"The Secret Doctrine is the common property of the countless millions of men born under various climates, in times with which History refuses to deal, and to which esoteric teachings assign dates incompatible with the theories of Geology and Anthropology"
About this Quote
The real sharpness is in the time slip. "Times with which History refuses to deal" turns the absence of evidence into a kind of evidence: if archives don’t reach that far, the missing record becomes an invitation to mystery. Then she escalates: esoteric chronologies give dates that clash with Geology and Anthropology. That’s not a footnote; it’s a preemptive strike. She positions modern science as the parochial newcomer, the one with "theories" (a word doing dismissive work), while esotericism gets "teachings", implying lineage and initiation.
Context matters: Blavatsky is writing at the height of Victorian confidence in evolution, deep time, and positivist method, but also amid spiritualist fads and imperial-era fascination with "Eastern wisdom". Her sentence flatters the modern reader’s hunger for depth while offering an out from modernity’s disenchanting disciplines. The subtext is clear: if you demand proof, you’re trapped in History’s narrow jurisdiction; if you accept esoteric time, you join a more ancient club.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
|---|---|
| Source | H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy (1888) — primary work containing this passage. |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Blavatsky, H. P. (2026, January 17). The Secret Doctrine is the common property of the countless millions of men born under various climates, in times with which History refuses to deal, and to which esoteric teachings assign dates incompatible with the theories of Geology and Anthropology. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-secret-doctrine-is-the-common-property-of-the-72365/
Chicago Style
Blavatsky, H. P. "The Secret Doctrine is the common property of the countless millions of men born under various climates, in times with which History refuses to deal, and to which esoteric teachings assign dates incompatible with the theories of Geology and Anthropology." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-secret-doctrine-is-the-common-property-of-the-72365/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The Secret Doctrine is the common property of the countless millions of men born under various climates, in times with which History refuses to deal, and to which esoteric teachings assign dates incompatible with the theories of Geology and Anthropology." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-secret-doctrine-is-the-common-property-of-the-72365/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
