We often speak of Theosophy as not in itself a religion, but the truth which lies behind all religions alike. That is so; yet, from another point of view, we may surely say that it is at once a philosophy, a religion and a science. It is a philosophy, because it puts plainly before us an explanation of the scheme of evolution of both the souls and the bodies contained in our solar system. It is a religion in so far as, having shown us the course of ordinary evolution, it also puts before us and advises a method of shortening that course, so that by conscious effort we may progress more directl.

This long poem written by Scottish author James Thomson is a notable literary accomplishment on several levels. It offers a no-holds-barred account of the seedy underbelly of London's nightlife in the late nineteenth century that stands in sharp contrast to the more popular vision that was advanced in many other Victorian-era novels and poems. On another level, the poem is an eloquent description of the despair one can fall into after losing one's faith -- whether in a higher power ...