Zirkoff B. - Appendix (BCW vol.12)

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Appendix

by Boris de Zirkoff

H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writtings, vol. 12, page(s) 716-784

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716

NOTE ON THE TRANSLITERATION OF SANSKRIT AND OTHER TERMS

The system of diacritical marks used in the text of this volume, and in the General Bibliography, as well as the Index, does not strictly follow any one specific scholar, to the exclusion of all others. In regard to Sanskrit, while adhering to a very large extent to Sir Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English. Dictionary, as for instance in the case of the Anusvara, the transliteration includes forms introduced by other Sanskrit scholars as well, being therefore of a selective nature.

The transliteration of other than Sanskrit terms has been checked with a variety of sources, and a selection has been made to conform with the standards adopted by the best known scholars.

As in previous volumes of this Series, we have continued the usage of a circumflex over a long vowel, rather than using the “macron” or a line over them. Exception to this are H.P.B.’s Esoteric Instructions, in which the “macron” is used throughout.

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GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY (With Selected Biographical Notes)

The material contained in the following pages is of necessity a selective one, and is intended to serve three purposes: (a) to give condensed information, not otherwise readily available, about the life and writings of some individuals mentioned by H.P.B. in the text, and who are unknown to the present-day student; (b) to give similar data about a few well-known scholars who are discussed at length by H.P.B., and whose writings she constantly quotes; and (c) to give full information regarding all works and periodicals quoted or referred to in the main text and in the Compiler’s Notes, with or without biographical data of their authors. All such works are marked with an asterisk (*).

In addition to that, rather extensive biographical sketches have been included, in connection with a number of outstanding workers in the early period of the Theosophical Movement, which should be helpful in acquiring a better knowledge concerning the history of the Movement as a whole.

Addison, Joseph (1672-1719). Quotation untraced.

*Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda . . . Edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Bombay, 1863. 2 vols. Reprint of transl. in Sacred Books of the Hindus. Also ed. of 1919-22.

Allen, Charles Grant Blairfindie (1848-99). See Vol. X, p. 411 for biogr. sketch.

Arnold, Sir Edwin. Renowned educator, journalist, Sanskritist and poet. One of the outstanding men of the Victorian era, whose biography still remains unwritten. He was born June 10, 1832, in Gravesend, England. His family was fairly wealthy, and afforded him a good education. After studies at the King’s school, Rochester, and the King’s College, London, he graduated B.A. from University College, Oxford, in 1854, and two years later was awarded his Master’s degree. After teaching for a short time at King Edward School in Birmingham, he was appointed in 1856 Principal of Deccan College 718lege in Poona, India, obtaining later a Fellowship of Bombay University. Being in India during the mutiny of 1857, he was able to render services for which he was publicly thanked by Lord Elphinstone in the Bombay Council.

“Returning to England in 1861 he began writing for The DailyTelegraph and his connection with that paper lasted for more than forty years. He became Chief Editor in 1873, and it was during his regime that his paper collaborated with the New York Herald to sponsor H. M. Stanley’s famous expedition to Africa. Edwin Arnold was made Knight Commander of the Indian Empire in 1888.

“His pictures show him to be a heavy-featured, forthright individual, and he was said to be a tall, strongly built man. He is credited with a remarkable memory, love of learning and unusual literary facility. In view of the quality of his writing it is unfair to accuse him of being a literary machine, but his output was little short of prodigious and it is a matter of record that during his long tenure at The Daily Telegraph he was effortlessly able to produce editorials, articles, anything that was required on any subject with length no object. If the occasion called for it he would write his columns in verse! His prose was popular enough, though, and many occasional pieces Written for his paper were later published in permanent form.

“His desire to learn was remarkable, and his success enviable. To avoid wasting minutes while waiting for trains, etc., he would read the classics, and carried in his pocket a slim volume for this purpose. ‘It is just as easy to learn the binomial theorem, or Persian, or Sanskrit, or Euclid, or navigation, or chemistry, as it is to mow grass or shear a sheep,’ he wrote in an essay. ‘The secret is to be rightly taught, or to teach yourself rightly from the beginning, making sure of every step taken and bearing in mind that most learning is very simple . . .’

“Arnold loved to travel, and his literary output included volumes describing his peregrinations around the world. Of these travel books, India Revisited and Seas and Lands are still of considerable interest even in our travel-conscious age. He was popular as a lecturer all over the world and appeared frequently in the United States to recite his own poetry.

“Among his many achievements he was a linguist of rare ability. In addition to mastering the classic languages, his command of the European tongues was such that he published translations of French, German and Italian poetry. In 1877 he wrote A Simple Translitérai Grammar of Turkish. Persian was another of his accomplishments. Not content with learning several of the modern Indian languages he 719set about studying Sanskrit (it was said that he rapidly acquired the Sanskrit alphabet by writing it out and hanging it over his dressing table). His linguistic gifts, therefore, were exceptional, and combined with his talent for verse making and his interest in oriental scriptures, have provided the English speaking world with some of the finest religious poetry it possesses.

“It was as a poet that Arnold made his first and most important mark. He began writing verse in his schooldays, and it was while he was studying at Oxford that he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for his poem, Belschazzaf's Feast. Later he published translations of Hugo and Garibaldi as well as of classical poetry. His work has not been without criticism, although as poetry is a subjective art, this must be considered natural.

“His own tastes in poetry spread from Classical Greece to modern America. Walt Whitman’s verse was among his favourite, and on one of his trips to the United States Arnold went to considerable trouble to find Whitman—then living quietly in obscurity—in order to pay homage to him. He wrote: ‘At all events for me Walt Whitman has long appeared the embodiment of the spirit of American growth and glory—the natural minstrel of her splendid youth—the chief modern perceiver of the joy and gladness in existence too- long forgotten or forbidden; and, of all men in Philadelphia he it was whom I most desired to see and thank for my own share, at least, in the comfort and wisdom of his verse, which, for me who can read it with sympathy, has the freshness of the morning wind blowing in the pines, the sweetness of the sea-air tumbling the wave crests.’

“It is not even incongruous that the two bards spent many hours together reading from Leaves of Grass, most of which Arnold was said to know by heart. He later told a British audience: ‘If you would banish the evil taste of pessimism from your lips, read sometimes a page or two of the Leaves of Grass . . . Yes! Read a little sometimes in that large-minded and clear-sighted Master—alive with the huge new life of America—who has seen with eyes divinely opened and inspired heart how persistently kind is the unkindness of the Cosmos . . .’

“The few years Arnold spent in India were to have the greatest influence on his life and subsequent writings. As early as 1861 his interest in Indian philosophy and traditions was revealed in the writing of The Book of Good Counsels. This is a translation of a collection of animal fables interlaced with proverbial verses, many of which are easily remembered....

720 “Much later, in 1875, The Indian, Song of Songs appeared. Based on Jayadeva, this was the least successful of his work inspired by Indian writings.

“The Light of Asia was published in 1879, and after receiving only ‘polite’ notices, quickly caught the public fancy and became a best seller. In a few years it went through hundreds of editions in the United States and Britain. It is no exaggeration to say that the popularity Buddhism has enjoyed in the West owes more to this long and memorable poem than to anything that has been written before or since. Scholars may question its correctness in minor details, but of Arnold’s sincerity there is no doubt, and The Light of Asia stands as a beautiful exposition of the establishment of one of the world’s greatest religions. Nobody can deny that Arnold admirably achieved his purpose: ‘to depict the life and character and indicate the philosophy of that noble hero and reformer, Prince Gautama of India, the founder of Buddhism’.”

H.P.B. herself reviewed at some length The Light of Asia in the very first issue of The Theosophist (October, 1879, pp. 20-25), indicating her strong endorsement of this work. In her Will, she asked that a chapter from it be read by those assembled at the yearly anniversary of her death, as well as passages from the Bhagavad-Gita—an occasion which a year later, namely in 1892, was proclaimed by Col. Olcott as the White Lotus Day.

The Light of Asia has a forceful unity and many individual lines leave a powerful impression upon the reader, to the very end of the poem where in breath-catching words:

“The Dew is on the lotus!—rise, Great Sun! And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave. Om mani padme hum, the Sunrise comes! The Dewdrop slips into the shining Sea!”

“Probably at the insistence of his friends, Arnold later turned his pen to poetically paraphrase the Christian crucifixion story. He called it The Light of the World. This work bears no comparison with the other Light, nor did it find popular acceptance. The reason, it has been suggested, was that in writing The Light

SIR EDWIN ARNOLD 1832-1904

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of Asia, he wrote as a believer; in writing The Light of the World he wrote as one who considered the story objectively. The long poem is cold, as if his heart was not in his subject. As if to corroborate this theory, it does seem that the best lines in The Light of the World are those embodying Eastern philosophy.

“With Pearls of the Faith, Arnold completed the “Oriental Trilogy” he started with The Indian Song of Songs and The Light of Asia. In it he presents ‘in the simple, familiar, and credulous, but earnest spirit and manner of Islam—and from its own points of view—some of the thoughts and beliefs of the followers of the noble Prophet of Arabia.’ The book contains some very beautiful verse and philosophy, but unfortunately is today for the most part forgotten.

“But if he failed, in The Indian Song of Songs, to capture the spirit of Hinduism for the Western reader, he did full justice to that great religion when he translated the Bhagavad-Gita. One of the scores of English versions of the Gita, Sir Edwin Arnold’s Song Celestial has been and remains the most popular and the most quoted translation. Some of the most beautiful lines of any scripture in the English language are to be found there.

“With such an interest in the scriptures of several of the world’s great religions, what were Sir Edwin’s private beliefs? To the conforming Victorian society he was probably thought of as a practising Christian, and we are told that he did attend the Unitarian Church. But it is obvious from his writings that the Buddhistic philosophy was more to his liking, and it is doubtful that he would accept, as he did in 1903, an honorary membership of the International Buddhist Society unless he could really ascribe to their ideals. Certain it is that Buddhism altered his whole way of life, and influenced him to give up the blood sports which were so much part of his upbringing, and also to become a vegetarian (he was Vice-President of the Vegetarian Society.)”

In his later years, Arnold resided for some time in Japan, and his third wife was a Japanese lady, In Seas and Lands (1891) and Japónica (1892) he gives an interesting study of Japanese life.

Although Edwin Arnold was not a member of The Theosophical Society, he certainly knew of it and, from the information available, it may be concluded that he was in full sympathy with its aims. In 722an interview reported in The Lamp, December, 1895, we are fortunate to have a record of Arnold’s feeling toward Theosophy. The Lamp was edited by Albert E. S. Smythe and was the first Theosophical magazine in Canada. The interview is credited to the Alliance Forum and is as follows:

“Sir Edwin Arnold says in a recent interview: ‘The effect of Buddhism upon a people morally and physically is good. Wherever you find a community with great tenderness towards the lower creation, with a deep respect for mankind, and a strong observation of duty, there will you also find the spirit of Buddhism. It is a moralizing, restraining influence.’

In answer to the question, ‘Are Esoteric Buddhists and Theosophists the same?’ he replied, ‘That depends upon what you mean by Theosophists. If you mean the Theosophists of the school of Blavatsky, Sinnett and Olcott, I will say that they are so closely connected with Buddhism that the Buddhist Scriptures ought to be their text-books, and I don’t see how you can do this without a knowledge of Sanskrit. I knew Madame Blavatsky very well and am acquainted with Col. Olcott and A. P. Sinnett, and I believe there is no doubt that the Theosophical movement has had an excellent effect upon humanity. It has made a large number of people understand what all India always understood, and that is the importance of invisible things. The real universe is that which you do not see, and the commonest Indian peasant knows that to be true by inheritance. The Theosophists have impressed upon the present generation the necessity of admitting the existence of the invisible. The senses are very limited, and everybody ought to know that behind them lies an illimitable field of development’.”

Another indication of Arnold’s respect for H.P.B. and her work may be drawn from a collection of reminiscences written by the Very Rev. E. C. Paget, Dean of Calgary, and entitled A Year Under the Shadows of St. PauTs, a book privately printed and published in Calgary, Alberta, in 1908. One of the articles contained therein describes “An Evening with Sir Edwin Arnold.” Of particular interest to us is the following passage:

“On Madame Blavatsky’s name being mentioned Sir Edwin spoke of his acquaintance with her and of her extraordinary mental attainments. As an illustration, he said that he had once quite casually referred to her for the date of a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian which she at once gave with perfect exactness and with the utmost readiness.” (p. 112.)

723 Sir Edwin Arnold died March 24, 1904. In the April issue of The Theosophist (Vol. XXV, pp. xviii-xix of the Supplement), Col. Henry S. Olcott inserted a Notice of this from which we quote the following passage:

“...I made his personal acquaintance at London in the year 1884, at the hospitable board of Mrs. Tennant .... I lunched with him at his house, and he kindly presented me with some of the original MS. of his world-famous Buddhist book. Later, when he revisited India, coming via Ceylon I organised, at the request of the High Priest, Sumangala, his reception at Colombo, and drafted the address of the High Priest. His feelings towards me were cordial, and I may almost say that in him, I have lost a personal friend. His poetised translations from the Sanskrit most ably render the sense of the ancient books. He must have had a great faculty of concentration, for he told me, at his house, that he had written the most touching passages of The Light of Asia in the compartment of a railway carriage, in the company of some dealers of Billingsgate Market, who were loudly discussing between themselves, the price of fish. On the death of Lord Tennyson, he was one of the most earnest candidates for the vacant Laureatship, but it was given for some inscrutable reason, to a man who—well, [Alfred] Austin!”

Judging by his works and his philosophy of life, Sir Edwin Arnold formed an integral part of the widespread spiritual Movement which was regenerated in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In part, his work paralleled that of the Theosophical Society, helping to make the religion and philosophy of Buddhism and Hinduism known and appreciated by the western world. The Light of Asia and The Song Celestial undoubtedly led to widespread interest in these subjects and helped to create an attitude in which theosophical ideas would be found congenial. We are all indebted to this great scholar.

Artephius (or Artefius and Artesius). Jewish or Arabian alchemist who lived at about 1130 a.d. He seems to have written several works, but the one best known is his *Clavis majoris sapientiae, Parisiis, 1609, 8vo., 33 pp.; also at Argentorati, 1699, 12°. It has been translated into French by Pierre Arnauld, Paris, 1612, and into German in 1618 and 1748.

Astruc, Élie Aristide. French Rabbi, born at Bordeaux, 1831; d. at Bayonne, 1905. Chief Rabbi of Belgium, 1866-79, and of Bayonne, 1887-91. Co-founder of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. Translated into French verse the most important poems of the Sephardic 724ritual in Oleloth Eliyahu, 1865, and wrote a work on the origin and causes of anti-Semitism; he also prepared a critical survey of the Jewish religion which offended the Orthodox.

Aurelianus, Caelius. Celebrated Latin physician of either the first century a.d. or of a century later. Generally supposed to have been a native of Numidia. Was a professed and zealous member of the sect of the Methodici. His description of the phenomena of disease is most accurate, and his judgment on various medical points is sound. His writings are less theoretical and more practical than those of any other author of antiquity, and consist of works: On. acute Diseases; and On Chronic Diseases.

*Bahurûpa-Brâhmana. Untraced.

Bailly, Jean-Sylvain (1736-1793). French astronomer, orator and politician. As a scientist, he was very much of a genius. While his father showed no particular interest in him, his mother devoted herself to his early education at home. Being a very precocious child, he soon acquired wide literary knowledge, and at sixteen became a collaborator and trainee of the famous astronomer, Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713-1762). He calculated an orbit for the comet of 1759 (Halley’s), reduced Lacaille’s observations of 515 zodiacal stars, observed with his teacher the transit of Venus in 1761, and in 1763 was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences. He performed most careful observations of Jupiter’s satellites and of Saturn’s rings, and found time to prepare several large works on astronomical research and the history of that science. Among them, are to be especially noted: Histoire de 1’astronomie ancienne depuis son origine jusqu’à l’établissement de TÉcole d’Alexandrie (Paris: Debure, 1775; 2nd ed., 1781, xxiv, 527 pp.); Lettres sur l’Atlantide de Platon et sur T ancienne histoire de F Asie (Paris: Debure; and London: M. Elmsly, 1779, 480 pp., maps), which were addressed to Voltaire; Histoire de F astronomie moderne, depuis la fondation de l’école d’Alexandrie, jusqu’à l’époque 1730 (Paris, 1779-82, three vols. 4to; also 1785); Traité de Fastronomie Indienne et Orientale (Paris: Debure, 1787, clxxx, 417 pp. Index). These works show extensive knowledge of the ancient world, including Hindu astronomy which in his day was practically unknown. It is obvious that H.P.B. had a very high regard for Bailly and considered him a man of very keen intuition.

Bailly also engaged in presenting a Report on Animal Magnetism and the work of Mesmer, but for some strange reason disagreed with the latter and did not accept the validity of his research. His

JEAN-SYLVAIN BAILLY 1736-1793 Reproduced from L.A. Thiers, History of the French Revolution, 1854, Volume III.

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scientific and literary labors were crowned by his being elected a member of both the French Academy and the Académie des Inscriptions.

Unfortunately for Bailly, he also engaged in political affairs. Elected deputy from Paris to the states-general, he was chosen president of the Third Estate (1789), and acted as Mayor of Paris (1789-91). The dispersal by the National Guard, under his orders, of the riotous assembly in the Champ de Mars (July 17, 1791), made him obnoxious to the populace. He then retired to Nantes, where he wrote his Mémoires d’un témoin (published 1821-22). After a while, Bailly quitted Nantes to join his friend Pierre Simon de Laplace at Melun. He was recognized, arrested and brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal at Paris. On November 12, 1793, he was guillotined.

This sad dénouement serves as another proof of both the unyielding, ferocious, and inhuman psychology of radical parties, and the unwisdom on the part of scholarly individuals to engage in the fanaticism of politics.

A curious fact may be recorded here: When Napoleon seized power on November 9, 1799, he appointed de Laplace with the portfolio of the Interior. The evening of his appointment, the new minister demanded a pension of 2,000 francs for the widow of Bailly. Early the very next morning, Madame de Laplace herself brought the first half-year’s income to “this victim of the passions of the epoch.”

Footnotes

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