THE OCEAN
OF
THEOSOPHY
BY
WILLIAM Q. JUDGE
Twentieth Thousand
THE UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS
METROPOLITAN BLDG., BROADWAY AT FIFTH ST.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1915
Copyright, 1893,
BY
William Q. Judge.
All rights reserved.
Copyright, 1915,
BY
The United Lodge of Theosophists
An attempt is made in the pages of this bookto write of Theosophy in such a manner asto be understood by the ordinary reader.Bold statements are made in it upon theknowledge of the writer, but at the same time it isdistinctly to be understood that he alone is responsiblefor what is therein written: the TheosophicalSociety is not involved in nor bound by anythingsaid in the book, nor are any of its members any theless good Theosophists because they may not acceptwhat he has set down. The tone of settled convictionwhich may be thought to pervade the chaptersis not the result of dogmatism or conceit, but flowsfrom knowledge based upon evidence and experience.
Members of the Theosophical Society will noticethat certain theories or doctrines have not been goneinto. That is because they could not be treated withoutunduly extending the book and arousing needlesscontroversy.
The subject of the Will has received no treatment,inasmuch as that power or faculty is hidden, subtle,undiscoverable as to essence, and only visible in effect.As it is absolutely colorless and varies in moral qualityin accordance with the desire behind it, as alsoit acts frequently without our knowledge, and as itoperates in all the kingdoms below man, there couldbe nothing gained by attempting to enquire into itapart from the Spirit and the desire.
No originality is claimed for this book. The writerinvented none of it, discovered none of it, but hassimply written that which he has been taught andwhich has been proved to him. It therefore is only ahanding on of what has been known before.
William Q. Judge.
PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.
Some twenty-two years ago, the first editionof “The Ocean of Theosophy” was publishedby its author, Wm. Q. Judge. Since thattime thousands of books dealing with Theosophyhave been published by more or less prominentstudents of Theosophy, but unfortunately for the public,none of these show the knowledge, grasp andrange which is so evident in the present volume,—andstill more unfortunately, the methods pursued by theselatter-day writers have served to obscure the fact ofthe existence of an exposition of Theosophy writtenby a Teacher of that Science of Life.
As the Author’s Preface shows, the book was writtenin such a manner as to be understood by the ordinaryreader; the simplicity of the terms used, how