HPB-SB-14-114

H. P. Blavatsky Scrapbooks

from Adyar archives of the International Theosophical Society

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vol. 14, p. 114	volume 14, page 114 vol. title: vol. period: pages in vol.:
Legend HPB note HPB highlighted HPB underlined HPB crossed out <Editors note> <Archivist note> Lost or unclear SBT, DT Restored

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eng • рус

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Calcutta, Sunday, Dec. 31, 1882.

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Our Contemporaries.

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THEOSOPHY.

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At the recent meeting of the Theosophical Society at Bombay, the Chairman and other speakers en…ered into considerable detail, regarding the objects of the Society, a short recapitulation of which may be interesting to our readers. To the bulk of the people of India, the Society is chiefly known as an association, which professes belief in the existence of “the brothers” who are supposed to be in possession of knowledge, occult science, not usually found among mankind, and who are able to perform feats, which, in the estimation of the vulgar, class them very high in the ranks of conjurors. This knowledge and wonder-working power are claimed in a lesser degree by some, at least, of the initiated brotherhood, and the public have on several occasions had presented to them accounts more or less detailed of the mystic brothers and the wonderful deeds performed by their agency. At the recent annual meeting of the Society, however, the brothers and their wonder-working powers, as well as the extraordinary manifestations affirmed to have taken place, the details of which are well known to our readers, occupied quite an inconspicuous place, and the aims of the Society to found a universal brotherhood of all men and to bring to light and usefulness knowledge hitherto possessed by a few initiated, were the leading ideas which the Chairman dilated on. “The leade…s of the Theosophical Society,” said the Chairman in his opening address, “have this peculiarity as compared with all other philanthropists I know of who have declared for the same good object (universal brotherhood), that they go on to show how the thing can be done. “They claim to have discovered the true channel through which sympathies may flow between European and Asiatics, that channel being philosophical study. Another end which the Society has in view is to promote a searching investigation into the original bases of all religions, with the idea of justifying all, rather than of overthrowing any. In a sentence, then, the aims of the Theosophical Society are, according to Mr. Sinnet, universal brotherhood, which is to be attained through philosophical study and a searching examination of the elementary principles of all religions, with a view of discovering the elements common to all. These in themselves are highly laudable objects, however much men may differ in opinion, regarding the means to be used for the promotion of a brotherhood, which is to be universal, and had the Society confined itself to the inculcation and promotion of these objects exclusively instead of mixing up with them an occultism which is popularly regarded as near akin to the tricks of the conjuror, we venture to think that it would have met with less hostility; though probably it would scarcely have attracted the same attention. We offer no opinion regarding the hidden science, which the uninitiated theosophist studies. All we venture to say is, that this is more an age of demonstration than of faith, of knowledge than of belief, and that what to the uninitiated may be proof of the clearest kind is to the outer world, lying in darkness, in many instances the flimsiest self-deception, and, it may be, the purest pretence.

<[A blue oblique stroke is drawn at the left of “Our Contemporaries.”]>

LIGHT.

[December 9, 1882.

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AN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH OF VERY OLD
INVENTION.

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The following communication reaches us, as will be seen, from a well-known author. The fact that Mr. Tupper addresses “Light” shews that he takes some interest in Spiritualism—how much or how little we do not know. We are glad to know, however, that we shall shortly be able to give our readers some of his “Experiences” on the subject, as a free and fair inquirer:—

In the 241st Number of Addison’s Spectator, bearing date Thursday, December 6th, 1711, and, as signed “C.” (one of the letters of the mystic Clio), by the great Joseph Addison himself, occurs the following remarkable anticipation of our presumably most modern discovery. Those who have access to the London edition of the Spectator of 1841, published by J. J. Chidley, 123, Aldersgate-street, can verify the verbatim faithfulness of the following extract from page 274:—

“Strada, in one of his Prolusions (Lib. II. prol. 6), gives an account of a chimerical correspondence between two friends by the help of a certain loadstone, which had such virtue in it, that if it touched two several needles, when one of the needles so touched began to move, the other, though at never so great a distance, moved at the same time, and in the same manner. He tells us that the two friends, being each of them possessed of one of those needles, made a kind of dial-plate, inscribing it with four-and-twenty letters, in the same manner as the hours of the day are marked upon the ordinary dial-plate. They then fixed one of the needles on each of these plates in such a manner that it could move round without impediment, so as to touch any of the four-and-twenty letters.

“Upon their separating from one another into distant countries, they agreed to withdraw themselves punctually into their closets at a certain hour of the day, and to converse with one another by means of this their invention.

“Accordingly, when they were some hundred miles asunder, each of them shut himself up in his closet at the time appointed, and immediately cast his eye upon his dial-plate. If he had a mind to write anything to his friend, he directed his needle to every letter that formed the words which he had occasion for, making a little pause at the end of every word or sentence, to avoid confusion.

“The friend in the meanwhile saw his own sympathetic needle moving of itself to every letter which that of his correspondent pointed at. By this means they talked together across a whole continent, and conveyed their thoughts to one another in an instant over cities or mountains, seas or deserts.

“If Monsieur Scudery, or any other writer of romance, had introduced a necromancer, who is generally in the train of a knight-errant, making a present to two lovers of a couple of these above-mentioned needles, the reader would not have been a little pleased to have seen them corresponding with one another when they were guarded by spies and watchers, or separated by castles and adventures.

“In the meanwhile, if ever this invention should be revived or put in practice, I would propose that upon the lover’s dial-plate there should be written not only the four-and-twenty letters, but several entire words which have always a place in passionate epistles, as flames, darts, die, language, absence, Cupid, heart, eyes, hang, drown, and the like. This would very much abridge the lover’s pains in this way of writing a letter, as it would enable him to express the most useful and significant words with a single touch of the needle.—C.”

Thus far Addison, a hundred and seventy years ago, and Strada (whoever he may be, for ordinary biographical dictionaries ignore him), perhaps fifty before him, and the two unknown experimentalists, perhaps twenty beyond that, making in all two hundred and forty or fifty years ago as the date of electrical invention: whereof we see no further mention in the Spectator. But is it not also among the “Century of the Marquis of Worcester’s Inventions”?—as we think possible; the scarce volume is not near us for reference. Let the curious reader who can, turn to it and see. Meanwhile, how strangely Addison and Strada have anticipated the dial-plate, and the needles, and the letters, and the short forms for common words, all so familiar to our telegraphists. Verily, there is nothing new under the sun.

Martin F. Tupper.

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Editor's notes

Sources

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  Light, v. 2, No. 101, December 9, 1882, p. 550