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INTRODUCTION
We take great pleasure in presenting to the attention of
students and investigators of the Secret Doctrines this little
work based upon the world-old Hermetic Teachings. There
has been so little written upon this subject, notwithstanding
the countless references to the Teachings in the many works
upon occultism, that the many earnest searchers after the
Arcane Truths will doubtless welcome the appearance of the
present volume. The purpose of this work is not the
enunciation of any special philosophy or doctrine, but rather
is to give to the students a statement of the Truth that will
serve to reconcile the many bits of occult knowledge that
they may have acquired, but which are apparently opposed
to each other and which often serve to discourage and
disgust the beginner in the study. Our intent is not to erect a
new Temple of Knowledge, but rather to place in the hands
of the student a Master-Key with which he may open the
many inner doors in the Temple of Mystery through the main
portals he has already entered.
There is no portion of the occult teachings possessed by the
world which have been so closely guarded as the fragments
of the Hermetic Teachings which have come down to us over
the tens of centuries which have elapsed since the lifetime of
its great founder, Hermes Trismegistus, the "scribe of the
gods," who dwelt in old Egypt in the days when the present
race of men was in its infancy. Contemporary with Abraham,
and, if the legends be true, an instructor of that venerable
sage, Hermes was, and is, the Great Central Sun of
Occultism, whose rays have served to illumine the countless
teachings which have been promulgated since his time. All
the fundamental and basic teachings embedded in the
esoteric teachings of every race may be traced back to
Hermes. Even the most ancient teachings of India
undoubtedly have roots in the original Hermetic Teachings.
From the land of the Ganges many advanced occultists
wandered to the land of Egypt, and sat at the feet of the
Master. From him they obtained the Master-Key which
explained and reconciled their divergent views, and thus the
Secret Doctrine was firmly established. From other lands
also came the learned ones, all of whom regarded Hermes
as the Master of Masters, and his influence was so great that
in spite of the many wanderings from the path on the part of
the centuries of teachers in these different lands, there may
still be found a certain basic resemblance and
correspondence which underlies the many and often quite
divergent theories entertained and taught by the occultists
of these different lands today. The student of Comparative
Religions will be able to perceive the influence of the
Hermetic Teachings in every religion worthy of the name,
now known to man, whether it be a dead religion or one in
full vigor in our own times. There is always a certain
correspondence in spite of the contradictory features, and
the Hermetic Teachings act as the Great Reconciler.
The lifework of Hermes seems to have been in the direction
of planting the great Seed-Truth which has grown and
blossomed in so many strange forms, rather than to
establish a school of philosophy which would dominate the
world's thought. But, nevertheless, the original truths taught
by him have been kept intact in their original purity by a few
men in each age, who, refusing great numbers of halfdeveloped
students and followers, followed the Hermetic
custom and reserved their truth for the few who were ready
to comprehend and master it. From lip to ear the truth has
been handed down among the few. There have always been
a few Initiates in each generation, in the various lands of the
earth, who kept alive the sacred flame of the Hermetic
Teachings, and such have always been willing to use their
lamps to re-light the lesser lamps of the outside world, when
the light of truth grew dim, and clouded by reason of
neglect, and when the wicks became clogged with foreign
matter. There were always a few to tend faithfully the altar
of the Truth, upon which was kept alight the Perpetual Lamp
of Wisdom. These men devoted their lives to the labor of
love which the poet has so well stated in his lines:
"0, let not the flame die out! Cherished age after age in its
dark cavern-in its holy temples cherished. Fed by pure
ministers of love-let not the flame die out!"
These men have never sought popular approval, nor
numbers of followers. They are indifferent to these things,
for they know how few there are in each generation who are
ready for the truth, or who would recognize it if it were
presented to them. They reserve the "strong meat for men,"
while others furnish the "milk for babes." They reserve their
pearls of wisdom for the few elect, who recognize their value
and who wear them in their crowns, instead of casting them
before the materialistic vulgar swine, who would trample
them in the mud and mix them with their disgusting mental
food. But still these men have never forgotten or overlooked
the original teachings of Hermes, regarding the passing on
of the words of truth of those ready to receive it, which
teaching is stated in The Kybalion as follows: "Where fall the
footsteps of the Master, the ears of those ready for his
Teaching open wide." And again: "When the ears of the
student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them
with wisdom." But their customary attitude has always been
strictly in accordance with the other Hermetic aphorism, also
in The Kybalion: "The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to
the ears of Understanding."
There are those who have criticized this attitude of the
Hermetists, and who have claimed that they did not
manifest the proper spirit in their policy of seclusion and
reticence. But a moment's glance back over the pages of
history will show the wisdom of the Masters, who knew the
folly of attempting to teach to the world that which it was
neither ready or willing to receive. The Hermetists have
never sought to be martyrs, and have, instead, sat silently
aside with a pitying smile on their closed lips, while the
"heathen raged noisily about them" in their customary
amusement of putting to death and torture the honest but
misguided enthusiasts who imagined that they could force
upon a race of barbarians the truth capable of being
understood only by the elect who had advanced along The
Path.
And the spirit of persecution has not as yet died out in the
land. There are certain Hermetic Teachings, which, if publicly
promulgated, would bring down upon the teachers a great
cry of scorn and revilement from the multitude, who would
again raise the cry of "Crucify! Crucify."
In this little work we have endeavored to give you an idea of
the fundamental teachings of The Kybalion, striving to give
you the working Principles, leaving you to apply them
yourselves, rather than attempting to work out the teaching
in detail. If you are a true student, you will be able to work
out and apply these Principles-if not, then you must develop
yourself into one, for otherwise the Hermetic Teachings will
be as "words, words, words" to you.
THE THREE INITIATES
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