etter than _Theosophy_ itself; for it drives home the idea that
the _Wisdom_ is a practical _Way of Life._ Shentao, the Taoism
of the Higher Nature, then, was the primeval religion of the
Chinese;--Dr. De Groot arrives at this, though perhaps hardly
sees how sensible a conclusion he has reached. In the sixth
century B.C. it was in a fair way to becoming as obsolete as
Neoplatonism or Gnosticism in the nineteenth A.D.; and Laotse
and Confucius simply restated some aspects of it with a new force
and sanction;--just as H.P. Blavatsky, in the _Key to Theosophy,_
begins, you will remember, with an appeal to and restatement of
the Theosophy of the Gnostics and Neoplatonists of Alexandria.

It may seem a kind of divergence from our stream of history, to
turn aside and tell stories from the _Book of Liehtse;_ but
there are excuses. Chinese history, literature, thought--
everything--have been such a closed book to the West, that those
scholars who have opened a few of its pages are to be considered
public benefactors; and there is room and to spare for any who
will but hold such opened pages up;--we are not in the future to
dwell so cut off from a third of mankind. Also it will do us
good to look at Theosophy from the angle of vision of another
race. I think Liehtse has much to show us as to the difference
between the methods of the Chinese and Western minds: the latter
that must bring most truths down through the brain-mind, and set
them forth decked in the apparel of reason; the former that is,
as it seems to me, often rather childlike as to the things of the
brain-mind; but has a way of bringing the great truths down and
past the brain-mind by some circuitous route; or it may be only
by a route much more direct than ours. The West presents its
illuminations so that they look big on the surface; you say,
This is the work of a great mind. A writer in the _Times Literary
Supplement_ brought out the idea well, in comparing the two
poetries. What he said was, in effect, as follows:--the Western
poet, too often, dons his singing robe before he will sing;
works himself up; expects to step out of current life into the
Grand Manner;--and unless the Soul happens to be there and vocal
at the time, achieves mostly _pombundle._ The Chinaman presents
his illumination as if it were nothing at all,--just the simplest
childish-foolish thing; nothing in the world for the brain-mind
to get excited about. You take very little notice