Shortly after, the book Harmonics of Tones and Colours Developed by Evolution, written by Charles Darwin's niece F.J. Hughes, was sent to Keely. This led him into the line of experiment that would enable him to show on a disc the various colors of sound, each note having its color, and to demonstrate in various ways Mrs. Hughes' own words "that the same laws which develop musical harmonies develop the universe."85 Possibly this line of experiment was the origin of what would be known as Keely's remarkable musical charts.
Keely was not a seeker of perpetual motion, as was sometimes alleged.86 The search for a device that without the external supply of energy would deliver everlasting labor has always been a dream of mankind, although it is considered impossible to attain. Interestingly, the idea for such a device originated in ancient India. Rotations, cycles, rotational images and cyclical processes play an essential part in Indian philosophy. A central doctrine of all Indian religions is the concept of Karma; the continuation of good and evil deeds of man that defines his fate in this life and in the cycle of future rebirths. This Karmic process is without beginning and end. The perpetuum mobile originated as the symbol for this everlasting cycle. Thus the Hindu astronomer and mathematician Bhascara described at least two of the earliest perpetuum mobile designs around 1150, one consisting of hollow stakes filled with mercury.
This idea of a perpetuum mobile was adopted by the Arabian scientists and philosophers of the 13th century, and in their writings of that time we again find numerous references to perpetuum mobiles with mercury-filled tubes. But where in ancient India the perpetuum mobile was considered more as a religious symbol, the Arabs saw in it a device that could be used for more practical ends, such as in waterlifts. The Arabian sciences would eventually influence Europe, and with it came the concept of the perpetuum mobile. Thus a disk-shaped perpetuum mobile appeared for the first time in 1235 with the French architect Villard de Honnecourt. In medieval Europe of the 13 th century, with the increase of knowledge of magnetism and the magnetic needle, Guillaume d'Auvergne, bishop of Paris, proposed the idea that an analogy exists between magnetic induction and the transfer of movement capabilities of an outer heavenly body on a inner heavenly body.
In 1269, Pierre de Maricourt, also known as Petrus Peregrinus, wrote in a letter called "Epistula de Magnete" that solely treats magnets and their capabilities about experimental researches on the magnetic force, that he saw as Virtus Dei or the glory of God. De Maricourt saw the heavenly poles, not the poles of the earth, as the abode of the magnetic forces, that propel the magnetic needle. He proposed the idea that a globular-shaped magnetic stone would move with the rotation of the heavens. The axle should point towards the pole of the heavens. De Maricourt related in great detail of a magnetic perpetuum mobile with a magnetic needle fastened in its center.87
Later we find innumerable inventors, scientists, and even priests involved in me search for such an apparatus. One of these, the 17th century Jesuit priest Christoph Scheiner developed a magnificent idea. In 1616 he designed a device that would operate according to his idea on gravity. Scheiner thought that the center of the universe would also be the center of gravity. From this, he projected an axle to a given point, from which another axle in an angle of 90 degrees sprang. On the end of this axle he would fasten a weight. Since the weight would constantly try to move towards the center of gravity, an everlasting circular motion could be obtained. A sketch of his device which he named "Gnomon in centro Mundi" appeared in 1616 in his book, Mechanica Hydraulico-pneumatica, a title that by the way, bears a similarity with Keely's hydro pneumatic pulsating vacuo machine. Although Scheiner's idea would be discarded by later fellow-Jesuits, he was no deluded seeker; he built the first Keplerian telescope, and can be credited as the co-discoverer of the solar spots. He invented the pantograph and he researched the working of the human eye.88
Another Jesuit priest, Athanasius Kircher, proposed a perpetuum mobile in his book Magnes sive de arte magnetica that appeared in 1640-1641, that consisted of a wheel-shaped apparatus, built of a disk with iron rods that would turn itself around while under the magnetic influence of the static magnetic field of four magnets.89
Between 1812 and 1814, several centuries and innumerable perpetuum mobile designs later, Italian physicist Guiseppe Zamboni invented and designed a device which he called "Elettromotore perpetuo," consisting of two electrically charged pillars made of amongst others of 2,000 glass disks with two globes on their tops. Between these pillars, with opposing poles a pendulum was placed which then would swing between the two pillars.90
In 1887, Keely obtained continuity of motion in his engine,91 but he never claimed to have invented nor sought the construction of a perpetual motion machine. This misunderstanding arose from other statements by him; one of these was that he claimed that he could "put in motion a power that can run a train without fuel of any kind or any other force for thousands of years continuously if desired."92 Keely also expected that when the motion had been once set up in any of his machines, it would continue until the material was worn out. It was this claim which caused him to be classed with perpetual-motion seekers,93 and which was perhaps the reason that Peretti94 visited him. Peretti, the Vineland inventor, mason and machinist who claimed to have Keely's secret, confided to a reporter that he had tried to invent a perpetual motion machine "since his transaction with Keely... but it was a plan of his own, not Keely's."95
On this subject, Keely made several statements: "The nearest approach to a certainty is made through harmony with nature's laws. The surest media are those which nature has laid out in her wonderful workings. The man who deviates from these paths will suffer the penalty of a defeat, as is seen in the record of "perpetual motion" seekers. I have been classed with such dreamers; but I find consolation in the thought that it is only by those who are utterly ignorant of the great and marvelous truths which I have devoted my life to demonstrate and to bring within reach of all....96 Perpetual motion is against nature, and it is only by following nature's laws that I can ever hope to reach the goal I am aiming to reach."97 And in the concept of his vibratory engine, he "did not seek to attain perpetual motion."98
When studying Keely's research and trying to get a clear picture of his achievements, we are faced with a number of difficulties. The first problem, of course, is the almost total absence of his many devices and writings. Then there is his jargon, the language in which he described his discoveries. Although he had no formal school training after his 12th year, he somehow acquired an unusual command of the English language. This problem was already noted time and again in his day, and from someone who listened to him, we may obtain an impression of what that meant: "Mr. Keely talks with the rapid fluency begotten in thirty years study... while his thoughts are often clothed in words rarely joined together in framing a sentence... Now let the reader imagine the... statement poured into him at the rate of 250 words per minute, with no stop for refreshments, and he will experience solid relief to be assured by Mr. Keely that he is preparing for publication a complete explanation. ...It is simply impossible to reproduce more than a fraction of what is freely put at one's disposal in a chat of an hour with this remarkable man."99 And a journalist, after having had the ordeal of listening to Keely's verbose explanations, shruggingly remarked that he "didn't understand it, but nobody ever understood differential calculus or even the Abracadabra in a day or two days."100 And another person simply said that "The inscription on the Zuni tablets would have been quite as plain."101
Keely assured that he would explain all in a book or two, but these never saw print and we are left with only those parts of his theories that were published by Bloomfield-Moore and Colville, or are scattered in the various newspapers of the day. Bloomfield-Moore writes that, "Every branch of science, every doctrine of extensive application, has had its alphabet, its rudiment, its grammar...,"102 but her book is mainly written as an apology. Though it presents enough theoretical matter, it sadly lacks a complete comprehensible glossary of Keely
's terms or grammar. The problem with his grammar is that he used common words in an uncommon way, while he had a liking for uncommon words, which he used plentifully. A reason for this may have been that he was inventing a new terminology for his novel ideas, without taking the trouble to see if the terms were applicable or whether they had not already been used by others. In addition he had the ability of not only using uncommon words, but also of using many more words to express an idea than was in fact necessary.103 To make matters worse, every new discovery or invention that he made brought with it a new nomenclature and a new vocabulary.104 In all fairness to him it must be noted that he was not always misunderstood by his contemporaries. The accounts of those who understood his explanations differ from the accounts of those who didn't.
Faced with all this, the remaining difficulty is in understanding those parts of Keely's theories that were printed. When reading a sentence or a text, it may read grammatically correct, but the meanings are obscure and hermetic. Owing to the unique nature of his philosophies, we find his writings riddled with terms such as Sympathetic Vibration, Etheric Force, Dynaspheric Force, transympathetic, divine force differentiation, triune streams or Aqueous Disintegration.
Dale Pond, who has studied Keely's inventions for more than a decade, remarked that "While it is true that Keely used a lot of big and unusual words, he always used them in a masterful way.... If one takes the trouble of looking these words up and studying them he will find they are used in ways outside of our normal awareness."105
Keely was asked to prepare a glossary of terms so that he might be better understood. Since such a glossary was never printed, it was erroneously held that he refused to do so,106 which is not true since he — at least in theory — was planning on publishing his philosophy. At one time it was alleged that a Dr. Brinton, "acquainted with more strange languages, dead and living, than anybody else," made a "translation of Keely's philosophy into English, which is described as able, lucid and logical."107 It is also asserted that such a glossary was published in the 1894 book Dashed Against the Rock, by Keely's friend, William Colville.108 A short comprehensive glossary was recently published in the book Universal Laws Never Before Revealed: Keely's Secrets,109 in which the reader may find a wealth of materials pertaining to a modem interpretation of the technical aspects of Keely's discoveries.
Keely's experiments spanned more than a quarter of a century and were wide-ranged and kaleidoscopic in their variety. What has been left to us — compared to what has been lost after almost a century — is but a fragmentary view of what Keely was actually aiming at and what he accomplished. He changed his methods many times, abandoning previously-held important lines of research, scrapping pieces of machinery, and renaming devices. It is even alleged that he sometimes destroyed his devices after a few runs, devices that were seen only by himself and his assistants.110 At one time, during a spontaneous search by frustrated members of the Keely Motor Company in 1883, 12 discarded engines were discovered "wrecked" and "used in past experiments," carelessly thrown in a corner, upstairs in Keely's workshop.111
Each moment in Keely's long period of invention seemed to yield many more directions, and sometimes he would discover quite important applications by sheer accident. The view emerges that he was entangled in a sheer labyrinth of research, each important finding opening even more roads to take.
Indications for this labyrinthine maze, of which even his close allies like Collier knew little or nothing, are a slight remark that he was somehow able to weld metal without heat,112 or of his "sensitizing process." About its origins we learn only that this new aspect in the complex history of his inventions began somewhere around 1894, and that Lancaster Thomas was present during the "sensitizing of several disks" and had assisted in its performance. Both Collier and Thomas stated that this sensitizing process was "absolutely new," although Collier assumed that this mysterious process could be patented.113
There are also casual mentions of a strange substance. Although this substance was pivotal in the working of Keely's force, we learn no more of it after the following slight references: "The only thing that caused any doubt seemed to be the exact composition of a peculiar metallic paste or amalgam without which the 'sympathetic attractive force' could not be produced." And although the ever-boisterous Collier stated that he believed that his ally Thomas could produce this material, we hear no more of any attempt, or an explanation of what this substance was actually used for in Keely's inventions.114
The second reference is equally puzzling: "One of the secrets of the machine is the composition of the 'vitalized metal disks' and 'sensitized cartridges of metallic powder."115 Elsewhere we learn more, although still not enough about this mysterious substance: "Aside from these disks, Mr. Keely has prepared a metallic powder, which, to look at, very much resembles iron or steel filings, but which lacks one essential feature of iron or steel — it will not respond to the attraction of a magnet. "116 No further explanation was offered upon the nature or composition of the cartridges of metallic powder, which were possibly the same as the peculiar metallic paste, or the unspecified "amalgam paste." In 1895, a puzzled reporter wrote that Keely said it took him three years of study before he could produce the substance.117
Two years later, G. W. Browne, "who has studied the subject" and concluded that it had to be "electricity" that propelled Keely's engines, tried his best shot at explaining what the strange metallic powder was. He wrote that parts of the Liberator consisted of "nine cylindrical boxes surmounted by vitalized discs of metal. In the center of these cylindrical boxes are placed small cylinders termed 'sensitized cartridges' loaded with a metallic powder only known to Keely, and which, he claims, furnished all the vitality which the discs possess." The reporter concluded that these sensitized cartridges must have been "in reality small batteries... They are almost filled with water when Keely puts into each a teaspoonful of a metallic powder, the composition which he claims as his secret, but which is known to the world as bisulfate of mercury (truly a metallic powder)."118
We've now established two major periods. The first period, prior to 1881, involved the creation of the force through the disintegration of water. The second involved the creation of the force out of almost anything. Keely also followed two major directions with his experiments. One was the constant search for a method of mastering his force and making it drive his various engines. After having mastered the force he said, it would be "adapted to engines of all sizes and capacities, as well to an engine capable of propelling the largest ship as to one that will operate a sewing machine. Equally well and certain is it that it will be adapted as a projectile force for guns and cannons of all sizes, from the ordinary shoulder-piece to the heaviest artillery."119
Over this direction, the shadow of the ever-vigilant Keely Motor Company looms heavily; and in this direction he constructed his more than 129 engines in search for the "perfect engine." The other direction, however, was to establish the laws of etheric force, which would lead to the earlier-mentioned glossary called "The 40 Laws of Harmony."120 Over this direction shone the light of his supporter, Bloomfield-Moore.
He also claimed to have three systems, and he described them as follows: "My first system is the one which requires introductory mediums of differential gravities, air and water, to induce disturbances of equilibrium on the liberation of vapor, which only reached the inter-atomic position and was held there by the submersion of the molecular and atomic leads in the Generator I then used. It was impossible with these mediums to go beyond the atomic with this instrument; and I could not dispense with the water until my Liberator was invented, nor reach the maximum of the full line of vibration. My first system embraces liberator, engine and gun."
His second system he considered complete, "as far as the liberation of the ether is concerned, but not sufficiently complete as yet, in its devices for indicating and governing the vibratory etheric circuit, to make it a safe medium." His third system included aerial and submarine navigation
.121 Apart from a method of disintegration that he claimed to have discovered by accident while working on this third system, Keely also claimed to have discovered another application in which he was an unknowing forerunner of the radiesthesists, but was preceded by Franz Anton Mesmer — the healing of disease through the restoration of the inner balance. "One of Mr. Keely's discoveries shapes his theory that all nervous and brain disorders may be cured by equating the differentiation that exists in the disordered structure," Bloomfield-Moore writes, "When his system is completed, medical men will have a new domain opened to them for experiment" (her italics).122
Keely saw disease as "a disturbance of the equilibrium between positive and negative forces," and writing about mental illness, stated that, "In considering the mental forces as associated with the physical, I find, by my past researches, that the convolutions which exist in the cerebral field are entirely governed by the sympathetic conditions that surround them." In Keely's hard-to-understand thesis on this subject, owing to his hermetic prose, he nevertheless expounds on such original ideas as the differentiation of the molecular conditions of a mass of metal of any shape "so as to produce what you may express as a crazy piece of iron or a crazy piece of steel, or, vice versa (his italics), and intelligent condition of the same," or the cause of insanity and sensory hallucinations, "such as flashes of light and color, or confused sounds and disagreeable odors, etc., etc." These, according to Keely, are the result of "a condition of differentiation in the mass chords of the cerebral convolutions, which creates an antagonistic molecular bombardment towards the neutral or attractive centers of such convolutions; which, in turn, produce a morbid irritation in the cortical sensory centers in the substance of ideation."
Free Energy Pioneer- John Worrell Keely Page 24
