rs begin to hear. Very dimly, very
faintly at first. And, indeed, so faint and
tender are these first indications of the commencement
of true actual life, that they are
sometimes pushed aside as mere fancies, mere
imaginings.

But before these are capable of becoming
more than mere imaginings, the abyss of
nothingness has to be faced in another form.
The utter silence which can only come by closing
the ears to all transitory sounds comes as
a more appalling horror than even the formless
emptiness of space. Our only mental conception
of blank space is, I think, when reduced
to its barest element of thought, that of black
darkness. This is a great physical terror to
most persons, and when regarded as an eternal
and unchangeable fact, must mean to the mind
the idea of annihilation rather than anything
else. But it is the obliteration of one sense
only; and the sound of a voice may come and
bring comfort even in the profoundest darkness.
The disciple, having found his way into
this blackness, which is the fearful abyss, must
then so shut the gates of his soul that no
comforter can enter there nor any enemy. And
it is in making this second effort that the fact
of pain and pleasure being but one sensation
becomes recognisable by those who have before
been unable to perceive it. For when the solitude
of silence is reached the soul hungers so
fiercely and passionately for some sensation on
which to rest, that a painful one would be as
keenly welcomed as a pleasant one. When
this consciousness is reached the courageous
man by seizing and retaining it, may destroy
the "sensitiveness" at once. When the ear no
longer discriminates between that which is
pleasant or that which is painful, it will no
longer be affected by the voices of others. And
then it is safe and possible to open the doors
of the soul.

"Sight" is the first effort, and the easiest,
because it is accomplished partly by an intellectual
effort. The intellect can conquer the
heart, as is well known in ordinary life. Therefore,
this preliminary step still lies within the
dominion of matter. But the second step allows
of no such assistance, nor of any material aid
whatever. Of course, I mean by material aid
the action of the brain, or emotions, or human
soul. In compelling the ears to listen only to
the eternal silence, the being we call man
becomes something which is no longer man. A
very superficial survey of the thousand and
one influences which a