The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett

Letter No. 120

{Regarding errors in the first edition of Man, see also H.P.B.'s Nov.7, 1885 comment in BCW 6:412-13

MAN

All the private notes for Mohini and others are marked * thus.

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.

Text
, Page 12, par. 2.
"During these planetary circuits, which have been called Rounds, the monads recognisable as human cannot [1] properly be so called when evolving on other planets. [2] It is only in the present fourth Round, that men, at all like those we can conceive of [3] have developed".
(* See please what precedes beginning with paragraph 2. Monads can refer only to the Humanity of the three Rounds that preceded. I mark with blue pencil corrections or passages corrected.)

1 . . . could not.
2 . . . (while) or "when they were evolving on other planets" (i.e. the preceding).
3 "we" can conceive of — and what are the Masters for? *
Par. 3 (last line).
"The Ring [4] we are at present describing is the fourth".
4 (If Round on preceding par. why Ring on the following?)
Text.
"Before reaching . . . (down to) . . . is the fourth." [5]
Read (page 12, par. 3).
5 "Before reaching the perfection attainable in this Round humanity had to pass through four Races, each of these having seven Sub-races or minor Rings (though Mr. S. objects to "Ring") . . . .
The Round we are describing is the fourth."
Par. 4.
"With each Round [6] a dimension is added to man's conception of space."
"The fourth dimension of space, etc."
Read.
6 "With each Root race a dimension, etc. . . ."
"The fourth dimension . . . before the fifth Root race is completed" †

† Do not confuse Mohini{'s} dimensions of Space with sensuous perceptions on the purely spiritual plane of the 6 worlds above. With every new Round the senses (physical and spiritual) are increased by the addition of those of one of the invisible spheres. Do not confuse Rounds with Races, or there may be again a terrible mess. The 3 dimensions and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th belong properly to our earthly matter (the one physical sciences are concerned with), and the fourth dimension is asserting itself because we are in the fourth Round and over the middle. The Earth progresses, develops and modifies as we do and the rest, and in the 7th Root-Race it shall be in its 7th development or dimension. But the 7 upper and 7 nether worlds, or Brahmalokas, are worlds within and in our world and ourselves. So the first Round Humanity was Satya and Atala — the two spiritual opposites or poles of Spiritual Good and Spiritual Evil (matter). The second Round preserving all the faculties and attributes of these got in addition — Tapas and Vitala, the third — Janas and Sutala, and the fourth or ours is all that and besides — Mahar and Rasatala. Do you understand now? We are just at the middle point of Good and Evil equilibrised, so to say, in this Round. It is a blend in Vedanta to have given the worlds sprung from quintuplicated elements in the order they stand. If you know their Sanskrit meaning, think over it and see what I mean. With every Round Humanity went a step down, in the Spiritual Spirituality, and a step higher into Material Spirituality. It is a double centripetal and centrifugal motion, so to say.*


Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
Page 12, line 2 from bottom.
" . . . in each Ring." [7]
Corrections.
7 " . . . in each Race."
 
Page 13.
(oh Jesus!) [8]
8 Foot-note — what "four Rounds and four Rings" are you talking about? This is beyond me.*
(From) "no human being (down to) . . . the mystery of such planetary existence." [9] Corrections.
9 . . . (par. 2) before the 7 R. Races (not Rings). The whole of this par. ought to be taken out. It is impossible to correct it.*
Page 14, par. 1. [10] Corrections.
10 * All this par. refers to man from first to the fourth Round and can stand if you add a word or two to make it plainer.

Page 15, par. 2.
(From) "It has been implied . . . (down to) . . . imperceptible by us." [11]
11 * These three orders evoluted before Earth herself was formed They preceded Earth not Man.
Page 16, par. 2.
"Under the operation of this law of retardation, [12] the inferior kingdoms have made little or no progress [13] since the tide of man's evolution set in."
12 No such thing, take it out.

13 * A mistake; they have; but long to tell.
Page 16, par. 3, lines 8-10.
" . . . next on the line of ascent is the vegetable kingdom, and the animal kingdom has developed most of the three."
* How about the gigantic ferns, and the antediluvian monsters — where is the correspondence and analogy?

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
Page 17, par. 2.
. . . "during this Ring." [14]
14 "Round."
Page 18, par. 1.
"The seven purely spiritual Races which in this Ring [15] preceded the appearance of physical man. . . ."
Read.
15 . . . which in the three Rounds . . . (after the words "physical man" add) . . . "physical man in the 4th — the present Round."
Page 18, 2nd par.
. . . "that with the evolution of the 7 spiritual Races which preceded man the earth was fitted for his habitation." [16]
"
Correction.
16 ". . . that with the seven Sub-Races of the 1st Root-Race . . ." ["which preceded man" must go out.]
The first Races were speechless, [17] as were their Spiritual prototypes." [18] 17 "The first Root-Race was speechless and a portion of the second." "Speechless" — but not dumb
18 How can Spiritual prototypes be speechless or not speechless? Language as we know it by sounds is our Terrestial flapdoodle. 
Page 20, par. 2.
"The inner or soul truths which the men of this race but vaguely conceive will by the next sixth race." [19]
19 "The inner or soul truths which the men of this 5th race . . . the next, the sixth Root-race."
Par. 3.
(From) "the first . . . (down to) . . . ethereal beings." [20]
Read.
20 The first human entities upon globe A — first Round, were living germs. . . . "From these germs through ages of time evoluted first on the globe preceding ours, during the end of its last period the seven races . . ." etc., and these races were they — which at the awakening Manvantara of our globe were the last Spiritual Sishtas, who preceded man in this Round and on this globe. (*These were our ancestors, the Seven races I spoke about at Elberfeld and elsewhere, who were the prototypes of the seven races of man that had to follow — their models so to say. Therefore from the 3rd such spiritual race they had Speech and were not "speechless," if you want to be accurate. I will give all this in the Secret Doctrine.*)

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
Text, par. 3. ". . . in this Ring [21] . . . . . . . seven of the Ring . . ." Corrections.
21 ". . . in this Round . . . (or World Period)
. . . through all the Races of the Round or minor . . ."
Page 23, par. 1. last line.
" . . . present Ring." [22]
22 ". . . present Round."
Page 24.
1st line. . . . Ring [23] . . .
4th line". . . . ethereal races . . . in the present Ring was seven each of these races developed or . . . admitted."
Read.
23 . . . Round.
". . . ethereal Sub-races in the present Round was seven, as in every Root-Race. Each of these Sub-Races developed until the seventh . . ." etc. † 
Line 12. . . ." Ring. [24] . . ."
Line 19. . . . idem. [25]
24 . . . Round.
idem.

25 On this page you mix up the seven spiritual races with the seven physical ones. The prototypes of each globe of a Round are invariably on planet A, each Root-race of the Septenary being the model for one of the globes. Thus: —

1st Root-race on planet A stands as a model for globe A
    (and its last 7th).
2nd    "    "    "    "    globe B.
3rd    "    "    "    "    globe C.
4th    "    "    "    "    globe D.
etc., etc.

And each first Root-race on each planet, and in each Round contains the prototypes of all the following, in its seven Sub-races.

† Each Round being the prototype of the Root-races (or the globe period), and each first Root-race — the prototype of the six races to follow — the first Root-race of our globe and Round, was then the synthesis within its septenary of the 6 races. Our last shall embrace all the faculties of the first. Remember, the "prototype" is spiritual, physical and mental — a model, and that is why the Masters, knowing from their predecessors and seeing clairvoyantly what was, can say what will be.] 

The last twelve lines, on page 24, as you see are completely wrong, must be re-written according to what is said above.*
    "It is difficult for men . . . what the other two senses are" [26] (line 8)
26 * No, it is not. The sixth sense is the perception of realities and truth in the invisible worlds (those we can reach, of course) and of truth and fact on earth. All the words and sentences of a speech becoming coloured it is easy to see at once by the colour that accompanies sound — when truth is spoken or a lie — a fact given or a distortion of it.
Text, page 25, 1st line
"The succeeding races have carried [27] . . ."
Corrections, read.
27 "the succeeding races up to the fourth have carried, etc."

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
2nd par., line 3.
". . . the first sub-race of the first objective race. [28] . . . "
28 ". . . of the first objective purely human race, that appeared on our Earth in this Round."
Page 26, line 9 from bottom.
. . . objective race. [29] . . .
29 objective Root-race. . . .
Page 27, line 4.
. . . only to a limited extent. [30]
That our eyes . . .
30 . . . "only to a limited extent."
This may be proven by the traditions of the First great Deluge at about the middle of the fourth Root-race when man perceived for the first the rainbow, with its full solar spectrum colours. There is a real meaning to this, not the Bible flapdoodle of the Covenant. I shall give it in the Secret Doctrine.*
Page 28. 3rd line from below.
"fifth our present race [31] . . ."

31 * "fifth Sub-race of the first Root-race."
This is why the sense of taste is now fully developed in our fifth Sub-race of the fifth Root-race, the prototypes of our Root-race and its fifth Sub-race being — the fourth Round and the fifth Sub-race of the first Root-race in this our World period — as you say rightly on page 31, (2nd par.). Remember that we are enveloped so to say (our earth life) by the two worlds Mahar (or Tejas, light, colour of purely earthly intellect) and by Rasatala — from rasa "taste" — I believe, for I was taught so. The prototypes of the Round being colour or sight and of the Sub-race and Root-race — taste. All correspondences you see.
Text, page 29, line 5.
"But when the race en bloc rises up to [32] . . ."
Corrections.
32 . . . "the Race en bloc — from the first to the fourth Root-race rose up." . . .
Line 6.
"and is enjoyed [33] . . ."
33 "and was enjoyed . . ."
Par. 2, line 2.
"third sub-race of the third race." [34]
34 "third sub-race of the First Root-race. . . ."

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
Page 31, par. 2, line 2.
. . . sub-race. "At first [35] . . ."
35 "Sub-race, though it reached its maximum only in the fifth sub-race of the fifth Root-race. At first . . ."
* Flapdoodle.
2nd par., 5th line.
"Man ate nothing.* [36] but imbibed . . ."
36 . . . "Man ate as little as the men of the third Round, who imbibed, etc."
2nd par., 12th line.
"Man did not become . . . in our fourth ring until the close of the second race." [37]
* Of all the senses taste is the grossest and most material; but taste has nothing to do with nourishment, no more than loud or verbal speech with talking and understanding each other. You materialise considerably my Mohini also.
   37 Man did not become an eating animal on this planet until the close of the third Round, though he began developing taste only in the first sub-race of the first Root-race and developed it entirely in the fifth Root-race of our Fourth Round.
Page 34, line 8.
. . . "Son of the Fire [38] . . ." 
38 "Son of the fire-mist."
Page 35, line 16.
"During Sub-races of the second race." [39]
39 ". . . Sub-races of the first Root-race.
Page 35, line 18.
"But man even then was not crystallised and condensed . . . to be recognisable by his present descendants as belonging to their race (!!) . . . semi-ethereal . . . few attributes as human (!!! ???) . . . in fact in the physical sense he was really not a man at all." [40]
40 * You surely dream dreams, my gentle child. If you had Humanity of the second Round in your mind's eye when writing this — passe encore — but on this Earth and in this Round !? Why see what Master says in his letter to Mr. Sinnett. 1st Round man, an ethereal being, non-intelligent but super-spiritual. 2nd Round gigantic ethereal, growing more condensed in body a more physical man. In the third Round — less gigantic, a more rational being, "more ape than Deva-man — (still a human man). The Lord love you innocent sweety . . . go to confession dear, and learn from the Padris something of Chapter VI, 2nd verse, in Genesis. You have "Forgotten History."

Mistakes in the 1st Edition. Corrections for 2nd Edition.
Page 37, 2nd par., 1st line.
"The third race [41] marks."
41 "The third 'Round' marks."
Page 38, 2nd par., line 3.
"Forbidden fruit." [42]
 

42 Forbidden fruit, my son, is a question that would necessitate 95 volumes and 3/4. "The Fall of Man" occurred during the fourth Round, in the seventh Sub-race of the second Sub-race. Until the third Sub-race men were pre-Adamites, or rather Kadmonites, dual-sexed — (see even Bible, first Chapter, verses 26 & 27 and compare with Chapter II, verse 7; and in Chapter V, verses 1 et seq. — begins the Kabalistic blind. Yes sir, touch was developed verily in the third sub-race. Thus, do not pray call the seven Spiritual races of man "our ancestors," for they are the ancestors only of the first and second Sub-races. Our ancestors are the shouting Post Kadmonites, the Adamites. Remember the Deva, Pitri and the Manoushi Kingdoms or Ages.

Text, page 47, par. 2, line 3.
. . . death . . . unknown during the first two races. [43]
Correction.
43 ". . . during the first two races it was unknown (and the beginning of the third sub-race of the first Root-race (fourth Round) brings it upon earth, after the Fall of Man!!)"
"Enoch." * [44] 44 * Enoch is a stray descendant of the Spiritual races. So are many others even in History, but they are rare. Enoch and Hermes are one, as you know. And Hermes is Mercury or Buddha, etc., etc.!
Page 57, 2nd par., 1st line.
For "second race [45] . . ."
Read.
45 "third Round."
Page 75, 2nd par., 2nd line.
". . . Ring [46] . . . ."
46 "Round."
Page 76, 2nd par., 3rd line.
"race [47] . . . ."
47 "Root-race," the so-called Atlanteans.
Page 77, 4th line from below.
". . . with the Aryans," and consequently. [48]
48 "with the Aryans, then in their first sub-race, and consequently, etc."
Page 88.
(Altan). [49]
49 Atlan.
Page 89, line 10.
"Ring." [50]
50 "Round."
Page 90, line 6.
". . . Ring [51] . . . ."
51 "Round."

amen

Finis — save my error.

Bhu Janas
Bhuva Mahas
Suva Bhuva
Maha Bhu
Jana Suva
Tapas Tapas
Satya Satya [52]

52 This is your arrangement. Madame says it is a flapdoodle; and I beg to corroborate. The order given on the left hand side is correct.

H. P. Blavatsky
+ (her cross).

These pages to be taken and read to Mr. Sinnett, please. I cannot be writing to both and he wants to know some things. Take this to him immediately, please.

Yours respectfully,
H. P. B.



Theosophical University Press Online Edition