he gross, visible, external form, more
ethereal internal forms are evolved, which are of a longer duration
than the outward physical form, but of which it is not necessary to
speak at present.

At all events, all that we positively know of man, is that he is an
invisible internal power, which evolves an outward shape, which we
call a human being. The material through which the organism is built
up is the blood, and the centre from which the blood flows into all
parts of the body and to which it returns from all parts, is the
heart. The heart is consequently the centre from which that power
which builds up the organism of man emanates, and as this power can be
nothing else but Life, the heart is the centre of life. The heart and
the brain stand in the most intimate relation to each other, and
neither one can continue to live if the other one ceases to act; but
according to the doctrines of the ancient and modern occultists the
heart is of superior importance than the brain. A man may live a long
time without thinking, but he ceases to live when his heart ceases to
beat. The heart is the seat of life, the brain the seat of thought,
but both are equally necessary to enjoy life; there is no intellectual
activity without life, and a life without intelligence is worthless.
That the force which constructs the organism of man emanates from the
heart, appears to me to be self-evident; that the power which guides
this construction emanates from the brain has been demonstrated by Dr.
Buchanan.

[This is quite incorrect. The heart may cease acting, as in
apparent death while the processes of thought and feeling are
going on, and the individual is conscious that he is going to be
buried, but incapable of giving the alarm. On the other hand the
action of the brain may be suspended, as in apoplexy, while the
heart is beating vigorously. In such cases, though the action of
the cerebrum is suspended, the physiological brain or cerebellum
sustains physical life. We cannot say that the heart is superior
to the brain, because it supplies the brain with blood for its
growth, any more than we could say the same of the lungs, which
supply oxygen, without which the action of the brain is speedily
arrested. We might even extend the remark to the stomach and
thoracic duct, which supply the material for making a brain,
which certainly does not prove their superiority. The action of
th