Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-16

say It is to get fresh air and food"
Man does not live by bread alone-nor
yer on air They get pure air, yes-pure
from mental Infection! Monsieur. there
are houses. localities, whole towns. that are
simply weighed down by mischievous
thought nebulae condensing into impulse"
insane freaks of crowds?' he continued.
Or for silly fads that run through whole
communities? These collective possessions
OF which the terror of the French revolu-
very elegant example-are simply moro
striking than what goes on continually with
individuals"
y And your adopts learn to combat them?''
1 asked.
Our centers Of initiation" he said. ''con.
Duct the inquirer. by divers roads. TO the
temples, permits the outsider to penetrate
eVerywhere-except to the sanctuary"
Seekers" Are Numerous.
Seekers come to us from lower proups
Of all who fight against materialsm: for
we have taken part in all the great con-
| gresses-and you must know that In Paris
alone there are over 200 600 seekers
Some come to us simply for peace OF
mind for health, for reconciliation with
estrahseu loved ones. or for success In
t tneir aHairs-yes, we help believing
Others" he continued, ARE elect souls
souls athirst for knowledge. They go under
proper teachers. Like the humble they
first learn the exercise of prayer-which is
after all, superior to magic; but what comes
after this | cannot tell you. Let 1t suffice
10 say that we are associated, as Roscru-
clans or kabbalists, with the Illuminated of
other countries; and that our students come
TO know that great masters exist, because
IN time they see and speak with them"
| asked.
Yes and no." replied the occultist II
coulu tell you OF one who. by fasting,
prayer and the repetition of names. has
arrived at such exquisite sensitveness that
the veil of the invisible breaks down be-
fore him; and he drives elementals like
sheep. His powers are enormous; but he
knows that the world is not to be regen-
Grated by curing this or that individual Of
sickness. You understand that vast num-
bers OF these deluding thought forces have
grown with us during untold generations
until they seem as real and firm as the
eternal hills"
Like the idea of broken leg?" l sug-
gested
And yet humanity will one day scatter
them. Others, of great intensity,
really weak; such are the new diseases,
like grippe or neurasthenia. Did you ever
e @Hns?" VII. 'hefe snouid De new d's-
The whole world being possessed by err
ror, what can the uninitiated dor" l asked
him finally, giving up hope of penetrating
to the sanctuary of the Temple of Mystery.
above all, they can keep from getting
sick" was DR.. Papus' impressive answer.
Avoid talking about Sickness" he in
sisted. Avoid thinking about sickness.
When forced to mingle with the ailing let
your conversation be of outside matters.
Sickness is as catching as bad luck, dis
content crankiness or yielding to passions"
That is how he put it.
ITO use the jargon of medicine, they are
endemic as well as epidemic" he con-
Guided. Should you note down, year by
year. the history of a given house you
would be surprised to observe how phe-
nomena repeat themselves in II!
There are houses that have known only
peace and well being for fifty a hun.
dred years. There are houses that for gen.
eratiOns have witnessed only dissensions,
sicknesses and unrest. There are houses
whose inhabitants are doomed to bad luck.''
Full of elementals?'
Full of elementas. Look you, they
grow stronger and stronger So-caled
haunted houses owe their strange noises,
vague fitting lights and other incoherent
phenomena to elementals. Sometimes they
form impressions on the eyes as OF flame.
Or simply on the mind of a presence"
And the outsiders only resource is to get
away from them?' L asked, as l prepared
to leave
1T is the only course for the uninitiated,"
said the renovator of occutism in France.
1T is, indeed, desparing to think how a
brooding person may start new elemental
on its road to semi-being. Don't BROOD
STERLING HELLO.