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The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 1 [[Vol. 1, Page]] 523 SUGGESTIVE ALLEGORIES. [[This page continued from previous section ]] VII. AN ATTACK ON THE SCIENTIFIC THEORY OF FORCE BY A MAN OF SCIENCE. T HE wise words of several (English) men of Science have now to be quoted in our favour. Ostracised for "principle's sake" by the few, they are tacitly approved of by the many. That one of them preaches almost Occult doctrines, in some things identical with, and often amounting to a public recognition of our " Fohat and his seven Sons" -- [[Vol. 1, Page]] 524 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. the Occult Gandharva of the Vedas -- will be recognised by every Occultist, and even by some profane readers. If the latter open Volume V. of the Popular Science Review (pp. 329-334), they will find in it an article on " Sun Force and Earth Force ," by Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S. , which reads as follows: -- "At this moment, when the theory of mere motion as the origin of all varieties of force is again becoming the prevailing thought, it were almost heresy to re-open a debate, which for a period appears, by general consent, to be virtually closed; but I accept the risk, and shall state, therefore, what were the precise views of the immortal heretic, whose name I have whispered to the readers, (Samuel Metcalfe), respecting Sun Force. Starting with the argument on which nearly all physicists are agreed, that there exist in nature two agencies -- matter which is ponderable, visible, and tangible, and a something which is imponderable, invisible, and appreciable only by its influence on matter -- Metcalfe maintains that the imponderable and active agency which he calls ' caloric ' is not a mere form of motion , not a vibration amongst the particles of ponderable matter, but itself a material substance flowing from the Sun through Space,* filling the voids between the particles of solid bodies, and conveying by sensation the property called heat. The nature of caloric, or Sun-Force, is contended for by him on the following grounds: -- "(i.) That it may be added to, and abstracted from other bodies and measured with mathematical precision. "(ii.) That it augments the volume of bodies, which are again reduced in size by its abstraction. "(iii.) That it modifies the forms, properties, and conditions of all other bodies. "(iv.) That it passes by radiation through the most perfect vacuum ** that can be formed, in which it produces the same effects on the thermometer as in the atmosphere. "(v.) That it exerts mechanical and chemical forces which nothing can restrain, as in volcanoes, the explosion of gunpowder, and other fulminating compounds. "(vi.) That it operates in a sensible manner on the nervous system, producing intense pain; and when in excess, disorganization of the tissues. "As against the vibratory theory, Metcalfe further argues that if caloric were a mere property or quality , it could not augment the volume of other bodies; for this purpose it must itself have volume, it must occupy space, and it must, therefore, be a material agent. If caloric were only the effect of vibratory motion amongst the particles of ponderable matter, it could not radiate from hot bodies without the simultaneous transition of the vibrating particles; but the fact stands out that heat can radiate from material ponderable substance without [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * Not only "through space," but filling every point of our solar system, for it is the physical residue, so to say, of Ether, its lining on our plane; Ether having to serve other cosmic and terrestrial purposes besides being the " agent " for transmitting light. It is the astral fluid or "Light" of the Kabalists, and the "Seven rays" of Sun-Vishnu. ** What need, then, of etheric waves for the transmission of light, heat, etc., if this substance can pass through vacuum? [[Vol. 1, Page]] 525 DR. RICHARDSON'S HERESY. loss of weight of such substance. . . . With this view as to the material nature of caloric or sun-force; with the impression firmly fixed on his mind that 'everything in Nature is composed of two descriptions of matter, the one essentially active and ethereal, the other passive and motionless,'* Metcalfe based the hypothesis that the Sun-force, or caloric, is a Self-active principle. For its own particles, he holds, it has repulsion; for the particles of all ponderable matter it has affinity; it attracts the particles of ponderable matter with forces which vary inversely as the squares of the distance. It thus acts through ponderable matter. If universal space were filled with caloric, sun-force, alone (without ponderable matter), caloric would also be inactive and would constitute a boundless Ocean of powerless or quiescent ether, because it would then have nothing on which to act, while ponderable matter, however inactive of itself, has 'certain properties by which it modifies and controls the actions of caloric, both of which are governed by immutable laws that have their origin in the mutual relations and specific properties of each.' "And he lays down a law which he believes is absolute, and which is thus expressed: -- " 'By the attraction of caloric for ponderable matter, it unites and holds together all things; by its self-repulsive energy it separates and expands all things.' " This, of course, is almost the occult explanation of cohesion. Dr. Richardson continues: -- "As I have already said, the tendency of modern teaching is to rest upon the hypothesis . . . that heat is motion , or, as it would, perhaps, be better stated, a specific force or form of motion.** "But this hypothesis, popular as it is, is not one that ought to be accepted to the exclusion of the simpler views of the material nature of sun-force, and of its influence in modifying the conditions of matter. We do not yet know sufficient to be dogmatic. " *** . . . "The hypothesis of Metcalfe respecting sun-force and earth-force is not only very simple, but most fascinating. . . . Here are two elements in the Universe, the one is ponderable matter . . . The second element is the all-pervading Ether, solar-fire. It is without weight , substance , form , or colour; it is matter infinitely divisible , and its particles repel each other; its rarity [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * And how can it be otherwise? Gross ponderable matter is the body, the Shell of matter or Substance, the female passive principle; and this Fohatic force is the second principle, prana -- the male and the active?