"Verum est, certum et verissimum, quod est, superius naturam habet inferioram et ascendens naturam descendentis."

Golden Dawn Lectures

Addresses
by Members of the Second Order

RR et AC

(PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL)
Never to be mentioned to any person who is not known to be in the Second Order.

For loan to those who have passed the Portal, and who have been invited
to consider their position, responsibilities, opportunities, before accepting the invitation.

PREFACE
I. — ADDRESS by V.H. Soror Fortiter et Recte.
II. — ADDRESS by V.H. . Frater Levari Occules
III. — ADDRESS by V.H. Frater S.A.
IV. — ADDRESS by V.H. Soror S.S.D.D.
V. — ADDRESS by V.H. Soror Vincit qui se Vincit
VI. — ADDRESS by V.H. Soror Volo
VII. — ADDRESS by V.H. Frater Sub Spe

PREFACE

These Addresses were prepared by the Adepti who are their authors, at the request of the Registrar of the Second Order. They do not disclose one iota of the teachings of the Second Order, but they clearly point out the direction of such teaching, and they dwell upon the physical, mental, psychic and spiritual needs required for such as enter the Path under the Hermetic System.

It was felt, that although the subjects of each of these Addresses was almost the same, yet, the peculiar character of each writer was manifest, and this variety in harmony would point out that, although absolute unity in acceptance of teaching is insisted upon, yet, that the Temple contained room for individuals of very varied attainments.

ADDRESS BY V.H. F.E.R. 5°=6°

The Philosophus must look matters straight in the face, and consider whether he be strong enough in mind and body, not only to perform all the real duties of his worldly position as well or better than when he entered the Order, but, in addition, to undertake work which will gradually occupy all his leisure.

The studies in the Second Order are not only such as take much time to pursue, but they demand real thought and consideration. Not only is there much to be learned intellectually, but, in addition, the spiritual faculties must be deliberately cultivated: not by themselves alone, in a mediumistic fashion but on the solid basis of what has been taught in the Outer.

That Outer knowledge is the foundation for future training, though only the foundation. For, once past the Portal, much more will be expected of the student.

No power, no Grade need be expected unless it is earned. Magical gifts can only be claimed by those who have strained every nerve to attain unto them, in the right way, and for purest motives. Motives which are not evil in themselves, yet instead of being perfectly pure, are tainted by worldliness and vanity, will not be good enough for a real Adept. True Adeptship is the only aim worthy of our earnest struggles, and we must be prepared to make any sacrifice.. No actual sacrifice of goods or time is demanded- nor is an ascetic life. But, unless we are willing to sacrifice money, we cannot expect to make progress.

Personal cultivation on all planes is useful, the well educated Frater or Soror has great advantages. The self control gained by little things in social life is a useful weapon and when carried on to higher planes it becomes a source of strength.

A member of the Second Order must not compare himself mentally or morally with those in the outer world. Not that he must despise them but rather he must use every effort to live in such a way, that the example he sets may be a good one to all those with whom he comes in contact.

Our standard of Honour, of Morals, of self-respect, and trustworthiness must be higher than those of other people. We must act so uprightly that nothing we can do can be such as we should wish to hide from those we revere most. Of course this does not imply anything like a confession of our private affairs, but however private they may be, we must not be ashamed of our own conduct when we remember our high aims and our great opportunities. If we strive to live such a life, we shall begin to prove ourselves worthy of greater privileges. But, unless our lives be purified as far as in us lies, - our spiritual efforts must be tainted by weakness and selfishness

If real duties keep the Philosophus from very severe study, let him remember that the humblest work well done, and for highest motives, is a good preparation for future progress. A real desire and determination in the spirit, not only to seize but to make opportunities, will conquer in the end.

But the duties must be carried out bravely at first and then the reward will come. What those duties are, must be settled by each one, - not by regarding what will be expected by those with whom he is connected by family or social ties, but from as high a standpoint the Philosophus can reach mentally in his best moments.

Fortiter et Recte. February 18, 1894.

ADDRESS BY V.H. FRATER L.O.

It is of course assumed that every one who has made sufficient progress to enter the Second Order, is a bona fide occult student. Such an one, as I understand it, derives his impetus to the Within and the Beyond from those Instincts which we call respectively Religious and Scientific: - the yearning hunger of the Soul for Peace and Understanding. It is in this union of head and heart alone that true motive to further advancement should lie.

Let each one examine the motives which prompt the step to be taken, and be well assured that these are indeed engendered of the Higher Soul. "For except ADONAI build the House, his labour is in vain that build it". Motives of curiosity only, a desire for personal stature, or, to attain for the sake of attainment, these will never help you towards the clear air and the Blessed Vision. An exalted vow of benevolence is not lightly to be undertaken by the man whose word is law to his members and if your Logos be impotent you will strive to no purpose. If the occult life is the greatest enterprise open to mortal, it certainly demands the whole man. It is written of him who makes assent to the divine summits with unhallowed lips and unwashed feet, that of such an one, -"the impulses are vain, the progressions are imperfect, and the Paths are dark".

What the student deliberately undertakes, is to impose the ideal of his own divinity upon the formless and void of his lower nature, a task rendered possible only through contact with the higher genius, that sublime monitor, whose directions must be looked for and acted upon. It therefore appears to me of paramount importance that each one should pause at the Portal to earnestly consider that beyond lies a Path of steep ascent,- a via Dolorosa truly but the way of most excellent choice. It is followed by Kings and High Priests, Kings who rule their Kingdom, - High Priests who serve their own Divinity. But, unless in your own soul the Ideal be imminent, it is wiser to refrain.

Beware how you enter the immeasurable region! For, once the Zone of prescription penetrated, the old and familiar paths deserted, the whole energies of the lower nature rise up to protest, thoughts takes form, seeking to fetter the soul, and the unhallowed past rushes in to overwhelm, rallied by all the devils of the underworld. If, however, you are prepared to live with an eye to the ideal of human progression, to become an architect of spiritual life then lift with a strong hand the veil of the tabernacle and invoke the Eternal Witness.

What remains to add respecting the qualifications necessary for further progress? Need it be said that the vulgarity which has engendered the coarse morality of life is to be superseded and give place to a finer culture? Surely this is the A.B.C. of all true occultism and needs no enforcement from me?

The further development before you involves both intellect and spiritual perception: The one being the compliment of the other. The interior unfoldment is not at all necessarily inherent in the nature of any special individual. It is perhaps more strongly marked by developed by perseverance and will. "Remember that every obstacle can at length be conquered by Perseverance." For, as the Oracles say, "Unto the Persevering Mortal the Blessed Immortals are swift."

It is, however, well to bear in mind that erudition and spiritual perception are distinct. That some predominate in the one, and some in the other.. Though, when these qualities are blended, a most happy combination results. Erudition is the product of civilisation and to be gained either from books or the experiences of others. Spiritual perception is the capacity of receiving illumination upon any subject to which the attention is directed through direct cognition. This latter faculty is dual in operation, for intuition may be said to function either immediately, through divine reflection, or through the agency of spiritual beings.

The chief difficulty before you is to learn to foster this child of phantasy, to develop your own spiritual perception and the frame of mind has often to be broken before the condition necessary to growth is established, for crystallised habits of thought, received ideas, and established prejudices are too often the source of restriction and hinder the free expression of our nobler being.

What, therefore, you are asked to do, is to fling away as far as possible the conventional methods of the Age, to discover in the Ideal the source of your inspiration, - to make a humble appreciation of the Truth the criterion of sincere desire, - so, the Light will grow clearer, until at last it shall become the Infinite Light, the LUX, AUR.

Levari Occules, 5°=6°

ADDRESS BY V.H. FRATER S.A.

Your instruction in the several Grades of the G.D. in the Outer, have been intellectual exercises in the symbolism of the mediaeval and ancient occult science: they have been to many of you apparently barbarous, and without use. Permit me to assure you that the Knowledge Lectures contain only such information, as is truly valuable, and indeed quite necessary, before further progress is made. As one passes on, into Higher Grades, every statement made in them, and all the wisdom partially revealed in the Rituals, will be found to form an essential whole of a concrete and finely designed System of Philosophy.

You have been informed that the Chiefs have invited you to make further progress, but let me beg of you not to accept that invitation until you feel confident that not only the facts, as arranged, have been appreciated by you, but that in addition, you have in your mind sorted and re-sorted them, and have found a certain coherence between the many symbols laid before you. But it is not only an intellectual study of these pages which is needed, - it is hoped that you have to some extent clothed the dry bones with life and force, and have been able to spiritualise and idealise the Names and Forms and Symbols laid before you, for it is especially to the psychic and then to the spiritual planes of thought and formation that you will be in future led. Intellectual grasp alone will prove but a broken reed, in your hands in the higher Grades. No real progress will be made unless you cultivate the Ideals of objects rather than their materiality, and unless you can realize the forces which surround you, which you absorb and which you may learn to wield.

For this new development of yourself two requirements are essential, - a clean life and an indomitable Will. If you have these two essentials all other things will be added unto you. By a clean life, passed in the whirl of sin and folly, I mean that you shall formulate an ideal of rectitude of life, and action, and a purity of thought and intention. No one can do more in this direction than this but you can do more than you have, - unless, indeed, you have no need to come to us!

For all your endeavours be honest to yourself, - and don't wink at your faults. Recognise them, condemn them, and pass them by, - never brood over them. Do every action for a good and noble purpose, and when done, never mind the result. If you have done a good deed and evil has resulted, trouble not,-you are not the ruling providence and you cannot expect to understand all the inter-actions between yourself and others, which some call providence, others Fate, others destiny. Others Karma. If your intentions are good, the result cannot fail to be good to you on one plane or the other. If you carry out this dictum you will have much more time to spend with energy upon other works than will those who waste time and force upon regrets which are alike vain and useless,- and a besetting weakness, prompting to neglect of action, to passivity and to personal decay.

Never attempt to make any one think you better than you are! Self hypocrisy is a crime, hypocrisy to others is only a fraud. Temperance, continence, and self-sacrifice are all grand characteristics, and form part of a higher life, but self gratulation upon their acquisition renders them valueless in your career, and they become but as tinkling symbols (cymbals?) instead of a sound of music from the spheres.

Modern civilization, and the manners of good society are things rotten to the core, to be unconventional will be sign of improvement if you desert a common rule for a better practice, but beware lest you desert some commonly approved rule or practice only for a personal fancy,- for of this new departure you have had no experience, and if that thing were practiced by all, an even worse result might occur. It is on such a point as this that the experience gained by those who have already sought the Path may avail you. I must warn you that you cannot be orthodox as orthodoxy now goes. (See paper by S.S. at the end, on this point.) Retire at once if you must be so, and this chiefly because the keynote of the faith of the nation in which you have been bred is "Trust in another." By self-reliance alone can any progress be made.. An Hermetic Master is a guide post, not a walking stick, no senior among us will let you lean on him. He will only show you a few steps of the way he has passed, and you must not pass even that way if your higher senses tell you that such is not for you. For the Paths are many, but there is one goal to which all good Paths lead. Many Paths are good, and end in happiness, which is wisdom, but every good path is toilsome, steep, and often rugged, and if you find yourself treading a path of thought and action which is pleasant and easy, - Beware Thereof! And take counsel with your Higher Self, lest you are self deceived, and you are but wandering in a labyrinth with flowery borders, which conceal perchance many noxious animals, snares and foot-traps.

Be not ambitious in the world's sense, strive for self culture not that you may be able to surpass your fellows, but work as they do who are ambitious. Sin and even death are alike avoidable, - the latter within limits. "Man doth not yield himself unto the angels, nor unto death utterly,- save only through the weakness of his feeble mind." Cultivate a healthy mind and body, and so can you cultivate a powerful Will. Will is a plant of illimitable growth, but it will not grow wild, it must be forced. Never drift with the tide, decide upon every occasion, always act, never suffer a thing to occur. Every failure to stand on your own basis, every time you lean on another, every hope for others help, will sap the foundations of Will power.

Look unto the Master Jesus if you will, with reverence, with admiration, with gratitude in, that His history, His life and His teachings have led you to recognize holiness and purity, but look not to Him or any other to save you if you will not save yourself. He has shown an excellent Path, attempt it. But do not cling to His garments, He is an example, not a beast of burden. Substituted service is a weakness and a failure. Salvation by faith alone in any GOD or any man is a chimera, or fatal delusion. If these sayings are hard unto you, come not with us,- Delay. In hope of increased strength and clear insight into analogies between Man, Microcosm , and the Universe, the Macrocosm: which passes up to the Divinest Essence we can conceive and beyond it. In the Second Order we are still very human, we are attempting to be ultra-human, i.e. divine. If you enter, then, you must be in thought and practice like an angel, one who has passed beyond contrast worship (?). Unless, while with us, you can conceive and act as both a sister and a brother at once, you will become a curse to yourself and a stumbling block unto us, unless you can forget your sex,- by the Holy Tetragrammaton, I beseech you to be absent. We do not ask you to be unsexed in your private life, that is a stage necessary only in a far advanced Grade, to which few may reach. But in our Order this qualification is an absolute necessity, or you will get no encouragement to proceed further than the threshold. If you can promise this attitude, you may attempt: beware a first failure, it may end in your failure in this incarnation, and in others,- but it might be overcome. When I think of my experience, I am tempted to say, retire while there is yet time. The occult burden is not light. It is not easy to bear.

Be warned in time, for the higher you rise, the more terrible the fall, if you fall. So fare.

S.A.

ADDRESS BY VH. S.S.D.D.

Those who enter the 5°=6° Grade of the G.D. should undergo a total change of ideal. I suppose the lowest unit of the human race forms a dim conception that his condition is perfect: this desire for better things takes the vague form of wishing to be happy: the necessities of existence alternate, with desultory longings, for a different state of things, fill his entire life. In a higher stage of development, he will begin to formulate his desires, he will wish for pleasure of some particular kind, and set his mind working to obtain his half formed ideal of pleasure. He will wish to be loved, to be admired, to have power and wealth, and his life will pass in pursuit of such chimeras as these.

In a still higher stage he will cease to wish merely to obtain pleasures from others, he will desire to make his hold on the world around him more real, he will wish to be worthy of love, to be worthy of honour and power. This ambition takes the place of the less worthy aims of the unaspiring man. To gain his end now he has to alter and improve himself, to study some art day and night, to bend all his thought to the aim which has made his life tolerable for him, and long for fruition to his labour. In a higher stage than this he finds such labour brings no fruition of the kind he hoped for and that, to the most successful man on earth all is vanity.

You, who now aspire to penetrate the veil of our Order, may or may not have passed through one or more of the four stages, but until you have passed them all, the struggle for Adeptship will be a sore labour to you. And the grief of it may be more than you can bear. Those who have tasted the joys and sorrows of life in this and other incarnations, only, are fit to renounce them in good faith. And it is to these who have found how little the world can give them, that we can give the fullest welcome, and whose hopes within the veil will be brightest.

For those who penetrate that mystery, the question is no longer between virtue and vice, between duty and pleasure, between good of others and good of self, but that supreme question — am I doing all that I can during the short time I have on earth to hasten the time when the flesh and the spirit shall cease to be at enmity? Is my life in accordance with the aim I have set before me of becoming the master of my life and of my being? Am I willing to make my body the instrument of my highest self? In one word, Am I am aiming to become an Adept? Think of the petty cares and thoughts that fill so great a part of your lives, think of the brief moments when you are conscious of the God-power within you. Think of the waste of years you will have to travel through before you can actually unite yourself to that God-power so that every action of your daily life shall alone be to its glory, and tremble at the task you are undertaking.

Yet, do not trouble, for in this path alone lies safety. The celestially directed Will is the only Will that can find its way in the Night of Eternity. It is the only way in which there lurks no fear of death and the devil. If we keep our bow bent and the arrow of our Will pointed upwards, our liberated soul can pass onwards through the paths without fear or failure, but woe unto those who wander in the outer darkness, for theirs shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It being then set forward that the aim of the Second Order is of such high and holy mystery, how small must appear to the true Adept our little cares and worries of every day life. Holding his life in his hand, knowing that he is preparing an eternal dwelling for his soul, what do life or death, riches or poverty, love or hatred matter to him? The Light of his ennobled life shines from him, and those who have kindred aims will see in him a companion in the pathway of light, but to others, still sunk in the ties of the flesh, he will appear hateful; he will be regarded as unsympathetic, cold and heartless. This he must be prepared for, his family will probably reproach him more for austere virtue, than for the most vicious excesses, practiced in a genial and "hail fellow well met" manner. Alas, the deception which the most serious people practice upon themselves and others will be clear as day to him. All the complacency of the most convinced hypocrite will not hide from the Adept the secret vices which such hypocrisy prevents the sinner from recognising as such, and for a time he may stand in danger of being filled with contempt and loathing of his kind. Happily the clearness of vision which enabled him to detect the inmost faults of others is turned into the same luminous brilliance on his own shortcomings, and his life is spent in one long struggle to keep the mirror of his own soul spotless: that it may reflect clearly the awful brilliance of that which is on high.

So, for the Adept, the ties of family life fall into insignificance, before the conception of the Holy Ones, whose conversation is granted to those who ceaselessly aspire to that kingdom where family and sex shall be no more. In the working of our Order, we endeavor that our mutual lives shall, in some faint degree, symbolize that life of the higher planes. Therefore is there no distinction of sex among us. A man will not say to a man what he is ashamed to say to a woman. Fratres and Sorores meet together for studies of such pure nature that it is hoped no disturbing element appertaining to the animal kingdom will ever gain access to our assemblies. All who are invited to join us are earnestly enjoined while they are within our walls, to forget everything except the great fact that they are spiritual beings, using a body as a means of manifestation.

Be one with your spiritual self and you will be conscious of that true centre of the Universe where there is neither male nor female, and where the Material is gathered into the Spiritual.

S.S.D.D. February 18, 1894.

(Praemonstratrix of Isis.)

ADDRESS BY V.H. SOROR V.Q. S.V.

It is most desirable that members of the 4°=7° who desire to proceed further should have the situation placed before them. Disillusions, disappointments, waverings and change of opinions may arise from misconception, false expectations, or ignorance of what is necessary for a Member of the Second Order.

To all who propose taking this next step, I would say "Pause." Even accepted by the Chiefs, examine yourselves rigorously, more rigorously than they do, and let no criticism be so severe as your own. Many have erroneously thought that no more study was expected in the Second Order, and have proposed to themselves to lay aside for ever one or more of the subjects which were uncongenial in the past. This is a complete misapprehension. The work in the First Order is mere child's play compared to that required in the Second. In the former, perseverance and a good memory alone, were needed, in the latter, mind is necessary in addition to these. Not only must every subject be kept constantly in mind,- but thoroughly understood and assimilated. Not a single fact or Name learned before should be forgotten, and the necessity for this should be intelligently felt. Besides the subjects of the past, new ones are opened out in every direction, for future study. Constant study alone seems able to cope with them. And for constant study many things are required: leisure, privacy, opportunity, good health, and without these it seems vain to expect any progress, and too few of us can command these.

On good health special stress should be laid, for many reasons which cannot be entered into here,- but it is self evident that to scale the tremendous mountain before us, vitality, energy and physical strength are required.

No gift is suddenly conferred upon you on becoming 5°=6° as has been erroneously supposed, each must work out his own salvation with infinite patience, and can only be assisted when he faints by the way, by the example of the Chiefs of the Order, shining before him in the darkness. They can only point out the pathway, but each one must tread it alone, and slowly and laboriously raise himself by his own efforts. Expect nothing, be satisfied with little attention to yourself, learn to sink your own personality, and be content if only one in the whole were chosen, it would show what was possible to humanity to attain unto, and prevent Hope from being extinguished. If we look upon ourselves as one body, not as separate members, we shall rejoice at any one's success as our own. The solemnity of the next step must be considered and on no account must it be taken with a light heart, even if the candidate be undaunted by the mere hard work of the future. Far better were it to remain content with belonging to the First Order of the Rosicrucian Society only, and not to take on the high responsibilities of the Second Order. For, in this, one's unworthiness strikes one as it never has before, and life must become a constant struggle to keep the high ideal ever present. Humility and faith are, above all, are necessary, for a time one must be content to reserve one's judgment, and not to consider anything trivial or useless. Much must be taken on trust, the teachings of our exalted Order, must be accepted even if hardly understood at first.. The more we know of the Chiefs the more we feel we can take them as our authority, but we must trust them implicitly until light begins to dawn in our darkness. If we feel in ourselves a carping, arguing, or criticising spirit, we had better leave the Second Order alone, as an entry into it may only bring bitterness and regret. We must eradicate all previous opinions and ways of thought, and come as little children to be taught. In this humble spirit only is it possible to see behind symbols and formulae. The greatest among us is also the most humble, and who knows, that some of the more ignorant and backward are also the most presumptuous and self-satisfied.

Considering the many requirements necessary and mentioned in these few lines, not to speak of the self-control , purity of life and unworldliness, - without which characteristics all is as "sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal," — it seems far better that most members should remain in the First Order, only, and not undertake a task beyond their powers. Now, these words must not be taken as dictated by arrogance or supposed superiority, as the member who writes them might well have hesitated longer had difficulties and responsibilities of the Path been more clearly understood before, or as plainly pointed out to her as she is now endeavouring today to do to you. But as some members of the G.D. have joined the Second Order without selfexamination, and so found its duties irksome to them, and that they were unfit for the Order, and so have suffered disappointment, it is considered desirable that as much light as is allowable shall be thrown on what goes on behind the veil and that none should take the step in utter ignorance.

Vincit qui se Vincit

ADDRESS BY V.H. SOROR VOLO 5°=6°

You are now on the eve of the most important step that so far in your lives you have ever taken. If you are not so deeply and thoroughly versed in Occult Knowledge that you are not already aware of this, it is of the utmost importance to you that you should be made to realize it, as far as mere words can go, before you take this step. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon you that no matter what your lives have been, the events which you may look back upon as having had the gravest effect on you, are as nothing compared with the deliberate resolve that sets the feet in the first step of the Path that leads up to that prodigious mountain, whose summit is lost in cloud. Pause, and think of it. Think of the awful solemnity of this Portal before which you stand. It means that your old easy life is at an end, not that your outward life need necessarily be altered, except in showing a brighter example, a larger sympathy, a higher morality: but as you now seek to quit the Outer and draw aside the veil of the Inner of our Order, so, must you strive to live the higher life.

Root out and destroy, with a firm hand and a constant and firm vigilance, all those faults and weaknesses which you know of and acknowledge to your inner self. The very highest ideal that each one individually can picture to himself is but as a dim flickering light compared to that insupportable Brilliance that is in the Divine Self, and yet that poor light is all you have to guide you. So you must cling to it, act upon it, in all your daily life and actions keep it hourly in your view.

Are you prepared for this? Think of the courage, the fearlessness, the indomitable Will, the untiring patience, the humility of mind, and the steadfast faith you must cultivate and acquire. You must have done with all regrets, with tears, with sorrow, with personal wishes and gains. If you have given way to weakness of any sort, don't stop to look back, the way is long and the time is short, rise up and push on, your stumbles will be all the fewer. If worldly troubles surround you, face them calmly, they will add to your strength. Continually realize that you are stronger than any adversary, that nothing can break or bend you, that within you is the Godpower, and that there can be nothing for you to fear. Just as muscles are trained by constant use to bend iron if the strong man wills, so can the muscles of the true, the spiritual man, be trained by patience and faith.

But, added to this new life which you must live, there is another important point to be put before you. You must be prepared to give up much to study, no matter how busy your life may be, you must make time: for you need to cultivate all your intellectual powers in the future. There is much learning in store for you. If you think that you have got through your examinations and that now all is plain sailing and powers are to be conferred upon you,- I tell you plainly that all you have learned in the Paths through which you have passed, is but child's play to that which is to come. You are put into the way and helped to a certain extent but you must fight every inch of it yourself. Though we are so closely bound together, yet, in a sense each of us stands alone, therefore all the more reason for you to pause now, and leave us forever at the eleventh hour, if you do not feel within yourself the capability of that strength and confidence and power that speaks clearly to you of that Divine Self towards which you strive. If you have one doubt or faint suspicion of your own motives, if curiosity , or a society attraction towards dabbling in the Occult has been your motive, hitherto, above all, if you are not pure in heart, or willing from this day earnestly to strive to become so„ I say emphatically, and sternly, do not DARE to advance beyond this Portal! Go, while there is yet time, our Order is not for you.

But to you, whose watchword is purity, and longing is great, I say, take the plunge fearlessly, you must win if you Will. Every bold step that you take adds strength for a yet bolder one. You cut yourself off for ever from a life of material pleasure and success, and you care nothing, you are now borne on till you could not turn if you would, bound for that boundless and infinite summit, where stands the God-man-, the true Adept.

VOLO 5°=6°.

ADDRESS BY V.H. S.S.

(A few words on the foregoing addresses, by V.H. Frater Sub Spe Addressed especially to Members of the Catholic Church of Christ, who have passed the Portal.)

After the luminous and most excellent addresses of my very honoured Fratres and Sorores, which have preceded, it seems almost superfluous that I should add a single word. And I do so only because that I fear that some misapprehension may be caused to my brother Churchmen who arrive at the point where they have passed the Portal, and also to some of my V.H.Fratres and Sorores of this Order. For the former may, perhaps, feel a doubt whether their obligations to their Church will allow them to proceed further, and the latter may doubt whether an orthodox Churchman can possibly lie in peace in the Second Order. Indeed, my V.H. Frater S.A. (every word of whose address I endorse with all my heart) says plainly "you cannot be orthodox, as orthodoxy now goes", - and according to his interpretation of the word, which is the common and popular interpretation, he is wholly right. But according to the interpretation which is that of the Church and of Churchmen it is not so. In this sense, so far from saying you cannot be orthodox, I would say to any Churchman, you must be orthodox or the Second Order is no fitting place for you.

Those who are not Christians, or not Churchmen, have their own standards of ideal excellence, and such will find ample food for thought and self examination in the addresses of my V.H. Fratres and Sorores. But, in order to explain what I mean by Orthodoxy, and promising that everyone, Christian and non-Christian, must earnestly strive after his or her highest possible Ideal, I would ask you to rigorously to enquire of yourselves, are you prepared to strive your very hardest to live such a life of ideal purity and self sacrifice as the Master enjoined? Purity not only of outward act, but even more essentially purity of thought? Also brotherhood of thought, so that an unclean or uncharitable thought, a thought of anger or unkindness towards any human soul, shall be to you as a sin and a thing to be ashamed of, and repented of as much as if it had been manifested in act. Are you prepared to follow your highest ideal of earthly goodness, or of the goodness which in an earthly body it is conceivably possible to attain, that Ideal which we Christians see in Christ our Master? Though it involves the sacrifice of lands and goods and money, of father, mother, or wife and children? Will you do this for your highest Ideal? Will you even, if need be, lay down your life, where you see the clear call of duty and the beckoning hand of the Master?

Again, you have been taught as Christians, that there are in the world around you powers and intelligences beyond the ken of the physical senses and what is called the supernatural and miraculous is all around you. Have you believed this, or have you refused to accept anything save on the authority of your own senses? You have been taught that it is necessary to believe some things on the authority of the Chiefs of that body to which you have given your adherence, even though you found it, for the time being, impossible to understand: Know then, that in the Second Order, you will find both of them. You find yourself called on to credit things which cannot be verified by the physical senses. Nay, you have already, in the First Order, been to some extent called on to credit such. You will be called on, as you have been called on already, in the First Order, to accept as authoritative, the teachings you receive, although you understand them not, and neither to cavil nor to argue about them. If you have refused to believe or accept the teachings of similar nature of the Church you profess to belong to, what hope is there of that you will be teachable in the Second Order? Again, you have been taught that to obtain the good things promised to the believers in Christ, you must first live the Christ-life, - be partakers of death- that you may be partakers of His Resurrection, and this you must do yourself. You are taught by the Church to follow Him, not that He will carry you without your own effort. Hence, if you will be a Christian, and not orthodox, i.e.- if you follow the Hermetic teaching, condemned by the Church,- that a mere expression of belief in Christ, with no evidence in act or personal effort, is enough,-then, of a surety, you will find nothing congenial in the Second Order, and you had better go no further.

Again, you have been taught that the priests of the Church, by virtue of their office in ritual and ceremony represent the Master, they are no longer to be looked upon as men, but as divine figures, emerged from behind the veil, bearing divine gifts to those who have faith to receive them. It is unorthodox and a heresy to say that the powers of Christ and His Church depend upon the goodness or virtue or knowledge of the priests. The very words and ceremonies which bless and comfort others, may pronounce the priest's own condemnation. Indeed it has been said, that a greater advance is to be seen in a worshipper who can discern the Divine grace in an unworthy priest, who is, as it were, but an ill-drawn symbol, the defects of which must be supplied by the worshipper's own inner knowledge and spirituality. Even so you will be taught to regard the officers of our Order. They must not be fallible men to you when they are engaged in their ceremonial office. If you have not been able thus to regard the priests of your Church, what chance is there that you will properly regard the officers of our Order? I believe that what my V H. Frater S.A. means by orthodoxy is what I should call conventional Christianity, and against this, with all my soul, I warn you.

If you are of that type of Christian who goes to Church because it is respectable or fashionable or looks well, or sets an example to the ignorant, or, because your wife or your husband likes it and you feel vastly superior all the time, you may be a conventional Christian, and you are a hypocrite. If you are a Christian it is because it is too much trouble to be anything else, or because it is such a saving of trouble just to say you believe in Christ, and then cast all your misdeeds, all your impurities, all your selfishness on Him and profess to believe it must be all right, because you are one of the elect.

If you think that Christianity means making the best of both worlds, and is an easy going kind of religion, you may be a conventional Christian, for this is the Christianity which at the bottom is all the bulk so-called Christians have got,- but remember that you are not orthodox, and do not profane a noble word and a name to be proud of, by calling yourselves so. Also, if you are Christians of this type, unless you are prepared to quit the material and seek the spiritual, and to abandon your old orthodox way, the Second Order is not for you. Return to your Church in the world, and make the most of its material advantages. The Scribes and Pharisees in the time of Christ were what my V.H. Frater calls orthodox, but Christ said to them and says to us:- "Except your Righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of God".

Such are, I think, the characteristics which a Christian Churchman should have, who aspires to the Second Order. I say not that he should attain to it,- few indeed are those who can do that,- but he should realize its possibility and never cease to strive towards it. He must never say, "this is too hard for me" or "I must put it off for another incarnation." He must not be daunted by falls and failures but pull himself up, and go straight on. Here and now must he strive incessantly after his highest ideal. We, who call this Ideal by the Name of Christ and who find the indications of the Path in His Church, call the striving after orthodoxy, and to such as strive in this way and mean to go on, I say, accept with humble gratitude the invitation of the Masters and Chiefs of our Order who will prove a source of help and blessing to you,- beyond anything you can, at present, conceive.

Sub Spe. 5°=6°

[ » Primary Source: Golden Dawn Lectures - Addresses by Members « ]