Dr. Anna Kingsford (1846-1888)
ANNA KINGSFORD, VEGETARIANISM, THE “NEW” GOSPEL OF INTERPRETATION AND BUDDHIST CHRISTIANITY
Anna Kingsford, Edward Maitland, Samuel H. Hart,
Bertram McCrie, Kirstine Nolfi and Arnaldo Sisson Filho
Organization: Arnaldo Sisson Filho
Collection
Wheel and Cross
2026
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the editor.
Collection
Wheel and Cross
| KINGSFORD, Anna and MAITLAND, Edward.
Anna Kingsford, Vegetarianism, the “New” Gospel of Interpretation and 1. Anna Kingsford. 2. Vegetarianism. 3. “New” Gospel of I. Title |
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INITIAL QUOTATIONS
Vegetarian Movement: The Redeemer of the World
“I consider the vegetarian movement to be the most important movement of our age. I believe this because I see in it the beginning of true civilization.
My opinion is that up to the present moment we do not know what civilization means. When we look at the dead bodies of animals, whether entire or cut up, which with sauces and condiments are served at our table, we do not reflect on the horrible deed that has preceded these dishes; and yet it is something terrible to know that every meal to which we sit down has cost a life.
I hold that we owe it to civilization to elevate the whole of that deeply demoralized and barbarized class of people – butchers, cattle-drovers, and all others who are connected with the deplorable business. Thousands of persons are degraded by the slaughterhouse in their neighbourhood, which condemns whole classes to a debasing and inhuman occupation.
I await the time when the consummation of the vegetarian movement shall have created perfect men, for I see in this movement the foundations of perfection. When I perceive the possibilities of vegetarianism and the heights to which it can raise us, I feel convinced that it will prove the redeemer of the world.” (Anna Kingsford. Quoted by Samuel H. Hart: in Anna Kingsford: In Memoriam. Booklet containing the full text, with some additions by the author, of a lecture given to the Leeds Vegetarian Society on September 15th, 1946, to commemorate the Centenary of the birth of Anna Kingsford; emphasis added)
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The Late Mrs. Anna Kingsford, M.D. – Obituary
“She was (…) a leader of spiritual and philosophical thought, gifted with the most exceptional psychic attributes. In connection with Mr. Edward Maitland, her truest friend (…) she wrote several books dealing with metaphysical and mystical subjects. The first and most important was The Perfect Way, or the Finding of Christ, which gives the esoteric meaning of Christianity. (…)
She was one, the aspirations of whose whole life were ever turned toward the eternal and the true. A mystic by nature – the most ardent one to those who knew her well – she was still a very remarkable woman even in the opinion of the materialists and the unbelievers. (…)
The whole of her adult life was passed in working unselfishly for others, for the elevation of the spiritual side of humanity. We can, however, in regretting her death take comfort in the thought that good work cannot be lost nor die. (…) Anna Kingsford’s work will be still bearing fruit even when her memory has been obliterated with the generations of those who knew her well, and new generations will have approached the psychic mysteries still nearer.” (This text, The Late Mrs. Anna Kingsford, M.D., was published in H.P. Blavatsky Collected Writings, Vol. IX, pp. 89-91. It was first published in the magazine Lucifer, Vol. II, nº. 7, March 1888, pp. 78-79; emphasis added)
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The Interpretation of Your Bibles
“That which you need on Earth is the interpretation of your Bibles, and of all the Scriptures which contain the hidden wisdom, the mystery of which St. Paul so often speaks as existing from the foundation of the world. [As in Romans 16:25]” (A Message to Earth. Edited by Edward Maitland, p. 69; emphasis added)
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Union of Buddha and Christ: the World’s Coming Redemption
“Of the spiritual union in the one faith of Buddha and Christ, will be born the world’s coming redemption.” (Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland. The Perfect Way, p. 252; emphasis added)
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At Some Distant Day It Will Become a Religion of Great Nations
“I know that at some distant day, now, indeed, perhaps very remote, the message we preach in a corner will become a religion of great nations.” (Anna Kingsford. Addresses and Essays on Vegetarianism, p. 1; emphasis added)
SUMMARY
PART I: PREFACE AND BIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS
3. Anna Kingsford: In Memoriam (Samuel H. Hart)
PART II: ANNA KINGSFORD AND VEGETARIANISM (IN THE LIGHT OF THE “NEW” GOSPEL OF INTERPRETATION)
11. Non-Scientific Science: Moral Aspects of Vivisection (Anna Kingsford)
PART III: COMPLEMENTARY TEXTS AND QUOTATIONS
18. Quotations on Buddhist Christianity