foreign is the beginning of the triumphant life but knowledge is its consummation Faith reveals the way but knowledge is the goal Faith suffers many afflictions knowledge has transcended Affliction Faith endures knowledge loves Faith walks in darkness but believes knowledge acts in light and knows Faith inspires to effort knowledge crowns effort with success faith is the substance of things hoped for knowledge is the substance of those things possessed faith is the helpful staff of the pilgrim knowledge is the City of Refuge at the Journey's End without faith there will be no knowledge but when knowledge is
acquired the work of faith is finished the life triumphant is a life of knowledge and by knowledge is meant not book learning but Life Learning not superficial facts committed to memory but the Deep facts and truths of life grasped and comprehended apart from this knowledge there is no victory for man no rest for his weary feet no refuge for his aching heart there is no salvation for the foolish except by becoming wise there is no salvation for the sinful except by becoming pure there is no Liberation for man from the turmoil and Troubles of life
but through Divine knowledge reached by the pathway of a pure and blameless life nowhere is their permanent peace except in an enlightened condition of mind and a Pure Life and an enlightened mind are identical but there is salvation for the foolish because wisdom can be acquired there is salvation for the sinful because Purity can be embraced there is Liberation for all men from the troubles and turmoil of life because whosoever Wills to do so whether rich or poor learned or unlearn it can enter the lowly way of blamelessness which leads to perfect knowledge and because
of this that there is Deliverance for the captives and victory for the defeated there is rejoicing in the high places and the universe is glad the man of knowledge being Victorious over himself is Victorious over sin over evil over all the disharmonies of life out of the old Mind marred by sin and sorrow he has framed a new mind glorified by Purity and peace he has died out of the old world of evil and is reborn in a new world where love and faultless law Prevail where evil is not and he has become deathless in
Immortal good anxiety and fear grief and lamentation disappointment and regret wretchedness and remorse these things have no part in the world of the wise they are the shadowy inhabitants of the world of self and cannot five nay they are seen to have no substantiality in the light of wisdom the dark things of Life are the dark conditions of a mind not yet illuminated by the light of wisdom they follow self as the shadow of substance where selfish desires go there they follow where sin is there they are there is no rest in self there is
no light in self and where the Flames of turbulent passions and fires of consuming desires are right the cool Heirs of wisdom and peace are not felt safety and Assurance happiness and Repose satisfaction and contentment joy and peace these are the abiding possessions of the wise earned by right of self-conquest the results of righteousness the wages of a blameless life the substance of a right life is Enlightenment knowledge and the spirit of knowledge is peace to be victorious over self in all the issues of life is to know life as it is in reality and
not as it appears in the nightmare of self it is to be in peace in all passages and not to be stricken with trouble and grief in the common happenings of life as the ripe scholar is no more troubled by incorrect work and lessens imperfectly done and the painful reproof and Punishment formally inflicted by his teachers are left behind forever so the perfected scholar in virtue the wise man and woman the enlightened doer of righteousness is no more troubled with wrongdoing and Folly which are merely the imperfectly accomplished lessons of life and the scourging of
sorrow and remorse have passed away forever the skilled scholar has no more doubt or fear concerning his ability he has overcome and dispersed the ignorance of his intellect he has attained to learning and he knows that he is attained and he so knows because having undergone innumerable tests in the forms of lessons and examinations he has at last proved his skill by passing successfully through the severest tests of scholarship and now he no longer fears but rejoices when severe tests are applied to prove his ability he is capable confident and glad even so the skilled
doer of righteousness is no more troubled with doubt and fear concerning his destiny he has overcome and dispersed the ignorance of his heart he is attained to wisdom and he knows that he has attained and he so knows because where he formally failed and fell when tested by the wrong conduct of others he now maintains his patience and calmness under the severest tests of accusation and reproof herein is the glory and victory of divine knowledge that understanding the nature of Deeds both good and bad the enlightened doer of Good Deeds no longer suffers through the
bad Deeds of others their actions towards him can never cause him pain and sorrow nor Rob him of his peace having taken refuge in good evil can no more reach nor harm him he returns good for evil and overcomes the weakness of Evil by the power of good the man who is involved in bad Deeds imagines that the bad Deeds of others are powerful to do him injury and are filled with Grievous harm against him he is stung with pain and overwhelmed with sorrow not for his own bad Deeds but for the wrong Deeds of
others involved in ignorance he has no spiritual strength no refuge and no abiding peace the man Victorious over self is the true seer he is not the Seer of spirits or supernatural phenomena for such seeing is narrow and illusory he is the Seer of life as it is both in its particular aspects and in its Divine principles The Seer of the spiritual Universe of cosmic law Cosmic Love and Cosmic Liberty the man of knowledge and victory who has shaken off the painful dreams of self has awakened with a new vision which beholds a new and
glorified universe he is the Seer of the Eternal and is blessed with perfect love and endless peace he is lifted far above all sordid desires narrow aims and selfish Love and Hate and being so lifted up he perceives the lawful course of things and does not grieve when overtaken by the inevitable he is above the world of Sorrow not because he has become cold and cruel but because he abides in a love where no thought of self can enter and where the well-being of others is all in all he is sorrowless because he is selfless
he is Serene because he knows that whatever he receives it is good and whatever is taken from him that also is good he has transmuted sorrow into love and is filled with infinite tenderness and abounding compassion his power is not violent ambitious worldly but pure peaceful Heavenly and he is possessed of a hidden strength which knows how to stand and when to bend for the good of others and the world he is a teacher though he speaks but little he is a master yet he has no desire to rule others he is a conqueror but
makes no attempt to subdue his fellow men he has become a conscious instrument for the outworking of cosmic law and is an intelligent enlightened power directing the evolution of the race but this the beginning of a new Epoch let the good news again go forth throughout the world that there is Purity for the sinful comfort for The Afflicted healing for the Brokenhearted and Triumph for the defeated in your heart stained as it is with sin and torn with conflicting desires there is a place of power a citadel of strength you are the dwelling place of
the Supreme good and the scepter of Victory awaits you deepen your Consciousness is the high seat of Empire
