Quotes:Sargent, Epes

Zirkoff, Boris

Sargent, Epes. American author, b. at Gloucester, Mass., Sept. 27, 1813. Educated chiefly at the Boston Latin School, which he entered at the age of nine. Although matriculated at Harvard College, 529 he did not remain for graduation. When a boy, accompanied his father upon an extended trip to Russia, where he spent much time studying various collections of paintings. Upon his return, he started a small weekly paper, the Literary Journal, in which he gave an account of his experiences in Russia. From that time on, he devoted himself to literature. His first contributions appeared in the Boston Daily Advertiser. For a while, he associated himself with S. G. Goodrich in the preparation of the Peter Parley Books. In 1836 he wrote for Josephine Clifton a five-act play entitled The Bride of Genoa, followed the next year by the tragedy Velasco, both plays being successfully produced. In 1837, Sargent became connected with the Boston Atlas, as Washington correspondent. In 1839, he took charge for a while of the New York Mirror, but returned to Boston, 1846, where he edited for several years The Evening Transcript. He established himself at Roxbury, and after a few years withdrew from newspaper life and engaged exclusively in literary pursuits. It is during this period that he wrote a number of children’s books, some of which reached a large sale. In 1852, he produced the Standard Speaker, a work of rare completeness which passed through thirteen editions within three years. He also prepared excellent readers for public schools, which had an enormous sale. He also continued to produce some plays, such as The Priestess, with great success. In 1849, Sargent published a collection of poems under the title of Songs of the Sea, some of which were set to music. He was on terms of intimacy with Henry Clay and wrote a life of that distinguished statesman. He was well known as a lecturer throughout New England and counted among his close friends some of the famous men of the day, such as Daniel Webster and others.

Epes Sargent wrote a number of novels, such as: Wealth and Worth (1840); Fleetwood, or the Stain of a Birth (1845), and others; among his poems, there is a lyrical one called Life on the Ocean Wave, beginning with the stirring line, “Oh, ye keen breezes from the Salt Atlantic.” He also published American Adventures by Land and Sea (1847, 2 vols.); Original Dialogues (1861); and edited several memoirs.

Sargent’s interest in spiritual subjects is fully dealt with in Η.P.B.’s article on pages 239-40 of the present volume, wherein she speaks of his work entitled *The Scientific Basis of Spiritualism (2nd ed., Boston: Colby & Rich, 1881; 6th ed., 1891). In an unsigned note, possibly by Η.P.B. or by Col. Olcott, inserted in The Theosophist (Vol. II, March, 1881, p. 139), reporting the death of this remarkable man, which took place at Boston, December 530 31, 1880, and in which is acknowledged a donation by Sargent of some of his school books to the Theosophical School for boys at Point de Galle, Ceylon, it is also stated that “there was something so sweet and winsome in his tone, expression of face and sentiments; such candour and evident devotion to what was good and true; and withal such a dignified purpose to act up to his light and his convictions, that for him to make an acquaintance was to secure a friend.” This is followed by a quotation from the Boston Transcript which praises Sargent in a genuine way.

It is also stated in The Theosophist that Sargent “was the author of various books of education which possess such superior merit that Mr. Jayasekara, Manager of our Galle school, declares them better than any English series he has even seen. A Cyclopaedia of Poetry upon which he had been engaged for some years, was completed only about a month before his death.” Mention is also made of two other works by Sargent, namely, Planchette and Proof Palpable of Immortality, on subjects of grave concern in those days.

All in all, Epes Sargent was a man of sterling qualities, and apparently was in contact with the Founders by correspondence.

Source: Boris de Zirkoff, «H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings», vol. 3, pp. 528-530

Sargent, Epes (1813-80). *The Scientific Basis of Spiritualism, 2nd ed., Boston: Colby & Rich, 1881; 6th ed., 1891. See Vol. Ill, pp. 529-30, for biographical sketch.

Source: Boris de Zirkoff, «H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings», vol. 4, p. 664