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Editorial transcription, lightly normalized from the scan. Line-break hyphenation, spacing, capitalization, and unmistakable OCR errors have been repaired; the claims remain those of The Flaming Sword.
EDITOR FLAMING SWORD:—I have just received a letter from Mr. L., Vadis, W. Va., in reply to inquiries regarding Zeteticism. He referred me to a Koreshan publication on the subject of the shape of the earth. I am anxious to procure a copy. I would like to ask also, Do you know where I can obtain a copy of the book by "Parallax" on the same subject? I have become interested in this question of the shape of the earth, and am desirous of getting all the light I can. There are some points I am not sure about. If the book you publish clears them up, then I am ready to become a "flat earth man."—E. B. S., Harperville, Manitoba, Can.
The book to which you have been referred is the CELLULAR COSMOGONY, or the Earth a Concave Sphere, containing an exposition of the fundamental principles of the Koreshan Cosmogony, together with actual demonstrations of the earth's concavity. You will see from the title of the book that we do not advocate the "flat earth theory" of Parallax, although we are thoroughly acquainted with the theory, as well as with the experiments by Parallax and others, and the books which have been published in defense of his views.
In 1839, Parallax, an English experimentalist, began a series of experiments on the old Bedford canal, in England, to prove that the earth is not convex. He demonstrated beyond a doubt that the surface on which we live is not convex; but he assumed that, because it is not convex, it is flat. We contend that his conclusion is not logical, and that it is not sustained by a single fact of nature, beyond the conclusion that the earth's surface is not convex. While Parallax claimed to be a Zetetic, he departed from the Zetetic method when he reached the conclusion that standing water is flat. He evolved an inconsistent theory which is out of harmony with natural phenomena, geodetic survey, scientific cosmography, and the principles and laws of existence.
In 1896 and 1897, the Geodetic and Experimenting Staff of the Koreshan Unity conducted a series of experiments on the surface of water for the purpose of demonstrating, by simple means, the correctness of the scientific discovery by KORESH, in the year 1870,—that the earth is a hollow sphere, and that we live on the inside. Our observations and experiments on the old Illinois drainage canal, Lake Michigan, the Gulf of Mexico, and Bay of Naples, demonstrated not only that water is not convex, but that it is concave. These experiments are more numerous, more crucial, and definite in actual test of the water's surface than ever before conducted. Besides the experiments of observation by means of the telescope, the Staff conducted the greatest geodetic survey in all history—that of the survey of a straight line a number of miles in length, from the vertical point of a given perpendicular. The line converged with the waters of the Gulf of Mexico at a specific ratio,—the ratio of the earth's concave curvature, the particulars of which are contained in the 200-page book, the CELLULAR COSMOGONY.
We would call your attention to the fact that the earth cannot be flat. Universal phenomena cannot be accounted for on the basis of the flat assumption. All life is generated in the cell. The universe is a great cell, possessing all the functions of the human organism. The principle of cellular life enters into all organic structures, and the universe is no exception. There is no south circumference, as Parallax assumed; meridians of longitude converge south of the equator, the same as they do north of the equator; and there is a circumpolar motion of the south pole stars just as there is in the north around Polaris—a fact wholly inexplicable on the basis of the so called Zetetic astronomy. While Parallax was progressive, the truth concerning the form of the universe did not ultimate in him. Improvement is the order of the age, until the perfect system is reached, which is Koreshanity.
Parallax's book, "Zetetic Astronomy," is long since out of print, and we think no copies can be obtained from any source. Copies were scarce ten years ago, and the price very high. It is now out of date; after comprehending the fundamentals of Koreshan Astronomy and studying our experiments, you would not need works on a fallacious theory, either for facts or arguments to disprove the Copernican system.
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The Flaming Sword · Vol. 13, No. 37 · · PDF p. 11