THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LETTERS.

BY BERTRAM SPARHAWK, F.S.S.

(II.)

E is the second vowel and fifth letter of our alphabet. Its nature is found to be feminine, moist, fruitful, like water; it is impregnated with an impelling vital element for generation, in this respect representing the life principle manifest in the growth of all vegetable and animal existence, and is therefore strenuous and adapted to conform to conditions and circumstances. It is general in its scope, like A, and is lymphatic, emotional, constructive, ambitious-possessing the elements of leadership. Its corresponding number is 4, and its point of the compass north.

The words Eve, genesis, and generation indicate its generic feminine nature. As a rule, when it is the only vowel in a word it may be considered feminine. When E precedes A it is of the nutritive creative principle, containing the masculine and feminine, which act together-as in create, creation; also in meat, which stands in a general sense for all foods. Death shows a combination of the two principles in a translation to a new sphere of existence. Sleep is of the feminine, negative, revitalizing process. Water contains two elements, the masculine in this case first acting directly on the feminine, resulting in productiveness. Make is another word of somewhat similar nature, denoting construction. Feet is a word indicating "that which serves."

In Sanskrit the sound of this letter was that of an aspiration, like a soft H, and its name in the Phenician was He. It gives a soft sound to C and G when following them, and a long sound generally to a preceding vowel, as in pine, take, note, etc.

E is used more frequently than any other letter of our alphabet. It is the fifth of the Dominican letters, the fifth key on the piano, and is the key-note of the major key of four sharps and the minor key of one sharp. It is combined with A in the word East, where the sun rises, arousing all Nature from sleep to life and activity.

I is the third vowel and ninth letter of our alphabet. The Phenician character resembled the consonant y. By the Greeks it was made a vowel. It corresponds to the sign of the "balance" in the Zodiac, the symbol for which is a long horizontal line, above which is a similar line with a semi-circular bulge upward in the center. Our I is the lower line in a perpendicular position, and above it a dot to represent the bulge of the other line, the dot being a point on which the "balance" pivots.

The nature of the letter I is active, combining both the masculine and feminine elements; it is particular rather than general in its scope, and the words into, inside, incision, injury, infliction, and many others indicate a peculiar, penetrating, incisive activity differing from both A and E. Discrimination, poise, fineness, balance, inquisitive search, mature reflection, and accumulation of experience or wealth are some of its characteristics. Its numeral is 7, and its point of the heavens west.

Many of the above qualities correspond to the sign of the "balance;" and as the sun reaches this sign in the fall (which word indicates the "fall" of the sun from the northern to the southern hemisphere), when the fruits of man's labors for the year are mature and the crops are gathered, so the letter stands for the accumulation of wealth. And it may be noted in this connection that in all large cities the east side, corresponding to the point of the heavens where the sun rises and the struggle of life begins, is always the section of the poor, struggling masses; while the west side, corresponding to the point where the sun sets (when results from all endeavor are shown), is the residential section of wealth.

It is an important letter, as representing the person in the pronoun I. I Am indicates Jehovah, being, life, and Almighty Eternal Power. As representing the life principle, the ego, or spirit, it is of the nature of air, or breath, aspiring with an ambition lofty and sublime.

Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnivorous show in their construction two words balanced on I in the center.

O is the fourth vowel and fifteenth letter of our alphabet. Its corresponding numeral is 10. It is the particular negative, its correspondent being E, the general negative. The numeral corresponding to E is 4, and O is the fourth vowel. E is the fifth letter. Five added to ten (the numeral of O) gives fifteen, the place of O in our alphabet.

The character of O is feminine-masculine. It is of the prosperous business type and pertains to large matters, the shape of the letter being that of the comprehensive circle. It is naturally of an ambitious type, very tenacious, steady, and firm, and possesses both mental and spiritual power-also decided character. It is a symbol of omnipotence; also of the earth, of zero, and of oxygen in chemistry; and an accent naturally falls on it in any word in which it occurs. It may be likened to a full-grown tree, from its inception in the East, aided by the vitalizing element of which E is a symbol; and its fruitage is in the West, which is the reason why "westward the course of empire takes its way."

After considering what has been said of E and O, the name Theodore Roosevelt will be found very interesting. Abraham Lincoln, with all his A nature, was not at all like Mr. Roosevelt, being lank and thin, with dry, yellow skin, while President Roosevelt is of a full habit, with plenty of vitality. He was not born to poverty and the struggle of Lincoln; yet, having so much of the E and O elements in him, he is strenuous, and from E would come quick impulses, from O determination, steadiness, and pertinacity in the pursuit of an ideal or

desired end also comprehensive plans and large mental vision; while from both E and O will result flourishing growth and prosperity.

John D. Rockefeller is another significant name. The O coming first in both names gives a different nature from that indicated by the prominence of E. Andrew Carnegie goes naturally with iron and steel. George Washington shows more elements for a rounded character from the presence in this name of four vowels.

As to places, New York and Brooklyn are illustrations of flourishing prosperity, yet Albany is capital of the State. Augusta is capital of Maine, in spite of Portland and other large cities. Boston is very different in the nature of its people and business methods from New York, one having double O and the other E and O. The great names, Asia, Africa, America, and Europe, present vast fields for thought and speculation.

It must be evident that the names given to magazines, newspapers, books, and companies all possess their peculiar significance, showing the nature or spirit of the enterprise and its chances and possibilities, which-taken in connection with their location, specific quality, and time of conception or birthwould furnish data for an insight into the future and an understanding of the matter as a whole not at present available. It follows that, as being among the elements of success, these matters should be considered and acted on.

The whole subject is so broad, even as related only to the significance of letters and their practical exemplification in the names of persons and places, that unless considerable study be given to it confusion might arise. For instance, London has a double O element, like Boston, and both cities are near water. Why, then, is Boston not a larger city? Because it is on the eastern side of a continent, while London is on the west. One is in Massachusetts, America (a great A element), and the other in England-the E and A.

SIMPLICITY IN LIVING.

BY ADALIN M. GLEASON.

It is the earnest desire of every person that longs to live a harmonious and consistent life to be emancipated from the complications of the daily routine of petty demands and timeexhausting detail. It is the desire especially of those who have become interested in the New Thought, and who are progressing along the lines of spiritual advancement, to be released from too much thought concerning what we shall eat, wherewithal we shall be clothed, and how we can best use our forces to become healthful, joyous, and wise.

How can we release ourselves from the minor perplexities that engross and divert us from the higher claims upon thought and action? This is perhaps one of the most important problems we have to-day to solve-how to bring external things into perfect accord with inner requirements. It is of no avail, however, for us to strive to be direct and simple in our daily living until we have become simple and direct in our methods of thought; and how can this be done if we are constantly turning from one system of philosophy to another? How can we clearly follow the direct and simple truth through a tangle of conflicting theories, however interesting, and a jumble of opposing creeds? Let us, then, first of all determine what we think, what we believe, and just what we desire to attain in our efforts to reach a higher plane of living. When this has been clearly defined and determined, then let us hold steadfastly to the single truth and the single purpose that shall make us free-first of all from the demands of a complicated or inappropriate system of thought or theology, remembering always the command of the Master to serve "the Lord thy God": not the God of thy neighbor, not the God of the East, the West,