The herald., 1898-03-13
BOOKS AND THEIR MAKERS


terious-none but the mystic can under
stand the reason. Another extract makes
this still palmer:
1.-THE barbaric splendor of nature reveals
truth and law as surely as does her terri
Bile logic. She speaks in poetry and IN
prose. Facts are rarely ever naked, but
often not only draped but masked. Ihe
occult eye sees straight to the heart Of a
fact, while the normal lens dwells on the
habiliments."
But what of the Hermetics. anyway?
Let us quote from the opening OF the vol
ume its own answer:
They believe in the conservation OF en-
ergy and it's transformation. They be-
lieve in the unit and in the many-the
special and the general. They have found
the philosophers stone-the elixir of life.
They catch glimpses of Ell Dorado-the
promised land. They know time and real
ize eternity. They comprehend distance
and space. They circumscribe the square
with the circle and death with life. They
teach an eternity of being and an endless
variety of form. They wed invoution to
evolution and yesterday to tomorrow
They insist on object as the mirror of SUBJ
ject and consciousness as the child of the
two. They hold that Nirvana is poise-a
motionless motion-the paradox of being.
This may not be quite clear on the in
slant, but no doubt will be when it has had
time to settle.
Under the head OF philosophy" we have
some very eloquent passages, but still a lit
tie trying, like this, for example:
"Yourself-in the sun, in the sea-your-
self in the sky, in the air-yourself in the
winds, in the stars-yourself in the depths.
in the heights-yourself in the distance
yourself nearer home-yourself in the open
yourself in the closed-yourself in the
seen and unseen-yourself everywhere;
yourself in her eyes-Philosophys eyes
yourself in her oice-Thiiosopfly' 5 voice
in the speech of the beasts, in the
song of the birds, the rustling Of leaves; in
nothing. in something, in naught and in all.
in negative positive, neither and both: in
you and in other. in other and you Do
you ask me the reason of all, 1 give you
the reason of none; do you ask me the rea-
son of none, give you the wisdom of ALL"
Perhaps one of tn most striking topics
Of the volume is "Cranks." The author, or
authors, cannot abide the crank, and hits
him hard:
There are religious, scientific, artistic,
scholastic, dogmatic cranks; cranks of
both sexes; cranks among the rich and
poor They run after all sorts of absurdi-
ties which have no basis of reason. They
ike concealment and mystery; they hate
he light of the sun and sense. Alas! a
vast proportion are women, whose little
minds dabble right and left in mysterious
cults, that they may have hobbies and
fads. They bring greater cranks to their
lrawing rooms to lecture on X plus moth
ng, and that they may drink in words as
/ topper swallows rum
The chapter on The Devil is exceedingly
practical. 1t advises us to go into train
ng and always be in condition for bout
with him:
HE is the best muscle developer known.
He can put you through regular course.
He will teach you to aim a straight blow
Ind hit between the eyes. To be sure you
will be knocked down over and over again.
but get up. To lie and groan is to give him
chance. You must be quick. as quick as he
9. You will grow as strong as a Greek
athlete, and be ready for the ring on all
occasions
There are many eloquent passages in the
and the style is terse and simple;
out taken together it is not easy to under
stand or reconcile. Its plan is not very
plain and the construction necessarily
'ragmentary. 1t may be the venture of
)ne person or it may be a symposium.
very likely the latter, since it would be un-
usual if one hand were to pen plain preach
ng and paroxysmal rhapsody side by side.
The only clue to the authorship or own
arship of the work is that it is copyrighted
oy Judge Hatch of the Los Angeles bar
The seal of secrecy is set upon the whole
by adopting the sealed packet for the
trade mark. The volume will attract no
little attention as the possible sign of a
local new cult or the revival of a very old
one. Its refrain is an appeal for love of
nature and supreme reliance on truth.
THE WILD FLOWERS OF CALIFOR-
MA, Their Names, Haunts and Habits.
BY Mary Elizabeth Parsons. Illustrated
by Margaret Warriner Buck. William
Doxey, San Francisco. Price $500. For
sale by c. c. Parker
o land of the west! know
low the field flowers bud and blow,
And the grass springs and the grain
rO the first soft touch and summons of the
rain!
}, the music of the rain!
}, the music of the streams!'
The musical lines head the prelude to this
inc large volume, the most fitting, if not
he only fitting treatise on California's
wild flowers. The book is as
Inc piece of construction as one could
wish, indeed, nothing is lacking in it's
The lists and the descriptions
If the flowers are very full and elaborate,
md there is also an index to both Latin
glossary and table of technical terms The
'olume comprises four hundred pages and
s most lavisly illustrated. 1t fills q real
want. for it has long been said that only
partial justice has been done to the subject
oy any former author. Especially have the
newcomers to California felt the need of
'uch volume, since the fora here varies
10 much from the east. 1t has often been
'emarked that the text books on botany
u n1 c fnr ho,
small value to students here 1t
s natural, therefore, that such a volume
is this should be especially welcome. Be-
sides the praise that will come to the au-
hor and illustrator of this handsome vol
lme, Mr.. Doxey will be accredited with
mother sample of really fine book making.
THE CELEBRITY. By Winston Churchill.
The Macmillan Company
The author of this book-unknown to us
-modestly calls it IAN episode" but 1t
night have been called a number of epi-
'odes, and very funny ones at that. A
more amusing volume has not been among
he new crop of books this season.
The celebrity" was a young man who
lad cast off the chrysalis of common
)lace existence and become famous from
'ortland,M to Portland Ore, all because
lie had written volume with vague end
ng which set people talking. Indeed, in
lothing he had written was there discern
'ble any ray of human weakness, or "a
troke of nature u1ttrameled by the call
ng code of polite society," Throughout the
tory he is most wittily characterized
md the creation is a very fortunate and
uccessful one
The Celebrity turns up one summer at
Ashquith, northern lake resort, and
s lionized. leading the fashionables in