The Equinox (Volume I, Number II)

THE EQUINOX And he smiles gently: “ Patient experiment will prove to you that the microscope is reliable.” And I smile gently: “ Patient experiment will prove to you that meditation is reliable.” So there we are. x “Stay not on the precipice with the dross of matter, for there is a place for thine image in a realm ever splendid.” ZOROASTER, “When thou seest a terrestrial demon approaching, cry aloud and sacrifice the stone Mnizourin.”—ZOROASTER. As a boy at school I enjoyed a reputation for unparalleled cowardice; in the world I am equally accused of foolhardiness. The judgment of the boys was the better. The truth is that I have always been excessively cautious, have never willingly undertaken even the smallest risk. The paradoxical result is that I have walked hundreds of miles unroped over snow-covered glaciers, and that nobody (so far as I know) has even attempted to repeat my major climbs on Beachy Head. One may add a little grimly that the same remark applies to my excursions into the regions of the mind, the conscience, and the soul. This bombastic prelude to a simple note on the precautions which I took in my experiments. First, the use of the minutest care in estimating doses. Secondly, the rule never to repeat my experiment before the lapse of at least a month. 54