Joseph Shield Nicholson

Thoth Joseph Shield Nicholson

Post hoc ergo propter hoc may not always be a fallacy, but it was certainly a mistake on the part of several reviewers of 'Thoth' to translate it in their haste, "after 'She, ' therefore on account of 'She.'" For, as a matter of fact, 'Thoth' was designed and in part composed more than twelve years ago. In its present form, however, it has been entirely rewritten. It may interest some of my critics to know the original intention and scheme, and the reasons why I delayed the publication even longer than the classical ninth year. The original idea was philosophical. I wished to illustrate the power of will and intellect working through generations with a definite design, and to show that this power might be used for the most repulsive object. The object I chose for my purpose was the destruction of the whole human race by means of pestilences, with the intention of replacing it with a race of men who had for generations been trained in the exercise of the highest intelligence