Theos-Talk Archives (November 2001 Message tt00544)

Daniel: I have, of course, no way of knowing on the basis of what moral 
principles you conduct your life, but I am somewhat surprised to note 
that you propose making use of Dr Brendan French's thesis as stolen by 
and both immorally and unlawfully published by Muhlegger. Perhaps you 
can provide me with some moral guidance.
Would you buy books you knew to be stolen (even if they were cheaper than 
in the bookshops)? My own library lacks several rare editions of works by 
Madame Blavatsky because I declined to buy them (at bargain rates!) when 
I knew they have been stolen from a local TS library;instead, I contacted 
the library and the police. Should I have taken the opportunity to add to 
my collection?
You even ask Muhlegger to provide excerpts from Dr French's thesis!! 
Where is she to get these? From Dr French and with his permission, and 
with his permission to pass them on to you? Or is she to steal them, and 
hand them over to you? Is it permissable for me to ask disreputable 
characters in my local pub to break in and steal a few works I am missing 
from the local TS library or bookshop? Is it acceptable for me to publish 
John Cooper's works on Blavatsky (of which I have copies) without regard 
for the rights and interests (and even against the explicit directions) 
of his family? 
Is this an aspect of theosophical morality that I've not understood?
Even if you are happy to receive stolen goods (I don't accept that 
receiving the benefits of theft via the internet is any different from 
receiving them in physical form), you need to be aware that Muhlegger's 
version of Dr French's work is not entirely as he wrote it. If you use 
Muhlegger's stolen version, you need to make sure you cite it as (for 
example) "Muhlegger's unauthorized version of French". I have the full 
thesis sitting beside me as I write this, and I have compared some of the 
Muhlegger rip-off versions with the actual text; there are significant 
differences and distortions.

Dr Gregory Tillett