The seven human temperaments

THEOSOPHY AND THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY THE word Theosophia, derived from two Greek words meaning Divine Wisdom, was coined by the Neo-Platonists in the second century of the Christian era to connote the truths revealed to man by his Evolutionary Elders at the dawn of human life on this planet, and added to, checked and rechecked down to the present day by an unbroken succession of Adept [ Adept. An Initiate of the 5th degree; a Master in the Science of esoteric philosophy; a perfected man; an exalted Being who has attained mastery over the human nature and possesses knowledge and power commensurate with lofty evolutionary stature. This fulfilment of human destiny is thus described by St. Paul : " Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. IV. 13) Certain Adepts remain on earth to assist humanity and are referred to by St. Paul as : " Just men made perfect," (Heb. XII. 23) The Lord Christ similarly described the destiny of man in His words: " Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. V. 48. R. V.)] occult investigators. The full fruits of this dual process have been preserved by the still living Hierophants and Initiates of the Greater Mysteries, in which they were imparted to pledged neophytes alone. In their doctrinal aspect, these mysteries consist of a vast body of teaching which embraces every conceivable subject to which the mind of man can be turned. The fundamental principles of religion, philosophy, art, science and politics are all contained within this wisdom of the ages. From the time of the closing of the Neo-Platonic and Gnostic Schools to the last quarter of the nineteenth century, save for the few alchemists, Kabalists, Rosicrucians, occultly-instructed Mason and the Christian mystics, Theosophy was unknown in the Western world. Before then it was known and studied in various forms by the Platonists, the Pythagoreans, the Egyptians and the Chaldeans, whilst in India and China it has been preserved down the ages in unbroken continuity. It is the wisdom of the Upanishads and the Vedas, the very heart of Hinduism, Taoism and Islam. By means of allegory and symbol it is revealed in the Christian Scriptures, the dead-Ietter reading of which has blinded Christians to their deeper significance. The Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875, a reincarnation of innumerable similar movements in the past, is one of many channels chosen from time to time by the Teachers of the race for the transmission of this Ancient Wisdom to man. Theosophists are offered the opportunity of studying, living and presenting the age-old truths to the world in terms of modern thought.