Note on Rule 5.—­Look for it and listen to it first in your own heart.  At first you may say it is not there; when I search I find only discord.  Look deeper.  If again you are disappointed, pause and look deeper again.  There is a natural melody, an obscure fount in every human heart.  It may be hidden over and utterly concealed and silenced—­but it is there.  At the very base of your nature you will find faith, hope, and love.  He that chooses evil refuses to look within himself, shuts his ears to the melody of his heart, as he blinds his eyes to the light of his soul.  He does this because he finds it easier to live in desires.  But underneath all life is the strong current that cannot be checked; the great waters are there in reality.  Find them, and you will perceive that none, not the most wretched of creatures, but is a part of it, however he blind himself to the fact and build up for himself a phantasmal outer form of horror.  In that sense it is that I say to you—­All those beings among whom you struggle on are fragments of the Divine.  And so deceptive is the illusion in which you live, that it is hard to guess where you will first detect the sweet voice in the hearts of others.

But know that it is certainly within yourself.  Look for it there, and once having heard it, you will more readily recognise it around you.

Note on Rule 10.—­From an absolutely impersonal point of view, otherwise your sight is colored.  Therefore impersonality must first be understood.

Intelligence is impartial:  no man is your enemy:  no man is your friend.  All alike are your teachers.  Your enemy becomes a mystery that must be solved, even though it take ages:  for man must be understood.  Your friend becomes a part of yourself, an extension of yourself, a riddle hard to read.  Only one thing is more difficult to know—­your own heart.  Not until the bonds of personality are loosed, can that profound mystery of self begin to be seen.  Not till you stand aside from it will it in any way reveal itself to your understanding.  Then, and not till then, can you grasp and guide it.  Then, and not till then, can you use all its powers, and devote them to a worthy service.

Note on Rule 13.—­It is impossible to help others till you have obtained some certainty of your own.  When you have learned the first 21 rules and have entered the Hall of Learning with your powers developed and sense unchained, then you will find there is a fount within you from which speech will arise.

After the 13th rule I can add no words to what is already written.

My peace I give unto you. [Greek:  D]

These notes are written only for those to whom I give my peace; those who can read what I have written with the inner as well as the outer sense.

COMMENTS

I

“BEFORE THE EYES CAN SEE THEY MUST BE INCAPABLE OF TEARS.”