March 
2 1 
1918 
Land & Water 
19 
"The Ambitious Man's Bible." 
This striking phrase occurs in a letter which has come 
to hand from a British military officer, in the course of which 
he mentions that several " very sceptical " brother-officers have 
recently become Pelmanists — impelled to that step by their 
own observation of what the system had achieved for the 
writer. His own opinion is strikingly expressed in the 
phrase " the ambitious man's Bible," which he applies to the 
Pelman books. 
Nothing which could be said upon the subject of the new 
movement, which is to-day reckoning its supporters by the 
hundred thousand, could be of greater significance than the 
frequency with which the sceptic ultimately becomes an 
enthusiastic Pelmanist. 
There are still a considerable number of men and women 
who profess to ignore or disbelieve the published facts anent 
Pelmanism — and this in spite of the unstinted praise which has 
been bestowed upon Pelmanism after investigation by the 
leading journals and by thousands of men and women of all 
occupations who have studied the Course. 
Let the sceptic examine for himself the astonishing records 
of the Pelman Institute, or, better still, let him work through 
only one of the Pelman " lessons," and his scepticism 
vanishes with surprising speed. 
The truth is that it has taken the public a fairly long while 
to appreciate that the faculties of the mind are just as train- 
able as the faculties of the body. To develop efficiency of 
a mental faculty is no more difficult than to develop efficiency 
of any particular group of muscles — always provided that an 
appropriate method of exercise be followed. 
"Pelmanism" is not an occult science. It is free from 
mysticism, it is as sound, as sober, and as practical as the 
most hard-headed "common sense" business man could 
desire. And as to its results, they follow with the same 
certainty with which mus<'ular development follows physical 
exercise. 
It is nowhere pretended, and the inquirer is nowhere led to 
suppose, that the promised benefits are gained "magically," 
by learning certain formuhe, or by the cursory reading of a 
printed book. The position is precisely the same, again, as 
with physical culture. No sane person expects to develop 
muscle by reading a book ; he knows he must practise the 
physical exercises. So the Pelmanist knows that he must 
practise mental exercises. 
"The Finest Mental Recreation." 
"Exercises," in some ears, sound tedious, but every 
Pelmanist will bear out the statement that there is nothing 
tedious or exacting about the Pelman exercises. Indeed, it 
is no exaggeration to say that an overwhelming proportion 
of Pelmanists describe the exercises as "fascinating," "de- 
lightful," "the finest mental recreation I have known." 
Returning to the sceptical man,' it is amusing to find this 
ejaculation in the letter of a military officer : "Can yon tell 
me why I did not take the Pelman Course before ? ' ' 
Set that letter beside the many— literally hundreds — of 
letters in which Pelmanists say, "/ wish I had taken this 
Course years ago," and the reader will form a good conclusion. 
There are thousmds of people of all classes who would 
instantly enrol for a Pelman Course at any cost if they oply 
realized a tithe of the benefits accruing. Here again a 
Pelmanist may be cited in evidence : " If people only knew," 
he says, "the doors of the Institute would be literally besieged 
by eager applicants." 
"We sometimes receive visits from inquirers who express a 
fear that they are ' not clever enough ' to study the Pelman 
Course," remarked the Secretary of the Institute recently. 
"The remark betrays a misunderstanding of the nature 
of the Course. Pelmanism is not severely scientific in form, 
nor is it tediously technical. Otherwise we should not have 
succeeded in interesting (and benefiting) so many thousands 
of men and women. 
"One of the most interesting letters received lately comes 
from a lady in the Midlands, in the course of which she says 
that, being 55 years of age, and being very delicate, she 
had her doubts as to whether she should- take a Pelman 
Course. She resolved to consult her son, a medical prac- 
titioner, who at first laughed at the idea, but promised to 
nuike inquiries. The outcome was a letter from- him. in 
which the doctor wrote : ' Pelmanism ' has got hold of 
me. I have worked through the first lesson and . . . 
I am enthusiastic. His experience tallies exactly with 
that of Sir James Yoxall, M.P., Mr. George R. Sims, and a 
host of other professional men (doctors, solicitors, barristers, 
etc.), who haye admitted that their initial scepticism was 
quickly changed into enthusiasm. 
"The Course is founded upon scientific facts: that goes 
without saying. But it presents those facts in a practical, 
everydayi fashion, which enables the student to apply, for 
his own aims and purposes, those facts without 'fagging' at 
the hundreds of scientific works which he might otherwise 
read without gaining a fraction of the practical information 
and -guidance secured from a few weeks' study of Pelmanism. 
We have students who have studied psychology as a science 
for years, but it remained for the Pelman Course to confer 
practical and beneficial knowledge. 
"The Course, in short is prepared for busy men, and is 
designed to help them in their everyday problems — whatever 
those problems may be. And there is written testimony 
— mountain high — to show that every claim made for 
Pelmanism is completely justified by the voluntary testimony 
of those who have adopted it." 
Everj- day brings its batch of flattering letters. Upon a 
recent morning there came to hand letters of praise from 
the following persons : — \ 
A British General. 
A Chief Justice of the Hith Court of 
2 Flying Officers. 
A Busiaess Manager. 
An Engineer. 
A Woman of Independent Means. 
A Solicitor. 
3 Clerks. 
A Clergyman. 
2 (no occupation stated). 
Fourteen letters !— and that is very far from being a "record" 
day. Let any reasoning man or woman consider that list 
and ask himself or herself whether a system which can evoke 
voluntary testimony from such widely different classes is not 
worth investigation. Who can a ford to hold aloof from a 
movement which is steadily gaining the support of all the 
ambitious and progressive elements in the Empire ? In two 
consecutive days recently two M.P.s and a member of the 
Upper House enrolled. "Run through the current Pelman 
Register, and therein you will find British Consuls, H.M. 
Judges, War Office, Admiralty, and other Government 
officials. University graduates, students, tutors. Headmasters, 
Scientists, Clergymen, Architects. Doctors, Solicitors, 
Barristers, Authors, Editors, Journalists, Artists, Actors, 
Accountants, Business Directors and Managers, Bankers, 
Financiers, Peers, Peeresses, and men and women of wealth 
and leisure, as well as Salesmen, Clerks, Typists, Tradesmen, 
Engineers, Artisans, Farmers, and others of the rank and 
file of the nation. If ever the well-worn phrase "from 
peer to peasant " had a real meaning, it is when applied 
to Pelmanism. 
"A National Asset." 
It is difficult to speak of Pelmanism without enthusiasm. 
To say that the Pelman Institute is doing a great national 
work is no more than the bare truth. The movement is no 
passing craze, but is one which will endure and wax greater 
and still greater as its supreme value comes to be more and 
more understood and appreciated by the mass of the nation. 
Pelmanism is a real national asset, and it possesses the 
further advantage of being a valuable personal asset for 
every man and woman who adopts it, 
Pelmanism is fully explained and described in Mind and 
Memory, which, with a copy of Truth's remarkable report 
on the work of the Pelman Institute, will be sent, gratis 
and post free, to any reader of Land & W.\ter who addresses 
The Pelman Institute, 39 Wenham House, BloomsBury 
Street, London, W.C.i. 
Overseas Addresses: MELBOUUNE. 46 Market Street; TORONTO. 
16 Toronto Street; DURBAN, Club Arcade. 
