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them do not come in contact with the best things of their own community. We know that all metal, gold, silver, etc., is a good conductor. Suppose silver has a conductivity of 100, copper about 99.9, with gold it is 80, and with aluminium 56, and with other metals there is also conductivity to a greater or less degree. If I keep any piece of metal in contact with my body that will take away some electricity from my body, because it is a good conductor. The vitality is stored in the form of electricity, and if metal comes in contact with the person, it is likely to be passed indiscriminately from the metal to the outside world. So we say that the monks ought not to come in contact with any kind of metal. Paper money was not in existence when this rule was made, it is a creation of modern days; but people in ancient times had no idea that paper could be used for money. They had a kind of money which was not of metal but of shells, called covrie shells, whose conductivity is given by the scientists as less than that of the different combinations of metal. The Hindus were considered superstitious for using these shells as money, but this shows that they knew the conductivity of different substances and knew what electricity was. I have read recently that a maguscript has been found concerning the Dature of electricity showing that the ancients understood this. Our monks also observe many other rules, besides the moral rules I gave you in the beginning. But it has been said by one of them that in the highest condition, the
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