIot 10 PcIlcCt, dOSO-
lutte. infallible, inspired. 1t is sufficient
for all our spiritual, moral and social
needs. 1t contains all the precepts of
religion. Since Christ's time no moral
truth has been discovered, and no re-
ligious principle has been revealed.
While the laws of Moses are interesting
as history Of dead creeds, and while the
religions of nom Christian peoples are
interesting as studies, yet the religion
Of Christ Is the divinest religion, and his
character is the highest and grandest
revelation of Gods heart and mans pos
sibilities.
DR.. Allen Griff1ths, Pacific coast lee
turer of the Philosophical society in
America, delivered a lecture before
large and appreciative audience last
evening at the new hall of the local
branch of the society, SIS w. Fifth
street. DR.. Grifiths took for his sub
ject, The Mystery of Sex, and his dis
course was in part as follows:
There appears to be considerable
misconception current as to theosophic-
al teachings upon sex and the relations
existing, past and present, between man
and woman. Now the Theosophical So
ciety has no creed, dogma or belief upon
any subject whatever, but is simply a.
body of students searching for more
light upon all problems of life and hu-
man existence.
Philosophy is only another name for
knowledge of the operation of law, of the
finer forces Of nature, of the relations Of
the mind of man to the mind! Of Deity.
and of man to man. Hence the TheOsO-
phist is a truth-seeker and as truth
seeker is universal, he Is concerned with
all problems Of human thought and ac-
tion. The sex question is one of these
problems, and lies very near the basis
of being in the human and all king
doms, both above and below man.
Everywhere throughout cosmos is
perceived what are known as the Pairs
of Opposites.' Attraction and repulsion,
heat and cold, up and down, positive
and negative, intellect and intuition,
masculine and feminine are some of
them, and from their action and inter-
action results the universe and its con-
tents. Intellect and intuition symbolize
the masculine and feminine characteris-
tics. Intellect concerns itself with the
external aspect of things. 1t gathers
data and statistics about things, but
does not penetrate to the heart and
know the soul residing in all forms.
Intuition transcends the trammels of
| matter, plunges out into unknown
realms and returns laden with knowl-
| edge not otherwise obtainable. Intel
lect and intuition, masculine and fem
inine, are but the dual aspects of the
| soul. The soul, the thinker, is the per-
| manent principle in man, which, though
| incarnating many times in many diff
ferent human bodies, itself endures for
| ever.
''The Thinker is neither male nor fe-
| male, but potentially both. This poten-
| tiality has to be developed into active
| reality by actual experience. This ex-
| perience is afforded by the repeated
| earth lives of each Thinker. In all lower
kingdoms of nature, up through which
fv,Jyo off ar1n nd
| utilized by it almost infinite opportun-
| tiles. When it reached the human stage
| of development extended opportunities
| exist, among which Is the evolution of
| the latent potentialities Of sex. Hence,
| to that end, and others, the Thinker in
carnates at different times on the male
| and female lines. In no other way could
| the Thinker evolve. The relation of the
| sexes now becomes more apparent. In
| each earth life, on either the male or
| female line, some wisdom is evolved,
| which, at its close, is added to the vol
ume thus acquired in all past lives.
"A given man or woman Is thus an en-
| bodiment of the wisdom thus acquired
through and by individual experience
| in all past earth lives. Most men
| are too positive and self-assertive; most
| women are too negative and dependent
Neither are as yet well-rounded and
| balanced, simply because both sides OF
the nature are not equally developed.
| Future incarnations will eQualize the
I extremes of character. AS a result there
| will then no longer be men and women
| such as now exist with respective
| strongly marked characteristics. but
| there will be evolved a grander race.
| Pictures Of the Buddhas and Christs
| portray faces which are neither distinct
| lively male nor female. In the man is
depicted the strength, vigor and repose
of the masculine character, softened and
tempered by the sweet tenderness of the
| true feminine nature. These adopts
were once men like ourselves, and our
race will later rise to their greater
| height.
Man and woman are equal factors in
| the scheme of the souls evolution and
| equal opportunities are, in the course
| of many earth lives, afforded both.
| Hence, as the process Of development
| proceeds, sex relations change and ex-
| pand. But the process does not widen.
| but lessons the difference now existing
and brings men and women into closer
| relations as a result of the better un-
| derstanding of that law of universal
! in indissoluble bonds. A commonality
Of origin, of process, of development
| and Of possible goal, endows all crea-
| lures with the right to give and to re-
ceive assistance at all times from all
sources. The differences apparently
| eAlSIlIlE UclW CcIl 1llCIl dIlu WOlIlcA dI I
| more in seeming than in reality. Exter-
| nal appearances are not always true in
| dications of internal conditions. Awake
| the sleeping feminine qualities of the
man into activity, arouse the dormant
masculine potentialities in the woman,
and the characters Of both become amaz-
| ingly alike.
'This is being done in the everyday
life and intercourse of the sexes, and will
| not only continue but immensely in
crease and expand woman's opportun-
| tiles as It will mans for it is law fixed
by the eternal fitness of things that at
| Is not good for man to be alone" Mans
real progress and true happiness abso-
| lutely depends upon his exerting him
| self to help woman attain those con-
| ditions. It is current fallacy of the time
| that Intellectual man has ruled and led
| the race.
mot so. It was ever the woman, either
within or without himself. that urged
| the warrior to grander deeds of valor;
| it was ever a womans whisper that
| inspired the artist, the poet and the
| statesman; it was ever the SIRENS voice
| that lured the adventurous voyager upon
| life's surging main to wrest from the
| very heart of nature her arcane mys-
! teries."
| At the close of the lecture it was an
] nounced that the headquarters of the
| society had now been removed to the
new location, SIS w. Fifth street (for-
| merly known as Lawrence halD, where