TERTIUM ORGANUM

When Tertium Organum burst onto the New York literary scene its author P D Ouspensky was unaware of it Piotr Demianovich Ouspensky the most famous pupil of GrecoArmenian spiritual teacher George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff had written Kluck Kzaradkam the original title in his native Russian and it had been published in St Petersburg in 1912 At the time of its New York debut his whereabouts were unknown A Russian by the name of Nicholas Bessarabof had emigrated to America before the 1917 Russian Revolution and had taken the book with him He gave a copy to architect Claude Bragdon who could read Russian and was interested in forthdimensional consciousness After reading the book a friend echoed Bragdons sentiments saying He has recently discovered a young Russian who seems to us remarkable in many ways The man has introduced him to Ouspensky and his book on the fourth dimension called Tertium Organum Bragdon believes this book to be the long sought New Testament of the Sixth Race which will justify the meekness of the saint the vision of the mystic and create a new heaven and a new earth He is currently collaborating with Bessarabof on an English translation In 1920 without Ouspenskys knowledge Bragdon and Bessarabof published the book in English through Manas Press in New York Meanwhile Ouspensky a journalist and destitute author had arrived in Constantinople with hardly a penny to his name Later that year he was gratified to receive a substantial royalty check and the news that Tertium Organum was a publishing success in English and that his fame in literary circles was assured In 1921 he wrote This translation made without my knowledge and participation at a time when I was cut off by war and revolution from the civilized world transmits my thought so exactly that after a very attentive review of the book I could find only one word to correct Such a result could be achieved only because Mr Bessarabof and Mr Bragdon were not translating words merely but were grasping