Animals are man's younger brothers in evolution. It is man's responsibility to serve them as they in their turn serve him. "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." With spiritual Illumination comes the realization of complete unity. Henceforth mistreatment of animals is unthinkable. All are one in God.

   Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," and in Proverbs we read many things along the same line:

Proverbs 13:7
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

Proverbs 12:9,10
He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

Proverbs 16:33
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Proverbs 16:19
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 28:25
He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife; but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.

   All spiritual teachers emphasize the supreme importance of the cultivation of humility. Love and humility, and discrimination which results from a blending of the two, are the three prime essentials toward successful spiritual accomplishment. Failure to pass beyond the Portals of Light may ofttimes be traced to the lack of these requisites.

Proverbs 18:84,19; 17:17
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

   The bonds of friendship among the disciples of a Mystery School are indissoluble; neither time, distance nor space are barriers. The Teacher binds them to himself and to one another in a bond like unto no other. Broken friendship among members of occult brotherhoods is a tragedy of souls and bears heavy causation and an extended one for future settlement.

Proverbs 24:13; 25:16,27
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste.
Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, test thou be filled therewith and vomit it.
It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search for their own glory is not glory.

   Throughout Scripture, the word honey is of deep spiritual significance. The word as used here refers to the hidden or esoteric teachings. The aspirant is warned against being over-eager in his search for occult truths. It is better to receive a little and to live according to that provided than to seize avidly upon marvelous intellectual concepts and neglect to practice the common virtues incident to spiritual life. True wisdom expresses itself in terms of love, first, last and always. It means fellowship, brotherhood, and its emanations received clairvoyantly appear as a sweet, golden radiance, the "Venus gold" of the alchemist.

   The earliest Mystery Schools taught that to lose oneself was to find eternal life. Self is the great barricade to the threshold of the new life. "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house: but he that hateth gifts shall live." (Proverbs 15:27)

 — Corinne Heline