1882 .] Occultism Reconsidered . 443 
powers of the imaginary personal God.” We by no means 
wish to brand Occultism as one phase of Atheism, or to 
invoke against it the odium theologicum. But it strikes us as 
somewhat strange that rejeCtors of a personal God should 
yet call themselves “ theosophists ” ! 
A prominent point in the philosophy of the Brotherhood 
is that it dispenses with the notion of time, at least as com- 
monly understood. Says Koot Hoomi : — “ I feel even irri- 
tated at having to use these three clumsy words — Past, 
Present, and Future. Miserable concepts of the objective 
phases of the subjective whole, they are about as ill-adapted 
for the purpose as an axe for fine carving.” 
We come now to the most important point of all — the 
evidences. We find in the work before us most startling 
assertions ; how are they to be verified ? How are we to 
satisfy ourselves that certain recluses in the mountains of 
India and Thibet possess knowledge far beyond that of our 
most gifted investigators, and power which from our point of 
view must appear superhuman ? We are far from asserting, 
or even from wishing to insinuate, that Koot Hoomi is a 
myth, or that Madame Blavatsky, Col. Olcott, and Mr. 
Sinnett are dupes or deceivers. But it cannot be forgotten 
that impostors — e.g., Cagliostro — might make assertions 
quite as strong, and apparently sincere, and advance claims 
quite as lofty as any we find in the “ Occult World.” 
Where, then, are we to look for satisfaction ? Occult Science 
does not appear to have ever aimed at industrial applica- 
tions, or if it has they have been kept concealed, so that one 
class of evidences of necessity fails us. The only proofs 
here brought forward are certain “ feats ” — we take the word 
from Mr. Sinnett himself — said to have been performed. 
These feats as here described are certainly of the most 
remarkable, distinctly out of the power of Open Science to 
produce, and we think beyond the scope of the juggler. 
Thus a picnic was arranged, in the neighbourhood of Simla, 
at which Mr. and Mrs. Sinnett, Madame Blavatsky, and 
three other persons were to have been present. A seventh 
person joined them on setting out, after all the arrange- 
ments had been made and the baskets packed. Whilst 
breakfast was being prepared in the woods it was noticed 
that there was one cup and saucer too few, and some one 
laughingly asked Madame Blavatsky to create another cup 
and saucer. She replied that it would be very difficult, but 
that she would try. She as usual held mental conversation 
with the Brothers, and then wandered about within a radius 
of half-a-dozen to a dozen yards from the spot where the 
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