What interested me in this talk was that G. spoke of the planets and the moon as living beings, having definite ages, a definite period of life and possibilities of development and transition to other planes of being. From what he said it appeared that the moon was not a “dead planet,” as is usually accepted, but, on the contrary, a “planet in birth”; a planet at the very initial stages of its development which had not yet reached “the degree of INTELLIGENCE possessed by the earth,” as he expressed it. Fragments: One

“In what relation does the INTELLIGENCE of the earth stand to the INTELLIGENCE of the sun?” I asked. Fragments: One

“The INTELLIGENCE of the sun is divine,” said G. “But the earth can become the same; only, of course, it is not guaranteed and the earth may die having attained nothing.” Fragments: One

First of all G. drew attention to the constant misuse of the words “instinct” and “instinctive.” It transpired from what he said that these words could be applied, by rights, only to the inner functions of the organism. The beating of the heart, breathing, the circulation of blood, digestion — these were instinctive functions. The only external functions that belong to this category are reflexes. The difference between instinctive and moving functions was as follows: the moving functions of man, as well as of animals, of a bird, of a dog, must be learned; but instinctive functions are inborn. A man has very few inborn external movements; an animal has more, though they vary, some have more, others have less; but that which is usually explained as “instinct” is very often a series of complex moving functions which young animals learn from older ones. One of the chief properties of the moving center is its ability to imitate. The moving center imitates what it sees without reasoning. This is the origin of the legends that exist about the wonderful “INTELLIGENCE” of animals or the “instinct” that takes the place of INTELLIGENCE and makes them perform a whole series of very complex and expedient actions. Fragments: Six

“This chemistry or alchemy regards matter first of all from the point of view of its functions which determine its place in the universe and its relations to other matters and then from the point of view of its relation to man and to man’s functions. By an atom of a substance is meant a certain small quantity of the given substance that retains all its chemical, cosmic, and psychic properties, because, in addition to its cosmic properties, every substance also possesses psychic properties, that is, a certain degree of INTELLIGENCE. The concept ‘atom’ may therefore refer not only to elements, but also to all compound matters possessing definite functions in the universe or in the life of man. There can be an atom of water, an atom of air (that is, atmospheric air suitable for man’s breathing), an atom of bread, an atom of meat, and so on. An atom of water will in this case be one-tenth of one-tenth of a cubic millimeter of water taken at a certain temperature by a special thermometer. This will be a tiny drop of water which under certain conditions can be seen with the naked eye. Fragments: Nine

“So far,” he said, “we have looked upon the ‘table of hydrogens’ as a table of vibrations and of the densities of matter which are in an inverse proportion to them. We must now realize that the density of vibrations and the density of matter express many other properties of matter. For instance, till now we have said nothing about the INTELLIGENCE or the consciousness of matter. Meanwhile the speed of vibrations of a matter shows the degree of INTELLIGENCE of the given matter. You must remember that there is nothing dead or inanimate in nature. Everything in its own way is alive, everything in its own way is intelligent and conscious. Only this consciousness and INTELLIGENCE is expressed in a different way on different levels of being — that is, on different scales. But you must understand once and for all that nothing is dead or inanimate in nature, there are simply different degrees of animation and different scales. Fragments: Sixteen

“The ‘table of hydrogens,’ while serving to determine the density of matter and the speed of vibrations, serves at the same time to determine the degree of INTELLIGENCE and consciousness because the degree of consciousness corresponds to the degree of density or the speed or vibrations. This means that the denser the matter the less conscious it is, the less intelligent. And the denser the vibrations, the more conscious and the more intelligent the matter. Fragments: Sixteen

“In determining the degree of density of matter the ‘table of hydrogens’ also determines by this the degree of INTELLIGENCE. This means that in making comparisons between the matters which occupy different places in the ‘table of hydrogens,’ we determine not only their density but also their INTELLIGENCE. And not only can we say how many times this or that ‘hydrogen’ is denser or lighter than another, but we can say how many times one ‘hydrogen’ is more intelligent than another. Fragments: Sixteen

“The center of gravity of the middle story of man is ‘hydrogen’ 96. The INTELLIGENCE of ‘hydrogen’ 96 determines the average INTELLIGENCE of ‘man,’ that is, the physical body of man. The center of gravity of the ‘astral body’ will be ‘hydrogen’ 48. The center of gravity of the third body will be ‘hydrogen’ 24, and the center of gravity of the fourth body will be ‘hydrogen’ 12. Fragments: Sixteen

“But, as I have already said, to determine the level of being by the ‘table of hydrogens’ it is usual to take the middle story. “With this as a point of departure it is possible for example to solve such problems: “Let us suppose Jesus Christ to be man number eight, how many times is Jesus Christ more intelligent than a table? “A table has no stories. It lies wholly between ‘hydrogen’ 1536 and ‘hydrogen’ 3072 according to the third scale of the ‘table of hydrogens.’ Man number eight is ‘hydrogen’ 6. This is the center of gravity of the middle story of man number eight. If we are able to calculate how many times ‘hydrogen’ 6 is more intelligent than ‘hydrogen’ 1536 we shall know how many times man number eight is more intelligent than a table. But, in this connection, it must be remembered that ‘INTELLIGENCE’ is determined not by the density of matter but by the density of vibrations. The density of vibrations, however, increases not by doubling as in the octaves of ‘hydrogens’ but in an entirely different progression which many times outnumbers the first. If you know the exact coefficient of this increase you will be in a position to solve this problem. I only want to show that, however strange it looks, the problem can be solved. Fragments: Sixteen

“These cosmic traits of being are immediately connected with the definition of INTELLIGENCE according to the ‘table of hydrogens.’ Fragments: Sixteen

“The INTELLIGENCE of a matter is determined by the creature for whom it can serve as food. For example, which is more intelligent from this point of view, a raw potato or a baked potato? A raw potato can serve as food for pigs and a baked potato as food for man. A baked potato is more intelligent than a raw potato. Fragments: Sixteen