But the Hermetists carry it still further.  They teach that a man’s mental states are subject to the same Law.  The man who enjoys keenly, is subject to keen suffering; while he who feels but little pain is capable of feeling but little joy.  The pig suffers but little mentally, and enjoys but little—­he is compensated.  And on the other hand, there are other animals who enjoy keenly, but whose nervous organism and temperament cause them to suffer exquisite degrees of pain and so it is with Man.  There are temperaments which permit of but low degrees of enjoyment, and equally low degrees of suffering; while there are others which permit the most intense enjoyment, but also the most intense suffering.  The rule is that the capacity for pain and pleasure, in each individual, are balanced.  The Law of Compensation is in full operation here.

But the Hermetists go still further in this matter.  They teach that before one is able to enjoy a certain degree of pleasure, he must have swung as far, proportionately, toward the other pole of feeling.  They hold, however, that the Negative is precedent to the Positive in this matter, that is to say that in experiencing a certain degree of pleasure it does not follow that he will have to “pay up for it” with a corresponding degree of pain; on the contrary, the pleasure is the Rhythmic swing, according to the Law of Compensation, for a degree of pain previously experienced either in the present life, or in a previous incarnation.  This throws a new light on the Problem of Pain.

The Hermetists regard the chain of lives as continuous, and as forming a part of one life of the individual, so that in consequence the rhythmic swing is understood in this way, while it would be without meaning unless the truth of reincarnation is admitted.

But the Hermetists claim that the Master or advanced student is able, to a great degree, to escape the swing toward Pain, by the process of Neutralization before mentioned.  By rising on to the higher plane of the Ego, much of the experience that comes to those dwelling on the lower plane is avoided and escaped.

The Law of Compensation plays an important part in the lives of men and women.  It will be noticed that one generally “pays the price” of anything he possesses or lacks.  If he has one thing, he lacks another—­the balance is struck.  No one can “keep his penny and have the bit of cake” at the same time Everything has its pleasant and unpleasant sides.  The things that one gains are always paid for by the things that one loses.  The rich possess much that the poor lack, while the poor often possess things that are beyond the reach of the rich.  The millionaire may have the inclination toward feasting, and the wealth wherewith to secure all the dainties and luxuries of the table, while he lacks the appetite to enjoy the same; he envies the appetite and digestion of the laborer who lacks the wealth and inclinations of the millionaire, and who gets more pleasure from his plain food than the millionaire could obtain even if his appetite were not jaded, nor his digestion ruined, for the wants, habits and inclinations differ.  And so it is through life.  The Law of Compensation is ever in operation, striving to balance and counter-balance, and always succeeding in time, even though several lives may be required for the return swing of the Pendulum of Rhythm.