One hundred and forty years have passed like a dream, with much heart-sore and soaring hope, since the Theosophical Society was founded on 17 November 1875 in New York. We have decided to mark this auspicious date by releasing a series of hitherto private study notes and analyses of H.P. Blavatsky's Esoteric Section (E.S.) Instructions. The True Colours of Man, amplifies and clarifies E.S. Instructions I and II, aided by 31 original drawings, diagrams, and tables. The seven prismatic colours are direct emanations from the Seven Hierarchies of Compassion, each of which is the creator and source of the corresponding human principle. Each prismatic colour is the “Father of the Sound” which corresponds to it; Sound being the Word, or Logos, of its “Father-Thought.” Thus the Creative Force produces colours, sounds, and numbers, in the shape of rates of vibration, which compound and dissociate atoms and molecules. The Seven Primordial Lights, manifested from Light Unmanifested, are Divine Principles. The Principles of Man are bright reflections of Divine Principles, a Great Sacrifice; they are the seven-stringed lyre of Apollo. Colours and sounds are all spiritual numerals. Colour is Spirit (Atman), sound is Voice (Buddhi), proportion of numbers is Word (Higher Manas). Colours and sounds are associated with the Hierarchy of Compassion, the Manifested Logos. Colours–sounds–numbers proceed from 1 to 7 and not from 7 to 1, as erroneously shown in the spectrum of the prismatic colours. As the Seven Colours of the solar spectrum correspond to the Seven Rays, or Hierarchies, so each Ray has its seven divisions corresponding to the same series of colours. Esoterically, the right eye corresponds with Soul Wisdom or true knowledge; the left, with mere head learning. The Spiritual Man corresponds directly with the “coloured circles” of the Divine Prism which emanate from the One Infinite White Circle; the physical man emanates from the Sephiroth of the Kabbalah, the “voices” or “sounds” of Eastern Philosophy. “Voices,” however, are lower than colours. The lower Sephiroth are the seven physical planets. Our triple physical Sun, personified by the Upper Triad, is the Sephirothal Crown. The real Sephiroth are the Four Maharajas of The Secret Doctrine: Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus. The ancients considered as the most holy those organs which we now associate with feelings of shame and secrecy. The lower organs have been evolved to perform six functions on six distinct planes of action, besides a seventh, the lowest and purely terrestrial function on the physical plane. The physical body is not a “principle” and has no place in the sevenfold division. It is furnished by Mother Earth. Numbers and harmonious proportions guide the first differentiations of the Homogeneous Substance into heterogeneous elements. Perfect knowledge of the correspondences between colours, sounds, and numbers is the first requisite for students of Occultism. The Eye of Dangma will awaken only when the mouth is supressed. The Auric Egg is the monadic envelope and amnion of the physical man. Initiates, saints, and pure men can help others as well as themselves in their hour of need, with the aid of the God within, who has been enabled to act on the outward plane. Advanced students are invited to pronounce the Word before going to sleep and first thing upon awakening. Beginners, who cannot help going into crowds, are advised to wear either a ring containing some jewel of the colour of the presiding planet for the particular day of the week, or else of the metal sacred to it. A word of advice concerning Instructions I and II: students should strive to spiritualise these Instructions and avoid materialising them.

Building on the achievements of Goethe in his Theory of Colour, Rudolf Steiner shows how colour affects us in many areas of life, including our health, our sense of well-being, and our feelings. Distinguishing between 'image' and 'lustre' colours, he lays the foundation, based on his spiritual-scientific research, for a practical technique of working with colour that leads to a new direction in artistic creativity. His many penetrating remarks on some of the great painters of the past are supplemented by a deep concern to see a cultural, spiritual renewal emerge in the present time. 'If you realize', he states, 'that art always has a relation to the spirit, you will understand that both in creating and appreciating it, art is something through which one enters the spiritual world.' This volume is the most comprehensive compilation of Rudolf Steiner's insights into the nature of colour, painting and artistic creation. It is an invaluable source of reference and study not only for artists and therapists but for anyone interested in gaining an appreciation of art as a revelation of spiritual realities.

This book fills a long-standing gap in Arabic-Islamic studies. Following the informative and entertaining style of adab literature and based on a large number of relevant sources from a wide range of genres, Hasan Shuraydi presents a panoramic view of relevant themes that concern youth and old age in Medieval Arabic literature intended for both specialists and non-specialists. A pattern of binary oppositions runs through such themes, e.g., black/white, male/female, husband/wife, sacred/profane, paradise/this world, ignorance/wisdom, past/present, young/old, new/old, health/disease, sappy/dry, permitted/forbidden, lust/chastity, obedience/disobedience, experience/inexperience, folly/reason, sobriety/intoxication, parent/child, celibacy/marriage, present life/hereafter. Themes discussed include: aging, ambition, aphrodisiacs, beauty, education, feminist trends, hair dyeing, homosexuality, honoring age, jihad, life stages, longevity, love, marriage, sex.

David Hume (1711-1776), philosopher, historian, and essayist, is widely considered to be Britain's greatest philosopher. One of the leading intellectual figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, his major works and central ideas, especially his radical empiricism and his critique of the pretensions of philosophical rationalism, remain hugely influential on contemporary philosophers. This comprehensive and accessible guide to Hume's life and work includes 21 specially commissioned essays, written by a team of leading experts, covering every aspect of Hume's thought. The Companion presents details of Hume's life, historical and philosophical context, providing students with a comprehensive overview of all the key themes and topics apparent in his work, including his accounts of causal reasoning, scepticism, the soul and the self, action, reason, free will, miracles, natural religion, politics, human nature, women, economics and history, and an account of his reception and enduring influence. This textbook is indispensable to anyone studying in the areas of Hume Studies, British, and eighteenth-century philosophy.