The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-16

Editor ADVERTISER 1t mas DteH my
fortune to listen to several lectures
on Theosophy, Christian Science and
New Thought.
With one exception the lecturers
were interminable and rambling
1t occurred to me that the follow
ing treatment of the simple problem,
Two apples and three apples make
five apples" illustrates many of these
lectures. AS others may be interested
in the matter, 1 send it to you for pub
LEGATION.
Ladies and Gentlemen: We are to
consider this evening a profound prop
osition 1t can be stated in many ways
and doubtless in your childhood you
were familiar with it in a simple
minded, childlike way and thought
and solved it forever. But tonight,
appealing to your maturer under
standing, L propose to show how vast
IL beyond your child-mind the propo-
sition really was. So we will approach
the proposition with reverence, as be-
comes mortal and finite man in the
presence of these problems, the least
of which should fill us with awe.
1 wonder what the unattainable re-
suit would be considered to be, if finite
man should venture to determine,
through his limited experience, aided
by his reason Chat highest quality of
the mind, implanted by the Creator
of the Universe as an aid in determine
ing simple results till the sixth sense
shall be sufficiently developed to de-
termine accurately and instantaneously
all these profound problems of the
universe and so make us indeed god
like) what the sum of two apples and
three apples really is?
Now, we have not the time this
evening to discuss this proposition in
all it's phases, which are infinite; nor
have you the ability to understand the
absolute reasoning necessary to COM
prehend the whole matter, even if we
followed this proposition to its conclu-
sion in lis simplest form. But we may
spend an hour most profitably in con-
sidering a few of the links in the chain
of reasoning that would eventually
lead us to the full comprehension of
the proposition.
First-Let us suppose a case and
from this simple illustration we shall
arrive at certain conclusions concern
ing the proposition that the hour will
permit of presenting and your minds
will assimilate. Let US suppose that
a man takes two apples. He may buy
the apples; or, they may be the prod
uct of years of his own toll and rep
resent the achievement of ages of ex-
pertinent by the ego men now call
Burbank; or, they. may be simply two
apples some careless gardener has
dropped by the wayside as he Journey
ed to market thinking perhaps of the
price he would exact from some less
astute brother man, but which, even
as he plans how he i'll invest his
sordid gains, are lying beside the
roadway to pass by the action of sun
and rain and air into the next state
of plant life and so develop step by
step into that higher and grander
stage of existence. animal life: or.
they may be, as in this case, picked
up by a man to help us demonstrate
the magnificent problem before us.
Nor need we stop to discuss the size
of the apples and show how the size
is a natural result of the inherited
characteristics of generations of culti-
walton and selection, together with the
conditions, though each of
these influences would be of interest
r. Nor
need we discuss the flavor of the ap-
pies or their color, for these would
lead us too far from the subject in
mind. So. for the sake of brevity, we
will assume that they are just two
ordinary apples found or picked from
the tree or bought from the fruit
vender.
Second-Suppose a friend of this
first man, and you will observe it is !
always a friend we must turn to under
so perplexing as these, /!
gives this man three more apples. AS
we did not stop to discuss the first !
two apples in all their relations to |
this vast universe, SO now again We
may venture to assume much concern
ing the relation of these three apples
to the universe and therefore to |
eternity.
All we may hope 20 do in this dis
cussion is to present to your minds 1
for future consideration the question (
Worldwide in its Importance and /
vastly complex in it's infinite ramif-
cations, as / have shown you, and de-
pending absolutely upon the ego that |
developed the ancestors to this high /
degree of successful fruition), what !
would be the absolute result if the man
who found or produced or purchased
the two apples should put them with
the three apples the friend gave him.
Or, TO make il still more simple, be-
cause it is more popular, to state such