Extracted text
By E. M. Castle.
Editorial transcription, lightly normalized from the cited scan pages. Historical claims remain those of The Flaming Sword.
"For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so also shall be the presence of the Son of man." He comes as the spirit of truth, as morning sunlight dissipating the shadows of the long night of human ignorance, bringing joy to the watchers who have waited for the light, dazzling and confounding those who have delighted in the shadow. Odin-like, he has drunk at the fountain of Mimer, the knowing, thus gaining the experiences of the lower world, and is able to meet the needs of the dwellers here, who in turn drink the golden mead from the Valfather's pledge. The spirit of truth in the mind of the natural man recognizes the need of the circumferential humanity in its search for truth, and directs the practical experiment which demonstrates a premise from which to reason—a starting point for the human mind, which is absolute. This removes scientific investigation from the fields of speculation where at present it ranges, and at once discloses the visionary character of the conclusions which delight the so called wise ones of the world. The intellect that has been reveling in the imaginary universe of illimitability, has become so diffused and nebulous in the process that it is questionable whether it is able to speedily return to a state of sufficient solidity to recognize the value of "the inevitable fact" when it presents itself.
But the "air line" is an argument which the average mind can comprehend. If a direct line be determined, the relation of the earth's surface to such a line must decide the contour of the earth. That the difficulties in the way of determining an approximately direct line by mechanical means will be urged in opposition to the value of the experiment at Naples, is to be expected. Nor were these difficulties unconsidered in the projection of the experiment. That this work was not blindly or ignorantly undertaken, must be acknowledged by the candid critic who carefully scrutinizes the method of conducting the work. Each day's accomplishment was scrupulously recorded, so that step by step the progress of the line may be traced, and all the detail of work reviewed. Carefully devised means were applied calculated to preclude the possibility of any slight angle of deflection a t points of adjustment multiplying in one direction, and thus causing a constant divergence of the line from the absolute right line, either upward or downward. The closest scrutiny of methods and records must result, at the very least, in the acknowledgment that the work was undertaken and carried forward in a spirit of conscientious honesty.
Now what is the result? The line determined by the experimenters at Naples sustains the relation to the earth's surface of the bisection of a chord to the corresponding bisection of its arc. Koreshan Science maintains that the earth's surface, as the inner surface of the wall of a great cell, instead of curvating downwards from any point at the rate of eight inches to the mile, curvates upward at such a rate—that the size of the earth as determined by careful measurements upon the earth's surface, and generally accepted, is approximately correct, the form of surface, however, being mistaken, the error being in imagining the earth as turned inside out, reversing its true relation to the universe. A line constructed at right angles to a perpendicular to the earth's surface, instead of sustaining a relation parallel to a tangent to the outer surface, sustains the relation of a chord to arc of the inner surface. If the earth be of the size determined by the world's geodesists, and of the form determined by Koreshan analogy, then a line at right angles to a perpendicular to its surface would, from its starting point at the perpendicular, approach the surface in the same ratio that a line at right angles to the perpendicular would recede from the surface were the form as supposed by the originators of the accepted theory of the universe. This is a proposition that no one will dispute.
What is the fact, as determined by the experiments at Naples? With every precaution to prevent divergence from the absolute line, either upward or downward, the approach of the line from the starting point to the earth's surface is made in approximately correct ratio. The advocates of the truth of the Koreshan System of science, ask no one to accept this evidence at one whit more than its real value. But, acknowledging—as every one must who will consider the means employed and the conduct of the experiment—the honesty of the experimenters, how are the objectors to account for this fact? Did it merely happen so? Was it mere chance? If one talks of chance, the chances are incalculably against so lucky a blunder, and no reasonable mind can for a moment entertain such a conclusion. What then? Then there is everything here to arrest attention— a call for repetition of this experiment, the result of which we are confident that a thousand repetitions must confirm. It establishes the scientific premise of our System, and at once calls a halt to the refinement of elaboration bestowed upon ancient error in the name of modern astronomy. Falsehood is merely the inversion of truth, the fallacious system of astronomy being the inverse of the true. The recognized scientists of the world, intrenched in their position of authority, may affect to ignore the significance of the work accomplished at Naples. But authorities have been rudely disturbed ere now in the history of mankind,—aye, and overthrown! Taking the result of this experiment in connection with the rational arguments advanced in support of the truth of the Cellular Cosmogony, there is no escape for the mind from the conclusions of the Koreshan System. Ever and anon in the history of mankind, come times when revolution is duty to God and man. With Truth as our Sword, the duty of revolution is upon Koreshans today, and "we will speak out,—we will be heard,— though all earth's systems crack!"
The entire universe is so constructed and related in every part, as to comprise one grand integral organism divided into regions or domains. Any given law found to obtain in one domain or sphere operates through all. demonstrate our proposition by a repetition of our experiment, once or a thousand times. We will do this in the presence of hundreds or of thousands
The modern scientists, in their relation to Koreshanity, remind us of a fool, a man of fifty, about six feet two inches in height, living in a small country town among the hills of New York state. A small circus had been advertised to exhibit in the place; posters and bills had been stimulating the anticipations of the little community for about three weeks. The sole elephant which was to appear on exhibition had been the only topic of interest to this big fool, during all the time the circus had been advertised.
One morning bright and early, (the very morning the elephant was coming to town,) the fool started off to drive his father's cow to the pasture. It happened that the circus was coming down the hill, over the very road the fool was to drive his cow. He was driving along leisurely, when around a bend in the road came the circus with the elephant in the van. On observing the fool and the cow, his elephantine highness lifted his trunk and gave one prolonged blast with his trumpet, which so alarmed the cow that she turned and ran. The fool could not stop her, and she ran past him down the hill. He succeeded after awhile in heading her off, and coming to a broad place in the road, with a good deal of persuasion from a stick he carried in his hand, he drove the cow angrily past the circus. As he passed by the elephant he turned his head the other way, repeating these words: "I won't look at your d d old elephant, I won't look at your old elephant," until the animal he so much desired to behold, passed him on the road and went out of sight. This has always been the attitude of the falsely called conservative element of the world, at every stage of the world's progress.
We are enabled to meet the assumptions of every phase of thought, with a truth predicated upon a declaration grounded in the absoluteness of positive knowledge. The world concaves at a ratio of about 8 inches to the mile. This forms a hollow sphere of about eight thousand miles in diameter. Within this sphere are the three atmospheres, the sun, "the greater light," the moon, 'the lesser light, and the stars also, which are focalizations of energy. These are within the crust or shell, made up of metallic and mineral strata (with the geologic strata superimposed) of sufficient thickness and ductility to comprise a a firm foundation and environment of the system. This is the cosmogony of the Gods, the science of Moses, of the prophets, and of the Lord Christ. For, said He: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulAl;" and the law declared the concavity of the earth.
We repeat, that we challenge the world to meet the mechanical demonstration we have made of the concavity of the earth. We make this challenge with the absolute assurance that the truth we have advocated for more than a quarter of a century, and have now proven to be a fact by the employment of a simple mechanical device by which we have determined a rectiline at right angle from a perpendicular, cannot be gainsaid in the face of a thousand verifications, which we are willing to make in the presence of thousands or tens of thousands.
Source boundary: Begins under The Truth Apparent; ends before The Fools of Science.
Vol. 11, No. 8 · August 1897 · PDF pp. 7, 8
The Flaming Sword · Vol. 11, No. 8 · Aug 1897 · PDF pp. 7–8