Chapter I A Verse 52
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creation from nothing of something and the destruction of some­
thing to nothing, exploded with the theory of Phlogiston.1
1 [The “food of fire,” a substance postulated in the 18th century, before 
the discovery of oxygen, to account for combustion.]
It stands plain, even to sceptical reason—indeed, most of all to 
the sceptic—that our talisman, one microscopic serpent of which 
can build for itself such a house as to rule men’s bodies for a 
generation like Alexander, or their minds for an epoch like Plato, 
cannot be destroyed or diminished by any conceivable force.
When this talisman comes forth from its fortress, its action 
begins. The ancient Jewish Rabbins knew this, and taught that 
before Eve was given to Adam, the demon Lilith conceived by the 
spilth of his dreams, so that the hybrid races of satyrs, elves and 
the like began to populate those secret places of the earth which 
are not sensible by the organs of the normal man.
I take it as certain that every offering of this talisman infallibly 
begets children on one plane or another of this our cosmos, whose 
matter is so varied in kind. Such a child must partake of its 
father’s nature; and its character will be determined, partly by the 
environment in which it is bred to manifestation, lives, and ulti­
mately changes in what we call death, and partly by the inmost 
will of the father, perhaps modified to some extent by his con­
scious will at the time of his slipping the leash.
This being so, it becomes tremendously important to a man 
that he should become conscious of his true inmost Will, of his 
essential nature. This is the Great Work whose attainment consti­
tutes adeptship, provided that the consciousness recognizes that 
its own dependence on circumstance makes it no more than a 
troubled image in foul water of the sun which is that Silent Self. If 
such a man wants to develop his powers, he must use this tremen­
dous talisman to create in his own image.
Although this talisman has such miraculous might, it is also 
intensely sensitive. Put in an unsuitable environment, it may pro­
duce grotesque or malignant perversions of its father’s Word. We 
are all aware that fine children are born of healthy mothers who 
are true and worthy mates of their husbands. The children of