Will you kindly explain to me at the first opportunity what you mean by referring to my expression as "an unhappy phrase"? If you asked a friend to draw for the Pioneer a cow, and that friend, starting with the intention of reproducing a cow should, owing to his inability in drawing sketch instead an ox or a buffalo, and the engraving should so appear — perhaps because you were crowded with other work, and had no time to perceive the shortcomings — would you not "exercise your ingenuity" and try your best to set the readers right, to prove to them that in truth a cow was meant by the artist: and confessing your friend's inability, do whatever you could, at the same time, to screen him from unmerited humiliation? Yes, you are right. H. has neither delicacy of perception and feelings, nor any real, genuine kindness of heart. He is one to sacrifice his own family, those nearest and dearest to him (if there are such for him, something I doubt) — for any whim of his own, and he would be the first to allow a hecatomb of victims if he needed one drop of blood; to insist upon the advisability of Suttee if it were the only thing that would keep him warm, help his benumbed fingers to do their work, and he diligently writing a treatise upon some philanthropic subject during that time, and sing sincerely "Hosanna" to himself in his own thought. Exaggeration, you think? Not so; for you have no conception of the potential selfishness there is in him; of the cruel, remorseless egotism he brought back with him from his last incarnation — a selfishness and egotism which remained latent only owing to the uncongenial soil of the sphere he is in, of his social status and education — and we have. Can you believe he wrote his famous article in the Theosophist simply for the reason he gives you — to help break the unavoidable fall? to save the situation, and by answering Davidson and C.C.M., etc. to make the work — of answering in the future and reconciling the contradictions in the past — easier? Not at all. If he sacrifices in it remorselessly H.P.B., and the author of the Review of the "Perfect Way," and shows the "Brothers" as inferior in intelligence to the "educated European gentlemen," and devoid of any correct notions about honesty or right and wrong — in the European sense — selfish and cold, stubborn and domineering — it is not at all because he cares one button for either of you, least of all for the Society; but simply because in view of certain possible events, that he is too highly intelligent not to have fore-shadowed in his mind — he wants to screen himself; to be the only one to come out unscarred if not immaculate in case of a crash, and to dance, if need be, the "death dance" of the Maccabeans over the prostrate body of the T.S. rather than risk one little finger of the great Simla "I am" to be sneered at. Knowing him as we do, we say that Mr. Hume is at perfect liberty to quote the "unhappy phrase" as many times a day as his breath will allow him to, if it can in any way soothe his ruffled feelings. And, it is just because Morya saw through him as plainly as I see my writing before me, that he allowed the "sell" as you call it. Nay more; for the things are so prepared, that in case the "Eclectic" has to sink — he will be the only one to go down with it; the only one laughed at, and thus his selfishness and carefully prepared plans will prove of no avail. Believing he knew better than I did, he was kind and considerate enough to add his explanations to mine in H.P.B.'s answer to C.C.M. — and with the exception of Karma — that he explained correctly enough — made a mess of the rest. And now, the first time I contradict what he says in his article, he will turn round in fury and express his disgust at what he will call my (not his) contradictions. I am sorry to have to — what will appear to you — denounce him. But I must draw your attention to the fact, that nine times out of ten, when he accuses me of having entirely misconceived his meaning — he says, what anyone has a right to regard as a deliberate falsehood.
The instance of E. Levi's186 אהיה אשר אהיה is a good instance. In order to prove me at fault, he had to become an Adwaitee and deny his "moral Governor and Ruler of the Universe," by throwing him overboard "for the last 20 years." This is not honest, my friend, and I do not see any help for it. For who can prove — when he says that the arguments embodied in his letters to me were not the expressions of his own personal belief and opinions, but brought forward simply to answer the probable objections of a theistic public — that it is no better than cheating? With such an intellectual acrobat, ever ready to perform the "grand trapeze," whether in reference to what he states verbally, or — puts on paper, even we have to appear beaten. For the latter we care very little personally. But then he is ever ready to crow victory in his private letters, and even in print. He is willing that we should exist — he is too clever to risk at this hour being caught in a want of sagacity, since he knows through correspondents who are dead against the "Founders" of the actual existence of our Brotherhood — but, he will never submit to the recognition of such powers or knowledge in us, as would render his unasked advice and interference as ridiculous as they are useless; — and he works on that line.
I had no right to suppress the "offensive" article — as you call it, for several reasons. Having allowed our name to be connected with the T.S. and ourselves dragged into publicity, we have to suffer (the verb, a simple figure of speech if you please) — as Olcott would put it "the penalty of our greatness." We must permit the expression of every opinion whether benevolent or malevolent; to feel ourselves picked to pieces — one day; "preached" — on the following, worshipped — on the next; and — trampled down in the mud — on the fourth. Reason No. 2 — the Chohan has so ordained it. And with him this means fresh developments, unexpected results, and DANGER, I am afraid. The two names that you find heading the signatures of the 12 chelas who protest, belong to the confidential chelas of the Chohan himself.187 In this direction there is no more hope for Mr. Hume — consummatum est. He has overdone the thing, and I will never have any more opportunities of pronouncing his name before our venerable chief. On the other hand, the denunciation has done good. The Chohan gave orders that the young Jyotirmoy — a lad of 14, the son of Babu Nobin Banerjee whom you know — should be accepted as a pupil in one of our lamaseries near Chamto-Dong about 100 miles off Shigatse, and his sister, a virgin Yoginee of 18, at the female monastery of Palli. Thus, the Founders will have two witnesses in good time, and will not depend upon the caprice of Mr. Hume to kill and resurrect us at pleasure. As to proving whether we do, or do not know more of the mysteries of nature than your men of Science and your theologians do, it rests with you and those you will select to help you in the important task.