The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Earthquakes were the result of disturbances in this universal sea. Since Thales was an Ionian, the school perpetuating his tenets became known as the Ionic school. He died in 546 B.C. and was succeeded by Anaximander, who in turn was followed by Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, and Archelaus, with whom the Ionic school ended. Anaximander, differing from his master Thales, declared measureless and indefinable infinity Anaximander called this the apeiron, an early concept of a boundless primordial substance. to be the principle from which all things were generated. Anaximenes asserted air to be the first element of the universe; he claimed that souls and even the Deity itself were composed of it.

Anaxagoras (whose doctrine suggests a form of atomism) held God to be an infinite, self-moving mind. He believed that this divine, infinite Mind—not

A complex, heart-shaped diagram labeled "Babbitt's Atom." The illustration shows a highly intricate structure of spiraling and looping lines forming a bulbous, symmetrical shape. At the top, a label reads "NEGATIVE END" with small vertical lines indicating energy or flow, and at the bottom, a similar label reads "POSITIVE END." The interior is filled with various patterns of flow and vibration.

From Babbitt's Principles of Light and Color.

Since the postulation of the atomic theory by Democritus, many efforts have been made to determine the structure of atoms and the method by which they unite to form various elements. Even science has not refrained from entering this field of speculation and presents for consideration most detailed and elaborate representations of these minute bodies. By far the most remarkable conception of the atom evolved during the last century is that produced by the genius of Dr. Edwin D. Babbitt, which is reproduced here. The diagram is self-explanatory. It must be borne in mind that this apparently massive structure is actually so minute as to defy analysis. Not only did Dr. Babbitt create this form of the atom, but he also contrived a method whereby these particles could be grouped together in an orderly manner, resulting in the formation of molecular bodies.

enclosed in any body—is the efficient cause The primary agent or force that produces an effect. of all things. He argued that out of infinite matter consisting of similar parts, everything was made according to its species by the divine mind; when all things were first confusedly mingled together, the Mind came and reduced them to order. Archelaus declared the principle of all things to be twofold: mind (which was incorporeal non-physical or spiritual) and air (which was corporeal physical or material). He believed the thinning and thickening of the air resulted in fire and water, respectively. The stars were conceived by Archelaus to be burning iron plates original OCR: "places"; historical context suggests "plates" or "masses.". Heraclitus (who lived from 536 to 470 B.C. and is sometimes included in the Ionic school), in his doctrine of change and eternal flux, asserted fire to be the first element and also the state into which the world would ultimately be reabsorbed. He regarded the soul of the world as an exhalation from its humid parts, and he declared the ebb and flow of the sea to be caused by the sun.