I have said before that the evil elemental beings fear the scientist; and though the scientists fight this plague with material means, yet the force of their will and of their unselfish purpose acts beyond the material base of their operations, extending its influence even into the invisible world of which their objective minds have no knowledge, purifying it with vital air. Yes, all honor to the scientists! _April 26._ LETTER XXXII JUDAS AND TYPHON I HAVE spoken of the crucifixion through which the soul of the race is passing. Now I want to speak of the Judas who betrayed that race for thirty pieces of silver. Reader of this book, whether you are a Jew, a Christian, a Hindoo or a Mahometan, if you know anything at all about the initiatory process of the soul, you must know that the gospel drama--be it historical or legendary, whichever way you choose to take it--is a faithful dramatization of the process of initiation. And in that process the betrayal of Judas is an inevitable part. Without it, the cup of bitterness would not be full, and the cup of bitterness must be full for the soul of the race, the soul of the individual, the soul of the Christ. “My Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?” has been on the lips of many a mangled soldier on this awful Calvary of the race. The heavy cross has been borne all through the toilsome months of the journey from Autumn to Spring, and now in the April time the race has been nailed to the cross for the agony. The crown of thorns is on the bleeding brows, the nails have pierced the hands and feet, the cup of vinegar has been offered, and now on a million lips is the cry, “Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani!” The betrayal of Judas was inevitable, as the deed of Typhon was inevitable. Had it not been for Judas, the story would not be complete. Had it not been for the act of Typhon in slaying Osiris, Horus the Son could not have arisen. And yet in the face of this I stand here--safe behind the veil of the invisible, as some objectors will say--and advise the world to soften the awful punishment of Judas, so far as lies in its power. For did not that One himself say upon the cross, “_Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do_”? Nothing in the Sermon on the Mount, nothing in the sacred records of the East, nothing in the archives of the whole world can compare with those ten words for grandeur and spiritual significance: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” They who now sin against the race, indeed know not _what_ they do. They are drunk with the rage of destruction, maddened by the sub-consciousness of their own guilt; but _what_ they do they cannot know. Only the initiate souls among the Germans even vaguely know what Germany has done. And yet I say, forgive and pity them; for their office is a terrible one, and their suffering will be great.